Month: July 2021

Crookston High School Head Football Coach Scott Butt will no longer be on the sidelines after the school’s decision to let the coach go earlier this week. Butt has coached the game for 27 years and spent the last 10 years as the Head Coach for the Pirates. Butt wanted to take the opportunity to say his goodbyes and thank the people for allowing him to coach the game he loves.

Butt acknowledged the amazing kids to come through the program and the honor he had to coach them over the years. “All in all, I think my time here was enjoyable, and I’ve really enjoyed the kids I’ve gotten to work with,” said Butt. “There have been so many wonderful kids over the years that I’ve gotten to coach, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more out of them.”

Butt hopes that he’s been able to impact the kids in more than just the game of football over the years. “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that we keep score because we want to win, but there are also life lessons to be taught in the sport,” said Butt. “To the kids that have backed me up and played for me, thank you for all you’ve taught me as well, this wasn’t the way I wanted to go out, and I just want you to know that I didn’t quit on you.”

Butt also acknowledged his family and his wife for allowing him to have the opportunities to coach over the past 27 years. While Butt coached his own kids over the years, he considered everyone on the team and part of his family.

Butt hopes that the school’s motto since he’s been with the program is something the players can take with them moving forward. “I think that the motto we have had here can really apply to life. If you make a mistake, own up to it, admit it and move on,” said Butt. “I look at some of the kids we’ve had, the ones who were undersized but gave us all we had, and the ones that never quit; I hope and want them to understand they’re destined to do great things in life.”

Butt once resigned back in 2019 but shortly rescinded his resignation to continue being the coach. He planned to resign at the end of this year, but after talks with the school, they felt it was best to move on before this season.

Butt’s favorite memories on the field include being able to coach his sons, as well as an unforgettable season back in 2017. “The whole 2017 season was just so memorable for us,” said Butt. “We were down in Barnesville for the playoffs that year, and I remember we had them on the ropes, and just seeing the excitement and energy from the kids was incredible. I will never forget the energy on the sidelines of that game.”

Butt’s greatest joys from his time as a coach in Crookston will be the opportunity to coach and spend time with his kids outside of the house. “One of the more memorable things for me has been getting to coach my sons,” said Butt. “Brady, who is now in Jamestown, I enjoyed him and the rest of his class and that year, and Brooks is moving on after this year, but it’s been kind of neat to be able to cherish these moments and enjoy these four years I never thought I would get to have.”

Butt also mentioned his first-year coaching at Crookston and a game from one of his players that sticks out in his mind. “We had a running back run for 415 yards and 6 TD’s down in Park Rapids in a game, and that was just an incredible night,” said Butt. He also acknowledged that they had to come from behind to win the game and just continued running the football to get into field goal position but ended up breaking a long TD run to win the game.

Butt is unsure about his plans in coaching or if he will look to coach again. After 27 years, he has plenty of experience and background to find a place if he’d like to. He has already been reached out to by a few teams who may be looking at him as a potential fit.

It is unsure which direction the school will turn for head coach, as practices start in August. A decision should be announced soon, and a consensus reached.

Butt’s final words regarding the decision were this. “I’m going to concentrate on the positives, and as Nick Saban (Alabama Football Coach) says, “You’re hired to be fired” so while this isn’t the way I wanted to go out, it is what it is, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how all the kids develop into mature adults.”

The post SCOTT BUTT OUT AS CROOKSTON HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, SAYS THANK YOU AND GOODBYES TO THE PLAYERS appeared first on KROX.

The city of Crookston has issued water restrictions effective today. The decision comes after the severe drought continues throughout the summer in northwest Minnesota. The restrictions, however, will be more like guidelines and recommendations and not fully enforced at this time. The city does not believe things are as bad as they could be but want to be cautious.

City of Crookston Public Works Director Brandon Carlson shared the implications and suggestions for the community. “We’re asking residents and business owners if you apply, to irrigate your yard or lawn based on your address,” said Carlson. “If you have an even address, we recommend watering on an even day of the calendar, and if your address is odd then water on an odd day of the calendar.”

A resolution with the suggestion was presented before City Council at Monday night’s meeting, and the vote passed unanimously to implement the restrictions. “As of the passing of the resolution, the restrictions will be in effect immediately,” said Carlson. “It’s more of us encouraging responsible irrigation as of now, and if things continue to get worse then we may have to take the next step.”

Other cities in the area have already taken action and put restrictions into place. The most recent was Grand Forks ND, just last week. References to look at can be found at the DNR’s drought website Drought in Minnesota | Minnesota DNR (state.mn.us).

Carlson mentioned resources on the DNR website that may help homeowners understand how much water they should be using. “There are calculators on the DNR website that can be used to calculate how much water is needed to maintain a healthy lawn,” said Carlson. “We’re not saying quit all together but be responsible with how much you are using during this drought.”

A notice will be sent out at some point letting the public know about the decision and with all the suggestions from the city. For more updates and any other questions, you can visit the City of Crookston website City of Crookston, Minnesota for more information.

The post CITY OF CROOKSTON IMPLEMENTING WATER RESTRICTIONS EFFECTIVE TODAY appeared first on KROX.

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center in Crookston reported the following arrests –

Jessica Marie Ness, 38 of Grand Forks, for Traffic-DUI-Operate a Motor Vehicle with an Alcohol Concentration of 0.08 within 2 hours.

Christian Marie Noriega, 30 of Climax, for Traffic-DUI-Operate a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence

Jewel Anne Carrizales, 20 of Grand Forks, for Obstructing the Legal Process by interfering with a peace officer

Travis Wayne Brown, 33 of Lengby, for Failure to appear.

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT – JULY 27, 2021 appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston City Council met Monday night in the City Hall Council Chambers; the agenda included resolutions to approve the Wellhead Protection Plan for the City of Crookston and a resolution to approve the City of Crookston Water Restrictions. Project Manager Jim Lambert of Ag Innovation also provided a campus update to the City Council. Other resolutions included approving a consultant agreement with SEH Engineering & Planning Services for the Crookston Municipal Kirkwood Field Airport and approval of a Community Developmental Director Job description.

The consent agenda included the approval of the City Council meeting minutes from July 12 and a resolution to approve City of Crookston bills and disbursements in the amount of $315,739.18.

AG INNOVATION CAMPUS UPDATE

Jim Lambert updated the Ag Innovation Campus and spoke on what the board should be aware of. “Tonight, I gave City Council a quick update on our campus,” said Lambert. “The city has been great to work with, and what we discussed is the activity you’re going to start to see at our 10-acre site at the corner of Ingersoll Avenue and Highway 75. We will have equipment moving in, and we are planning on starting some earthwork either this week or next week.”

A Memorandum of Understanding between Ag Innovation and the City of Crookston was also passed during the Regular Agenda. Lambert spoke on what this will allow Ag Innovation to accomplish. “There is a USDA rise grant, and that’s open to entities doing industrial incubation, which fits us very well,” said Lambert. “We’ve asked the city to be a co-applicant in the grant, and this is a unique grant in that we will write the grant and do the work, and the city will receive the funds and distribute them.”

Lambert believes that Ag Innovation has a good chance at receiving the grant, and he is thrilled to be working closely with the city in the process. The application deadline is due by August 2nd of this year, so this now allows Ag Innovation enough time to submit their application for consideration.

WELLHEAD PROTECTION PLAN PUBLIC HEARING

A public hearing was held for the Wellhead Protection Plan where anyone could approach the Council with their thoughts and opinions. Crookston Public Works Director Brandon Carlson spoke before the council regarding the logistics behind the Wellhead Plan and addressed some DNR concerns. “This plan gives us a radius of our wells that we need to monitor,” said Carlson. “We need to make sure nothing contaminates our water source, and this gives us steps to prevent any ail situations and how to deal with them.”

REGULAR AGENDA

The regular agenda began where the public hearing ended, and a resolution was voted on to approve the Wellhead Protection Plan. The resolution was passed per the recommendation of Brandon.

Following that, a resolution to approve an Agreement with the University of Minnesota Crookston was passed to use the Crookston Community Pool. A Resolution to approve a Memorandum of Understanding for the City of Crookston and the Ag Innovation Campus was then passed.

One of the biggest issues discussed at the meeting was the City of Crookston Water Restrictions passed by the Council. It will be used as more of a precaution than an actual mandate, and residents of Crookston are encouraged to use water and preserve it in a responsible matter.

Residents and business owners will be asked to irrigate their water based on their address for as long as the drought continues. A notice will be sent out on the city’s website https://www.crookston.mn.us/ns/ with all the regulations and guidelines that will be effective starting tomorrow.

The Airport Commission brought forth a resolution to the City Council to approve SEH Engineering & Planning as the next Consultant for the Crookston Municipal Kirkwood Field Airport. City Administrator Amy Finch spoke more on this decision and the finalization of the contract. “We will notify the applicants of the decision we’ve reached and then will get contracts going,” said Finch. “Once they’re notified, and we can finalize the contract, they will start getting to work for us and helping us improve our Airport.”

The meeting ended with the approval of a Community Development Director Job description. The position is being created following the dissolution of CHEDA at the last City Council meeting. Finch put together the description and discussed what the city would be looking for in an ideal candidate. “We will get ready to post the job description, and then we will focus on our local job description tactics such as using Indeed.com, and then from there looking more regionally for an ideal candidate,” said Finch. “Hopefully, we get a unique set of applicants, then will carefully put together a hiring committee, and get to work on finding the right fit.”

There is no firm timeline on a hiring date, but Finch says the goal would be around six weeks. Timing with holidays and the number of applicants the city receives may throw that timeline off moving forward.

OTHER ITEMS

Crookston Police Department Chief Paul Biermaier updated the Council on a job search and how the hiring process is going. “We’ve had a couple of people resign, so we’ve been advertising and looking to find the right replacements,” said Biermaier. “As many people know, it’s hard to find good applicants right now, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to settle; we’re still going to get the very best that we can find.”

The next City Council Meeting will occur on August 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

#td_uid_1_60ff7ba2986c1 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item1 {
background: url(https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.235/182.80d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Brandon-Carlson-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_60ff7ba2986c1 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item2 {
background: url(https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.235/182.80d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Greg-Hefta-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_60ff7ba2986c1 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item3 {
background: url(https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.235/182.80d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Tim-Froeber-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}

1 of 3

The post CITY COUNCIL RECEIVES AG INNOVATION CAMPUS UPDATE appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston School Board met on Monday night in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra Room. The meeting featured multiple staffing approvals, as well as accepting bids for milk and bread for the upcoming school year. The meeting also included the approval of a long-term ten-year maintenance plan.

CONSENT AGENDA

The consent agenda included the approval of Sutton Junkermeier as HS Social Studies Instructor, and Danielle Edlund, Jessica Holzer, Cindy Johnson, and Emma Sherman as Paraprofessionals.

The consent agenda also included the approval of student handbooks for the 2021-2022 school year for Washington Elementary, Highland Elementary, & Crookston High School.

The board then designated investment authority to Superintendent Jeremy Olson, Business Manager Laura Lyczewski, and Fiscal Services Director Nancy Nottestad. Superintendent Jeremy Olson explained what authority Lyczewski, Nottestad, and himself have. “All the people designated as investment authority figures were the same from years past,” said Olson. “What we do is we try and capture the most amount of money that we can by investing in CD’s using a latter approach. We try and invest the upfront dollars we receive to maximize their use throughout the year and so that’s what we will try and do.”

Following that, the board elected to designate official signatories for Financial Operations. The signatories will be School Board Chairperson Frank Fee, School Board Clerk Adrianne Winger, School Board Treasurer Tim Dufault, Superintendent Jeremy Olson, Business Manager Laura Lyczewski, and Fiscal Services Director Nancy Nottestad.

The board also designated Official Financial Institutions for the upcoming school year. The payroll account will be with United Valley Bank of Crookston, and the financial account, as well as the Lock Box Account, will be Bremer Bank of Crookston.

MAIN AGENDA

The main agenda began with a resolution providing for the sale of the general obligation of school building refunding bonds. Senior Municipal Advisor for Ehlers Public Finance Shelby McQuay spoke on what was in front of the board and what their course of action means for Crookston schools. “When a school district issues a bond there is generally a call date on that of about six to eight years,” said McQuay. “We’re coming up to that point now where the school could refinance that, and the school board took action to refinance the bonds this coming November which will save the taxpayers money.”

The estimated savings cost for the fiscal years of 2023-2035 will be just below $400,000. McQuay noted that anyone in the market would recommend taking the estimated savings and refinancing the bonds.

TEN-YEAR MAINTENANCE PLAN

The school’s ten-year maintenance plan was then presented to the board for approval of long-term maintenance. The ten-year plan is updated on a yearly basis, as a ten-year plan is mandated in order to use grant money that is awarded to the school.

Superintendent Jeremy Olson explained more of the decisions behind the ten-year plan. “The plan has a ton of different components to it including doors, windows, flooring, and roofing,” said Olson. “The only change this year from last year is we’re starting to invest a larger amount of money in roofing so that ten years from now we can replace the Highland roof or at least have the resources to replace it if we need to.

The plan is updated yearly and will continue to be reviewed by the board. At this moment in time, the board will put more money towards the roof as it is viewed as the most needed replacement down the road.

MILK & BREAD BIDS AWARDED

The milk & bread bids were awarded for the 2021-2022 school year, the milk bid was given to Prairie Farms of Woodbury Minnesota, and the bread bid was given to Pan-O-Gold Baking Co. of Fargo, ND.

Chair of the School Board Frank Fee explained the decision to go with the two companies. “They were the lower bids out of the ones we got,” said Fee. “Anytime a quality company has the lowest bid they’re going to be selected. Pretty dry cut decision and an easy one to make them the suppliers for the coming school year.”

The companies will be the school’s suppliers for this upcoming year, and then the board will re-evaluate and make new bids for the following school year.

OTHER ITEMS

Other Items on the main agenda included the contract approval with the City of Crookston for the School Resource Officer Service Agreement from 2021-2024 and approval bids for the sale of the old bus garage. Fee explained why the School Resource Officer Service Agreement is such a great deal for the school. “We have a lot of great benefits that come out of this deal,” said Fee. “Officer Don Rasicot is the one we’ve had in the past and he’s done a great job with the students and getting to know the kids. I think the parents are appreciative to have a police officer presence in the school and not just the High School but all the schools that he goes to.”

Fee mentioned that Rasicot is back on duty in the streets with the Crookston Police Department, but the work he’s done in the school has been fantastic over the years. Fee also believes it’s important to have a presence in the school and that it is a great benefit for all involved.

The old bus garage bids did not get approved however due to changing circumstances. Olson explained more about the bids on the old bus garage and the board’s decision to hold off on accepting them. “The recommendation change was based on information changing,” said Olson. “The bidders were placing bids on a basis of the belief that they would have access to both garages which is not the case. This caused a drastic change because people placed bids on this belief, so in order to be fair we decided to reject all bids and re-evaluate the situation.”

One last item that was added to the agenda before the meeting, was a recommendation to not offer Crookston Head Football Coach Scott Butt a new contract. The motion was passed, and Butt will not receive a new contract for the upcoming season.

The board then shared an evaluation of Superintendent Jeremy Olson. The board believes Olson has accomplished or distinguished 85% of the goals he’s set out to achieve and the board feels very happy with his performance. The numbers of Crookston students flocking out of the schools have diminished significantly since Olson arrived at Crookston.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

The meeting ended with Denice Oliver of Washington Elementary, Chris Trostad of Highland Elementary, and Nicki Martinez of Crookston High School giving administrative reports. Superintendent Jeremy Olson also gave the Superintendent Report.

Trostad noted in his report a couple of good teachers that Highland will be losing going into this upcoming year. “We’re losing a couple of phenomenal employees this upcoming school year,” said Trostad. “One of those is Kenny Winger and he’s basically worked for the school district out of High School. He takes a lot of pride in his work and was always one to go the extra mile. That building (Highland Elementary) is just an unbelievable building and it’s because of his work.”

Winger turned in his letter of retirement after working for 40 years at Highland as a custodian. He has been able to train younger custodians over the years and Highland will be left in the good hands of those he has taught.

The next school board meeting will take place Monday, August 23, at 5:00 p.m. at the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra Room.

The post CROOKSTON SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES LONG TERM TEN-YEAR MAINTENANCE PLAN appeared first on KROX.