Bruce Budris of International Falls takes a turn testing his snowmobile’s speed during the 2015 Speed Run Against Cancer hosted by the International Voyageurs Snowmobile Club at Thunderbird Lodge.
A rider creates a cloud of snow behind his sled as he takes off down the track in front of Thunderbird Lodge. The highest recorded speed Saturday was 104 miles per hour.
A rider competes in a side-by-side race with another rider Saturday.
The sound of helping in the fight against cancer could be heard echoing down Rainy Lake Saturday.
The seventh annual Speed Run Against Cancer attracted about 60 snowmobile riders and other spectators from all over northern Minnesota and Fort Frances, Ontario, to Thunderbird Lodge over the weekend.
According to Jim Bigler, president of the International Voyageurs Snowmobile Club, which co-hosts the event, about $700 was raised for the local Community Cancer Walk program.
“We certainly appreciate all people who run their machines and the people who just come out to watch and donate to a good cause,” Bigler said. “While our club is about snowmobiling and grooming trails, we also take great pride in holding this event with the Thunderbird Lodge.”
When the snow dust settled Saturday after more than 220 runs were made down a 1,000-foot track, Dustin Christopherson, Travis Christopherson and Tyce Jackson, all of International Falls, set speeds of more than 100 miles per hour.
So where does racing snowmobiles tie into raising money for helping those suffering from cancer?
Bigler said several years ago, he was approached by Chris Raboin, former chief of the International Falls Police Department, about the city giving the snowmobile club its old radar machine. Bigler said the club considered using the equipment to somehow teach snowmobile safety.
“After thinking about it, we decide it wasn’t a good idea so we said, ‘Let’s do a radar run for fun,’” he said. “We did our first one to try and raise funds for a dialysis machine as one of our long-time members’ son died with kidney disease.”
The next year, the snowmobile club teamed up with the Thunderbird Lodge, which donates a portion of its income received during the day of the event, to help the Community Cancer Walk. The program provides gas cards to cancer patients who travel out of town for treatment.
“It’s a privilege for our club to help to relieve the burden of traveling out of town for treatment,” Bigler said. “The IVSC is a proud organization of our community, so if you ride, join our club and share in the pride.”
Steve Shermoen
This month’s meeting of the local sewer board may feel a little like musical chairs.
International Falls City Attorney Steve Shermoen told the Falls City Council Monday Brian McBride continues to object to the lack of reappointment to the North Koochiching Area Sanitary District Board as a city representative.
On Jan. 21, the council on a 3-2 vote approved Mayor Bob Anderson’s appointment of Robert Thompson to the board. Councilors Pete Kalar and Cynthia Jaksa voted no. The appointment was first brought to the council Jan. 5 at its organizational meeting, which is held each year prior to the first regular meeting of a new year. At that time, the appointment failed on a 2-2 vote, with Anderson and newly sworn-in Councilor Harley Droba voting in favor. Councilor Brian Briggs was absent from that meeting.
McBride has petitioned Ninth Judicial District Judge Kurt Marben to reappoint him to the board, claiming the council did not act on the appointment in time to meet requirements set out in the legislation that created the board, Shermoen said.
The next step is a scheduling conference, Shermoen said. He said he expects the judge to ask all sides to submit their information and will hear arguments via interactive television.
“My belief is the mayor and council acted appropriately,” Shermoen said. “I am confident Judge Marben will approve what the city did and allow Robert Thompson to serve.”
Shermoen recommended the council instruct Thompson to become “immediately involved with as much as he can on the sewer board until the judge tells him he is not representing the city.”
Thompson is the fourth member of the board appointed by Anderson.
Councilor Brian Briggs asked what would happen if McBride attends the Feb. 9 sewer board meeting.
“I don’t think anyone on the board would have the authority to tell Mr. Thompson he is not a member,” Shermoen said.
Shermoen said McBride’s term is over and he has not been reappointed.
“It is my legal opinion (Thompson) would have to be recognized until a court order says he is not,” Shermoen said.
Anderson said he believes the sewer board’s attorney, Joe Boyle, has issued notice McBride will serve on the board, not Thompson. He asked the council to approve, and it did so unanimously, Shermoen’s attendance at the next sewer board meeting.
Anderson said he was served with the court papers the night Thompson was appointed and he is drafting a response to the claim.
Meanwhile, Shermoen told the council he hoped the 8 a.m. Feb. 9 sewer board meeting would be over by 9 a.m. as he is scheduled to start a jury trial at that time.
Jaksa said the city’s PEG channel, KCCTV “would be there to capture the drama.”
Cynthia
Jaksa
A 50-cent fee to be charged starting this month on the cable bills of International Falls residents was put on hold with action by the International Falls City Council Monday.
On a 4-1 vote, a resolution was approved to put the fee that would support the city’s public education government channel on hold until the governments representing other cable subscribers in the area are asked to also implement the fee.
Councilor Cynthia Jaksa voted no and reiterated her support for the public education government channel, known as PEG, and the need for the money to support it. She said a grant being sought now may be in jeopardy because of the action.
The vote followed pleas by several people for the council allow the fee to be implemented. Several people, including Ward Merrill, Chrystal Clance, and Bob Bahr spoke of the value of the programming offered to cable subscribers, via the Internet and other television systems, and said the additional monthly fee would assist in offering more programming and adding equipment.
But a petition submitted to the council containing the names of about 40 Falls residents asked the city to reconsider its action of Nov. 17 when it agreed to place the 50-cent fee on the monthly bills of city Midcontinent Cable subscribers. The petition asked the fee be put on hold until all subscribers in the area also pay the fee.
Councilors Brian Briggs and Harley Droba said the value of the programming isn’t the issue.
Instead, they said the idea just a few cable subscribers would pay the fee to support a channel many others who don’t pay the fee could enjoy was their concern.
Droba said he would have voted to table action on the fee had he been serving on the council in November because he believes few city residents were aware of the issue at the council table.
They suggested a public hearing be held to take input on the idea of the fee. The November meeting drew just people who supported the fee, but they said those opposing it may not have known about the proposal.
Briggs initially made the motion to put the fee on hold, but after discussion withdrew his motion, suggesting the fee be implemented while at the same time the city contacts other governments about the fee and also conduct a public hearing “so I understand better what my constituents want.”
Droba did not withdraw his second and the approved motion was made by Mayor Bob Anderson.
Anderson said the fee may be a financial burden on some city residents and noted the city had contributed $10,000 to to the effort two years ago.
He also pointed out some people speaking in favor of the fee wouldn’t pay it because they live outside the city limits. He suggested private individuals could make donations to support the channel as they wish.
Jaksa recommended the fee be implemented, and the council refer the issue to the city’s Cable Commission, and conduct a hearing if it desires, while meeting with the other governments about the fee.
The idea of fairness was addressed by Merrill, who said people don’t always benefit from the things they must pay for, pointing to the Falls International Airport, which is supported by taxes of city and county residents, who may never fly.
“It’s about quality of life,” he said.
If a flood, earthquake, monsoon, hurricane or other act of God strikes Koochiching County, staff will be prepared, as the county board has welcomed a new emergency management coordinator.
Tuesday, the Koochiching County Board approved hiring Willie Kostiuk as the county's emergency management coordinator. Kostiuk takes over after Luke Waller, the previous coordinator, informed Koochiching County Sheriff Perryn Hedlund he was stepping down from the role.
Hedlund said the county advertised for the open position, and while he received inquiries about the position, Kostiuk's application was the only one submitted. The position is a one-year contracted position, running from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
“I've known Willie for a long time, and I think he will do an excellent job,” Hedlund said.
Kostiuk said while he has 29 years of experience in law enforcement, he's open and willing to learn from others about how to best fulfill his responsibilities.
“I'm the kind of person that will sit down and I'll learn from others,” Kostiuk said. “I know there's a lot to learn, there's some training that I'm going to next week.”
Kostiuk said he worked throughout northern Minnesota as a defensive tactics instructor during his career, and has experience working with planning and logistics.
“I've got experience coordinating with a lot of different people,” Kostiuk said. “So I don't think I'd have any trouble doing a good job for you guys.”
In other business, the county board approved two appointments to openings on the Board of Adjustments and the Planning Commission after spirited discussion.
County Environmental Services Director Dale Olson said there was one opening on each committee, and he had received three applications for the openings. Quay Whitbeck expressed interest in the Board of Adjustments, Debbie Bowman expressed interest in serving on the Planning Commission and John Cann expressed interest in serving on either committee.
The board approved a motion appointing Whitbeck to the Board of Adjustments on a 4-0 vote, with Commissioner Wayne Skoe abstaining. Skoe said he would abstain from voting on either opening because “I don't know any of them, so I don't know what their qualifications are.”
Commissioner Brian McBride said all three candidates are equally qualified for the openings, and without any recommendations from Olson, the easiest way to appoint them would be based on when their applications came in. Olson said Whitbeck was the first to express interest in the Board of Adjustments opening, and Bowman was the first to express interest in the Planning Commission opening.
Skoe said the openings were open for a specific amount of time, and some people will wait until a deadline nears to turn something in.
“So first or last, I don't know if that's the way to go,” Skoe said.
A motion to approve Bowman for the Planning Commission opening failed on a 2-3 vote, with McBride, Chairman Wade Pavleck and Skoe voting no. While Bowman's application was the first received for the opening, Commissioner Rob Ecklund said there could be a conflict of interest for her.
Ecklund said during his time on the Planning Commission, half of the applications have been for rock quarries. Bowman Construction, the company Bowman works for, operates a rock quarry in Koochiching County.
“That's the only question I have,” Ecklund said. “And I'm not saying for or against, on where she would be on that position, but I think there's a potential for a conflict she would have to be aware of.”
Ecklund said a solution could be to advise her to recuse herself from discussions and votes on certain issues. McBride said she might not need to recuse herself from all discussions on quarries and gravel pits, just certain ones in which she has a “personal interest.".
Skoe said Bowman is civic-minded, but the board wouldn't want to be perceived as “stacking” the Planning Commission in favor of quarry owners.
Pavleck said he wouldn't support any other contractor, like Dennis Wagner or Dick Koeneman in these positions. Any application or issue with a quarry would be a conflict, he said, regardless if it was related to Bowman Construction.
“That's your competition,” Pavleck said. “So I'm not comfortable with it.”
A motion to approve Cann for the Planning Commission opening was approved on a 4-0 vote, with Skoe abstaining. Pavleck pointed out Bowman's name would be the first in line for an opening on either board for up to two years.
In other business, the county board:
- Approved the employment separation of Jail Administrator Tim Milette, who has resigned. The board also authorized Hedlund to fill the now vacant position.
- Approved 10 members for a county aquatic invasive species committee, which will work to prevent the spread of AIS in local waters.
- Approved contracting with additional boat landing attendants to help during the early walleye fishing season on Rainy River.
Steve Shermoen
