Sen. Rob Kupec, other legislators, attend child care listening session at Laker Prep in Detroit Lakes on Wednesday night
Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – Minnesota state Senator Rob Kupec and two other members of the legislature attended a child care listening session with more than 25 providers, parents and community leaders at Laker Prep in Detroit Lakes on Wednesday night.
The event, hosted by Laker Prep and Kids Count On Us, a statewide coalition of child care providers, parents and teachers, was geared toward having the lawmakers listen to concerns from attendees about what they are seeing in their own care facilities and in the lives of parents and teachers.
Mary Rotter, owner/operator of Laker Prep and a member of the Detroit Lakes School Board, said providers want to spend more time caring for children and less time doing regulatory, administrative paperwork that may be outdated.
“I think the people that we have listening recognize that we aren’t against policies and procedures, we just want them to be reasonable,” said Rotter. “Because we want our time spent on children and working with families instead of paperwork, or something that maybe has been there for a long time, but may not be relevant anymore. So, we’re all about health and safety, just what’s reasonable.”
Much of the discussion during the event centered around required certification elements and how to increase slots providers can fill.
According to Kids Count On Us, about 700 kids in Becker County need some form of early child care, but can’t find and openings at facilities in the lakes area.
Attendees also told the legislators that some colleges have begun to drop their early childhood education programs, which can make it more difficult to find quality teachers.
State Senator Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, said these child care listening sessions are important because they get to hear from the providers directly and brainstorm possible solutions together.
“I really enjoyed hearing how the local community has banded together to try and help each other solve the problem, working collaboratively instead of competitively” said Mitchell. “If more communities could model that, we definitely need to fix it at the county and the state levels … but collaborative is always the best way to go. I love seeing that the community has already taken that initiative.”
During the session, Sen. Kupec said he knows investing in kids early pays off the most later on because starting their educational and social experiences at an early-childhood age can give them an advantage when they enter the K-12 school system.
“That whole zero to five range, that success by six, is a lot of what we talk about and if you can get kids on the right track, by that age, you are going to solve a whole bunch of society’s problems later on,” said Kupec. “Unfortunately, this is the area where we are not investing the most amount of money in. You get the most bang for your buck when you invest in early childhood.”
Kupec also said the upcoming legislative session will be policy focused and he expects they will be trying to address early childhood education concerns.
Kupec, Mitchell and Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis, told the attendees, or anyone with child care concerns, to reach out to their offices directly by phone or email, if any additional question arise after the listening session.
The Minnesota Legislature will reconvene on Feb. 12, 2024.
NutriSource to open service dog training facility near Twin Cities
NutriSource, a Perham, Minnesota based dog food company, is opening a new service dog training facility.
The Spot located in Greenfield, west of the Twin Cities, will support veterans and first responders on their path toward healing with their four legged best friend by their side.
The facility, along with training, will offer daycare, grooming, standard kennels, and luxury kennels suites.
With over 17 years of law enforcement experience, Michael Boehmer will be the new head trainer for The Spot and said he’s excited to have the chance to give back to the community.
Boehmer said, quote: “It’s our way to bring a new service to the community but also give back to the community … We’re not just a business here looking for profit, we’re here because we have a mission in mind and that’s to give back to the communities that give so much to us.”
The Spot will be hosting an open house in Greenfield, Minn. on November 1st.
Story by MacGregor Sharpe / KVRR
Grand Forks man faces multiple charges following pursuit
A 24 year old Grand Forks man who was found hiding in the English Coulee following a police pursuit faces numerous charges.
On Oct. 26 around 3 a.m., Grand Forks police responded to a report of an individual with a gun. When officers arrived on scene the individual was gone.
The suspect vehicle was later spotted on the 1400 block of South 17th Street. The driver refused to stop and, after a brief chase, the pursuit was terminated for safety reasons.
A short time later police located the vehicle parked on the 2900 block of Columbine Court with a female inside.
A perimeter was set up and a K-9 team tracked the suspect to the coulee.
The GFPD says Houston Morin was arrested and charged with terrorizing…criminal trespass…and an active warrant.
The female in the vehicle – 22 year old Shalyn Lewis of Grand Forks – was charged with fleeing… accomplice to reckless endangerment…and giving false information to law enforcement.
Detroit Lakes Amateur Radio Club commemorates Mark Knutson with plaque on Detroit Mountain radio repeater
This summer the Detroit Lakes Amateur Radio Club installed a repeater on the top of Detroit Mountain, which extended the local ham radio operators reach four fold.
On Thursday, Oct. 26, local radio club installed a commemorative plaque on that repeater dedicated to Mark Knutson, the Detroit Mountain general manager who was killed in a bicycle crash in July, since he was instrumental in cooperating with the group to allow them to install their antenna at the Mountain.
The local amateur radio club was established in 1975 by Robert John of Detroit Lakes, who’s radio handle was WB0FVL
John was a Motorola repairman and his initial repeater was installed on the mountain nearly 50 years ago. That repeater has moved to various locations over the decades, but, in March 2023, members of Detroit Mountain, the city of Detroit Lakes and members of the DL Amateur Radio Club met to see if the mountain would be willing to let them install their mountain top repeater once again.
On July 13, the new repeater was installed on the Mountain’s west peak.
Derek Oldenburger, president of the amateur radio club, said, before they moved the repeater, the operators were only able to reach a broadcast radius of about 15 miles. Now, with the repeater placed back on top of the mountain, local ham operators can reach past Fargo, Wadena, Brainerd and even Hilsboro, N.D.
He said he got into amateur radio in high school and loves fixing up old WWII radio equipment.
“I got interested in high school and I’ve always enjoyed refurbishing old WWII radio equipment,” said Oldenburger. “Ham radio is a very diverse hobby. There’s a lot of things for different people. Some people like to talk to stations in Europe and that’s called D-X-ing. Some people like to work with equipment, that’s what I like to do and some people like to operate radios in their car. Many different things.”
Shaun Carlson, club member and alderman first ward in Detroit Lakes, said he got into amateur radio because of his father in-law, but what really set the hook on him was when he was able to contact an extraterrestrial one afternoon.
“Last summer, we were driving up to Wirt, my father-in-law and I, and one other guy,” said Carlson. “So I had put my mobile rig into my father-in-law’s car and that day the space station was flying over. And I don’t know if you know this, but there is an amateur radio repeater on the space station … the third pass that day, it was the middle of the afternoon … but I heard callsign NA1ISS, welcome to the ISS, and I was like, that’s the space station. And there was a pause for a minute and then I went NA1ISS, KF0IBC and it came back KF0IBC, NA1ISS, welcome to the space station, five by nine, good signal, and I said, ‘great, thanks for being there, that’s awesome.’ KF0IBC clear, 73, that’s kind of the short code. And off we went … and people try to do this all the time and here I am just driving down the road in a car by chance. So that’s my favorite story.”
The group said starter ham radio sets can be purchased for as little as $50, but, they warned, the hobby can get addictive, which can lead to bigger radio sets and equipment very easily.
The Detroit Lakes Amateur Radio Club meets in-person on the third Saturday of each month at the Holiday Inn at 9 a.m. Anyone with questions about ham radio, or looking to join the club, is encouraged to stop by the meeting.
The group also holds a weekly squawking session on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. on the club’s net channel of 147.195 MHz. Any ham operator or visitor is encouraged to check-in during their Sunday night sessions.
Officer injured during Princeton police shooting released from hospital
One of the five law enforcement officers injured in a shootout in central Minnesota earlier this month has been released from the hospital.
The Elk River Police Department said the officer was shot in the right arm and required more than nine hours of surgery.
Members of a drug task force were serving a warrant at Karl Holmberg’s home near Princeton when they were met with gunfire.
Three members of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office and an officer with the Princeton Police Department were shot, along with the Elk River officer. Two of the Sherburne deputies were shot in bulletproof vests, and the rest of the officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Perham’s Christmas Plus Bazaar returns Nov. 4
Perham’s Christmas Plus Bazaar is back this holiday season.
The event has been held annually since 1977 when Perham’s Women of Focus first gathered crafters from around the area to hold the Christmas-themed vendor event.
The Christmas Plus Bazaar will feature display tables of arts and crafts, and a wide variety of handmade Christmas decorations.
The event will be held at Prairie Wind Middle School and Heart of Lakes Elementary on Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to the Perham Chamber of Commerce, all of the vendor table slots for this year’s bazaar have been filled and attendees can expect a wide array of vendors to choose from.
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