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While Southern Minnesota farmers have enjoyed near perfect growing weather for their corn and soybeans, early season forecasts of a poor market have held true and many growers that have storage capabilities in Nicollet, Le Sueur and Waseca counties will likely hold on to their product, says Dana Melius of the St. Peter Herald. At Traverse Elevator in rural St. Peter, corn was selling at $3.34 a bushel and soybeans at $8.62 a bushel. Farmer Steve Hulke of Courtland said farmers will have difficulty turning a profit, so if storage is an option, they’ll take it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October forecast puts Minnesota’s corn crop at 1.33 billion bushels, up 2 percent from a year ago, but down 2 percent from its forecast of a month ago. And yields are expected to average in the 170-bushel per acre range, up 10 from two years ago, but similar to 2014.

John LaDue made a surprise plea before a judge Friday, pleading guilty to having one explosive device, according to Suzanne Rook of the Waseca County News. LaDue’s lawyers had been expected to fight the entire case, especially after having all charges alleging physical harm off the table. LaDue was initially charged in April 2014 with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted damage to property and six counts of possession of an explosive or incendiary device. A Waseca County judge dismissed the attempt charges, a move upheld by the state Court of Appeals. Later it was decided that only one of the devices met the legal criteria of either an explosive or incendiary device. Under the plea agreement, LaDue will be placed on probation and immediately sent to a secure facility specializing in treating autism spectrum disorder. Once successfully completing treatment there, he will be sent to a halfway house, according to the judge.

Funny money is being passed around Crow Wing County, according to the sheriff. The Brainerd Dispatch writes that the money is the type used in motion pictures. Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl said, “The money appears real at first glance. However upon closer examination, it is obvious that it is not. Wording on the bill is different, along with the pictures on the bill."

A 61-year-old Austin woman, Richianne Burger, accidentally drove through a fence on the south side of a new Hardees restaurant in Austin, the Austin Daily Herald reports. Burger said the gas pedal inside her silver Pontiac Grand Prix got stuck. Hardees opened on Sept. 8, about seven years after the last Hardees closed in Austin.

A downtown Rochester hotel is being closed for a complete renovation by its new owners, according to Kay Fate in the Rochester Post-Bulletin. The Center Street Hotel, 101 E. Center St., was bought by Kari and Andy Friederichs in June 2013. Police made 184 responses at the hotel in the past year, although only 50 resulted in a criminal report. The other calls include intoxicated persons, assisting other agencies, medicals, probation checks and trespassing.

Fall colors are coming and that should help turn a good year at parks in southeast Minnesota into a great year, says the Winona Daily News. Not one park in the region saw a drop in attendance. In fact, the Department of Natural Resources reports that between Jan. 1 and Sept. 7, one-day permit sales were up 16 percent, year-round permit sales were up 12 percent, and campsite stays were up 9 percent. Great River Bluffs State Park saw a 26 percent increase in permit sales, and a 23 percent increase in overnight stays.

A massive letter-writing campaign worked and got seventh-grader Mackanzie Chan backstage to meet country music star Carrie Underwood when the singer appeared at the Minnesota State Fair, writes Linda Vanderwerf in the West Central Tribune. Last year, doctors discovered a tumor pressing against Chan’s lung and spine. When they removed it, they found the cancer had spread throughout her body. A teacher and some of her friends started a letter-writing campaign to get the girl to meet her favorite singer, and after more than 150 individual letters mailed to Sony, the company made arrangements for Chan and her family to meet Underwood backstage. “We talked about stuff normal people talk about,” said her father, Doug Chan. “She was so down to earth.”

A formal complaint of sexual harassment has been filed against soon-to-be former Northfield City Administrator Nick Haggenmiller, saying he refused to leave a female department head alone after she attempted to end an intimate relationship, according to the Northfield News. Haggenmiller, who is on paid administrative leave, will be terminated at the end of the month as part of a separation agreement with the city of Northfield. As part of the agreement, there is no admission of liability or wrongdoing. He also gets two months' salary, cell phone and automobile allowance, and the city will pay his insurance premiums. In the report, the female department head wrote, "In trying to terminate a romantic relationship, Nick Haggenmiller has refused to leave me alone, and has lied, manipulated ... which has created a hostile work environment," the News wrote.

Several hunters are hopping mad after they saw a pontoon driver intentionally drown a buck in a Detroit Lakes lake, writes the West Central Tribune. The incident happened Sept. 6 on Tulaby Lake. Ray Thorkildson said a buck was swimming across the lake when a pontoonist maneuvered his craft between the buck and the shore until the buck drowned. Thorkildson said his son was able to drag the deer’s body to shore. “It had a rack on it,” Thorkildson said. “It was just absolutely a gorgeous buck.” DNR Conservation Officer Angela Warren confirmed there is an active investigation into the case.

A Faribault woman allegedly stole a $3.99-bag of chocolate from Fareway Stores in Faribault on Saturday and when confronted by police, admitted she had a meth pipe in her purse. The story in the Faribault Daily News said Charlene Ann Stuart, 43, of Faribault, also had hypodermic syringes or needles in her purse. Stuart told a police officer she went to buy cigarettes and saw a bag of chocolate. She said she took the chocolate by mistake. Nevertheless, thanks to the felony meth charge, her bail was set at $3,000.

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So you like walleye. Northern pike eat the walleye fingerlings used to seed state lakes each year. Just how much northern pike is the right amount of northern pike? That’s what the DNR is trying to determine, and in its Solomonaic wisdom, the organization is suggesting cutting the state into three zones, according to Tom Cherveny of the West Central Tribune. The idea is still being discussed, but essentially fishermen in the northeast zone can land two northern pike with a maximum size of 30 inches. In the north central zone, the limit would be 10 northern pike but anglers could keep two over 26 inches. The southern zone would have a limit of two with a minimum length of 24 inches. By doing this, the DNR hopes to strike a balance between having enough walleye to make everyone happy and allowing just the right number of northern pike to grow to good fishing size. Anglers can still comment. 

Longtime Brainerd Mayor James Wallin died Saturday at age 73. Brainerd City Council President Gary Scheeler told Spenser Bickett of the Brainerd Dispatch he plans to meet with city staff and decide what to do next. Options seem to revolve around appointing a mayor until the 2016 election or having a special election. In the meantime, the city charter requires the council president to serve as mayor until another one can fill the job. "I couldn't begin to follow or step in his shoes," Scheeler said. "But I'll do the best I can."

Crops in the Southeast corner of the state are doing well, reports Nathan Hansen of the Winona Daily News. In Winona County, University of Minnesota Extension educator Jake Overgaard said many farmers are reporting a surplus of hay and are looking to sell hay on the market. The conditions are perfect to start the bean harvest, Overgaard said, and many corn fields are reaching maturity. Overgaard said there was potential to see record yields for both crops.

For a harvest of a different nature, Ann Wessel of the St. Cloud Daily Times writes that warm weather has kept the spread of peak fall colors at bay.  The North Shore is expected to peak this week. Itasca State Park was approaching 50 percent color over the weekend. John Korzeniowski, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ area forest supervisor in Little Falls, said fall color is stimulated by temperatures between 35 and 60 degrees, which causes a decline in photosynthesis and chlorophyll which then allows some of the other colors in the leaves to show. With a beautiful fall display on tap, what could ruin the fall colors? “Windstorms,” Korzeniowski said.

Everybody loves Brainerd International Raceway. Sometimes, though, they just don’t want so much of it. Ron Reph has lived near the track for 19 years and he went to the Crow Wing County Board to ask if they could get the track owners to keep the racing between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., writes Chelsey Perkins of the Brainerd Dispatch. The board agreed that was a reasonable request. They batted around some ideas about what the county board could do but made no decisions. Little did Reph know, but track owner Jed Copham was at the meeting and talked to Reph. He said the track sometimes schedules races from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but there’s no reason that can’t be shifted from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. He also said that sometimes crashes and breakdowns back up the end of a race past 6 p.m., but there’s no way of planning for that. He also said that several neighbors have noticed an increase in the noise after the July 12 supercell thunderstorm that took out 60 acres of trees surrounding the track. "A 60-acre forest that borders that whole area was pretty much wiped out," Copham said. "It's a horrible bummer. We did not want to lose the forest."

Like finely honed sprinters, twitching in their chocks, waiting for the gunshot that will allow their coiled muscles to spring forward into managed mayhem, so too are Rochester taprooms and liquor stores ready to start schlepping off-sale booze until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Rochester Post-Bulletin says the change can take effect at almost any time, and a quick check of area businesses say they are foaming at the mouth, champing at the bit, ready to stay open and sell growlers and crowlers. Both Grand Rounds Brew Pub and LTS Brewing Co. are ready for 10 p.m. sales as soon as the law allows. Kinney Creek Brewery is ready to go but wonders if it’ll have to add staff. Forager Brewing Co.’s head brewer says he’ll package 750-milliliter crowlers at the beginning of its business days and when they’re sold out, they’re sold out. The city’s Andy's Liquor stores are taking a wait-and-see attitude to judge customer demand. Cub Liquor and Silver Lake Liquors said they haven’t made any decisions yet, and a representative for Apollo Liquors was MIA.

Paul and Babe are getting ready to take their righteous place on concrete in Bemidji, according to the Bemidji Pioneer. If the weather holds, crews could be done pouring concrete in the new $1.6 million Paul Bunyan Park by Thursday. This would keep things on track for the project's substantial completion date of Oct. 6. Bemidji Parks and Recreation Director Marcia Larson also said the grass on site is growing successfully and that landscapers have only to make a few finishing touches.

An alleged sighting of a gun during a fight at about 3:15 p.m. outside Austin High School sent the school, along with Pacelli High and Mayo Clinic Health Systems-Austin, into lockdown Monday. Eric Johnson of the Austin Daily Herald writes that Austin Police and Mower County deputies responded Monday afternoon. “A witness stated someone had a gun,” Austin Police Chief Brian Krueger said. “We tracked down the individual but he had no gun on him.” “The liaison officer, when he responded, had heard a report of a gun being involved,” said John Alberts, executive director of education services. “For the safety of the students, (the liaison officer) responded the way he should have.” The lockdown lasted about 35 minutes.

And if a weapon leading to institutional lockdowns isn’t enough for you, consider this case in Stearns County as recounted by the St. Cloud Daily Times. Luis Dominguez, 42, of Miami, Florida, was performing field work Friday near the intersection of Stearns County Road 69 and 205th Street around 5:36 p.m. when he began to argue with a 25-year-old man. Dominguez reportedly grabbed a pitchfork, threatened to kill the man, then proved that in South Florida people mean what they say when he chased the victim and brandished the pitchfork until the man fell into a drainage ditch, at which time Dominguez allegedly stabbed the fork into the ground next to the victim. He was arrested and is being held in Stearns County Jail.

As Matthew Liedke reports, Inc. Magazine ranked the top 5,000 fastest growing companies in America, and four are in Bemidji: AirCorps Aviation; Choice Therapy; Karvakko Engineering; and EXB Solutions. Bemidji also thumbs its nose at other, bigger Minnesota towns; Brainerd, St. Cloud and Duluth each only had two companies on the list. AirCorps Aviation restores vintage World War II aircraft and is 4 years old. Karvakko Engineering has made the list two years in a row and its growth rate for the three-year period was 365 percent. EXB Solutions is an engineering services company that works in the medical, aerospace and defense marketplaces. It has offices in Bemidji and Hopkins. The fourth company is Choice Therapy, a physical therapy company. The business owners not only touted the facilities available in Bemidji, but also that it shows how healthy the business climate is in town. “It excites me to see the growth in Bemidji. I think there’s a lot of potential for more in our region,” said Erik Hokuf, AirCorps Aviation managing partner. 

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The 682nd Engineering Battalion is being deployed later this month to Kuwait.

Although the National Guard troop is based in Willmar, Lt. Col. Keith Ferdon of Motley said the 150 soldiers in the 682nd Engineering Battalion represent 99 communities across Minnesota. The 682nd is being deployed later this month to Kuwait to build and maintain roads and buildings throughout the Middle East for the next nine months. There will be a farewell ceremony Thursday in Willmar, writes Linda Vanderwerf of the West Central Tribune. The age of the soldiers ranges from 19 to 54. The majority enlisted after 9/11 and deployment isn’t a surprise to them, said Ferdon, the battalion commander. Capt. Mike Lovas of Maple Grove, who leads the Headquarters Company, said the soldiers are a mix of first-timers and those who have gone overseas before.

After a prolonged battle, a proposal to ban frac-sand mining in Houston County is finished, reports the Winona Daily News. Last week, the Houston County Planning Commission rejected a proposalfrom a group called the Houston County Protectors to amend the county’s mineral extraction zoning ordinance to specifically ban frac sand mining. Noting that most speakers at the commission’s public hearing last week favored the ordinance, “it was apparent that the planning commission was not acting in good faith,” member Ken Tschumper wrote in the Protectors’ statement.

If school enrollment is any indication, Mankato is on the move. District enrollment is 8,076 as opposed to 7,610 two years ago, Superintendent Sheri Allen told the school board Monday. Every grade increased in size except for first grade, which shrunk by one, writes Trey Mewes of the Mankato Free Press. The district estimates more than 8,700 students will attend Mankato schools by the 2020-2021 school year. The growth isn’t s surprise: The district built Rosa Parks Elementary School as well as several building renovations. Prairie Winds Middle School opens next fall, to be followed by renovations at Mankato East High.

West Coast trendsetters have developed a taste for turkey, but they probably don’t know that the brains of the outfit is in Willmar, writes Tom Cherveny of the West Central Tribune. Willmar’s Jennie-O Turkey Store not only produces the products, but also provides the marketing and development know-how. Glenn Leitch, president of Jennie-O Turkey Store in Willmar, says Jennie-O has had a significant presence in California for 25 years and owns a 28 percent household penetration among 18-to-34-year-old consumers. Jennie-O is also the largest provider of turkey to the U.S. school system, said Leitch, who adds that the company has added improved biosecurity to fight the avian flu if it should reappear this fall. Jennie-O will have all of its farms repopulated by the end of the month and, if there are no further outbreaks, should be in full production by January or February, he said.

Charges were filed last week against former Plum Creek Regional Library Director Mark L. Ranum, 51, in Nobles County District Court. He faces 12 felony charges and two gross misdemeanors related to allegedly using the library system’s credit card for personal purchases, writes Robin Baumgarn of the Worthington Daily Herald. According to court documents, Ranum would make non-business charges on the Plum Creek Regional Library System credit card, then have the system’s fiscal administrator send him a bill, which he would pay via money order or check. From May 2013 to October 2014, there were 45 charges not relating to library business, including multiple $1,000 gift cards to Jackpot Junction, and charges to Hy-Vee, Target and to the State of Minnesota for registering a business in Ranum’s name. Ranum has said none of the money was used for personal gain and all of the expenses were reimbursed. He is charged with six counts of theft-indifferent to owner rights and eight counts of permitting false claims against government. 

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Burr oak blight doesn't directly kill the tree; it insidiously weakens the host until it is susceptible to stressors.

BOB has arrived in Stearns County. Bur oak blight is a native disease, and Ann Wessel of the St. Cloud Daily Times writes that while it doesn’t directly kill the tree, it insidiously weakens the host until it is susceptible to stressors like two-lined chestnut borer attacks. Brian Schwingle with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says St. Cloud and Albert Lea are the most heavily affected areas in the state. He said BOB-infected trees are noticeable this time of year because once trees drop their leaves, BOB-affected oaks retain dead leaves that hang on into winter.

The message out of Owatonna is simple: If you’re going to film zombies, you have to provide some details. Local filmmaker Hamid Torabpour went to the cty council for permission to shoot several scenes for his movie “Zombies” in and around Central Park on Saturday and Sunday. William Morris of the Owatonna People’s Press reports that Torabpour initially planned to bring 500 cast and crew downtown and block off five streets for the weekend. The filmmaker, however, couldn’t provide the city with adequate proof of insurance, especially regarding prop vehicles (he wasn’t sure how many cars would be used) and prop weapons (he planned to fire off about 20 blanks). After several meetings with Torabpour, the city council said he has to provide answers to their specific questions or shoot his zombie movie somewhere else.

Screenshots circulated across social media Monday showing Minnesota State University-Mankato’s website was taken over by hackers, but the university says it was just a gag created via screenshots and Photoshop and the website was secure, reports the Mankato Free Press. Apparently, the pranksters suggested MSU students "bond over bottles of subpar liquor and awful hangovers."

The last beef processing plant in southwestern Minnesota is closing. Windom’s PM Beef, with 262 employees, will stop operations on Dec. 11, reports Julie Buntjer of the Worthington Daily Globe. In addition to losing employee income, Windom City Administrator Steve Nasby said PM Beef accounted for 39 percent of the city’s wastewater revenues and 23 percent of its sewer revenues. While it paid $92,000 in 2013 property taxes, it was under a Tax Increment Financing district which rebated $80,000. In 2013, the processing plant accounted for approximately 4.6 percent of the city’s net tax capacity.

Former Minnesota Twins stalwart Al Newman is joining the coaching staff of the St. Cloud Rox, the team announced Monday. Mitchell Hansen of the St. Cloud Times writes that Newman will be joining Rox manager Augie Rodriguez and assistant coach Phil Imholte. Newman, 55, played for the Montreal Expos (1985-86), the Twins (1985-91, including the Twins’ 1987 and 1991 World Series Championship teams) and the Texas Rangers (1992). After retiring as a player, Newman managed the New Britain Rock Cats and was bench coach for the Salt Lake City Buzz. From 2002 to 2005, Newman was third base coach for the Twins. He most recently managed the Alexandria Blue Anchors in the Northwoods League from 2013 to 2015.

Success breeds success, unless there’s too much success, which then breeds failure. Or so goes the equation for the Rice County Fair, which had a fantastic year in 2014 in which it made a profit of $25,000. After years of financial losses, the windfall last year couldn’t be sustained, reports Kevin Krein of the Faribault Daily News. Rice County Fair Executive Director John Dvorak says that this year’s fair will break even or lose money by several thousand dollars. He said part of the reason for the deficit is that the fair reinvested in the grounds, including running a sewer line for the hand washing station by the petting zoo and new flooring in the bathrooms in the commercial building, and purchased several new computers.

Parents in Faribault are upset about lunch times at the middle school, reports Brittney Neset of the Daily News. Lunch at Faribault Middle School starts as early as 10 a.m. The school has six lunch periods, which requires students to eat as early as 10 a.m. or as late as 12:25 p.m. FMS Assistant Principal Angi McAndrews said the school used to have three lunch periods, but that meant 300 students were crammed into the lunchroom at one time, so they spread the lunch schedule out. Parents are angry: Karen Blackstad says her daughter would come home and “eat a whole meal after school,” said Blackstad. Athletes don’t like it either. Seventh-grade football player John Palmer says there’s no time between the end of school and the beginning of practice to eat. “We eat so early, and then we’re hungry for the rest of the day,” he said.

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The just-finished sugar beet harvest in the Red River Valley will be one of the largest ever. Mikkel Pates of the Fargo Forum writes that American Crystal Sugar Co. in Moorhead reports the beet yield is estimated at 27.7 tons per acre, which is greater than the record yield of 27.1 tons in the 2012 crop. This year's crop is based on 397,500 acres, although the final acreage won't be known until the end of harvest. So far, the crop has a healthy 17.8 percent sugar content, which is "almost exactly what we're targeting for the year," said Brian Ingulsrud, vice president for agriculture at Crystal.

A Fillmore County man was so ticked off at two kids who started to toilet-paper his house last month that he threatened to shoot them. At least that’s what the criminal complaint says, according to the Winona Daily News. According to the complaint, Ryan Hinze, 36, saw a teenage boy and girl throwing toilet paper in his yard in Spring Valley on Sept. 24. He told them to leave. They stopped about three houses down. Hinze came back outside with what the teens thought was a gun, and said “Who’s first?”, and the girl thought she heard Hinze cock the gun, according to the complaint. When asked by deputies if he had threatened to shoot the teens, Hinze said yes, according to the complaint.

A search warrant turned up more than 61 pounds of marijuana, firearms and cocaine at a Dennison residence and shed.Brad Phenow of the Faribault Daily News writes that Scott Allen Wells, 56, of Dennison, faces up to 30 years in prison. On a tip, the Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force went to Wells’ house in Dennison. Agents obtained a search warrant and found 61 pounds of marijuana in unprocessed plants and in baggies as well as a vial of white powder that field tested for cocaine. They also found a loaded Master Mag 410 rifle in the kitchen and two 12-gauge shotguns, a 16-gauge shotgun, a rifle and a .22 in the upstairs bedroom. They also found a methamphetamine smoking pipe and a pill bottle containing three tablets identified as acetaminophen and hydrocodone. Wells told police he rents the shed to people who store dried marijuana and that the only pot on the premises that was his was one pound. He added that the vial of cocaine was left at his house six years ago and the loaded gun in the kitchen was for “critters” and not for his protection. Bail was set at $10,000.

Zachary Daniel St. Claire, 16, of Moorhead, has been charged with killing the man he says has been molesting him for three to four years.Emily Welker of the Fargo Forum writes that Clay County prosecutors allege St. Claire planned to kill Brad Carrington, 55.  St. Claire told police that after he had been drinking with Carrington at the victim’ northside trailer Saturday, he hit and kicked Carrington in the head until he was dead, then fled to his mother's house, washed his clothes and threw his shoes in the river. Police are also searching for a second suspect, Anthony Lee Rodriguez.

A 117-year-old clock is closer to regaining its spot on top of Rochester’s downtown Fire Hall No. 1, writes Andrew Setterholm of the Rochester Post-Bulletin. “The Central Fire Station clock and bell was installed on the south side of Fourth Street and South Broadway Avenue in 1898. The Seth Thomas clock was a primary timepiece for the city, and the 1,200-pound bell sounded the alarm for firefighters. The clock and bell were most recently located in a tower outside the Mayo Civic Center. They were moved when an expansion project at the civic center began earlier this year.” Restoration will cost roughly $300,000 in public and private funds, spearheaded by the Rochester Area Foundation. A private donor has offered to match dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 in private gifts.

Chelsey Perkins at the Brained Dispatch reports that two men were arrested at a Breezy Point area hotel for soliciting prostitution. The operation was conducted Tuesday, Oct. 13, and involved a fictional advertisement for escort services in an online classified advertising website. This is the fourth sex trafficking operation conducted by area law enforcement in Crow Wing County since May, and the first outside of Baxter. The two men arrested in the latest sting join 14 others charged in the other three operations.

Joshua Marceau, a 31-year-old doctoral candidate in biomedical sciences, spoke to students at Leech Lake Tribal College and at Bemidji State University on Monday about the unique challenges of going from a tribal college to getting a PhD. Crystal Dey of the Bemidji Pioneer  wrote that organizers used the talk to launch the North Star STEM Alliance to supports minority students pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees and occupations. Marceau grew up on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana and got his high school diploma through a GED. He attended Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Mont., where he worked as a garbage man to pay his bills. He then left for Penn State, where he received his bachelor's degree in microbiology in 2009. He’s now attending the University of Montana in Missoula where he is working on his doctorate in biomedical sciences and researching filovirus (the Ebola virus), hantavirus and vesicular stomatitis virus for his final project. The historical smallpox assault on Native Americans is something he considers when working on a vaccine using vesicular stomatitis virus as a platform. He helped develop a Molecular Biology and Biophysics Research Lab at Salish Kootenai College, done field research in hot springs at Yellowstone National Park and has done work for NASA. He’s also an accomplished silversmith. 

Here’s a sentence that might freeze the blood of longtime Minnesotans: Hormel and its workers union are having trouble negotiating a contract. The Austin Daily Herald reports that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union voted down a proposed contract with Hormel Foods Corp. last week. Although there’s no official word on negotiations, the sticking points appear to be proposed scheduling changes, higher insurance deductibles and other health-care changes, The Daily Herald reports.            Minnesotans remember the bitter strike in 1985-86 that blasted apart the usually peaceful town and the usually cozy relationship between Hormel and its employees.

Speaking of employment, the Daily Herald reports that the unemployment rate in Mower County is at 2.6 percent. It’s the lowest level since October, 2000. The Minnesota Department of Economic Development said the state’s unemployment rate was at 3.8 percent in September while the national average was 5.1 percent. Austin’s unemployment rate was 2.9 percent. Freeborn and Dodge counties were at 3.1 percent, while Albert Lea’s was 3.2 percent. Steele County’s was 2.9 percent and Owatonna’s was 3.1 percent. Rochester and Olmsted County was at 2.6 percent.

Speaking of good economic news, Moorhead school officials say the time is perfect to build more schools.The Fargo/Moorhead Forum reports that low interest rates and Moorhead’s growth in property values means the school district’s $78.28 million bond referendum on Nov. 3 will have minimal effect on homeowners. School district business manager Brandon Lunak said property valuations are more than double the level in 2003, when a $64 million construction bond added $42 per month to the property tax for the owner of a $150,000 home. This time around, the proposed bond – which will be used to build a 750-student elementary school and an addition to Horizon Middle School — will add only $9 a month to the same property tax bill, Lunak said. Sweetening the deal even more, Lunak created his figures with no growth in property valuations despite the fact that property valuations grew 7.5 percent in 2014. Moorhead school enrollment is at 6,259, or 120 more than expected and the highest since the mid-1990s.

Speaking of too many people, the Post-Bulletin reports that the Rochester Salvation Army is trying to curb loitering at its benches outside its Community Center.The Salvation Army owns the five benches and the land surrounding them, and often a crowd of the homeless and hungry gather there waiting for the organization's free meals. However, Salvation Army Major Jim Frye said there is a subgroup of people who don’t use Salvation Army services but get involved with police with problems including public drinking, selling drugs and fighting. The Salvation Army has asked Rochester police to ask people using the benches but not there for Salvation Army business to move along. Ultimately, police could charge loiterers with trespassing, but both Frye and Police Chief Roger Peterson said that likely would not happen.

The exodus of baby boomers from the work force is creating problems at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, reports Anne Polta of the West Central Tribune. The number of employees honored last year for longevity was at an all-time high, said human resources director Joyce Elkjer. Eight employees have been with Rice for 30 years, 14 were employed with the organization for 35 years and three had been there for 40 years. The hospital also saw 35 employee retirements last year — a record number, Elkjer said. The average is 19 to 20 retirements a year. The hospital hired 161 new employees in 2014, which dropped the average employee age to below the mid-40s for the first time in many years, she said, although among the current workforce, there are 74 people who are 62 and older and 35 who are 65 and older.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has opened a public comment period Monday on proposed changes to the state’s water quality standards for protecting wild rice,the Associated Press reports.  “A 1973 state law limits discharges of sulfates to 10 milligrams per liter into waters that produce wild rice, which plays an important cultural and spiritual role in the life of Minnesota’s Ojibwe tribes. The law drew few objections until environmentalists noticed that it largely wasn’t being enforced a few years ago. The MPCA proposed changes in March that would take a site-by-site approach based on calculations about individual water bodies. …  Strong objections have already been made by tribes and environmentalists, who argue that preserving the old standard would provide better protection. Industry groups don’t like the new proposal either, saying the science behind it is flawed.”

Speaking of a flawed partnership, some citizens are working to do what school boards could not: consolidate the Wrenshall and Carlton school districts, reports Jana Peterson of the Duluth News Tribune. The citizens are working to put the question of consolidating the two rural schools to an election. Eight months ago, the Wrenshall board voted in favor of consolidation if they could keep their school. The Carlton board nixed the plan on a 3-3 vote, with three members determined to see South Terrace Elementary School become the district’s combined K-12 school. “Better Together!” has about 100 signatures on a petition to get the issue on the November, 2016, ballot. Mike Hoheisel, a school finance consultant who had previously advised both the Carlton and Wrenshall boards, said many details could be worked out before the vote. He said the newly consolidated school board could decide the new facility configuration along with what grades are placed at a given facility.

What do you do when you’ve grown a 1,400-pound pumpkin? Drop it on a van, of course.That’s what Charlie Bernstrom did with his 1,465-pound pumpkin in Lancaster, Minnesota. People came out hours before the big pumpkin-drop to get primo seating. The town raffled off the honor of pulling the cord to drop the pumpkin for $1 each with proceeds going to the Kittson County Literacy Council. The winner was 2-year-old Emmett Peterson, who was underwhelmed by his responsibility. The pumpkin was raised 80 feet in the air and then dropped on a wreck of a van, shattering the gourd. “It's kind of bittersweet,” said Bernstrom.

Lastly, Outdoor Nation said AnnMarie Backstroke of Faribault has tied in a contest to be named the most outdoor person in the nation,the Faribault Daily News reports. For six weeks starting Labor Day weekend, she posted five outdoor activities daily — one of five people in the U.S. who did so, Outdoor Nation said. Her activities included hiking, walking, birdwatching, geocaching, rowing, star gazing, biking, nature watching, camping, and trail maintenance. Although she tied for the honor, she was named the most outdoor person for the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University.

Bison herd doing well in new surroundings: Tim Krohn of the Mankato Free Press reports the 11 bison brought to Minneopa State Park one month ago are adapting well to their new surroundings, although park visitors aren’t adapting as well. Kathy Dummer, regional manager with the Department of Natural Resources, has put up copious reminders that visitors “can't get out of their vehicles inside the range, which some have done, and that they certainly can't get out of their vehicles with their dog, which has happened at least once. (Bison have an aversion to wolf-like looking animals),” Krohn writes. Dummer says as many as 120 vehicles per day come to the park to see the bison.

B&G Foods finishes acquisition of Green Giant and Le Sueur brands:Suzy Rook of the Le Sueur News-Herald reports that B&G Foods has completed the acquisition of the iconic Green Giant and Le Sueur brands from General Mills for $765 million in cash plus an inventory adjustment of approximately $58 million. Ramkumar Iyer of Reuters says the deal allows General Mills to shed two divisions that have seen slow growth as a result of the nation’s emphasis on fresh vegetables, while B&G gets an entrée into the frozen foods market. B&G plans to double Green Giant’s marketing budget. B&G sells Vermont Maid syrups, Pirate's Booty popcorn and Cream of Wheat breakfast porridge mixes, Iyer writes.

New RCTC official has a past:Jay Furst of the Rochester Post-Bulletin reports that Anthony Brown, “Rochester Community and Technical College's new interim vice president for student affairs, was at the center of a controversy two years ago that brought down a North Carolina state university chancellor and also led to his own resignation.” In 2013, when Brown was vice chancellor of student affairs at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, N.C., a student reported to campus police that a man had attempted to assault her three times in her dorm room over three months. When campus police appeared not to investigate, the woman went to city police. In their probe, police and the North Carolina Bureau of Criminal Investigation found campus police had failed to investigate or inform officials of about 125 criminal incidents, including more than a dozen sexual assault reports. The campus police chief resigned in May, 2013, followed by the university chancellor. In August, 2013, the interim chancellor announced Brown's retirement. Prior to coming to RCTC, Brown was interim vice president for student support services at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, N.C. RCTC President Leslie McClellon said she was aware of some of the Elizabeth City findings, but not all. “Some of these things are just not uncommon on college or university campuses when you're dealing with a large number of investigations. This isn't something that was of great concern," McClellon said.

Austin man’s death ruled a homicide:The Austin Daily Herald reports that Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi will investigate a body found in the Cedar River along Highway 105 Sunday as a homicide. The victim, David Allen Madison, 39, of rural Austin, was found at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, about halfway between County Road 4 and County Road 5 on the east side of Hwy 105, by three people heading to a fishing spot. He was 10 feet from shore in about 3 feet of water, fully clothed, and appears to have been in the water at least overnight, the newspaper reports. Deputies do not know if Madison was killed at the river or if he was placed there later, and they do not have any suspects.

Anhydrous ammonia leaks force evacuations, close I-90:The Austin Daily Herald also reports that homes were evacuated and Interstate 90 was shut down for several hours Monday night because of separate anhydrous ammonia leaks. “Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi confirmed two 1,000 gallon anhydrous ammonia tanks leaked from burst hoses — one while being towed by a farmer and the second about two miles away at a grain elevator on County Road 7 south of Elkton sometime before 5 p.m.” Law officials cordoned off a one-mile perimeter around Elkton and evacuated an unspecified number of homes. Winds then pushed the cloud toward I-90, forcing the closure until it could dissipate at about 9:30 p.m. Anhydrous ammonia is used in fertilizer and is toxic. Several firefighters and a deputy sustained minor injuries when the cloud unexpectedly changed direction. No other injuries were reported. Exposure to gaseous anhydrous ammonia can result in lung damage and death.

Deer hunt in Owatonna parks begins:William Morris of the Owatonna People’s Press reports that the city’s second annual archery deer hunt began Sunday and will last through Dec. 20. Hunters can use elevated stands at least 100 feet from park trails or amenities and at least 150 feet from inhabited structures in eight city parks. Officials ask hunters to report each deer they see so they can get an accurate count. Officials also remind park visitors to keep their dogs on a leash while the hunt continues.

Lake Superior water level drops:John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune reports that although the water level in Lake Superior dropped more than usual in October, it still remains above average, according to the International Lake Superior Board of Control. The water level dropped 3.5 inches in October, a month it usually drops one inch. The lake now sits 4 inches above its normal level for Nov. 1 but 5 inches below the level at this time last year.

No ethics violations found for Houston County planning committee chair:Craig Moorhead reports in the Winona Daily News that “the Houston County Board of Commissioners has absolved planning commission chairman Dan Griffin of ethical public policy violations alleged by a group of local citizens,” he wrote. Families Resisting Energy Extraction filed the complaint in September alleging a variety of ethical lapses. Griffin requested the open session to rebut each allegation. “Because I and the majority of the planning commission disagree with a group of individuals in this county regarding frac sand regulations, I have been subjected to a barrage of personal attacks in public hearings and in letters to newspapers. I’ve been accused of being corrupt, dishonest (and) wanting my own frac sand mine. I’ve had profanities yelled at me in the halls of the courthouse.”

TV personality offers $10,000 reward to find missing Redby woman: The Bemidji Pioneer reports that reality TV personality Duane “Dog” Chapman has offered a $10,000 reward in the case of a missing Redby woman. Rose Downwind, 31, was last seen in Bemidji on Oct. 21 wearing a blue sweater and black pants and may have gotten into a blue vehicle. She is described as a light-skinned American Indian, 5-foot-4 and 115 pounds with long, straight dark hair. Downwind is the granddaughter of Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement. Banks said Chapman, a bounty hunter best known for his television series “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” offered to put up $10,000 of his own money for any information leading to Downwind’s location and safe return. People can email findrosedownwind@gmail.com A Facebook page has been created — Help Find Rose Downwind — and anyone with information can call the Bemidji Police Department at 218-333-9111.

Students turn plow blades into works of art:Brittney Neset of the Northfield News reports that students at St. Dominic School have spent the last four years painting Northfield’s snow plow blades with replicas of traditional works of art and book illustrations. The idea came from Northfield streets and parks supervisor T.J. Heinricy after he saw another city doing the same. St. Dominic School art and technology teacher Kelly Lynn Stanton-Nutt, said students have painted 12 blades so far, “and if they had more plows, we’d do them. The kids love it.” Students in grades four, five, six and eight collaborate on the paintings.

Iconic bait shop for sale:Tom Cherveny of the West Central Tribune reports that Brad Foshaug is looking to sell Brad’s 71 Bait and Sports on Eagle Lake after 15 years. The shop on U.S. Highway 71, which opened “sometime around 1960,” Cherveny writes, “has been an iconic symbol of the Willmar area hunting and fishing tradition since it opened.” About a year ago, Foshaug, 59, was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer in his bone marrow. It’s so rare that doctors tell him he is probably one of only 10 in the country diagnosed with it. Doctors say he needs to pace himself and spend less time on his feet. “I’ve gotten better. I’m holding my own,’’ Foshaug said, but operating a business devoted to hunting and fishing takes a commitment. “I still enjoy coming to work. I love it. I still love it,’’ he said. “I’m going to miss the people so much,’’ he said. 

Time for a new verse, Mr. Lightfoot:John Myers at the Duluth News Tribune reports that “scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have confirmed the phenomenon of rogue waves on Lake Superior — waves double the size of others at the same time and which have been named as a potential cause of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Professor Chin Wu and research assistant Josh Anderson are studying rogue waves in the Apostle Islands area where they observed waves as high as 17.7 feet when the other waves at the time averaged only 8.9 feet.”

The uninitiated may think it stinks, but the initiated love it:Suzy Rook at the Waseca County News reports that, despite the fact that some turn up their noses at the delicacy, the 30^th anniversary of the North Waseca Lutheran Church’s Lutefisk Dinner was a sell-out success. The dinner included lutefisk, lefse, mashed potatoes with gravy, mixed vegetables, Swedish meatballs, cole slaw, beverages and Norwegian desserts. Jan and Lowell Wadd said at least 120 diners from over 20 cities outside Waseca attended, including patrons from Zumbrota, New Ulm and Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The haves live longer than the have-nots:John Lundy of the Duluth News Tribune reports that a new study shows “thousands of premature deaths could be avoided annually in Minnesota and Wisconsin if their healthiest counties were emulated statewide.” Of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s report the article says, “If all Minnesotans were as well off in terms of health as residents of the top 10 percent of Minnesota's counties, the report claims 122,000 fewer adults would smoke, 60,000 fewer adults would be obese, and 147,000 fewer adults would drink excessively. … 9 percent of traffic deaths involved alcohol in the best counties, compared with 60 percent in the worst. The average for the best U.S. counties is 14 percent.” 

David Madison told people that Michael Francis McIntosh wanted to harm him: Jenae Hackensmith and Jason Schoonover of the Austin Daily Herald report that newly released court documents show “tension between the men (stemming) from Madison sleeping with McIntosh’s girlfriend while McIntosh was in jail for prior charges. McIntosh, 37, was charged Monday with second-degree intentional murder in the killing of the 39-year-old Madison, whose body was found Nov. 1 in the Cedar River along Highway 105 south of Austin.”

The restocking (reflocking?) of chicken and turkey farms can commence:The Associated Press reports that “commercial chicken and turkey farms that were infected by the bird flu have been cleared to restock. ... No new cases have been reported since June 17, when the last Iowa farm said chickens were dying from the H5N2 virus. However, wild birds’ southern migration has been delayed by a warmer fall, so officials still need about a month to assure farmers there were no recurrences. … Turkey farms should be restocked by mid-December but egg farms will continue introducing new hens next year and into 2017, industry officials said.

Big gross nets small profit: Ashley Stewart of the Owatonna People’s Press reports that the 2015 Steele County Free Fair “saw a gross profit of $1,165,791, which is a 4 percent increase from 2014 and makes it the highest grossing year in the fair’s 97-year history. However, a decrease in several fair revenues and an increase in some expenses left the fair with a net profit of just $5,755. ‘We didn’t lose money. We didn’t make a lot of money, but with two and a half days of rain, I think we did OK,’ said Tim Arlt, Steele County Fair Board treasurer.”

It’s good to get a fresh tiger once in a while: Megan Carson of the Duluth News Tribune reports that the Lake Superior Zoo is sending off its Amur tiger, Ussuri. “He will be transported to the Riverside Discovery Center in Scottsbluff, Neb., to participate in a breeding program. There, he will be paired with Nika, an 11-year-old female tiger, to help further the species. In exchange for Ussuri, the Lake Superior Zoo will be giving a warm welcome to Lana, Nika's sister. Lana was born at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley in 2004 and transferred to Scottsbluff four years later. She is expected to arrive sometime next week.”

The saint of self-control Jim Morrison said it best: Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel: Sam Wilmes of the Albert Lea Tribune bears a warning from Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag – to avoid car-deer collisions, “Pay attention, don’t watch just the roadway. Watch the ditches as well. Be aware of the environment you are driving in.” Freitag says combines scare the deer out of the fields and into the road, and deer-car collisions “happen on an everyday basis this time of year.” If Jim Morrison were commenting on this issue, he might say that for deer “the future’s uncertain and the end is always near.”

Bears spotted near school in Thief River Falls: The Forum News Service reports that a mother bear and her cubs have been spotted near Challenger Elementary School in Thief River Falls. “Officers have not had to tangle with the bears, but children were held inside for recess as a precaution Wednesday, Police Chief Dick Wittenberg said. … Bear sightings around Thief River Falls are not unusual, with a number of reports coming in over the summer and fall, Wittenberg said. Bears are normally close to or are hibernating by this time of year, but the mild weather and presence of food has kept them active longer than usual.”

Tough decisions ahead for Solon Springs:Emily Kram of the Duluth News Tribune reports on attempts to keep the small school in Solon Springs viable. The 259-student school is a focal point for the community. “At sporting events, almost everyone in town can be spotted in the bleachers, (fourth-grade teacher Donna) Smith said. When students put on a production of ‘The Music Man’ recently, community members were not only in the audience but also on stage helping out. …  For the past decade the school district has watched its funding dwindle. The district’s expenses now exceed its revenue, and it will run out of money in 2019 unless action is taken. The Solon Springs School Board is discussing final details for a referendum to exceed the revenue cap, but it has yet to decide whether it will be on a recurring or nonrecurring basis.” The board is having listening sessions to decide on a course of action leading to an April 5 referendum.  

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A slight dip in taconite production looks to be brief.

John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune writes that the future of taconite is bright for the next couple of years. A slight dip in production looks to be brief. Bob Wagstrom, who tracks taconite production for the Minnesota Department of Revenue, said “most of the difference was spurred by a million-ton drop in production at Cliffs Natural Resources’ Northshore Mining, which idled two production lines for most of 2013 after losing a customer. Some of that loss was buffered by an increase at U.S. Steel’s Minntac plant in Mountain Iron, Wagstrom said, and by continued increasing production by Magnetation, which has several small plants that recover usable ore from old mine waste sites. Northshore officials already have announced that they will restart their idled lines in 2014, boosting production. And Wagstrom said that with continued incremental increases by Magnetation and Mesabi Nugget — the state’s first iron nugget plant near Hoyt Lakes — taxable production could total about 40 million tons in 2014, a level not seen since 2000.” The story adds: "If Essar and Magnetation produce in 2015 as expected, and other plants remain near capacity, it would put Minnesota production potentially above 47 million tons per year, a level not seen since 1981."

Two rural organizers say rural Minnesota needs to get organized, writes Kevin Sweeney of the New Ulm Journal. Brad Finstad, who runs the Center for Rural Policy and Development (CRPD), and Tom Horner, who runs Horner Strategies, gave a talk to the New Ulm Chamber of Commerce last week and said a study they commissioned found that as the Metro and larger regional cities grow, leaders take the issues of rural Minnesota less seriously. Finstad pointed out that rural Minnesota is “fractured by its own interests. Southern Minnesota corn and soybean farmers don't have many common interests with northern Minnesotans who depend on timber or mining for their livelihood. This weakens the voice of rural Minnesota even more. … Horner said discussions of what will happen with the state's billion-dollar surplus is another example. Repealing the sales tax on farm equipment repairs will have an immediate impact on rural Minnesota, he said, ‘but everything else is related to the metro area.’ There are plenty of things that could be fixed for rural Minnesota, he said,” including how property taxes are determined. Finstad said rural communities have to talk to each other. "When was the last time the soybean growers met with loggers? There are a lot of people hollering at the same time, but no one can hear what they're saying."

The Minnesota River Board voted last week to disband itself after 20 years of trying to clean up the Minnesota River, writes Tom Cherveny of the West Central Tribune. The Minnesota River Board was established in 1995 to coordinate basin-wide cleanup efforts between citizens, soil and water conservation districts, and non-governmental agencies. John Schueller, board chairman and a Redwood County commissioner, said they wanted to be like the Red River Basin Commission, which has taxing authority that allows it take on large-scale projects and leverage additional state and federal funds. But the Minnesota River Board has relied from its start on appropriations by the state and the membership dues of participating counties. Membership fell from 36 dues-paying members originally — 36 of the 37 counties contributed — to 18 today. State appropriations have ended. 

Amid all the talk about sexually abusive priests, this is where the rubber hits the road: Specific priests in specific parishes on specific dates. After the Diocese of Winona released the names of 14 priests accused of sexually abusing minors, Sarah Stultz of the Albert Lea Tribune was able to drill down to the four priests who served in that Southern Minnesota area: “two former Albert Lea priests, one who served in New Richland and another in Wells.… All four of the local priests served in the 1950s and ’60s. They are the following:

• “Thomas P. Adamson, now 80, who served a stint at St. Theodore Catholic Church in Albert Lea in the 1960s, faces a civil lawsuit in Ramsey County over allegations of sexual abuse. (He) served at the St. Theodore Catholic Church parish in 1967 and 1968, at which time he was also chaplain of Lea College, an institution of higher learning on the west side of Albert Lea that shut down in 1973. He was removed from the ministry in 1984 and lives in Rochester;

• “William D. Curtis served at the St. Theodore parish starting in August 1968, where he served until receiving a new assignment at St. Teresa in Mapleton in January 1976. (His) ministerial privileges were suspended in July 1990. He died in April 2001 at the age of 81;

• “Ferdinand L. Kaiser, ordained in 1937, served at the All Saints parish in New Richland starting Dec. 3, 1952, until he received a new assignment in April 1967 in Iosco. He voluntarily resigned in March 1968 and died in January 1973 at the age of 62;

• “Leland J. Smith, 86, served at the St. Casimir parish in Wells, which includes both a church and a school, starting in August 1960. After a three-year stint, he was reassigned to Avoca and Lake Wilson. His ministerial privileges were indefinitely suspended in 1994. Laicization, or the process of permanently removing his ministerial privileges, is pending. He resides in Winona.” 

The others on the Winona list are interesting as well. Stultz lists them in the same article.

St. Cloud’s first statue, a 1918 copper statue of President Lincoln, is in bad shape and has a lousy venue just outside of an apartment complex. The city hopes to fix that by hiring a statue refurbisher to buff up the Great Emancipator, and then move the statue closer to the Mississippi riverfront and a new set of trails, writes Kari Petrie of the St. Cloud Daily Times. The project will cost $30,000 and will be paid for with local option sales tax and possibly some money from grants. The sculpture was commissioned by Mayor Peter Seberger in 1916 and made by the W.H. Mullins Co. in 1918.  

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There is huge demand for welding skills in Southwestern Minnesota.

If it’s difficult finding a job, it’s also difficult finding employees with certain skills, writes Tom Cerveny of the West Central Tribune. “Welding is huge in terms of employer demand in this region, according to Carol Dombek with the Minnesota Work Force Center in Montevideo. … Dombek said one of the challenges facing manufacturing is that a lot of young people are just not aware of the opportunities available. … A case in point: Manufacturing firms report that machinist jobs are among the most difficult to fill. The Minnesota West Community and Technology College in Granite Falls discontinued its two-year machine tools program during the recession after consecutive years with low enrollment, according to Linda Degriselles, campus dean.”

Sure it’s cold, but so what? Up north, the sled dog race goes on, writes Andrew Krueger of the Duluth News Tribune. “It was 31 below zero with a wind chill of 63 below on Monday morning at the start of the final stage of the Gichigami Express Sled Dog Race near Grand Marais. ‘You’ve got dog teams running, and trucks not running,’ race director Beth Drost said after at least two teams’ trucks fell victim to diesel gelling in the cold, or other mechanical woes. ‘You can count on a dog team, but you can’t count on a truck.’ Buddy Streeper of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, won the race and the $6,500 top prize, leapfrogging teammate and early leader John Stewart on the final day to claim the title in the second annual event.”

Two priests in the Diocese of New Ulm are taking umbrage at the inclusion of their names on a list of sex offenders and they are suing The Vatican to have the names removed, writes Dan Nienaber of the Mankato Free Press. “Two men on a list naming 12 Diocese of New Ulm priests who have faced credible allegations of molesting children have filed court motions saying their names should be removed because the allegations against them are false. Both priests, one retired and one still working in the diocese, said their names are on the list because the diocese made a confidential cash payment to a person who accused them of sexually assaulting him or her in 1971. The allegations came to light in 1991 during a therapy session through ‘recovered memory,’ the motions said. The priests, who are only identified in their motions as Priest No. 1 and Former Priest No. 2, both said the allegations against them involve a ‘15 minute incident in a church basement.’ Both priests said the cash settlement was made without their knowledge or permission. They also said they have been told the diocese is considering releasing the list for image control and because similar lists have been released by other dioceses in the state. If their names are kept on the list, their reputations could be damaged for no reason, the motions said.”

A third body was discovered Monday, one day after a car carrying four people plunged into the Mississippi River in downtown Winona,writes Nathan Hansen of the Winona Daily News. “Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand said responders at about 3 p.m. recovered the body of Blake Overland, 28, of Stewartville, Minn., one of two men missing after Sunday’s crash. Work continued Monday throughout the day to look for the second, who Brand named as Andrew Kingsbury, 29, of La Crosse, Wis. … Mathew Patrick Erickson, 30, of Chatfield, Minn., was identified Monday morning as the passenger in the SUV that crashed into the river early Sunday morning after the driver failed to make the turn on Riverview Drive near Second and Huff streets. Both Erickson and the driver, Christina Lee Hauser, 36, of Winona were found seatbelted into the vehicle when responders pulled it from the river at about noon Sunday.”

Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz will be Rep. Tim Walz’s guest at the State of the Union speech, reports Al Strain of the Owatonna People Press. Traditionally, Walz likes to invite public servants or community leaders. Last year, St. Peter Superintendent Jeffrey Olson was invited after he was named the Minnesota Superintendent of the Year.

The problem is that those wings are just so tasty. Bemidji is cracking down on parking violators near a new Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, writes the Bemidji Pioneer. “Craig Gray, public works director, said the city has received ‘a number of complaints’ from residents of nearby 24th Street about restaurant patrons blocking driveways and mailboxes with vehicles. Residents have also complained of people using private driveways to turn around. … That poses a public safety hazard since emergency vehicles can’t get down the narrow street if cars are parked on both sides, Gray said. To solve the alleged parking problem, the city council voted unanimously at Monday night’s meeting to prohibit parking on the north side of 24th Street from Irvine Avenue to where the street ends.”

Up in Moorhead, a zealous TV reporter is in hot water after she put herself on the line for an exposé on how easy it is to get into school buildings, writes Archie Ingersoll of the Fargo Forum. Moorhead police have forwarded the case of a Valley News Live reporter, who entered three area elementary schools without permission last month, to county prosecutors to decide whether to file a criminal charge. On Dec. 11, reporter Mellaney Moore wore a hidden camera as she walked into schools in Moorhead, West Fargo and Fargo without checking in at the main offices. The story, meant to expose gaps in school security, led police in all three cities to investigate the reporter’s actions. By state law in Moorhead, a school visitor who fails to register at the office can face a misdemeanor charge. On Thursday, Moorhead police Sgt. Robert Matheson said detectives had sent their investigation report to the county attorney’s office.”

Brainerd Superintendent Steve Razidlo has accepted a three-year contract as superintendent at The American International School in Vienna, Austria, writes Jessica Larsen of the Brainerd Dispatch. Razidlo made the announcement at Monday’s school board meeting. His last day in Brainerd will be June 30. “I hoped if the day came to leave (Brainerd), that it would be for something that might be an exceptional opportunity,” Razidlo said. “This is that opportunity.” Razidlo has been with the Brainerd School District for 17 years, the last six as superintendent. 

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Bemidji is being proactive in narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students in Minnesota.

When it comes to narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students in Minnesota, Bemidji is being proactive, writes Bethany Wesley of the Bemidji Pioneer. The district is adding classes and staff to raise the achievement of American Indian, special-education and poor students."It's not acceptable to do nothing," said Jim Hess, superintendent of schools, at Monday's school board meeting. "We have to do something." MCA Test Prep and Applied Science classes will be added to the high school curriculum, one more MCA Prep courses will be added for each of the three grades at the middle school, and the equivalent of five and a half full-time math specialists will be added at elementary schools. The cost for the new instructional time and staff is expected to be between $160,000 and $287,000.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fargo-Moorhead residents may have a drinking problem. The metropolitan area ranks third in the nation for binge drinking.Cali Ownings of the Fargo Forum looks at the details: Recently released 2011 CDC data show the proportion of area women who said they had more than four drinks on one occasion and men who had five drinks is 28.2 percent – the third-highest binge-drinking rate among 200 other large and small metropolitan areas. Residents also reported some of the highest heavy-drinking rates – two or more drinks daily for men and one for women – at 9.6 percent. Here are the top five binge-drinking cities: Midland, Texas – 32.5 percent; Columbus, Neb. – 28.4; Fargo-Moorhead – 28.2; Missoula, Mont. – 26.9; and Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. – 26.4. Here are the top five areas with the highest heavy-drinking rates: Tallahassee, Fla. – 12.1 percent; Brookings, S.D. – 11.8; Missoula, Mont. – 10.4, Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii – 10.3, Ocean City, N.J. – 10.1. Fargo-Moorhead comes in at the bottom of the Top 10 tied Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. and Keene, N.H. with 9.6.

The Duluth News Tribune is reportinga possible homicide in Babbitt. Paul John Bulen, 55, of Mahtomedi, Minn., was found wounded at 37 Astor Road at 11:12 a.m. Monday. Babbitt Ambulance took him to Ely Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed by the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office in Hibbing. Babbitt Police and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office have arrested a 24-year-old male suspect from Babbitt. He is being held in the St. Louis County Jail in Virginia pending formal charges.

The Associated Press, via the Rochester Post Bulletin, is reporting that the Minnesota State Patrol is having trouble keeping their prowlers out of the shop. Four squad cars have been damaged recently thanks to motorists who have slid into patrol cars on shoulders. No troopers were injured. The first incident occurred Friday on Interstate 94 near the Wisconsin border, when a truck rear-ended an idled squad car. The others occurred in northern Olmsted County, Willow River and Maplewood. Last year, only 19 parked patrol squads were hit.

An Austin man knows where his priorities lie. Trey Mewes of the Austin Daily Herald reports that a 48-year-old Austin man allegedly stole $100 from the Wells Fargo Austin branch Saturday and using it to buy cigarettes. According to police, here’s how the caper went down: At about 1:15 p.m. Saturday, a man wearing a blue hat with a horseshoe symbol on it gave a teller a note saying to give him a $100 bill. The teller gave the suspect $100 and called police. Video security footage shows the suspect walking in to Freedom Gas Station at Oakland Avenue West and buying a pack of cigarettes with a $100 bill. Police found the suspect walking eastbound on Oakland Avenue at about 1:50 p.m. He was arrested and taken to Wells Fargo, where bank workers identified him as the robber. He is at the Mower County jail awaiting formal charges.

Firefighters earned their pay Sunday in Fergus Falls as they put out a lit cigarette,reports the Fergus Falls Journal. Staff at Riverview Heights apartments called the fire department Monday evening when they smelled smoke. Residents gathered in the community room in case they needed to evacuate the premises. Firefighters conducted an exhaustive search of the building and discovered a cigarette fell on expansion joint material on the sidewalk and the smoke was drifting into the building. They used a fire extinguisher to put out the smoldering cigarette.

Also in Fergus Falls, a man was involved in an auto accident Friday and faces potential DUI and vehicular homicide or injury charges. Although it is not a chargeable offense, the man also was not wearing any pants or underwear when he was involved in the accident, according to the Fergus Falls Journal. The 60-year-old Clitherall man was arrested Friday afternoon after police responded to a crash at 2 p.m. at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Tower Road. The occupants of the other vehicle, a 27-year-old woman and a 22-year-old woman, were taken to Lake Region Hospital for possible back and neck injuries. The first driver was taken to Lake Region Hospital, where a search warrant was obtained to collect a sample of the man’s blood. The suspect has two prior DWI convictions in the past 10 years. 

The Caboose restaurant and bar in Tracy hosted the first round of the Giant Jenga Tournament last Friday, writes Steve Browne of the Marshall Independent. The winners have a chance to win a trip for four to a Twins Game. Browne explains the game: “Jenga is a game played with 54 rectangular blocks. Players start with the blocks laid in courses of three, each course at right angles to the one below. Players take turns removing a block from a lower course at least two from the top using only one hand, and laying them at the top to make the tower taller. All without toppling the tower.” The event is staged by deejay Terry Nelson, who runs Jenga tournaments all over the state. "I'd been deejay-ing about 10 years and I was burned out on karaoke," Nelson said. "I brought this to Brian's Supper Club in Fulda and 48 people entered. Now every place I've been to they've rescheduled at least two more times." Caboose owner John Edwards agreed to organize a tournament to take place in five rounds. The next four rounds will be February 8, March 7, March 21, and March 29. First prize is four tickets to a Twins game. Second prize is $100. Third prize is a $50 gift certificate to The Caboose. "The nice thing about Jenga is, it's simple, it's fun, and nobody has any real advantage over anyone else," Nelson said.

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The sale was advertisted on Global Village's Facebook page.

Rachel Mock, the proprietor of Global Village in downtown Duluth, is horrified about all the fuss over her MLK Day sale. For the last four years, her shop has offered a 25 percent discount on all things black during Martin Luther King Jr. Day,writes Peter Passi of the Duluth News Tribune. But this year, when George Ellsworth came downtown with his 5-year-old daughter, Aina, to join in an MLK Day march, he was “incredulous” when saw the promotion. He took a photo and posted it on Facebook, where it was shared extensively Monday. He was more surprised when he saw an ad on the business’s own Facebook page: “Annual MLK Day BLACK SALE! He showed us that the struggle and lookin’ super fly can go hand in hand. We salute him with 25 percent off everything black, Monday, Jan. 20.” “It trivializes the legacy of Martin Luther King to praise him for looking ‘superfly,’” said Ellsworth, who is black. For her part, Mock says the store is well known for its progressive values and is horrified at the reaction. “I apologize to anyone we offended. I meant it as a celebration of Martin Luther King and a way to honor him because he was a positive black leader,” she said, adding that the store won’t offer the sale again.

The News Tribune also took a look at new statewide traffic statistics for 2013 and localized them for St. Louis County. The newspaper found that while road deaths and DUIs dropped across the state, deaths in the county skyrocketed. According to the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety, there were 375 traffic fatalities statewide in 2013, down from 395 in 2012. In 2004, there were 567 traffic deaths. St. Louis County, however, saw 19 traffic fatalities in 2013, up from 10 in 2012. Hennepin County led the pack with 39 fatalities, St. Louis was second, and Dakota County was third with 18. In addition, 23,800 arrests were made in 2013 for drunken driving, down from 28,418 in 2012. The newspaper notes that a large number of DWI arrests came in the final weeks of the year: From Nov. 27 to Dec. 31, there were 2,453 drunken-driving arrests.

A new survey that shows about 1 in 5 ninth-grade girls in Blue Earth County had significant thoughts about suicide last year, and the statistics are in line with results across the state, reports Amanda Dyslin of the Mankato Free Press. More statistics from the 2013 Minnesota Student Survey: 8 percent of ninth-grade girls in Blue Earth County and 5 percent of ninth-grade girls in Nicollet County who responded to the survey said they had actually attempted suicide in the last year. Across the state, 6 percent of ninth-grade girls said they'd attempted ending their lives. About 35 percent and 34 percent of Blue Earth County ninth-grade and 11th-grade girls, respectively, reported feeling “trapped, lonely, sad, blue, depressed or hopeless” about their future. In Nicollet County, the figures were 20 percent and 41 percent for ninth- and 11th-grade girls. “There's still work to be done,” said Sheri Sander-Silva, associate director of the YWCA. She said the survey results show the importance of developing girls' self-esteem. Sander-Silva also said many girls need more meaningful connections with trusted adult role models who are experienced and can help them navigate complex emotional issues.

When the New London-Spicer girls basketball team trounced Paynesville 59-42 Saturday, they handed coach Mike Dreier his 800th career victory, all at NLS, reports the West Central Tribune. Dreier, who grew up in Burnsville and is a Hamline graduate, became the head coach at NLS in 1978. His first win came on Dec. 12, 1978, when the Wildcats muscled a victory over Kimball 29-22. He took the Wildcats to their first state tournament in 1985, the first of 14 state appearances. NLS has reached the state championship game seven times and won Class AA titles in 1997 and 2002.“It’s been a blur how fast it’s gone,” Dreier said, adding that “as long the kids are still in it and I enjoy doing it” he will continue to coach.

David Little of the West Central Tribune writes of an odd experience in Dassel. A sealed chemical container ruptured at Spectralytics on Monday. There were no reported injuries. Little writes “Meeker County Sheriff Jeff Norlin said a Spectralytics chemical engineer was pouring used acids into a 55-gallon waste container when a reaction occurred, causing the sealed container to rupture. Spectralytics arranged for a private hazardous material company to remove the chemicals. There was no damage to the Spectralytics building or equipment. Spectralytics suspended shifts until the cleanup is completed.”

A private researcher has unearthed documents related to the US-Dakota War of 1862 that could shed light on what life was like in Central Minnesota during that time, say historians at the Brown County Historical Society. Kremena Spengler of the New Ulm Journal says that the researcher, who hasn’t been authorized to release her name, came across information about where in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., she might find property-loss statements that were filed just after the war. Using a small, private grant, she went to the National Archives and unearthed about half the depredation claims, which describe in detail the property losses sustained as result of the hostilities for the purpose of receiving federal compensation. About 2,900 approved claims were stored in the National Archives and while known to have been placed in the National Archives, had been missing since the 1880s. Brown County historians say the documents are a treasure of anthropological, ethnographic, architectural and other information. For example, the documents offered an architectural drawing by Julius Berndt of the first Turner Hall building, with a detailed description of the structure including materials, floor plans, and plans for a building addition, a fact never previously known. The claims include detailed descriptions of dwellings such as a house that belonged to brewer August Schell; its existence also unknown. The claims contain comprehensive descriptions of crops, farm animals, furnishings and personal property, painting a picture of lifestyles in that era. The BCHS museum has obtained a Legacy grant from the state to send Brown County historian Anne Earl and a volunteer to Washington, D.C., at the end of January to find and index the remaining boxes of documents. They hope this will lead to a larger grant to photograph, digitize and bring the relevant copies of records back to Brown County.

South Sudanese Christians from across the Midwest gathered Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Albert Lea to pray for the innocent and dying, writes Tim Engstrom of the Albert Lea Tribune. “The South Sudanese church prays for those who are innocent and dying that God will save them,” said the Rev. James Rut, head of the Nuer Christian Mission Network of North America. South Sudan has been independent from Sudan since 2011 and is in the grips of a civil war between President Salva Kiir of the Dinka Bahr el Ghazal tribe and Vice President Riek Machar of the Nuer tribe. The Nuer say the military is killing Nuer families and raiding their homes. Reports say at least 1,000 people have been killed and 800 injured. The South Sudanese gathering in Albert Lea mainly were from the Nuer tribe. About 125 attended Saturday morning’s service, and Rut said wintry weather kept more from arriving until the afternoon from as far away as the Twin Cities, Rochester, Des Moines, Omaha, Sioux Falls and parts of North Dakota, Rut said. 

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Liquor Hutch in Hutchinson, Minn.

Municipal liquor stores are keeping local communities well-stocked with both cash and booze.John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune localizes the Minnesota Auditor’s Office report on city-owned liquor operations. “Of the 207 city-owned operations statewide, 25 lost money in 2012. In the Northland, Winton (population 170, just outside Ely) saw the only loss, listed at $21,537. Annual sales ranged from as little as $92,000 in the small community of Canton to $15.2 million in suburban Lakeville. … Grand Marais showed a $274,635 profit from its off-sale liquor operations in 2012, with $200,000 of that going to help pay for city services and needs. Hinckley showed a $207,000 profit, Two Harbors $146,000. Cromwell saw a $58,000 profit, with $50,000 of that going into other city funds.”

Myers isolated how Cook handles profits from its muni: In past years they have banked profits and decided to use some of that money. “Cook saw a profit of $147,000 on its liquor store operation. But it transferred $591,000 out of its growing liquor store account to help pay for other city efforts in 2012. Theresa Martinson, Cook’s clerk, treasurer and administrator, said Cook had allowed its liquor fund to build up, and city leaders elected to use it in 2012 to help offset other projects, especially the city’s utility fund, which had drifted into the red. Cook, a city of 574 people about 25 miles north of Virginia, is struggling to keep municipal services up as population sags and costs increase, Martinson said. One of the few bright spots has been profits from the liquor store, located along the busy U.S. Highway 53 corridor for anglers, snowmobilers and tourists to Lake Vermilion and points north. ‘Cook survives because of the revenue we get off that liquor store,’ Martinson told the News Tribune. ‘On one hand, you don’t want to encourage a lot of drinking. But that (liquor) fund really helps keep us providing services without constantly raising taxes on our residents.’ ”

Speaking of localizing a larger issue, Matt Peterson of the Albert Lea Tribune took a look at the dearth of propane in southern Minnesota. “The shortage of propane in the Midwest has driven prices to astonishing record highs, and the price keeps climbing. A week ago, as the price neared $2 per gallon, there was cause for concern. However, when the price went well above $2, it was higher than some had ever seen. ‘I was at $2.54 this morning, which is an ungodly price,’ said Randy Stephenson, manager of Dexter Elevator in Dexter. Later that day, the price had risen again, to $2.79. Wednesday, it reached $3.98. Thursday: past $4. Friday: $5.09.… Steve Jones, who delivers propane for Dexter Elevator, said customers don’t have much for options. It’s either get propane, or freeze. 

Meanwhile, Nathan Hansen of the Winona Daily News took the long view. In addition to offering information about energy assistance, Minnesota Propane Association Executive Director Roger Leider gave him an overview of why the shortage has occurred: “Supplies have been low since spring, as a cold and wet start to the year kept drawing on reserves. And additional demand spikes, from this fall's crop-drying season to the abnormally cold winter, have kept those reserves from building up, as has the closure of a major pipeline that supplies propane to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa from Nov. 28 to Dec. 18.  

Down in Worthington, Julie Buntjer of the Worthington Daily Globe sought out tips on how to care for animals in the cold. Calves at the Christy Enterprises dairy farm south of Worthington are wearing Thinsulate coatssnapped around the calf’s chest, stomach and legs, and are adjustable so, as the calf grows, the coat can be loosened. DiDi Christopherson said the dairy has “added extra bedding and extra feedings to keep their energy levels up. We had 50-below windchill and they’d jump up and run outside to eat.” Sara Barber, a large animal veterinarian at the Veterinary Medical Center in Worthington, said she hasn’t seen many sick animals – yet.

As far as small-animal care, Buntjer talked to Sara Hooge, a vet at the Veterinary Medical Center in Worthington. She said “the biggest issue with pets this winter has been foot pad dryness or damage in dogs that spend either part or all of their time outdoors. Salt sprinkled on sidewalks and scattered on streets can also compromise a pet’s feet. ‘Most dogs that are out regularly will gradually get used to the colder temperatures. But if they’re not used to the cold weather they will be more susceptible to hypothermia and foot pad damage. … If you put a chihuahua out with below zero temperatures, it would not do well. But a husky used to being outside might be playing happily,” Hooge said. … She also encourages pet owners to provide their animals with good quality feed (fat, protein and carbohydrate content) and plenty of fresh water.”

St. Cloud police are generally happy with the year-end data on calls for 2013, writes David Unze of the St. Cloud Daily Times. However, there was a spike in suicide calls. “Calls for someone threatening to kill themselves rose to 508, up from 443 in 2012 and 373 in 2011.‘That one jumps out at me,’ said Police Chief Blair Anderson … ‘When I read my logs, several times a week we are placing people on 72-hour holds or taking calls of suicidal people threatening to harm themselves.” Unze writes, “Medical emergency calls to police continue to decline. Police responded to 759 such calls in 2013, down from 863 a year earlier and 1,024 in 2011. That drop is because firefighters are responding to more medical calls, Anderson said. Calls reporting sexual assaults fell from 131 in 2012 to 105 last year. Calls reporting shoplifting rose significantly, from 358 a year ago to 602 in 2013.”

The Bemidji Pioneer compiled a list of who’s going to the State of the Union speech as guests of Minnesota’s Congressional delegation. Rep. Rick Nolan has invited Carri Jones, chairwoman of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. In an unusual move, Rep. Collin Peterson gave his guest spot to Nolan, who will also be taking Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. “Sen. Al Franken will host Erick Ajax, vice president and co-owner of E.J. Ajax and Sons, a Minneapolis-based metal-stamping company. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s guest is Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. John Noseworthy," says the article, which includes several other guests of the delegation.  

About 800 students competed in last weekend’s Schwan Speech Spectacular in Marshall. They represented 34 schools from five states, writes Karin Elton of the Marshall Independent. Students such as Becca Klein, a junior at Marshall High, compete to gain self-confidence. She is performing a dramatic duo titled "Criminal Hearts" with her friend, Jessica Blanchard, who is participating for the third year. Blanchard said speech helps build confidence. "It's a lot easier to get up to talk in class,” she said. The young women were not enthralled with the high heels they needed to wear during the competition. "My feet are numb," Klein said. "I could never wear these full time."

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Sex-abuse victims and their lawyers said St. John’s Abbey and the Diocese of St. Cloud aren’t doing enough to protect victims.

Mark Sommerhauser at the St. Cloud Daily Times attended a press conference Monday where sex-abuse victims and their lawyers said St. John’s Abbey and the Diocese of St. Cloud aren’t doing enough to protect victims. The abbey, which shares the campus with St. John’s Preparatory School, houses 14 “credibly accused” sex-abuse offenders. “They disputed recent claims by St. Cloud Bishop Donald Kettler and St. John’s Abbott John Klassen, including their recent assertion that they’ve disclosed all known names of clergy members with credible accusations of abuse,” Sommerhauser wrote. They also said there should be public scrutiny of safety plans for alleged offenders. Peggy LaDue, the executive director of the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center, said she’d like to review the experts and sources used to develop those plans. For its part, the abbey released a statement saying it is confident it has named everyone with credible accusations of abusing minors and that its safety plans are effective.

Hormel is salivating over the Chinese market, reports the Albert Lea Tribune. “With another record year, another increase in annual stock dividends and a rosy forecast for 2014, Hormel Foods Corp. took the stage to showcase its growth during the company’s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday. [Hormel President and CEO Jeff] Ettinger said the company plans to continue leveraging brands such as Skippy and Spam in its push into the Asia market, particularly in China, along with strong growth potential in the United States. The company grew its international sales by 38 percent from 2012 to 2013, and Ettinger said he expected international sales to continue to grow at a faster rate than the rest of the company. Hormel recently opened a production plant in Weifang, China, and highlighted its international line’s 13 percent sales growth over the past five years.”

Special Olympians found something special in Hallett’s Pond near St. Peter Saturday: $120,000, reports the Mankato Free Press. “About 700 people took a dip in Hallett's Pond Saturday and raised about $120,000 for Minnesota Special Olympics. St. Peter's Chamber of Commerce office Monday announced the results of the 2014 Polar Bear Plunge. ... Outside temperatures in St. Peter hovered at around 20 degrees Saturday.”

Travelers now in the St. Cloud area have another option to get to Chicago O’Hare Airport.The Daily Times is reporting that daily air service will return to the St. Cloud Regional Airport after an absence of more than four years. “Beginning on May 6, twice-daily United flights to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport will be provided by SkyWest Airlines. The planes servicing St. Cloud will be 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet 200 aircraft. The trips to Chicago can link Central Minnesota travelers with connection opportunities to 127 domestic and 37 international destinations on a total of 567 flights.”

The Duluth News Tribune reported an unfortunate story: “The body of Andrew Christopher Kanian, 41, was reportedly found under a porch Monday afternoon, Virginia Police Department reported Tuesday. … Police said they do not believe foul play was involved. ‘Our investigation of the case revealed that Mr. Kanian was intoxicated on the evening of January 2, and it appeared that he crawled under the porch area, fell asleep and froze,’ police said in a statement."

In an ironic twist of events, Jeffrey Jackson of the Blooming Prairie Leader reports that “special events tied to Blooming Prairie High School’s celebration of Snow Week — that quintessential winter celebration for schools in the Upper Midwest — were postponed, and in some cases canceled, last week when, of all things, winter weather got in the way. ‘We usually do (the coronation of Snow Week king and queen) on Mondays,’ said Mary Worke, the school counselor. But then the bone-chilling temperatures of last Monday caused the cancellation of classes that day.” Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s temperatures were just as bad, so the school decided to move events to the weekend and the following week. On Saturday, Cole Kubicek and Russia Smith were crowned king and queen at the Snow Week dance in the high school gym. Pajama Day followed on Monday, Formal Day on Tuesday, Hat Day on Wednesday, Ugly Sweater Day on Thursday and Spirit Day and the Pep Fest on Friday. 

The Albert Lea Tribune asked several farmers about the new five-year farm bill signed into law on Friday. “ ‘Anything is better than nothing,’ said Jim O’Connor of Blooming Prairie.‘The fact they actually got something that they could agree on and get it passed, that is positive.’ … (The bill ends direct payments to farmers and focuses on crop insurance instead). Ric Murphy, who farms near Lyle, agrees with an end to direct payments, ‘which was long overdue,’ he said. … ‘Farming is a long-term business. You can’t just live from day to day or month to month. You have to a plan in line, and a future, to survive’ ”

Lyle-Pacelli lies in the Austin Daily Herald’s circulation area, so it covered the girls’ basketball win against Spring Grove as simply a win against a tough opponent. How tough? Here’s the second-to-last line in the story: “The (Spring Grove) Lions had won their previous 87 games in the (Southeast Conference).” Sounds like the Lions fell apart in the second half. “The Athletics trailed 39-30 early in the second half when they put on a 24-1 run to take the game over. … The win puts LP (19-0 overall, 15-0 SEC) a full game ahead of the Lions with just three conference games left on the Athletics’ schedule.”

So Chuck Hendrickson is a new member of the Moorhead City Council. Erik Burgess of the Fargo Forum reports that Hendrickson shared a note on his Facebook page from a group called “Liberals Unite,” which called “the Republican Party a cult aiming to ‘brainwash ignorant people with misinformation.’ … (The post) said the Republican Party has ‘betrayed’ the Constitution, ‘hurt U.S. citizens,’ that they use ‘bullying tactics like dictators,’ and that ‘like a cult, they brainwash ignorant people with misinformation with the help of fake religious leaders and their fake news station Fox News.’ … ‘Was it appropriate? Probably not. I shouldn’t have shared it,’ Hendrickson said. ‘But, it just gets a good conversation about how the federal government is dysfunctional right now, and we just talk about it.’ Mari Dailey, a newly elected council member in the 1st Ward, commented on the post with one word: ‘Amen!’ That didn’t sit too well with Councilman Mike Hulett. Hulett wrote an email Monday morning to Council Members Nancy Otto, Brenda Elmer, Jim Haney and former Mayor Morrie Lanning, a Republican who represented Moorhead in the Legislature for 10 years. ‘I cannot tell you the degree to which I am outraged by this!’ Hulett wrote. He then cited Dailey’s comment and added ‘Are you kidding me?’ … Dailey agreed with Hendrickson, saying the post was meant to start a dialogue and that she sees a ‘definite separation’ between national politics and local government. … Dailey said she believed council members ‘running to The Forum tattling’ about a Facebook post was more polarizing than the post itself.”

Mankato is seeing the greatest increase in home sales in the state, writes Tim Krohn of the Mankato Free Press. Here are some Mankato stats: “There were 1,850 existing homes sold in 2013, compared to 1,670 the year before. That nearly 11 percent increase was far ahead of the 4.6 percent growth seen statewide and outpaced all other regions, such as the Rochester area, which saw a 4.7 percent increase, and the Twin Cities, which had a nearly 9 percent increase. The median selling price, which is the midway point of all houses sold, rose nearly 8 percent in 2013 to $132,500. The average number of days a home was on the market before selling dropped from 156 in 2012 to 142 days in 2013.”

But in the 10-county area covered by the Realtors Association of Southern Minnesota, real estate didn’t fare so well.“Deb Richmond-Johnson, president of the association, noted that in her area of Lake Crystal, and in many other smaller towns, sales were down in 2013,” Krohn writes. … “She said there remains a shortage of homes for sale valued at $100,000 to $150,000. ‘It's almost nonexistent right now. They're either lower than that or in the upper $200,000 or above.’ "

A beef about sand, salt and road time caused a meeting of the Walcott Township Board to become overheated Monday, writes Criseta Boarini of the Faribault Daily News. At issue is the contract the board signed last year with R & R Anderson for snow removal. At Monday’s meeting, "the three-man board laid down a policy to mitigate high costs of snow removal — but not without taking a lot of flak from the residents in attendance." Some attendees said the roads used to be safer. "Supervisor Dave Spitzack said, in his experience, the roads are currently well maintained and the people he has seen in unsafe situations had been driving too fast. ‘You don’t represent everyone in the township,’ Spitzack said to the audience. The township’s clerk, Benet Freund, who has remained neutral on the whole snow-removal debate, piped in with the final word on the issue. ‘You want to see a change? Run for office,’ Freund said.”

To make up for lost school days due to cold and snowy weather, Willmar Public Schools will be adding minutes to each school day, writes Linda Vanderwerf of the West Central Tribune. “Schools were closed Jan. 6, 7, 16, 23, 27 and 30 because of dangerous wind chills, ice and blowing snow. The district’s calendar included enough flexibility to make up three of the days by holding school on what would have been days off. Superintendent Jerry Kjergaard told the board that he had never asked a board to extend the school day because of snow days, but he’s also never had six snow days in one month before. Kjergaard said he knows that the longer days are not an ideal solution. ‘It’s the best I could come up with beyond losing spring break,’ he said. … Students in grades 6-12 will have 10 minutes added at the beginning of the day and 5 minutes added at the end of the day. Students in grades K-5 will have 10 minutes at the end of their day.”

The Taco John's in Fergus Falls is certifiably one of the best in the nation, writes Chris Reinoos of the Fergus Falls Journal. Last year, Taco John's began naming stores as “Nationally Certified Restaurants,” where new licensees can observe operations and see the proper “Taco John's” way to run a business. “In December, the Fergus Falls Taco John’s, owned and operated by Brian Fuder, became the first location in the country to receive the certification. Taco John’s has been in Fuder’s family for almost his entire life. His parents bought the Fergus Falls restaurant in 1985, and Fuder started working there in 1989 as a 12-year-old."

Anyone over a certain age remembers the “agony of defeat” guy on the introduction to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. He was the ski jumper who wiped out spectacularly at the bottom of a giant jump. While the wipe-outs weren’t in the same galaxy as that colossal face-plant, Kelly Humphrey and Denton Newman Jr. of the Brainerd Dispatch did a nice job of photographing the Ironton Winter Bar-Stool Races. Here’s how they described it: “Each racing bar stool, hand-crafted to exacting specifications, each athlete finally tuned to superb racing competitiveness — willing to risk it all for their chance to experience the thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat! The human drama of athletic competition featured in a charity event to raise money for the Sno-Serpent Snowmobile Club.” They have 167 photos to share.

There’s some mystery about the involuntary administrative leave pending an internal investigation into actions taken by Blue Earth police officer Todd Purvis, writes Josh Moniz in the Mankato Free Press. While Blue Earth is looking into misconduct allegations, a separate criminal complaint has been dropped without any charges filed. Cottonwood County Attorney Nick Anderson confirmed that no charges will be filed against Purvis, but declined to provide any details. Blue Earth City Administrator Kathy Bailey confirmed that the incident in the criminal complaint occurred while Purvis was off duty and outside of the city's jurisdiction. The complaint, provided after a public data request by The Free Press, says Purvis allegedly violated three portions of the police department's policy but didn’t specify which was the focus of the investigation. Moniz lists the alleged violations: “First, Purvis is accused of violating department policy regarding ‘sexual harassment via verbal or other physical conduct or communication of sexual nature with a minor on more than one occasion over the last year.’ Second, Purvis is accused of violating policy by ‘engaging in conduct constituting lewd behavior or indecent exposure on more than one occasion over the last year’ while off duty. Finally, Purvis is accused of misusing his personal cell for personal use during work hours in an ‘inappropriate and unnecessary amount’ that violates the city's cellphone use policy.’ ”

Up in Bemidji, the Axemen made their first appearance in the Indoor Football League, reports the Bemidji Pioneer.  The evening started with a traditional Native American drum ceremony. Then the Bemidji Axe Dancers arrived on the back of motorcycles wearing plaid flannel, easily removable shirts — shed while dancing to loud music with inflatable axe props. “The Axemen themselves ran onto the field through a giant helmet (borrowed from the Bemidji High School football team) ... . Bemidji Mayor Rita Albrecht, IFL dignitaries, and notable Bemidji businesspeople performed the opening coin toss.” In typical IFL fashion, the Axemen scored a touchdown in the game’s first minute. Bemidjites had to get used to their proximity to the play: “One missed bullet pass sent a geyser of beer belonging to one unlucky fan shooting into the air, spraying him and his seatmates. Footballs went into the stands multiple times, but fans tossed them back like good sports. … ” Interestingly enough, the story never gave the final score between Bemidji and Cedar Rapids. I think in the IFL, it really doesn’t matter.

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Newspapers across the state are noting a particularly harsh Minnesota winter.

Stuck with making small talk on the street or in the café? Newspapers across the state are giving you ammunition for that old small-talk standby, the weather.

Mark Fischnich of the Mankato Free Press offers these Mankato-centric statistics: “Since Dec. 1, 68 percent of days have been colder than average. What marks this winter, however, is the number of days it's been way colder than normal. Starting before Thanksgiving, every week but one has brought at least one day where the average temperature was between 13 and 29 degrees below normal for that date in Mankato, according to National Weather Service data. It's been at least 15 degrees colder than it's supposed to be 27 days this winter, compared to just five times in the winter of 2012-2013. ... Mankato has dropped to double-digits below zero 16 times so far this winter, bottoming out at -20 on Jan. 6.”

 Up in St. Cloud, the Daily Times pooled its reporters to produce a weather stat story of its own. “Monday’s snow brought the total since Dec. 1 to 42.4 inches compared with the normal 21.9 inches for St. Cloud.” Monday’s snowfall set a new record for the date. “The National Weather Service reported a total of 4.3 inches based on readings at St. Cloud Regional Airport. The previous record of 3.2 inches was set in 1972. … The fresh layer meant Jeff Richard was back out plowing parking lots again for Division Street businesses. ‘Good for the pocketbook, bad for the psyche,’ he said.”

Farther north, up in Duluth, the News Tribune was reporting on the Monday storm as well. “After a low-snow January and first 12 days of February, Duluth has seen about 15 inches of snow in the past six days.… (Monday’s) weather system left a swath of 2 to 7 inches of snow across much of the region, with the highest amounts on the hills along Lake Superior’s North Shore, according to the National Weather Service in Duluth. … Authorities responded to a series of spinouts, rollovers and accidents across the region for much of the day. Roads remained in poor driving conditions into the evening in many areas, with a glaze of ice even where plows had ventured, and ruts and deep snow where they hadn’t.

And way down south in Albert Lea, Tim Engstrom of the Albert Lea Tribune offered a plaintive plea for winter respite. “After two snowstorms in three days, couldn’t the National Weather Service issue a nice weather warning? Or at least give Freeborn County a day off from warnings and advisories? Nope. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch to be in effect from 6 a.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday. … The possible blizzard is expected to bring heavy snow, sleet and strong winds Thursday and into the evening. Totals by Friday morning could range from 6 to 10 inches in some areas. Northwest winds are forecast to increase to 25 to 35 mph with gusts of 40 mph Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. Whiteout conditions are expected to make travel dangerous.” Yep, sounds like a regular trip on I-90.

You go to a place named Whiskey Bones Roadhouse and you’re surprised something like this happens? Kay Fate at the Rochester Post Bulletin reports that “one man was arrested after a brawl broke out between two families early Sunday at a Rochester bar. Police responded about 1:40 a.m. to Whiskey Bones Roadhouse, 3820 U.S. 63, where they found what Lt. Casey Moilanen referred to as a ‘brawl.’ He said two men got into a pushing match, which turned into at least three people being hit over the head with beer bottles. A bouncer trying to break up the fight was hit in the face with a bar stool, the report says. Though he declined medical treatment at the scene, Moilanen said at least one other person was taken to the hospital by private vehicle. Juan Gasca-Gasca, 28, of St. Charles, faces one count each of second-degree assault and second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon, both felonies, as well as one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. More arrests may be made, pending results of the ongoing investigation, Moilanen said.” Another round, barkeep!

Dan Linehan of the Mankato Free Press saysNorth Mankato is considering a ban on e-cigarettes.“Following Mankato’s move to treat electronic cigarettes like the smoldering sort, the North Mankato City Council will hold a public hearing on similar ordinances. The council will consider two ordinances; one to regulate the sale of e-cigarettes and another to govern their use in indoor public places, City Attorney Michael Kennedy said. Like Mankato’s ordinance, this one defines a new term — called ‘electronic delivery device’ in this case — and prohibits it in the same places tobacco cigarettes are banned. According to the proposed ordinance, ‘E-cigarettes produce a vapor of undetermined and potentially harmful substances, which may appear similar to smoke emitted by traditional tobacco products.’ … " 

And in Duluth, educators are pleased with the way students are responding to methods to close the achievement gap, writes Jana Hollingsworth of the News Tribune. “The Duluth school district met only a few of its 2013 state achievement gap targets, but district officials aren’t worried. The Minnesota Department of Education released new data last week that shows fewer than half of the state’s districts and charter schools are on track to meet the goal of closing gaps for reading and math by 50 percent by 2017. The achievement gap is the disparity between nonwhite and white students and those enrolled in special education programs or who come from low-income families and those who aren’t, or who speak limited English and those who don’t. Each year districts have new targets to meet for each subgroup as a part of the state’s new accountability system since it was granted a waiver from No Child Left Behind mandates. … Some of the groups, such as those in special education programs and low-income students, were just shy of meeting reading targets. American Indian students were close to meeting their math goal and did meet their reading goal. Hispanic and Asian students exceeded both targets. Black students were close to their reading goal but were 14 points from their math goal. White students were also short of both targets. … The kind of work being done in Duluth classrooms to narrow achievement disparities varies. Some students need extended class time, and get bigger chunks of math or reading; they spend more time in smaller classrooms learning things they should have already picked up, and getting extra attention from teachers.” 

The Hormel Company continues to make the most of its new plant in Dubuque. Earlier this week, it announced that Spam, the iconic spiced “luncheon meat,” won’t be made in Austin anymore, but moved to Dubuque where the plant's greater capacity can handle a greater worldwide demand for the product. Besides the plant in Austin, Hormel produces Spam in Fremont, Neb., and at facilities in Europe and South Korea.” The move is the second major decision made recently by Hormel. In January, the firm announced it was cutting work for 75 people at a Tony Downs plant in St. James, Minn., and moving that work producing Hormel Bacon Bits to its own facility in Dubuque. The Dubuque plant opened in 2010 ... . Hormel declined to comment whether this will affect the amount of production work in Austin." 

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Lake Superior dropped from a high of an estimated 94 percent ice cover at mid-month to just 77.5 percent on Monday.

Ice cover on the Great Lakes is dropping, reports John Myers of the Duluth News Tribune. “The lakes, combined, are now only an estimated 62 percent ice-covered, and you’d get wet trying to walk across any of them. That’s down from a high of 88 percent estimated ice cover on Feb. 13. Lake Superior dropped from a high of an estimated 94 percent ice cover at mid-month to just 77.5 percent on Monday, according to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. … There has been ample speculation that Superior would reach virtual freeze-over this year for the first time since 1996 and one of the few times in recent memory. But that hasn’t happened yet.”

Chalk up another victory for Kevlar. The Fargo Forum reports that the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office “received a call about [a suspicious vehicle] at 9:17 p.m. Monday. A deputy responded and made contact with the two people inside the vehicle near Alexandria. One of the occupants fired a gun at the deputy, striking him in the chest, according to the sheriff's office. The deputy returned fire and the suspects drove away. The vehicle traveled only a short distance before it got stuck in the snow and the occupants fled on foot. After an extensive search of the area, the two suspects were located in deep snow near an outbuilding. They were both dead. A firearm was found near their bodies. The cause and manner of death for the suspects will be determined by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. The deputy was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and was treated and released at the Douglas County Hospital.”

Last week’s storm was nasty for a lot of people, especially those in Southern Minnesota. The Albert Lea Tribune reports that 126 vehicles went off the road in Mower and Freeborn counties alone.“There were also 15 crashes with damage to vehicles during that time. As of Saturday afternoon, state troopers had responded to nearly 1,000 crashes across the state, plus another 2,300 vehicles that spun out or ran off the road. The storm dropped about 7 inches in Albert Lea Thursday and early Friday.”

Buried deep in a weather story in the Owatonna People’s Press are these tidbits on drought and flooding: “Owatonna received six inches of snow from the blizzard. That total equaled 0.69 inches of water, which may help with the already improved drought conditions across the area. ‘It’s kind of a tricky one with drought, because the ground is frozen, so a lot of what is on the ground is going to run off. It’ll benefits wetlands, rivers and lakes but it might not benefit soil that much,’ said Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist with the Minnesota Climatology Working Group. … Lots of snow could mean lots of water entering area waterways when it melts in the spring. Johnson said that at this point, he’s not worried about flooding taking place when the snow melts. “Preliminarily, we don’t see any problems with this ... Right now I’m not concerned. Hopefully when we go through it and the snow melts, it will be over a longer period of time. That gives that buffer to us and our waterways.”

Dan Linehan of the Mankato Free Press outlines how his city gets rid of snow quickly and efficiently by using an army of farmers and sweet corn trucks. Late at night when all are snug in their beds, Jason Schroepfer and about a dozen farmers “haul the rough equivalent of perhaps five Olympic-sized pools off to a farm field on the north edge of town. The operation costs about $10,000 a night, but it’s essential if downtown sidewalks are to remain usable…. The operation starts when the snow is plowed into rows in the middle of the street. Then, a massive snowblower loads the trucks. An individual truck (about 10 are used) can be filled quickly, in only a few minutes, but will make about 40 or 50 trips a night… The snow ends up in a giant pile near Industrial Road, next to a BMX track. The works begins around midnight, when traffic is sparse, and wraps up before 7 a.m. It’s limited to the downtown area — between Madison Avenue and Liberty Street and Riverfront Drive to Broad Street.”

Don’t you dare think you are in the clear yet. There’s plenty more winter on the way. The good folks at the West Central Tribune in Willmar say the “National Weather Service has issued wind chill advisories for all of Minnesota and Wisconsin, most of Iowa and North Dakota and portions of Illinois and South Dakota. The first advisory was issued last night and continues until 10 a.m. this morning and the second advisory is from 9 p.m. tonight to 11 a.m. Wednesday. … Forecasters expected wind chills from 25 to 35 below late tonight into Wednesday morning. The winds will also create blowing and drifting snow and poor visibility across much of southern and central Minnesota, including some whiteout conditions. … Wednesday will be sunny and 18 degrees, but with west southwest winds from 25 to 30 mph, gusts to 40 mph, keeping wind chills around 34 below. The high temperatures for Thursday, Friday and Saturday range from 2 above to 3 below zero, with low temperatures around 16 below zero. There is a 20 percent chance of snow from Saturday through Monday.

Trey Mewis of the Austin Daily Herald gets to cover a little breaking news as he wrote about a “standoff at Park Place Commons apartments that lasted more than 13 hours. Steven Fritz was taken to the Mower County jail on an Olmsted County warrant, according to Police Chief Brian Krueger. Krueger said police were called to an apartment unit ... at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night on a call Fritz may pose a danger to himself and others. Police were told Fritz also may have a gun. … Officers entered Fritz’s apartment and took him into custody without incident at 9:48 a.m.”

A former Hermantown School Board member is suspected of stealing more than $20,000 in diamonds and cash, writes Jason B. Johnson of the Duluth News Tribune. “Stephanie Hamell, who resigned her position on the board last month, is accused of taking $16,500 in jewelry and $5,000 in cash and has admitted to the theft. Investigators interviewed her in December and formally charged her on Feb. 14, police said. … The incident began in January 2013, when a friend of Hamell asked her to hang onto some cash and jewelry for her. The jewelry was a wedding set consisting of five diamonds in two rings. Sometime last April and May, the victim, whose name was not released, began asking for the items back, said Hermantown Police Deputy Chief Shawn Padden. ‘When the friend asked to get the diamonds and cash back from her, Hamell concocts a story that she can’t get into her safe. (That) she’s got to get the safe back to the manufacturer in California,’ Padden said. Sometime later, Hamell told her friend that when she got the safe back, the cash was gone, Padden said. Hamell eventually returned the rings, but the friend discovered the apparent deception after taking them to a jeweler in the Twin Cities after one of the stones became loose and fell from a ring, Padden said. … The jeweler determined that the diamonds had been switched with Swarovski crystals, which refract light in a rainbow spectrum giving them the appearance of genuine diamonds. Police were then notified.” Hamell, 42, has no apparent criminal history, police told the News Tribune.

The Brainerd Dispatch reports that Brainerd represented well in the 2014 Miss/Mrs. Minnesota United States Pageant. “Rebecca Schreurs, Miss Teen Brainerd, was named Miss Teen Minnesota United States 2014. She is the daughter of Michele Schreurs and Scott Hornby. Schreurs also was the overall evening gown winner. Hannah Northburg, Miss Jr. Teen Brainerd, was named Miss Jr. Teen Minnesota United States 2014. Northburg is the daughter of Jennifer Northburg-Schwartz. Jackie Thurlow, Miss Brainerd United States was named the overall swimsuit winner and Miss Congeniality. Directors of the Miss Minnesota Pageant are Vicki Randall and Bill Musel of Brainerd. Schreurs and Northburg will now begin preparations to compete at the Miss United States Pageant to be held July 1-6, in Washington D.C.” 

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Winona residents who have kept water running so their pipes won’t freeze will get a $140 break in their water bill, the city council has decided. Tesla Rodriguez of the Winona Daily News reports that as long as residents apply before April 1, they can get a $70 credit for up to two months on their water bill if they can prove that it was significantly higher because they kept their taps running. As Rodriguez reported, “While frozen pipes aren’t technically the city’s responsibility if they’re on a homeowner’s property, council members said they still felt compelled to help. ‘This is an issue that we’ve all heard about,’ council member George Borzyskowski said. ‘Phone calls, emails, being stopped out in public. We all want to do something.’ ” The city estimates the tax break will cost the city about $84,000, which city manager Judy Bodway said will have to be made up by cutting costs or raising utility rates in the future.

A few miles to the west, Dan Linehan of the Mankato Free Press crafted a roundup of similar plans in the area. North Mankato is putting a plan in place to help a dozen or so households with heavy water bills. Residents would get a credit for up to 300 gallons a day if they have receipts to show that the water pipe had frozen and needed a constant supply of water to keep it open. Mapleton has had five freezes in city-owned pipes in recent weeks. The city agreed to let residents register to run their water yet pay only the amount they used a year ago. About 10 homes are doing that so far. Le Center asked all of its 2,500 or so residents to run their water all the time. City Administrator Chris Collins said residents will likely be running their water at least through the end of March.

Of course, the problem is the weather. This week’s cold snap produced a brisk flurry of stories across the state. In St. Cloud, Dave Aeikens of the Daily Times noted that “St. Cloud has had 63 days this season in which the temperature has been zero or below. Monday was the most recent day, and the low of 19 degrees below zero broke the previous March 3 record for low temperature. The previous record was 16 below zero, set in 1971. The 63-day mark is the eighth-highest total for the number of times when the temperature was zero or below at some point during the day. The record for the number of days below zero is 69, set in 1978-79 and 1964-65.”

Down in Rochester, John Weiss of the Post-Bulletin whipped off this snappy lead paragraph: “Relying on consistently cold performances by December and January and a feisty February that capped off its contribution with a final polar vortex, the meteorological winter of 2013-14 likely will go into the history books as the fifth-coldest winter on record in Rochester.”

Weiss’ story offered this nugget: The cold “could be a big problem for the commercial shipping industry on the Mississippi River. The first tow can't push barges up the river to St. Paul until it can bang through the ice of Lake Pepin, a natural reservoir, without too much damage. But on Thursday, the Corps of Engineers found at least 30 inches of blue ice (the hardest kind) near the base of the lake. It could have been thicker, but the Corps' auger only can bore down 30 inches.”

It took the entire staff of the Duluth News Tribune to make sense of this fact: “Duluth managed to make it through its second-coldest meteorological winter on record without setting a single low-temperature record but managed to do it on the third day of spring. The official low Monday morning at Duluth International Airport hit 23 degrees below zero, beating the old record of 21 below set in 1982.”

Over in New Ulm, the staff of the Journal pooled their talents, collected some statistics and determined it has been a cold winter. “December's average high was 20.3 degrees, with an average low of 2.1 degrees. That dipped in January to an average high of 19.2 degrees, not far from December, but an average low of minus 4.1 degrees. February's temps were much the same as January, with an average high of 18, and an average low of minus 3.9. December was a snowy month, with 17.1 inches recorded. Another 11.2 inches fell in January, and 10.4 inches in February. For the past three months there were seven days when the high temperature never got above zero. The coldest day was a high of minus 6 on Jan. 28. There were 52 days when the low was below zero.

The best cold-weather quote comes from a story written by Fritz Busch of the New Ulm Journal. “Not even a below-zero temperature and a minus 24-degree wind chill could keep thousands of Bockfest-goers away from the August Schell Brewery Saturday. … ‘It's not really so bad, the cold. You keep your hands around it, and the beer doesn't freeze as fast,’ said Rodney Zimmer of New Ulm.”

Eric Swenson, the police chief in Sebeka, was cited for driving while intoxicated in New York Mills, reports Bryce Haugen of the Wadena Pioneer Journal. “Swenson was pulled over about 11 p.m., New York Mills police officer Bruce Wangsness said Monday. The incident report won’t be released to the public until Swenson appears in Otter Tail County District Court. No court date has been set for the DWI case, said Heather Brandborg, assistant Otter Tail County attorney. She said Swenson, 48, is headed to trial for a fifth-degree domestic assault misdemeanor from last June, which led to the Sebeka City Council suspending him with pay for 30 days later in the summer. A pretrial scheduling conference is slated for March 10.  Earlier in June, Swenson pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor prompted by ‘drunk and belligerent’ behavior at The Outpost, a bar in Huntersville, according to the Wadena County Sheriff’s Office. The judge fined Swenson and sentenced him to 30 days in jail stayed for one year of probation, which required him to stay out of trouble.” Haugen notes that the state typically suspends driver’s licenses one week after a DWI arrest. When asked how he, the lone full-time officer in Sebeka, would perform his duties without a valid license, Swenson said “Don’t know,” and closed the door to his office. Wadena County Sheriff Mike Carr said the county already responds to calls in Sebeka.

Haugen’s story had these tidbits at the bottom: “In addition to last year’s 30-day suspension, the council suspended Swenson for a week without pay in 2010 and ordered him to complete a police ethics course after several incidents that year, including a report he responded to a call with alcohol on his breath. In October of that same year, he made national news after reporting SWAT equipment had gone missing from his home in Otter Tail County. A sheriff’s office report stated Swenson found the items — loaded magazines for both a Glock 9mm handgun and an AR-15 rifle, night vision goggles and stun grenades — a week later in a backyard fort built by his then 9-year-old son. Later that month, Swenson told the Pioneer Journal that the items were actually found inside the house.”

You just know there’s more to this story that people aren’t saying. Steve Browne of the Marshall Independent posted a story about an angry confrontation between 60 people and the Murray County Medical Board during the board of directors’ meeting this week. There appears to be two issues: The first are the circumstances behind physician’s assistant Dan Woldt's lawsuit against the medical center and CEO Mel Snow. Woldt’s 2013 suit alleges MCMC and Snow engaged in conduct "aimed at denying [Woldt's] employment rights and protections granted to him under the law" and seeks damages in excess of $75,000. The other issue is the spate of resignations by MCMC staff. MCMC personnel director Nancy Andert said two emergency medical technicians, one licensed practical nurse and one nurse practitioner resigned within the past month. Four MCMC nurses present spoke of resignations because of the work environment to the clapping of the attendees that remained. Snow said the turnover was no lower than any other normal year.

The Crookston Times had a death in the family when former city editor Natalie Ostgaard and her husband, Kent, were killed from carbon monoxide poisoning likely due to a malfunctioning furnace or heater. “Their oldest daughter, Aryanna, 22, was found unconscious but still breathing. She was taken by Crookston Area Ambulance Service to RiverView Hospital in Crookston and was later transported to Altru Hospital in Grand Forks. The Ostgaards' youngest daughter, Gabi, 17, was located in the home still conscious. She was taken to RiverView for medical treatment. The Ostgaards' middle child, Cyrina, attends the University of Minnesota Duluth. Natalie Ostgaard was a “Crookston Central High School graduate and University of Minnesota Crookston alum and was the city editor at the Crookston Daily Times from June 2002 to July 2013.… Natalie posted on her Facebook page on Feb. 24 that the family was having troubles with their furnace and that a part had to be ordered and was to arrive the next day. Natalie posted on her page that the family was having a hard time finding a heater to buy until the part arrived, but, then, on Feb. 25 she posted the following: ‘Well, we had to order the part for the furnace and won't be here until tomorrow. Thanks everyone who offered the use of their heaters; we managed to make do with fireplaces, electric stove, blankets and the two heaters we have. Hoping this will be adequate until furnace is fixed!’ "

Willmar will host a one-day live stream of the next TED conference, writes Anne Polta of the West Central Tribune. “The TEDx Live event will be hosted March 18 at the MinnWest Technology Campus auditorium. It’s a chance for local participants to see and hear some of the latest and best in technology, entertainment and design, said Betsy Bonnema, the lead organizer for TEDx Willmar Live. … Among the speakers lined up for the March 18 session are Bill and Melinda Gates and Sting. Others include an architect, a documentary filmmaker, a plasma physicist, an urban planner and a climate scientist.… Sessions will be live-streamed to the Willmar audience from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., 1 to 2:45 p.m. and 8 to 9:45 p.m. She’s hoping for a diversity of participants — community and business leaders, volunteers, entrepreneurs and more. ‘It could be anyone. We’re just looking for ways to make our world and our community a better place.’ ”

There’s something to be said for being in the right place at the right time. With the right hat. Mike Creger of the Duluth News Tribune chronicles the simple story of a man, a pope and a skullcap. Pete Stauber of Hermantown, on a six-day pilgrimage to Rome with several other Northland couples, found himself in the throngs in St. Peter’s Square during Pope Francis’ weekly audience. Sure enough, there was the pope, gliding by on the popemobile, close enough for Stauber to offer his zucchetto – a beanie or skullcap, according to Creger – to the pope. Creger writes: “Stauber held the cap; a guard snatched it, and Stauber stood completely still, arm still extended, as a wash of awe visibly passed over him. The pope checked the zucchetto for size and authenticity and then made the exchange. Stauber, gulping, uttered a wavy “Oh-oh-oh, thank you” twice, and then the pope was whisked away.” “It’s an amazing moment,” Stauber said. And you can even see it on official Vatican video.  

Meanwhile, on a less spiritual plane, Joel Myhre of the Fergus Falls Journal  is keeping tabs on an explosion and fire at the Green Plains ethanol plant in the city. The fire produced dark, odorous smoke and officials had to close County Road 116 Monday evening. Myhre reports that no raw ethanol is involved and that the fire involves a dryer at the plant. No injuries have been reported.

 All right, let’s just cut to the chase here. “Fargo” was a great movie, but a lot of Minnesotans thought the Coen brothers made fun of our accents and our Minnesota Nice attitude. So up here, we’re keeping an eye on the new FX series “Fargo,” based on the movie and set in Bemidji, although it’s being filmed in Calgary (boooo). The Bemidji Pioneer offered a write-up:  Trailers for the 10-epsode miniseries, which premieres April 15, have been available for several weeks.  “Breaking Bad” star Bob Odenkirk will don a faux Bemidji Police uniform for his role as Bill Oswalt. Billy Bob Thornton will play the show’s main character, Lorne Malvo, who, according to imdb.com, “arrives in small-town Minnesota and influences the population with his malice and violence, including put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman).” The Pioneer also reports that Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele” will appear in four episodes as FBI agents who track Thornton’s character. As for how well the show treats Minnesota and its residents' eccentricities — the Pioneer’s story ends with this ominous paragraph: “We’ll be waiting.”

With all the snow this winter, you know that flooding is going to be a concern this spring. That’s why it’s no surprise that stories predicting the effects of snowmelt are starting to leak into papers across the state. The first is from a newly hirsute Trey Mewes in the Austin Daily Herald. He writes that “There’s little chance Mower County could get hit by floods based on the National Weather Service’s current flooding forecast. ‘We’re at less than 5 percent chance of minor flooding,’ said Amy Lammey, Mower County Emergency Management Coordinator. … Lammey said the county is monitoring creeks, rivers, streams and storage areas to watch for signs of flooding. Law enforcement is also checking waterways for signs of ice jams and other problems, and the county has stockpiled sand bags and other supplies in case of flooding. That likely won’t be a problem, as the county’s creeks, streams and storage areas are on the low side at the moment, which means they can absorb more water and runoff.” So, thank goodness for the drought.

Over in Fairmont, Jenn Brookins writes that residents should pull snow away from their buildings so the snowmelt won’t seep into the foundation. "If the landscaping allows water to run off toward the house, there will likely be water in the basement. Once the frost breaks, especially if there is still lots of snow cover when it breaks, there could be trouble,” says Mike Tennyson of Tennyson Construction in Truman. He suggests homeowners also move snow away from gas meters and water spigots, and to make sure the sump pump is in working order.

A wrestling coach and physical-education teacher in the Frazee-Vergas district has been suspended after he reportedly kicked a 13-year-old student in the groin, writes Chris Murphy of the Fargo Forum. Apparently, the student tossed a badminton birdie that hit teacher John Barlund near his eye at the end of the sixth-hour gym class on Feb. 4. “Witnesses testified that Barlund kicked the student in the groin area and swore. Most students heard Barlund say, ‘What the hell was that for?’ Other witnesses heard him use more vulgar expletives, the district’s investigation found.” Barlund denies kicking the student but said he attempted to defend himself with his hands up and feet out. The investigation documents stated Barlund’s testimony was not credible because it was not believable that he was afraid of the student, “given the immense size and strength difference between them.” Also, five students contradicted him. Barlund said the student walked away from the confrontation, which would have been difficult if he had been kicked in the groin. He also said “another student said the seventh-grade boys got together and said, ‘Let’s get together and say you kicked me in the groin.’ Barlund was put on paid administrative leave from both teaching and coaching on Feb. 5,” Murphy wrote.

Poor Cold Spring still can’t get its act together and hire a police chief. David Unze of the St. Cloud Daily Times writes that the city made an offer to Eric Johnson to be the next Cold Spring-Richmond police chief after a two-month search, then rescinded the offer. “The council offered Johnson the job Jan. 29, pending three conditions that he later met. But the city received information, which it won’t discuss, that it said led to an investigation and a nine-page investigative report that the council reviewed the night it voted 2-2 to offer Johnson the job,” Unze wrote. Revealing the reasons Johnson isn’t the chief would open the city to a lawsuit, one council member said. Members of the search committee, which included representatives from Richmond and Wakefield Township, said the rules were changed mid-search about who would perform background checks. Wakefield Township Supervisor Woody Stalboerger called the reports against Johnson a “witch hunt” and stormed out of the meeting.“Meanwhile, Johnson is without a law enforcement job and is driving a truck delivering turkeys. (His attorney) awaits the nine-page report that the council said it would give to her,” Unze wrote.

The Veteran’s Memorial in front of the Waseca County courthouse is in need of repair, writes Samantha Maranell of the Waseca County News.  The memorial consists of a cannon that was captured by the First Minnesota Battery at Cheraw, S.C., and presented to Waseca County by Civil War soldiers and dedicated in 1898; and a bronze plaque with the names of the 1,073 people from Waseca County who served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I, dedicated in 1941 and placed on a concrete structure in front of the cannon. Because the courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places, guidelines have to be followed when restoring the monument which, in 2008, put the cost between $35,000 and $40,000. Here’s the plan: The concrete pad around the granite base of the cannon would be removed; the cannon and 10 cannonballs would be cleaned of corrosion; the granite base would be cleaned and a new concrete ring would be poured. The concrete support around the plaque would be replaced and raised above ground level to avoid freeze-thaw effects, the bronze plaque will be cleaned and treated with a corrosion inhibitor and the plaque will be reset onto the new support structure. 

Although Minnesota cities had more money to spend in 2012 than they did in 2011, the 10-year trend shows that the cities have been choked for funds and forced to cut back on basic necessities. Deb Gau of the Marshall Independent writes about a new report by State Auditor Rebecca Otto which looks at cities' revenue, expenditures and debt in 2012, as well as tracking financial trends during the past 10 years. While revenue for Minnesota cities grew from $3.84 billion in 2003 to $4.82 billion in 2012, when adjusted for inflation, city revenues have dropped 9 percent between 2003 and 2012, the report said. While there are many sources for the drop in revenue, Otto points to the main culprit: Cuts in state-funded Local Government Aid. Otto notes that spending also fell 16 percent from 2003 to 2012, when adjusted for inflation. Where do cities spend the bulk of their money, and therefore have to make the biggest cuts? Street and highway maintenance and public safety.

Speaking of cuts, the Brainerd School Board has approved more than $350,000 in reductions for its 2014-15 budget, according to Jenifer Stockinger of the Brainerd Dispatch. There will be more than $350,000 in staffing cuts and $220,000 in savings in retirements and resignations. Steve Lund, the district’s director of business services, said the 1.5 percent increase in state education funding couldn’t keep up with the district’s operating deficit. The board approved reductions in high-school social studies instruction, high-school math instruction, career counseling, middle-school math intervention, and $250,000 in cuts to the educational assistant support staff. Superintendent Steve Razidlo said of losing so many educational assistants: “It’s distressing.” The district will also save about $220,000 when teachers retire and are replaced by low-cost, inexperienced first-year teachers.

It’s official: Mayo Cinic researchers have found that having a big belly is detrimental to your health. The difference between this announcement and previous findings, according to the Rochester Post-Bulletin, is that Mayo researchers found that it doesn’t matter what your body mass index (BMI) is – if you have a big waist, you are “more likely to die younger, and (are) more likely to die from illnesses such as heart disease, respiratory problems, and cancer after accounting for body mass index, smoking, alcohol use and physical activity," according to the research. The clinic noted that the "risk increased in a linear fashion such that for every 2 inches of greater circumference, mortality risk went up about 7 percent in men and about 9 percent in women,” even among people with normal BMIs. So we have that to look forward to.

“A statue in Menahga, Minn., depicts the saint with a giant grasshopper speared on his pitchfork. When the statue was dedicated in 1982, Doris Havumaki, the wife of Sulo Havumaki, was on hand to break a bottle of Wild Irish Rose wine over a toe of the statue.” Sulo Havumaki’s name is at the base of the statue. In all the hullabaloo about St. Patrick, Bethany Wesley of the Bemidji Pioneer reminds us not to forget that most Finnish of patron saints, St. Urho. She writes about the late Sulo Havumaki, a former psychology professor at Bemidji State University, who she says is one of two Minnesotans credited with “rediscovering” St. Urho, who drove the grasshoppers from Finland and saved the legendary Finnish vineyards. Apparently, Havumaki became discouraged by the press and pageantry afforded to St. Patrick. When he came to Bemidji in 1956, he began to celebrate St. Urho’s Day on March 16, wearing purple for the vineyards and green for the grasshoppers. “He always planned a parade, on the most awful routes, such as traveling in front of the wastewater treatment plant or a junkyard. Then, each was always canceled for wild reasons. One year, (his son Luke) recalled, then-Vice President Spiro Agnew was set to attend, but canceled at the last minute because, due to state matters, he was suddenly unavailable,” writes Wesley.

The other man credited with helping Finnish-Americans rediscover their heritage was the late Richard Mattson of Virginia, Minn. His version was of a saint who drove frogs from Finland, thus saving the grape crop. The website www.sainturho.com credits both men. For his part, Luke, too, has organized parades that would always be canceled. “St. Patrick has so much better PR,” he told Wesley. “I always say, ‘Are you a farmer? How many snakes are you worried about? Wouldn’t you worry more about locusts and grasshoppers? How many are going to want a saint to take on those instead of snakes?’”

The fight against the Red River flood diversion project continues, writes Mikkel Pates of Forum newspapers. Pates paraphrases the objections of Mark Askegaard, 53, a fourth-generation farmer south of Moorhead: “The diversion needlessly undermines the productivity of thousands of acres of the Red River Valley’s best and most valuable farmland, and is moving ahead despite no solid solutions for crop insurance in that area. It is billed as the best, most cost-effective way of protecting the existing Fargo-Moorhead and Cass County property from flooding, but he and other critics say they’re suffering the effects of a city simply wanting to develop land in a natural flood plain,” writes Pates. “The Askegaards (whose farm sits above the 500-year flood plain on the Minnesota side) are among a handful of farmers in a seven-mile radius who raise some 5,500 acres of certified organic grains. … The plan called for the project to retain water in a specified area, where the impact would be more predictable. There would be a control structure, a 13-foot-tall dam on the river, and tie-back levies. When the diversion is used, it could impact 50,000 acres upstream (south) from Fargo with between 1 inch and 8.5 feet of water. Askegaard’s place, 10 miles south of Moorhead, theoretically would have 3 feet of water, a ring dike and some land would be lost to the diversion dike. He said there are no assurances on how multi-peril crop insurance will be handled in shallower areas flooded by the diversion.”

Like beer but just can’t handle the wheat or barley? Then two Faribault fire eaters have just the product for you. Camey Thibodeau of the Faribault Daily News writes about Dane Breimhorst and Thomas Foss, founders of Burning Brothers Brewing in St. Paul. They offer gluten-free beer. The men met when, at age were 19, Breimhorst taught Foss how to eat fire so they could perform together at the Renaissance Festival. Breimhorst spent the next 18 years as a professional fire eater before deciding opening a brewery was a better idea. In 2010, he and Foss pursued plans to open a facility where customers can brew their own beer with supplies and know-how provided by the business. But then, as fate would have it, Breimhorst was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder where gluten found in wheat, barley and rye leads to intestinal damage. He was forced to adopt a diet free of bread and beer, which put a crimp in his brewery plans. But wait! “We figured out how to make a gluten-free beer that actually tastes like beer,” Breimhorst told Thibodeau. She writes: “BBB Tap Room/Brewery in St. Paul brewed its first batch of Pyro American Pale Ale on Dec. 15. Their product has been in metro area stores and restaurants for about a month and a half. … Foss said the company is already expanding and is working to finalize an agreement with a distributor to reach other Minnesota regions, including Faribault, Rochester, Duluth, St. Cloud and some resort areas. … “I’m glad we’re able to fill a need that is clearly underserved today,” Foss said.

Erik Daniel Christianson, 31, got into some trouble in Fairmont. Jenn Brookens of the Fairmont Sentinel writes that he has been charged with “first-degree burglary, aggravated robbery and second-degree assault after allegedly entering homes in Fairmont on Friday, and attacking one homeowner with a golf club.” Here are the details as offered by the Fairmont Police Department: A man called police at about 12:30 p.m. when he came home and, while making a sandwich, was knocked on the head by a guy wielding a golf club. The intruder demanded booze and the man gave him a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade and a bottle of whiskey. Police took several bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade and cigarette butts found in the living room as evidence. At about 3:45 p.m., three girls called police when they smelled cigarette smoke and saw a bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade on a table at their house. The teens found a man in a bedroom looking at prescription pill bottles. They yelled at him to leave, and he did so. When police arrived, they saw a man trying to enter a nearby house. They identified him as Christianson, who they knew was on probation, and took him into custody. He matched the description of the intruder given by the girls and by the man attacked with the golf club. Christianson said he was homeless and looking for a warm place to stay. He admitted he had been drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes in the houses. He admitted hitting the man with the golf club because he wanted to get out of the house and didn't want to go back to jail.

St. Cloud is getting fancy with its street lights. Kari Petrie of the St. Cloud Daily Times writes that “new lighting technology means engineers can choose lights based on how widely the light is transmitted, the color of the light and the extent of shadows and glare. So a neighborhood can have a warm, cozy feel while intersections can be brightly lit while limiting glare.” It’s all music to the ears of city Traffic System Manager Blake Redfield. He created a lab three years ago to test the quality of LED street lights. To make sure the city is buying the best lights, Redfield runs them through tests he designed to find optimal light and shadow patterns. He has also “written a program to create 3-D photo metrics that show the light’s intensity and uniformity. The setup is so well done that manufacturers bring in lights to get feedback from Redfield’s testing,” Petrie wrote. Residents can see the results on the Stearns County Road 120 roundabouts near Minnesota Highway 15. While driving, the road will remain dark until you approach the roundabout, which is brightly it. The park and ride lot in St. Joseph also has LEDs that can dim when the lot isn’t in use. “We want to make sure we have good (street light) projects,” Redfield said.

In the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, Maggi Stivers at the Pioneer in Bemidji wrote of Brian Solum – the Realtor, the wrestling coach, the bagpiper.  “I usually don’t tell people right away and when people find out, they are like ‘That’s weird,’” he told Stivers. The man referred to as Bagpipe Brian plays the Great Highland Bagpipe, which is a typical Scottish bagpipe rather than the Irish model, which is called the Uilleann pipe that is often heard in movies. He plays in the Macalester band, teaches private lessons, and performs at weddings, funerals and, of course, on St. Patrick’s Day. On Monday, he performed at Neilson Place, J.W. Smith Elementary and in “The World’s Shortest Patrick’s Day Parade” in downtown Bemidji on Monday. Older folks request the traditional songs, he said. Younger folks tend to request Lynyrd Synyrd’s “Freebird.” Although not Scottish, he loves Scotch whiskey. He owns Realty Sales and says his sons “are kind of embarrassed when dad shows up at school wearing a skirt.”