Month: June 2020

The east shore at Maple Lake has an expanded beach, new grass for picnicking, and plenty of parking for public beachgoers. The design uses back-in diagonal parking to allow beach users to unload right onto the beach.

Polk County Engineer Rich Sanders said the old beachfront with a road running between the beach and picnic area created conflict between swimmers and vehicles that the new design eliminates. “What you had was the lake, 10 feet to the old roadway, a 20-foot roadway, and then about 61 feet from the edge of the road to the middle of County Road 10,” said Sanders. “What we did was remove the old road and added sand, so you have about 35 feet of sand and 20 feet of grass.  And our parking is back-in diagonal parking along the road. The reason why we moved the old road was people were pulling in and driving down the road to either park and picnic, or just to drive through and see who was all here. You had that conflict between the kids in the water and the adults picnicking and so there was constant traffic going across that roadway between the traffic and people wanting to picnic and swim. We got rid of that conflict, so now you don’t have to worry about it. You can come out, picnic in the grass, kids can swim on the beach and use the sand. We put some nice sand out here and dressed it up. And so, it made the experience of picnicking and swimming at east shore safer.”

Sanders said the back-in parking is safer because it allows you to see traffic coming from the north easier, and car doors will create a barrier between kids and the road. “If you look at your typical roadways, we typically have parallel parking in along our roadways,” said Sanders. “So, you have to pull in and parallel park. To do that along a busy street, you almost get out into traffic. With back in diagonal parking, you pull up and back-in instead of pulling forward. Then, as you’re pulling out of the spot is where the safety comes in. As a driver, you’re able to pull out slowly, able to see the traffic coming from your left, which would be southbound and get into traffic more safely. Also, if you back-in and open your doors, they are a barrier to the road as well, so people can only walk toward the beach, not towards the road.”

In addition to the conflict between swimmers and traffic on the beach road, Sanders said safety played a vital role in the design, such as replacing the old single-cable guardrail that no longer met crash safety standards. “If you look at our design, we took a lot of safety into concern,” said Sanders. “We have our normal 12-foot lanes, a nine-foot buffer between the parking lane and the edge of the roadway giving that much more barrier before parking. Then the stalls are 21 feet deep. A typical car is 15 feet long. You have six feet from the front of the car to the beginning of the stall. So, really, you have 15 feet from the front of your car to the edge of the lane. In the past, we had 33 feet from the centerline to the ditch bottom where the single cable guardrail was that doesn’t meet current crash standards. So, we got rid of that guardrail. We put in the diagonal parking to make the picnicking and beach experience that much better. You can back in, lift open your trunk, throw your chairs and beach blanket on the grass, picnic right behind your vehicle if you want, and your kids can go swimming along the beach.”

Minnesota Statute says all rural county roads are 55 MPH unless a state speed study determines an appropriate increase or decrease.  Sanders said the county did the project intending to get the speed reduced to 40 MPH and has placed suggested speed signs at both ends of the east shore beach.  He also said the county would be adding flashing radars set at 40 MPH and be requesting a speed study from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT). “We’re going to also add 40 MPH radar signs at each end that will blink at you if you’re going more than 40 MPH as we do with 30 MPH signs coming into towns,” said Sanders. “We’re hoping that we can get the traffic along this stretch during the summer to reduce its speed down to 40 MPH. We’ll do this for a couple of summers, and then we’ll have MNDOT come in and study the area to see if we can’t get it posted regulatory for that 40 MPH.”

Sanders encourages the public to go to the east shore to enjoy the new beach experience. “Come out to the east shore and enjoy the new beach,” said Sanders. “Remember, you need to back in. If you pull in, you’re making it harder on yourself and more unsafe that way. Backing in is the safest way. We have signs up every couple hundred feet showing you how to back in, and we’ll also have it on our Facebook page how to back-in. Hopefully, everybody will enjoy this new project.”

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Paws Hoofs Claws has provided a home service for small and large animals allowing them to stay in their home and receive the care they need when the owners are working, sick, or on vacation since 2018. However, with the stay-at-home orders, this spring business slowed as people were staying home.

Owner Karen Busch said that before the coronavirus, she was busy every week and is looking to restart the business now that people are returning to their lives. “I started my business about three and a half years ago, and its been consistently busier and busier,” said Busch. “Before mid-March, I was busy pretty much every week and every month. Then, of course, when people aren’t going anywhere, they don’t need me because I come into their homes. I come into their homes and do basic care for companion animals and farm chores for farm animals.”

Busch provides care for companion animals, from food and treats to medicine and exercise. “The companion animals are staying at their home, and I come to them,” said Busch. “That’s where animals want to be if we could ask them – they’d say they want to stay home. They are in a comfortable environment, and I go in and have a meeting with the owners and animals to get acquainted. And know where the food is, treats, medicine, and I give love. Sometimes a dog is elderly, and they don’t go for a walk, but they’d sure love for me to sit on the floor and love them up for an hour. I also walk dogs, of course, but also I’m a runner. I take care of a lot of hunting dogs, and they just purely love me because we run. They aren’t necessarily running, but they are trotting fast, and they like that. That’s what I offer the companion animals.”

Paws Hoofs Claws will also work with farm animals. Busch said she’s familiar with many farm animals but is willing to be trained to work with others. “I was raised in Newfolden, and I had my 4-H horse, Suzie, for years until college,” said Busch. “So, I’m comfortable around farm animals. So, I’ve had horses of course and also, goats, lamas, a lot of chickens. I’m not against any of the animals I don’t know, I just come in for training. Sometimes a couple of times for new animals that have vitamins or that sort of thing. I’m trainable, and if somebody wants to have me check on their cattle or whatever they’d like me to do, I’m willing to do that.”

Busch works every day she’s needed by owners and has a basic service charge and then works with owners for additional needs and working out mileage costs. “I work every holiday, weekend, day, month,” said Busch. “They just need to call me, call, or text me at 218-464-2154 and start the conversation. When can I come to do training, what do you want me to do, how many visits? Some of my clients are just one visit like outdoor dogs, but we want to go for a walk even. All the way to a puppy, maybe that’s four visits. A lot of times its morning and evening, sometimes its three times. That’s not my decision, that’s the owner’s decision. The pricing we’ll talk about, but if you’re in Fertile, it’s a pretty good deal because I don’t have to put gas in my tank to get to you. A basic service charge is $10, and then, we just decide on what’s fair gas wise. I have to charge somebody in Bagley a little bit more than somebody in Crookston.”

Busch said the most important thing for someone who might consider using her down the road is to meet and set up a contract.  “Let’s have a conversation,” said Busch. “Let’s have me come in and see what I can do for you. Also, if you think you’re going to use me in a month, I can’t work without a contract. Once you have me under contract, you can call anytime, even the last minute. I had lots of clients before the virus that would call – I have the flu, I can’t do my farm chores, can you come out in a couple of hours. And I say – yep – but I can’t do emergency sort of things if you’re not in my three-ring binders, I don’t have a contract.”

Visit http://www.pawshoofsclaws.com/ for more information or call Busch at 218-464-2154.  

The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting 427 new cases of COVID-19 from among more than 11,000 samples tested. They also report six new deaths. All the numbers are below –

Updated June 27, 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.

• Minnesota COVID-19 Public Dashboard
• Minnesota’s COVID-19 Response and Preparation Capacity
• CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Cases in the U.S.
• Minnesota COVID-19 Modeling

Data in the data tables is correct as of 11 a.m. daily. Dynamic images and maps for case demographics, likely exposure, residence, and residence type will update shortly after 11 a.m. daily and will not work if your browser is in compatibility mode.

The Crookston, Fertile, and Climax Public Libraries have opened with adjusted hours after they were closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic. The libraries will be offering service while maintaining social distance, sanitation procedures, and more based on the following schedule:

CROOKSTON HOURS:
Monday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

FERTILE HOURS:
Tuesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

CLIMAX:
Monday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tuesday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. 
Thursday 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

While the library buildings were closed to the public a number of new services were introduced, including adding Wireless Hotspots to its collection. 

Wireless Hotspots are portable internet access devices that allow you to connect to a WiFi network using your computer, smartphone, or another device at home or while on-the-go. Customers can check out Wireless Hotspots the same way they would check out a book or DVD, with a 14-day loan period and two possible auto-renewals if no one else has requested it. To request a device, place a hold on a wireless hotspot in the library’s catalog, or call the library for assistance.

Another addition to library services is access to hoopla, allowing cardholders to stream popular movies and TV shows and download eBooks and eAudiobooks. Get started at larl.org/ebooks.

The Crookston Fire Department and Crookston Firefighters Association held a training Thursday, June 25 working with power tool operations, rehab procedures, a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) confidence course, and practicing techniques for battling an LP fire.

The propane used for the fire training was supplied by CHS Ag Services.

The Minnesota Department of Health has updated the state COVID-19 numbers and the state conducted 14,560 tests with 498 new cases and five deaths.  Polk County reported three more positive tests for an increase of 11 new cases in the last week for a total of 79.
All the numbers are below. 

Updated June 26, 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.

• Minnesota COVID-19 Public Dashboard
• Minnesota’s COVID-19 Response and Preparation Capacity
• CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Cases in the U.S.
• Minnesota COVID-19 Modeling