Saturday, June 30, 2007
BUSINESS NEWS
The Board of Directors of Lakewood Bank appointed Joel Staehling to the position of president and chief executive officer.
Business Notes
PEQUOT LAKES - Lonesome Cottage Furniture Co., Pequot Lakes, recently announced a promotion and staff additions.
Dispatch job search engine powered by Yahoo! HotJobs
The Dispatch Web site's launch to include a local job search engine powered by Yahoo!'s HotJobs' software is now complete.
A chance to grow and learn
Pumpkin plants in neat rows stretched beneath a strong June sun at the Northland Arboretum.
Dispatch upgrading printing quality
A technology upgrade is expected to be fully operational at the Brainerd Dispatch in July and represents the continuation of a $500,000 investment in printing quality.
BIZ BUZZ
Lonesome Cottage Furniture, Pequot Lakes, acquired Rustic Retreat Furniture of Nisswa.
Firefighters respond
The Brainerd Fire Department responded to three calls Friday, including two grass fires.
EDA to meet Thursday
The Brainerd Economic Development Authority will meet at 8 a.m. Thursday at Brainerd City Hall.
Agendas
Brainerd City Council
AGENDAS
Cass County Board
ACCIDENTS
LITTLE FALLS - A 27-year-old Woodbury man was injured Monday after falling from the ceiling of the Little Falls Chamber of Commerce building.
Gull Chain of Lakes group to meet July 12
The annual membership and social meeting of the Gull Chain of Lakes Association is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 12 at 4064 Barrows Point Road, Nisswa. This address is on Mission Road, 2.5 miles south of Nisswa off Highway 371.
Log heaven
CROSSLAKE - A Scandinavian half-log style home on Rush Lake on the Whitefish Chain, built in 1931, was on the first Log Home and Log Cabin Tour sponsored by the Crosslake Area Historical Society 17 years ago.
LOCAL BRIEFS
BAXTER - Gina Tank recently joined Century 21 Brainerd Realty as a real estate agent.
WHAT'S DOING
Alexis Orth, daughter of Rich and Chris Orth, was recently crowned National American Miss Minnesota Jr. Pre-Teen Cover Girl at the state pageant in Bloomington. She received an official state crown, banner and trophy as well as trophies for National American Miss state finalist, Spirit of America and most ticket sales winner. She received ribbons for her talent entry and most recommendations.
Faith-based agency helps families deal with children's mental health issues
Bridges of Hope works with area mental health providers to offer immediate mental health evaluations for children and their families. Bridges of Hope links families with an urgent mental health need to an area mental health provider immediately. It also can provide financial assistance for an initial assessment when a child or family is uninsured or underinsured. Bridges will continue to work with the family to get them connected to insurance for any follow-up that is recommended by the therapist.
MUCH OBLIGED
As we approach the Fourth of July holiday in a few days, I encourage each one of us to stop and reflect on the solemn meaning behind this important day in our heritage.
A PHOTO ALBUM: MOONDANCE JAMMIN' COUNTRY FEST
Julie Fenske (left) and Karol Kruse, both of Brainerd, kept time to the music Thursday at Moondance Jammin' Country Fest. Brainerd Dispatch/ Steve Kohls
2 Nisswa businesses hit by counterfeiters
Two businesses in Nisswa were scammed by counterfeit travelers checks, each for $500, Sgt. Tim Holmes of the Nisswa Police Department said Friday.
Honks for Hugs
Rachel Converse, receptionist at radio station 3WI, waved to motorists on Washington Street in Brainerd on Friday during the Honks for Hugs fundraiser. Sponsored by the radio station and Brainerd Lakes Huggers, Converse was among several volunteers who were raising money to buy materials for "hugs," which can be filled with water and draped around the neck of a soldier in the Middle East to cool body temperature by up to five degrees. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
Holman to join Baxter City Council
Todd Holman will join the Baxter City Council.
Tyke at the mic
Maisy Harry, 4, sang during the talent show Thursday before storyteller Cheryl Sawyer performed at Gregory Park in Brainerd. The event was hosted by the Brainerd Parks and Recreation Department. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
Little Miss and Mister
Trenton Jay (left) and Evinlee Rager accepted their trophies and crowns as they were named the winners of the eighth annual Little Miss and Mister Fourth of July Pageant on Thursday at the Westgate Mall in Baxter. More than 40 boys and girls participated in the annual show.
Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
LOCAL BRIEFS
The Brainerd Community Agriculture Center was selected to receive a grant for the purchase of equine classroom resources.
Overheard
"The first race I came to after being diagnosed and seeing the couple thousand people that were there, I felt they were all there for me. ... We still need to keep racing and we need to keep fighting."
Getting ready to boogie
As far as Rahj White is concerned, disco isn't dead. You just have to look a little harder to find it.
Boy dies in personal watercraft accident
GARRISON - A 14-year-old Chisago City boy was killed Friday after his personal watercraft collided with another personal watercraft operated by a 13-year-old Lino Lakes boy on Crooked Lake near Garrison, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department reported.
LOCAL BRIEFS
The Crossing Arts Alliance in partnership with the Brainerd Lakes Chamber is inviting the community to the "The Oxtrot" event.
Firewood restriction issued for Fourth
Firewood movement restrictions are now in place in Minnesota to prevent the importation of forest insects such as the emerald ash borer, which has devastated trees in Canada and several Midwest states.
Panel confronts budget dilemma
Faced with a $5 million budget dilemma, the Brainerd School District's Finance Committee met Thursday to continue to consider options.
'It takes all of us to be survivors'
RACE FOR THE CURE | A STORY OF SURVIVAL
Overheard
"I don't see where the political will is there for this issue to be dealt with."
Battle of the Bands
Stephanie Frenstad, with the band Waiting on Wednesday, sang lead vocals Friday night during the Battle of the Bands at Don Adamson Field. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
Highway 210 construction work set to resume July 9
After a break in construction operations to make way for Fourth of July holiday traffic, work will resume the week of July 9, the Minnesota Department of Transportation reported.
This was Brainerd
JULY 1 - 30 years ago (1977) - Mrs. H.C. Henneman, Brainerd, piano teacher, received a lifetime membership in the state and National Music Teachers Association.
SALE$
Seventy-four-year-old Jackie Conroy stood in her garage Wednesday off the frontage road near South Sixth Street in Brainerd looking at all the antique furniture and other vintage collectibles.
Fourth of July events
BRAINERD/BAXTER AREA
Several suspects in meth operation sentenced
LONG PRAIRIE - Several suspects arrested in Todd and Wadena counties in 2006 in connection with a methamphetamine distribution ring have been sentenced in federal court, the Todd County Sheriff's Department reported.
This was Brainerd
JUNE 29 - 80 years ago (1927) - Without a doubt the greatest display of flowers ever to be seen at one showing in the county was the feeling of the hundreds of Brainerd and county people who visited the third annual peony show at the courthouse.
Moondance jammin'
Kristy O. (left) listened as Buffy Lawson of Bomshel performed Thursday at Moondance Jammin' Country Fest at Moondance Ranch near Walker. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
Sharing fun and friendship at Blanck retirement party
Duane Blanck put on a large sombrero from his daughter as she talked about the many hats her father has worn over the years as a baseball coach, Nisswa Lions member, father and others at his retirement party Thursday. Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
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.
Karen A. Fiedler
LITTLE FALLS - Karen A. Fiedler, 55-year-old resident of Little Falls, Minn., passed away Friday, July 29, 2007, at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn. Arrangements are pending with the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls.
Clifford 'Cliff' Danielson
CROSBY - Clifford "Cliff" F. Danielson was born on Aug. 28, 1938, in Duluth, Minn. He was raised in Superior, Wis. He died at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, Crosby, Minn., on Monday, May 28, 2007. Cliff loved cars and collecting cars, listening to oldies music. He liked a good thunderstorm and was very much a people person.
James F. Elg
James Frederick Elg, age 60, passed away June 28, 2007, at his home after a short but courageous battle with cancer. James was born on Aug. 26, 1946, in Virginia, Minn., to Evald and Doris (Ilse) Elg
Brian Scarbro
PINE RIVER - Brian Scarbro, age 47, of Pine River, passed away Tuesday, June 26, 2007, at his home. Services will be 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 14, at Kline Funeral Home, Pine River. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Arrangements are with Kline Funeral Home, Pine River.
Dwaine Hollingsworth
MERRIFIELD - Dwaine Hollingsworth, Merrifield, 65, passed away on Friday, June 29, 2007, at home. He was born April 10, 1942, in Merrifield to Clayton and Lillian (Karge) Hollingsworth. He was united in marriage to Patricia Lord March 11, 1962, in Brainerd. Dwaine worked for the city of Brainerd Parks and Recreation Department until he retired in 1999. He enjoyed spending time with family, fishing and hunting.
James F. Elg
James Frederick Elg, age 60, passed away June 28, 2007, at his home after a short but courageous battle with cancer.
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.
James 'Jim' G. Lattimer
LITTLE FALLS - James "Jim" G. Lattimer, 47-year-old resident of Little Falls, Minn., passed away Tuesday, June 26, 2007, at St. Gabriel's Hospital in Little Falls. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 2, 2007, at the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls. A visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Sunday, July 1, at the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls and one hour prior to the service Monday at the Shelley Funeral Chapel.
Open Forum
Based on the information in the article that you had in the June 27 issue of your paper, we are all in serious trouble. We are over-taxed!
OTHER OPINION: SOLDIERS
Finally, it appears that members of Minnesota's 1st Brigade Combat Team of the National Guard will return home within the next month or so.
OUR OPINION: SUPREME COURT
The widely diverse writers whose words appear on this Commentary page, including the editorialists, the columnists and the Open Forum writers, all share one trait. They're all big supporters of free speech. Our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech allows us to speak out on public issues, praise or condemn our leaders or vent on the noise of Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Looking beyond politics on Iraq
In my judgment, our course in Iraq has lost contact with our national security interests in the Middle East and beyond. Our continuing absorption with military activities in Iraq is limiting our diplomatic assertiveness there and elsewhere in the world.
What do you think?
Write us a letter or send us an e-mail
It's time for state caucuses to be relevant
Minnesota DFL and Republican leaders are leaning toward moving precinct caucuses to Feb. 5, more than a month earlier than scheduled.
Sound off to your elected senators and representatives
Sen. Norm Coleman
VOX POP
Please be careful with your campfires, grills and fireworks. We don't need any fires here. It is very dry.
Sedge, grass look alike but belong to different families
Sometimes there are so many sensational scenes taking place in nature that I don't know which to write about. Should the topic be loons and chicks, geese and goslings, skippers and swallowtails, spittlebugs and spiders, basking turtles and bogs, showy lady slippers and sedges or bird songs?
Redtails? At today's prices, they should be called goldtails
Last week I wrote about our guides and how each has a different approach to fishing. That was mainly in regard to live bait rigging. But what about how you hook those leeches, nightcrawlers and minnows? Where and how? And how fast should you move when bait is hooked in a particular way?
Night bite comes on strong as days get hot
Tired of fighting the fishing crowds? Looking for a way to beat the heat? Looking for the walleye of your dreams?
Boaters must do their part to prevent spread of exotic species
The DNR reminds watercraft users to check their watercrafts when launching and landing this year. You might see a volunteer inspector at a public access checking trailers for weeds. Boat's livewells will be checked too - no, not for fish, but for exotic species.
WAPOA's hard work pays off
Thirty-seven years after its inception, the Whitefish Area Property Owners Association is recognized as the best property owners association in Minnesota.
Hanske-Christenson
Angela Jean Hanske and Erik Walden Christenson were married Dec. 30, 2006, at Salem Lutheran Church in Deerwood with Pastor David Anderson officiating.
45th anniversary
Curtis and Diana Fox, Brainerd, recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary with a dinner with their family. A future trip is planned. They were married June 29, 1962, in Brainerd.
70th birthday
LaVerne Chisholm will celebrate his 70th birthday with an open house from 1-4 p.m. July 7 at the Green Lantern. The event will be hosted by his children.
Selter-Schultz
Lisa Selter and Bill Schultz announce their engagement. Parents are the late Michael and Christine Loew and Jack and Alice Schultz, Nisswa. An Aug. 18 wedding is planned at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Pequot Lakes.
Four generations
Four generations recently gathered were Fayth Joelle Conner, daughter; Amanda (Fox) Conner, mother, Baxter; Janet (Larson) Fox, grandmother, Burnsville; and Mervin Larson, great-grandfather, Brainerd.
80th birthday
Joyce (Haglin) Sutton will celebrate her 80th birthday with an open house from 1-4 p.m. July 8 at the Koinonia Center at First Lutheran Church in Brainerd. Because Joyce was born on July 4, guests are asked to wear red, white and blue. No gifts please.
Studniski-Rothstein
Sara Studniski and Nathan Rothstein announce their engagement. Parents are Gretchen and Rick Studniski, Rogers, and Cathy and Denny Rothstein, Pierz. A November wedding is planned.
65th anniversary
Chet and Bettie Snyder will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on July 3. They were married in Lakehurst, N.J.
Finch-Larson
Sarah Finch and Matt Larson were married Feb. 24, 2007, in Ponce Inlet Beach, Fla.
65th anniversary
Marcel and Margaret (Sullivan) Pikula, Brainerd, will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony at 11:15 a.m. Mass at St. Francis Catholic Church with an open house to follow from 2-5 p.m. July 8 at their home, 1803 S. Eighth St. , near Bane Park in Brainerd. No gifts please.
40th anniversary
James and Connie Boileau, Brainerd, will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday with their family. They were married July 1, 1967, in Brainerd.
Halverson-Morris
Erin Halverson and David Morris were married April 14, 2007, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brainerd with Pastor Mark Skinner officiating.
80th birthday
Janet Meyer will celebrate her 80th birthday with an open house from 2-6 p.m. July 7 at Randy and Bonnie Powers' home in Brainerd. The event will be hosted by her children.
Choosing light over darkness
June 21 was the beginning of summer and has the longest hours of daylight. In the northernmost areas of the earth, it is light 24 hours a day during the beginning of summer. Then, during the first days of winter, those same northern areas experience darkness for almost 24 hours a day. We think of days as being light and darkness being night.
CHURCH NEWS
MALMO - Simple Grace, a group from Martell, Neb., will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Malmo Free Church.
Brainerd, Pierz win C-I league
CROSBY - Brainerd defeated Crosby-Ironton 25-22 in the Fastbreak League Wednesday, winning the seventh-grade championship. Pierz won the eight-grade championship over C-I 24-21.
Show & Go kicks off holiday slate
If you're looking for a way to start you're July 4 week with a bang, there may be no better place to be at than Brainerd International Raceway this weekend.
Brewers dim the Lightning
PIERZ - The Pierz Brewers stormed back in the bottom of the seventh inning to score six runs on seven hits en route to an 11-9 win over the Lakes Area Lightning Wednesday.
Rochester blanks Brainerd 7-0
ROCHESTER - Starting pitcher Craig Fritsch scattered four hits over eight strong innings of work, striking out eight and walking just two to help the Rochester Honkers blank the Brainerd Blue Thunder 7-0 Friday in a Northwoods League game.
Lightning hit their way
past Miners
Tony Parrish had two hits, including a two-run home run to propel the Lakes Area Lightning past the Cuyuna Range Miners 7-4 Friday at Mills Field.
Golf
34th Annual Golf Classic
Sophs split at St. Cloud
The Brainerd sophomore VFW baseball team split with St. Cloud Apollo Thursday dropping game one 1-0 and rebounding for a 7-3 game two victory in St. Cloud.
Augustinack hopes to leave others in his wake
He's topped snowboards, skateboards and probably a 2x4, but five years ago when Tony Augustinack received his first wakeboard a career was born.
Pitcher Burlea, Brainerd blast Honkers early
ROCHESTER - The Brainerd Blue Thunder plated five runs in the first inning and chased Rochester starting pitcher Reed Woytek after two innings to pick up the 9-6 Northwoods League victory Friday at Mayo Field.
Stranne heads to nationals
Kelly Stranne's horse, Slick, may be four years older than she is, but that didn't prevent the 13-year-old Pine River girl and 17-year-old brownish-black thoroughbred quarterhorse from winning the state championship in barrel racing and placing fourth in poles, qualifying them for nationals.
Scoreboard
Area events
IndyCar racing among the corn
Amidst the farms and rows of corn in central Iowa looms the Iowa Speedway, outside of the town of Newton.
Blue Thunder "Support our Troops" day July 2
The Blue Thunder and the Mills family are sponsoring "Support our Troops" day July 2 at Mills Field for their game against the Duluth Huskies. All veterans and active military personnel and their families are invited.
Softball tourney features bands, cookout
After the Fourth of July fireworks are extinguished and sparklers are stored away until next year, 36 teams from the five-state area will descend upon Memorial Park in Brainerd July 6-8 for the 28th Annual Brainerd Men's Invitational softball tournament.
Bertha-Hewitt sweeps Staples-Motley
BERTHA - The Bertha-Hewitt Legion baseball team was able to sneak away with a 9-8 game-one victory and followed that up with an 8-6 win in the second game to sweep a doubleheader from Staples-Motley Friday.
Scoreboard
Area events
State forecast for S.D.
Today...Mostly sunny. A slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms northwest and black hills. Highs in the 80s east to the 90s west except upper 70s far northeast.
State forecast for Iowa
Today...Partly sunny. Highs 75 south to 84 northwest.
State forecast for N.D.
Today...Partly to mostly sunny. A slight chance of thunderstorms
State forecast for Iowa
Today...Partly cloudy. Highs 72 north to 83 south.
State forecast for S.D.
Today...Sunny and warmer. Becoming windy west. Highs in the upper 70s far east to near 100 southwest.
Wisconsin state forecast
Today...Partly to mostly sunny. Highs in the low to mid 70s.
State forecast for Minnesota
Today...Partly cloudy. Slight chance of showers north.
State forecast for Minnesota
Today...Mostly sunny north and east while partly cloudy south and
Beach time
Weather drawing by Katie Duarte of Ms. Hemstad's third-grade class at Baxter school.
A nice day
Weather drawing by Hannah Nameniuk of Ms. Hemstad's third-grade class at Baxter school.
Wisconsin state forecast
Today...Partly cloudy. Highs from the mid 70s north to around 80 in the south. Cooler near the great lakes.
State forecast for N.D.
Today...Mostly sunny. Windy central and west. Highs around 80