Grand Forks Herald

Strange, tragic, wonderful or simply random news of the Midwest, focusing on North Dakota and Minnesota.

[grandforksherald]

Minnesota school's policy letting transgender kids use bathrooms of their choice opposed by petition

A petition that opposes a proposed transgender student inclusion policy in the New London-Spicer School District was launched this week by a group calling itself NL-S Safe.

The group of citizens believes the policy would be harmful to NLS students, said Gary Swenson, of Spicer, spokesman for the new organization. He served as moderator for a meeting of about 60 people Monday that resulted in the launch of the petition drive.

In an interview, Swenson said it’s hoped the petition — an online version is linked to the group’s Facebook page and paper copies are being circulated — will get the attention of NLS decision-makers.

“We’re hoping that it’ll alert the superintendent and the school board about the large number of people in the district that are upset with this policy,” Swenson said. “So far they don’t seem to recognize that fact.”

Click here to read more.

[grandforksherald]

Driving dog takes semi truck for a joyride in Minnesota

Friday afternoon began as any other for Joe Springman, 24, of Adrian. He was traveling to Eden Prairie to visit his girlfriend when he stopped at a Kwik Trip for gasoline.

“I looked over, and I’m just like, ‘What the heck is going on over there?’ … It was pushing a car, too, so I ran over as fast as I could, and I saw a dog just sitting in the window on the seat and it’s like, ‘Where’s the driver at?’”

Turned out that the dog was the only driver in the truck.

[grandforksherald]

South Dakota veto on transgender bathroom law stands; lawmaker compares frequency of transgender youths to a virus

ERRE—The Legislature's fight over treatment of transgender students ended Thursday when the state House of Representatives failed to override Gov. Dennis Daugaard's veto.

The legislation, HB 1008, would have restricted use of bathrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms in public schools to students of the same sex assigned at birth.

Students who didn't want to use those facilities could have asked for a separate accommodation in another part of the school.

Click here to read more. 

[grandforksherald]

University of North Dakota student runs for City Council seat

A UND student and local business owner has announced his campaign to become a Grand Forks City Council member.

Ben Olson, 20, is running for the Ward 1 seat on a pro-business platform under which he promises no support for increases to property or sales taxes. Growing business is a top priority, he said, and growing the tax base and making the city budget more efficient are two primary ways to finance any large upcoming projects.

Click here to read more!

[grandforksherald]

Native American Hall of Honor accepting nominations for inductees

The Native American Hall of Honor, located in the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum in Bismarck, is seeking nominations in four categories: arts and culture, athletics, leadership and veterans.

[grandforksherald]

Musical 'Star Trek' spoof features 'Klingons Are Misunderstood’ tune

Brothers Grant and Cole Remmen have long had it on their bucket list to write a musical.

“We had long talked about writing a musical together,” says Cole, who graduated from Detroit Lakes High School in 2012 (four years after his elder sibling). “We had recently seen the 2013 movie, ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness,’ and thought, ‘Why isn’t there a Star Trek musical?’ It’s so iconic in American pop culture and is the perfect vehicle to tell an interesting story through parody.”

From that initial discussion was born an idea that led to the creation of “Boldly Go!” – a musical parody based on the world of ‘Star Trek’ and its iconic characters.

[grandforksherald]

Deputy gets probation for hitting his K-9 partner

Longtime attorneys Thom Pertler and Kevin Short have handled high-profile cases involving cold-blooded murder, child abuse, sexual assault and other crimes that can only be described as heinous.

On Wednesday, they could agree on one thing: No case has drawn the level of public ire like that of Brett Berry, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office deputy who was captured on video repeatedly striking his K-9 partner outside a Carlton County hotel last summer.

"In all the years I've done this, of all the types of cases I've handled — from child abuse to first-degree murder — I haven't ever received this many emails and letters," said Pertler, the Carlton County attorney since 2005, who hoisted up a stack of a stack of papers easily six inches thick.

Short, whose legal career began in 1978, told 6th Judicial District Judge Leslie Beiers that he's "never seen anything that even amounts to a fraction" of the estimated 500 to 600 letters he said he received ahead of Berry's sentencing.

Click here to find out what happened.

[grandforksherald]

Charges filed against alleged meth-dealing snowmobiler

A Beldenville, Wis., man made his initial court appearance last week on drug charges after deputies responded to a report of a man selling methamphetamine from a snowmobile.

Pierce County prosecutors charged 48-year-old Reed O. Christopherson with two felonies: meth possession with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released from Pierce County Jail on a $5,000 signature bond following a Feb. 8 hearing.

Click here to read more.

[grandforksherald]

Dad whose 9-year-old turned him in for growing marijuana at home gets jail, probation

A River Falls, Wis., man whose son turned him in after witnessing a drug deal and realizing pot was abundant in the house was sentenced recently in Pierce County Circuit Court.

Nathan V. Magnuson was sentenced Feb. 9 to three years on probation and 30 days in jail following a conviction for THC possession with intent to distribute

A criminal complaint stated Magnuson’s 9-year-old son told a school guidance counselor about marijuana being grown in his father’s basement. The child knew it was illegal after watching a documentary, the complaint states.

Click here to find out how it happened.

[grandforksherald]

Eerie video of ice stacking lake phenomenon goes viral

A mesmerizing video of Lake Superior ice stacking up along the shore at Duluth's Brighton Beach, shot last Saturday by local photographer Dawn LaPointe, has spread like wildfire across the Internet in recent days.

Check out the oddly creepy footage here.

[grandforksherald]

Hockey team shows exceptional sportsmanship, gets free Minnesota Wild tickets

Who says no good deed goes unpunished?

A group of seventh-grade girls hockey players from Detroit Lakes and their four coaches have been given free second-row seats to see the Minnesota Wild play Chicago on Sunday.

They are being honored for an unusual show of good sportsmanship at a recent U-12 A hockey tournament in Detroit Lakes, when they befriended and cheered on the visiting Sauk Rapids-Sartell team.

Click here to read about kids being awesome!

[grandforksherald]

White supremacist Craig Cobb still trying to buy small towns, make them all-white

A man who has been searching for a city to create an all-white enclave recently met the same response from residents in Nebraska and Kansas as he did in North Dakota: Not in this town.

Craig Cobb, who previously bought land in Leith, N.D., in an attempt to take over the city's government, looked into buying property in four small towns in Nebraska and Kansas as part of an effort called Pioneer Little Europe, which aims to create all-white communities. But when residents in the two states got wind of what Cobb was doing, they resisted and and rallied to keep the properties, just as residents in Leith and Antler, N.D., did.

Click here to read more.

[grandforksherald]

South Dakota bill requires transgender kids to use bathrooms of gender assigned at birth

PIERRE, S.D. -- The South Dakota Senate on Tuesday followed earlier approval by the House to pass a bill that would require public school students to use the bathroom, shower and locker room that correspond to their biological sex.

If Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard signs the bill, as expected, South Dakota would become the first state to approve such a law.

Click here to read more.

[grandforksherald]

Beer and Yoga: A match made in North Dakota

While Sarah Horak was traveling across the country, she noticed something bars and breweries were doing in other cities that hadn't been done yet in Grand Forks.

So last year, Horak, owner of Brick and Barley Bar and Restaurant in downtown Grand Forks, launched "Yoga on Tap," an event where participants do yoga at the business.

"I think it's a really fun and different type of event that I don't think Grand Forks (has) seen before," Horak said.

For $20, participants get a one-hour yoga session from Haute Yogis, and a pint of beer after the class.

Here’s how it works.

[grandforksherald]

Detroit Lakes hockey team wows the crowd with kindness, good sportsmanship

We’ve all heard the joke about going to a fight and a hockey game breaking out. It’s a sport that for years has been notorious for hot tempers both on and off the ice.

But a group of 7th grade girls hockey players from Detroit Lakes and a team of their competitors is showing the world what true sportsmanship is all about. There were no adults trying to make a point or teach a lesson; this time it was the younger generation stepping up to the plate and leading by example.

[grandforksherald]

Shine a blue light to support slain police officer's family

The Fargo Police Department is asking residents to display blue lights on their porches at night to show support for the family of slain Officer Jason Moszer.

Starting Tuesday, blue light bulbs can be picked up at police headquarters in Fargo for a freewill donation. All donations will go to Moszer's family.

Police headquarters is at 222 4th St. N., Fargo. The lobby is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Moszer died Thursday after he was shot Wednesday night while responding to a report of a domestic disturbance in north Fargo. The man believed to have shot him was later found dead after a standoff with officers, police said.

Additionally, the chief of the Fargo Police Department is asking people to offer assistance to the family of the alleged gunman.

[grandforksherald]

Essentia Health sued over refusal to pay for health care during gender transition

ST. PAUL – A Halstad woman is suing her employer in federal court here after she claimed Essentia Health and its employee insurance program refused to pay for her teenage son's health care during his transition from female to male.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 15 in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, alleges Brittany Tovar's 14-year-old son was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in November 2014, which means that he was found to suffer from a medical condition in which his gender identity is different from the one he was assigned at birth.

That can cause significant distress and impairment in a variety of ways that can be alleviated with treatment, the lawsuit says. Tovar's son was prescribed a medication called Lupron, which suppresses menstruation, and another called Androderm, a form of testosterone.

Click here to read more about the case.