Month: October 2021

The City of Crookston has decided they will be moving forward with a corridor study on some of the local streets downtown. The study will begin this upcoming month with the goal to have it complete sometime in August of 2022. The cost of the study is around $200,000, with the majority of it being covered by MnDOT.

There will be an open house for the public to learn more information on the study taking place on November 15, where the consultant for the project SRF will be giving a presentation of what the project will cover. Matt Upgren from MnDOT will be the project manager and gave some more details about why the open house is necessary. “There will be more promotional items about this open house sent out from SRF and the City of Crookston in this next week,” said Upgren. “But the goal of this is to get people introduced to the plan and what the process will look like. It’s never too early to have people give us information and raise comments or concerns about the project.”

A project team has been put together by the City of Crookston, and the project will include MnDOT roads and some local roads as well. The study will review Highway 2 coming into Crookston from the Eastside by the Red Lake River. It will begin at the bridge over the Red Lake River and continue down the one-way roads downtown and terminate near North Main Street. In addition to those roads, the study will also review South Broadway and South Main Street down to the river. A big part of the study will be examining the intersection of North Broadway and East Roberts Street and how it can be made safer.

Upgren said a few main goals would be behind the study and that Broadway and Roberts Street will need improvements of some kind. “Our main goal is going to be identifying what the issues are in the corridor as of today,” said Upgren. “The intersection of Broadway and Roberts Street is terrible. It’s not a good intersection, and that’s something that will need to be addressed. The sidewalks in the community are not up to code, and so those are a few of the things we know will need to be addressed.”

The study will be locally led and driven by the community rather than MnDOT taking complete control of the project. Upgren explained MnDOT had success using this strategy before. “Rather than having MnDOT drive this forward, we wanted to have more of a community-led project. We’ve done this in other communities in the northern part of Minnesota and have had a lot of success with it,” said Upgren. “The reason why we want to do this is that the people in Crookston know the town better than anyone. We want the buy-in from the local level, and we understand ultimately the city is going to have to live with the roads once the project is complete.”

There will be a review panel of community members during the study that will review the steps and the decisions made. Upgren said they want interest from the community and hope people are interested in participating in the study. “If folks want to be a part of this community review panel, we encourage that and want participation in this,” said Upgren. “They can contact the city, and they will be able to direct them with the next steps.”

Upgren says that if people want to be on the panel, there is a good chance they will be able to. If too many people want to sign up for the review panel, the city will begin a selection process. For more information on the upcoming study, the open house taking place on November 15, and the different ways you can be involved with the process, you can contact the City of Crookston directly at 218-281-1232.

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The Red River Valley Sugarbeet Stockpile Harvest looks to be nearly 100% complete sometime this week. With the record high temperatures in early October, the start of the harvest saw an 11-day delay. The job is now nearly complete, and the processing of the sugar from the beets that have been piled will continue sometime into next spring.

Eric Ptacek is the Agronomy Manager for the American Crystal Sugar’s Crookston and East Grand Forks Districts, and he said the harvest was very successful. “You know it went really well. We had the heat and a little bit of rainfall at the start, which delayed us but then once we got started, it went well,” said Ptacek. “We had 9-10 days pretty much straight through where we were able to pile, and overall, it was good.”

Getting the beets out of the ground is only the beginning of the process. The five American Crystal Sugar factories in the Red River Valley located in Drayton, East Grand Forks, Crookston, Hillsboro, and Moorhead will continue processing the beets 24/7 for the next several months. “With our crop size, our five factories will be processing sometime into mid-May,” said Ptacek. “That’s our plan, for now, we put the beets into the piles in good condition, and they were healthy, so the storage season has begun.”

As Ptacek said, the condition of the beets is good, and he said the weather has a big part to do with that. “Cool fall weather and a cold winter will help our storage season,” said Ptacek. “We put the beets in the piles at the right temperature and now will manage them throughout the winter. As far as condition goes, they’re excellent right now because they’re fresh. Will see how it continues to go into the winter and spring.”

Ptacek also noted due to the weather conditions during the harvest, the road conditions throughout the harvest were in good shape as there wasn’t a lot of mud leftover on the roads. However, just because the harvest season is nearing an end doesn’t mean drivers shouldn’t be aware and drive safely. Safety will continue to be a top priority for American Crystal Sugar and should be for the rest of the drivers traveling the roadways.

The post RED RIVER VALLEY SUGARBEET STOCKPILE HARVEST NEARLY 100% COMPLETE appeared first on KROX.

On Friday, October 29, at approximately 4:27 p.m. the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident involving a Toyota Tacoma and a Buick Enclave at the intersection of Polk County Road 10 and Polk County Road 41 in Garden Township south of Mentor.

Upon investigation, it appeared that the Toyota was northbound on County Road 10. After stopping for the stop sign at the intersection of County Road 41, the Toyota proceeded into the intersection, where it collided with the westbound Buick. Both vehicles sustained severe damage.

Grant Cassavant, age 38, was driving the Toyota. Jacque Flynn, age 39, was driving the Buick. Flynn sustained apparent minor injuries in the crash. She and a juvenile passenger in her vehicle were transported to RiverView Hospital by Polk County EMS.

The Fertile Fire Department also responded to the scene.

No further information will be released.

The post POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE RESPONDS TO TWO-VEHICLE ACCIDENT appeared first on KROX.

The Village Family Service Center’s Board of Directors announces that Kelly Olson, MS, LMFT, has been selected as The Village’s next Chief Executive Officer and President. She will be the first woman to serve as CEO in the organization’s 130-year history.

Olson succeeds Jeff Pederson, who will retire effective Dec. 31. Pederson became The Village’s CEO in 2018. During his tenure, The Village expanded offices in Fargo, Moorhead, and Bismarck; transitioned to telehealth services during the pandemic; and received reaccreditation from the Council on Accreditation.

Board Chairman Tom Rohleder expressed his thanks to Pederson for his leadership and for mentoring Olson. “We feel Kelly’s experience and vision are exactly what The Village needs to continue to thrive and best serve our community’s behavioral health needs,” Rohleder said.

Olson has been with The Village for 22 years and currently serves as the organization’s Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, overseeing all client services. She previously served as a division director, regional program director, clinical supervisor, outpatient therapist, and in-home family therapist. She helped to develop The Village’s early childhood mental health services in Minnesota, school-based services in Minnesota and North Dakota, and mental health consultations in childcare settings. She has worked to expand the use of several evidence-based therapy models in the agency.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to be the next CEO of this incredible organization and committed to continuing Jeff’s legacy of improving our culture,” Olson said. “Throughout my career, I have had the pleasure of working in or supervising each of The Village’s programs alongside some amazing leaders and staff. Those experiences and my passion for cutting-edge therapy have shaped me as a leader and will guide us as we move forward.”

Olson earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Child Development and Family Science from North Dakota State University and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She graduated from the Alliance for Children & Families Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Michigan and is a Jack Welch MBA candidate at the Jack Welch Management Institute.

Olson will assume the role of President and CEO on Jan. 1, 2022.

The Village has offices across North Dakota and Minnesota. Its programs and services include mental health counseling, in-home family therapy, addiction treatment, consumer credit counseling and debt management, adoption services, pregnancy counseling, employee assistance programs, and business training. For more information, visit www.TheVillageFamily.org or call (800) 627-8220.

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