Fergus Falls Forum

Fergus Falls will once again be hosting hundreds of bikers July 29th, 2010, when the National MS Society’s annual MS TRAM tour, sponsored by the Star Tribune, rolls through town. The Fergus Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau received word Thursday night that Fergus Falls had been chosen as a host city. Cyclists participating in the 2010 MS TRAM tour will spend Thursday night (July 29th) in Fergus Falls and then ride on the Central Lakes Trail to Alexandria.

Fergus Falls has only once previously hosted the Star Tribune MS TRAM tour, which was in 2007.

U Motors will be closing its Fergus Falls location, just of Interstate 94, before Santa delivers presents this year. The business, which sells snowmobiles, ATV’s, dirt bikes, as well as a variety of racing clothing merchandise, will officially be closed for business December 1st, 2009. According to U Motors employees in Fergus Falls, owners of U Motors were not satisfied with the sales of the Fergus Falls store.Customers looking for going-out-of-business deals, currently can get 50% off all of their apparel, helmets, and jackets. All of their other inventory is being sold for “at cost”.

Their Fargo location, on 38th Street Southwest, will remain open. U Motors purchased former Edge Motor-sports in late 2007, and later opened their 30,000 square foot facility off Interstate 94.

Lakeland Hospice and Home Care celebrated the completion of their new Hospice House on Tuesday. The $2.6 million project has been under construction for the past several months. While the facility is finished, patients won’t move into the center until later this month. The facility features a private balcony in each patients room, as well as individual temperature controls. In addition, there’s a elevator, chapel, and a children’s play room. On average, room and board at the Hospice House costs $185 per day. The next closest Hospice House is located in St. Cloud/

Residents at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Fergus Falls will soon be enjoying 50-inch high-definition televisions in their lounge and public areas. Governor Tim Pawlenty said the move was designed to put an end to the embarrassing episode for a cost-conscious administration. Initially, the State government purchased two-dozen sets of high-definition televisions, worth upwards of $60,000, to help occupy patients in the state’s sex offender lockup. 14 of the televisions will be transferred to veterans homes statewide, and the remaining will either go to other state agencies, or sold, to recoup some of the cost. The Veterans Home in Fergus Falls will receive two of the television sets, and homes in Silver Bay, Minneapolis, and Hastings will also receive a few. Jon Skillingstad, the administrator of the veterans home in Fergus Falls, said the new televisions will be a welcome addition.

The federal stimulus package has provided paychecks this year for nearly 12,000 workers in Minnesota. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has helped keep or add new jobs in education, prisons, construction, and other industries. Minnesota state finance officials reported on Monday that the stimulus created or saved 11,800 Minnesota jobs as of the end of September.  Currently, Minnesota has spent $1.6 billion, or about one third of it’s $4.7 billion, that the state will recieve from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Ac, which was put into place by President Barack Obama.

At the end of August, Minnesota’s unemployment rate was at 8%, with over 120,000 jobs lost in 2009, alone.

Local construction projects that directly benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes upgrading of over 20 miles of Interstate 94 in the Fergus Falls area, and the Concord Street bridge, which is set to open towards the end of October.

A level three sex offender will be moving to the 700-block of Junius Avenue on October 12th, according to the Fergus Falls Police Department. Mark Anthony Rehm, age 25, was convicted for criminal sexual contact and failure to register as a predatory offender. Rhem has a history of sexual contact with female victims ranging for ages four to 14. The Fergus Falls Police Department said he is not wanted by the police, as he has already served his sentence. A meeting will be held on October 7th, at 6PM, at the Government Services Center in Ottertail Lake Room. Community members will be able to ask questions and learn more about Rhem’s future release on October 12th.

Over 700 people turned out for the T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) Party gathering Tuesday night at NP Park in Fergus Falls.  The event was organized by Heat of the Land Conservatives, a Minnesota-based organization. Some attendees protested the federal government’s spending; while others were there to listen and observe. In addition to government spending, other issues discussed included: immigration, illegal aliens, and climate change. The event was live on radio with talk show radio host, Scott Hennen.

Fergus Falls is getting national attention after school officials decided not to show President Barack Obama’s “Back-to-School” speech at the time of airing. Instead, the Independent School District #544 will preview President Obama’s address to students, and then allow teachers to show it to students; if they’d like. A letter, which can be viewed here, was sent home this week to parents regarding this issue. This action, however, has gained national attention — most notably by talk-radio host, Ed Schultz, who is calling the superintendent, Mr. Gerald Ness, racist. With this attention, Mr. Ness’ office has been receiving countless emails and phone calls from people around the country voicing their concerns.

But is Fergus Falls alone? The answer is simply, no. Hundreds of other schools across the nation, including districts in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin have also decided to wait to broadcast Obama’s speech on Tuesday.

Minnesota 4-H officials are sending roughly 120 young people home from the Minnesota State Fair after some individuals came down with H1N1, or, swine flu — and, some of those individuals are from Fergus Falls.  Four 4-H members and one staff member were confirmed having the H1N1 virus. The other individuals were sent home because they stayed in the same fair dome in which others had confirmed H1N1.

Back in Fergus Falls, local health officials at Lake Regional Hospital and Fergus Falls Public Schools are taking this case, and the H1N1 virus, in general, very seriously. There are currently restrictions at the birthing suite at the hospital, which means only fathers and close relatives are allowed to visit patients. In addition, Fergus Falls School officials are requesting students who have a temperature of 100 degrees, or higher, to stay home for at least 24 hours, or until they’re feeling better.

Motorists will encounter lane closures when crews begin milling and paving areas of the Highway 210 and Redwood Lane intersection in Fergus Falls on Sept. 8.  Crews will add a free flow right turn lane from westbound Highway 210 to Redwood Lane and install a signal system at the intersection.

Work will be restricted to Monday through Thursday. Lane closures will continue through mid-October.

Central Specialties Inc. is the prime contractor for the $324,000 safety improvement project. The resurfacing portion of the project is scheduled to be completed by mid-October. The signal system will be completely installed and fully functional by late fall.

The project is one of nearly 100 Minnesota road and bridge projects that will be funded with $502 million in federal economic stimulus dollars.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation urges motorists to always drive with caution, slow down in work zones and never enter a roadway that has been blocked with barriers or cones.