Fergus Falls Forum

What a spicy Cajun mix for the NFC championship game.

Brett Favre, headed for the Hall of Fame someday, highlights yet another comeback by facing the team he rooted for while growing up in Mississippi.

His Minnesota Vikings — ouch, say Packers fans — were on the way to their first Super Bowl trip in 33 years, with the 40-year-old quarterback resembling the wide-eyed youngster who took Green Bay to the title in the very same Superdome in 1997. However, in over time, the Vikings barely lost to the Saints.

And those Superdome tenants, the New Orleans Saints, are hosting a conference championship for the first time. A Super Bowl would provide a massive lift for a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina’s devastation and torment more than four years ago.

A Saints victory Sunday could set off Mardi Gras a few weeks early, with the celebration carrying on right up until the Feb. 7 big game in Miami.

Along with those tasty story lines, remember that these are the NFL’s two highest-scoring teams, with offensive playmakers who can light up scoreboards and make fans’ heads spin.

But they also have such defensive standouts as Vikings All-Pro end Jared Allen, who led the NFC with 14 1/2 sacks; Saints end Will Smith, who was second to Allen with 13; and New Orleans All-Pro Darren Sharper, a ball-hawking safety who ran back three of his league-leading nine interceptions for touchdowns and, incidentally, was dumped by the Vikings last year after four seasons in Minnesota.

TV couldn’t come up with a better script for prime-time viewing.

“It’s hard to explain,” Favre said. “But as exciting and as exhilarating as the win is, the reality is I was fortunate enough to win one Super Bowl (1997 in New Orleans), the next year we lose one. And I think more about the one we lost than the one we won. I can’t explain it to you how that feeling is, so the championship game is no different. I’ve always treated every playoff game like it’s the Super Bowl.”

Few of the Saints (14-3) have been in such a position. As a long-underachieving franchise since their founding in 1966, the Saints have been to exactly one conference final, losing at Chicago three years ago. This is just their seventh time in the playoffs in a 44-year existence perhaps most renowned for their fans wearing paper bags on their heads — nope, Favre never went that far growing up — and dubbing the team Aints.

Their recent success, particularly in the 2006 season following a year as nomads because of Katrina, has been inspiring. The prospect of being host in the rebuilt Superdome — a symbol for New Orleans as important as the Golden Gate Bridge is for San Francisco — has locals in a frenzy. One of the great party cities in America, New Orleans might be ready for an unprecedented celebration if the Saints conquer the Vikings (13-4).

“Sometimes you have to make those tough decisions and fight through adversity in order to kind of achieve what you thought you maybe might not be able to achieve otherwise,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said.

Brees’ arrival as a free agent in 2006, along with that of coach Sean Payton, began the difficult turnaround in the Big Easy.

“I would say this city having gone through what it’s gone through, and this organization having gone through what it’s gone through over the past five or six years before Katrina and post-Katrina, has allowed us to have the opportunity that we have now. It’s hardened us, given us an edge,” he said. “But, in the end, it’s made us tougher. It’s brought us together. It’s united us. That’s all for the better.”

The Vikings never have been the better team in Super Bowls. They are 4-4 when getting this far. Then, zippo.

Of course, Favre was in elementary school the last time Minnesota won the NFC. Most of the other Vikings weren’t even born then.

The Vikings prefer to ignore their history. Those Super Bowl losses belong to another generation; yes, even Favre is not part of that generation.

Favre understands this won’t be a homecoming, either.

“I don’t think too many people down there will be compassionate that I am with the Vikings coming in,” he said. “They’ve waited a long time for it. That’s going to be a factor that we have to handle, obviously. I think it goes without saying how happy I am that we have this opportunity.”

Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures

Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Kenny Chesney will be headlining this years WE Fest country music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minn. this year.

32 Below, based out of Fargo, will kick off the event on August 5th, and Rand Houser, Gloriana, Montgomery Gentry, and Urban will follow.

On August 6th, the group Troubadour starts, and then will be followed by Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, and Kid Rock.

The final day of the country music festival, August 7th, will begin with Hitchville, who will be followed by Joe Nichols, Gretchen Wilson, Dierks Bentley, and then Kenny Chesney.

Single-day tickets are available for $49, while they last, or three day tickets are available for $99 as well. Festival and camping tickets cost up to $1,000, but includes elevated seating with hospitality. More information about purchasing tickets, or the event in general, is available on wefest.com, or by calling (800) 493-3378.

The first WE Fest was held in 1983, and on average, over 50,000 people attend over the duration of the event. In 2007, a record attendance record was set, with over 83,000 people.

With temperatures in the 30′s this past week, Fergus Falls residents surely have enjoyed the weather. However, reality will kick back in this weekend after we welcome winter back from its short vacation.

According to the National Weather Service of Grand Forks, a major snow and freezing rain storm will makes its way into the area late Friday night, and early Saturday morning. The storm will move from the southern Red River Valley into Minnesota, and will mainly effect west central/north west Minnesota.

The immediate Fergus Falls area is expected to get anywhere between 6 to 12 inches of snow. When the snow is over with, blowing and drifting snow will also several impact any travel Sunday night and well into the day on Monday.

While it’s too early to determine exact measurements, due to fluctuating temperature forecasts, Fergus Falls could get up to a half-inch layer of ice as well.

As always you can trust Fergus Forum to have the latest weather information, as well as up-to-the-minute weather-related delays and cancellations.

Craig Olson, one of the area’s most well-known and respected sports broadcasters, was presented the Citizenship Award from the Otter Risers Kiwanis Club on Tuesday morning.

Olson was presented the award while he was taping Sports Wrap, a sports television show on PEG Access, in Fergus Falls. Neil Herman, a Kiwanis member, presented him the award for Olson’s dedication to youth sports and activities.

In addition to a plaque, Olson was given a rocking chair that was custom made out of baseball bats by a Kiwanis member.

Craig Olson has been in the broadcasting business for over 30 years. He broadcasts various sporting events on the radio, operates a website, CraigOlsonSports.com, and just recently started a television show on PEG Access, called Sports Wrap.

Conan O’Brien is considering everything from a talk show on Jewish Life TV to starring in a Pink Visual porno dubbed “Conan the Bangbarian”. Jokes aside, he is also considering working at a Fargo hip-hop radio station, Y94.

As soon as word got out that Conan O’Brien and NBC were in argument over the “Tonight Show”, the comedian started to get job offers from around the country.

If O’Brien accepts Y94′s position, he would be a sidekick to hosts Rat, Zero, and Megan on the station’s “Morning Playhouse” program.

The Fargo pop station offered him a position on its “Morning Playhouse” program as a sidekick to hosts Rat, Zero and Megan.

On the Monday night episode of the “Tonight Show”, O’Brien said “I could do that”, when he was talking about the Y94 job offer.

Fans of O’Brien can vote on which job offer he should pursue on the the Tonight Show’s website at www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com.

Fans can vote on which offer he should pursue on www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com.

At 4:00 PM on Tuesday, Y94′s job offer was second to Pink Visual’s “Conan the Bangbarian” movie.

The Humane Society of Otter Tail County, located in Fergus Falls, will reopen Wednesday after a virus forced it to shut down roughly two weeks ago.

Parvovirus, a virus which effects canines, killed four puppies at the facility, and caused several cats to get sick.

According to the Human Society, someone brought in a sick puppy towards the end of December, which caused the other puppies to contract the illness.

While cats don’t contract the Parvovirus, a few of them did end up getting upper respiratory infections. Once that occurred, the Humane Society’s veterinarian advised of a temporary shutdown.

Officials at the Humane Society expect that the virus will have run its course by Wednesday — when the facility is expected to reopen.

U.S. Steel, the world’s tenth largest steel producer, has agreed to sell its 3,000-acre of land adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Superior National Forest to the State of Minnesota.

U.S. Steel has agreed to sell the land to Minnesota for $18 million in cash. The $2.3 million which U.S. Steel paid to appraise the land, would be treated as a donation to the state.

Lake Vermilion state park would be Minnesota’s first new state park in over 30 years.

In 2008, when there was previous discussion with the state of Minnesota and U.S. Steel, there was a dispute over the value of the land — which many thought would end the plan for a new state park. The state was limited by the Legislature on how much cash it could offer, which was limited to $20 million.

Just last year, Minnesota offered U.S. Steel a mere $14.7 million for the land, which was far below the value of $26 million U.S. Steel had the land appraised for.

With the numerous ridges of bedrock overlooking the lake, it is thought to be some of the most beautiful land in the state.

The new park would abut Soudan Underground Mine State Park, and together the two parks would provide more than 10 miles of recreational shoreline on a lake that includes 365 islands spread over 40,000 acres of water.

Former Fergus Falls teacher and coach, Phil Link, has resigned a position in Chaska after allegations of financial wrong-doing.

According to a search warrant filed by Chaska Police in Carver County Court, the district alleges that between June 14 and Dec. 15, 2009, Link, head football coach and administrative dean, “made claims for reimbursement to the school district for costs he did not incur and were eventually paid for by another party that did not know he already had received compensation for those costs.”

The financial scope of the allegations is currently unclear. According to details in the search warrant, alleged financial improprieties appear to pertain to a summer football program.

According to the Jan. 14 school board packet, Link is resigning his position as head football coach and administrative dean effective Jan. 29. Link did not return two calls from the Herald for comment.

Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight said he could not comment on the case, but would “confirm we have an open investigation.” No charges have yet been filed against Link. At this time, the Carver County Attorney’s Office has no comment.

Nancy Kracke, director of communications and staff relations for District 112, acknowledged that the district had received Link’s resignation. “There were concerns brought to our attention about Coach Link,” she said.

Kracke noted that Link was put on paid administrative leave while the district conducted an investigation, though she could not say when that occurred. “Our investigation is over,” she said. “And he has resigned.”

Kracke said that until the school board takes action, the details of the investigation are “still a personnel issue” that she was not able to comment further on.

Although no charges have been filed yet against Link, a search warrant executed on Dec. 23 resulted in the confiscation of Link’s bank account records at Community Bank Chaska.

The search warrant indicates that on Dec. 3, James O’Connell, director of Administrative Services, told police he believed Link made claims for reimbursement through District 112 Community Education for expenses he did not pay for, and that had already been billed to the Chaska Touchdown Club football booster organization.

Reimbursement claims centered on expenses submitted for a summer football camp coached by Link. The search warrant alleges that Link requested reimbursement from both Community Education and the Chaska Touchdown Club.

The warrant also implies that Link did not pay assistant coaches their full salaries for the camp, stating that Link insisted on receiving the coaches’ salaries for the camp and distributing them himself. In one example, the search warrant stated that Link told Community Education Coordinator Susan Harberts that he planned to pay assistant coach Rodney Melton $1,000. Melton later said he was paid only $800.

Other coaches allegedly reported the same thing. According to the search warrant, $4,200 was given to Link for coaches’ salaries, but only $3,450 was paid out.

The warrant stated that Link allegedly believed the Touchdown Club would cover his expenses and he would keep the money given to him by Community Education as “assistance while he transitioned to his new job as football coach and dean.”

Link said he “needed the money because the school district had not paid him until September,” but according to the warrant, school district records show that Link received his first paycheck on July 15.

 

Link was hired as head football coach for the high school in May after stints at Fergus Falls High School and in North Branch. He was a two-time finalist for Teacher of the Year in Fergus Falls and was named the Nike Football Coach of the year in 2002.

Under Link, the Hawk football team posted a 3-6 record in 2009, finishing with a 28-14 loss to Minnetonka in the Section 6-5A quarterfinals.

At the time of his hiring, Chaska High School Athletic Director Troy Stein said, “Phil completely impressed and inspired us with his enthusiasm and passion for coaching football. Phil comes with a strong football background and will serve as an outstanding leader of our football program.

“Phil exemplifies the leadership, knowledge and dedication we strive for in our football program, Chaska High School and the community of Chaska,” he said.

Link has patrolled the sidelines as a high school football coach for more than 20 seasons, since completing an All-American football playing career at Olivet University in Illinois.

He began as an assistant football coach at Kankakee High School in Kankakee, Ill., and was the head football coach at Underwood High School from 1989-98.

In 1999, Link was hired as the head football coach at Fergus Falls High School, and also served an assistant for the Minnesota State Community and Technical College football team in Fergus Falls.

Link was hired to coach the North Branch High School team in June, 2008 and led the Vikings to a 1-8 season.

School budget constraints cut Link’s physical education teaching position at the school in April, 2009.

North Branch football players, parents and fans took a liking to Link. An online petition was created to lobby the North Branch school board to keep Link on as coach, and consider him for the then-vacant athletic director position. More than 700 signatures were attached to the effort.

The intersection at Highway 210 and Redwood Lane in Fergus Falls will be safer for motorists when the Minnesota Department of Transportation completes its work on the project this week or early next week, depending on weather conditions.

Motorists should watch for people working in the area who are installing signal poles and preparing the system for operation.

This fall crews milled and paved areas of the intersection and added a right turn lane to westbound Highway 210 at Redwood Lane.

Mn/DOT 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.

Rothsay, located just 20 minutes north-west of Fergus Falls, is planning to reduce electricity consumption by 10 to 15 percent over the next three to five years.

The community of around 500 people, was approached by Fergus Falls-based  Otter Tail Power Company, participate in something called the Rothsay Energy Challenge. Otter Tail Power plans to spend $300,000 over two years on the energy conservation initative.

That cost amounts to a lifetime savings of 3 cents for every kilowatt hour saved, which would be cheaper than building new generating capacity. The City of Rothsay have completed energy audits of its city and school buildings.

School officials are considering geothermal and thermal storage, pending the availability of grants. In addition, students of the Rothsay Public School are going door-to-door asking residents to sign energy conservation pledges.