Boy, 9, ATV Fatal

A 9-year old Greenbush boy was killed when his 12-year old brother lost control of the ATV they were riding on and it rolled. The rollover happened Friday on a trail near Becida. When authorities arrived at the scene, they found the 12-year old lying on the ground near the ATV and the 9-year old pinned underneath. Hubbard County Sheriff Frank Homer says the 9-year old was pronounced dead at a Bemidji hospital. The 12-year old was not hurt. The victim's name has not been released and the crash remains under investigation.

Deerwood Lions Award Scholarships

The Deerwood Lions recently awarded two $500.00 Traditional Scholarships to Hanna G. Palkie from Aitkin High School and Keifer J. Watson from Crosby-Ironton High School. Hanna will major in Elementary Education and Keifer in Psychology.

The Deerwood Lions also awarded a $500.00 Vocational/Technical Scholarship to Beau J. Ekelund from Aitkin High School. Beau will pursue a career in Graphic Design. The Lions congratulate all the winning students and also regret that they were not able to give scholarships to all who applied.

City Holds Special Meeting

The City of Brainerd will hold a special meeting of the Safety and Public Works Committee at 7:00pm on Monday, June 14 in the City Hall Council Chambers. The purpose of the meeting will be to conduct a Public Informational Meeting related to the proposed reconstruction of College Drive. There will be a presentation on the issues and processes to date followed by an opportunity for questions and answers. Persons with questions, comments or concerns regarding this project are encouraged to attend, according to Jeff Hulsether, Brainerd City Engineer.

Stamman This Weekend

Nisswa-Stamman comes to town this weekend. There will be performers from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The big day is Saturday, according to local artist Harold Herboldt. He says it will begin with a parade to the Pioneer Village.

In the event of rain, the festivities will be moved to the Nisswa School.

The Stamman begins tonight with a sampler concert at the Lutheran Church of the Cross at 6 p.m. An old time dance willl be held at the Nisswa American Legion at 9 p.m.

Wards, Honorary Komen Chairs

John and Sally Ward have been named Honorary Chair and Honorary Survivor Chair, for the 11th Annual Komen Brainerd Lakes Race for the Cure, June 26 at Forestview Middle School in Baxter.

Both are being honored by the Brainerd Lakes Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure as great examples of spirit and hope for many other breast cancer survivors and their commitment to the Komen mission of finding a cure for breast cancer. Sally’s Team Hope has been one of the strongest teams at the Race over the past six years.

A teacher in the Brainerd area, Sally was diagnosed with breast cancer June 6, 2003, three months after she had a clean mammogram.

"I was a lucky one," Sally said. "It may have been luck, but I prefer to think that I was blessed! I was also blessed with great support from family and friends.

“I support the Race because I am a firm believer in early detection,” she continued.

Sally’s husband, John, recently retired from teaching to serve as a representative in the Minnesota State Legislature.

“After the initial shock and my feelings of fear, alarm and anger, Sally went into fight-and-conquer mode,” John said. “Sal had a huge level of support and love from family and friends. She became an 'expert' on breast cancer and treatments as she used every piece of knowledge she could gather to come up with the right choice of treatment for her.

The 11th Annual Susan G. Komen Brainerd Lakes Race for the Cure is scheduled for June 26 at Forestview Middle School in Baxter. Last year's event attracted 2,400 participants.

C.W. Inmate Dies

(AP) A 45-year-old inmate at the Crow Wing County jail in Brainerd has died of natural causes.

Scott Richard Pierce was in county lock-up on an alleged sexual assault charge. He complained of a medical condition Tuesday morning. He was taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd where he died.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner conducted the autopsy, concluding Pierce died of natural causes.

Pierce was arrested in May and charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a 16-year-old girl.

A Thicket of Click it or Ticket Fines

Local law enforcement was surprised at the number of motorists who are not wearing seatbelts, according to acting Brainerd Police Chief Corkie McQuiston. The observations were made during the recent click it or ticket campaign.

The campaign ran the last two weeks of May and the first week of June.

The Brainerd office of the State Patrol issued over 260 citations during the period. Of those, 13 were child restraint violations

Chief McQuiston says the cost of a ticket can be as high as $115.

Tent Caterpillars Hit North Gull

The north end of Gull Lake has experienced some defoliation from forest tent caterpillars. Brainerd DNR Forester Mark Mortenson says homeowners have been noticing some thin treetops.

Had it not been for recent rain, the trees would be under stress.

Mortenson says it is important that the trees get heavy watering, should dry conditions set in.

The caterpillars have natural enemies. However, it takes a year for their populations to grow large enough to significantly reduce the number of caterpillars.

Linnell Reacts to Bond Loss

Pequot Lakes Superintendent Rick Linnell terms it, "Unfortunate" that the $33 million bond referendum did not pass Tuesday. He tells KLKS News, the economy probably played a role. But, he felt with historically low interest rates and favorable construction costs, they couldn't afford not to take the project before the voters.

Linnell says homestead property owners may be forced to pay more, than if the bond was approved.

Linnell says it will be difficult to scale back the project list. He says they spent three years determining school needs, and that is unlikely to change.

Pequot Bond Refendum Fails

The $33 million Pequot Lakes School bond referendum failed Tuesday.
1087 voted no, 822 voted yes.

There were two polling places, the Pequot Lakes Middle School gym and Crosslake City Hall. The question failed in both locations. In Pequot the vote was 767 no and 665 yes. In Crosslake the vote was 320 no and 157 yes.

The school district wanted to use the money to expand the high school, middle school and elementary school.

Superintendent Rick Linnell says the school has delayed deferred maintenance projects hoping the bond referendum would pass. He says the deferred maintenance could actually cost the district more in the future as interest rates rise.

Teen Driver Injured Near Garrison

A 16-year-old male driver was injured in a one-vehicle rollover accident early this morning in Garrison Township.

The Crow Wing Sheriff’s office says the young man was taken to Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, then airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center.

The mishap occurred one mile east of Brayton Road on County Road 8 about 3:45 a.m.

The Sheriff says the car was traveling north, when it failed to maneuver a curve and rolled several times. The name of the drive has not been released.

Pequot School Bond Referendum Today

Voters in the Pequot Lakes School District are going to the polls today to cast their ballots for a $33 million bonding bill.

Superintendent Rick Linnell says the money will be used to add additional space at the Eagleview Elementary and middle school-high school. The project is estimated to cost the median home an additional $52 a year. Linnell says that is only slightly higher than the cost of deferred repairs.

Only homestead resident voters in the district can cast a ballot.

The polls are open until 8 p.m. at the middle school-high school small gym, and at Crosslake City Hall.

Oberstar Campaign Stop

Congressman Jim Oberstar kicked-off his campaign for reelection this weekend, with a stop in Brainerd. He made an appearance at the Brainerd Library Saturday afternoon. On Sunday the DFL-er staged his annual “Ride with Jim” Bicycle ride through Baxter.

Oberstar stressed the importance of stimulating economic growth. He credits the stimulus package for the positive economic growth over the past year, noting the turnaround in the economy since over 650,000 jobs were lost last January:

Oberstar says the Democratic Congress and the Obama Administration worked to pass an increase in the minimum wage, adding $5 billion in wages for the lowest income earners in America, the children’s health insurance program, extending benefits to 4 million children, the largest increase in Veterans Administration benefits in history, and a cost of living increase for seniors…

Brainerd Fatal Accident

A 71-year-old Brainerd man was killed in a two-car accident Thursday afternoon. The Minnesota State Patrol has identified him as Floyd A. Doust.

The Patrol says Doust was killed when his 1988 Dodge pulled in front of a 1988 Honda driven by 16-year-old Curtis Stout of Fort Ripley shortly after noon. He was treated and released.

Both cars were south bound on Highway 371 south of the Mississippi River.

Browerville Road Rage

A domestic dispute turned into a case of road rage Saturday, according to the Todd County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say Kim Betts of Browerville was driving her Buick northbound on County Road 21 north of town, when she was side-swiped by Richard Eoff, also of Browerville. The impact sheared off the rear driver side wheel. Both cars came to rest in the ditch. Betts and three of her passengers, two of which were under 20 months of age, were treated and released at the Long Prairie Hospital.

Eoff faces a number of charges. The Sheriff says alcohol was a factor.

Pine River Woman Killed In One Car Rollover

Cass County authorities report a 48-year old woman from Pine River was killed Monday morning around 7:00am in a one car rollover accident.

The victim has been identified as Ann Sorg, of Pine River. The rollover happened on 32nd Avenue SW in Pine River Township. The Sheriff says the woman was ejected from the vehicle.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation by the Cass County Sheriff's Deparment and the Minnesota State Highway Patrol.