Month: September 2020

Wanda Wilkens was a charter member of the Crookston Eagles Auxiliary when it began in 1951 and, for the past 34 years, has served as the secretary for the auxiliary. She’s also spent the last 20 years as the secretary to the Eagles manager in the office.

Wilkens said being the auxiliary secretary has been a lot of work, but now is the time to hand it over because she is too old to learn the computer side of the position. “The Secretary for the Eagles Auxiliary was a lot of work to start with, but now it was good to hand over,” said Wilkens. “I’m not, what would you say, I’m too old to learn this computer stuff, and it’s best for somebody young to take over on that job. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve learned a lot. It’s gotten to be a lot of work.”

The Eagles building has gone through many changes over the years, most recently the remodeling of the banquet room this year.  Wilkens said she’s been working on a photo book to show the changes over the years. “I’ve taken a lot of old pictures and trying to make a book to show what it was years ago,” said Wilkens. “The big bar we have down the center here was over by the wall—a lot of changes. I worked for Gary Lufkin and Jake Fee. Gary was a good guy to work for in the office, but he was always painting something, always cleaning. Jake doesn’t worry about that, but he does more in the books, getting that straightened out. I guess I’ve spoiled them all because I’ve been here so long.”

Wilkens said she’ll miss working banquets and other meetings that are held at the Eagles Club. “I’m going to miss the banquets that we’ve had and all the things we’ve had for the farmers when they come in to order their seeds,” said Wilkens. “They have meetings up here, and some of these old farmers say – oh, you’re still working. Yeah, I’m still working. It’s going to be a big switch, really, but I guess I need to do it.”

Wilkens said she has a lot of memories from the Eagles, including the time she lit wedding decorations on fire. “Had some great weddings,” said Wilkens. “I remember one wedding we had, the woman had too many big decorations on the table. I went to light it, and I started it on fire. That was interesting. We’ve had older people in the kitchen that have helped us learn how to cook potato dumplings. In the last two years, I haven’t really worked in the kitchen. I sit in my chair and watch. If they have any questions, I can answer them.”

Wilkens added she enjoyed working at the Eagles and hopes people continue to go to the club. “It’s a great place to work for, and I’ve enjoyed it,” said Wilkens. “I just hope that everybody continues to stay with the auxiliary and continues to come to the Eagle because it’s a good place to go.”

The Eagles will have a drive-by retirement celebration for Wilkens at the downtown square on East 3rd St. Tuesday, September 8, from 4-6 p.m. Honk your horn, wave, and wish Wanda the best in her retirement.

The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting 638 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths. The new cases were from 15,147 completed tests for a positive rate of 4.2 percent.

Updated September 7, 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.

Crookston High School has four new teachers for the upcoming school year in band, English, agriculture, and business. The new teachers are below –

WHITNEY RUPPRECHT
Whitney Rupprecht will teach the agriculture courses at the high school and comes to Crookston after seven years at Fertile-Beltrami. “I am originally from Thief River Falls, where I went to high school,” said Rupprecht. “Went to college at UMC and had been teaching at Fertile-Beltrami for about seven years. Starting here at Crookston High School, really excited to get the ag program up and going.”

Rupprecht said she believes the current situation gives her a refreshing way to look at technology and ways of teaching, but she’ll miss seeing every student, every day. “I’m anticipating the challenges,” said Rupprecht. “I think some of them are going to be really refreshing and give me some new technologies and different ways of teaching. But I’m really going to miss student contact. That’s going to be really hard for me to not see (all) the students every day and not see them smiling.”

BRANDON ADAMS
Brandon Adams graduated from Fertile-Beltrami High School and will be teaching English at the high school. “This is my second year of teaching, my first at Crookston,” said Adams. “A grew up going to Fertile and graduated from Fertile-Beltrami before studying English at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. And education at UND. I’m teaching eighth-grade English and 11th-grade U.S. Literature.”

Adams said he’s excited to be in Crookston and to see how hybrid learning is different. “Super excited to get to know everyone here at the Crookston schools and in the community,” said Adams. “Hybrid, I’m excited to see how this is going to look different this year.”

CAITLIN BECKS
Caitlin Becks is the new band director at Crookston High School. “I currently live in Manvel (N.D.), but I grew up in Paynesville, MN,” said Becks. “I’ve been teaching about 10 years, and I’ve taught every subject of music there is grades pre-k through 12. I’m excited to be here as Crookston’s new band director.”

Becks said the band will have to keep 12-feet of distance between them while playing, so a lot of their time will be spent outside as long as the weather permits. “I can’t wait to get started with the band, and hopefully next summer having a marching season again,” said Becks. “We’re going to try to play as much as we can. We do have to distance safely 12-feet apart when we’re playing. So, a lot of it will be outdoors as long as weather permits, and then we’ll do some other things inside when the weather turns bad.”

JANELLE SWANSON
Janelle Swanson is from Argyle and will be teaching accounting, business, computer, and marketing. “I live in Argyle and have lived there my whole life,” said Swanson. “I used to teach as Stephen-Argyle Central for 12 years, teaching business and computers. That’s what I will be teaching at Crookston High School – seventh and eighth-grade business and computers, marketing, and accounting.” 

Swanson said she’s glad at least some school will be held face-to-face. “I’m looking forward to the school year,” said Swanson. “So glad we can be in school face-to-face for some of it anyways. We’ll work our best to do what we can to keep the students in school when they can be there and work together.  Looking forward to it.”

The Grand Forks Police Department was dispatched to Cenex at 1970 32nd Avenue South for a report of a robbery in progress on Sunday at 12:43 a.m. 
Officers arrived on the scene as the 911 call was still being made.
The Grand Forks Police Department K9 Unit responded and tracked the suspect about six blocks to the 2200 block of Knightsbridge Ct.
21-year-old Grand Forks resident Tre Beston was arrested and charged with one count of robbery.
No one was injured during this incident.

This investigation is ongoing and 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