inBemidji Summer 2023

5 SUMMER READS

JESS LUNDIN DETAILS THE ORIGINS OF HER FAMILY FARM

+SUMMER EVENTS CALENDAR

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Jess Lundin and her daughter Mary, 2, pose by an honorpay box and buckets of flowers at their family farm, LundinCroft Fields.

Photo by Annalise Braught.

DIY: SUMMERTIME Suncatcher

by MaryGrace Kerr inBemidji staff

Looking for a great way to upcycle all of those little crayon stubs you may find lying around your house? This fun and colorful summertime suncatcher can give those crayons and other art supplies you already have in your home a second life and give you a great activity to do on a hot or rainy day this summer with your kiddos.

55th Watermark Art Festival

with Event Partner Saturday & Sunday

in Downtown Bemidji

Supplies:

+ Crayons

+ Wax paper

+ Iron and ironing board

+ Pencil sharpener

+ Scissors

+ String or yarn

+ Stick

+ Hole punch

STEP ONE: Peel the wrappers off the crayons and use a pencil sharpener to create crayon shavings.

STEP TWO: Cut one piece of wax paper and spread the crayon shavings evenly onto the paper. Cut a second piece of wax paper of equal size and lay directly on top.

Senior Creation Gift Shop

STEP THREE: Using an iron on the lowest setting, iron directly on top of the wax paper to melt the crayons. The wax will melt almost immediately and will cool within seconds.

Antique Mall

Bemidji, First City on the Mississippi

Revisit your childhood and discover the “Antiques Capital of The North” Explore a vast array of treasures in our 7,000 sq. ft. store!

Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10:00 am - 5:00 pm • Sun. 11:00 am - 3:00 pm 120 Minnesota Ave NW, Bemidji, MN • (218) 444-2389

STEP FIVE: Using a hole punch, make a hole on the top and bottom of the cut-outs.

STEP FOUR: Once the crayon wax is completely cool, draw desired shapes onto the wax paper and cut out with scissors.

STEP SIX: Cut three or more pieces of string 15 to 25 inches long. Tie one end of the string to the stick and thread the other end through the holes on your cut-outs.

STEP SEVEN: Cut one piece of string about 10 inches long and tie it to each end of the stick, creating a way to hang your artwork.

SummerEVENTS

JUNE

“The Play That Goes Wrong”

June 16-18, 21-24

Paul Bunyan Playhouse (Chief Theater)

Loop the Lake Festival

June 17

Start/finish at Sanford Center

Northwoods Writers Conference

June 20-25

Bemidji State University

Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow

June 22-24

Sanford Center

Bemidji Jaycees Water Carnival

June 29-July 4

Bemidji

“Godspell”

June 30-July 2, July 5-8

Paul Bunyan Playhouse (Chief Theater)

JULY

Bemidji Area Community Band Concert

July 2

On the lawn south of Bangsberg Hall (indoors if inclement weather)

Bemidji Jaycees Water Carnival Parade

July 2

Downtown Bemidji

Bemidji Jaycees Water Carnival Fireworks

July 4

Lake Bemidji

Mississippi Music at the Waterfront: Rich Mattson & the Northstars

July 12

Lake Bemidji Waterfront

“Greater Tuna”

July 14-16, 19-22

Paul Bunyan Playhouse (Chief Theater)

JULY

Babes Burnout Car Show

July 15

Sanford Center

Watermark Art Festival (Art in the Park)

July 15-16

Downtown Bemidji

Anishinaabe Art Festival

July 21-22

Bemidji

“Elf The Musical”

July 26-30, Aug. 2-5

Paul Bunyan Playhouse (Chief Theater)

Lake George Blueberry Festival

July 28-30

Lake George

Blackduck Woodcarvers Festival

July 29

Blackduck Wayside Park

AUGUST

Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival

Aug. 2-5

Lake Bemidji Waterfront

Clearwater County Fair

Aug. 2-6

Bagley

First City River Duck Race

Aug. 4

Mississippi River between lakes Irving and Bemidji

Lake Itasca Family Music Festival

Aug. 4-6

Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers

Mississippi Music at the Waterfront: Jillian Rae

Aug. 9

Lake Bemidji Waterfront

Beltrami County Fair

Aug. 9-13

Bemidji

Sanford Niimi'idiwin (Powwow)

Aug. 17

Lot near Sanford Bemidji Medical Center

Backwoods Bash

Aug. 19

Blackduck

Forestedge Winery Art Fair

Aug. 19-20

Laporte

Stewards of the land

LundinCroft Fields takes roadside stand to the next level

by Maggi Fellerman inBemidji staff photos by Annalise Braught

What started as a simple self-serve roadside pumpkin stand at the end of their driveway, husband and wife team Mike and Jess Lundin has turned into a unique pick-your-own flower and pumpkin field.

It’s a place to bring your children, hang out with a group of friends, walk through fields of thousands of flowers and pick your own bouquets, and experience the beauty of the Northwoods through the crops of the Lundin family farm just north of Bemidji.

The Bemidji High School

sweethearts moved to the property at 7826 Birchmont Beach Rd. NE near Lake Bemidji State Park, which they now call “LundinCroft Fields” in 2012. Jess came up with the idea for the name after reading that the word “Croft” referred to a small field, farm or piece of land, and thought that it flowed nicely with their last name.

It consisted of a farmhouse with acres of land, lots of trails, wildlife, a field out front and a huge fenced-in garden that was theirs to claim -- and the couple wasted no time utilizing the abundance of land they now call home.

Within the first couple of years, they planted a variety of vegetables with high hopes of a bountiful harvest, but only saw failure as the weeds swallowed up any tender plant they tried to grow. As the years went on, they started to crack the gardening code.

After selling a few pumpkins at the end of the road for a couple of years, finessing the northern Minnesota climate and learning how to control weeds without the use of chemicals, LundinCroft Fields was just a dream away.

Fast forward to today, despite a few rocks in the soil along the way, the Lundin family is opening its gates this summer for community members to pick and enjoy some of their favorite flowers for themselves.

Between weekly flower bouquet subscriptions, a roadside stand and a pick-your-own flower field, LundinCroft Fields is the perfect family-friendly summer activity Bemidji has been waiting for.

“Being a steward of the land feels good, just knowing that we’re cultivating and growing something that people want in our community that’s beautiful and useful,” Jess said. “I enjoy providing for the community and hope that people enjoy coming here as much as I do.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

It all started in 2015 when Jess’s dad retired and asked her two oldest sons, Dylan and Evan, if they wanted to plant a couple rows of pumpkins, just to see if they would sell at the end of their driveway.

That first year, the boys filled a whole

trailer of pumpkins and sure enough, they sold right away. As the years went on, Jess thought she might as well grow some flowers and sell them at the end of the driveway, too.

“We've always just had an honorpay box at the end of the driveway

and I thought as long as people were coming by to get pumpkins, I might as well stick some flowers down there and see what happens,” she explained. “And that’s when all the ideas of starting this business came exploding out of me.”

Mary holding a flower.

With a new addition of fresh-cut flower bouquets to the roadside pumpkin stand, Jess ran with the idea of flower subscriptions. From the field straight to the vase, subscribers receive a different mix of flowers each week.

Jess found herself transitioning from a stay-at-home mom with a hobby to a small business owner in a short amount of time. Determined to turn her side hustle into a profiting business, she taught herself the ins and outs of running a business, built her own website and began selling her homegrown flowers.

“I am in no way a business person,” Jess said with a laugh. “I don't know anything about it. I’ve had to learn everything from the ground up. I mean, I was just a mom and before I knew it, I was running a business.”

As the Lundin family learned the business and how to grow a successful

crop, Jess mentioned that everything they grow is “field grown”, meaning they don’t have any high tunnels or greenhouses -- everything is sown directly into the ground and occasionally planted indoors under lights in the late winters.

This summer, LundinCroft Fields makes its grand debut. Opening its gates for the first time for the Bemidji community and its summer tourists, Jess hopes people will come and see the family’s hard work for themselves.

“It's weird to call ourselves farmers, it took me a long time to even say that confidently,” Jess admitted. “But yes, we are farming so many different things here so how could there not be constant learning, figuring new things out every day or finding better ways to do things? That's always been one of the best parts of it -- just always being open to learning something new.”

‘USED TO THE HUSTLE’

Jess began her journey as a stayat-home mom when her first son was born in 2007.

As a mother of five children whose ages range from 2 to 16, the list of what Jess does for her family is endless. And just like her flowers, that list keeps growing. The newest additions she can now add to her resume are small business owner and first-generation farmer.

“It’s a lot of driving and keeping things straight,” Jess said of toting her children to and from sporting events and other commitments. “But it’s the season of life we’re in and it’s so fun for the kids at this age with sports and activities and things like that. We’re in it and we’re used to the hustle.”

Mike, employed by Knife River Construction and Contracting, works

SERVINGNORTHWESTMINNESOTA

OurServices

"That's always been one of the best parts of it — just always being open to learning something new."

-Jess Lundin

on the road a lot of spring and summer hours. Like spring is a busy season for planting crops, it's also a busy season for construction. Through trial and error, the couple has learned how to work smarter, not harder.

“This is such a busy time of year for us here with planting season, but it’s also so busy for Mike at work. Over the years, we just learned these things. We've learned how to work smarter, not harder,” Jess said. “There are so many things I've had to figure out by myself when Mike is gone and I’m learning to be more self-reliant.”

As their children grow older, some of them are starting to see the value of growing up on a farm, the hard work and the rewarding feeling that comes with it. The farming gene comes naturally to a couple of their kin, but others opt to help out only when they need to.

“Before, when we just had a simple vegetable garden, all we did was weed and pick rocks so the kids didn’t really like it. But this field was all jackpines and we cleared and leveled all of this for our flower fields,” Jess said as she gestured to her garden. “We’ve picked hundreds of rocks and ruts over the years and of course, it was fun for the kids at first, but they didn’t really enjoy it after that.”

Their second oldest son, Evan, seems to have taken a liking to the small-town Minnesota farm life.

At 14 years old, he’s right there beside Jess and Mike every day helping plant, harvest, weed and pull rocks. He even took it upon himself to raise a hive of bees to help pollinate their crops with his own money.

“He loves it. He actually has been helping out at the Goldmine Ranch down the road, too,” Jess said. “The horses, cleaning the stalls and just helping out on the farm. He likes the hard and physical labor that comes with all of this.”

"We've learned how to work smarter, not harder."

-Jess Lundin

Evan picking sunflowers from the garden. Submitted photo.

When the Lundin family isn’t tending to the farm or running around town attending the kids’ sporting events, Jess, Mike, Dylan (16), Evan (14), Addy (11), Walter, (9) and Mary (2) love to get out on the lakes to fish, boat and enjoy the outdoors together as a family.

“We love life in northern Minnesota. We do a lot of fishing, camping, snowmobiling and boating,” Jess said. “The boys are really into hunting and trapping but overall we just love being out on the water. We have a lot of family around us and of course, friends we’ve known forever that we go meet out on the sandbar in the summers.”

BUSINESS IS BLOOMING

Jess has a couple of different options for those looking to get their hands on some LundinCroft flower bouquets.

Flower subscriptions are one way to get the first choice of fresh and beautiful flowers. Customers can subscribe ahead of time to receive a different mix of flowers every week.

Bagley Elementary School Bagley, MN

The Lundin family. Submitted photo.

Subscriptions are picked first before the roadside stand bouquets and offer customers six weeks of top-choice flowers right from the garden. Every bouquet is unique as they’re picked according to what flowers are blooming that week.

“Our subscriptions make a wonderful gift for a special person in your life, or for the person who has everything,” the LundinCroft website reads. “A different mix of flowers each week makes this a truly unique and special gift. They also make a lovely, fresh addition to your office or business.”

Jess offers a four-week spring package that includes fragrant tulips and daffodils along with a six-week summer package that includes colorful

lilies, sunflowers, zinnias and much more.

She also takes it upon herself to deliver her flowers personally to those who live within 10 miles of Bemidji. Otherwise, folks can pick them up at the roadside stand.

For those who don’t want a subscription, at the end of the driveway sits the self-serve roadside stand. Open daily from sunrise to sunset, customers can enjoy a quick drive along Lake Bemidji and help themselves to spring and summer bouquets. Come autumn, pumpkins of all shapes and sizes along with hay bales and corn stalks will be displayed.

Lastly, the pick-your-own flower field will be available this summer

from 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as the flowers can only be picked during the coolest parts of the day to avoid wilting.

According to Jess, everything needed to pick bouquets of flowers will be provided to guests, but bear in mind to wear appropriate footwear and plan accordingly if those in your party are allergic to insects.

“Behind the scenes, we have a lot going on but we hope to lay the groundwork for an easy summer,” Jess said. “We will definitely keep living by the ‘work smarter, not harder’ motto and get everything taken care of this time of year, then all we have to do is let it grow.” ▪

Submitted photos.

Mental health can be a world full of unknowns. Many people don’t know where to look to find a great counselor, how to afford counseling, or how counseling actually works. With these and several other unanswered questions, my hope is to provide some answers and resources on where to start looking.

Q: Where do I go to find a therapist/ counselor?

A: To start your search, you’ll have to answer a few questions. Which gender do you prefer to work with? Virtual or in-person? What issues do you feel you are struggling with? Do you want to use insurance or pay privately? If using insurance, you can start by calling your insurance company and they can provide you a list of therapists in your area. Another great search tool is Psychology Today. This is a directory that allows a person to filter and find the right therapist for them.

Q: How do I know if the counselor I chose is the right one for me?

A: Take your time to read through their bio or website. Take advantage of the free consultation option as this provides an opportunity for you to speak with the counselor before getting started. Another helpful tip: counselors are not like rain ponchos. They are not one-size-fits-all. What’s most important is that you find the right therapist for you.

Q: What can I expect during the first session?

A: This answer varies a bit based on each practice. Overall, you can think of the first session

as a two-way interview where you and the therapist can ask each other questions and get to know each other. They will invite you to share more about yourself and also talk about what’s worked or not worked for your mental health in the past. Some questions that I like to ask during a first session include:

What brought you to counseling?

What goals would you like to reach by coming to counseling?

What is important for me to know about you to understand your current challenges?

You can ask your therapist questions, as well. You might be curious about why they’re a counselor or how they’ve helped other

clients like you.

The most important part of a first session is to experience what therapy is like with that therapist. If you feel cared for, secure and accepted with them, you can then discuss if you’d like to meet again.

Q: What’s the difference between using insurance and paying out of pocket?

A: Access to mental health care is more important than ever.

Privately paying for counseling allows me to be the most flexible and confidential with your care. I have found that using some insurances creates barriers for quality treatment. Private Pay = Privacy.

When using insurance, it is important to know a few things. How much will your out-of-pocket expenses be when using insurance? Do you have a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)? How many sessions will your insurance cover? Insurance companies dictate things like the number and length

of sessions, and require that you are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. A mental health diagnosis remains permanently in your health record. Insurance companies also have access to know why you are going to therapy and what progress you are making. They have the right to audit your therapy files and

notes, and ask questions of your therapist about your treatment.

Q: What about privacy and confidentiality?

A: It can be concerning feeling like things you say or do in therapy could “get out,” but unless you are in danger or someone else is,

your story is confidential and your time in the session is protected. Counselors are held to strict HIPAA confidentiality laws and your privacy and trust are of utmost importance.

Q: How long does counseling take?

A: You might be asking about how long counseling will take because you are currently struggling and want quick relief. On average, new clients start seeing small amounts of growth after the first few sessions. The total duration of counseling varies from client to client; some clients may continue counseling for a longer term to work through deeper concerns and experiences, while other clients may feel more supported without long-term counseling.

The frequency of counseling can also change, oftentimes starting with weekly sessions. But over time, sessions can turn into every other week or once a month based on your needs. ▪

hope you found this

to be helpful to you or to anyone who has ever considered mental health counseling. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions or are looking to get started on your mental health journey.

spreadsfor summer

photos by Annalise Braught

Just as one may take a dip in the pool as the weather warms, the Larisa Cooks kitchen has whipped up some tasty dips and savory spreads perfect for the summer season. Try out each of these recipes and spread the word about your favorite one!

Fresh Mozzarella

with Blistered Tomatoes

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh mozzarella

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)

1 clove garlic

½ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon dried oregano salt and pepper

1 loaf French bread

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss tomatoes, oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil and oregano onto a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until soft and splitting. Cool slightly. Place mozzarella on a small plate. Spoon slightly cooled tomatoes around the cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh herbs. Serve with toasted French bread.

with Soft Pretzels Beer Cheese Dip

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese

6 ounces beer

8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 box frozen soft pretzels

Directions: Bake frozen soft pretzels per package instructions. Place the cream cheese and beer in a small pot over low heat to melt the cream cheese, whisking until smooth. Add a little bit of the shredded cheddar cheese at a time, whisking until each addition has fully melted and incorporated before adding the next portion. Whisk dry mustard and garlic powder into the mixture. Serve with pretzels.

Note: Can be served hot or chilled. As the dip cools, it becomes stiffer and more like a spread.

Baked Brie Cheese Maple Bacon Topped

Ingredients

3 strips bacon, diced

3 tablespoons real maple syrup

1 8-ounce wheel of brie cheese

1 loaf French bread or crackers

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut off the top rind of brie cheese and place the cheese on a parchmentlined baking sheet. Bake the cheese for eight to 10 minutes, or until soft and just starting to melt. Cook the bacon pieces in a skillet over medium heat to your desired crispiness. Place the bacon bits on a paper towel. Remove the pan from the burner and drain off the fat from the pan. Right before serving, return the bacon bits to the pan and stir in the maple syrup over medium-low heat until warmed through. Slide the parchment paper directly onto a serving platter. Top with the warm maple-bacon mixture. Serve immediately with toasted French bread or crackers.

Note: If you add the maple syrup to the hot pan and let it sit for too long, it caramelizes and gets super sticky, making it hard to get out of the pan. To prevent that from happening, warm up the maple syrup right before serving and then immediately put it on the hot brie. You can also warm up the maple syrup in the microwave and drizzle it over the bacon after it’s on the brie.

with Goat Cheese Balsamic Blueberries

Ingredients

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

2 teaspoons honey (add an extra teaspoon if your blueberries aren’t very sweet)

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

4 ounces goat cheese

2 ounces cream cheese

1 loaf French bread or crackers

Directions: Add the blueberries to a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey, salt and balsamic vinegar. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool for a few minutes. In a separate bowl, beat the goat cheese and cream cheese together. Spread the goat cheese mixture over a small plate and top with the blueberry mixture. Serve with toasted French bread or crackers.

by

Jennifer

Koski special to inBemidji

NAME: Dennis Nelson

AGE: 56

OCCUPATION: Rural mail carrier

WHERE WE FOUND HIM: On our front porch delivering our mail

Editor’s Note: Writer Jennifer Koski believes everyone has a story to tell — from the person in line behind you at the coffee shop to the person who delivers your mail. And for 12 years, she’s proved this theory month after month with her award-winning “Random Rochesterite” magazine column in Rochester, Minnesota. A recent Bemidji transplant, Koski is now bringing these random, person-on-the-street interviews to inBemidji.

+ ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM BEMIDJI?

I’m originally from Los Angeles. My sister graduated from college there — she was a hotel/restaurant hospitality major — and the first job she was offered was up in Lutsen. She was up for a change, so she moved there. She ended up getting married and staying in Minnesota. My father is originally from Fargo, so when my parents were ready to retire, they started looking in this area. They ended up moving to Lake Beltrami. So my entire family moved here from Los Angeles. When I was 36, I decided to join them.

+ YOU WERE READY FOR

A CHANGE, TOO? I owned a small sports bar in Redondo Beach. It was just a break-even business. After five years, I was tired of it. You could already see Los Angeles was going to hell. After visiting my folks and my sister a few times, I saw that it was so much nicer here. The people were much more friendly. So I sold the sports bar off and shipped myself up here in 2002.

+ BIGGEST

DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN L.A. AND BEMIDJI? I grew up in Redondo, and everything is piled on top of each other. The houses and yards are small. But you grew up there, so you think it’s normal. Here, one of the first things I noticed is that it’s dark and quiet. I freaked out when I came to visit the first time. I thought there had to be a wolf or bear behind everything! Just being able to walk outside and see the Milky Way and the stars. It’s amazing. That’s something I never experienced in Los Angeles.

+ DO YOU HAVE AN “ONLY IN LOS ANGELES”

STORY? I got a jury summons for the O.J. Simpson trial. That first day, I drove into downtown Los Angeles and there were thousands of

people there — protestors and news crews and cops everywhere directing us to a parking structure, escorting us to the courthouse. That first day we sat around for hours with nobody telling us anything. There had to be close to 100 of us. The second day, they gave us a questionnaire to answer. One of the questions was: “Do you know anybody who’s involved with the trial?” Turns out a girl I dated for a short time was best friends with Ron Goldman, the man who was killed. So I was immediately shown the door. That’s definitely something that could’ve only happened in L.A. I also remember when the riots started, after the Rodney King verdict. My buddy and I were at Dodgers Stadium. We had season tickets. And they wouldn’t let us out. We got locked down there until three in the morning. Everything was burning.

+ DID YOU BECOME A MAIL CARRIER WHEN YOU FIRST MOVED HERE?

I had gone to culinary school, so I worked in the restaurant industry for a long time in Los Angeles. So my first job here was at Blue Moon — it’s where the Speakeasy is now, what used to be CK Dudleys. While I was there, I put in an application with the Post Office.

+ BEST PART OF YOUR JOB? There’s a couple of things I really like — like 99% of the people. There’s always 1% that you can never make happy no matter what you do.

+ WORST PART? The trend toward micromanagement. And Amazon. Ever since the pandemic hit, the parcels have exploded. There are more and more every day. I worked for UPS for a short time when I was in college, and it feels like I’m working for UPS again. It’s what’s paying the bills at the Post Office, so I understand. But after 20 years, you get used to delivering mail to mailboxes. If I had 20 packages

to deliver in a day, that was heavy. Now, if I have under 120 packages in a day, it’s a light day.

+ HOW MANY HOMES ARE ON YOUR ROUTE?

572 during the summer. I do a lot of lake areas that are seasonals.

+

WHAT DO

YOU DO WITH YOUR TIME OFF?

During the summer, I play golf. I did not pick up golf until I was about 15 years old. We didn’t have a golf team at our high school or junior high, but there was a little driving range/threehole course in our neighborhood and I was immediately hooked.

Dennis, second from left, enjoys his spare time golfing at the Bemidji Town and Country Club with friends Kevin Williamson, Jeff Erickson and Rob Main. Submitted photo.

+ WHAT’S YOUR HANDICAP? At the Country Club, I’m a 10 right now. But it’s been as low as a 6. I’ve been a member there for almost 15 years. I have the most unusual golf swing at the country club. You ever see pictures of Charles Barkley’s golf swing? I’ve been compared — except that I can actually hit the ball where I want it to go. Almost all of my friends in this town are people I met out on the golf course. Tomorrow I’m playing with a buddy who’s coming in from Romania.

+ HOW DID YOU MEET HIM? On the golf course here. He retired as a school bus driver, sold his house and moved to Romania. He’d been there on vacation, fell in love with it and moved. He bought a food truck and is selling American junk food — funnel cakes and things like that — outside of bars. He’s got a daughter who still

lives here, so he comes back every six months.

+ THERE’S A MILITARY INSIGNIA ON YOUR JACKET. DID YOU SERVE? Yes, from ‘85 to ‘88. I spent one year in junior college after I graduated in ‘84. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and didn’t have the money to finish college, so I joined the Army and got the money for college. It worked out well. I went to Panama and stuff. Then I went to college at Cal State Long Beach for criminal justice. I originally wanted to go into the FBI, but when I graduated in 1991, 1992, there was a hiring freeze at the FBI.

+ MOST ADVENTUROUS THING YOU’VE DONE? Well, besides jumping out of airplanes when I was in Airborne School in the Army, I was a scout sniper.

+ WHOA. DID YOU EVER

HAVE TO USE THAT SKILL? I can’t talk about that.

+ HOW INTENSE WAS THAT TRAINING? If basic training was tough, this was infinitely worse. I went through SERE [Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape] training. They make you go through a psychological profile before sniper school. And they find out everything that you’re terrified of and they put you through that. We had one guy who was claustrophobic. They threw him into a locker, put him in the ground and pretended to bury him. The whole idea was that if you were a sniper and you were ever caught, you were going to be tortured and questioned. This was to determine what you were going to endure. When you’re 18, 19 years old, you can put up with a lot.

+ WAS THAT THE SCARIEST THING YOU’VE DONE? No. That was asking one of my fiance’s fathers for his permission. He said yes.

+ DID YOU MAKE IT TO THE ALTAR? I’ve been engaged three times and it hasn’t worked out. The first time, we were way too young. The second time, it wasn’t the right fit. The third one, she was a hardcore alcoholic. She was probably my soul mate, but she wouldn’t give up alcohol for our relationship. I’m a confirmed bachelor now.

+ BEST ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN? It was from my father. He said, “Don’t ever let your personal life interfere with work.” I was probably 23, 24 years old and he meant, “Don’t do anything so stupid that you can’t get up and go to work in the morning.” It’s good advice.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

For many people, a fair just isn’t complete without the rousing rodeo. In the spirit of fair season, can you spot 5 differences between these two photos during Wojo’s Rodeo at last year’s Beltrami County Fair?

ANSWERS: 1) The word SPONSOR missing from left corner of green banner, 2) extra orange reflector on trailer on right side, 3) part of red rope

missing near woman's hand, 4) extra row of white dots on saddle near woman's leg, 5) extra post on fence near man left of the horses' head.

FAITHLIVESAND GROWS HERE.

DISCOVER

Applyat

BELTRAMI COUNTY RECYCLING GUIDE

Paper

• Mail, office and school paper

• Magazines and catalogs

• Newspaper and inserts

• Phonebooks

Boxes

• Cardboard

• Cereal and cracker boxes

• Shoe boxes, gift boxes, electronics boxes

Glass

• Food and beverage bottle and jars

Metal

• Food and beverage cans

Plastic*

• Empty Water, soda and juice bottles

• Milk bottles

• Ketchup and condiment bottles

• Dishwashing and detergent bottles

• Shampoo, soap, and lotion bottles

• Yogurt, pudding and fruit cups

• Margarine, cottage cheese and other containers

• Produce, deli and take out containers

Packaging*

• Clear, rigid packaging from toys and electronics

Not Accepted

Cartons, plastic bags, film and wrap, plastic foam; Styrofoam™, food waste, paper cups and plates, glass dishes, drinking glasses, window glass and ceramics, trash, containers that held hazardous products; oil, antifreeze