mmiron@bemidjipioneer.com
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A healthy arts community enhances the quality of life on both intangible and tangible levels. A study of the economic impact of nonprofit arts organizations throughout Minnesota has now provided concrete data to back up the tangible effects.
The Bemidji-based Army National Guard Able Company 2/136th Infantry Division, formerly Charlie C Company, has been in training at Camp Shelby, Miss., since October. Now, the 50-plus soldiers have said goodbye to their families and are ready for a year's service overseas. "We leave here next week or so," said Sgt. Brian Ophus of Bemidji in a telephone interview Friday from Camp Shelby.
Alan Zhou's mother wanted him to begin to play violin when he was 5 years old. Now, at age 12, he will solo with the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra playing Eduoard Lalo's "Symphonie Espagnole." The concert opens at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Bemidji High School auditorium. Zhou said he immediately liked the violin. His mother said he started with a 1/16-size instrument, the smallest size. "My mom wanted me to try it out," Zhou said.
RED LAKE -- For the Red Lake Nation, the date March 21 echoes as definitively as does Sept. 11 for the nation as a whole. Tuesday was the one-year anniversary of the afternoon when student Jeff Weise, 16, opened fire at Red Lake High School, killing seven people before taking his own life.
After four years of legal delays, Carol Louise Gillmore of Red Lake was found guilty of the murder of George Stately. On Tuesday, Federal Judge Donovan Frank found Gillmore, 38, guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of arson. The trial in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis was a trial before the bench, not a jury trial. According to the FBI report, on Feb. 14, 2002, Gillmore, also known as Carol Louise Champagne, entered Stately's home in Red Lake. At 8:19 a.m. the Red Lake Fire Department received a call that smoke was coming from Stately's house.
RED LAKE -- The students in the Red Lake High School Project Preserve class are all directors, cinematographers, screenplay writers, actors and film editors. On Saturday, the Walker Art Center featured their 22-minute movie in the Women with Vision 2006 film festival.
Pat Oldham has been saving the lives of eagles, hawks, falcons and owls since 1981. But lately, the local woman has run into difficulties in her mission to rescue injured raptors. At one time, Oldham said, Northwest Airlines donated space to fly the birds to Minneapolis for treatment at the University of Minnesota Raptor Center. Oldham recalled a pilot announcing to passengers that they had the honor of flying with a bald eagle. Oldham has also used the services of private pilots who volunteered to fly the injured raptors to the center.
Monty Eidem has a vacation destination recommendation -- New Orleans. Yes, Mardi Gras was fun, he said, but the most satisfying aspect of the vacation was the week of Feb. 19 which he spent in St. Bernard's Parish gutting Hurricane Katrin-ravaged homes with Habitat for Humanity. "My only motivation for this is there is such great need down there," Eidem said. "It's going to be five-10 years before they're back on their feet. The whole parish got flooded from 3 feet to over the roofs." In the 42-square-mile St.
When the eight women's teams and 10 men's teams assemble for the 2006 U.S. World Team Trials today, the welcome will be huge. Members of the Bemidji Curling Club, just days after Olympic glory, have been hanging banners, arranging table decorations and stocking up on food and drinks. "It's just part of the whole deal," said Marv Roxstrom as he unloaded groceries in the Curling Club kitchen. He said breakfast will be ready today to fuel spectators and athletes.
The Republicans and Democratic Farmer-Labor members of the Minnesota House and Senate, along with Gov. Mark Dayton, remain in stand-off mode on the biennium budget. Dayton, backed by the DFLers, insists on adding to the income tax of the richest 2 percent of the state's population in order to raise revenue. The Republicans remain dug in on $34 billion in expenditures and no additional taxes. Without an agreement before July 1, state government will shut down, a state of affairs neither side favors. Sens. Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, and John Carlson, R-Bemidji, and Reps.
