A large crowd gathered under a bright blue sky on Monday, May 30 to observe Memorial Day with American Legion Post 413. Post Commander Don Wilson welcomed and thanked everyone for coming before turning the microphone over to Pastor Kris Garey who offered a prayer for all who mourned. There was a contingent of young people on hand for the […]
City continues to ponder steering committee criteria
City Administrator Mike Roth came to the council meeting on Wednesday, May 25 with a complete list of the people who had been recommended for the city’s comprehensive plan steering committee. The names came from both council members and from people who had been asked for suggestions by the council. After compiling the list of suggestions, Roth said he had […]
Dilemma over township donations to charter school may be over
Caroline Wood, Birch Grove Community School director, looked anxious as she asked Tofte supervisors when—if—the township’s $23,000 donation would be coming to the school. Wood was attending the board’s May 31 special meeting to discuss the school donation and the long planned for Tofte housing project. “I got a call from Tina McKeever [Schroeder town board chair] and she said […]
Tofte housing project clears final hurdle
With the Minnesota Legislature’s recent passage of the Economic Omnibus Jobs and Development Budget bill, Birch Grove Village is closer to becoming a reality. Folded into that bill was language that gives the township of Tofte special housing authority powers over the housing that will be built behind the Birch Grove Community Center. Tofte township supervisors held a special meeting […]
Arrowhead heating up
Northern Minnesota is warming faster than anywhere else in the United States. What? According to Mindy Ahler of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, global temperatures have increased an average of 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 100 years. Though it may not seem like much, that small temperature change has wreaked havoc in the world’s ecosystems. The polar ice cap is […]
Election filing closes with few challenges to incumbents
The election filing period for a number of local government positions closed on May 31, 2016. Although there were a number of seats on the ballots, at press time only a handful of candidates had filed— and only one incumbent county commissioner, Garry Gamble, had a challenger. Myron Bursheim filed to run against Commissioner Gamble. Gamble represents Commissioner District 2, […]
The empty nest
The last few weeks have been fun at the News-Herald as we try to attend all the last minute school functions— the awards program, project fair, DARE graduation, guitar program, writers’ tea, and coming up as I write this, Baccalaureate and graduation. The flurry of activities follows on the heels of our work to put together the Class of 2016 […]
Responding to our time and place
Since my last columns I have traveled a lot. Some journeys I would give anything to avoid—such as walking with my 37-year-old son and his family since his terrible cancer diagnosis. Other journeys were planned (and funded by a Lilly Foundation Clergy Renewal grant). I visited the Iona community in Scotland, hiked in the Scottish Highlands and the French Alps, […]