LOCAL BRIEFS

BAXTER - Brainerd Insurance Agency and Northwest Pizza will offer a free driver safety seminar for teen drivers and their parents Jan. 8 at the Northland Arboretum in Baxter.

The program will include Vanessa's Law, the "Not a Drop" law, the cell phone law, how aggressive and/or distracted driving can kill and that tickets and crashes not only affect the driver's insurance, but also the entire household.

Featured speakers will include Tony Cyr of the Cass County Sheriff's Office; Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl; Annie Bahr, who was involved in an alcohol-related crash in which her passenger was killed; and Stacey Moran, whose daughter was ejected from a vehicle in a crash and seriously injured.

Numerous door prizes will be handed out, including an iPod Shuffle. T-shirts will be given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Pizza and beverages will be served by Northwest Pizza.

Registration will be from 5-5:30 p.m. Jan 8 with the program beginning at 5:30 p.m.. To sign up, call the Brainerd Insurance Agency at 829-3558 or e-mail spusc@brainerd-insurance.com.

American Red Cross seeking donors

BAXTER - The American Red Cross will host a blood drive at Heritage Assembly of God Church in Baxter. Donations will be taken from 11 a.m. -5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2; from 1-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 3 and 4; and 12-6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 15 and 16.

For more information call Dee Severson at 829-3485.