Area news briefs

Near record numbers of children and families were served by the Brainerd Salvation Army Corps during the 1999 holiday season.

A total of 469 Brainerd area households benefited from Salvation Army services in 1999, up from 446 in 1998. Individuals helped totaled 1,377, also an increase from 1,354 in 1998.

There were 683 children who received Salvation Army services this year. The "Angel Tree" program provided 1,125 gifts for needy children, a significant increase over the 712 gifts distributed in 1998.

In Brainerd, the familiar red kettles gathered $3,000 more than projected for the holiday season, said Lt. Paul Ferguson. Nearly 60 percent of all bell ringers were volunteers, also a considerable increase in volunteer help.

City, county to meet on highway

The Brainerd City Council and the Crow Wing County Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday at city hall to discuss Highway 371 turnback options.

The options pertain to the stretch of Highway 371 south of Brainerd to the bypass as a result of the realignment. The Minnesota Department of Transportation often turns over to local jurisdictions portions of highway when adding mileage elsewhere.

Education panel to tour CLC Friday

The Higher Education Finance Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives will tour Central Lakes College and other state college campuses this week.

The panel will visit CLC from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Friday and will conduct a lunch/roundtable discussion and a tour of the campus.

Committee Chair Rep. Peggy Leppik, R-Golden Valley, said the committee wants to get out of St. Paul and learn of concerns at campuses around the state.

The meetings and tours are open to the public.

Other schools on the tour include Alexandria Technical College, the University of Minnesota-Morris, Fergus Falls Community College, Northwest Technical College-Moorhead and Moorhead State University.