Local News

Managing Editor

Election season is approaching. With primaries taking place August 10, candidates are getting out there and getting their voices heard. On July 20, all five candidates running for County Commissioner in district 3 visited the Rice River Senior Center to meet with the voters and discuss their platform.

Don Niemi

Don lives near Aitkin with his wife Kathy and is eager to get to work as the County Commissioner. Eight years ago Don also wanted this opportunity, but health problems cut his campaign short. This year Don is back in good health and ready to serve his community.

“I want to get you people what you need,” insisted Don. “You need health and human services. You need roads and maintenance, law enforcement. Those are areas we must provide. However, in this rough economy, we are going to have to do them as cost effectively as possible.”

Don is convinced that experience is going to be key in getting these jobs done. With 23 years of experience in county government, he  assured the voters he would have what it takes.

“Aitkin County has the oldest citizens per capita in the state. I will not forget you, and I hope that we can work together to get you what you need,” concluded Don.

Adria Karsky

Adria is a resident of Wagner Township and a home school mother. She holds a degree in…

Managing Editor

No matter how you look at it, 500 miles is a long way. By car, traveling 500 miles will take over eight hours, a good chunk of a day. Traveling by bike, 500 miles is a whole other time table. It can take days. Recently, almost 150 bikers dedicated seven days to ride 500 miles to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity, and one of their stops was in McGregor.

On July 12, wheels were turning and pedals were pushing as the bikers made their way through McGregor. Their first stop of the day was south of McGregor at the Rice River Senior Center for a quick break before setting up camp at McGregor School.

After peddling the 50 miles north from Isle, Donna Kummer, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stopped in for a brief break and shared her story with the Voyageur Press.

“I have been doing the ride for six years now,” started Donna. “Many years ago another rider put a notice in my church bulletin about the ride. That is when I did it with my husband.”

Donna pointed out that she actually took part in her first ride with her husband on a tandem bicycle back in 1996. They rode for a few more years in the nineties, then they took a break. She started riding again in 2007 – this time on her own.

“I love to ride, and this way I don’t have to do anything else all day. When you are training for rides, you still have to do your work, clean your house and take care of everything. When you are on the actual trip, the support staff is so terrific that you have to do very little other than set up your tent,” explained Donna.

Donna believes in the…

Contributing Writer

From July 26 to August 7, 2010, horseshoe competitors from around the country will be meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships sponsored by The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

According to the Association’s press release, “This two-week event is held once each summer to crown a World Champion horseshoes pitcher in each of eight divisions: Open Men, Open Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, Elder (short-distance) Men, Junior Boys, Junior Girls and Junior Cadets (nine years old and under).

“Pitchers are competing for approximately $170,000 in prize money, trophies and scholarships, as well as the right to call themselves ‘World Champion.’”

Area residents William Creighton from Tamarack, Roger Harp from Cromwell, and Edi and Les Holland from McGregor will be among the competitors in Iowa.

The Voyageur Press visited with Les Holland before he and Edi left for the competition. When asked what first got the couple into horseshoeing, Les explained that it’s a long story and a long time ago.

“As kids we always played in the backyard. It’s been over 30 years ago since we got into this sanctioned horseshoe competition in 1979. We were at a wedding reception out in the country, and we were all pitching horseshoes out in the driveway, and our friends who had been doing the sanctioned competition told us we should try it, so we did, and we’ve stayed with it,” shared Les. “We’ve been going to the National Horseshoe Competition since 1981. We’ve only missed two years since then,” Les continued. “Otherwise, we’ve been there every year.”

The competition is…