Perham Area Community Center executive director to step down Nov. 3

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – After four years on the job, Leigh Sheback, executive director for the Perham Area Community Center, will stepdown from his role on Nov. 3

Sheback led the fitness and wellness center through the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw the facility during their major reconstruction.

“All of the hard projects now are done and we got a good staff in place,” said Sheback. “So it was just time for me to move on.”

He also said he believes he’s leaving the PACC in a good spot for the next executive director.

“We’re in a very good spot,” he said. “And I think now is a very good time for me to step aside and the PACC (Board) to move in whatever direction they want to next. We are financially secure. We got our donations coming in to finish the project here in the next couple of years. We have all of our programming that we were offering pre-pandemic just started back up and the last piece of that was roller skating that started up last Friday for the kids in the surrounding communities. Construction is wrapping up. We’ve got a couple walkthroughs to do and a couple punch item lists to do, but then we are all done. So we’re back to where we were pre-pandemic … and that’s a good sign.”

The PACC Board of Directors is expected to hire a replacement executive director in coming months and Sheback said, that person should be ready for a lot of budgeting and maybe have some finance tools in their back pocket.

“You need to be able to understand budgeting and financing, and have a good grasp of running the department from a financial standpoint,” said Sheback. “That’s still going to be one of the most important things for a director that steps into this particular role to have that to fall back on. Being able to know the ins and outs of not just an aquatics budget, but also from an overall standpoint.”

Sheback said he plans on focusing a little more on his own businesses before deciding what he wants to do next.

United Community Bank donates $10k to Frazee-Vergas Public Schools for Hornet Pride Picnics

United Community Bank, with locations across the lakes area, donated $10,000 to Frazee-Vergas Public Schools last Friday from the proceeds of their weekly summer Hornet Pride Picnic series.

Every week during the summer, the bank hosted a free lunch with a suggested donation to benefit the athletics and arts departments at Frazee-Vergas Public Schools.

Brittany Wake, lead universal banker at UCB Frazee-Vergas, said, during each picnic, she saw the community come together to support their school and its programs, and the events wouldn’t have happened without the work from the coaches, players and other students pitching in to volunteer.

“Great, great community effort,” said Wake. “A lot of people coming in to support the athletics and fine arts programs at the high school. Had a lot of community people coming through and thanking not only the students and coaches for working them, but also the bank for supporting it. And then, all the local businesses around that made it possible.”

Wake said United Community Bank was proud to host the picnics for the school district because strong communities aren’t created overnight; they take a lot of work from local organizations, groups, businesses and people to make those communities strong and UCB was happy to play their small role.

“We just want to give back to the community the same way the community gives to us,” she said. “I know, as much as we are community based and as much as we support the community, it really is a two-way street with the community coming back and supporting us as well. So us putting on these events is great, but we also couldn’t do it without the community’s help behind it.”

The donation was presented to the school district during the Frazee/Park Rapids football game on Oct. 13.

1 injured in Highway 371 crash in Nisswa

One person was injured during a two-vehicle crash on Highway 371 in Nisswa on Tuesday night.

On Oct. 17 at 9:08 p.m., a 2018 Jeep Cherokee, driven by 53-year-old Douglas Charles Haataja of Lake Shore, Minn., was northbound on Highway 371 when it collided with a southbound 2007 Pontiac G6, driven by 20-year-old Cheyenne Rose Bryant of Pequot Lakes, at the County Road 77 intersection.

Airbags deployed in both vehicles during the crash.

One of Haataja’s two passengers, 53-year-old Roxann Rochelle Schulz of Columbia Heights, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to Essentia Health St. Joseph’s in Brainerd for treatment.

No other injuries were reported at the scene.

All four vehicle occupants were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision and law enforcement believes alcohol may have factored into the incident.

Cannabis manufacturing facility coming to Grand Rapids

Minnesota is getting ready to put up millions to grow marijuana in-state. HWY35 Cannabis LLC plans to open a cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility inside the 138-acre building which used to house a lumber mill in Grand Rapids. The mill closed in 2008 and city leaders have been seeking a use for it for years.

“Kind of a bucket list for me in terms of bringing an industry, some jobs back to where I grew up,” HWY35 Project Partner and Investor John Hyduke said.

The project is expected to cost an estimated $67 million. The company hopes to grow a diverse range of cannabis strains that could be used in gummies, beverages, topicals, and more. Then, they’ll sell them to dispensaries. They don’t plan to sell on site and will be seeking two licenses: cultivation and manufacturing.

The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board is granting HWY35 $10 million in loans to become “an industry leader for the state of Minnesota.” Officials say will be equipped with LED grow lights, HVAC systems, and automated nutrient delivery systems, and is expected to create 400 jobs and increase tax revenue.

Story by WCCO

Dilworth home suffers ‘significant’ damage from fire Tuesday night

Fire gutted a Dilworth home Tuesday night. The fire was reported shortly before 10 p.m. at the house on 503 4th Street Northwest.

Fire Chief Scott Payne says the home was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived on the scene. Flames were coming from the roof and from the backside of the house where there was a deck. Residents of the home escaped safely.

Payne says there was a south wind pushing some of the flames toward neighboring homes so firefighters set up hoses on the sides of the houses to protect homeowners on both sides of the blaze. Firefighters knocked down the fire quickly but the damage was significant.

It’s possible the fire may have started at the rear of the home but the state fire marshal’s office is continuing the investigation.

Story by Don Haney / KFGO

Becker County Board discusses purchase of Toad Mountain, west of Snellman

The Becker County Board is discussing a proposal made by the Trust For Public Lands to purchase Toad Mountain on Highway 34 for non-motorized public use.

Barry Nelson, chair of the Becker County Board, explained the proposal to the other board members during their Oct. 17 meeting.

“We have this group that has come to us that is trying to look at Toad Mountain,” said Nelson. “Toad Mountain is for sale and there’s a nonprofit that is trying to keep unique pieces in public hands and this is a very special piece of land. They are looking to put together a funding package and put it in county hands … through a purchase using grant dollars.”

Toad Mountain is the tallest point in Becker County and sits on the western edge of Toad Lake, about 8 miles west of Snellman.

Nelson said he think the area would be perfect for birdwatching and scenic trails, if it ever did come under county control.

“They asked what our intent would be, if we did have the land, and both Richard (Vareberg) and I kinda thought this would be a non-motorized, hiking, birdwatching, kind of a non-motorized use area out there,” he said.

Nelson also admitted the county doesn’t have money to spend on new land acquisition, but Trust For Public Lands told the commissioner they would apply for multiple grants to cover the costs of the acquisition.

“The people that own it are interested in … it being public land and they’d like it to be in the county hands,” said Nelson. “So the next step would be looking into this and I think at that point we will incur some expense as an appraisal … so we do want to look into this a little further and I think we’ll have to expect some expenses and I think we should get those numbers down, but I think it’s a pretty interesting property.”

The commissioners agreed to begin looking at the possible purchase of Toad Mountain and will order an appraisal for the land as a first step.

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