I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
May 19, 1997
By Devlyn Brooks
Staff Writer
Helping hands ... it has taken many -- and will take many more -- helping hands to get Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks back on their feet after the devastating Red River flooding that engulfed most of both towns in mid-April.
But, last week, flood evacuee children received some special helping hands, in the figurative sense, from an elementary school in Evergreen, Colo.
According to Bemidji schools Superintendent Rollie Morud, last week he received five boxes of food, clothing and school supplies, a $240 check to be donated to flood evacuees and many letters of support from the first and second grades of King-Murphy Elementary School in Evergreen, a small town near Denver, Colo.
The effort, Morud said, was coordinated by first- and second-grade teacher Sue Queen, who is a native North Dakotan and was crushed when she saw news reports about the devastation.
Although, he said he does not know why Queen decided to contact the Bemidji area, she called him early last week and found out what the needs of the evacuee children attending school here were.
She then coordinated an effort for her school to raise food, supplies and money from children in King-Murphy Elementary to send to the flood evacuees. Those supplies and money arrived last week, and so did many letters written by the school's children to flood evacuee children attending school in Bemidji.
In a letter Queen sent home to children's parents, she states: "As you know, Grand Forks, North Dakota, has been devastated by a vast flood and an unfortunate fire. I feel much compassion towards these residents because of the deep loss they are feeling and also because it is my home state. This disaster has been supported by caring people throughout our country. King-Murphy could make a difference in the lives of these individuals, as well."
In addition to the supplies and money the children raised, the also sent along a well-wishing, construction-paper string of hands on which was written, "Helping hands from us to you." The children had traced their hands on construction paper, cut out the hands, written their names and inspirational messages on them, tied them together with string and attached a photocopied map of Colorado -- with Evergreen highlighted -- to one end of the string of hands, and another photocopied map showing Grand Forks and Bemidji -- which were highlighted -- to the other end of the hands. Across the chain was written, "Helping hands from us to you."
Morud, who said Queen was delighted to hear he was a fellow native North Dakotan, said he has no idea why the donations were sent to Bemidji, but he guessed the Colorado teacher had heard some news report that there were almost 4,000 evacuees that had taken refuge here.
He said the check donation has been put into the flood relief fund operated by local banks, and the donations were also distributed. He added, however, he would probably hold on to the letters from the Colorado children until next year, and then give them to a teach in the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks area.
"The letters are in pen-pal form, and writing back is probably the last thing on the Grand Forks' people's minds right now," he said.
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