Month: February 2023

The Crookston High School Knowledge Bowl teams competed in the Crookston competition on Wednesday and finished 2nd, 10th, and 29th place. 

Crookston Blue finished 2nd place – David Threatt, Tessa Weber, Zara Baig, Tatum Lubinski, and Mareile Meyer.

Crookston Gold finished 10th – Gabe Noah, Nathan Johanneck, Nathan Kelly, and Maddie Harbott.

Crookston White finished 29th – Ethan Erdman, Shayla Azure, Lincoln Waldal, and Grace Smith.

The post CROOKSTON HIGH SCHOOL KNOWLEDGE BOWL TEAMS FINISH 2ND, 10TH, AND 29TH appeared first on KROX.

On January 31, 2023 at approximately 6:51 PM, the Fosston Police Department was dispatched to Lepier’s East gas station to take a report from a Doyle Taxi Cab driver who had gone in to use the restroom and came back outside to discover his taxi had been stolen.

Upon arrival, it was discovered that the person who stole the van was actually a passenger in the taxi at the time the driver went in to use the restroom. The taxi was giving the passenger a ride from Essentia- Fargo to Cass Lake, MN.

The Doyle taxi was equipped with an active GPS and an active camera system. Doyle Cab Company was able to give us live updates as to where the vehicle was located. With the assistance of the Bemidji Police Department, they were able to safely stop the stolen taxi in the Bemidji area.

The suspect was identified as Mardee Jones, 34, from Cass Lake. Jones was placed into custody and transported to NWRCC in Crookston. Jones will be facing charges for the Theft of the vehicle.

The post FOSSTON POLICE RESPOND TO A STOLEN TAXI, SUSPECT ARRESTED IN BEMIDJI appeared first on KROX.

Due to a water main leak, the Crookston Police Department Lobby will be closed on Thursday, February 2.  Call 218-281-3111 for all non-emergency calls and 911 in case of an emergency.

The post CROOKSTON POLICE LOBBY CLOSED FEB. 2 DUE TO WATER MAIN BREAK appeared first on KROX.

Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski released a statement on the Fufeng USA Project proposed in Grand Forks.  The statement is below –

“The City of Grand Forks (City) has continued to operate in good faith over the last 16 months of due diligence while awaiting an official response from the Federal Government.  Construction was paused during the review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which ultimately concluded that Fufeng USA’s (Project) acquisition of property in the City was not within the jurisdictional purview of the national security agency.  The Federal Government has requested the City’s help in stopping the Project as geo-political tensions have greatly increased since the initial announcement of the Project.  The only remedies the City has to meet this directive is to refuse to connect industrial infrastructure and deny building permits.  As Mayor of the City of Grand Forks, I am requesting these remedies be undertaken and the Project be stopped, pending City Council approval.  These actions do not affect the land ownership as the company will still legally own the land they have purchased.  The response from the Federal Government during this process can only be viewed as slow and contradictory.  This directive leaves open the question of other entities with Chinese connections across the nation, to include Grand Forks’ Cirrus Aircraft site location and Chinese students and professors at the University of North Dakota.

I want to thank Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, and Representative Kelly Armstrong for their continued support throughout the process.  Governor Burgum and the State of North Dakota have been great and steadfast partners in the vetting and undertaking of these types of major and challenging projects for the benefit of our great State of North Dakota.  I am thankful for the work done by the City to lay out a long and thorough review process that allowed for the utmost due diligence.  As always, our commitment to the Grand forks Air Force Base has never been stronger and we look forward to the future.”

The post GRAND FORKS MAYOR SAYS THE CITY WILL NOT ALLOW FUFENG PROJECT TO GET PERMITS appeared first on KROX.

Students at Our Savior’s Lutheran School celebrated National Lutheran Schools Week from January 23 to 27, along with almost 2,000 Lutheran schools nationwide.

This year’s theme was “Making Disciples for Life.” Students participated in team-building activities, online Gospel adventures, servant event projects, a read-a-thon, and much more.

Pictures of the students partaking in weekly events can be seen below-

#td_uid_1_63dac277c40ab .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item1 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FOR-NEWS-6-e1675280718161-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_63dac277c40ab .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item2 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FOR-NEWS-7-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_63dac277c40ab .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item3 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FOR-NEWS-2-80×60.jpeg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}

1 of 3

The post OUR SAVIOR’S LUTHERAN SCHOOL CELEBRATES NATIONAL LUTHERAN SCHOOLS WEEK appeared first on KROX.

At the last City Council meeting on January 23, Crookston Building Inspector Greg Hefta reported that the city’s construction and permit numbers had nearly doubled from the amount permitted in 2020 and even succeeded their numbers in 2019, showing the department is returning to pre-pandemic amounts.

Building Inspector Hefta reported that when the pandemic began in 2020, the city had just over $5 million worth of permittable permits and/or evaluations associated with permits but has seen that amount nearly double in 2021 at $9.6 million before it did double in 2022 with just over $10 million of permitted work done in the city. “For new single-family dwellings in 2022, there were six new units for about $1.6 million plus regarding those, and the industrial portion of the work that came in for the city was $3.8 million,” Building Inspector Greg Hefta explained. “Those two numbers were part of that $10 million current construction for the city of Crookston for the year 2022.” Along with doubling its numbers from the beginning of the pandemic, the department has even reached numbers higher than before the pandemic. Hefta reported that the department had spent about $9.2 million in 2019 and had made just under $1 million more than 2019’s construction costs.

We met with Hefta at the beginning of July, where he reported that building inspections were low for the summer in residential construction buildings, where he had only seen one new construction. But soon after, Hefta reported that several projects had sprung up near the beginning of August that added several new projects to the city. “I was surprised at the interest after when there was such a quiet beginning of the year, but to be honest, that’s the nature of the game. You can’t predict what people are going to build. I’m happy for the city of Crookston, the tax base, and everybody else as they have a new residence as well,” Building Inspector Hefta explained. “There were six residential homes they individually decided to move forward with. There’s two that are going to be done on Eickof, one on 3rd Avenue North, two on 5th Avenue South, and one other one on Washington as well.” Hefta explained the home on Eickof Blvd. was a modular home that was recently placed with the foundation, and site work was completed in several areas over the fall, and are waiting to continue the construction for the roughing, framing, and roofing during the spring. On the industrial side, Hefta says the main project is the Ag Innovation Campus that is currently being built on Ingersoll Ave. with their several-phase project and accessory buildings.

With a strong end to 2022, Building Inspector Hefta has seen an increase in permit evaluations for projects for 2023 to continue the city’s high construction numbers. “From the amount of permits that have been taken out, I’ve already seen an increase in evaluations for what’s coming this year, but this is very early in the year, and things can change in a dime,” said Hefta. “If I had a crystal ball, I’d say it’s looking good, but let’s wait until the end of 2023 for a better view.” With any future residential construction plans, Hefta reported that the city has updated its fee structure, requiring $50 per permit for fencing, signs, curb cuts, etc. These permits are flat fees and are not based on evaluation like other city permits. All permits must be dropped off at the Building Department Office in the back of City Hall during City Hall hours.

Pictures of two of the current constructions on Eickhof Boulevard and 5th Avenue South can be seen below-

#td_uid_1_63da644289a46 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item1 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG-7767-rotated-e1675204787831-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_63da644289a46 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item2 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG-7769-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}

1 of 2

The post CROOKSTON 2022 BUILDING INSPECTIONS AT HIGHEST NUMBERS SINCE 2019 appeared first on KROX.