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.
Dec. 31, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D., would not release a condition report Thursday on Allen James Oakgrove of Red Lake, who was critically injured in a one-vehicle crash late Tuesday night.
A hospital spokeswoman said only that a condition report was not available. A State Patrol spokeswoman in Thief River Falls said Thursday the office hasn't been apprised of his condition either.
Charges are still pending against Oakgrove, 26, who was driving a 1997 Ford Escort when it crashed about 11:47 p.m. Tuesday on Minnesota Highway 89. About 9 1/2 miles north of the U.S. Highway 2 junction, the car went off the ride side of the road and flipped.
Oakgrove and a woman passenger were ejected from the car and taken to North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji after the accident. They were later airlifted to the Fargo hospital.
Marilayne May, 32, of Red Lake, who was the passenger in the car, died Wednesday as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. May was incorrectly identified as a man in The Pioneer Wednesday because of incorrect information provided by the State Patrol.
May's funeral will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Red Lake.
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