Month: September 2022

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center in Crookston reported the following arrest.

Nakoya Harris Keezer, 44, of Twin Valley, for Contempt of Court.

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT- SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 appeared first on KROX.

August is over, and farmers are making their rounds in their fields to harvest their crops, ranging from wheat to sugarbeets to soybeans. Even with a late planting start, the harvest has been coming along nicely, according to several farmers.

One of those farmers is the Director of the American Crystal Sugar’s Crookston Factory District, Scott Knutson, who said that despite not being able to start planting when they usually do, the amount and quality of the spring wheat they have collected so far has been very good. “With the planting this spring, we were delayed quite a bit by over three weeks. And the harvest has been progressing nicely, the bushels have been nice, and qualities been good so far on the spring wheat,” said Knutson. Despite the wheat doing well for the area, Knutson noted that he hopes for a bit more rain for some of the other crops they’re harvesting. “Pre-haul for the wheat had started throughout the valley on the 23rd, and factories started up on the 20th, but everything is looking for a little bit of moisture,” said Knutson. “Especially in the Central Valley, we’ve missed some of the moisture that they’ve had up north and down south, so a little bit of moisture would be appreciated, especially on the soybeans and the sugarbeets.” Knutson says that despite the lack of moisture, the farmers have harvested about a third of their crop and believe they can complete much more by the end of this week. He says that farmers have begun the harvest of sugarbeets this week and will begin harvesting soybeans next week. “We’re probably sitting at about a third of our crop that we’ve harvested thus far, and with another good week or so, we’d get quite a ways into it. We’re going to run into some later seeded wheat that’ll delay us for a bit, just waiting for that to dry down more, but that’s typical when you go up and down the valley,” Knutson explained. “On our operation, we started on Monday with the pre-haul in the sugarbeets and the other crops. The soybeans will probably be after the beets this year, just with how their timing-wise and maturity is. We’ll keep progressing on the spring wheat and get into the beet harvest next.”

Other areas throughout the valley, such as Moorhead and Drayton, have had a bit of a better yield of wheat due to their better weather conditions and rainfall amounts, but Knutson believes that the harvest looks to be on schedule for Crookston for this and next week. With the harvest underway, Knutson reminds people to be mindful on the roadways of all of the delivery trucks holding the harvests, especially at approaches and corners where the trucks may be turning out of the fields, at stops, or into factory entrances.

The post AMERICAN CRYSTAL PREPILE AND SPRING WHEAT HARVEST IS UNDERWAY, SOYBEANS ARE NEXT appeared first on KROX.

Crookston City Hall will be closed on Monday, September 5, in observance of Labor Day.

Garbage & Recycling Collection for Monday, September 5 (Labor Day Holiday) will also be collected on Tuesday, September 6. Tuesday’s garbage & recycling collection will remain the same.

The post CROOKSTON CITY HALL WILL BE CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY, MONDAY GARBAGE AND RECYCLING TO BE COLLECTED ON TUESDAY appeared first on KROX.

The RiverView Auxiliary held its annual Blood Drive today and was another major success. Thanks to the dedicated donors and volunteers, many lives will be touched in the days ahead. A total of 39 folks were able to donate and a total of 44 blood products were collected. The schedule was full at 50, however, some were not able to donate due to low iron levels and blood thinner medications, but the thought was there.

The next RiverView Auxiliary Blood Drive is scheduled for Friday, February 23,
2023.  New to this blood drive, each donor was presented with a certificate of saving lives in addition to a coupon to the Limited Addition Gift Shop for 25% off. “We truly appreciate the successful event, and the time people took out of their busy lives. We also did learn that the donations are kept regional.” Because of you, Life Doesn’t Stop.

The post OVER 44 BLOOD PRODUCTS ARE COLLECTED AT RIVERVIEW AUXILIARY’S SEPTEMBER BLOOD DRIVE appeared first on KROX.

Governor Tim Walz today announced a $2.4 million investment to continue Minnesota’s free nursing assistant training program. The Next Generation Nursing Assistant initiative provides Minnesotans with free training, books, uniforms, and covers the cost of the certification exam. The initiative has so far recruited and trained 1,370 Minnesotans, strengthening the state’s health care workforce pipeline.

“By bolstering our health care workforce and providing pathways to life-long careers, this initiative continues to benefit Minnesotans in the short- and long-term. I’m proud to invest in a program that strengthens our health care workforce, eliminates barriers to entry into high-demand careers, and supports the health of our state,” said Governor Walz. “The success of this program is a testament to Minnesota’s ability to collaboratively address complex problems.”

According to employment data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, nursing assistants are the sixth highest-demand job in the state. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the need for qualified nursing assistants. This initiative invests in the future health of our state by providing trained workers who will fill vacant positions at hospitals, long-term care facilities, and veterans’ homes throughout Minnesota.

“We are continuing to build our long-term care workforce so that Minnesota families can continue to rely on talented, highly qualified nursing assistants to provide critical care for their loved ones. Thank you to the Minnesotans who are taking advantage of this initiative and providing quality care for their communities,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “I am grateful for the leadership of Commissioner Olson and the collaboration among our partners in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and higher education to creatively address this critical need.”

In December 2021 Governor Tim Walz set a goal for the state to recruit and train 1,000 new nursing assistants. The State of Minnesota surpassed this goal in less than three months. The initial investment was made with Federal American Recovery Plan funds. The $2.4 million investment announced today comes from the state’s COVID-19 Management Appropriation fund.

Achieving that goal required a public-private partnership of state agencies, higher education institutions, and long-term care providers. This work is led by Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) Commissioner Dennis Olson.

“I am incredibly proud of this initiative’s success, and look forward to continuing the work,” OHE Commissioner Dennis Olson said. “This work not only breaks down financial barriers to postsecondary education, connecting more Minnesotans with the skills they need to start a new career, but it also bolsters our workforce pipeline and supports the state’s healthcare industry. This initiative is truly a new model for how we can invest in workers and the economy while filling vacancies in high-need career areas.”

“The Next Generation Nursing Assistant program is symbolic of how responsive our colleges and universities are when meeting critical workforce needs in Minnesota,” said Devinder Malhotra, chancellor of Minnesota State. “I am very grateful for the hard work of our faculty, our staff, and our students. We deeply appreciate the leadership of Commissioner Olson and our partnership with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education that made the success of this program possible.”

The new funding will allow the Next Generation Nursing Assistant initiative to run until February 2023.

What partner organizations and the health care industry are saying about this investment:

“With unprecedented numbers of vacant nursing assistant positions throughout the long-term care sector, we are pleased to hear there will be additional funding for no barrier, nursing assistant training via this initiative,” Patti Cullen, president, and CEO, Care Providers of Minnesota said. “We need to do all we can to prepare the next generation of professional caregivers to meet the increasing demands of Minnesota’s aging population. We look forward to working with the Administration to ensure that newly certified nursing assistants find meaningful employment in Minnesota’s nursing facilities and assisted living facilities.”

“Over 4,000 USW represented health care workers in Minnesota are invigorated by Governor Walz’s investment in improving care in our state by bolstering the ranks of qualified nursing assistants,” said United Steelworkers District 11 Director Emil Ramirez. “Providing education and opportunities for the next generation of union health care workers will have important, long-term benefits for all of us.”

“SEIU members provide essential services every day to keep Minnesotans safe and healthy,” said Brenda Hilbrich, Executive Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa. “Even before COVID, this work was challenging and too often underappreciated. It has become even harder with the ongoing staffing shortages. Frontline healthcare workers with our Union appreciate Governor Walz taking executive action to step in and take action to help bring nursing assistants into our field.”

Available courses can be found on the OHE website. Those interested in enrolling in the free training are encouraged to check back often as new courses will continue to be added as they are made available. Courses will be offered throughout the state, in-person, and hybrid, on Minnesota State campuses and at many private training providers.

The post GOVERNOR WALZ ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF FREE NURSING TRAINING ASSISTANT TRAINING PROGRAM appeared first on KROX.