Friday, January 29, 2010
Honda crossovers: ducklings or swans?
DETROIT - They are strange conveyances - part beasts, part beauties, vehicles that in the process of becoming, from one perspective, became the wrong thing.
BHS grad shares memories in book
A 1965 Brainerd High School graduate has written his first book, now available to the public.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Live music
FINE ARTS STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Brian Ashburn
LOCAL BRIEFS
An exhibit from Kara Brick's eighth-grade students at Forestview Middle School in Baxter will open Thursday at the Northland Arboretum Gallery, which will run through the end of March.
Salad easy on the eyes and palate
I am excited to share with you a wonderful salad I enjoyed at a birthday party last weekend. It's fresh and easy with the perfect mix of flavors.
POLICE BLOTTER
CRASH - No injuries were reported in a crash at 3:44 p.m. Tuesday at Excelsior Road and Edgewood Drive.
POLICE BLOTTER
THEFT - A gas drive-off of $36.28 was reported Wednesday at the Corner Store N More, 19165 Highway 18.
The tradition begins - and continues
Outdoor Traditions is no longer just a quarterly publications.
Correction
A Page 1A story Thursday about the Staples Public Library should have said the old library building was handicapped accessible.
Crow Wing court
The following recently appeared in Crow Wing District Court:
BIRTH
Mike and Hollie Swanson, Brainerd, a girl, Ava Michelle, 6 pounds, 4.3 ounces, Jan. 25, 2010. Grandparents are Craig and Sophie Oliver, Shoreview, and Bob and JoAn Swanson, Deerwood.
LOCAL BRIEFS
CROSBY - An Unlimited Learning class entitled "The Victory Garden" is scheduled from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Hallett Community Center in Crosby.
Four for Nor-Son
BAXTER - Nor-Son, Inc. of Baxter recently received four awards from the Minnesota Associated Builders and Contractors at ABC's 2009 Excellence in Construction Banquet at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Minneapolis.
This was Brainerd
JANUARY 28 - 60 years ago (1950) - Mayor Levi Johnson has issued a warning to persons using stoker coal to go easy on their supplies. The situation here is critical, said the mayor. We don't know when new supplies can reach the city due to the nationwide coal strike.
Overheard
It's very possible that health care is just a stalemante and you can't solve it this year.
YMCA Teen Scene planned Friday night
The Brainerd Family YMCA will conduct Teen Scene from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, for fifth- and sixth-graders.
CHILLY WAIT
Officials, fans and coaches stood at the finish line of the Central Lakes Conference Nordic ski championship Thursday at the Northland Arboretum in Brainerd.
25-35 below zero?
Button up before venturing outside Thursday morning.
STEP INTO HEALTH
Lise Lunde (left), Karen Skarolid, Becky Stock, Kristi Westbrock, Vanessa Fordyce, Katie Tautges and Laurie Raboin, members of the United Way of Crow Wing and Southern Cass Counties Women's Wellness Leadership Council, showed off their shoes Thursday at the Step Into Health Women's Wellness for all generations event at the Lodge in Baxter.
Rare disease leaves Vicki's family and friends devastated
Vicki LaMere has spent much of her adult life championing causes to benefit the city of Lake Shore, a community she has lived in and loved her entire life. She has spent the last 15 years on the Lake Shore City Council.
Koering seeks third term, eyes business-friendly climate
Sen. Paul Koering announced Thursday he is seeking a third term for the Senate District 12 seat he has held since being elected in 2002.
WOODSHED FIRE BATTLED
A Brainerd firefighter on Thursday worked to get a water hose to a woodshed fire on the 10000 block of Crow Wing County Road 25 east of Brainerd.
St. Cloud wants to attract flat-rate airline
ST. CLOUD (AP) - Officials in St. Cloud are hoping to attract an airline to the city that would mean a flat rate for travelers.
Flag ceremony conducted at Carefree Living
Carefree Living of Brainerd hosted the Brainerd VFW Color Guard Jan. 21 in an American flag ceremony at the center.
This was Brainerd
60 years ago (1950) - Lt. Gov. C. Elmer Anderson reported the Gull Lake area was the coldest in the nation this morning, saying his thermometer in Nisswa read 56 below zero. Anderson entered a plea to President Truman to do something about the coal strike.
Check out the new Staples library
STAPLES - The Staples Public Library is getting out of the dark.
Overheard
Change has not come fast enough.
Tourism industry looks at 'new normal'
EAST GULL LAKE - In dealing with a "new normal," the tourism industry has expectations for a better 2010.
LOCAL BRIEFS
The Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District will move to a new location next month. Officials said the move to the Crow Wing County Land Services Building at 322 Laurel St., Suite 13, in Brainerd is designed to improve efficiency.
Mike Doucette, Little Falls Council, president dies
Mike Doucette, Little Falls City Council president, died suddenly Wednesday at St. Cloud Hospital.
Rescue training Saturday on Cass Lake
WALKER - A multi-agency emergency response rescue exercise will be conducted from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday on Cass Lake.
They hope concert can make a difference for a devastated Haiti
When Pete Lowe of the Lord of Life Band wrote the song "We Can Change," he had no idea his lyrics would become the theme of a fundraiser for a devastated, earthquake-ravaged country.
Dancers win conference title
The Brainerd Warrior dance team clinched the Central Lakes Conference Dance Team Championship title Tuesday at St. Cloud Tech High School.
Sertoma Club recognizes Sertoma Works recipients
Sertoma recently recognized its five new inductees into the Sertoma Works honors group.
Girl Scouts host annual meeting this weekend
BAXTER - The Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines will host its annual meeting and recognition celebration Thursday through Saturday at The Lodge in Baxter.
Pine River and Little Falls named recipients of heritage grants
The Pine River Fire Department and the Minnesota Military Museum in Little Falls were named recipients of Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants.
Picek honored as Sertoman of the Year
Brainerd Area Sertoma Club recently presented Cathe Picek with its Sertoman of the Year Award.
SENIOR CALENDAR
803 Kingwood St., Brainerd
Legislators offer views on contract deadline penalty
Brainerd School District officials provided two area state lawmakers with a laundry list of funding issues that affect the district, including the teacher contract settlement penalty, the state funding formulas and the state's recent decision to delay school district payments this spring.
Bus operator blasts biodiesel mandate
On Jan. 4, a blustery cold day with temperatures hovering around 30 below zero, at least 35 Brainerd school buses, or half of Reichert Bus Service's fleet, briefly stalled or broke down that morning because the diesel fuel was gelling.
Patricia Frisk
MOTLEY - Patricia Frisk, of Motley, died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, at Lakewood Health System Care Center in Staples. Visitation will be on Friday at the Brenny Funeral Home in Staples from 5-7 p.m. Funeral services will be Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, at 1 p.m. at Motley United Methodist Church.
Albert Sheldon
Albert Sheldon, 80, of Brainerd, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, Crosby, Minn. Arrangements are pending with Brenny Funeral Chapel of Baxter.
Rustin Opp
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Rustin Opp was born on Feb. 12, 1968, in Luverne, Minn., and is a 1986 graduate of Pierz High School, Pierz, Minn. He passed away on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, at his home in rural Fayetteville, N.C.
Bonita A. Balzer
Bonita "Bonnie" A. Balzer, Brainerd, 69, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, at her home in Brainerd.
Roger J. Jacobson
AITKIN - Roger John Jacobson, age 80, of Aitkin, died Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, at the Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin.
Albert H. Sheldon
Albert H. Sheldon, age 80, of Brainerd, passed away Wednesday morning, Jan. 27, 2010, at the Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, at the Brenny Funeral Chapel of Baxter. Friends are invited to gather beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday at the Brenny Funeral Chapel. Interment will be in Our Savior's Lutheran Cemetery in Pequot Lakes.
Grace Midlo
BAXTER - Grace Midlo, of Baxter, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, at the Bethany Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd.
Michael C. Doucette
LITTLE FALLS - Michael C. Doucette, 60, Little Falls, died Jan. 27, 2010. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Sunday at Emblom-Brenny Funeral Service in Little Falls, Minn.
Ruth A. Noe
ST. CLOUD - Ruth A. Noe, 61, of St. Cloud, died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, at the Pierz Villa in Pierz. Burial will be at a later date in Chemung, Ill. Arrangements are with Emblom-Brenny Funeral Service in Little Falls.
Beverly Just
AITKIN - Beverly Just, age 79, of Aitkin, died Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, as the result of a catastrophic stroke. Consistent with her wishes, her children were able to care for her at "The Shop" until she passed from this life into heaven.
Obituary policy
Obituary notices are charged at 40 cents a word, exclusive of the first 125 words, which are free. A $10 fee is charged for a half-column photograph. To place an obituary in the Dispatch, consult the funeral home handling arrangements.
Rodney R. Strom
FOLEY - Rodney R. Strom, 55-year-old resident of Foley, Minn., formerly of Little Falls, Minn., passed away Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, at his residence.
Anna Puetz-Hansmann
Anna Puetz-Hansmann, age 104, died at her home in Brainerd on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010. Anna was born in Brainerd on Sept. 27, 1905, to Peter and Alexina (Sauvageau) Dechaine. She married Michael Joseph Puetz at St. Mathias Catholic Church on Jan. 6, 1924.
Roger J. Donek
HARDING - Roger J. Donek, age 55, of Harding, Minn., passed away Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, at his home in Pulaski Township following a heroic battle with cancer.
Sylvester 'Pete' Zimny
ROYALTON - Sylvester "Pete" Zimny, 90, Royalton, Minn., died Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. Services will be Monday, Feb. 1, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Royalton, Minn. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. on Sunday at Emblom-Brenny Funeral Service in Royalton, Minn., and from 8:30-10 a.m. on Monday at the funeral home.
Lois J. Koch
MERRIFIELD - Lois Jeanne Koch, 85-year-old resident of Merrifield, passed away from natural causes Monday, Jan. 25, 2010. The daughter of Arthur and Esther (Swanson) Johnson of West St. Paul, Lois was raised in West St. Paul and attended schools in West and South St. Paul.
What do you think?
The Brainerd Dispatch welcomes letters on recent articles and current issues. Letters should include the writer's full name, city and a phone number (for verification only). Letters are limited to 300 words. Only one letter per person per week.
Open Forum
I remain amazed at the actions of our school board, they have led us to believe that the Franklin and Washington schools were no longer usable or too costly to update.
OTHER OPINION: BUDGET
The Obama administration estimates that the selective spending freeze it will propose next week would save $10 billion to $15 billion in fiscal 2011, which begins Oct. 1. By comparison, just the interest on its debt will cost the government $207 billion in the same year and, at current trends, more than $723 billion per year 10 years from now, the Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday.
OTHER OPINION: AUTOS
When the 2009 Washington Auto Show concluded last February, it was anyone's guess whether General Motors and Chrysler would survive to participate in 2010. With help from the federal government, they made it back this year - and the atmosphere for U.S. carmakers is considerably brighter than it was a winter ago.
Open Forum:
In regards to a Jan. 12 letter, how dare the government allow the cost of an anti-cancer drug to go from $120 to $1,079 in one jump without intervening? Any company who makes billions of dollars in obscene profits so it can pay a few people at the top millions of dollars in salary, perks and pension at the expense of it's customers is price gouging. And especially in the medical field, this is unconscionable
VOX POP
To the writer who thinks we shouldn't care for countries like Haiti in their hour of need, how do you know what terrorists have in store for us? Perhaps one day we'll be peeking through a pile of rubble and thanking the countries that come to our aid.
At moment of truth, betrayal
WASHINGTON - On the very same day this week when the Congressional Budget Office warned that the succession of previously unimaginable trillion-dollar- and-more budget deficits could inflict ruin on the United States, the Senate faced a moment of truth.
CHURCH NEWS
PEQUOT LAKES - Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Pequot Lakes will host a father-son banquet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. A turkey dinner will be served followed by a program featuring Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl as guest speaker. Door prizes will be awarded.
Faithfully, if not obediently, Catholic
WASHINGTON - Inside a red brick house in Falls Church, Va., Bridget Mary Meehan placed a silver chalice of wine and a plate of flatbread on the coffee table in her living room and prepared to lead a sacred, forbidden ceremony.
Flying Warriors skate to overtime tie
WILLMAR - Hailey Joyce, assisted by Bailey Andres and Molly Peltoma, scored the only goal for the Flying Warriors as Brainerd/Little Falls skated to a 1-1 overtime tie with the Willmar Cardinals in a Central Lakes Conference game Thursday.
Warriors cruise to win over Storm
SAUK RAPIDS - Alek Rudstrom, Brady Watson and Jon Warling each won two events helping the Brainerd Warriors down the Sauk Rapids Storm 114-70 for a Central Lakes Conference victory Thursday.
Continuous pursuit new event in Lumberjack Jaunt
In an effort to continue to be an attractive event, the annual Brainerd Nordic Ski Club Lumberjack Jaunt will feature a continuous pursuit race for the first time Sunday at Northland Arboretum.
Pearson dominates as Raiders click
With just seven games remaining, the ever-changing puzzle pieces that comprise the Central Lakes College women's basketball game plan began to settle Wednesday night.
AREA BOYS' BASKETBALL
DULUTH - Nick Sundholm's 23 points led the Aitkin Gobblers to their fourth-straight victory Thursday, this time a 44-34 win over Duluth Marshall.
AREA GIRLS' BASKETBALL
PEQUOT LAKES - Emily Lueck finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Pequot Lakes Patriots to their fourth-straight victory with a 69-51 non-conference win over Hibbing Thursday.
Mounds View edges Warriors
MOUNDS VIEW - Wes Blomberg scored a pair of goals and assisted on another as Brainerd dropped a close 4-3 contest to Mounds View Thursday.
LOCAL SPORTS SHORTS
Brainerd native C.J. Peeters scored 33 points to help the Jamestown College men's basketball team to an 88-75 overtime win at Mayville State Wednesday.
Brainerd sweeps Tech
ST. CLOUD - Tess Rahto and Gretchen Kletscher each tallied 25 points to lead the Brainerd Warriors past St. Cloud Tech 70-58 to claim a Central Lakes Conference sweep of the Tigers.
Grewe's monster showing spurs Raiders to 74-47 win
Nick Grewe played football at Winona State two years ago before taking last year off from school to work.
Storm stops Flyers 5-3
LITTLE FALLS - Joey Hanowski, Ben Newman, and Austin Bjorge all scored goals for the Little Falls Flyers in a 5-3 Central Lakes Conference loss to the Sauk Rapids Storm Thursday.
Rockford takes down Pierz 68-42
ROCKFORD - Amber Preimesberger grabbed 11 rebounds and scored seven points for the Pierz Pioneers in Tuesday's 68-42 Central Minnesota Conference loss to the Rockford Rockets.
Warriors improve to 10-2 by beating Willmar
Brainerd received pins from Nick Grausam at 135 pounds and Chad Ohman at 189 en route to a 39-22 win over Willmar in a Central Lakes Conference dual meet Thursday night.
AREA WRESTLING
PARKERS PRAIRIE - The Staples-Motley Cardinals won two dual meets convincingly on Thursday at the Parkers Prairie triangular, defeating Parkers Prairie 57-9 and Breckenridge 61-11.
Flyers lose to Sauk Rapids
SAUK RAPIDS - Rachelle LeBlanc garnered three individual wins and won the all-around title for Little Falls as the Flyers fell to Sauk Rapids 139.10-135.15 in a Central Lakes Conference meet Thursday.
LOCAL SHORTS
Central Lakes College will host free mini sports clinics for girls in the Brainerd campus gymnasium from 9 to 11 a.m. Feb. 6
Warriors' confidence grows with win streak
One of the longest win streaks in Brainerd Warriors hockey history continued to swell Thursday night.
SCOREBOARD
Area events
Brainerd's Finstad becoming a classic
Amanda Finstad's week just keeps getting better.
Ohman joins elite group of wrestlers
Chad Ohman entered the Elk River tournament with a swagger and backed it up.
State forecast for Minnesota
Wind chill advisory most areas this morning...
Winter wonderland treehouse
Weather drawing by Isabella Rose Bock England in the Lowell second grade of Mrs. Larson.
State forecast for Iowa
Wind chill advisory for much of the north third of iowa until mid
State forecast for North Dakota
.Today...Partly to mostly sunny. Highs 5 east to the low 20s southwest.
Snowman: 'Keep cold air coming'
Weather drawing by Hannah Schmaltz in the Garfield second grade of Olson-Morgan.
State forecast for Iowa
.Today...Partly cloudy. Highs near 10 north to the teens southwest.
State forecast for Wisconsin
Wind chill advisory in effect for parts or northern wisconsin this morning...
State forecast for Wisconsin
Today...Mostly sunny and cold. Partly cloudy in the lake superior snowbelt with a slight chance of snow showers. Highs 8 to 15. Tonight...Partly cloudy. A few lakeside flurries possible south of milwaukee. Lows 5 to 15 below zero northwest...To 5 below to 5 above southeast.
State forecast for S.D.
Wind chill advisory east thursday morning...
State forecast for Minnesota
.Today...Mostly sunny. Highs 8 to 12.
The nation's weather
Low pressure was expected to track across the Southern U.S. on Friday and bring more rain and snow to the region.
State forecast for N.D.
Wind chill advisory in effect this morning for most of