Month: March 2023

The Red River Valley Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society donated $2,500 to four local High School trap teams around the Red River Valley thanks to their gun raffle with the Upland Gun Company, which brought in over $10,000 for the Society. After giving away the prizes to the twelve raffle winners, the Society donated $1,000 to the Crookston High School trap team and $500 to Fertile/Beltrami High School, East Grand Forks High School, and Climax/Fisher High School’s trap teams.
“We sold 100 tickets for $100 a piece, and with that, we gave back to the four local school districts,” said Chapter President Brian Hanson. “Next year, we might branch off into Red Lake Falls, it was one that we missed, but we could only do so much with what we had.”

The raffle consisted of two major prizes of $3,000 and $2,000 gift cards to a sister company to the Ruffed Grouse Society, which was the Upland Gun Company, where they could build their own customized gun, whether it was a trap gun for high school trap or a hunting shotgun that would be delivered to you within six months. The $2,000 gift card winner was H&N Quality Plumbing, and the grand prize $3,000 gift card went to Gary Ketchum of Crookston, with ten $100 prize winners. With some of the money they still had left over, the Society donated $2,500 to the trap teams of the Red River Valley’s local schools.
“As we started the chapter, it was discussed between four to five members that started this chapter, we wanted to give back to the high school trap teams because it’s hand-in-hand with what the Ruffed Grouse Society is,” said Hanson. “It’s hunting while the trap team shoots clay pigeons. Not everyone that shoots trap is a hunter, but it’s kind of a gateway to it. I had talked about it earlier on ValleyTalk, that there are five stages of becoming a hunter, and one of the last stages is giving back. We feel that we have reached that point in our lives that we can give back to the community which we love and hold dear.”
With the donations, the teams will purchase shells they will use for the season, improving the clay pigeon launchers, safety videos, and other items that the teams can use to help the school districts make it easier to run the teams.

With the fundraiser completed, the Ruffed Grouse Society is planning to hold an event to help some members in the outer parts of the region participate in the Society’s activities.
“The coordinator of our region, Sam Tillman, explained to us that we have a 60-mile radius around Crookston in which we have members. We can go farther than that, but then you get into the Moorhead and Fargo area, where it becomes more of a jaunt for those people to come to Crookston, East Grand Forks, or Fertile. It’s not that it can’t be done, but it’s outside of the organization’s boundaries for a chapter,” Hanson explained. “With that, we will hold a membership drive at the Cabela’s in East Grand Forks, and we also have some things in the works with some local people here in Crookston. There have been no dates set, but they will most likely happen on a Saturday, as that’s when we get the most foot traffic. So, with that, we’ll set up a table and explain to people what the benefits of becoming a member of the Ruffed Grouse Society are.”
If the Society is able to gain enough members, they plan to hold a banquet once every year for all of its members.

Pictures of Hanson delivering the donations to the four High School Trap Teams can be seen below-

#td_uid_1_64073797429a8 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item1 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Crookston-donation-1-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_64073797429a8 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item2 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Fertile-Beltrami-donation-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_64073797429a8 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item3 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Climax-Fisher-donation-e1678143778106-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}
#td_uid_1_64073797429a8 .td-doubleSlider-2 .td-item4 {
background: url(https://18280d.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/East-Grand-Forks-donation-e1678143741809-80×60.jpg) 0 0 no-repeat;
}

1 of 4

The post THE RUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY’S RED RIVER VALLEY CHAPTER DONATES $2,500 TO FOUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL TRAP TEAMS appeared first on KROX.

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center reported the following arrests.

Kacey Renee Rogne, 31, of Grand Forks, for 3rd-Degree DUI

Tyler Dayton-Benson Lundeen, 33, of Oklee, for Domestic Assault

Dustin Lee Mondor, 41, of East Grand Forks, for being a Fugitive from Justice from another state.

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT-MARCH 7, 2023 appeared first on KROX.

The United Way of Crookston is getting ready to throw a lot of people in jail for a good cause this month with its annual Jail and Bail fundraiser, which will last two weeks, starting on Monday, March 13, until Friday, March 24, where many local “celebrity” criminals will be locked in virtual jail and be reaching out to friends, families, and others to donate money to get them to make bail.
“What we do is recruit, ask, harass, bother, bug, and beg people to go to pretend jail for us for a $100 bail. It’s a lot easier now since we do it online,” United Way Executive Director Libby Boucher explained. “What those people do, they go to pretend jail, and I make a specific page for that person with their picture on it with their jail bars, and they send a link to that page to their friends and families, who hopefully donate a few bucks to get them out.”
The United Way is hoping to raise $5,000, which was the amount they raised last year, and are hoping this event will be more successful.

For the family members and friends that the jailbirds reach out to help them reach bail, people can donate their “bail” either in person or by sending them online.
“They can drop them off in the mail to PO Box 218, Crookston, or they can drop them off at the office, where we’re there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but online is the easiest way,” said Boucher. “This year, we’re trying something new. Instead of just the website link to cut and paste, I learned to make QR Codes. Now, not only does each person have their own QR Code for their page, I figured out how to put their picture in the middle of the QR Code. Then you can scan those QR Codes with your phone’s camera, tap on it, and it pops up the web address, you tap on that, and it takes you right to that person’s page.”
The United Way will use the same website as last year for anyone wishing to donate online. The United Way has set the goal of each detainee at $100 each but welcomes everyone to go above those goals if they can and that no donation is too big or too small. 

All donations will go towards the United Way, which they will give to local agencies and programs around Crookston that they will give grants to after they hold a hearing for each of them next week. To help raise funds for the event volunteers have done fun competitions to raise funds for the event.
“We’ve been doing this for a number of years, both in person and virtually. Like Steve and Lucas Biermaier do a Father and Son Face-Off at Biermaier Chiropractic. Fisher School, one of our agencies with their backpack program, has a couple of teachers there that are going head to head, so it’s also a really fun way to do it there. You can pit two people against each other,” said Boucher. “You can throw people in jail, or if you want to have your money paid to keep them in, you can do that too. There are many ways it can be done, and it’s not one of those where you have to do too much. It’s not a lot of effort or work other than setting it up and getting it ready, but once we’re rolling, there’s almost nothing for the participants to do but to just send out that QR Code or the link. It’s an easy one and a fun, quick fundraiser.”

The United Way already has many recruits for the fundraiser but says there is no limit on the number of volunteers they will accept and encourages anyone interested to contact them on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/UnitedWayofCrookston) or by emailing them at exec@unitedwayofcrookston.org. If you would like to donate to help bail someone you know out of jail, you can go to https://jailandbail23.givesmart.com/.

The post UNITED WAY OF CROOKSTON IS DETAINING LOCAL CELEBRATIES FOR ITS JAIL AND BAIL FUNDRAISER appeared first on KROX.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources encourages Minnesotans who intend to burn vegetative debris – such as brush, grass, leaves, and untreated lumber – during spring clean-up to start planning now. The best time to burn vegetative debris is when there is ample snow on the ground, rather than later in the spring when wildfire risk is high due to brown grass and low humidity.

Every spring, burning permit restrictions are put in place after the snow melts. Restrictions remain in place until vegetation begins to “green up” and fire risk declines.

“Vegetative debris burn piles are the number one cause of wildfires in Minnesota,” said Karen Harrison, DNR statewide wildfire prevention specialist. “Chipping and composting are the best options and are encouraged as an alternative to burning whenever possible.”

If vegetative debris is burned, all fires must be supervised and put out by drowning with plenty of water or snow, stirring, and repeating until out cold.

If a fire does rekindle or escape, the person who set it is liable for any damages and wildfire suppression costs. It is illegal to burn garbage, including chemically treated or painted lumber, tires, and plastics.

Visit the DNR’s guide on composting for woodland owners (mndnr.gov/wildfire/prevention/debris-composting.html) for more information on alternatives to burning vegetative debris. For information and daily updates on current fire risks and open burning restrictions, visit the statewide fire danger and burning restrictions page of the DNR website (mndnr.gov/BurnRestrictions).

The post MINNESOTA DNR REMINDS LANDOWNERS TO PLAN AHEAD FOR SPRING BURNING RESTRICTIONS appeared first on KROX.