U.S. Senator Tina Smith says virtually every Minnesota community has a shortage of quality, affordable housing. She released her findings in a report yesterday, after a statewide housing listening tour last summer that made a stop in Bemidji. Some of the key findings from the report include growing homelessness and a shortage of shelters, a…
Gary Charwood of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe has been appointed as the chair person of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee by Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. According to a release, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee is the supervisory board for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and…
National Invasive Species Awareness week is next week, and Beltrami County Aquatic Invasive Species Lakes Technician Bruce Anspach wrote a letter explaining invasive species. An invasive specie can be both terrestrial or aquatic, and are considered invasive when they cause harm to the environment, economy or human health. A pheasant is a nonnative specie, for…
The Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office reports that a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy was airlifted to the University of Minnesota after suffering a BB gun shot to the eye. According to a release, the incident happened Monday, Feb. 10, and a deputy was at the local hospital on another matter when the mother brought the child in. On…
Two men recently pleaded guilty to selling methamphetamine on the White Earth Reservation. According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 28-year-old Michael Blandford, of Monticello, and 26-year-old Matthew Leigland, of Ponsford, are each charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute. According to their guilty pleas and court documents, Blandford and…
Leech Lake Tribal Chairman Faron Jackson, Sr., was among the several recently appointed to the Governor’s Council on an Age-Friendly Minnesota. According to a release from the Walz-Flanagan administration, the Governor’s Council on an Age-Friendly Minnesota is a response to the state’s aging population, and will coordinate state and private-sector partners’ efforts to work across…
A 76-year-old Backus woman was injured in a crash on Highway 64 yesterday morning. According to a release from the state patrol, Shirley Plehal was attempting to make a left turn onto Cass County Road 2 in a Jeep Compass when she was rear-ended by a Chevy Pickup and trailer in the southbound lane. The…
The 2020 Minnesota Legislative Session begins today, and since it’s an even-numbered year, the big project for both the House and Senate is the bonding bill. According to reports, communities have requested about $5 billion for local bonding projects, including Bemidji’s $8 million bonding request for a water treatment plant. Bemidji’s well system was contaminated…
A Grand Rapids man was sentenced to over 8 years in prison after a plea agreement in Itasca County for drug sales. According to a release, 55-year-old Bobby Joe Highland entered his guilty plea yesterday and was sentenced immediately after. The complaint says the Grand Rapids Police Department initiated four separate controlled buys of methamphetamine…
A Cass County man will spend over 12 years behind bars after he was sentenced for distributing child pornography. According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 33-year-old Jared Ross Boswell pleaded guilty last August, and was sentenced yesterday in the U.S. District Court in Bemidji. According to Boswell’s guilty plea, from April to…