Month: July 2021

With holiday celebrations throughout the state and forecasts of warm weather over the July 4 weekend, the Minnesota Department of Transportation urges all motorists to slow down, plan ahead and “keep cool” while driving through work zones.

More than 200 projects will be underway on state roads this construction season. While most work will be suspended over the July 4 holiday, work zones will remain in place for many projects throughout the state. MnDOT recommends that motorists visit www.511mn.org to get information about road construction projects and traffic impacts before they head out, think about alternate routes and prepare for slower moving traffic. 

Motorists should also be aware that the fine for speeding in a work zone is $300.

Some of the highway projects in the Northeastern Minnesota that may affect weekend travel include:

• Hwy 2 RCI’s west of Bemidji
• Hwy 1/59 roundabout in Thief River Falls
• Hwy 2 west of Cass Lake
• Hwy 2 Marcoux to Erskine
• Hwy 200 east of Walker

For a complete list of projects by highway or region, visit www.mndot.gov/roadwork/current.html. 

The post MNDOT REMINDS MOTORISTS TO SLOW DOWN IN WORK ZONES appeared first on KROX.

The Polk County Highway Department will close County State Aid Highway 57 from CSAH 13 to the Red Lake County Line starting July 6. The closure will allow a contractor to replace culverts and perform grade widening work. The closure is expected to last into August.
Anyone wanting more information should contact the Polk County Highway Department at 218-281-3952.

The post POLK COUNTY HIGHWAY 57 TO CLOSE JULY 6 FOR CULVERT REPAIR appeared first on KROX.

Hot weather is likely contributing to fish die-offs in lakes throughout Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said spring and summer fish die-offs happen occasionally, and they are getting widespread reports of dead fish following the recent prolonged stretch of hot weather.

The DNR encourages you to report fish die-offs by calling the state duty officer at 651‐649‐5451 or 800‐422‐0798 if you encounter a large group of dead fish in a lake or a stream (the state duty officer is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week). Calling in a report provides a single point of contact for the incident. An early report also allows timely water sampling or other response actions, if needed. It’s especially helpful to know what fish types and sizes people see in a fish die-off.

In mid-spring and summer, fish die-offs are often the result of warming water and opportunistic infections that spread in fish populations that are already stressed after the spawning season. Species commonly observed in these die-offs include sunfish, crappies, and bullheads, and, occasionally, largemouth bass and northern pike.

The post MINNESOTA DNR ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO REPORT FISH DIE-OFFS appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston School District and the Crookston Education Association (the teachers union) have arrived at a tentative contract agreement for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. 

The contract will give the teachers a two percent increase in 2021-2022 and a 2.45 percent increase in 2022-2023, which replicates the increase in funding from the Minnesota state legislature.  Health insurance will stay the same as what they are currently getting.

“It was a really nice process.  We had two meetings and both sides were very reasonable and a fair package,” said Superintendent Olson. “It replicates the increase that we are getting from the state.”

Olson added that there was another part of the deal that he feels will help the school district. “We saw that our base salary was a little on the low side so we have an agreement with the teachers and we will boost the starting wage and move a partial step to the top to reward those teachers that have been here for a while.”

The tentative agreement will need to be ratified by the CEA membership and the Crookston School Board with the target final approval at the July School Board meeting.

The Crookston School District still has two more contracts to negotiate (paraprofessionals and instructional aides) for the upcoming school year. 

The post CROOKSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TEACHERS UNION COME TO A TENTATIVE CONTRACT AGREEMENT appeared first on KROX.