Cass County Commissioner Neal Gaalswyk had every right to be incensed recently at both the attitude and actions of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.  No stranger to the government nor to the idea of voicing his opinion, Gaalswyk was a longtime Crow Wing County deputy who also served a sti...

The Fourth of July is one of Americans’ favorite holidays — a noisy, raucous celebration of our independence — but it also can be one of the most dangerous. Summer travel on our nation’s roads is vastly popular at this time of year and the clear roads probably tempt all of us to drive a litt...

Here’s one bit of advice to the Crow Wing County Board as it continues to seek a location for a new detox center. If a contract is signed with a vendor to provide detox services, it’s imperative the county require some sort of notification requirement with financial penalties if the service is s...

Lake improvement district and lake association representatives met with the Crow Wing County Board last week to talk about what was working and what hurdles remained as both groups continue their work to keep county lakes healthy. ...

Forming a giant question mark on the map of northern and central Minnesota, the first 400 miles of the Mississippi River is a treasure of nature that needs to be preserved. For more than 30 years the Mississippi Headwaters Board, a consortium of eight Minnesota counties, has worked to build awarenes...

Crow Wing County officials all seem to agree that a detox service, located in or near Brainerd, is the best solution in the wake of the June 1 closing of the center that had operated at the Brainerd Regional Human Services Center....

Minnesotans’ patience with Gov. Mark Dayton and lawmakers has worn thin. We want a budget deal struck before state government is forced to largely shut down on July 1. Political realities, of course, demand that Dayton and the Republican majority have to try to please their supporters. We understa...

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s formal announcement of his presidential candidacy came a little less than 10  years from his first campaign stop in Brainerd. ...

A boater is reported missing. Weather conditions are rough. A family waits anxiously. Sheriff’s deputies and emergency personnel in our lakes area had seen this scenario play out all too often so when the call came in that 68-year-old Daniel Larson of Merrifield had not returned from a fishing out...

The headline on the news story of Elaine Chesley’s May 26 death described her as a fluoridation foe and while she certainly was an opponent of that controversial chemical, she was much more than that....