Area Resident Is A Lottery Winner

Robert Thomas of Crosby won $20,000 by playing the state Lottery's Triple Your Money Scratch Game.  Thomas claimed his prize on February 9.  He had purchased his ticket at the Holiday Gas Station in Crosby.

Nisswa Jubilee This Weekend

"Under the Big Top," is the theme of the Nisswa Winter Jubilee underway this weekend. 

Chamber Director Amanda Larson tells KLKS News, Saturday is the big day of fun.  She says there will be food, snow sculptures and a parade.

There is a $200 award for treasure hunter who finds the medallion.  Clues are posted on the Chamber building. 

Sunday features a fishing derby on Nisswa Lake from noon to 2 p.m.

Gazelka Sees No Common Ground with Dayton On Taxes

State Senator Paul Gazelka indicates no room for compromise with Governor Mark Dayton in his call to raise the income tax on the wealthiest Minnesotans.  The Governor wants to use the proposed hike to close about half the gap on the $6.2 billion revenue shortfall projected for the next biennium. 

Gazelka tells KLKS News, his fellow Republicans fundamentally disagree with that approach.  He says they were elected to reign-in run away government spending.

Gazelka says Republicans want to eliminate the shortfall through budget cuts.  He says they have asked local units of government to do the same thing, because he does not want to see a property tax increase, as more of the burden is moved closer to home.  And, he does not want to see a government shut down in June if the two sides can't come together.

Cravaack Pushes the End of U.S. Institute of Peace

An amendment offered by Congressman Chip Cravaack has been approved which he says will save $42 million. 

The action would defund the United States Institute of Peace .  The 8th district Republican says the amendment has wide bi-partisan support.

Cravaack says the USIP’s goal of a more peaceful world is just and honorable, but claims their mission is entirely redundant and can be accomplished by multiple other departments, agencies and non-profits.

Tonight Show at Eelpout Fest

NBC's Tonight Show comes to the Eelpout Festival in Walker this weekend. 

The Leech Lakes Chamber of Commerce says there is a list of crazy activities planned for NBC to tape.  One of them is an on-the-lake curling match this afternoon in front of Chase on the Lake.

The Chamber is asking for spectators to show for the eelpout curling.

The Tonight Show can be seen on on KLKS TV 14 in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

Local Man Sentenced for Fraud

(AP)  A Brainerd man will be spending two and a half years in prison for embezzling more than a half million dollars from the Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe.

Erick Makowski has admitted to taking $600 thousand from the tribe between 2005 and 2007. 

The prosecution says he coordinated fraudulent and excessive payments to contractors and then arranged for kickbacks. 

P.L. Feedlot Receives MPCA Fine

A Pequot Lakes Man has been ordered to pay a $20 thousand fine to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for alleged feedlot violations.

Bill Tulenchik runs a beef and dairy operation in Cass County.

The MPCA says Tulenchik expanded the facilities in 2008 without notifying authorities or obtaining required permits and allowed manure and manure-contaminated runoff to discharge into area wetlands. The MPCA was not notified of the discharges and there was no visible attempt to recover the runoff.

Thursday Night High School Scores

Boys Basketball:
Aitkin 56, Onamia 41
Bertha-Hewitt 52, Menahga 38
Henning 70, Pillager 65
Hill City 68, Wrenshall 27
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 55, Sauk Centre 35
Sauk Rapids-Rice 57, Brainerd 54
St. Cloud Apollo 68, Little Falls 57
Upsala 58, Pine River-Backus 45
Verndale 58, Staples-Motley 57

Girls Basketball:
Bagley 74, Park Rapids 40
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 57, Pierz 45
Fosston 61, Cass Lake-Bena 39
Little Falls 66, Sauk Rapids-Rice 50
McGregor 59, Carlton 40
Pine River-Backus 46, Crosby-Ironton 38
Royalton 46, Onamia 31
Upsala 77, Browerville 48
Wadena-Deer Creek 72, Menahga 37

Boys Hockey:
Brainerd/Pierz/Pillager 7, Sartell 6

This Week's High School Rankings

Boys Basketball:
Class 2A
1.    Plainview-Elgin-Millville (22-1)
5.    Pequot Lakes (17-4)
7.    Perham (19-1)

Class 1 A
1.    Sebeka (19-0)

Girls Basketball:
Class 2A
1.    Braham (21-1)
7.    Pequot Lakes (21-1)

Class 1 A
1.    Goodhue (22-3)
6.    Upsala  (20-0)

Boys Hockey:
Class 1A
1.    St. Thomas Academy
14.  Little Falls

A Rally for Navy

(AP)  A rally in support of a black man who was attacked in downtown Brainerd was held Tuesday at the county Judicial Center.

More than 40 expressed their outrage over the beating of 53-year-old Willie Navy.

27-year-old Lucas Eastwood of Backus is charged with kidnapping and assault.  29-year-old Travis Campbell of Pequot Lakes is charged with assault.  Both are being held in the Crow Wing County jail.

Two Snowmobilers Fall in the Drink

(AP)  Rescuers had to pull two Bemidji snowmobilers from cold Lake Bemidji over the weekend.  The Beltrami County Sheriff's office says Alan Gorick and Lisa Mathis, both 48, cracked through the ice on the east side of the lake Sunday night.

The pair were treated and released at the local hospital.  Their sleds remain submerged.

N.B. Hwy 371 Blocked South of Brainerd

Northbound Highway 371 south of Brainerd has reopened to traffic.  It was closed for several hours this morning after a semi-tractor trailer overturned near Crow Wing Lake and Sleepy Hollow Road around 7 a.m.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff's office asked motorists to take an alternate route south of the Brainerd Chamber Information Center.

Tuesday Night High School Scores

Boys Basketball:
Braham 100, Aitkin 36
Minnewaska 43, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 41
Nevis 78, Pillager 62
Northland 76, Bug-O-Hay-Ge Shig 33
Pequot Lakes 57, Duluth Marshall 40
Pierz 62, Rockford 54
Red Lake County 52, Cass Lake-Bena 35
Thief River Falls 77, Park Rapids 27
Upsala 70, Royalton 54

Girls Basketball:
Aitkin 67, East Central 63
Braham 71, Isle 32
Clearbrook-Gonvick 40, Nevis 29
Detroit Lakes 46, Staples-Motley 32
Fergus Falls 72, Brainered 56
Holdingford 49, Royalton 39
McGregor 68, Hill City 26
Northland 52, Greenway 47
Ogilvie 50, Onamia 40
Pequot Lakes 53, Crosby-Ironton 42
Pierz 71, Pine City 38
Pillager 66, Verndale 47
Pine River-Backus 66, Laporte 15
Sebeka 85, Henning 55
Wadena-Deer Creek 73, Browerville 54

Wrestling:
Little falls 54, Big Lake 23
Pelican Rapids 54, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 28
Wadena-Deer Creeek 49, Breckenridge/Campbell-Tintah 21

Boys Hockey:
Brainerd/Pierz/Pillager 9, Sauk Rapids-Rice 2
Little Falls 13, River Lakes 0
Northern Lakes 4, Prairie Centre 0

Girls Hockey:
North Wright County 2, Brainerd/Little Falls 0

Gazelka Supports Teacher Freeze

State Senator Paul Gazelka of Brainerd was among those who approved a state directive freezing school employees wages for two years.  The measure was approved along party lines.

The Republican says the bill provides relief to school districts that are grappling with constrictive state mandates and unfair and unreasonable demands from teachers unions.

Gazelka says Senate File 56 freezes education spending across Minnesota and offers needed reform. It is not only a request to educators that they help Minnesota live within its means, it will also save good teachers’ jobs all around the state.
The legislation lifts the $25 per-pupil fine if contracts are not finalized between school administrators and teachers unions.   It also eliminates the requirement of school districts to spend a specific amount of money for staff development. And a third relief proposal would ease the requirement placed on school districts that force them to overlook counselors and social work staff when facing budget decisions.

DNR Names Dist. Supervisor

A former deputy sheriff has been promoted to district supervisor by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

State conservation officer Lt. Chad Sherack, a former deputy sheriff, will serve as DNR District 10 enforcement supervisor, which includes Aitkin, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, and Pine counties in central Minnesota. Sherack’s most recent assignment was the Pequot Lakes Field Station. He replaces Lt. Rita Frenzel, who retired last year.

Sherack is an avid outdoorsman who joined the DNR in 1998. He has served in a variety of positions including firearms/use of force instructor, equipment committee member, waterfowl task force member, snowmobile task force member, field training officer, and conservation officer academy instructor/evaluator.

Aitkin H.S. Dances to State

This past Saturday the Aitkin High School dance team placed first at the Section 2A dance tournament. Both the High Kick and Jazz teams have advanced to State.

Store windows in tower are being decorated with messages of good luck.

The team will be escorted through town by Aitkin Fire Department on Thursday at 1:45.

There will be a welcome home party at the High School at approximately 1:00 Sunday.

Monday Night High School Scores

Boys Basketball:
Barnum 60, McGregor 57
Browerville 46, Brandon/Evansville 45
Sebeka 77, Verndale 49

Girls Basketball:
Menahga 69, New York Mills 41

Valentine's Day and the Gift Tax

Chances are Uncle Sam is not going to want a piece of your valentine today, according to IRS Spokesperson Sue Hales.

Hales tells KLKS News, there is a gift tax exclusion of $13 thousand for each person who receives the gift.  And, she says the person who gives the gift is most often responsible for any tax.  So, a bouquet of flowers is not going to get any interest from the government, but a Porche probably will.

Warm Weather Makes for Slippery Residential Streets

Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl is cautioning drivers to be wary of residential streets.  He tells KLKS News, they typically are the last to lose their ice and snow cover.  Conditions can change quickly from dry state, county and city roads to rink-like condition on residential streets.

Dahl expects the warming this week should improve the ice conditions on residential streets.