Area briefs

BACKUS -- An open house at the city of Backus' new four-unit townhouse complex will run 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The maintenance-free housing was designed for anyone age 55 or older. The townhouses were built to accommodate people with walkers or wheelchairs. Rent is $650 per month for the single-level homes with attached garages.

To find the townhouses from Highway 87 in Backus, go north on Wood Street along the west side of the Paul Bunyan Trail through a residential area to the north edge of the city.

For more information contact Backus City Hall at (218) 947-3221.

Children's Halloween Party set in Pequot

PEQUOT LAKES -- A Children's Halloween Party with games and treats will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, in the Cole Memorial Building (Senior Center) in Pequot Lakes.

The party is sponsored by the Pequot Lakes-Breezy Point Area Chamber of Commerce, Women's Club and Senior Citizens.

Deep Portage seeks sketches of critters

HACKENSACK -- Deep Portage Conservation Reserve is seeking sketches of the next "critter" to go on T-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs at the reserve.

In the past, winning sketches have been of deer, wolf, raccoons, geese, a wood duck, skunk and a ruffed grouse.

Sketches should be on 8 1/2- by 11-inch paper in India Ink. The Art Committee suggests either wildlife or aquatic life suitable for the area and transferable to mugs and shirts.

Send entries to Deep Portage, 2197 Nature Center Drive N.W., Hackensack, MN 56452. The deadline for entries is Nov. 16.

The mugs are collectors' items as the mold is destroyed at the end of each year.

Training to become a shoreland volunteer set

Are you concerned about lake water quality? Do you wonder why the lake turns green in late summer?

The University of Minnesota Extension Service Shoreland Volunteer programs give people the opportunity to learn about lake water quality issues. Volunteers then share that knowledge with others in the community and work to improve lake water quality.

The program is for any interested shoreland resident in Cass County. A training course will run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Central Minnesota Initiative Foundation in Little Falls. It will cover basic limnology, how do you know if your lake is healthy, lake water monitoring, watershed impacts on lakes and shoreland vegetation.

The workshop cost is $40, which includes resource notebooks, educational materials, meals and refreshments. Registration is limited to 40 people and the deadline for registration has been extended to Nov. 9.

For registration materials or for more information, contact Eleanor Burkett at the University of Minnesota Extension Service/Cass County at (866) 587-8281 or (218) 587-8280.