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.
Jan. 12, 1997
By Devlyn Brooks
Staff Writer
Sgt. 1st Class Cory Orvik of Bemidji and about 30 other National Guardsmen from the Bemidji National Guard Unit descended on the Paul Bunyan Mall Saturday and set up camp for the day. The National Guard unit was there to display various military equipment and vehicles as part of the unit's annual National Guard Awareness Day.
Orvik, Awareness Day coordinator, said it is just a local event, but it is used to gain exposure for what they do and who they are.
"There are so many people out there that don't realize there is a military unit that's part of Bemidji," Orvik said. "They ask us where the equipment and the vehicles come from. They all come from the Bemidji Armory."
Although the main reason for the day is to get "exposure," Orvik said it is also a time when the Guardsmen get away from each other interact with non-military people.
"When we're in the unit, we work only with ourselves. When we get out like this we see a whole different person," he said. "Soldiers are ... they do their own think. We talk in our own lingo, and talk differently when we're not here. Out here, they have to explain things politely and explain things differently then how we would. It's nice to see the guys doing it."
There are 112 Guardsmen in the Bemidji unit, and they live all over northern Minnesota. Orvik said there are people who live as far west as Grand Forks, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn.; as far south as the Twin Cities; as far east as Grand Rapids, Minn.; and as far north as the Canadian border.
Some of the military equipment the unit was demonstrating to mall patrons were different caliber weapons, nuclear/biological chemical gear, communications equipment, winter operations equipment, a Humvee vehicle and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
Rolf Koeller of Park Rapids, Minn., father of 7-year-old Anthony and 9-year-old Matthew who were enthralled with the nuclear/biological chemical gear, said his sons enjoy looking at the military equipment.
"Every time we go by Camp Ripley, we have to stop," he said.
Another display the Guard uses to practice rifle marksmanship, the multipurpose arcade combat simulator, was popular with kids. Using a real machine gun, the shooter takes aim at targets that are displayed on a video terminal.
Eleven-year-old Greg Chase and 12-year-old Josh Krech, brothers from Park Rapids, said the MACS unit was similar to their Super Nintendo video game system.
"Yea, it's a lot like that," Krech said. "But we don't get a gun like that though!"
The Guardsmen were only at the mall from opening to closing Saturday, but are also involved in other community activities such as Holiday Gifts for Kids, Fishing has No Boundaries and the Finlandia ski race.
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