Month: April 2025

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center reported the arrest of the following–

Bruce Garfield Reichert, 73, was arrested in East Grand Forks, for DUI

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT APRIL 11 first appeared on KROX.

The Crookston High School Knowledge Bowl team got a big sendoff at Highland School on Thursday, April 10 as they were leaving for the state competition at Craguns Resort near Brainerd.

Crookston, along with Bemidji, Fosston, and Roseau are advancing to the state competition from northwest Minnesota. Crookston’s team is made up of Ben Capistran, Xavier Mason, Leah Johanneck, Maddie Harbott, and Tessa Weber. Katelyn Stegman coaches the team.

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The post Crookston High School Knowledge Bowl team sent off in style first appeared on KROX.

With the end of the school year fast approaching, the Crookston Middle School students are getting excited for end-of-the-year class trips.  A long-standing tradition for the sixth-grade class is a trip to Itasca. Middle School Mathematics teacher Dan Halland recently filled us in on the upcoming trips. “For over 50 years, probably even now 60, ’cause I’ve probably been doing this Itasca field trip for the last 10 years,” says Halland. “We’ve been going to Itasca and having our time out there for a week. So, what we have again this year is that each group, we have three groups going out, starting on May 12, they get to spend a night out at Itasca at the Ozaawindib Group Camp.”

What do the sixth graders get to do while in Itasca? “They learn about Minnesota history and a little bit about the park itself. They learn about the trees in the park and the flowers. It is a great time,” says Halland. “It’s a time for them to get out as an extension of the classroom but also have that freedom of being able to have fun.” Halland explained that before the sixth grade moved out to the high school campus, the Highland PTO had helped raise funds for the Itasca trip.  Since they are no longer part of Highland, there is no PTO. This year, the sixth grade will be having a fundraiser with the help of the Masonic Lodge. “We have a pancake breakfast, sponsored by the Masons at the Masonic Lodge on Sunday, April 27. I don’t have the times exactly; I believe it’s eight, eight-thirty till around noon,” says Halland. “They helped out last year. It was such a great thing that we asked them again to help us out with this. We have a lot of students that really want to go on these trips, and they don’t always have the means to make it, so we certainly appreciate anything we can do to fundraise or take donations.” How much does a trip to Itasca cost for each student? “The cost of the trip is $60. That takes care of everything for a student that we can,” says Halland. “That’s transportation, reservation at the group camp, and the meals, so, it really is a great deal, and it’s something that the kids, for generations, I would say, look forward to, and they pass it down because I know that a lot of kids parents have gone on this trip and they still have the best memories from it.”

The sixth graders are getting excited about their Itasca trip, but the seventh and eighth graders also have end-of-year celebrations planned. “This year, we are having our seventh graders go to King Pins in Fargo, which will be on May 16,” says Halland. “There at King Pin’s they have Hyper Bowling, that’s interactive bowling, escape rooms, arcade, laser tag, things of that nature. That field trip is also $60 for the students.” The eighth grade has an exciting trip planned for their last day of school before officially being High School Students. “Our eighth graders are going to Valley Fair, in Shakopee, on the last day of school, May 29,” says Halland. “That’s kind of the end of things for middle school, and they are going to be transitioning to go to ninth grade and be high school students’, and we really want them to go out with the idea they worked so hard to be rewarded with something like this.”

Halland says that it would be much appreciated if anyone wants to donate to the school for any of these trips. “Everybody who is a student wants to be able to participate in this, and not everyone has the means. We do have scholarships, but we have people who donate to those scholarships to help them make it possible for them to be part of something like this.”

The pancake breakfast fundraiser at the Masonic Lodge for the sixth-grade trip to Itasca is Sunday, April 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Come on out and eat some yummy food while helping prepare the sixth graders for their May trip to Itasca.

The post Crookston Middle School Classes are preparing for end-of-year trips first appeared on KROX.

The City of Crookston recognizes the importance of maintaining a clean, healthy, and safe community. To assist in this effort, the City of Crookston will have Spring Clean-Up week April 21-25.  
Single-family dwelling clean-up items will be picked up only on their regular garbage pickup day and must be placed on the street boulevard by 7:00 AM. Only household quantities of debris will be accepted. Items should be placed on boulevards no more than 24 hours before your collection day.

Acceptable Items for Collection:

The City of Crookston will collect the following items if separated into designated piles:
• Bagged items, Clothing, and Cardboard – Weight limit 30 pounds per bag with each bag no larger than 35 gallons. Up to 10 bags per household will be collected. No loose garbage will be collected. 
• Appliances – Limit 2 per household.
• Furniture and Mattresses – Limit of 3 furniture items and 4 mattresses or 2 mattresses/box spring sets per household.
• Demolition-Bypass Pile – Limited to a maximum dimension of 10’L x 4’W x 3’H and may include wood, sheetrock, plaster, toilets, sinks, showers, tubs, cupboards, doors, and carpets cut into 4’x4’ or smaller pieces. No materials suspected of containing asbestos, no concrete, and no amounts of demolition debris larger than 10’L x 4’W x 3’H will be accepted.
• Automotive Tires and Rims – Limit 4 per household.

Placing these items in separate piles will help speed up the clean-up process. In awareness of clean-up week in Crookston, Polk County Public Health advises residents not to bring furniture, mattresses, box springs, or bed frames found on the street into their homes to prevent the spread of bed bugs. http://www.bedbugs.umn.edu/

Items NOT Accepted:
• Biohazardous Waste – Waste materials that include human pathological wastes, animal excrement, contaminated animal carcasses, blood and body fluids, medical waste and chemotherapeutic waste.
• Video Display Devices – TVs, computer monitors, and other video display devices WILL NOT be collected. Residents may dispose of these devices at the Polk County Environmental Services (Transfer Station).
• Hazardous Materials – No concrete, batteries, partially full paint cans, chemicals, or asbestos containing materials.
• Large Amounts of Demolition Debris – The demolition-bypass pile is limited in size and scope (see above). Excess debris will be left and must be disposed of privately.

Specific Item Guidelines:

 Demolition-Bypass (Limited to 10’L x 4’W x 3’H)
• Wood (except treated lumber)
• Sheetrock
• Plaster
• Toilets, sinks, showers, tubs
• Cupboards
• Doors
• Carpet (must be cut into 4’ x 4’ or smaller pieces)
• Household furniture: couches, chairs, tables, etc.
• Mattress/Box Springs
• Small Appliances (toasters, coffee pots, etc.)
• Light Fixtures (no bulbs or ballasts)
• Humidifiers 
• Water Softeners
• Computer Equipment (excluding monitors)

Appliances (Limit 2 per household)
• Washers
• Dryers
• Dehumidifiers
• Refrigerators
• Air Conditioners
• Dishwashers
• Microwaves
• Hot Water Heaters
• Electric/Gas Ranges
• Freezers
• Trash Compactors
• Garbage Disposals

Metals
• Steel Siding/Banding
• Motors
• Bicycles
• Duct/Vents

Relocation of Items Prohibited
Residents are prohibited from moving or relocating items from one location to another for the purpose of disposal. Items must be placed for collection at the originating residence only. Violations of this policy may result in penalties or refusal of service.

Post Clean-Up Week Debris Enforcement
Following the conclusion of Spring and Fall Clean-Up Week, City staff will conduct inspections throughout Crookston to identify any debris or refuse left on City right-of-ways or boulevards beyond the designated collection period. Properties found with items still remaining will be documented, and the resident will receive an official notice letter from the City. This notice will serve as a warning and will provide the resident seven (7) days to remove the debris voluntarily. The letter will state the violation under Crookston City Code of Ordinances, Section 152.159 A – Refuse, Performance Standards, and list the scheduled date by which the items must be removed.

If the items are removed by the resident prior to the scheduled date, no fees will be assessed. However, if the debris remains past the removal deadline, the City will proceed with removal, and the property owner will be invoiced. The invoice will include:
• A $25 administrative fee,
• A landfill/disposal fee (varies based on material and quantity), and
• A removal fee (varies based on required equipment and personnel time).

The post Crookston to hold Spring Clean-up Week April 21-25 first appeared on KROX.

Attorney General Ellison and a coalition of 22 other attorneys general sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and the House Financial Services Committee urging the House to vote against a resolution that would overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 2024 rule limiting overdraft fees imposed by the country’s largest banks. The rule prevents big banks from charging excessive overdraft fees that can hurt their customers’ credit and sometimes lead to account closures. 

“My mission is to help people afford their lives, which is why I’m fighting to protect Minnesotans from excessive overdraft fees,” said Attorney General Ellison. “All too often, people getting charged high overdraft fees are those who can least afford to pay them. Limiting these excessive fees is a common-sense rule that puts money back in the pockets of working folks. Today, I am calling on the House of Representatives to do the bidding of the people they serve, not the big banks.”

House Joint Resolution 59 would overturn a 2024 rule issued by the CFPB that applies only to banks with over $10 billion in assets. The rule imposes reasonable limits on the overdraft fees these big banks may charge when customers overdraw their accounts. Nevertheless, late last month, the Senate narrowly passed its version of the resolution overturning the CFPB’s rule by a vote of 52-48, with Republican Senator Josh Hawley joining Senate Democrats to vote against it.

The average overdraft fee imposed by banks is about $35 and is usually significantly larger than the overdraft itself. Overdraft fees are also a major profit center for banks, accounting for about $5.8 billion in revenue in 2023. As Attorney General Ellison and the coalition state in their letter, under the CFPB’s rule, if banks intend to continue profiting from such fees, they must treat them as interest on a loan, which is what they effectively are. Given that most overdraft fees are paid back in less than three days, a typical fee of $35 on an average overdraft of $26 is the equivalent of an annual interest rate of 16,000 percent. 

As Attorney General Ellison and the coalition argue in the letter, the CFPB’s rule plays a valuable role in protecting bank customers from excessive and often unexpected charges that can sometimes lead to involuntary account closures, damaging customers’ credit and even driving them out of the banking system altogether. In addition, excessive overdraft fees are unnecessary. As Attorney General Ellison and the coalition point out in the letter, many banks – including Citigroup, Capital One, and Ally Bank – have already eliminated overdraft fees while still providing the convenience of overdraft protection.

Attorney General Ellison has spent years fighting to ensure overdraft fees are fair and transparent. In May of 2012, when he served in Congress, then-Representative Ellison co-sponsored legislation (H.R. 5691) to amend the Truth in Lending Act to require banks to clearly disclose overdraft coverage fees. The bill also allowed consumers not to opt into overdraft protections. Instead, if there were insufficient funds in their account to cover a given transaction, the transaction would be declined and no fees would be charged. Additionally, the bill prohibited banks from offering worse terms to consumers who opted out of overdraft protections. 

Joining Attorney General Ellison in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection also joined the coalition. 

The post Minnesota A.G. Keith Ellison and 22 other A.G.’s urge the house to keep a limit on overdraft fees first appeared on KROX.