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.
Sept. 1, 1996
By Devlyn Brooks
Staff Writer
City officials from throughout northern Minnesota will converge on Fosston in September for a League of Minnesota Cities regional meeting.
The Sept. 25 meeting is part of an annual statewide circuit by the League to keep local officials up to date on important issues and to help promote excellence in governance, management and services to citizens, said Fosston Mayor Arvid Clementson.
According to Clementson, about 130 city officials from as far north as Thief River Falls, as far west as Crookston, as far east as Bemidji and as far south as Waubun will attend the one-day seminar.
A presentation in the afternoon sponsored by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust will apprise city officials as to how claims against a city are handled, and there will be a presentation explaining city purchases that are exempt from the state sales tax.
Also in the afternoon, officials get a chance to present their city's latest accomplishments during an informal chat session.
Later in the evening, newly elected League President Blaine Hill will lead a discussion on local control issues such as preserving city management of public rights of way and property tax reform.
Concluding the evening, the city officials will participate in roundtable discussions on topics including local control issues, city issues as part of the 1996 election campaign discussion and official conflicts of interest focusing on what is illegal, unethical and unwise.
"These meetings are very important for our rural cities. It's hard for us rural cities to get to the Twin Cities for meetings," Clementson said. "They help us keep the League up to date on rural concerns. We all have pretty much the same concerns up here."
The regional meeting is the second in a series of 12 sponsored around the state by the League each year. Other regional meetings to be held in northern Minnesota will include one in Roseau and one in Virginia, both of which are later in the year.
Clementson said the meeting was not awarded to Fosston because of the All-America City and Community Award it won earlier this year, but it was just a coincidence. The selection site of the League meeting was made before Fosston won the award.
"It's been a while since we've hosted a League meeting, but the award didn't have any bearing on it," he said. "We're looking forward to it."
Currently, 811 of Minnesota's 854 cities are members of the League of Minnesota Cities. According to a news release, League staff provide expertise in communications, insurance and loss control, legal assistance, city code and charter services, conferences and training, field outreach, investment options, personnel services, research, policy development and advocacy and technology services to Minnesota cities.
"It's helpful to learn how other people are trying to resolve some of the same problems you have," Clementson said. "It's always good to learn who your neighbors are ... what they are."
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