Prep Volleyball Play-Down Scores from Friday

AAA 8 Quarterfinal:
Bemidji 3, Alexandria 2
Monticello 3, St. Cloud Tech 1
Moorhead 3, Brainerd 0
St. Michael-Albertville 3, Sauk Rapids-Rice 0

AA 7 Quarterfinal:
Cloquet 3, Crosby-Ironton 1

AA8 Quarterfinal:
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 3, Warroad 0
Thief River Falls 3, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 2
Wadena-Deer Creek 3, Perham 0

A 5 Quarterfinal:
First Round;
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Verndale 1
Nevis 3, Onamia 1
Pillager 3, Pine River-Backus 2
Sebeka 3, Browerville 0

A 8 Quarterfinal:
First Round;
Cass Lake-Bena 3, Northome/Kelliher 1
Mahnomen 3, Blackduck 2
Northern Freeze 3, Badger/Breenbush-Middle River 1

Emily Manganese Open House Saturday

Crow Wing Power plans a demonstration project in November on its plan to remove manganese from a vein in Emily.

Spokesperson Char Kinzer tells KLKS news, a so-called "Borehole" technique will be used.  She says they will use water to extract the mineral, claimed to be the most environmentally friendly way to do it. 

Kinzer says, there will be an open house for the public 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the site located a mile north of the Emily business district.

The manganese site sits 400 feet below the surface on a five acre parcel.  It is expected to take five years to remove 20 to 30 thousand tons of ore. 

When the project is complete, the site will be restored, and turned over to the city of Emily for a park.

Horner Targets Undecideds

The Independence Party candidate for Governor holds out hope he can still win the election Tuesday.  A recent MPR-Humphrey Institute poll showed Tom Horner a distant third with 11 percent support.  DFLer Mark Dayton leads the three with a 12 point lead over Republican Tom Emmer.

Horner told KLKS news, he can win with the undecided voters.  He also feels soft supporters of Dayton and Emmer could still come his way.

Horner claims he is in the best position to lead the state forward.  He says there are not enough DFL legislators to pass Dayton's "Tax the Rich" campaign.  And, there are not enough Republicans willing cut spending as deeply as Emmer suggests and raise property taxes.

Archery Success at Ripley

Archery hunters took 287 deer during the first two-day hunt held Oct. 21-22 at Camp Ripley Military Reservation near Little Falls. It was the third highest recorded harvest for the first two days of the hunt.

The harvest represents a 67 percent increase from last year’s harvest of 172 deer, when hunters experienced poor hunting conditions, and it is 64 percent above the long-term average harvest of 175 deer for the first hunt.

For the seventh year in a row hunters were allowed to take up to two deer and to use bonus permits to increase harvest of antlerless deer. Fawns and does comprised 64 percent of the harvest. Nineteen adult bucks tipped the scales at or more than 200 pounds. The largest buck weighed 253 pounds, taken by Dan Neimen of Brainerd, Minn. Of adult does weighed, the largest was 134 pounds, taken by Benjamin Sehr of New Ulm, Minn.

The second two-day hunt is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 30-31. DNR coordinates the hunts with the Department of Military Affairs, which manages the 53,000-acre military reservation.

Thursday Night High School Scores

Volleyball State Play-Downs:
3-0  Zimmerman def Milaca
3-0  Little Falls def Melrose
3-0  Sauk Centre def Staples-Motley
3-0  Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton def Park Rapids
3-0  Wadena-Deer Creek def Pequot Lakes
3-0  Braham def McGregor
3-0  Browerville def Eagle Valley
3-0  Onamia def Ogilvie
3-0  Osakis def Royalton
3-0  Pine River-Backus def Isle
3-0  Upsala def Swanville
3-0  Verndale def Menahga
3-0  Cass Lake-Bena def Red Lake
3-0  Mahnomen def Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig
3-1  Albany def Pierz
3-1  Walker-Hackensack-Akeley def Roseau
3-1  Laporte def Indus
3-2  Long Prairie-Grey Eagle def Holdingford

Wednesday Night High School Scores

Volleyball:
3-2  Brainerd def Sartell
3-0  Crosby-Ironton def Aitkin
3-0  Cherry def Northland

Safety First When Deer Hunting

The rifle deer hunting season in Minnesota opens a week from Saturday.

Brainerd Area DNR Conservation Officer Jim Guida is asking hunters to think safety first.  He says a noise in the woods must be considered a person, until proved otherwise.

Guida is also urging everyone outside, whether a jogger or someone going to the mailbox, to wear blaze orange. 

Guida says the cool October weather should stir plenty of activity in the woods prior to the opening weekend.

Hwy 371 Road Work Delayed

Due to the inclement weather, the paving scheduled for the utility work on Highway 371 in Pine River has been delayed until Thursday, Oct. 28 or Friday, October 29 until the payment dries.

The detour will remain in effect until this portion of the roadway is paved.

Brainerd Area Power Outages

Crow Wing Power is working to restore power to a thousand people from the fall storm that has blown through the Brainerd Lakes Area.

Spokesperson Char Kinzer says there were a total of 77 outages as of 8 a.m.  There are 12 Crow Wing Power crews working to restore electrical service.  However, Kinzer says the strong winds create challenges for repair work, as branches and trees continue to blow onto power lines.

Tuesday Night Football

Football Play-Downs:
Sauk Rapid-Rice 28,  Little Falls 13
Milaca 36, Aitkin 0
East Grand Forks 14, Staples-Motley 6
Pequot Lakes 22, Park Rapids 0
  (Pequot plays East Grand Saturday in Pequot)
Breckenridge 42, Wadena-Deer Creek 0
Holdingford 46, Crosby-Ironton 12
Pierz 34, Osakis 8
Royalton 20 Pillager 6
Upsala/Swanville 23, Pine River-Backus 0
Mahnomen 38, Cass Lake-Bena 0
Bertha-Hewitt 28, Onamia 0
Isle 20, Eagle Valley 0
Underwood 22, Verndale 6
Hill City 28, Silver Bay 6
Nevis 42, Northland 0

Power Outages Wide-Spread in Face of Storm

Char Kinzer, Spokesperson for Crow Wing Power, says that power outages are wide-spread in the face of an unusual storm.  Outages have been running since about 2 on Tuesday afternoon, and run from Remer down to Royalton.  Kinzer says rotating crews will be working 'til all problems are resolved, but that may well not be until later on Wednesday, when all wind and Winter advisories have ended.

Monday Night High School Scores

Volleyball:
3-0  Pillager def Pequot Lakes

Section 7A play-offs
First Round
3-0  Northland def Bigfork

Car-Semi Accident in Todd County Claims Two

A Browerville man and his son from St. Cloud were killed Saturday afternoon when the 2006 Chevy Aveo they were in collided with a Freightliner Semi Trailer.

The Todd County Sheriff's office identified them as 57-year-old John Capistrant and 29-year-old Dennis Capistrant. 

The mishap occurred at the intersection of County Roads 17 and 26 in east Todd County shortly after 3:30 p.m.

The driver of the Semi, Donald Etzier of Motley, was not injured.

The accident is under investigation.

Tree Thinning on P.B. Trail

A tree thinning project to improve safety along a nine-mile segment of the Paul Bunyan State Trail will continue through the first week in November. Crews will work their way south from Backus to Pine River, trimming branches and removing dead trees. The trail will remain open while this work is being done, but trail users should exercise caution around the tree trimmers and their equipment.

The goal is to minimize risks to bicyclists by maintaining open sightlines at trail crossings and creating openings in the foliage to allow better light penetration and air movement. That will permit the trail surface, which is slippery when wet, to dry faster after a rain. Tree thinning will also reduce impacts from certain tree species, such as balm of Gilead, whose roots can lift and crack the asphalt trail if left unattended, creating a potential safety hazard.

The Paul Bunyan State Trail is paved for more than 100 miles between Brainerd and Bemidji. Primarily located on a former Burlington Northern Railroad grade, the trail is generally level and is wheelchair accessible, except for the nine-mile segment through the Chippewa National Forest. In addition to biking, popular uses of the trail include hiking and in-line skating in the summer, and snowmobiling in winter.

L.F. Republicans Charge DFL Mudslinging

House Republican Leader Kurt Zellers, District 12B State Representative candidate Mike LeMieur, and former DFL Representative Steve Wenzel will hold a news conference in Little Falls Tuesday, to denounce what they describe as negative attacks on LeMieur launched by the DFL party.

From what we are seeing, the attacks against Mike LeMieur are the most negative of any state legislative race in the state," Zellers said. "It's mudslinging at its lowest point."

Sex Offender Notification Meeting in Upsala

A Level III sex offender is moving into Usala.  The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office will be holding a community notification meeting at 4 pm Tuesday at the Upsala Area Community Center.


Charles Dennis Josephson is expected to reside  on West Street in Upsala beginning Tuesday.

The Sheriff says Josephson has served the sentence imposed. Because he has been convicted of Criminal Sexual Conduct, he is required to  register with law enforcement.

A presentation will be given by members from the MN Department of Corrections. The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office will be on hand to help answer questions.

Man Convicted of Spiking Trees Gets 45 Days

A Backus man convicted of driving six-inch spikes into more than 500 Red Pine trees to protect them from loggers has been ordered to serve 45 days in jail and five years probation.

The 52-year old Stephen Thomas Olson was ordered by Cass County District Judge John P. Smith last Tuesday to pay over $10-thousand dollars in restitution and fines.  The judge stayed a sentence of one year and one day in jail. 

Olson was found guilty in September of felony criminal damage to property and gross misemeanor damage to timber.

Cass County authorities say the spiked trees were discovered on county land last November and prosecutors say Olson and two teens pounded the nails into the trees because he apparently was angry over plans to log them.  The spikes posed a risk to logging equipment and loggers.