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.
June 20, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
Harry Entwistle says his No. 1 priority as the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe's new housing director is to provide safe and sanitary housing for all band members.
Entwistle -- a one-time vacationer in the region who now calls this area home -- assumed leadership of the Leech Lake Reservation Housing Authority in late May and is busy reorganizing the office.
The housing authority manages 485 units, including both rental and ownership housing, with housing sites located throughout the 1,050-square-mile reservation.
Entwistle, who lives in Walker, has worked in construction management for more than 15 years, with his most recent position being project coordinator for the housing authority's new development program for the past three years.
In that capacity, he oversaw the development of 20 low-rent units of housing and 18 units of mutual help housing in communities such as Squaw Lake, Onigum and Boy River.
A firm believer in meeting all building codes, Entwistle said he expects all housing his office builds to be top quality.
"I build a home like it's for a family member," he said. "You build a reputation on what you build. I will ask contractors to fix things if they don't meet specification."
In the short term, he said he will focus on developing stricter maintenance standards for those living in housing authority units; rehabilitating any existing dilapidated housing units; and providing more working opportunities to band members.
He said he plans this summer to have band members do most carpentry projects such as siding houses and some complete building projects such as car garages.
But next year, he said he hopes to have band members completing entire homes instead of contracting with off-reservation firms to do the construction.
"I would like to see them building the homes," he said. "It gives people pride, and it provides them with jobs."
Other long-term goals include reorganizing the housing authority personnel, cross-training his personnel and making his office more accountable.
"We are responsible to the people of Leech Lake," he said. "Everything we do here is to benefit the people."
Entwistle hails from Chicago, where he graduated high school. He entered the U.S. Marines after school, and later entered the construction management field.
When he was young, he would visit his grandparents who owned a resort on Kabekona Bay. Later in life, while here on vacation, he saw an ad for a housing authority position and applied.
"I visited my grandparents every summer," he said. "I always wanted to reside here."
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