Vicki Gerdes
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Staff writer at Detroit Lakes Newspapers for the past 14 years, currently editor of the entertainment and community pages as well as obituaries. Living in DL with my cat, Smokey.
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The signs are everywhere -- from a new Student Life Center and adjacent bookstore (called The Book Mark) to expanded online course offerings and the unveiling of its Business & Entrepreneurial Services program. Over the past couple of years, the Detroit Lakes campus of Minnesota State Community & Technical College (MSCTC) has been undergoing an evolution -- and it's beginning to pay big dividends this fall. Enrollment at the college for the fall 2008 semester is up by more than 200 students -- 203, to be exact -- from this time last year, according to Dale Westley, enrollment manager and m
When the Minnesota Agricultural Property Tax (aka "Green Acres") Law was first adopted in 1967, it allowed rural landowners the option of having their property assessed for taxes based on its value as agricultural land. "Back in the late '60s, when the metropolitan area was expanding, the land values were going up on farmland (based on its development potential), increasing the tax burden on farmers," explained Becker County Assessor Steve Skoog.
With just one week to go before the filing period closes on Sept. 9, there are some interesting races developing for area school board and city council elections in November -- but there are also some races that are a big question mark. As of Tuesday morning, no one had filed for the Callaway City Council positions held by Emily Annette or Ken Blattenbauer, nor the mayor's position held by Gretchen Stalboerger.
The lakes area's Zorbaz Mexican restaurants will host the first-ever "Leather & Leavez Motorcycle Rally" on Saturday, Sept. 20. Proceeds from the event will support children's programming at the Detroit Lakes Community & Cultural Center, including the center's after school program, youth basketball, youth football, Sunfish swim team, art outreach to area schools, children's theater shows and more. "The idea was to have a 'farewell to summer' ride," said Becky Mitchell, coordinator for the event.
This Monday, Sept. 1, while most of the lakes area is enjoying Labor Day festivities, Rev. Paul Anderson of Perham will be boarding an airplane in Fargo, bound for North Carolina. When he arrives, he will be taken to the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, for five days of processing and paperwork -- the first step in his eventual deployment to Iraq. Anderson, who enlisted with the U.S. Navy reserves in 1993, has spent much of that time working as a chaplain for the Marine Corps.
The filing period for city and school elections throughout Becker County opened Tuesday -- and there is already at least one race shaping up for the Nov. 4 general election. In Detroit Lakes, the terms of Mayor Larry Buboltz and aldermen G.L.
Ten months ago, in November 2007, the Becker-Clay County Drug Court program began as a pilot project. After getting a $120,000 grant from the State of Minnesota -- the last drug court program in the state to receive such funding -- plus another $30,000 contribution from the two counties, it was off to a running start. On Tuesday, District Court Judge Lisa Borgen and Drug Court Coordinator Don Kautzmann appeared before the Becker County Board to give an update on the program's progress, and request funding for another year. "It's very uplifting," said Borgen, adding that it's "my favorite
Filing for office opens Tuesday and runs through Sept. 9 for area city and school board elections. In Detroit Lakes, the terms of Mayor Larry Buboltz and aldermen G.L.
It's the "Year of the Deere" at the 2008 Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion, which started Friday, Aug. 29 at Rollag. The 55th annual event features a John Deere Expo, with several hundred pieces of John Deere equipment -- "everything from the early Waterloo Boy tractors to two-cylinders to the most modern equipment provided by local implement dealers and area farmers," said WMSTR President Ellis Aakre.