The Crookston City Council will meet on Monday, February 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the Crookston City Hall council chambers.
The consent agenda includes the council meeting minutes from January 20, bills, and disbursements of $452,052.60. The council will be asked to approve gas fitter and cement mason licenses, and to approve the 2026 city board and committee appointments. The council will be asked to approve the satisfaction of a deferred loan repayment agreement and mortgage with Michael Q. Schultz. They will be asked to approve a $100 donation from Chuck Leonard and Lynn Tiedeman in memory of Jackie Frants to Crookston Park and Rec. The last item on the consent agenda is a resolution authorizing the Crookston Fire Department to enter into a fire service agreement with the Regents of the University of Minnesota Crookston.
There will be a public hearing to consider a request for assistance from the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) for Northstar Lime LLC.
There are no items on the regular agenda.
After the council meeting, the Crookston Ways and Means committee will meet. The three items on the agenda are a presentation by Lucas Spaeth on the West Central Regional Water District, a discussion of the Tri-Valley grant, and a discussion of the Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority.
Students at Our Savior’s Lutheran School celebrated National Lutheran Schools Week January 25-30 with Lutheran schools across the country.
Their theme was “Let’s Make a Joyful Noise” and they did just that! Musical highlights of the week were singing at Nimens Apartments, an 80s themed glow dance party, and learning about different instruments from alumni and friends of the school.
Students also enjoyed painting pottery at Queen City Arts Center, participating in circuit labs at the Crookston Public Library, a Mystery Meal planned, prepared, and served by the 6th-grade class, and the annual battleball tournament. Learning about mission work in Mongolia and swimming at the Crookston pool rounded out the week.
February 3rd will mark the 83rd anniversary of the sinking of the United States Army Transport Dorchester and the legendary acts of selflessness of four Army chaplains who were aboard. Many people will celebrate this day on Sunday, February 1st. Four Chaplains Day honors the four chaplains who went down with their ship, as they gave their life jackets to other passengers. On Feb. 3, 1943, the United States Army Transport Dorchester – a converted luxury liner – was crossing the North Atlantic, transporting more than 900 troops to anAmerican base in Greenland. Aboard the ship were four chaplains of different faiths: Reverend George Fox (Methodist), Jewish Rabbi Alexander Goode, Reverend Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed) and Father John Washington (Roman Catholic).
Around 12:55 a.m., a German U-boat fired a torpedo that struck Dorchester’s starboard side, below the water line and near the engine room. The explosion instantly killed 100 men and knocked out power and radio communication with Dorchester’s three escort ships. Within 20 chaplains spread out, comforting the wounded and directing others to safety. One survivor, Private William Bednar, later said, “I could hear men crying, pleading, and praying. I could also hear the chaplains’ preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.” Another survivor, John Ladd, watched the chaplains’ distribute life jackets, and when they ran out, they removed theirs and gave them to four young men. “It was the finest thing I have seen, or hope to see, this side of heaven,” he recalled. As Dorchester sank, the chaplains were seen linked arm in arm, praying.
Dale R. Cameron, age 75, joined our Father in heaven on January 19, 2026 in Chandler, Arizona. His wife of 51 years, Connie, was at his side as he passed peacefully.
Dale was born to Donald and Dorothy (Wilkens) Cameron on July 17, 1950 in Crookston, Minnesota. Dale graduated from Fisher High School in 1968. After graduation, Dale was drafted by the United States Army and proudly served his country during the Vietnam War 1970-1971. Once he returned stateside, he attended Moorehead Technical School, graduating in 1974, which lead him to a career in computer programming. The majority of his work was at United Hospital in Grand Forks, North Dakota until 1987 when he transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Indiana. Dale was always ambitious and driven with career and education which inspired him to pursue his Bachelor’s Degree at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. He completed it in 1999 and then finishing his Master’s Degree at Oakland University in 2004. After a long and happy career, Dale retired in 2017.
Dale married Connie S. Scoville on June 2, 1974. Together they raised two children, Jennifer and Eric. They started their life together in North Dakota, moving to Indiana in 1987. After Dale’s retirement, they moved south for warmer weather in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Anyone who met Dale knew he was full of life, sarcastic, fun-loving and could never sit still. His hobbies included playing golf, tending to the yard and garden, and cheering on the Indianapolis Colts. He also enjoyed camping, which later became RV’ing all over the country.
Dale was a devout member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Vincennes, Indiana. He was extremely involved with lay ministry, the church council and any other activity the church had to offer. He was a consistent fixture at St. Paul’s and knew the importance of God and family.
To see Dale on a daily basis, it was evident that the thing he enjoyed most was time with his children. He would spend hours playing Marco Polo in the pool, a game of PIG or HORSE on the basketball court, wrestling matches in the basement and endless hours of hide and seek. The family grew and grandchildren spent time in the summers at Camp Cameron in Indiana; swimming, riding on the tractor, roasting marshmallows and making countless memories with their cousins. Dale and Connie also enjoyed traveling, enjoying locations throughout the Caribbean and Europe.
Dale is survived by his wife, Connie, daughter, Jennifer (David Schifo), son, Eric (Amber), and honorary daughter, Asdis (Dennis Guercio). Grandchildren, Benjamin, Brandon, and Ryan Schifo; Sarah and Nathan Cameron; Amelia Guercio; Reagan and Noah Cameron and Mackenzie Natale.
Dale is also survived by his brothers Robert (Becky), James (friend Patty) and sister Barbara Barta (Maynard). His brothers-in-law, Dick (Barb), Bill (Wanda), and Jim (Julie). He was blessed with a large extended family including one niece, and ten nephews, eight great-nieces, and fourteen great-nephews, four great-great nieces, seven great-great nephews with one more great-great niece expected in March.
Dale was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Dorothy Cameron, aunts and uncles, sister-in-law, Kathy Thurston, nephew, Randy Scoville and grandson, Cayden Guercio.
Graveside service will take place at a later date in Fisher, Minnesota.
Claudia Annette Cirks, 89, passed away on Friday, January 23, 2026 at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, ND. She was born at home in rural Fergus Falls, MN on August 1, 1936 along with her twin, Claudette, to Plinny and Edna Haarstad.
Adopted by Hans and Gladys Haarstad in 1939, Claudia was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith. She attended country school and graduated from Newfolden High School in 1954. On February 16, 1957 she married the love of her life, Dennis Cirks, at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Newfolden, MN. Together, they lived in nine Minnesota cities with Dennis’ Northwestern Bell employment. During this time, they added three children to the family, along with losing a beautiful daughter at birth. In 1966, they moved to Crookston, MN and resided there until Fall 2023 when they moved to Linden Assisted Living, Moorhead, MN. Claudia had many interests and talents that brought her joy. She enjoyed arranging and growing flowers, craftwork of any kind, sewing, decorating, cooking and baking, shopping, and taking cruises to Norway and Alaska. Together, they enjoyed fun years of camping, square dancing, playing cards, and family Christmas at their Tulaby Lake cabin.
She dedicated her life to those she loved. Claudia was a devoted member of Trinity Lutheran Church; teaching Sunday School/Religious Release, volunteered in WELCA, Altar Guild and coordinated the Prayer Chain. Claudia’s faith was also demonstrated outside of the walls of the church. This was evidenced when she volunteered with Home Delivered Meals. Claudia was employed at various jobs in Crookston including: Dahlgren & Co., CHS Cafeteria, Ames Chiropractic, Anderson Fabrics, and Stennes Granite, EGF, MN.
Claudia is survived by her husband of almost 69 years, Dennis, children: Diane (Dale) Surprenant of Moorhead, MN, Mike (Diana) Cirks of Glenwood, MN, Rebecca “Becky” (Dan) Cymbaluk of Crookston, MN; grandchildren: Casie (Dana) Coulter, Kate (Jay) Puterbaugh, Matthew Surprenant, Krystyna (Andres) Freeman, Nicole (Zachary) Jones, Dr. Anna Cymbaluk, Cody (Morgan) Cirks, Zach (Ally) Cymbaluk, Tanner (Tracy) Cirks, Britnee (Cole) Taylor; sixteen great-grandchildren; sister Claudette (Winton) Forsberg, Cottage Grove, MN; and other beloved friends and family. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Kristi LaRae; parents, Hans and Gladys Haarstad; parents-in-law, Walter and Elaine Cirks; siblings, Virginia (Leonard) Field, Plinny Haarstad, Jorris (Alice) Haarstad; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Gloria (Larry) Skalsky; Gary (JoAnn) Cirks.
Claudia leaves behind a legacy of love and compassion. Her life and smile left a positive impact on all she met. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends, whom she loved deeply, and all who had the privilege of knowing her.
A funeral service celebrating Claudia’s life will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Crookston, Minnesota on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be one hour prior. Interment will be after at Oakdale Cemetery in Crookston.
The Crookston Pirate Dance team finished their regular season at the Heart of the Lakes conference competition this past Tuesday. The Pirates had two all-conference award-winners, with Abigail Bruley named all-conference and Avery Trudeau receiving honorable mention. “We are so proud of both of these girls’ commitment and growth to this team,” said Coach Grace Espinoza. “They’ve both shown tremendous teamwork and resilience this year. As the season has been wrapping up, these two keep showing up and improving.”
The Crookston third-grade girls’ basketball team played in its first-ever tournament and won the championship at the Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Winter Blast tournament.
Crookston started the tournament with a 24-8 victory over East Grand Forks. In the semifinals, the girls battled Moorhead in a thrilling, back-and-forth matchup, pulling out a hard-fought 22–18 win. In the championship game, Crookston faced DGF White and rose to the occasion once again, locking in defensively and securing a 14–6 win to claim the tournament title.
Members of the team are Brynlee Pataky, Eleanor Kollin, Zyha Normandin, Olivia Snyder, Trinity Perreault, Evelyn Griffin, and Blakey Torgerson.
The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey teamcouldn’t complete a 3rd period and lost to the International Falls Broncos by a score of 5-3 on Saturday Afternoon.
FIRST PERIOD The first period went by with relatively little action, with both teams getting few shots on goal. The Broncos got a few shots on goal early, but Brady Chandler stopped everything he saw. The Broncos also prevented the Pirates from pushing towards Caleb Joslyn in net, only keeping the Pirates to 5 shots. There were no penalties in the period, and no goals as well, as the bulk of the action in this game came in the final two periods.
SECOND PERIOD The first half of the second period went by the same way as the entirety of the first period, except the Pirates flipped things around on offense, getting more shots that the Broncos in the period, by a total of 14 to 6. However, the Broncos were the first team to score, as Chase Phillips cashed in a goal to put International Falls up 1-0. The lead lasted less than two minutes, though, as Gavin Aakhus scored in the midst of a change, and that tied things up at 1. However, immediately after that goal was scored, the Broncos got it back immediately off the faceoff, as William Yerxa scored to give the Broncos the lead back at 2-1. Even though the Broncos committed a head contact major penalty, the Pirates couldn’t score, and the game stayed at 2-1 headed into the 3rd period.
THIRD PERIOD The third period was w wild one as the teams combined for five goals. Just over three minutes into the period, Crookston tied the game at 2-2 when Garrett Fischer scored. IFalls countered with a goal 27 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead. A little over a minute later, the Broncos added another goal to take a big 4-2 lead. The scoring frenzy continued as Crookston scored a goal 19 seconds later as Greyson Ecker scored a power play goal on an assist from Fischer to get within a 4-3 deficit. The scoring stopped for the next nine minutes until International Falls got an open net goal with less than three minutes left in the game and held on to win 5-3.
Crookston drops to 13-8-1 on the year and will take on Detroit Lakes on Monday evening. You can hear the game on KROX Radio. International Falls improves to 16-1-2 on the year.
The National Weather Service in Grand Forks has issued a Winter Storm Advisory for portsions of northwewt Minnesota and eastern North Dakota until Noon on Sunday, February 1. Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Roseau, Mayville, Wahpeton, Lisbon, Cando, Fargo, Newfolden, Mahnomen, Grafton, Fosston, Moorhead, Devils Lake, Michigan, Ada, Breckenridge, New Rockford, Cavalier, Leeds, Forman, Drayton, Detroit Lakes, Hallock, Middle River, Fergus Falls, Red Lake Falls, Halstad, Grand Forks, Hillsboro, Cooperstown, Valley City, Langdon, Thief River Falls, Warren, Gwinner, Lankin, and Finley.
602 PM CST Sat Jan 31 2026 …WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST SUNDAY… * WHAT...Mixed precipitation and areas of blowing snow. Additional snow accumulations up to 3 inches and ice accumulations around a light glaze. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph.
* WHERE…Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota.
* WHEN…Until noon CST Sunday.
* IMPACTS…Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous. Plan on slippery road conditions. Blowing snow will lead to areas of quick and sudden reductions to visibility, making travel difficult, especially in rural areas that are prone to blowing snow.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.
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