Washington Elementary was unable to hold the traditional Kindergarten Round-Up this spring due to COVID-19 so the staff developed a video for parents and students to showcase what the school has to offer for kindergarten. Watch the video here.
Christoper Novak – Obit
Christopher Novak of rural Erskine, MN passed away unexpectedly Monday, June 8, 2020 at his home.
Graveside service will be held on Friday, June 12, 2020 at 11:00 AM at St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery at Terrebonne with Father Joe Richards Officiating and Father Antony Fernando Con-Celebrant, following all of the Minnesota and CDC Covid-19 recommendations. Feel free to bring a lawn chair and umbrella.
Christopher Daniel Novak was born February 26, 1988 at Crookston, MN son of Walter (Danny) and Cindy (Schmitz) Novak. He was raised on the family farm near Brooks. He was baptized at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Terrebonne and confirmed at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Red Lake Falls, MN. He attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Red Lake Falls through the 6th grade and graduated from Lafayette High School in 2006.
Christopher worked for Anderson Seed at Mentor for many years. He also worked for Payment Farms, and also helped out on the family farm.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, kayaking and cruising around on the 4-wheeler. He also enjoyed his four-legged friend Roy.
Christopher is survived by his parents Walter and Cindy Novak; siblings Carly (Adam) Reese and Caleb Novak; nephews Carson and Carter Reese all of Brooks, MN; along with numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
He is preceded in death by his grandparents Walter and Monica Novak, and Sylvester and Helen Schmitz, uncles Raymond Novak and Brian Schmitz.
Condolences may be sent at www.johnsonfuneralservice.com.
Human Remains Found At Home Of The Stepfather Of Missing Idaho Children
The husband of Lori Vallow, who was charged with desertion in the disappearance of two of her children last year, has been taken into custody Tuesday. Assistant Rexburg Police Chief Gary Hagen said that Chad Daybell was being questioned after a search warrant was served on his home. He said that detectives had recovered unidentified human remains in their investigation of the missing children. Hagen did not provide additional details about the warrant, which was sealed. Media was not allowed near the home during the search.
Police confirmed that the search warrant is related to the disappearance of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, who were 7 and 17 years old respectively when they went missing in September. Vallow and Daybell have refused to cooperate with the investigation into the missing children that began in November. Police have said Vallow either knows the location of her children or knows what happened to them. After Vallow and her husband were found in Hawaii, she was arrested in February and extradited to Idaho on charges of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. She is being held on a $1 million bond.
Vallow is also being investigated for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in the death of her husband’s former wife. Vallow’s fourth husband, Charles Vallow, also died last year. He was shot to death in July by Vallow’s brother, Alex Cox, during a confrontation.
NYPD Officer Arrested After Video Shows Him Pushing Female Protester
An NYPD officer who was caught on video violently pushing a protester to the ground was charged on Tuesday with several criminal charges, including assault. He is the first NYPD officer to be charged for his conduct during the city’s ongoing wave of protests for police reform.
According to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, 28-year-old Vincent D’Andraia, who has been in the NYPD for five years, is charged with misdemeanor assault, criminal mischief, harassment and menacing. The officer was suspended without pay after videos posted on Twitter showed him shoving a woman at a Brooklyn protest on May 29.
Videos appeared to show D’Andraia knocking over Dounya Zayer, a 20-year-old protester, at a demonstration outside the Barclays Center. Zayer said that the officer threw her cellphone and pushed her, even though she was already backing up. Zayer said she suffered concussions and seizures after her fall. She posted videos from her hospital bed saying that she was never aggressive to the officer.
Editorial credit: Marco Curaba / Shutterstock.com
Daniel Radcliffe Responds To J.K. Rowling’s Controversial Transgender Comments
Actor Daniel Radcliffe is speaking out regarding the controversy surrounding “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling and her recent tweets that drew backlash from the LGBTQ+ community. Rowling came under fire over the weekend for taking issue with an op-ed using the phrase “people who menstruate,” and seemingly poked fun at the non-gendered language. “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. someone help me out. wumben? wimpund? woomud?” she wrote.
Radcliffe responded with a statement published on The Trevor Project’s website, acknowledging that Rowling is “unquestionably responsible” for his success and he doesn’t wish to perpetuate the idea that he and the writer are at odds personally. However, Radcliffe said he felt “compelled” to share his take on Rowling’s position. “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I,” he wrote in part.
Rowling stood by her original comment in multiple follow-up tweets. However more celebrities, including Sarah Paulson and Jonathan Van Ness, slammed Rowling’s remarks; and GLAAD issued a response in which they encouraged followers to direct their support to initiatives helping black transgender people amid the current climate.
Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
Vanessa Bryant Seeking ”Hundreds of Millions” Of Dollars In Kobe And Gianna Bryant Wrongful Death Lawsuit
“As a result of Kobe Bryant’s and GB’s deaths, Vanessa Bryant seeks economic damages, non-economic damages, prejudgment interest, punitive damages, and other relief as the Court deems just and proper,” the documents reads. “Although the total specific amount of personal injury damages the plaintiff seeks is TBD, Kobe Bryant’s future lost earnings equal hundreds of millions of dollars.” Vanessa is seeking a jury trial but a date has yet to be set.
Vanessa’s lawsuit is directed at Island Express Helicopters and pilot Zobayan, who she claimed in the initial papers “failed to properly monitor and assess the weather prior to takeoff.” The lawsuit also claims that Zobayan “failed to properly and safely operate the helicopter resulting in a crash” that took nine lives, including Kobe, Gianna and the pilot himself, on January 26.
Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
CROOKSTON POLICE CHIEF PAUL BIERMAIER DISCUSSES DEPARTMENT’S FORCE, INTERVENTION TRAINING
Crookston Police Chief Paul Biermaier sat down with KROX to discuss the Crookston Police Department’s training and policies for crisis intervention and the use of force. Biermaier said the top goal of the Crookston Police Department is to peacefully resolve every situation. “I think our guys do a great job of finding some kind of resolution with every situation they go on that needs a resolution by use,” said Biermaier. “Let me clarify that a little bit, not all the time do we have to come up with the solution. Sometimes people just want us to know things or they have a problem with the neighbor or something else and we maybe won’t mediate that or interact. A lot of what we do comes down to active listening, hearing what people have to say, and then maybe reframing or rephrasing it.”
Biermaier said a lot of what he feels officers do is crisis intervention with significant growth in mental health calls. “A lot of what I think we do is crisis intervention,” said Biermaier. “I’ve been doing this 30 years and it seems like over the last 30 years the role of law enforcement has changed. Mental health calls are way up for us and it takes a lot of intervention. And it’s taken law enforcement some time to come to a good response, an appropriate response, and that includes taking our time. We have time on a lot of these calls, and we’ll take whatever time we need. It can involve distance. Creating more distance between us and the person that is maybe a little dangerous. And calling people, now we’ve got on-call mental health professionals that will come out to us on the scene. We didn’t have that 30 years ago.”
Biermaier said training includes awareness of biases both implicit and explicit, cultural awareness, and active scenario training. Biermaier said the two-day actor and scenario-based course goes beyond learning the right way to handle situations in a classroom. “The other big thing that we’ve been doing for a long time here is trying to send all of our people to a two-day actor and scenario-based course that deals with a lot of the topics we just talked about,” said Biermaier. “You can sit in a classroom and learn all you want, take it in and listen. But when you have to turn around and apply that in a scenario, in a real-life situation, that’s where it really comes out. That’s where you really get your feet wet so to speak and learn what works and what doesn’t work.”
Biermaier also addressed how does the Crookston Police Department attempt to go about ensuring that they are getting good people to be police officers in the Crookston Community. The department is currently in the process of hiring two officers and Biermaier said it includes deep background checks and psychological screenings. “We start a background process and it’s in-depth,” said Biermaier. “We go all the way back. I’ve gone back and talked to high school teachers. We check with utility companies to make sure people are paying their bills. I’ve gone and knocked on the doors of neighbors where our candidates live. We dig in and we dig in deep to vet out who wouldn’t be a good fit with Crookston or for law enforcement in general. Part of that process also is our candidates by law have to sit down and go through a psychological evaluation with a licensed psychologist. And that includes up to three different kinds of tests. I believe one of our guys recently did three different kinds of multiple-choice or written tests. It took a good 3-4 hours including the interview. And we work with the psychologist and tell them what we’re looking for and what we’re wary of. So, they have that in their mind as they are interviewing our candidates to find out if they are going to be that good fit.”
The full interview with Chief Biermaier will be aired for Valley talk today, Wednesday, June 10.
CROOKSTON CHAMBER THANKS EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A BASKET FOR THE ADOPT-A-BASKET PROGRAM
The Crookston Area Chamber would like to give a warm thank you to everyone who purchased a hanging basket through the Adopt-A-Basket Program. These multi-colored flowers are a beautiful touch and pop of color. D&D Garden Center once again created lovely flowers for these hanging baskets.
We also would like to thank the hardworking staff of the City of Crookston. They make sure these flowers are watered daily.
Below is the list of generous individuals and businesses who purchased baskets.
Enjoy the beauty,
Terri Heggie, Crookston Chamber Executive Director
Loading…
Reload document 
Open in new tab 
GYMS READY TO REOPEN IN CROOKSTON WEDNESDAY, POOL AND THEATRE WAITING
Restaurants, bars and salons were able to start reopening in Minnesota last week. Now, gyms, movie theaters and swimming pools get their turn. Governor Tim Walz announced Phase III of his Stay Safe Minnesota Plan last Friday, laying out the latest reopening guidelines. Part of this latest phase is the partial reopening of gyms, pools and movie theaters, starting Wednesday June 10.
Gyms and other fitness facilities are able to reopen at 25 percent capacity. After nearly three months of being shut down, Snap Fitness owner and manager Brandon Kresl is thrilled to open his doors back up.
“It’s a huge step,” Kresl said. “Just to be able to get people back in and working out. I’ve had a lot of people reaching out, saying it’s not the same (working out) outside, and needing some weights they don’t have at home. Just getting a step toward getting back in the gym and back in a normal routine is just huge for everyone.”
Snap Fitness in Crookston opens at midnight Wednesday, and will be open for 24/7 access like normal. They’ll have a spray bottle for each patron, and ask that equipment be cleaned before and after each use. Kresl said they’ve also added a few new machines and treadmills as part of a recent remodel.
Anytime Fitness manager Blaine Goering is also excited to reopen, but is ramping up sanitation practices, using medical-grade sanitizer and other methods.
“Obviously, we’ll be ramping up the cleaning efforts,” Goering said. “Wipe everything down and keep it as clean as we can. We’re going to encourage members to do the same when they’re done with a piece of equipment. If someone’s not feeling well, we encourage them to stay home. We’ve had plenty of time to get the place clean. That’s for sure.”
Like Snap, Anytime Fitness will allow for 24/7 access once they reopen at noon Wednesday. Goering said a lot of the equipment has been spaced six feet apart in accordance with CDC guidelines.
“Other than that, it should be business as usual,” he said.
Elsewhere, The Crookston Community Pool is undergoing needed maintenance before reopening. Crookston Parks and Recreation director Scott Riopelle said the first priority at the pool is fixing the showers, and the completion date is unknown at this time.
“We’re trying to redo the showers first,” Riopelle said. “Then, we will take a look and put a preparedness plan together, and then we can find an opening date somewhere down the road.”
The Crookston Ways and Means Committee approved the purchase of a water softener for the pool Monday at $8,759.30, which will be used for the showers and drinking fountains. The showers were replaced earlier this year for more than $38,000.
Under the newest guidance, pools are allowed to open at 50 percent capacity with a limit of 250 people.
Lastly, the Grand Theatre in Crookston is set to reopen at 25 percent capacity on June 19. The Theatre staff is giving themselves extra time to order movies, and also determine what to show, since no movies have been released during the pandemic.
The theatre is considering theme nights for when they open back up. One night, a comedy. The next night, a kids’ movie and so on.
MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RELEASES THE LATEST COVID-19 NUMBERS (JUNE 9)
The Minnesota Department of Health has released the latest COVID-19 numbers. The state continues to conduct more tests and the numbers have stayed steady or even dropped. There have been 307 new positive tests in the last 24 hours and 20 deaths.
Polk County is reporting 67 positive cases, Pennington is up to 37, Norman County has 16, Marshall County has 12, and Red Lake County has 4. All the information is below-
Updated June 9, 2020
Updated daily at 11 a.m., with data current as of 4 p.m. the previous day.
Data is for cases that were tested and returned positive. All data is preliminary and may change as cases are investigated. Many data points are collected during case interviews. Data presented below is for all cases, regardless of interview status. Data for cases pending interview may be listed as “unknown/missing.”
Not all suspected cases of COVID-19 are tested, so this data is not representative of the total number of people in Minnesota who have or had COVID-19. Cumulative numbers are since Jan. 20, 2020.
Daily Update:
Because all data is preliminary, the change in number of cumulative positive cases and deaths from one day to the next may not equal the newly reported cases or deaths.
| 28,523 Total positive cases (cumulative) |
|
| 307 Newly reported cases |
20 Newly reported deaths |
Testing
Total approximate number of completed tests: 360,991
Testing data table
More about testing data
Minnesota Case Overview
- Total positive cases: 28,523
- Number of health care workers: 3,006
Positive cases by date specimen collected data table
More about positive cases
Patients no longer needing isolation
- Patients no longer needing isolation: 24,221
Deaths
- Deaths: 1,217
- Deaths among cases that resided in long-term care or assisted living facilities: 968
- Probable COVID-19 Deaths*: 11
* COVID-19 listed on death certificate but a positive test not documented for the person.
Deaths data table
Hospitalization
Total cases requiring hospitalization: 3,441
- Hospitalized as of today: 455
- Hospitalized in ICU as of today: 199
Hospitalization data table
Case Demographics
Age
Age group data table:
Including age group of deaths
Gender
Gender data table
Race & Ethnicity
Race and ethnicity data table:
Including race and ethnicity of deaths
Likely Exposure
Likely exposure data table
Not all cases among health care workers have a likely exposure as health care staff.
Residence
Cases by County of Residence
County of residence is confirmed during the case interview. At the time of this posting not all interviews have been completed.
County of residence data table:
Including county of residence of deaths
Residence Type
Residence type data table
Weekly Report
- Weekly COVID-19 Report: 6/4/2020 (PDF)
This report includes more detailed information, including demographics and more data on cases among health care workers. Updated every Thursday.- COVID-19 Weekly Report Archive
Archive of past weekly reports.
- COVID-19 Weekly Report Archive
Care Facilities
Congregate Care Facilities with Exposures, by County