DNR Urges Care in Deer Stands

There have been four deaths during the deer hunting season since it began last weekend.  Three have died as the result of tree stand accidents.

The MN DNR is urging hunters to be careful, to be sure the portable stands are property secured, with safety strap.  Permanent stands need to be checked for rot.

Regulations allow hunters to be quite high, however, says officials say hunters ought to stay as close to the ground as possible, although even a short fall can cause crippling injuries.

Meanwhile, the Cass County Sheriff has identified a hunter who apparently fell from his deer stand during the opening weekend.  His gun discharged, fatally wounding him.  He has been identified as 51-year-old Dan Hyndman of Sartell.

Winter Survival Kits

The Brainerd Lakes Area has picked up its first dusting of snow of the season. 

Sergent Curt Mowers said some cars were reported sliding into ditches north of our area.  The traveling conditions were not hampered here. 

Still, Mowers tells KLKS News, now is the time to think about the winter survival kit.  He says blankets, water and energy bars are a good idea, along with a fully charged cell phone.

Sergent Mowers says it's time to practice good winter driving skills to stay out of trouble once the bad weather arrives.

1940's Radio Hour Opens Friday in P.L.

The curtain goes up Friday for the play 1940's Radio Hour at the Pequot Lakes High School Theatre. 

Director Michael Sander says the play is a recreation of a period radio variety show.  The scene is the Christmas of 1944 at the Aster Hotel in New York and is complete with popular music and a harassed producer.

Sander tells KLKS News, all ages will appreciate the show.

Local talent from  Pequot Lakes Community Theatre will voice "I'll be Seeing You", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "I Got it Bad and That Ain't Good" among other tunes.

The show runs from weekends through November 20th, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

CLC Goes to a Bowl

The 15th-ranked Division III Central Lakes College football team has accepted an invitation to play in the 2011 Graphic Edge Bowl game Sunday, Nov. 20 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.


Head Coach Greg Medeck has confirmed that the Raiders will play unranked Iowa Central Community College of Fort Dodge at 11 a.m. in the UNI Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa.

The Raiders have a 7-2 record and ICCC is 5-4.

Central Lakes College lost its final regular-season game of the 2011 season on Oct. 22 to Ridgewater, 26-14, and thus missed the state playoffs for the first time in four years.

Since 2007, CLC has won 41 football games and lost just 13.

Bobber Tower Relamped Tonight

A couple of years ago the decision was made to turn off the lights on Pequot Lakes Bobber Tower. Tonight, they will be turned back on.

The old fixtures were 35 years old, and the bulbs had to be replaced too often at a cost of $500. So, after dark the water tower went dark.

Now, the Chamber of Commerce will re-lamp the landmark. They have been raising $15 hundred for the project.

As part of the re-lighting ceremony, Pequot Lakes 3rd through 5th graders will be asked how the bobber came to rest in Pequot Lakes. Two winners will be chosen, and will help light the tower during the celebration tonight.

Young Hunter Identified

(AP)  Authorities have identified a young hunter who died in his deer stand Monday afternoon as 15-year-old Jeremiah Scofield. 

The young man accidentally shot himself in the upper leg while trying to remove his jacket while hunting in Kanabec County.  His parents said Jeremiah loved to hunt.

He is one of four who have died since the season opened Saturday morning, two in tree stand accidents, and one of natural causes.

Cass Co. Hunter Bags Unusual Deer

(AP)  A man on his first deer hunt bagged a really white white tail in Cass County. 

Joshua Winchell bagged what they call a Piebald deer, a two toned animal with both white and brown markings.  Winchell said it stood out like a cotton ball in the woods.  He said he spotted it before the season opened, and found there were no restrictions on taking the unusual creature.

Winchell said when he spotted it after the season began, he thought twice before pulling the trigger on the spike buck.

Swan Killed Near Pine River

Minnesota DNR officials are trying to determine who killed a trumpeter swan near Pine River. 

Conservation Officer Nikki Shouts found the big bird in a ditch.  It was one of several killed in Minnesota recently.

In addition to the Pine River incident, two men are facing charges for killing two trumpeter swans several weeks ago in the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area.  A trumpeter swan was shot and killed in Kandiyohi County and found along a gravel road near a large slough.   And, a trumpeter swan was shot and killed near Brownton.

Every fall, officials with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources warn waterfowl hunters to avoid mistakenly shooting trumpeter swans. Notices are printed in Minnesota’s waterfowl hunting regulations and warning signs are posted on some lakes frequented by swans.

Trumpeter swans are a federally protected species. People who shoot them face fines up to $1,700 plus a loss of hunting equipment and hunting licenses for up to three years.

EAS System Tested

The nation's Emergency Alert System will be activated for the first time this afternoon to determine if it works as designed.

The test will occur at 1 p.m. this afternoon, if everything goes as planned. Minnesota radio and TV stations will participate including KLKS.

The President of the MN Broadcasters Association, Jim du Bois says it will be a little different than the tests aired on a weekly basis, and should cause little concern.  The free over-the-air broadcast stations will make it clear it is only a test.  The worry is that some cable companies may not have the capacity to alert viewers that it is only a test.

The 1 p.m. test will last 30 seconds.

Brainerd Approves School Funding Questions

Voters in the Brainered School District, 181, approved both referenda questions Tuesday, allowing the district to not only continue the previous operating levels, but increase it by $200 per student.

The first question allowing current funding levels to continue for another 10 years passed by a wide margin.  The second question, which would provide another $200 per year per student was also approved, but by a narrower  margin.

The results are as follows:

SCHOOL DISTRICT QUESTION 1 
Nonpartisan YES 7036 70.57
Nonpartisan NO 2934 29.43

SCHOOL DISTRICT QUESTION 2
Nonpartisan YES 5371 53.93
Nonpartisan NO 4589 46

Deer Hunting Accident Claims Young Life

(AP)  The number of fatalities during the MN deer hunting season has reached four.

An accident in Brunswick Township has claimed the life of a juvenile.  The Kanabec County Sheriff's office says the young person was declared dead at the scene.  The victim's name has not been released.

Last weekend, two hunters died from tree stand accidents, another died from natural causes.

DNR Forestry Officials Transferred

(AP)  The MN DNR has sacked the two top forestry officials to speed timber sales to the struggling forest products industry.

Director Dave Epperly will be transferred within the Division of Forestry.  Assistant Director Bob Tomlinson was transferred into the Division of Lands and Minerals. Epperly will remain as Acting Director until a permanent replacement can be found.

Commissioner Tom Landwehr wants to make more timber available with less paperwork.

Road Construction Ends for 2011

Minnesota's second season can now officially begin with the conclusion of road construction.

It was a busy year on the state's highways, including some around the Brainerd Lakes Area.

The Highway 371 reconstruction project between Baxter and Nisswa–Work is complete following a summer of traffic delays on the 13-mile project, which included upgraded traffic signals, new turn lanes and a resurfaced road. The project cost $8.4 million.

The 2011 construction season was interrupted in July by a three-week government shutdown. Since the return to work on July 21, MnDOT and crews were busy making up for lost time on construction projects, which was helped considerably by a dry fall.

Brainerd School Referendum Today

Voters in the Brainerd School District go to the polls today to decide the fate of two levy referenda.

The first would extend for another 10 years a $1.87 million operating levy, or $199 per student per year.

The second question would add another $1.37 million in funding per year, or about $200 per student.  The first question must pass before the second can be approved. 

Superintendant Steve Razidlo says the funds would be used to pay for staff to administer programs. 

Razidlo tells KLKS News, if the questions fail, they will have to make $2 million in cuts.

A list of polling places can be found on the Brainerd School District web site.

Hunter Dies Near Outting.

There has been another hunting fatality since the opening of the deer rifle season began Saturday, this time in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

A 51-year-old Sartell man apparently fell from his tree stand near Outing in Cass County. 

Sheriff Tom Burch says it appears that when the hunter fell, it caused his rifle to discharge fatally wounding him.  His name has been withheld until family members have been told. 

The death was third since the season opened Saturday morning.

Two Fatalities During Deer Opener

(AP)  Deer hunting accidents over the weekend have claimed two lives.

A 72-year-old St. Paul man fell from a deer stand Saturday around noon in Beltrami county.  First responders from Blackduck applied first aid to Gene A Berthiaume, however he died at the scene.

An 84-year-old hunter from St. Louis county died on the opening day when his clothing caught fire as he was attempting to light a heater in his tree stand. 

Saturday was the opening day of the rifle season for whitetail deer.