Month: September 2020

On Friday, September 11, officers of the Grand Forks Police Department were dispatched to the 2700 block of Gateway Dr. for a report of a hit and run crash that had just occurred involving two vehicles.  A deputy from the Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office was in the area at the time of the call and attempted to stop the suspect and a pursuit was initiated by the deputy.  A short pursuit ensued and the suspect left Grand Forks and entered East Grand Forks, MN via the Sorlie Bridge. After a short distance, the suspect re-entered Grand Forks on Gateway Dr.  A Grand Forks officer entered the pursuit at 2700 Gateway Dr., and a pursuit intervention technique was successfully performed on the suspect vehicle.  The PIT maneuver ended the pursuit in the 2900 block of Gateway Dr. and the male driver was taken into custody without further incident.  The driver was identified as 23-year-old Grand Forks resident Alan Bear.  Bear was arrested and charged with fleeing in a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, DUI, reckless endangerment, and care required.  No injuries were reported as a result of the initial crash and no injuries resulted from the pursuit or subsequent intervention technique.  Traffic on Gateway Dr. was shut down for approximately 30 minutes while officers were on scene.

The Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office, University of North Dakota Police, and East Grand Forks (MN) Police assisted on this incident.  Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Grand Forks Police Department by one of the following methods:

Call: 701-787-8000
Online: Submit a tip via the GFPD’s Facebook or website
App: Submit a tip via the Tip411 app

The Grand Forks Growth Fund, a Jobs Development Authority (JDA) has received $1.39 Million in CARES Act funding from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to address the economic impact of COVID-19 in Grand Forks County. Another $139,000 of EDA investment is provided to defray the cost of administering the RLF.

The EDA has made this investment to capitalize a COVID-19 Response Unmet Needs (C-RUN) Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide low-interest, working capital loans to small businesses and entrepreneurs in Grand Forks County. This EDA investment will address the sudden and severe economic dislocation caused by COVID-19.

“We are thankful that the city has received this funding from the EDA and we hope businesses take advantage of this opportunity.” Mayor Brandon Bochenski said. “Hopefully this federal funding can help local businesses as they work their way through this pandemic.”

The CARES Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020, provides EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

More information about how to apply for this new loan fund will be made available soon. Call (701) 787-3745 or email cthanson@grandforksgov.com for questions or more information.

Otter Tail Power Company plans to build a nearly 50-megawatt (MW) solar farm on land around the soon-to-be-retired Hoot Lake Plant in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Hoot Lake Solar will include around 170,000 solar panels, generating enough energy to power approximately 10,000 homes every year.

Construction may start as early as 2021. “We have an exciting window of opportunity to add a renewable resource and affordably interconnect the electricity from that resource to the energy grid,” said Otter Tail Power Company President Tim Rogelstad. “Solar generation has advantages that make it the right energy resource for us at this time and at this location. Over the past few years, the costs of solar energy have significantly decreased and efficiency has increased. Using the area around Hoot Lake Plant allows us to be resourceful with our property in Fergus Falls and to wisely use existing transmission infrastructure. I’m proud of our engineers and our project leads for developing a solid plan that makes sense for our customers.”

PLANNING SOLAR ENERGY

The existing Hoot Lake substation will connect electricity produced by the solar farm to customers across Otter Tail Power Company’s service area. “Not only are we adding another renewable resource for our customers, we’re doing it during a time when we can keep the price they pay for electricity lower than they’d find almost anywhere else,” said Rogelstad.

Before construction can begin for Hoot Lake Solar, Otter Tail Power Company will seek required approvals from state regulatory agencies and local government, and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., will need to authorize interconnection to the transmission system. “We’re excited to work with the City of Fergus Falls and Otter Tail County to complete this important project,” said Rogelstad. “Both have been supportive partners for us throughout our operations of the existing Hoot Lake Plant—and our entire history—and we look forward to maintaining and growing those partnerships.”

POWERING THE FUTURE

Otter Tail Power Company projects that with the completion of Hoot Lake Solar, up to 35 percent of its energy will come from renewables, while ensuring electric service continues to be safe, reliable, and economical. The company also recently completed two nearly 40-kilowatt solar projects: Blue Jay Solar in Jamestown, North Dakota, and Blue Heron Solar near Ottertail, Minnesota.

Construction continues at the Merricourt Wind Energy Center, a 150-MW wind generation facility in southeast North Dakota—the first complete wind turbine stands tall as of July 28—and at Astoria Station, a 245-MW simple-cycle natural gas combustion turbine in east central South Dakota, where the company recently energized the transmission substation. Astoria Station will have flexible operating options, providing energy during periods of high demand, with low emissions. Both projects are scheduled for completion before the end of this year.

The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting 484 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths. The new cases were reported from 17,841 completed tests for a positive rate of 2.7 percent.

Updated September 11, 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.

Other Statistics

• Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children (MIS-C) Statistics
• 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 School District has started the year with an enrollment of 1,114.  That is down 24 students from the first day of school last year and 36 students from the high enrollment mark at any time in the last year.  With more families choosing homeschooling due to COVID-19, Superintendent Jeremy Olson said the district is still in a decent spot.  “It is down from last year. That’s not a great thing but we were really pleased last year with that increase we received. It’s probably a decent place for us to be right now,” said Olson. “We were projecting going into the school year at 1,123, so it is down from where our projections were last spring. However, we are very conservative when we budget, so we are still decently positioned right now with our enrollment we’re seeing today and what we have budgeted for at this point.”  

Olson said the hope is the enrollment increases or stabilizes as answers to COVID-19 are found. “Traditionally, enrollment does go down over the course of the year,” said Olson. “Last year enrollment went down a little from September to October and then stabilized. Actually, at the end of the year, we were up a little from where we were in the middle of the year. There is really no rhyme or reason to enrollment trends. And we’re hopeful that as we move into this year, as things stabilize, and we get stronger after COVID-19 that we’re going to see that enrollment turn around or stabilize. But at this point, we are down a little from last year and that’s what we’re working on at this point.”

Our Saviors Lutheran School offers Preschool through Sixth grade and they have 40 students, which is an increase of six students from last year.

Cathedral School offers Preschool through Sixth grade and they have a total of 56 in Kindergarten through Sixth grade up one from last year.

You can see a breakdown of enrollment for 2019 and 2018 by class below –