Man shot by 10-year-old while hunting during youth deer hunting opening weekend in Hubbard County

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A man was injured after being shot during a hunting accident in Hubbard County Sunday morning.

According to the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office, on Oct. 22 at 9:56 a.m., emergency dispatchers received a report of a man who suffered gunshot wounds at a residence on County Road 9.

Upon arrival, first responders discovered 50-year-old Gary Peters was bleeding from multiple wounds and was transported to Sanford Hospital in Bemidji before being airlifted to a Fargo Hospital due to the seriousness of his injuries.

A preliminary investigation indicates Peters had taken a 10-year-old juvenile out deer hunting that morning as part of youth deer hunting season weekend. As they returned to their vehicle, Peters instructed the juvenile to unload the rifle.

While trying to unload the bolt action Ruger .270 caliber rifle, the youth squeezed the trigger while Peters was standing in the line of fire.

The bullet that struck Peters went through both of his buttocks before exiting.

His condition is currently unknown.

Two injured in Douglas County Highway 29 crash on Sunday night

Two people were injured in a three-vehicle crash on Highway 29 in Douglas County Sunday night.

On Oct. 22 at 7:09 p.m., a 1994 John Deere 4960 tractor, driven by 83-year-old Joseph Ben Hellerman of Parkers Prairie, and a 2000 Chevrolet S10, driven by 76-year-old Mary Louise Hellerman of Parkers Prairie, were turning north onto Highway 29 from a field road when they were struck by a northbound 2011 Subaru Outback, driven by 32-year-old Allen Anthony Uselman of Wadena.

Both Joseph Hellerman and Uselman suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the crash and were transported to nearby medical clinics for treatment.

Mary Hellerman did not report any injuries at the scene.

She and Uselman were both wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision and law enforcement believes alcohol did not factor into the incident.

Detroit Mountain Recreation Area hires new general manager

Detroit Mountain Recreation Area has hired a new general manager to run the day-to-day operations of Detroit Lakes’ winter destination.

Tom Thiel, a former beverage sales manager and outdoors enthusiast, said he knows he’s going to try to fill some big shoes, but he plans on continuing the Mountain’s success, which means reaching outside of the lakes area to draw more daily tourists.

“Obviously the shoes to fill are very large,” said Thiel. “My number one goal is to come in here and keep the Mountain going in the direction it has been. I think it’s been a huge success for the community. The goal is, looking forward, to draw not just from the proximity of Detroit Lakes, but to tie in more to the population in the Fargo-Moorhead area. I think there is just so much that this area offers that it’s a great show piece for Detroit Lakes. And, if we’re not getting more people here, we’re doing ourselves a disservice.”

Thiel will take over from Mark Knutson, who was killed in a bicycle accident in July and championed an event heavy Detroit Mountain calendar to bring in more guests, more frequently, something Thiel hopes to keep up.

He also said, even though the first snow has made its way into the forecast, the temperatures are going to need to be consistently in the teens and twenties before they can really start to pile it up.

“We’re always dreaming snow,” he said. “A thing we need to see happen is we need to see temps in the 20s. If it’s in the 20-degree or less range, it’s snowmaking season. But, until that’s sustainable, it’s a process that doesn’t really bare a lot of fruit … if it’s going to be 30s or 40s the next day, it’s all for nothing.”

The Mountain is tentatively planning on opening the day after Thanksgiving for the first runs of the season, but that start date is completely dependent on the weather.

He also added they are transitioning to a new point-of-sale system at Detroit Mountain and they will be keeping their early-bird season pass pricing through the November opening.

Thiel also said anyone looking for some winter hours at a great place to work should seriously consider applying at Detroit Mountain this season.

“The number one benefit always is you get a free season pass when you are an employee out here,” said Thiel. “We’re always looking for good people. We’re looking for people across the Mountain from lift ops to our café to our rentals, so anyone looking for some employment this winter should definitely look at Detroit Mountain.”

For more information on open positions at Detroit Mountain, or to purchase an early-bird season pass, check out their website at: detroitmountain.com.

Pizza Ranch in Detroit Lakes scheduled to open mid-January

It’s official.

Detroit Lakes is getting a Pizza Ranch at the former Spitfire restaurant location on North Shore Drive

Nick Price, owner/operator of the Pizza Ranch in Perham and operations manager for the new Detroit Lakes location, said the whole sale process took nearly 10 months to complete, but, in the end, it’s going to be well worth the wait.

“(The sale) got finalized about two weeks ago,” said Price. “We got all of our numbers together and everything came in on budget, so that was good. We’re moving forward and we’re hoping for a mid-January open.”

The new Pizza Ranch will include buffet pizza and other items, an arcade/play zone and a large patio they hope to utilize during the summer. He also said they’ll be saving a portion of the old Spitfire bar to include some alcoholic service.

“There will be an arcade with (the Detroit Lakes location) as well,” he said. “If you’ve been to Perham, it’ll be a little smaller than Perham since we’ve done our expansion. But there is still about 22 games going in there. We’ll have the games, the prize wall and everything else that goes with that. Something kind of unique with this one, being that Spitfire had that existing bar in there, we’re actually going to keep a small portion of that and kind of do walk-up beer and wine service. And then that beautiful patio out back, we’re going to utilize that during the summer as well. Just kind of some additional seating and another option for people.” 

Price said they are currently in the middle of their general manager search for the new restaurant and anyone looking for a new career with some previous restaurant management experience should consider applying online. 

When asked how Pizza Ranch is going to fit into a crowded Detroit Lakes pizza market, Price said, their buffet variety, arcade, and family friendly environment is going to set them apart from their competitors.

“Endless buffet,” said Price. “It’s quick. It’s simple. Also with our arcade, Pizza Ranch is a good family restaurant to come to. Especially, people with younger kids, picky eaters, we have so many options, there’s something out there for everyone to be happy with.”

The new Pizza Ranch is tentatively scheduled to open in mid-January.

M State named best community college in Minnesota; holds multiple top-10 programs

Minnesota State Community and Technical College has been named the number one, Best Community College in Minnesota, and eight of the college’s online degree and certificate programs have earned national Top 10 honors, according to three leading college planning websites.

In a news release, M State said they were awarded the designations from niche.com, BestColleges.com and EduMed.org.

The local college received a number one ranking for their online human resources program, health information technology program and mental and behavioral health certification program.

M State President Carrie Brimhall said: “The rankings speak to the outstanding quality and affordability of M State and M State’s academic programs. We as a college work hard to provide a high quality, low cost education to every M State student, every day, to make good on our promise of ‘A success story for every student.’”

The CEO of Niche.com, Luke Skurman, said, today, students and their families want to see a return on their investment before committing to a college education, which is something they try to promote on their website through testimonials, Department of Education statistics and other measurable values.

As a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, M State serves more than 6,500 students in credit courses each year in over 70 career and liberal arts programs online and in-person at its campuses in Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Wadena.

ND lawmakers return to Bismarck to pass additional budget bills after ND Supreme Court rules OMB bill invalid

North Dakota lawmakers are back in Bismarck Monday to deal with items that were added to the Office of Management and Budget bill during the regular session.

The North Dakota Supreme Court recently ruled that portions of the budget bill are unconstitutional because the bill violates the “one subject per bill” clause in the state Constitution.

The Legislative Management Committee has approved the introduction of 14 separate bills from the OMB bill, including seven appropriations measures and seven policy measures, plus a resolution of support for Israel. The Committee turned down more than 20 other bills.

Gov. Doug Burgum wanted measures dealing with income tax cuts and infrastructure spending, and he has asked the Legislature to reconsider and introduce those proposals.

Story by Jim Monk / KVRR

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