Fergus Falls Forum

From Jay Leno making fun of the Daily Journal, to the hiring of over 40 employees at ACS, it’s been another great year in Fergus Falls. With the year almost over, Fergus Forum is taking a look back at the “Top 10 stories of 2009″. This article is written more like a blog post, just to give you the heads up.

10. Jay Leno pokes fun at Daily Journal on the Leno’s show debut
Our “community asset” sure knows how to get things right. Maybe they didn’t have photos of beautiful Fergus Falls from the previous years to display on the cover of their 2009 Summer magazine publication. Maybe there’s another Fergus Falls in northern Canada, and when its summer, its cold. We’re guessing not. Well, if you remember, on the Jay Leno Show debut, during their segment called “Headlines” they found a copy of the Daily Journal’s Summer 2009 magazine which depicted three fishermen sometime in May, and “it was dang cold” according to the Daily Journal. Here’s a quick fact for you, this isn’t the only time the Daily Journal has been poked-fun of on “Headlines”… If we go back to the beginning of 2005, their Year in Review section for 2004 was also featured on the Tonight Show.

9. Wal-mart plans downgraded; still will include groceries and updated pharmacy
We love our Walmart, and its a sure bet that everyone is looking forward to the completion of the updated store early this summer. However, do you remember that the Fergus Falls’ was originally scheduled to have much larger expansion than the current expansion? Yeah, it’s true. “The revised plans call for an additional 53,000 square feet which would make the proposed store a total of 149,000 square feet in size, which makes it 24,000 square feet smaller than what the original plans called for.” While it was disappointing, it’s better than not getting a updated Walmart, right?

8. Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) to hire 43
It was great news when we received word that ACS, located past Minnesota Motors on Pebble Lake Road, was planning on hiring an additional 43 people. With all of the negative news we’ve heard this past year about the economy, it was certainly refreshing to hear about local job growth.

7. Fergus Falls High School students raise $1,700 for 2 year old cancer patient
Students at the Fergus Falls High School raised $1,700 to help Chevelle Korby, a 2 year old cancer patient that is currently being treated for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, which is a rare form of cancer. For an entire week, students raised money by purchasing raffle tickets. The winners of the raffle shaved a teacher’s head at an assembly in the school gym. In addition, the high school students had a dance party, and the money raised from admission was donated to the Korby family.

6. Nelson to remain open as Chrysler cuts 19 dealerships in Minnesota
Chrysler was sure having a tough time back in May — but Nelson Auto in Fergus Falls wasn’t. While 19 dealerships in Minnesota (including a Detroit Lakes dealership) lost the Chrysler franchise, Fergus Falls’ Nelson Auto was selling enough vehicles to continue to support the franchise.

5. New York Mills dog breeder faces charges for animal abuse
Santa probably didn’t deliver too many presents to Kathy Bauck on Christmas. Back in March, she was in a middle of a animal abuse scandal. It all started when an employee, who was doing undercover work, discovered her facility, “Pick of the Litter” brutally abusing animals. A Minneapolis television station eventually discovered the video, and it was aired on regional television.

4. Otter Tail Ag Enterprises defaults on $31 million dollar loan
Back in February, the investors of Otter Tail Ag Enterprises recieved some bad news… The corporation defaulted on a $31 million dollar loan. However, the ethanol plant is still operating, thanks to a determined CEO, Anthony Hicks.

3. Local residents speak out about Council’s ice arena decision
While this story in general may not deserve to take the No. 3 spot of our list, it did cause a small revolution that is in the process of changing how our city decides on public projects. After the City Council’s decision to commit $4 million to a new hockey arena, some residents felt that the City feels doesn’t care about their thoughts and opinions. Aww… Well, a group of residents led by Peter Haugen protested outside of the Otter Tail County courthouse, and television stations from Fargo and Alexandria even showed up. If we fast forward a few weeks, Daryl Synstelien started the Fergus Votes Committee, in which he wrote ordinance for capital improvement projects within the City. Mr. Synstelien and the rest of Fergus Votes eventually received enough signatures for the ordinance and are waiting to hear back from the City. It’s very cool to see democracy working in our own community.

2. Red River may crest at 43 feet in Fargo
The 2009 Red River Flood was certainly a big current event in March. With record river levels, it certainly was a scary time for people living in the communities of Fargo-Moorhead and Whapeton-Breckenridge, as well as the surrounding areas. Fortunately with brave area volunteers, sand bags greatly reduced the negative impact of the 2009 Red River Flood.

1. Fire causes damage to Kirkbride Tower
We feel this was the biggest story in 2009, not necessarily for Fergus Falls, but for Fergus Forum. With the help of our community forum members, Fergus Forum was able to break this story to the region. Fergus Forum even scored a mention from WDAY, out of Fargo, ND, when they used photos taken by Travis Tommerdahl, who posted them on our community forum.  So, enough talking about unnecessary information, let’s take a look at what happened to our prized possession — the Kirkbride. At around 7:00PM on a June night, a lighting strike hit the tower of the Regional Treatment Center’s (RTC) Kirkbride Tower, which caused it to ignite in flames. Fortunately, with the hard work of the Fergus Falls Fire Department, they were able to put out the fire. The very top portion of the tower was destroyed, however it has been temporarily repaired.

So, there you have it! As we celebrate the beginning of a new year decade, be safe, and we’ll be seeing you back at the Forums once your hangover goes away.

The Fergus Falls Police Department executed two search warrants on Tuesday, which lead to the seizure of computers, and a large marijuana bust.

In one of the warrants, the Police Department seized computers that they believed were linked to sending child pornography on a residence located on the 700-block of South Union Avenue.

The other warrant lead to the discovery of upwards of 60-grams of marijuana, which is a felony offense in Minnesota. Several items of drug paraphernalia were also found at the Fergus Falls home.

A complaint will be filed with the Otter Tail County Attorney’s office for a fifth degree controlled substance crime, according to Fergus Falls police. In the case of the seizure of computers linked to child pornography, no arrests have been made.

North Dakota’s attorney general said he expects the state to sue Minnesota over a plan there to tax carbon created by electrical generation.

After discussing the issue with the state Industrial Commission in a closed session this month, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said “It is very likely that we will be suing the state of Minnesota.”

At issue is a measure by Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission to add a fee of between $4 and $34 per ton of carbon dioxide to the cost of electrical generation starting in 2012. The majority of electricity in North Dakota is generated by coal-fired power plants, which emit a large amount of carbon relative to other fuels sources. North Dakota officials argue that the move would place an unfair tax on electricity from the state and discourage its use by Minnesota utilities.

Stenehjem said possible legal action would relate to constitutional protections against restrictions on commerce between states.

The North Dakota Legislature in 2007 allocated $500,000 for litigation on the carbon tax proposal, and the Industrial Commission has protested the plan more than once since then. Stenehjem said that he and other officials have met with the Minnesota governor and attorney general and North Dakota officials have exhausted other means of resolving the dispute. He said that a venue or a timeframe has not been chosen for litigation.

Besides their argument that Minnesota’s move is an illegal attempt to regulate utilities outside of that state, Stenehjem said the plan does not take into account technology here to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants by capturing carbon dioxide or converting coal to cleaner burner forms.

“What they’re failing to recognize is that we’re doing much more than Minnesota” in terms of clean coal research, Stenehjem said. “We don’t need Minnesota to come in and say that they love the environment more than we do.”

He said that state officials have invited Minnesota regulators to visit carbon capture projects here, but no one has accepted the offer.

Carbon dioxide produced by the burning of coal and other fossil fuels has been blamed for global warming.

Hannah Draxten, a former student and star athlete from Fergus Falls, is out for the remainder of the Hawkeyes’ season at the University of Iowa. A herniated disc forced the University of Iowa sophomore is to blame.

Lisa Bluder, the head coach for the Hawkeyes’ girls basketball team, said Draxten played through the pain for four games this season. Draxten has attempted to overcome the pain, although injections have failed to improve the condition. In addition, Draxten has lost mobility, and may possibly need surgery. Bluder was quick to point out that the team is looking forward to Draxten’s return, next season.

Draxten joined the Hawkeres from Fergus Falls in 2008, after graduating from the Fergus Falls High School. She has averaged three points per game in her freshman season.

Andrew Leonard, a graduate student at UND in Grand Forks, has been named Outstanding Center of Excellence Student of the Year by the Federal Aviation Administration. This is the first time a UND student has won this award.

According to the Grand Forks Herald, Leonard was nominated for the award by Kim Kenville, the director of Aerospace graduate studies. In her nomination letter, Kenville stated that Leonard is committed to academic achievement, is willing to assist others, and is doing valuable and original research.

Leonard is from Dent, Minn., which is roughly 30 miles north-east of Fergus Falls, where he is part owner/operator of East Silent Resort, along with his family. Andrew also serves on the Otter Tail Country Tourism Board. In addition, Andrew carries a 4.0 grade point average at UND. He currently holds a private pilot license, something he’s had since 2007, and is working towards his commercial license. Andrew is also a graduate research assistant, in which he teaches undergraduate courses in long-range navigation, airline operations and management, among others.

Leonard will be recognized at an awards banquet when he ventures to Washington, D.C., on January 9th.

Minnesota would just barely miss keeping its eight Congressional seats, based on an analysis of new state population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Congressional reapportionment forecast by State Demographer Tom Gillaspy projects Missouri would receive the last seat apportioned, with Minnesota just missing by about 1,100 people – a difference of less than one month’s population change for Minnesota. The difference between California, Texas, Missouri and Minnesota for the last three seats is about 2,200 people, which is well within the potential estimating error.

“Basically, this is a dead heat,” said Gillaspy. “Remember, these are just estimates by the Census Bureau, and our chances of retaining eight seats are improving every day. What will decide the issue is getting everyone in Minnesota counted in the 2010 Census.” Every household in the state will receive the 10-question Census form in mid-March 2010, which should then be returned to the Census Bureau by April 1.

The Census Bureau estimates the population of Minnesota at 5,266,214 in July 2009, up by 35,647, or 0.68 percent, over 2008. This is similar to the growth experienced by Minnesota the previous year. North Dakota increased by 0.85 percent, a remarkable turnaround for a state that was declining in population at the beginning of the decade. South Dakota increased by 0.98 percent, Wisconsin by 0.48 percent and Iowa by 0.46 percent.

Apportionment – resetting the number of U.S. House of Representative seats allocated to each state as required by the Constitution – is based on the populations counted in the Census taken every 10 years. States projected to lose seats are Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, which is expected to lose two. States projected to gain seats are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, Washington and Texas, which is expected to gain four seats.

A cross country storm will play the part of Scrooge on Christmas, bringing a blizzard to the Fergus Falls area Thursday night. Up to a foot and a half to two feet of snow may fall upon the Fergus Falls area, along with high winds.

According to Fergus Forum’s weather partner, AccuWeather, between December 22nd and December 26th, the direct Fergus Falls area can expect 16.5 inches of fresh snow. The majority of the snow will fall late Christmas eve, however it will continue on into Christmas day when high winds blow in.

The National Weather Service has listed Fergus Falls in a winter storm warning, but it is expect to be upgraded to a blizzard watch, or blizzard warning, on Christmas Eve. Stay tuned to Fergus Forum for the latest weather updates, as well as area business closings or delays.

The Fergus Falls City Council is still undecided on the Pamida parking lot, on the east side of downtown in Fergus Falls. The city-owned property, is roughly 19,250 square feet, worth about $385,000.

While the city sell the entire parking lot, it is considering selling roughly 90% of it after officials from U.S. Bank became interested in it. Officials from U.S. Bank say they are interested in building a 3,200 square foot building, which will cost roughly $2 million, at the present site of the Pamida parking lot.

Even though U.S. Bank already has a Fergus Falls location, it must relocate before the bank’s lease ends this time next year. Downtown business owners are not to happy about the idea of the city selling the majority of the parking space, however. Several businesses rely on the free parking area for their employees and customers.

U.S. Bank has hinted that they would be willing to fund a replacement parking area, which could be a benefit to residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

On January 18th, the Fergus Falls City Council will once again continue talks about the sale of the Pamida parking lot.

A restaurant in downtown Fergus Falls failed a alcohol compliance check Thursday evening, according to the Fergus Falls Police Department. According to police, an employee at the restaurant sold alcohol to an underage operative working with police. The restaurant is the only one, of five, that failed the check on Thursday. The employee and the restaurant which sold the alcohol both face a $500 fine. Authorities have yet to name the restaurant and the employee who made the transaction.