The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will leave interest rates unchanged, opting for caution amid ongoing economic uncertainty linked to the Trump administration’s trade policies.
The central bank confirmed that its benchmark lending rate will remain within the current range of 4.25% to 4.5%, despite President Donald Trump’s push for a rate cut to counter potential inflationary effects from his tariff measures and resulting global trade tensions. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at a May 7 press conference: “We are comfortable with our policy stance. We think right now the appropriate thing to do is to wait and see how things evolve. There’s so much uncertainty.”
Trump has been pressuring the Fed to lower rates, arguing it would help offset inflation triggered by his administration’s tariffs. However, central bank officials cited persistent inflation concerns and slowing economic growth as key reasons for maintaining the current rate. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in a statement: “The unemployment rate has remained stable at historically low levels, and the labor market continues to show strength. However, inflation remains above our preferred levels, and economic uncertainty has continued to grow.”
While the Fed remains committed to its dual mandate of full employment and stable inflation, it is also carefully weighing the risks of lowering rates too soon, especially as inflationary pressures rise due to the tariff policies. Adding to the Fed’s challenges, the U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter of 2025, with gross domestic product (GDP) declining by an annualized 0.3%. Meanwhile, consumer confidence fell sharply in late April, hitting its lowest level since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.
Unless there is a significant downturn in employment, analysts say the Fed is unlikely to reduce rates in the near term. The central bank remains focused on bringing inflation back to its 2% target without triggering a broader economic downturn. Speaking in April, Powell noted that the scale of the tariff increases had exceeded expectations, warning that the economic consequences—namely higher inflation and reduced growth—would likely be more severe than initially projected. President Trump publicly criticized Powell and even suggested he should be removed from his position following those comments.
Jamie Foxx has signed a multi-year deal with Fox Entertainment Studios, giving the network first-look rights to scripted television material from Foxx’s ‘Foxxhole Productions’ banner, and exclusive rights to his projects and producing services in the unscripted space. Foxx will produce scripted and unscripted shows for the television network, including comedy, drama and animation.
The agreement builds on Foxx’s long-standing relationship with the network, as he currently hosts the music game show “Beat Shazam” alongside his daughter Corinne Foxx, and he executive produces the police procedural “Alert: Missing Persons Unit.” Foxx already has a slate of scripted and unscripted projects in progress and will begin developing them with Fox Entertainment Studios immediately.
Fernando Szew, president of Fox Entertainment Studios, said in a statement: “We are ready and excited to kick-start this very promising new creative partnership with Jamie as we build on Fox’s longtime association with him — initiated by our CEO Rob Wade and network president Michael Thorn. Jamie is a renowned multifaceted talent, so as a studio, we want to support his tremendous creativity with access to the full scope of our genres, formats and brands. Together we will deliver unexpected, unforgettable content to audiences everywhere. At Fox Entertainment Studios we are expanding our reach and portfolio, and this is a keystone creative partnership as we build.”
The Crookston School Board had a special meeting on Wednesday evening in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.The room was full of school district staff and parents. In the open forum, a steady line of teachers, staff, and parents spoke against several cuts and most of them were in favor of keeping the instructional aids at Washington School.“I love that we live in America and express their concerns and feelings and we had a large number of people here tonight,” said Superintendent Randy Bergquist. “They were passionate about keeping the kindergarten aids in the classroom. Everybody was respectful and they talked about how much they want to have kindergarten and preschool to have adequate instruction because that is technically the first stage of their career.I thought everybody did a great job.”
The board approvedproposed budget cuts for the 2025-26 school year. The cuts are cost savings instead of actual cuts for the district. The district won’t purchase a bus, which will save $168,500. They won’t replace an elective language teacher that resigned saving $72,371 and won’t replace Social Studies teacher that resigned saving $72,000, they made a reduction of a bus driver/mechanic saving $77,000. They will be reducing the pre-kindergarten classes from seven to six, which will save $57,700 and an aid which will save $28,000. Another big savings will be a Title II position that won’t be filled after a retirement, which will save $47,000. “We have talked about looking at cutting the number of sporting events for each team,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “For example instead of playing 26 games we would play 25 or 24 games. So I am going to try to get a better handle on that. Also the school board gets a stipend to be on the board and we have been paying them to be on committees and we are going to stop that and that will save approximately $15,000 on that.”The complete list of savings for next school year are pictured at the bottom of the story.
The board approved the termination and nonrenewal of Thomas Sherman and Annika Cuevas as Success Coaches and Marcel Vaudrin as a mechanic/bus driver. The board also approved a reduction of Crystal Rock from a 12-month to an 11-month contract. “When we made these cuts we tried to make ones that would have the least effect on students,” said Superintendent Bergquist.
The board lumped the non-renewal ofInstructional Assistants: Barbara Holweger, Kayla LaCoursiere, Clayton Briggs, Megan Gangl, Carole Chaput, Kathleen Goodyke, Heather Rosu, and Skylar Plontainto one motion and there was a first, but nobody made a second motion so the motion died and the board will keep the instructional assistants after hearing loud and clear from the people in attendance that they want to keep the instructional assists. The move will keep about $140,000 to $150,000 on the payroll for the district. “There wasn’t a second, which is great, which means the board supports the fact that there’s going to be instructional assistants in the Kindergarten in the classrooms,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “So my job now is to look at some potential other cuts that could potentially be up to $140,000 to $150,000. The Kindergarten teachers made it clear they would rather have the instructional assistants in the classroom instead of an additional Kindergarten class.”
The parents in attendance made comments that they wanted to keep the instructional assistants and getting rid of them might have them choosing other schools. “The parents made some good comments,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “They said if we don’t have the instructional assistants that there is other schools out there and I think our goal as a school district is to try to get the kids in early and hopefully they will continue to stay all the way through 12th grade.”
The board approved the closure of Washington Elementary School at the end of the 2025-26 school year on a 5 to 1 vote with Jaclyn Martin, Tim Dufault, Mike Thies, Lori Capistran, and Patti Dillabough voting yes. Marcia Meine was the lone no vote. “Before my time it was talked about that Washington was going to be closed. It has been a great addition for preschool and we have a couple of daycares in there as well and a family resource center,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “We will have to reconfigure what we are going to do with that, but the board has made it clear that we will be closing Washington School after next year for a potential savings of approximately $131,000.”
The preschool teachers in attendance said they don’t have a problem moving to Highland School if it is what is best for the students and the district, but they want to be a part of the planning process. “I pleasantly surprised that was said. It is obviously going to happen and they want us to keep them in the loop and help out,” said Superintendent Bergquist.
The final item on the agenda was the board approving offering dental and vision insurance at no cost for the district and it is voluntary for staff to participate in and the cost would be solely paid by the staff and not the district. “We were going out for bids and one of the companies we are going to go with said they can offer dental and vision insurance at no cost to the district. It would be a cost to the employee to see if they would be interested and I think that makes sense. It’s voluntary and they don’t have to take it, but if you take it you have to pay for it.”
The next Crookston School Board meeting will be Monday, May 19 at 5:00 p.m. in the Crookston High School choir/orchestra room.
Get Kids Outdoors recently provided some scholarship funds to local homeschoolstudents to visit Deep Portage Learning Center in Hackensack, Minnesota. The goal of Get Kids Outdoors is to do just that, get kids outdoors, by providing opportunities to learn, grow, and explore all that the great outdoors has to offer.
Karissa Beckman had two children go on the trip and also went along as a chaperone. Her daughters, Isabell and Eloise, as well as fellow homeschool student Matthew Vick, could not say enough about the experience. Some of the favorite activities were rock wall climbing, campfires, archery and learning to use a compass. When talking to Isabell about her experience she says it was more than just playing. “I really learned to face my fears and to reach my goals and I really liked archery and the rock climbing wall.”
Eloise and Matthew talked about how high the observation tower was but that they both made the journey to the top. So, what did Isabell and Eloises Mom think about their time at Deep Portage Learning Center? “It was amazing. It was fun watching them push themselves, trying new things, doing things that they probably would have never done like climbing a rock wall,” says Beckman. “They also spent a lot of time encouraging each other in every activity they did.”It was a unanimous, yes from the kids when asked if they would recommend this adventure to others.
This opportunity is open to all kids, schools and families. The activities and learning possibilities at Deep Portage Learning Center are endless as Fred Parnow explains. “The fun thing is, it’s all hands on. They have indoor classrooms, then they have the field trips within that. The instructors are so phenomenal. They are right down there with the kids, looking at them eye to eye and the kids just gravitated to the knowledge they were learning with the instructors.”
Parnow says he hopes the things the students learned in their time at Deep Portage will stick with them for a lifetime. If you or someone you know could benefit from a scholarship opportunity like this one contact Fred Parnow of Get Kids Outdoors at 218-280-6344 and he will be happy to go over options with you.
The Crookston Pirate Boys Golf teamshot a 381 at the Section 8A Boys Golf Preview played at the Bemidji Town and Country Club on the north shore of Lake Bemidji. East Grand Forks won the meet with a 320, two strokes better than Perham.
Garrett Fischer shot an 88. The junior carded three birdies, two pars, eight bogies, four double bogies, and one triple bogey to finish 44th place. Tate Hamre shot an 92. The junior recorded three pars, 11 bogies, three double bogies, and one triple bogey to finish 62nd place. Evan Shockman shot a 99. The junior turned in four pars, five bogies, six double bogies, two triple bogies, and one quadruple bogey. David Dauksavage shot a 102. The junior had three pars, seven bogies, four double bogies, two triple bogies, and two quadruple bogies.
The new optional 95-gallon garbage and recycling bin services have begun. The first pickup was on Wednesday. Below are additional details about the new service and information about how you can still get signed up for the pickup service. Recycling pickup is once per month on the first Wednesday of the first full week of the month. See the link below to view the Waste Management Pickup Calendar. Information on where to place the bins, as well as additional information about this service, can be found at the links below.
The colored bag service will continue in each area’s currently assigned garbage dayuntil July 11th. After July 11th, city colored bag pickup and the blue bin recycling service will be discontinued. Residents can still bring their trash and recycling to the transfer station at their convenience. For any additional questions, please reach out to Public Works at (218) 281-1232 or email cgetsman@crookston.mn.us. Related Documents (View All Here) 2025 Pickup Calendar – Click Here Cart Placement – Click Here Most Common Recycling Contaminants – Click Here What it Means to Recycle Right – Click Here Single-Stream Recycling Acceptable Recyclables – Click Here Single-Stream Recycling 8.5 * 11 Green – Click Here Click Here to sign up
The supervisors of Gentilly Township will do their annual road inspection on Friday, May 9, starting at 11:00 AM. They will start on 180th Avenue SW at the Knife River Material site on the West side of the road along section 29, just north of the Snow Sled Inn. Any interested residents are welcome to follow the supervisors as they check all of the roads in Gentilly Township. This is an inspection only, no decisions will be made until the next regular meeting of the board, which is set for Monday, May 19, 2025, at St. Peter’s church basement beginning at 7:00 PM.
If you have any questions, please call the clerk at 218-891-2181.
The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle baseball team takes on the Augustana Vikings in the first round of the Northern Sun Conference Baseball tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at 6:00 p.m. tonight. UMC is the #7 seed and was 20-20 in the NSIC and 23-27 overall. Augustana, the #2 seed, was 30-10 in the NSIC and 36-14 overall. The teams met four times on March 21-23, and UMC won the first two games, 9-5 and 16-2, and lost the next two games 12-6 and 6-4 in 10 innings. UMC has two players named to the All-NSIC team, with Josh Dykhof named to the first team and Dylan Debilzen named to the second and all-defensive teams. Augustana KROX Radio will broadcast the game, with a RiverView Health pre-game show at 5:30 p.m. and the first pitch at 6:00 p.m.
