Month: March 2023

Every year, drivers ignoring or going through school buses’ stop arms is a continued concern for school officials and law enforcement. From 2017-2021, law enforcement has cited 4,652 drivers for stop-arm violations, and the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services observed 1,003 stop-arm violations in a single day in Minnesota during their 2022 annual illegal passing survey. 

To help law enforcement cite those that run stop-arm violations, the Crookston School District and its Transportation Department have applied for the Stop-Arm Camera Grant from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and are waiting for official approval of it in March.
“What it does is it puts two cameras on the side of the bus, so if a vehicle were to run through the stop arm when it is extended, whether they come from behind or in front,” Crookston Schools Transportation Director Rick Niemela explained. “It’ll focus so that it picks up the license plates off of the vehicle so the bus drivers can turn that into the law enforcement so they can proceed with their part of the enforcement.”
The cameras will be mounted on the side of the bus behind its Stop Arm to get the best view of the traffic that passes the bus while it’s stopped.

The grant and camera system will be an excellent tool for bus drivers to help law enforcement with this issue, as bus drivers would have to try and memorize license plates or descriptions of the passing car for law enforcement when they wished to report a citation.
“In the past, you’re at the mercy of what you see as a bus driver trying to get that license plate number as the car goes by you, and you don’t always get it correct,” said Niemela. “This’ll give you more of an accurate description, you’ll see the color of the car, and probably even the face of the driver too, along with your license plate, so it’ll give you a better chance of giving out more tickets.”
Any vehicle that passes a bus while it is stopped with the Stop Arm extended is subject to a fine of up to $500. The School District hopes that the grant and citations that happen with the cameras will spread the word around the city about being safer around stopped school buses.
“It’s up to a $500 fine for going through a stop arm, according to the Driver’s Ed manual, so it is really important that people understand that when you see the lights flashing on top of the bus flashing yellow, that’s warning you that they’re 100 feet before a stop in town or 300 feet before a stop in the country,” Highland Elementary School Principal and bus driver Chris Trostad explained. “When the red lights flash on the top and back of the bus and on the stop arm, you are required by law to stop no closer than 20 feet from the front or behind the bus and wait for those lights to stop flashing to pass the bus. So, if you pass the bus while the lights are flashing, the bus driver will radio the Transportation Director with your license plate, and he will call the police department, and they will fine you up to $500 for going through the red flashing lights.”
Stay tuned to KROX and kroxam.com for updates on the grant and other Crookston Public School District news.

The post CROOKSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS APPLY FOR STATE’S STOP-ARM CAMERA GRANT appeared first on KROX.

Many anglers removed their fish houses from the ice in advance of last week’s winter storm. People who haven’t yet done so should make plans to meet upcoming deadlines, and all anglers – whether they’re fishing from a shelter or not – should leave only an imprint in the snow or ice when they head for shore.

The removal deadline for inland waters in the southern two-thirds of the state is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 6. In the northern one-third of the state – north of the east-west line formed by U.S. Highway 10, east along Highway 34 to Minnesota Highway 200, east along Highway 200 to U.S. Highway 2, and east along Highway 2 to the Minnesota-Wisconsin border – the deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 20.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers has been out recently checking shelters and documenting potential problem areas ahead of the removal deadlines. They’re watching especially closely to ensure people don’t leave litter behind, including the wooden blocking materials anglers use to keep their shelters off the ice. Other commonly left items include sewage, bait, bottles, cans, and cigarette butts.

“Anything that’s left on the ice will either sink to the bottom or float to shore and, in either case, harms our environment and portrays a negative image of all ice anglers,” said DNR Conservation Officer Garrett Thomas, who is stationed in Eagan. “If you brought something onto the ice, it’s your responsibility to bring it off. While we’re lucky to have people who care and don’t hesitate to pick up after others, they shouldn’t have to do that.”

After the deadlines, fish houses can still be on the ice but must be occupied if the houses are out between midnight and one hour before sunrise. Shelters can’t be left or stored at public accesses. Shelters not removed by the deadline might be confiscated and removed from the ice, and their owners might receive citations.

As they venture out, anglers always should keep in mind that ice conditions can vary widely and that ice is never 100% safe. 

Exceptions to the removal deadlines are Minnesota-Canada border waters (March 31), Minnesota-South Dakota and North Dakota border waters (March 5), Minnesota-Wisconsin border waters (March 1), and Minnesota-Iowa border waters (February 20). 

The post MINNESOTA DNR REMINDS ANGLERS OF UPCOMING DEADLINE TO REMOVE SHELTERS FROM THE ICE appeared first on KROX.

Congratulations to Sharon Gulseth, who is Benedictine Living Community – Crookston’s March Senior Athlete of the Month!

Sharon is recognized for her commitment to her recovery both during her short-term care and rehab stay at the Villa and her outpatient occupational therapy admission while residing at the Summit.  She successfully participated in physical and occupational therapy during her short-term care and rehab stay, allowing her to safely transition back to her assisted living apartment. Her dedication to her participation in outpatient occupational therapy has allowed for a successful recovery. Sharon brought hard work, laughter, and a positive attitude through this journey, and everyone at BLC-C is proud of her. Congratulations, Sharon!

The Benedictine Living Community-Crookston sat down with Sharon and asked some rapid-fire questions:

Her Favorite Month is September 

Her Favorite Season is Fall 

Her Favorite Animals are Dogs and Horses 

Her Favorite Color is Blue 

Her Favorite Food is Garlic 

Her Favorite Way to Exercise is Riding Her Bike 

Her Favorite Hobby is Camping and Traveling 

Her Favorite Rainy-Day Activity is Reading 

The post SHARON GULSETH WINS MARCH BENEDICTINE LIVING COMMUNITY’S SENIOR ATHLETE OF THE MONTH appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston School District held a very spirited send-off to six Crookston Pirate Wrestlers. The six Pirate wrestlers are Carter Coauette, Ethan Bowman, Evin Trudeau, Hunter Knutson, Ethan Boll, and Gavyn Hlucny. They will all be competing in the Class A Individual State Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul tomorrow. 

The Pirates not only got a send-off from their peers and teachers at Crookston High School but also from the students at Highland Elementary School, the Crookston Cathedral School, and Washington Elementary School, where they received hi-fives, well wishes, posters, and even songs from the schools. “We’ve got a number of seniors heading down with some underclassmen. They’ve all been there before,” Pirates Wrestling Coach Wes Hanson explained. “It’s a special time of year, there’s a lot of positive energy, and we appreciate that from the school and community. We’re excited to hit the road, get to St. Paul, and wrestle.” The Pirate wrestlers are hoping to get at least three members to place in States this year and bring some trophies home to Crookston. “They have high goals for themselves, they’re wrestling individually, and we want to bring a bunch of hardware back,” said Hanson. 

Senior Ethan Boll won the State Championship last year and took third place in the National Tourney, and is looking to have a repeat performance at the upcoming tourney but currently has his sights set on the next match. “There’s definitely a lot of nerves, stress, and a little bit of pressure, but we’ll take it one match at a time, and we’ll see what happens,” said Boll.

The competition’s first round will begin tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., with the Finals beginning on Saturday evening. Stay tuned to the kroxam.com Sports page for reports and pictures of the Pirates Wrestlers’ results this weekend.

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The post STATE-BOUND CROOKSTON PIRATE WRESTLERS RECEIVE SPIRITED SEND-OFF FROM THE ENTIRETY OF THE CROOKSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT appeared first on KROX.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 1, the Grand Forks Fire Department was dispatched to 2550 27th Ave. N for a report of a fire.

Fire Crews arrived on the scene to find a pile of crushed and bailed appliances involved in the fire. With the help of Residual Materials representatives, fire crews were able to separate the pile and extinguish the fire preventing it from spreading to nearby machinery. The cause of the fire has been determined to be unintentional.

The Grand Forks Fire Department responded with three engines and one command vehicle with eleven personnel. There were no injuries to the public or fire service personnel. The Fire Department was assisted by the Grand Forks Police Department, Altru Ambulance, and Residual Materials representatives.

Videos of the fire by Neil Carlson of iNewZ.TV can be seen below-

The post GRAND FORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO METAL RECYCLING FACILITY AT 27TH AVE. N appeared first on KROX.

The Freedom Church has officially moved into the building on the corner of North Broadway and West Second Street, which used to be Joe’s Diner, and is beginning to hold services on Sunday mornings.

The church leased the building in December and has remodeled it to house many things similar to their church in Grand Forks.
“On Sunday morning, you can expect to be greeted at the door. We have coffee and donuts set up right away in the morning. We have our Next Steps area, which is just more information about the church for guests and visitors. If you’re new here, you can find out more about what we have going on throughout the week with Connect Groups and midweek services. Then we start with songs and worship. We have a full band that plays live every Sunday morning,” Freedom Church Pastor Joel Schwartz explained. “We then share announcements discussing things that are going on throughout the week, then we get into the message, open up the scripture and read and find out more about what God is talking to us. Sometimes we have live messages, and we live stream the service from Grand Forks with Pastor Nathan Johnson there on a screen, and we cooperate that way.”
To help get any new members involved with activities in the church, Freedom Church has its Next Step area where members can participate in events the church holds within and for volunteering events.
“We have info about different programs that the church has. We haven’t replicated all the ones in the Grand Forks church. They have Food Rescue, Celebrate Recovery, an addiction recovery program, and very valuable programs that we’re to replicate when we can,” said Schwartz. “Right now, we have transportation to those things, and we have Connect Groups here, which is often times connected in people’s homes, sometimes here at the church, which are small groups where people can get together and get to know other people a lot better than during a big service on Sunday morning. Then we have ways to volunteer and help serve, like helping with the coffee, helping with reading in the morning, and teaching kids. Anyway, you want to come from just showing up to a Sunday morning service to being more involved. That’s what Next Steps is all about.”

Along with services, the church is holding Sunday School for the children of families during the church services.
“We have Sunday School concurrent with the service, so when parents come in, we can check them in right away. We have a check-in process, and then the kids go to the classroom. They have their own music and teaching that is tailored to their ages. Right now, we have two rooms for kids, a nursery and preschool together, and then we have elementary, which is for kids from kindergarten to 5th grade,” said Schwartz. “We also have a Quiet Room for parents with babies to take if they want to feed them or change their diapers. It’s an area where they can take them out to relax a little bit. So we have three spaces there, and we have services for the kids every time we have Sunday services for the adults with teachers in both classes, and the Quiet Room is available for parents.”

While the church has not done an official grand opening yet, it held a soft opening on Sunday, February 26, and is planning to hold more services every Sunday, starting at 10:00 a.m., while it continues to make preparations and additions (such as installing some new doors, testing sound systems, etc.) to the church, but plans to officially announce its grand opening on April 2 for Palm Sunday. For their grand opening, they will have a normal service at 10:00 a.m., followed by a Community Dedication Service at 2:00 p.m., where they will invite members of the community, like the other church pastors.

Pictures of the inside of the church can be seen below-

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The post FREEDOM CHURCH IN CROOKSTON HOLDING SERVICES BEFORE OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING EVERY SUNDAY appeared first on KROX.