KROX - Crookston & area news

New and prospective students can connect with the University of Minnesota, Crookston to learn more during Preview Day on Saturday, July 25, 2009. Families are also encouraged to attend Preview Day at the U of M, Crookston along with their new student.
Preview Day provides time for new students to interact with faculty, current students and staff as well as learn more about the Crookston campus. Highlights include receiving detailed information about opportunities for students at the U of M, Crookston, enjoying lunch in Brown Dining Hall, interacting during question and answer sessions and touring campus.
Students may go online to register for Preview Day by visiting www.UMCrookston.edu/admissions or sign up by contacting the Admissions Office at 218-281-8569.

The Crookston Water Department will be turning off water for the entire Chase/Loring Addition on Monday, July 6^th anytime after 9:00 A.M. The water department wants citizens in the Chase/Loring addition to be prepared to not have water for most of the day.

The 109th Polk County Fair kicked opened Wednesday afternoon in Fertile and will be running until Sunday, July 5. The highlight of the fair was Ashlee Hewitt. Hewitt is from Lancaster, Minnesota and appeared on the Nashville Star show last year. She flew in from Hollywood, as she is currently shooting the movie "Elle", which will be released in 2010. Hewitt flew back to Hollywood Thursday morning to continue shooting the film. Other highlights were the all the rides, including a ferris wheel and there were even live horse shoe crabs and rays for people to touch. To see all the happenings at the Polk County Fair go to the fair website at www.polkcountyfairfertilemn.com. Below are some pictures from the fair.

MSHSL HONORS CHS STUDENTS WITH SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOLARSHIP CERTIFICATES

The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) recently awarded 303 Spotlight on Scholarship Certificates to Crookston High School students for their achievements in the classroom. Sponsored by the League and Jostens, the Spotlight on Scholarship Program began in 1995 to recognize athletes and fine arts participants who have a "B" or better grade average. The Spotlight on Scholarship Program is considered the fastest-growing recognition program the League sponsors.

To see the list of students receiving the Spotlight on Scholarship certificates for the Spring 2009 click here.

WALK POLK COUNTY ENCOURAGES YOU TO GET SOME EXERCISE WHILE AT THE LAKES

For many people summer means fun in the sun. Spending most of your summer at the lake does not mean you have to be a “beach bum”. Lying out in the sun isn’t the only thing to do at the lake. There are many ways to stay active at the lake. If you want to be near the water you can go for a cool and refreshing swim, throw a Frisbee in the water, take out the water toys, play a game of marco polo, or go fishing, canoeing, or kayaking. Enjoy the sand with a game of beach volleyball, build a sand castle or go on a beach run. Did you know that walking in the sand is also a great form of exercise?

Have you visited one of our many lakes in Polk County? Whether you go to Maple, Union, or Lake Sara there are many activities to do at the lake… just keep moving. Just because you’re going to the lake, doesn’t mean you have to choose between exercising and having fun. These activities are so fun it won’t even feel like you’re exercising. You can enjoy a walk, bike, or jog amongst the nature and many trees at any lake. What if it is raining and you can’t be outdoors? Did you ever think of going to the Pavilion at Maple Lake and going roller skating.

Staying active in the summer, at the lake, means you will need to take a few extra precautions. Remember to watch the heat and drink plenty of water. Protect yourself from the sun by regularly applying sunscreen and wearing a hat. Always have life jackets on hand, especially if you will be out in the open water- fishing, skiing, tubing, canoeing, etc. As you are cooling off and going for a swim pay attention to the buoys which mark the swimming areas and watch for boats driving by. Be safe and enjoy what the great outdoors of Northern Minnesota has to offer.

For more information about WALK. Polk County contact Kayla Koenig by phone at 218-281-3385 or by email at kkoenig@pcphealth.org.

CROOKSTON SCHOOLS HAVE BETTER SCORES, BUT STILL UNDER STATE AVERAGE IN MATH AND READING

The results of this year's Minnesota statewide school tests show that although Minnesota students performed slightly better on math and reading tests, the gains aren’t enough to prevent more schools in Minnesota being added to the federal No Child Left Behind Law, which will release it’s list in August. The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments results were released today by the state Department of Education.
For the Crookston School District, the two figures are up, but the district continues to lag behind the state average in math, where 57 percent of Crookston’s 3-8th and 11^th graders were proficient on the math tests conducted this past school year. The State average is 64 percent. Crookston’s proficiency in math last year was 54 percent.
In reading, Crookston’s mark was 71 percent, while the state average is 72 percent. Crookston’s mark last year in reading was 65 percent, which shows a six percent increase.

“This is the once year mandated test for Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment and we ran the gambit throughout the year looking at state standard which is what every kid needs to know and then they test us on it at the end of the year," said Travis Thorvilson, Highland School Principal, “We get the results in July and then they compare the district to the state, there are a lot of bright areas so I am happy with growth in math at a little more than two percent growth compared to just under two percent for the state, so that is a good sign, the major growth was in reading with five percent in the district compared to only one percent growth in the state.”

Thorvilson added, “There are areas we need to pay attention to and we will get our Average Yearly progress scores in August so we need to work, but it is like a marathon and we have the right runners to run the race.”

The MCA tests do not compare grade levels but look at the entire district, but Thorvilson said, “We do have special subgroups where they judge like Spanish reading and Special Education so it will take a lot of effort but we are optimistic.”

Crookston High School saw good growth in the tenth and eleventh grade MCA tests. “We get the graduation tests coordinated with the MCA tests and we saw good growth in 10^th and 11 scores in the grad tests. We put together a school improvement group and they made a plan for growth and we came close to the goal, but there are some subgroups we are concerned about but the school motto talks about all children and each child and we know some kids are below grade level so the team will start on the second stage of the plan and get all kids performing at a high level.” Said Todd Brist, Crookston High School Principal, “It is nice to compare, but sometimes you are not comparing apples to apples and not always the same kids, so we have to focus in house to help students get to the next level.”

The math test has some concerns as the state legislature took some ownership. “ We want to look internal and we had a change in math series so was there a gap, but those students have moved through the system, so we are behind, but we know think we have two or three things in place to raise the scores,” said Brist, “Don’t put an over emphasis on test scores, but give us a chance to grow over the next few years and make the plan work we have in place and live up to the idea of being a education destination.”

Statewide, 64 percent of students were proficient on math tests, compared to 62 percent last year and 72 percent were proficient on reading tests, compared to 71 percent last year.

Results "should only be one of many parents and the public look at in evaluating whether their individual school is performing well," said Chas Anderson, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education. August 10, 2009, state education officials will disclose how schools are doing under the federal No Child Left Behind Law. Last year, nearly half of the state's public and charter schools were on the list of underperforming schools, including Crookston.

The Crookston City council and Park Board met to discuss the reorganization of the Park and Recreation department on Tuesday evening. after about 2 hours of discussion no solution was reaching so more time will be spent looking for a plan of reorganizing the department.

City Administrator Aaron Parrish presented a plan for the reorganization and said, "I think as we go into the new arena the council had asked the staff a long time ago to do an evaluation of the Park and Recreation Department which does a lot of good things to make sure they are effective and productive as possible so we brought some recommendations and ideas for them to think about, it is a sensitive when we are dealing with staff with long service to the community and after initial discussion tonight we will get together after the next city council meeting and see where we go.

The original proposal had contemplated basically combining the assistant park and recreation director and park foreman into one position which is kind of a bridge between the management and work force and would be a part of providing supervision and management so we will talk about it more and see if we can get something comfortable for everyone."

Park Board member Gary Warren and Former UMC Hockey Coach is concerned about a shift in programming and scheduling and that a hockey coordinator might be needed. Council member Marlys Mjoen said there is a problem at the arena in the eyes of the public and a need for good supervision so Aaron Parrish and Scott Kleven came up with a plan to reorganize as they were asked to do by the council. Park Board

Member Larry Brekken like the concept of the changes and would add a probationary period for the position. Brekken said, "I was asked to serve on the Park Board and represent the community and I have some concerns regarding the arena and it was a good meeting and want people to call me with the concerns so we can move on."

Council member Wayne Melbye remembered when a volunteer helped with scheduling but it was not always conducive to the hockey families so a change is needed, "We do not want 'business as is' at the brand new arena with more supervision to watch for any vandalism by using the security cameras and a concern for the walkers on the walking track in case of a fall so we need to be able to handle any problems that come up.

Morale is low in the staff of the Park and Recreation Department. Parent of 3 hockey players Chris Trostad said a lot of the staff at the hockey arena is burned out from the horrible hours and low pay and there is a need to supervise the part timers better. The plan presented eliminates the assistant park and recreation director/arena manager and puts in a park superintendent.

In other business the group had a consensus of approval for the sixth street landscape design by UMC Assistant Professor Eric Castle and UMC students and bidding will be called for so the work can be done this summer.

CROOKSTON PARK BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL SELECT BLUE AS THE EXTERIOR COLOR OF THE NEW ARENAS

After the Park Board meeting the Crookston Park Board and City Council and staff made a trip out to the new ice arenas to select an exterior color of the arena. Crookston City Administrator Aaron Parrish led a tour of the inside of the arenas before debating a tan or blue color the members present voted 12-6 for blue. The sample that was painted on one of the walls is pictured below. City Council member Dale Stainbrook was a big help with his expertise on painting and answered many questions about the paint and upkeep each color would need down the road.

The big staff vote on the exterior color The blue color pictured above was the winner

A view from the main entrance into the main arena. A view of one of the youth arena's from the North end of the arena

CITY OF CROOKSTON LOSES 46 RESIDENTS FROM 2007 TO 2008 ACCORDING TO U.S. CENSUS ESTIMATES

The United State Census Bureau has released their population estimates for 2008 with the city of Crookston losing 46 residents over the last year. The U.S. Census estimated that Crookston had 7,836 residents in 2007 and 7,790 in 2008. Other cities in the area are listed below.

The Pay It Forward Tour will be held again at Crookston High School this fall after approval from the school board. Cody Nelson, former Crookston graduate is manager of the high school program for Pay It Forward and said, “Crookston is my hometown and I am so excited that we can bring another tour back to Crookston High School.” Said Nelson, “Pay it forward is a community service road trip and we hope to have about 35 students jump on the bus and travel around the Midwest and do some service projects and visit universities and learn about other communities and we will have about 10 to 12 buses on the route and they will come together in what we call Celebration City and talk about what it is like to be a kid in today’s society.”
Nelson also said they are looking at a middle school service Pay It Forward tour which is for sixth through eighth graders with three days and 50 hours of service. Students can sign up at the website at www.stlf.net type in the Crookston zip code and everything can be done electronically. When school starts they will have registration forms available at the school.

On June 29th, 2009, the Polk County Sheriff's Office investigated a complaint of mistreatment of animals at 34791 210th Ave., SE in the Erskine area. During the investigation, 29 dogs were seized by the Polk County Sheriff's Office under Minnesota statute 343.29 Subd.1 and transported to care facilities for numerous health issues and living conditions. This case is still under investigation and no further information is available at this time.

Motorists will encounter minor traffic delays with intermittent lane closures when a project to replace damaged and worn signs at five locations on U.S. Highway 2 in northwest Minnesota begins July 6. Signs will be replaced at three rest areas:

In addition, highway signs will also be replaced at the Erskine interchange on U.S. Highway 2 and Highway 59 and at the junction of U.S. Highway 2 and Highway 32 at Marcoux Corner. The project is one of nearly 100 Minnesota road and bridge projects that are funded with federal economic stimulus dollars through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that was signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009. The sign replacement project is expected to be complete by Aug. 28, weather permitting.

The Crookston Lions Club along with the City of Crookston held a "Grand Opening" of the new picnic shelter at the Highland Complex on Monday. A big crowd turned out for the hamburgers, brats and hot dogs on the grill along with games for the kids and even a dunk tank that included several volunteers that were dropped into the ice cold water. To reserve the picnic shelter for an event you can contact Crookston Park and Rec at 281-1142. Below are a couple pictures from the event.

Mayor Dave Genereux, Jeanine Windels and Tom Anderson of the Lions with the ribbon cutting.

TUESDAY - JUNE 30, 2009

CROOKSTON PARK AND RECREATION POSSIBLE RESTRUCTURING AT MEETING TONIGHT

The Crookston Park Board along with the Crookston City Council has a combined meeting tonight that will discuss, among other changes for the Crookston Parks and Recreation Department creating a new Parks Superintendent position, which would have responsibilities of operating and managing the new Crookston Ice Arenas Complex, but NOT the responsibilities of setting up programming for the complex. In a preliminary memo to the City Council and others from Crookston City Administrator Aaron Parrish, the City would advertise for candidates for the new position, but two current employees would also be encouraged to apply for the position, current Assistant Crookston Parks and Recreation Director, Scott Riopelle and current Crookston Parks Foreman Tom Clauson.

If Riopelle would get the new position, it would be at his current salary, but if someone else was selected or Riopelle did not apply for the new position, he would no longer work for the City. If Clauson would be the one to get the new position, it would be at his current salary, otherwise he would still be making the same amount of salary in the Park Maintenance area. In essence, the City of Crookston is eliminating the Assistant Parks and Recreation Director position.

Scheduling of events in the new Ice Arena Complex for the City would fall into the hands of current Crookston Parks and Recreation Director, Scott Kleven along with seasonal staff. These duties have been and currently are the responsibilities of Scott Riopelle.

Other changes with the Parks and Recreation Department would include raising the rate of pay for some positions, which would possibly end the number of turnovers of employees in the department. Right now, if there is an opening in the Public Works area of the city, it is usually filled by a Park and Rec employee, as a city employee gets the first opportunity to apply for a position that becomes open within the city departments. The difference in pay between these two departments has created a problem in staffing for the Park and Rec.

There will be an update on the progress of the new landscaping of the sloughing area of Sixth Street in Crookston. The Park Board and City Council members will make a run at the end of the meeting to the site of the new Ice Arena Complex to look at some exterior stain colors the project Manager, Ron Jasmer of Widseth Smith Nolting has put together for the city to look at.

The meeting is at 7:00 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) at City Hall and is open to the public. For the complete agenda click here.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with Honeywell Business Solutions to bring to our county a reliable and fast way to distribute information to its residents. The public will be able to access the site online and sign up to receive all alerts issued such as: severe weather, severe weather monthly tests & other special announcements.
The web link is: https://iaplus.honeywell.com/PolkCountyAlert/
Polk County Emergency Management and the Sheriff’s Office will be planning several town meetings to assist the public in the sign up process. “We will be setting up the dates for these town meetings for the near future and also plan to send information to the Lakes Association and the camp grounds for those campers who live outside of Polk County”, states Nancy Shafer, Polk County Emergency Management Deputy Director. “We are very excited about this new product. We believe this will be a very valuable tool for our office to use to get important information to the public in an emergency.”
Stop by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office booth at the Polk County Fair for more information.

The Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) Alumni Association honored two outstanding alumni over the weekend with the “Top Aggie” award during a banquet and program at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). The awards banquet was the finale of a weekend of events during the annual NWSA alumni reunion.

The theme for this year’s event was “Rock ‘n Roll Goes Hawaiian” and honored classes included 1929, 1934, 1939, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959, and 1964. The reunion is hosted by the Office of Development & Alumni Relations at UMC.

The Top Aggie Award is the highest honor given to NWSA alumni by the alumni association. This award recognizes alumni who have displayed exemplary commitment and service to community, church, education, family, or in their professional career. The Top Aggies for 2009 included:

UMC Chancellor Charles H.Casey, Willard Brunelle, ’49, Walter Lunsetter, ’32,
and Director of Development and Alumni Relations Corby Kemmer. (Submitted by UMC)

Walter Lunsetter, ’32, grew up near Gatzke, on the farm where he still lives. He came to the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) when he was only 13 years old to begin his studies. While he found life in the dormitory to be a big change and a challenge, Lunsetter believes living there taught him how to get along with other people and to make friends.
While his formal education ended when he graduated from the Northwest School, Lunsetter found his life on the farm to be a continuous cycle of learning. In 1944, he married his wife, Mable, and they raised four children. The youngest was killed in a vehicle accident when he was only 20 years old. Lunsetter has been active in his church, serving several years on the church council and helping to build the present church when it was constructed in 1956. He is a charter member of the Gatzke Senior Citizens and has served as the club’s secretary for 25 years. His membership in the Farmer’s Union goes back to the 1950s. Lunsetter has supported both his church and community in countless ways over his lifetime.
Lunsetter is the go-to person for local history in the Gatzke area. Over the years, he has contributed to historical records for both the Minnesota and Marshall County historical societies. He has a deep respect for history and he is known for incredible memory. His nephew, Wayne Lunsetter, describes his uncle this way, “Walter has lived his life as a selfless servant of God, his neighbors, and his community always with a great sense of humor.”

Willard Brunelle, ’49, Crookston, was prepared at the Northwest School of Agriculture for a role in leadership. He credits the NWSA with giving him a good foundation on which to build a life. Brunelle served in the United States Air Force and spent 18 months in Korea during the war as a jet fighter mechanic. He is a third generation farmer, and retired in 1992.

A volunteer for many church, community, and non-profit agencies, Brunelle has been active on many boards, including Crookston Cenex board and serving as trustee and board member of St. John’s Hospital in Red Lake Falls, Minn. He has been president of the Red Lake Co-op Federal Union, and co-founded the State Advocate Program, Catholic Lutheran Rural Life Commission, Rural Life Outreach of Northwestern Minnesota, Toys for Tots in Northwest Minnesota, the Farm Wrap Program of Northwest Minnesota, and others.

Brunelle and his wife, JoAnn, were married in 1952 and have five children. They have been foster parents for many children and hosted several foreign exchange students from Japan, Israel, and Africa. While his career was in agriculture, Brunelle took roles in leadership as he was needed. During the agriculture disasters of the 1980s, he went to Washington, D.C., to testify on behalf of farmers. He has received numerous awards including the McKnight Foundation Award in Humanitarian Services and the Northwest Minnesota Foundation Ruth Edevold Award for Excellence in Leadership. Brunelle was featured in Time magazine and on ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel for his work with farm families.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has announced that effective Wednesday, July 1, residents can fish in many Minnesota State Parks without a license, most of which are located on lakes and rivers. By eliminating the license requirement the DNR hopes that those who have never fished before will try it during their state park visit.

Kathy Bakken Dryden submitted her retirement resignation to the Crookston School Board last week as she accepted the retirement health insurance incentive offered to 21 teachers in the district. Kathy Bakken Dryden has taught in the district for 35 years and in seven different buildings and all ages of students. "I started out at Highland in 1974 teaching seventh grade English and eventually it expanded to teaching remedial reading to sixth graders as well, and after my first eight years, there was a large cutback and I got riffed and thought my life was over but it was just beginning as I went to work for a political party for an election and then at the correction center teaching adult education half time and then fourth grade at the Cathedral during the day for a teacher on maternity leave and at the jail in the evening teaching adults and later I went full time at the Correction Center and then I started the Area Learning Center which has become two programs The New Paths Learning Center and the Family Literacy program and then Superintendent Dick Larson called and asked me to teach at the high school to replace Carla Lind who wanted to go right her book and I wanted to get students earlier before adulthood and after a few years I went to the Northern Lights Academy at the Juvenile Center where I have been for ten years."

Teaching students of all ages also means many changes, Bakken Dryden said, "Recently I was thinking, the youngest person who has been a student is a fourth grader and if the person was still alive the oldest student would be 107 years, one time when I was teaching at the correction center and subbing at the school, a student said "I know who you are, you taught my grandmother how to read and the kids did not know I taught adults and wanted to know how old I was, so I told them I was 87 when I was about 35 at the time."

"I have gotten to see full spectrum of students and I am amazed as how the students comeback and pop into my life wherever I am teaching and now with retirement I am going to spend some time with my seven nieces and nephews scattered around the United States and then see what happens, take a break and then I will look and see, we have had some offers already which we were not ready to take at this time," said Bakken Dryden.

"One of the things I want to do is to thank the thousands of people for a wonderful career, all of the custodians, office workers, my supervisors who I probably put through the mill and all my students, everyone in the community and surrounding communities who students I had at the Juvenile Center, so thank you," said Bakken Dryden.

Moving is underway in the Crookston School District and the crew was moving Early Childhood Family Education materials from the Community Family Service Center to Washington School. Richard Niemela, Buildings and Grounds Supervisor and Transportation Director said it was a good day for moving, "Today we are moving stuff from the Family Service Center to Washington School for the early childhood classes and the Community Ed and after that we will move the second grade stuff from Washington School to Highland and the 4th grade teacher that needs to move at Highland and at the high school we have some remodeling and lots of cleaning to do when summer school is done, I have a good crew and plenty of help and it is a nice day for moving."
The hallways at Washington School are filled with desks and all the materials from the rooms and at Highland School the cafeteria is packed with desks, chairs, tables and all the equipment from the classrooms as they prepare to move second grade in and 7th grade out.

Early Childhood Education materials from the old Carmen School
are unloaded at their new location at Washington School

Alumni of the Polk County 4-H program are invited to work at the 4-H Food stand during the Fertile Fair. The Alumni Shift in the 4-H food stand will be Thursday, July 2 from 4-10 p.m. Please call or email Kylene Lehmann at 218-289-5887 or kodegaard@riverviewhealth.org if you would like to help. All alumni and spouses are welcome to come.

Many home gardeners have seen stress and slow growth in their tomato plants this spring due to the abnormally cool air and soil temperatures. Within the past 10 days, however, the temperatures have warmed considerably providing favorable growing conditions for tomatoes and other warm season vegetables. The succulent growth in combination with warm, humid weather makes tomato plants susceptible to “tomato blight”, the common name for Septoria leaf spot and Early Blight which are two of the most destructive fungus diseases of tomatoes. Like all fungus diseases, these two leaf spot diseases cannot be cured, only prevented.

Septoria leaf spot is the most prevalent of these diseases and normally infects the leaves and stems, but not the fruits. The disease is characterized by small spots with a dark outer ring and a lighter center. Tiny black fruiting bodies eventually form in the center of the leaf spots and produce spores which continue to spread the infection, climbing the plant like a ladder. Heavily infected leaves turn yellow, then brown and fall from the plant. The resulting defoliation can expose the fruit to the sun, which results in blistering and sunscald damage.

Early blight is identified by yellowing of leaves with gray colored spots consisting of concentric rings. This disease infects not only leaves, but also stems and fruit, causing defoliation of the plant and fruit rot near the petiole. These diseases survive in the soil on plant debris and on perennial weeds, particularly members of the nightshade family. The spores are spread by splashing water, insects, soil particles in the wind, and even on the hands and clothing of gardeners. The disease starts on the lower leaves of the plant and moves upward. Moisture on the leaves encourages the germination of the spores and development of the diseases.

As with many diseases, no single management strategy will cure the problem. Efforts should be concentrated on preventing the disease from infecting plants. Sanitation and crop rotation will reduce the number of spores that cause primary infections. Sanitation involves the removal of all infected plant material and weeds throughout the season as well as a complete cleanup of all plant material in the fall.

The diseases can be carried on seeds so purchase disease free seeds or save seed only from healthy plants. There currently are no varieties of tomatoes that are reliably resistant to the disease.

To prevent secondary infections, concentrate on reducing moisture on the leaves. Plants should be spaced far enough apart and staked or caged to encourage free air movement and more rapid drying of the leaves. Use drip irrigation or a soaker hose so that the water is not applied to the leaves; also mulch around the base of the plants to minimize water splash which carries the spores upward onto the plant.

As a last resort, fungicide application may still be necessary, particularly if the diseases have reduced the tomato harvest in previous years. Again, prevention is the key and it is unrealistic to expect good control if fungicide treatment begins after the plants are badly infected.

The KROX listening area received a massive amount of rain over the weekend including 3.83 inches of rain at the KROX studios in downtown Crookston. KROX listeners called in their rain totals and we have them listed below, all numbers are in inches.

Nielsville - 5+ inches
Northeast of Climax - 4.60
In Eldred - 4.5
4 miles west of Crookston - 4+
Cecil Malme's Farm near Shelly - 4 inches
KROX Radio Studios - 3.83
Ada - 3.75
5 miles north of Crookston 3.5
Harold Station - 3.25
Gentilly - 3.06
The Brunelle Farm - 2.6
Plummer - 2.5
3 miles West of Erskine - 2

Nasty looking clouds over RiverView Health Friday night
(Picture submitted by Alicia Berhow)

A railroad crossing replacement project on U.S. Highway 75 in Warren is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30. A detour will be in place for two days directing northbound traffic west on Polk County Road 23, north on Polk County Road 20 and continuing north on Marshall County Road 15 to Highway 1. Southbound traffic will use the same detour in reverse. The project is expected to be complete by July 2, weather permitting.

Catholics in the Diocese of Crookston are celebrating 100 years of existence this year with many events planned. Bishop Michael Hoeppner is the seventh Bishop in the diocese and had the diocesan centennial inaugural mass at the oldest parish last weekend in White Earth. "Last weekend we were in Red Lake to say goodbye to the Benedictine Sisters who were leaving as they do not have the numbers to continue, they have been in Red Lake since 1888, before the diocese was formed, and the week before that I celebrated at the oldest parish in the diocese in White Earth and kicked off the year long celebration," said Hoeppner. Ogema, Kelliher and Roseau Mission were the churches started in 1909 and in 1910 churches began in Sabin, Falun, Oslo, Dilworth. Bagley and Callaway.

Bishop Hoeppner tells the story of the beginning of the church, "The story is that Pope Pius XI was supposed to form the Crookston Diocese on January 1, 1911 but he jumped the gun and signed the document before he went to bed on New Year’s Eve." Bishop Hoeppner is the seventh bishop in the diocese. Bishop Corbett was the first bishop and the others were Bishop Peschges, Bishop Schenk, Bishop Glenn, Bishop Povish and Bishop Balke was here for 31 years. Churches were built and rebuilt after fires and new churches throughout the 100 years with changes constantly, according to Bishop Hoeppner. "The year before I came in 2007, Bishop Balke rededicated 17 churches remodeled or rebuilt of our 68 parishes in the last few year, some churches have closed and some have clustered together so one priest can take care of more than one parish," said Bishop Hoeppner. Priests were many things in the community and often built the church and then moved to another community to build a church.

Bishop Hoeppner feels the shortage of priests is changing, "Some parishes had a full time priest and an associate years ago but not now, but our numbers are starting to climb across the country and world, one of the first things I did here was to ask the people to pray hard for the young men to join the priesthood and so far we have five men seminarians and now and two more expected for next year, so we keep our hands folded and prayers going up for that."

The Catholic population is about steady in the diocese at 35,00 to 36,000 and it has been that for a while, according to the Bishop. "The Catholic Church loves change but sometimes it is difficult, we continue to work on sections of the Roman Missal and we are working on the English translation for the 12 English speaking parts of the world," said Heoppner, "and Rome has to approve it and the Holy Father wants it ready by the end of this calendar year." Many years ago Catholics remember the Rosary Crusade with Father Peyton coming to Central Park in Crookston which was packed with people, so where is the rosary for the faithful now, "I think the rosary is at the top especially since Pope John Paul II gave us the luminous mysteries and people are faithful to the bread and butter of devotional prayers with the rosary," said Bishop Hoeppner.

Bishop Hoeppner will continue celebrating the Centennial this weekend with the sacraments. He will perform a wedding this weekend in Red Lake Falls for Nick Knott and Kristin Naplin which he has not done for about ten years so he thinks the homily may be long. Bishop Hoeppner will perform a baptism in Warren on Sunday along with their centennial celebration. He is doing confirmations throughout the diocese in small groups this year and in December there will be the official centennial mass with other Bishops attending. Bishop Hoeppner said, "We will thank God for the last 100 years and on towards the next 100 years."

Lake Agassiz Regional Library would like to thank Northwest Minnesota Arts Council for the grant that will provide money to present magician Jeffrey Salveson in six of the region's 13 libraries this summer.

Magician Jeffrey Salveson's Magic Show, funded in part by a grant from the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council through a Minnesota State Legislative appropriation, will perform at the Ada, Climax, Crookston, Fertile, Fosston and McIntosh branch libraries during the month of July as part of the 2009 Summer Reading Program, "Be Creative @ Your Library."

LARL serves the residents of Becker, Clay, Clearwater, Mahnomen, Norman, Polk and Wilkin counties, with branch libraries in Ada, Bagley, Barnesville, Breckenridge, Climax, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Fertile, Fosston, Hawley, Mahnomen, McIntosh and Moorhead and LINK sites in Cormorant, Frazee, Gonvick, Halstad, Hendrum, Lake Park, Rothsay, Shelly, Twin Valley and Ulen.

EAST GRAND FORKS GRADUATE PROMOTED TO 2nd LIEUTENANT

Brandan L. Hostar has been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after successfully completing the Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program and graduating with a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
The new officer will be branched to a specific corps in the Army to serve on active duty or in the National Guard or Reserve. The lieutenant will attend an officer basic course relating to his or her particular military occupational specialty/job. Afterward, the officer will complete advanced training by attending basic officer leadership courses for career progression purposes.
The ROTC curriculum prepares students with the tools, training and experiences to help cadets succeed as effective leaders in any competitive environment. Army officers serve as leaders, counselors, strategists and motivators, who lead other soldiers in all situations occurring in ever-changing environments. As trained problem-solvers, key influencers and planners, they are driven to achieve success with their team on every mission.
The lieutenant will be assigned to the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado.
He is the son of John G. and Patrica A. Hostar of 20th St. N.W., East Grand Forks, Minn.
Hostar graduated in the year 2000 from East Grand Forks Senior High School.

City	2007	2008	+ or -
East Grand Forks	7769	7812	+43
Thief River Falls	8465	8472	+7
Warren	1564	1556	-8
Red Lake Falls	1508	1503	-5
Fisher	406	403	-3
Fertile	847	839	-8
Erskine	404	403	-1
Climax	237	235	-2
Bemidji	13346	13541	+195
Moorhead	35130	36012	+882
Grand Forks, ND	50786	51313	+527
Fargo, ND	92513	93531	+1018

School District	Math	Reading
East Grand Forks	57%	85%
Thief River Falls	63	72
Warren-A-O	69	72
Red Lake Falls	47	62
Fisher	71	83
Fertile-Beltrami	68	80
Climax	44	59