2nd annual Black Tie Gala raises $30,000 for Boys and Girl’s Club in Detroit Lakes

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The 2nd annual Black Tie Gala held at the Historic Holmes Theatre on Thursday night raised $30,000 for the Boys and Girl’s Club of Detroit Lakes.

The event was hosted by Phaser Marketing in partnership with the nonprofit and hauled in $10,000 more in donations through a series of auctions and raffle drawings than last year’s inaugural event.

Pat Petermann, executive director of the Boys and Girl’s Club of Detroit Lakes, said the money raised can help offset some membership fees and support higher operating costs due to inflation.

“A lot of our kids and parents say they can’t afford the annual membership fee of $50,” said Petermann. “Usually, we just waive it, so that will help offset some of those costs. And with everything, the price of food has gone up, and with us providing two meals a day during the summer, and one hot meal in the evening during the school year, (the donation) will help alleviate some of those costs also.”

Over the summer, Petermann said, the nonprofit provided services to between 120 to 140 kids per day on average, which is nearly a return to pre-pandemic levels of service when the nonprofit averaged about 150 kids per day.

Luke Eggebraaten, owner of Phaser Marketing, said the Boys and Girl’s Club is the perfect nonprofit to support because they are community staple with a clear mission and every dollar goes to help their programming around helping kids in Detroit Lakes.

“In 2020, when I was looking for a fundraiser we could grow with, I really wanted to make sure it was a fundraiser that could have the systems in place, have the right mission in place, and was also a staple in the community,” said Eggebraaten. “And that is something (the Boys and Girl’s Club) does so well. They do so much already … but we just want to keep building. Not for two years, not for five years, but for 20, 25 years moving forward.”

The Boys and Girl’s Club of Detroit Lakes is currently accepting registrations for their 2023-24 after-school program, which provides kids structured activity between 3:15 to 6:15 p.m., Monday thru Friday during the school year.

More information about the after-school program can be found on the Boys and Girls Club website.

Five injured in four lakes area highway crashes since Thursday

Five people were injured in four separate crashes on lakes area highways since Thursday.

A St. Cloud man was injured during a collision with a semi-tractor trailer on Highway 10 in Otter Tail County on Thursday.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, on Aug. 17 at 6:07 p.m., a 2016 Toyota Camry, driven by 37-year-old Ruben Dario Almonte Rodriguez of St. Cloud, was attempting to turn east onto Highway 10 from County Road 10 when it collided with a westbound 2014 Kenworth Semi, driven by 40-year-old Dennis Allan Linder of Verndale.

Airbags deployed in Rodriguez’s vehicle and he suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the crash. He was transported to Perham Hospital for treatment.

Linder did not report any injuries at the scene.

In a separate Thursday crash, a Detroit Lakes woman was injured when her 2011 Ford Escape collided with a 2013 Chevy Impala on Highway 10 in Lake Park Township.

The state patrol said the crash occurred at 6:50 p.m. when the vehicles collided at the intersection of Highway 10 and 2nd Street.

68-year-old Dorene Fay Kostrzewski of Detroit Lakes suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the crash and was transported to Essentia Health St. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes for treatment.

The other driver, 53-year-old Eric Thomas Ruther of Park Rapids, did not report any injuries at the scene.

Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash and officers believe alcohol did not play a factor in the incident.

Also on Thursday, two Pelican Rapids residents were injured in a crash on Highway 59 in Otter Tail County.

According to the state patrol, on Aug. 17 at 8:37 p.m., a 2018 Ford pickup, driven by 39-year-old Ronald Daniel Glanzer of Grygla, Minn., collided with a 2010 Buick Enclave, driven by 57-year-old David Henry Ehlers of Pelican Rapids, at the Highway 59 and County Road 3 intersection.

Ehlers and his passenger, 55-year-old Sarah Lynn Ehlers of Pelican Rapids, both suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported hospitals in Fargo and Fergus Falls, respectively.

Both Ehler’s were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Law enforcement believes alcohol may have played a role in the incident.

Lastly, on Friday, Aug. 18 at 11:56 a.m., a two-vehicle crash with possible injuries was reported Highway 34 in Detroit Lakes.

According to the state patrol, a 2018 Toyota Rav4, driven by 73-year-old Suzanne Yvonne Sund of Bottineau, N.D., was northbound on Pelican River Road when it collided with a westbound 2016 GMC Yukon, driven by 42-year-old Melissa Jo Schmidtke of Laporte, Minn., at the highway intersection.

Airbags deployed in both vehicles and Sund suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the crash. She was transported to Essentia Health St. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes for treatment.

Schmidtke reported no injuries at the scene.

Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision and alcohol is not believed to have played a role in the crash.

One dead, four injured during Highway 10 crash Saturday near St. Cloud

A Minnesota man was killed and four others were injured in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 10, about 15 miles southeast of St. Cloud on Saturday morning.

According to the state patrol, on Aug. 19 at 1:11 a.m., a 2018 Infinity Q50, driven by 23-year-old Hunter Michael Buckentine of Clear Lake, Minnesota, rearended a 2010 Chevy Cobalt, driven by 34-year-old Lindsay Kay Soiseth of Lake Lillian, Minn., as both vehicles were travelling west on Highway 10 near 97th Street in Sherburne County.

The force of the collision pushed the Cobalt into the northside ditch and caused it to roll multiple times, while the Infiniti Q50 continued on the highway for a short distance before veering off the roadway and crashing into the tree line.

During the crash, one of the passengers in the Cobalt, 34-year-old Jordan Dennis Kramer of Clarissa, Minnesota, was unrestrained and pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.

Another unrestrained passenger in the Cobalt, 38-year-old Candice Carmen Pooler of Clarissa, Minn., suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to a St. Cloud Hospital for treatment. Her condition is currently unknown.

Both drivers, and another passenger in the Infiniti Q50, suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, but did not require medical transport.

The crash remains under an active investigation and law enforcement has not ruled out alcohol being a contributing factor in the incident.

Home under-construction deemed ‘total loss’ following Otter Tail County fire Thursday

A house under construction was deemed a “total loss” following a fire southwest of Battle Lake on Thursday afternoon.

According to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, on Aug. 17 at 3:45 p.m., a passerby reported a home under construction was fully engulfed in flames on the 30000 block of Stalker Lake Road.

Both the Dalton and Underwood fire departments responded to the scene and firefighters were eventually able to extinguish the blaze.

The homeowner, 54-year-old Susan Morris of Fergus Falls, was contacted and investigators determined the home was unoccupied at the time of the fire; however, the structure was deemed a “total loss.”

The cause of the blaze remains undetermined and state Fire Marshal’s Office, along with the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, will continue to investigate the incident

Criticism mounts over new Minnesota school resource officer technique restrictions

Public safety employees are speaking out against a provision in the education bill signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz barring school resource officers from certain use of force techniques.

The law prevents putting students in the prone position, which subjects them to “comprehensive restraint on the head, neck and across most of the torso.”

Jeff Potts, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, wrote a letter to the governor voicing his concerns writing: “Prohibiting the most basic measure of safely restraining and controlling the aggressor in a fight severely impacts the (school resource officer’s) ability to intervene, stop the altercation, and protect everyone’s safety.”

House Minority Leader Representative Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring agreed with Potts and issued a statement against the provision, stating that keeping students safe should always be a top priority, and the move will, “severely undermine school officials in their ability and their duty to provide a safe learning environment for all their students and staff.”

The new law applies to all school employees, but Demuth argues that it targets school resource officers and will make it more difficult to recruit and retain those officers.

The Minnesota Department of Education responded and said it will provide SROs and districts guidance and clarity for the new law in coming days.

Story by Jennifer Lewerentz / KNSI

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