Month: November 2020

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center announced the arrests of the following individuals:

Wade Michael Pederson, 29 of Red Lake Falls, for misdemeanor domestic assault. Released on personal recognizance.

Alexander Amadu Kromah, 42, for a misdemeanor for permitting a public nuisance.

Eric Daniel Roger Berg, 36 of McIntosh, for felony kidnapping to commit great bodily harm or terrorize.

Samuel Alejandro Torrez, 37 of Angus, for misdemeanor contempt of court for willful disobedience of a court mandate.

Alfredo Torrez, 69 of Angus, for a gross misdemeanor traffic violation for driving after cancelation.

Duane Earl Hennager, 51 of Crookston, for misdemeanor domestic abuse, violation of an order for protection. Released on personal recognizance.

Alexander David Chaffee, 30 of Crookston, for misdemeanor contempt of court for willful disobedience of a court mandate.

Marlow Dean Jacobson, 56 of Mentor, for a misdemeanor violation of a domestic abuse no-contact order. Bail supplied.

Ezequiel Gonzales, 42 of Crookston, for misdemeanor failure to appear. Bail supplied.

Elarye Lisov, 26 of Mentor, for felony 5th-degree drug possession.

Katherine Maria Daniels, 42 of Crookston, for misdemeanor contempt of court for willful disobedience of a court mandate. Releases on personal recognizance.

Saul Salinas, 42 of Crookston, for misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Released on personal recognizance.

Elizabeth Ashley Heim, 29, as a felony fugitive from another state.

Dylan Gene Stahlecker, 21 of Crookston, for misdemeanor making an emergency call with no emergency. Released on personal recognizance.

When Governor Tim Walz was in Crookston last week for the Ag Innovation Campus groundbreaking ceremony, he also made a second stop in town at American Crystal. 

Governor Walz said he wanted to check on how things had gone this year after the recent struggles, notably the wet conditions during the 2019 harvest. “It was awful last year,” said Walz. “This region’s gone through a lot and pile on COVID and some of the uncertainties, it’s good to hear. They’re saying not a huge harvest, but a good one. I’ve had the pleasure of being here quite a few times with my time in Congress. I’m proud of this industry, of what they’ve done. Sugar harvest is an amazing thing, how much produce is moved so quickly. They did it, did it safely, with so many trucks on the road and late nights. And they did it in the middle of a pandemic without getting folks sick. Well done.”

Crookston Factory Manager Ryan Wall told Walz that it was a record harvest for speed of completion, and the weather has remained favorable. “Harvest finished up pretty good this year,” said Wall. “It was nice, dry conditions. We were able to get everything out of the ground and stored in about 16 days which was a record for us. That was nice to see in comparison to the previous two seasons – last year when we weren’t able to harvest 100 percent of the crop and the year before where it drug out into November as well. Cool temps in so far have been favorable for storing the beets and looking at a nice processing campaign to finish sometime next spring.”

Wall also shared some of the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created. From possible employees not applying for positions because of the increased unemployment benefits to the additional safety precautions to battle the pandemic itself. “It’s good for us to be able to tell our story of what is going on especially with the pandemic,” Wall. “Tell him some of the challenges we see with dealing with COVID both in the factory and our harvest setting. It affects both the piling stations and operations within the factory. He touched on some things regarding when vaccines will be coming out, the model of getting it out quickly, it was good to hear.”

Wall told Walz that the harvest didn’t have a single COVID-19 case spread through American Crystal. Wall also explained that testing is a challenge because results can take up to five days. Walz said the hope is to increase the ease of testing and getting results. “We’re in a pretty tough time right now,” said Walz. “I think the speed we can do testing and make it easier for people. The State of Minnesota wants you to have one in your home, FedEx it, and get the results the next day. I think the federal government has done a good job around preparation for a vaccine and distribution. I trust the FDA that all the safeguards will be in place. ”

Walz also said he believes a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready in early 2021, and that Minnesota was helping to create a distribution plan that would be implemented across the nation. “It looks like this vaccine is going to take one, and then, a few weeks later take a second dose,” said Walz. “The vaccine in some cases is going to have to be stored ultra-cold, 90 below zero. You have to have storage facilities and how they move that. Five states were picked to be pilots to put this (distribution) study together, Minnesota was one of those. We submitted that to the federal government. They are going to use that for the rest of the country. I feel confident that once the vaccine comes online, the production is going to be higher than we’ve ever seen, and then, the distribution of it. I think looking past the first part of the year there is a lot of reasons to be optimistic.”

The Crookston School District notified parents/guardians of kids that attend Crookston High School and Highland School that somebody that was at both schools tested positive for COVID-19.  The official notice is below – 

This is a general notification that an individual has tested positive for COVID-19 who was present at both Highland Elementary School and Crookston High School. Polk County has been notified. Any close contacts have also been notified. 

There will be a special Crookston Ways & Means Committee meeting Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The only item on the agenda is a quote for audio and visual equipment from HB Sound & Light for the equipment, installation, and training for the live stream and recording system.

The quote includes cameras, along with software and equipment to operate the cameras. The total quote is for $22,433.05. If approved, the equipment will be paid for by the CARES Act funds.

The Minnesota Department of Health released Sunday’s COVID-19 numbers and Polk County reported 59 new cases. Marshall County-10, Pennington County-7, Roseau County-5, Red Lake County-3, Norman County-3, Kittson County-1, Mahnomen County-1. Minnesota reported 2,190 confirmed COVID-19 cases out of 31,184 tests for a positive rate of seven percent. The state reported 18 deaths with one in Pennington County (age 70-74 years old). The youngest person of the 18 deaths was 65 to 69 years old.  All the numbers are below – 

Updated November 1, 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.”

The COVID-19 case definition was recently updated to include antigen testing. Previously, cases were only reported through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Positive PCR test results are considered confirmed cases. Positive antigen test results are considered probable cases. Confirmed and probable cases are reported separately in the following areas:

• Newly reported cases
• Total approximate completed tests
• Total positive cases
• Total cases by county of residence

Death, hospitalization, demographic (age, gender, race), likely exposure, and residence type data combine PCR (confirmed) and antigen (probable) cases for an overall total.

All probable cases get the same public health follow up and recommendations as cases confirmed by PCR tests.

Other Statistics

• Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children (MIS-C) Statistics
• Minnesota COVID-19 Public Dashboard
• Minnesota’s COVID-19 Response and Preparation Capacity
• Dial Back Dashboard
• CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Cases in the U.S.
• Minnesota COVID-19 Modeling