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Brainerd, Bemidji and beyond:
news from your neck of the woods

Welcome to the very first Lakes Country newsletter! My name is Kim Hyatt and I'm thrilled to be in your inbox each weekday delivering news from your neck of the woods along with other great stories from across the state. Most mornings I'll be sending you this newsletter from my cozy log cabin on the lake. I hope it finds you well caffeinated and leaves you a little more informed. Now let's get to some of our top stories.

Keeping bobber tower afloat: Pequot Lakes is known for its giant fishing bobber water tower, but it was drowning in disrepair. So the Chamber of Commerce started a fundraiser for a face-lift. Donations from the community have so far reached $57,000. But more is needed by Aug. 1 to begin repairs this fall. Read about how a former mayor proposed painting it to look like a golf ball instead and residents wore "Save the Bobber" pins in protest.  

The Pequot Lakes water tower was painted as the iconic red and white bobber in 1987. It was repainted in 2007 and looks to get a $77,000 paint job this fall. Kim Hyatt / Star Tribune

Same Crookston cop ID'd in second shooting: I was up in Crookston in May after officer Nick Fladland shot and killed a man wielding a hatchet. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension recently identified Fladland as the officer who killed an unarmed man in a homeless shelter last week after Fladland was on critical incident leave for 16 days. A relative and the mayor comment on the back-to-back fatal police encounters, which is unheard of for the small farming town of 7,300 people. We'll have more on this story, so stay tuned.

As always, Minnesota > Wisconsin: Minnesota is the land of 10,000-plus lakes, but Wisconsin (incorrectly) claims to have more. In the latest Curious Minnesota, Erica Pearson reports on how states apparently have different definitions of a lake.

Visitors of Itasca State Park take a dip and enjoy the beach at Lake Itasca on a recent afternoon this summer. The beach was included in the Star Tribune's ultimate beach guide. Kim Hyatt / Star Tribune

Watch for deer: Star Tribune environmental writer Greg Stanley reports on where Minnesota drivers are most likely to hit a deer, and surprisingly it's not Bemidji or anywhere in the Northland. Scientists at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth and the University of Minnesota are finishing a project to map it all out. Learn where the chances of a deer clipping your headlights are highest in Minnesota. 

Ope, let me sneak one more story in here for ya.

In case you missed it, I reported recently on Minnesota's new turtle protection laws throwing a wrench in turtle races after the state banned trapping and commercial harvesting. A reader reached out to me over the holiday weekend and said a turtle race at Boyd Lodge in Crosslake was delayed six hours after someone released 40 turtles overnight. I called up owner Mike Schwieters, who said after having a cordial conversation with the man who helped the turtles escape, he decided not to get authorities involved and saw the silver lining. Kids at the lodge rounded up enough turtles for the race to go on. "It all ended well," he said. "It's one race people will never forget." 

Meet my new neighbors. I love the songs they sing, morning and night. Kim Hyatt / Star Tribune

Send us your pics. Tag @startribune or use the hashtag #lakescountry on social media or send an email to lakescountry@startribune.com to have your image featured in an upcoming Lakes Country newsletter. 

Thanks for reading. Share story ideas, your best rhubarb recipes and comments lakescountry@startribune.com.

Local news that matters.

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