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. 13, 2000
By Devlyn Brooks
Friday marks the beginning of Bemidji's annual celebration of snow, ice and all things cold ... the beginning of Polar Daze 2000.
For nine days, area residents can turn a cold shoulder to Old Man Winter and enjoy building their own sled, creating snow sculptures, playing volleyball in the snow and competing in broomball on Lake Bemidji.
This year's Polar Daze has a more family friendly look, according to event officials, in the hopes of attracting more people to the events. Two new contests have been added for children, and a new event has been added for their parents.
"We're trying to involve the kids more to make it successful," Polar Daze Committee chair Cory Stittsworth said. "If we draw the kids down (to the waterfront), we'll draw the parents down there too. We want to make it more of a community event."
In essence, one Polar Daze contest has already begun, the KBUN/KB101/KZY and Pioneer snow sculpture began at the beginning of the month and will continue until Jan. 23. Judges will be out voting on which businesses and residences have the best sculptures.
Most other Polar Daze events kickoff Friday. The Paul Bunyan Mall will host a sidewalk sale, and the Bemidji State University men's hockey team will host the Air Force Academy at 7:05 p.m.
Concordia Language Villages, located northeast of Bemidji, will host Vinterfest, an adult program celebrating the Norwegian language and heritage throughout the weekend.
Saturday's slate is full of activities for every age.
BSU will host a white out volleyball tournament in the snow, and R.P. Broadcasting will host its annual snowmobile radar run on the southern end of Lake Bemidji. In addition to the radar run, the Still Legends but Extremely Dangerous snowmobile circuit will host a series of races for anyone who wants to compete in at least 50 classes such as stock, mod and 1982 or older.
The SLEDs snowmobile racing circuit is a new addition to Polar Daze and event organizers hope it gives adults another opportunity to participate.
At 1 p.m., Slim's Bar and Grill and the Beaver Pride organization will host its annual Winter Golf Classic, a golf tournament held on Lake Bemidji. The 1999 tournament drew 100 winter hackers.
Two new events geared for children are the Boy Scouts Voyageurs Area Council build your own sled derby from 9-11 a.m., and the First City Lions snowman contest from 9 a.m. to noon. Both events will be held at the waterfront.
The annual Q107 broomball contest will take place on the ice at the waterfront Saturday.
Other major events during the week are the Taste of Northern Minnesota from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Northern Inn.
There, about 20 local restaurants offer their wares for one admission price to the public.
"That's a pretty good dinner, actually," Stittsworth said, "for a good price."
On Jan. 21, there will be a night ski on Bemidji's Montebello Ski trails, more BSU collegiate sports and the beginning of a Pee Wee B hockey tournament. That same night, the Bemidji High School show choir, Volcamotive, will present a show entitled "And the Music Goes Round and Round."
The Bemidji Gymnastics Club will present a show, "Snow Flake Flip," Jan. 22, and the Bemidji Senior Center will host a pancake breakfast. The BHS Rick Lee wrestling tournament begins the same day, and there are more BSU sports as well.
Polar Daze will wrap up the weekend of Jan. 22-23 with snowmobile Snocross races at the Beltrami County Fairgrounds, a curling bonspiel at the curling club and the Eagles children's fishing contest on Lake Bemidji.
This year's Paul Bunyan Sled Dog Races have been postponed until Feb. 19-20 due to a lack of snow at the fairgrounds, according to event organizers.
"Come on out and join us. Put a broomball team together, build a snow sculpture, build a snowman, build a sled," Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lori Paris said. "There's pretty much an event for every member of the family."
Polar Daze button
The Polar Daze button, which sells for $1, can be purchased from members of the Bemidji Special Olympics, area businesses and members of the Polar Daze committee. The proceeds from the button sales will help fund this year's Polar Daze events.
The button allows people to get into some Polar Daze events for free, and others for a discount. Some events require participants to have a button.
"We're encouraging button sales because they will take this project to the next level," Stittsworth said. "The more buttons we sell, the bigger and better the event will be every year."
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