Month: November 2021

At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, Crookston High School implemented a new eligibility rule for anyone competing or participating in Athletic/Activity competitions. The new rule was designed to try and keep more students eligible for competition while also not falling behind in their studies.

Crookston High School Activities Director Greg Garmen explained the rule and how it’s different this year. “We used to check grades every mid-quarter and at the end of the quarter, and they were a little different in some ways, so people were getting confused,” said Garmen. “This year, we decided to do a grade check every Monday morning, and then we pass that information onto the coaches, so they are aware of who is eligible and who is not.”

The requirements for the students who are participating in activities this year are simple. You must be passing all your classes every week to be eligible to perform in the upcoming week. If the student is ineligible, they will have that week to get their grades back up. If the student can get their grade back up by the following weekly grade report, they will once again be eligible to compete in their activity.

Garmen said the number of students on the list throughout the fall sports season was minimal and that the school is very pleased with how the new rule has been working. “As the fall has gone by, the number of kids on the ineligible list has been pretty good, and the numbers have been really low,” said Garmen. “We have had a few glitches, but we deal with those on a case-by-case basis, and as I said, the kids that have made the list have been very minimal up to this point.”

Garmen says teachers are also already informing the school that students have been much better about turning assignments in on time. “I had one teacher tell me that it’s made a real difference, so that’s great to hear,” said Garmen. “There has maybe been a little added pressure on the staff to get those numbers in weekly since it affects the kids, but both the students and the teachers have been doing a fabulous job with this new process.”

At the beginning of the school year, it was undetermined how students taking classes through UMC would be affected and how often their grades would be checked. Garmen said the school has worked those details out now, and it’s been going well. “Tara Klein, our guidance counselor, has been checking in with UMC and those students to make sure there aren’t any issues,” said Garmen. “If there were issues, she would inform us about it, but we also understand that those students are challenging themselves to be their best, and they are committed to working hard in the classroom. We haven’t had any issues with those students up to this point which is good, and it’s not something we’re too concerned about dealing with moving forward.”

It will be a busy time of the year for athletics, starting today with Winter sports beginning as Girls Hockey has their first practice. Garmen says the Monday grade checks for activities and athletics may be busier with more names to go through, but he is hopeful that the positive fall with minimal athletes missing time due to being ineligible will continue into the winter sports season.

The post NEW ELIGIBILITY RULE FOR CROOKSTON H.S. ACTIVITIES SUCCESSFUL THROUGHOUT FALL SPORTS SEASON appeared first on KROX.

Joe’s Diner, which is owned by Crookston native Joe Bushaw, will be coming to Crookston with a goal of opening in the old El Gordito Market in early December.   

The news was leaked in a Facebook post earlier today – 

The post JOE’S DINER IS COMING TO CROOKSTON, IN THE OLD EL GORDITO MARKETPLACE BUILDING appeared first on KROX.

On Saturday, October 30th, at approximately 11:00 p.m., the Crookston Police Department investigated a single-vehicle accident near the intersection of Pine Street and West 6th Street in Crookston where a car went off the road and ran into a hill as a result of fleeing from police. The driver was identified as a juvenile male, 15 years of age, from Crookston. The suspect after the accident subsequently fled on foot from police before he surrendered to law enforcement a short time later. No one was injured in the accident, and the case has been sent to the Polk County Attorney’s Office for formal charges. There is no threat to the public, as this is a singular, localized event.

No further information will be released at this time. Also present during the investigation was the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the Crookston Area Ambulance.

The post CROOKSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO SINGLE-VEHICLE ACCIDENT LATE SATURDAY NIGHT appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston School Board voted back on September 23 to move the School District to Level 3 of the Health & Safety Measures. The change went into effect on October 4, and the data has been being checked every two weeks to see if a difference in the Health & Safety Measures needs to be made.

Level 3 of the health and safety measures that the district has been in since October 4 includes masking for all students and staff at the elementary level and social distancing of three feet at the High School. Masking is also required on school buses during transportation.

Crookston Public Schools Superintendent Jeremy Olson explained the district’s process of reviewing the data every two weeks and what information they are monitoring. “We do a review of the data every two weeks, and then that gets sent out to the school board in an email,” said Olson. “We’re looking at how many cases we have in Crookston and Polk County, how many close contacts we have as a school district, and where the cases are located at. The board reviews the information, and if they want to call a special meeting to discuss moving to a different level in the Health & Safety measures, we can do that.”

An email was sent out this past Friday to the School Board with the latest data and information. Olson says the numbers have dropped significantly since moving to level 3, and because of this, you could make an argument to stay at level 3 or move back down to level 2 of the Health and Safety Measures. “The last two weeks, we’ve seen our numbers go down in Polk County, said Olson. “Our goal is to keep our kids in school. Before putting level 3 into place, we had 99 students who had learning interruptions from quarantine. Since putting level 3 into place, we’ve only had 9. The strategy is certainly working; it just comes down to if we should switch levels because of that, and you can make an argument for both sides. We need to be careful not to declare victory too soon, but it’s certainly exciting to see the numbers going down.”

As of this time, no School Board meeting has been called yet to discuss changing levels, but a meeting can be called at any time. Olson talked about the timeline if a special meeting is called. “Generally, the School Board Chair will call the special meeting, but if any board member wants to review the information, they can let the School Board Chair know, and he will call a special meeting,” said Olson. “The reason we allowed any School Board member to say they want to review the data and have a special meeting is that we can then come together as a public body and discuss this matter to figure out what the most appropriate decision is for our kids.”

Any meeting called by a School Board member will take place about three days after the announcement. If a special School Board meeting is called, we will be sure to inform you of that announcement.

The post CROOKSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS HEALTH & SAFETY MEASURES UPDATE appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston Area Chamber of Commerce has a few Board of Directors whose terms are coming to an end. They are currently recruiting to fill Board positions that will be available starting in January of 2022. The positions have 3-year terms, with the potential of serving a second term. The full Board meets on the 3^rd Thursday of each month at 7 a.m. Additional meetings for committee work, the Executive Board, or special projects are possible.

They are looking for a wide variety of member businesses and organizations to serve. Getting involved with the Chamber gives opportunities to get more involved within the community, meet new people, and build personal and business networks. It also gives the chance to help make Crookston an even better community to live in.

If you are interested in serving on the Board or would like more information, you can call Area Chamber Executive Director Mark Landa at 218-281-4320. Other opportunities to serve on committees for the Chamber are also available.

The post CROOKSTON AREA CHAMBER LOOKING FOR NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS appeared first on KROX.

The Leo Club and the Crookston Police Dept. would like to thank the community for the donations that were dropped off for the Care and Share Food Shelf during the Halloween Food Drive last night.  It was a great turn out of vehicles driving through and dropping off food items and kids getting a bag of candy and Safety Materials.  There were 22 Leo Club members that dressed up, and helped hand out the bags and collect the food items.  

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The post LETTER TO THE EDITOR: HALLOWEEN NIGHT FOOD DRIVE appeared first on KROX.

Veronica and Jim Whitehead generously donated pumpkins last week to some of the Highland Elementary School students. Veronica is a retired Crookston teacher, and the pumpkins that were donated were used for math and science experiments. The students also got to decorate the pumpkins.

Below is a picture of Mrs. Andrea Ingersoll’s 3rd Grade class posing with their decorated pumpkins with Veronica and Jim –

The post VERONICA AND JIM WHITEHEAD DONATE PUMPKINS TO HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL appeared first on KROX.