sarahs@parkrapidsenterprise.com
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They were scared, skinny kids on foreign soil, hunkered down in trenches, bunkers and hastily-made shelters, dreading the sound of incoming enemy fire. They went to war as volunteers expected to join up, and as draftees who had little choice. Saturday, the now grown men and women gathered on a rural Ponsford hillside to remember those left behind and honor the flags they fought for. They celebrated each other as heroes, survivors and the lucky. Howard Maninga built a memorial to Vietnam soldiers on his yard overlooking lush fields, replicating the deck of a ship.
A beautifully decorated white cross sits at the base of an ATV trail off Hubbard County Road 4 south of Lake George, a remembrance to a woman who died there one year ago. On Aug. 2, 2008, Carol "Robin" Steele-Spry's ATV tumbled down a washout on a steep trail, throwing her and a passenger off the vehicle. She died. Her injured passenger survived. One week later a 13-year-old Laporte boy was thrown from his ATV when he struck a large hole on private property off County Road 45 in Lakeport Township.
The Pioneer Farmers show was a tinkerer's paradise. If it whirred, sputtered, popped, fizzed, rotated or belched steam - or otherwise made noise - it was on display near Itasca State Park last weekend. The 34th annual machinery show of the Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers attracted hundreds of tinkerers, curious onlookers and kids anxious to step into the past. Gadgets, tractors, antique appliances, engines and other marvels of early entrepreneurs were showcased, all beautifully restored and gleaming. Mauri Talonen of Bovey showed off his collection of Stirling cycle hot air engines,
A 36-year-old Park Rapids man and licensed real estate agent has been indicted on federal wire fraud, money laundering and marijuana charges. Eric Wayne Moen was charged Aug. 18 and appeared in U.S. District Court Aug. 21 on the charges. The indictment alleges Moen conspired with others during 2005 in a "scheme to defraud a mortgage company," by allegedly misrepresenting the employment status of a borrower and obtaining funds in connection with the mortgage on a home. "From Aug. 1 through Nov.
A Hubbard County flu readiness plan could include inoculations at schools and churches, setting up flu centers and educating people on "social distancing" to minimize the spread of the H1N1 flu strain that is sweeping the world. Three Minnesotans have died. Healthcare and good health dominated discussions Wednesday at the Hubbard County Board of Commissioners regular meeting.
Hubbard County has a wealth of licensed peace officers willing to step into part-time road deputy jobs to get a foot in the door of more permanent work. In a major shuffling of Sheriff's Department personnel, Sheriff Frank Homer told the county board Wednesday he has six to eight licensed peace officers internally working as jailers and dispatchers that have been applying for jobs in his department. He feels the jail and dispatching experience has given new deputies more maturity and training when they are hired for road duty. "I've often said deputies should learn their job working in d
The patron saint of Minnesota wildlife doesn't dress in monk's cloth or go by the name of Francis. She's a slightly built, freckle-faced, quietly determined woman known throughout the state as Dr. Deb. Garrison veterinarian Debbie Eskedahl expanded her practice in 1985 to minister to the state's ailing, abandoned fauna and fawns. Her Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, nestled into 18 acres of forest near Mille Lacs Lake, sees 450 animals yearly. It's funded solely with donations that "miraculously" keep it operating even in rough economic times, she said.
When three suspects accused in a Hubbard County marijuana growing operation showed up Tuesday for their omnibus hearings, they were euphoric. County Attorney Don Dearstyne unexpectedly dropped all charges pending against them, without prejudice. That means the county could potentially refile charges in the future. James B. Young, 67, Talora A. Smith, 62 and Tyler C. Englund, 47, of Park Rapids all faced felony drug charges in the May bust of a sophisticated hydroponic growing operation near Two Inlets.
A Michigan pipeline worker admitted to the sexual strangulation of a Park Rapids woman last year and accepted a plea agreement on Wednesday that will result in a 41 1/2-year prison term. Richard Derek Wright, 42, was transported immediately to the Minnesota Correctional Facility - St. Cloud to begin serving his term in the Jan. 29, 2008 death of Sonya Hennagir, 40, in her Park Rapids home.
A small Episcopal church - so tiny it had to merge with a Presbyterian church to survive - has offered one of its own priests to be the next bishop of Minnesota. Doyle Turner of Waubun was nominated by a petition circulated by members of Trinity Church - Episcopal and Presbyterian of Park Rapids. Petitioners actually drove the papers to the diocese offices in Minneapolis Aug. 14, the last day to submit petitions. The petitioners solicited funds to help finance the drive.
