Good News: Book Bike, fishing derby, hellos & goodbyes

For 12-year-old Brody Bowers of Detroit Lakes, catching the winning fish in the Poles ‘N Holes Fishing Derby was the easy part. The contest started at noon on Saturday, and he caught the winning fish in the first five minutes of the derby, using a sucker minnow.

in the Poles ‘N Holes Fishing Derby was the easy part. The contest started at noon on Saturday, Feb. 8, and he caught the winning fish in the first five minutes of the derby, using a sucker minnow.

The hard part was the long wait until the derby ended at 3 p.m. and he finally knew the 4.66 pound northern he caught was the winning fish.

“He was a pretty nervous kid for almost three hours,” said his dad, Nick Bowers, who fished in the derby with Brody.

It was a nice day for ice fishing, not much wind, and it was fun to be out there, Bowers said. Brody took first place for the heaviest fish, and won a brand new Pro Series III Ice Castle fish house. It retails for $15,900, Bowers said.

Brad Green, 64, retired in February as director of the city’s Public Works Department, a position he has held for the past 13 years.

You might say Green has Detroit Lakes in his blood. He was born here, grew up here, and graduated from Detroit Lakes High School in 1973, before moving on to Moorhead State University and the University of Minnesota.

“We’ve got a great town, we’ve just got to keep going. It’s a great community and it’s only going to get better.”

Brad and Janet Green (who had a distinguished career of her own in health care) will celebrate their 40th anniversary Sunday, Feb. 23. Now that both are retired, they will be able to spend more time with their daughter Jaclyn and son Tony and their families.

Green thanked the city council, the park board “and all the citizens here. We’ve got a great town, we’ve just got to keep going,” he said. “It’s a great community and it’s only going to get better.”

The Detroit Lakes Public Library has plans to start pedaling (and also peddling, ha!) its services around town this summer with a brand new Book Bike. Compact and attention-getting, the DL Book Bike will serve as a mini-library on wheels. It’ll appear at community events and popular outdoor locations throughout the season, such as the Street Faire, Music in the Park, and the City Beach area, to name just a few.

People will be able to check out library materials, get new or replacement library cards, access the Book Bike’s Wi-Fi hotspot, learn about library programs, events and services, and more. Pretty much anything that can be done at the library, will be able to be done at the DL Book Bike. The bike will also offer pop-up story times around town.

“It’s a way for us to reach new audiences … People who maybe don’t usually come to the library or think of the library,” said Greta Guck, director of the Detroit Lakes Public Library. “It’s an outreach trend in library services, to reach people where they’re at.”

Mark Jenson is the new Detroit Lakes School District superintendent. He was selected by the DL school board on Feb. 5.

Jenson has been the high school principal at Rocori since 2007; in 2012, he became the middle school principal as well. He was also an English teacher at Moorhead Public Schools for 10 years.

“I like (Jenson’s) energy and charisma,” said board member Kylie Johnson, who subsequently made the motion to hire Jenson. She added that she had been impressed by his passion, and liked the fact that he expressed his love for education.

“I liked that he worked his way up through the ranks,” added board member Jane Foltz.

The district’s current superintendent, Doug Froke, announced last October that he will be leaving his position at the end of this school year. His last day on the job will be June 30.