Month: January 2024

The Crookston Public Library participates in the Lake Agassiz Regional Library event Book Blizzard. This began on January 2 and will continue through February 29.

The Book Blizzard event gives adults the opportunity to read during the cold winter months when it can be hard to find activities during this time of year. Once someone reads four books, they can submit the titles to their regional library, and they will become eligible for a drawing to win Book Blizzard mugs, which change design every year.

“You can also visit the library and get a card to list the four books,” said Crookston Public Library Librarian Paula Ous, “The more cards you turn in, the greater chance you have of winning the drawing. So we just want this to be a winter reading challenge for adults.”

Ous also explained that Lake Agassiz Regional Library uses this event annually for adults specifically because most of the yearly events that are put on are for children’s benefit. This event allows adults to dive into their reading. “In the winter, we focus on the adults and try to give them something to do, especially with the cold winter nights,” said Ous, “So you can read a book or listen to a book; we have a digital library at our library, and you can download Libby and put in your Lake Agassiz Regional Library card number where you will have access to all of those books as well.”

For those interested in signing up, you can visit lorl.org and click on the Book Blizzard tab. Or visit a Lake Agassiz Regional Library, submit your book logs, and insert your information for the mug drawing, which will take place at the end of the event on February 29.

To visit the Lake Aggasiz Libary website for more information on the Book Blizzard, click here.

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The Tri-County Corrections board met Monday in the Northwest Regional Correction (NWRCC) Center conference room.

MONTHLY STATISTICS REPORT

The board was first presented the monthly statistics from December by Executive Director Andrew Larson. The jail saw an average daily population of 136 inmates, which included 124 males and 22 females. The most common cases for incarceration had 40 parole/probation violations, 24 failure to appear in court, 23 DUI’s, and 13 domestic assault/assault.

The Juvenile Center saw an average population of five during December. The total monthly revenue collected by NWRCC was $81,436.

JUVENILE CENTER UPDATES

The secure detention portion of the Juvenile Center facility continues to struggle with staffing and ultimately re-opening. Last month, the Juvenile Center did not accept non-county member inmates to allow staff to be trained in the secure detention procedures. “We’ve seen an escalation in behaviors of some of the kids in our non-secure side,” said Larson, “If anyone who has worked in that environment, they will tell you it is tough to manage, and it has compounded more so when they do not have a secure-detention side to move them to if their behavior does not improve potentially.”

Larson explained to the board that having the current staff trained to work with secure detention instances was a priority because the intensity and procedures vary compared to non-secure inmates. “I’m thankful to say that we have the training accomplished; everybody is trained on secure detention,” said Larson, “If we’re in a pinch and need to move one of our kids over, we can do that. I think it will be helpful, and we’re looking to modify other things like our training curriculum and how we deliver training.”

The Juvenile Center currently has four part-time custody officers, two hybrid officers who work with the Jail and the Juvenile Center, and seven full-time custody officers. They are searching for one full-time custody officer, which could be considered fully staffed. Although there isn’t a time frame in which the Juvenile Center is set to re-open, Larson is optimistic about the direction of the facility. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re trending in the right direction, and I know I say that a lot,” said Larson, “But I do feel good about the things that we’re looking at changing, so hopefully we can keep trending that way.”

CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS

The board approved the contract agreement for Public Performance Licensing for correctional institutions with Swank Motion Pictures. This will allow the NWRCC to show inmates movies without the threat of copyright. “Since movies are copyrighted, you can’t show inmates a public performance without having a specific license that allows you to do that,” said Larson, “Even in a jail environment, we maintain this license so that if we choose to utilize movies as an incentive this allows to do so without any copyright violation.”

The final item the board approved was the 2024 board meeting schedule, which entails the Tri-County corrections board meeting on the second Monday of every month. Three meeting dates were changed in the schedule due to board member availability. The July 8 meeting has been changed to July 15, the November 11 board meeting to November 18, and the December 9 meeting to December 16.

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On Tuesday, January 9, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, East Grand Forks Police Department, and the Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force executed an arrest warrant at a residence in Rhinehart Township.  At one point, the suspect exited the residence and returned to the residence, followed by officers.  Shortly after the suspect returned to the residence, there was an officer-involved shooting.

The suspect was transported by Ambulance to Altru Hospital, and their condition is unknown at this time. 

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was contacted and will investigate the Officer-involved shooting along with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

This is an isolated incident, and there is no threat to the public.

No more information will be released at this time.

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RiverView offers two CPR classes on the second Thursday of each month – one for certification and the other provided free of charge for general knowledge.

RiverView’s HeartSaver CPR AED (automated external defibrillator) class is for those needing certification. The cost is $55; this includes the HeartSaver CPR AED eCard and book. This class is 4 hours (6-10 pm) with a test at the end of the session.

The Friends and Family class is for those who do not need certification. This class is free of charge, thanks to the generous support of Crookston American Legion Post 20. Participants will learn basic information about what to do in life-threatening situations and will receive a Friends and Family CPR book. This class is 4 hours (6-10 pm); no test or card is given at completion. Classes will take place on the following Thursdays in 2024:

January 11
February 8
March 14
April 11
May 9
June 13
July 11
August 8
September 12
October 10
November 14
December 12

All classes are held in the RiverView Home Care Building, 721 South Minnesota Street in Crookston.

Registration is required, and payment for the HeartSaver class must be made at the time of registration. To register or for more information, call 281-9536.

RiverView offers these classes as part of its American Heart Association (AHA) Community Training Center. Contracted Community Training Centers, like RiverView, are the only sites permitted to offer AHA classes to the public and professionals through their affiliated instructors and programs.

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