Month: December 2020

The Crookston School Board had a special meeting on Thursday evening and voted to stay in distance learning through December 22, which is the last day of school before Christmas break.

DISTANCE LEARNING DECISION
The board heard from Polk County Public Health Director Sarah Reese. She told the board that from November 26 to December 2 there have been 333 new cases in Polk County, 40 people are hospitalized, and 8 are in ICU, and a few additional deaths. “When we look at the progression of COVID-19 and how the doubling factor is happening,” said Reese. “We had 836 cases all the way from the beginning of COVID to October 29. Since then our cases have tripled, so a tripling of cases in the county is concerning and we are at 2715 cases.”
Polk County has been doing a lot of testing and the positive case rate is at 7.3 percent, up from around 5 percent last week. “Those numbers are going up,” said Reese. “When it gets to five percent positivity that’s where we raise our eyebrows from a Public Health perspective. The data suggests a distance learning model.”
Click below to listen to all of Reese’s comments –

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Dave Davidson made the motion to go distance learning to December 22. Tim Dufault seconded the motion. Mike Theis asked about the COVID numbers in the two elementary schools and there have been two positive cases at Washington School and 7 positive cases at Highland School. Theis said he has huge reservations about not having the elementary students in school. Board Chair Frank Fee agreed and said he was ready to go in-person learning in the elementary schools, but changed his mind when he got the latest numbers for Crookston and Polk County.

The board voted 4-1 to stay distance learning through December 22 (which would be the last day of instruction before the Christmas break). Frank Fee, Dave Davidson, Adrianne Winger, and Tim Dufault voted yes, while Mike Theis voted no.  “It is absolutely not the way I wanted to go. When I got here this morning, I wanted to go in-person for at least the elementary, but after reviewing the data and numbers and where we are at with this pandemic locally I couldn’t bring myself to make a recommendation of distance learning extending through Christmas break,” said Superintendent Olson. “It was a difficult decision, and I will say that is one of the more tough decisions I have had to make in Crookston because I believe so strongly in in-person instruction and that is best for kids. However, I have to make sure I am keeping people safe.”

The board heard from a Crookston High School student-athlete Reese Swanson and her comments are below.

The board also heard from a mother of two children in the Crookston School District, Katie Fee, and her comments are below.

Crookston School District Superintendent Jeremy Olson, a parent of four kids in the Crookston schools, responded to the two speakers and his comments are below.

The board agreed to discuss athletics at the next regularly scheduled school board meeting, on December 14 at 6:00 p.m.  For the latest Polk County COVID-19 numbers, click here.

EXTENSION OF EMERGENCY LEAVE
The board voted 5-0 to approve an extension of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act emergency leave for employees, which was set to expire on December 31.  Superintendent Jeremy Olson said he would like to extend it until the staff gets the vaccine.  Money to pay for the extension would come out of the general fund and he doesn’t have an estimate on what it could cost the district. “We received a mandate to put 10 days in place for staff members that need to quarantine or something like that,” said Superintendent Olson. “They can tap into this leave so they don’t take away from their sick time, personal time, whatever the case may be.”  

MORE PREP TIME FOR TEACHERS
The board unanimously approved more prep time for teachers as part of Governor Tim Walz’s order.  The order requires 30 minutes of additional prep time per day.  “The board looked at the number of minutes already given and added three more days of prep time,” said Superintendent Olson. “We will use February 24, March 24, and April 28 as staff prep time days.”

The Crookston Rotary Club is holding a Christmas Raffle fundraiser to help support their projects. Club President Bob Magsam said COVID-19 has slowed some fundraising, so they put a raffle together. “We’re trying to do a little bit of a fundraiser like every other group out there that relies on some fundraising efforts to accomplish projects and things of that nature,” said Magsam. “COVID has kind of put a damper on us and our (projects). So, we, the Rotary Club Members, threw together a Christmas raffle. The tickets are $10. We will be done selling tickets on December 17 and will draw at the Crookston Inn (that night) at 7 p.m.”

Magsam said there are great prizes that will be drawn on December 17. “The great prizes have been donated by members and others in the community,” said Magsam. “First-prize will be $400 cash. The second prize will be Happy Joe’s Pizza for a year and wine. That’s one large pizza a month for a whole year, which is a great deal, and I believe four bottles of wine. The third prize will be a cake for a year and wine. The cakes are custom made cakes from one of our Rotary members. I believe she actually has a Facebook page and makes phenomenal, great tasting cakes. Fourth prize, $100 gift certificate to B&E Meats with wine, and also a couple of cases of beer will go along with that. And your fifth prize will be a Grand Theatre Rental. You get the whole theatre for a private show for a group. For the alcohol, with the beer and wine, unfortunately, are ticket sales are limited to everyone 21 years of age or older.”

Magsam said there is a variety of ways to get tickets. “If you’re interested in supporting the Rotary Club with this raffle fundraiser, all the Rotary members have raffle tickets,” said Magsam. “If you go to our Facebook Page, Crookston Rotary Club (here), you should be able to send us a message there, and one of the Rotary Club members could get a hold of you. Or, of course, most people know I work at the Fire Department. They know how to find me also. Thank you for your support in advance, and Happy Holidays!”  

You can also get tickets by emailing crookstonrotaryclub@gmail.com

The City of Crookston is holding the City Toys for Tots drive again this year. As in the past, The Crookston Firefighters and Auxiliary, along with the City of Crookston Employees, have been delivering toys to kids in Crookston who otherwise would not get anything for Christmas. Donations are being accepted at the Crookston Water Department, 124 N Broadway.

The Polk County Soybean and Corn Growers and their checkoff dollars are supporting the six emergency feeding programs in Polk County in the towns of Climax, Crookston, East Grand Forks, Erskine, Fertile and Fosston. The funds will be used to provide hams to neighbors struggling with hunger during the holidays.

The North Country Food Bank, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was incorporated in 1983, and is in East Grand Forks, Minn. The concept was simple – capture surplus food from the USDA, food manufacturers, grocery retail outlets and farmers to feed hungry people. Today, North Country distributes food to over 230 charitable organizations on an annual basis. For every $1.00 North Country receives, it can provide enough food for five meals.

“The North Country Food Bank is very important and helpful to those in need,” says Kevin Krueger, President of the Polk County Soybean and Corn Growers. “The Polk County Soybean and Corn Growers are happy to help our neighbor and noting livestock is the number one consumer of soybean and corn meal.“

Krueger notes that Minnesota’s soybean & corn farmers play an important role in providing feed for the meat that ends up on a family’s table.

Last year, North Country operated programs that distributed over 7.4 million pounds of food to people in need. Most local charitable organizations in North Country’s service area, including food shelves, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, senior community centers, after school programs, and other non-profits that serve those in need, receive at least 50% of the food they distribute from North Country. There are many agencies that receive 70%+ of their food from North Country, and some that receive 90%+ of their food from North Country.

Rydell and Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuges will be hosting their 6th Annual Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, December 17. This pubic event is administered by the National Audubon Society and is the longest-running citizen science bird project in the U.S. This year will mark the 121st year of the Christmas Bird Count.

Counts are held in designated areas throughout the U.S. between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 each year. Last year, counts were completed in over 2,500 locations, including Canada and Latin America. Over 75,000 people participated in the counts and over 50 million birds were tallied! Information from the count provides important information on winter ranges of birds, population trends, and how a changing climate alters winter bird distribution.

People have observed 50 different bird species on the Rydell/Glacial Ridge Count Circle over the past five years, including northern shrikes, Bohemian waxwings, northern goshawks, pine and evening grosbeaks, hoary redpolls, and snowy owls. The 15-mile diameter count circle stretches from Erskine west to the center of Glacial Ridge Refuge. Although most of the migratory birds that breed in our area have headed south by now, this count provides a unique opportunity to observe a number of Artic-breeding species that consider northern MN their “warm” winter haven.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Refuge staff will have to run this count in a much different hands-off fashion than we have the last five years. This year, participants will count independently, versus pairing up with Refuge staff and volunteers in past years. People interested in participating do not need to be expert birders. This event can serve as a great learning experience for beginning birders. Binoculars and a bird book are the only required equipment. Participants can count from a vehicle or on foot, depending on their preference and the weather conditions that day. People who live within the Rydell/Glacial Ridge Count Circle can even participate by reporting bird sightings at feeders from the comfort of their own home.

If you’re interested in participating in the count, a map of the count circle location and a data form will be emailed to you. The count coordinator will communicate with you to see what additional resources you might need (such as a list of birds seen on previous Rydell/Glacial Ridge counts, or links to online bird identification sites) and determine what part of the count circle you will focus your efforts on. After the count, participants can simply email their data to the count coordinator. During the challenging times we’re all experiencing, we’re hoping this event will provide a neat outdoor opportunity, whether you’re an adult looking for a new experience, or a student engaged in distance or hybrid learning. Please RSVP no later than December 15 by calling Gregg Knutsen at 218-686-4329 or emailing at gregg_knutsen@fws.gov. Gregg can also be contacted if you have any questions about the count, including whether your residence lies within the count circle.

The Minnesota Department of Health released its COVID-19 Weekly Report (here) on Friday.  All information is updated through 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2 unless noted. Information on Polk County and the KROX listening area was pulled from the report and is below – 

Update from Polk County Public Health –

Polk County has a total of 2,715 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19. From November 26th – December 3rd, Polk County has had an increase of 333 new cases. Currently, 40 individuals are hospitalized and 8 of these individuals are in the ICU.

**Positive number of tests and positivity calculations include only tests reported by labs that report both positive and negative results. Percent positive is the percent of positive tests from the total number of tests by county of residence.

SCHOOL LEARNING MODEL OPTIONS

CASE RATE PER COUNTY

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The Minnesota Department of Health of is reporting 5,775 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 391 probable cases from antigen testing, and 92 deaths. The confirmed cases were found in 45,885 completed tests for a positive rate of 12.6 percent.

Roseau County had 53 reported cases, Polk County-48 cases and one death (75-79 years), Pennington County-20 cases, Marshall County-16 cases, Norman County-eight cases, Kittson County-six cases, Mahnomen County-six cases and one death (75-79 years), Lake of the Woods County-five cases, and Red Lake County-three cases.

Updated December 3, 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.”

Positive PCR test results are considered confirmed cases. Positive antigen test results are considered probable cases.

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

Data in the data tables is correct as of 11 a.m. daily. Dynamic images and maps will update shortly after 11 a.m. daily and will not work if your browser is in compatibility mode.