Edna Marie Barstad, age 85, of St. Paul, Minn., passed away Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008, in St. Paul.
She was born Nov. 30, 1923 in Ericsburg, Minn.
Survivors include her children, Virginia (Duke) Arons, Wayne (Anne Kapuscinski) Barstad, Delores (Lee) Anderson and Karen Barstad; grandchildren, Erin (Jeff) Kasper, Joshua (Emily) Anderson and Joanna Anderson; great-grandchildren, Ella Maria Anderson and Ruby Jane Anderson; brother, Einar Sundin; sister, Margaret Schmeling; nieces and nephews; dear friend, Margaret Sartain.

Sharing true spirit of Christmas has brought deeper meaning for many

It is clearly an emotional topic for guys like Lee Grim, Carl Brown and Pete Schultz as they discuss the Christmas Day Community Dinner. The third annual event is now being planned.

Their feelings come not just from providing a free dinner for anyone who would like to share, but also from what the event has come to mean and what it says about this particular community.

Many people have taken the opportunity to be part of something bigger than themselves, say these men.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has deployed an unmanned aircraft to support its ground mission on the northern border.

After a delay of two days for maintenance and weather, an MQ-9 Predator B Unmanned Aircraft System, belonging to the CBP Air and Marine division, departed Fort Huachuca Army Airfield in Sierra Vista, Ariz. last week and flew by virtual control to Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.

The Koochiching Economic Development Authority Board is scheduled to hear an update on progress to use the foreign trade zone when it meets Monday.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the courthouse boardroom.

Dave Serrano, of Arro of the North, has spent several months creating a mitigation plan for wetlands issues on the property identified as the FTZ, east of Ranier.

The Falls Broncos pulled out of a slump in a big way Tuesday in an 11-1 drubbing at Eveleth-Gilbert/Mesabi East.

“We needed a win, some way, some how,” said Broncos coach John Prettyman, whose squad opened the season 0-3. “We figured we were going to score a few goals, but we did a good job with our defensive effort.”

A few goals?

International Falls improved to 3-4-1 Tuesday with a convincing 6-0 shutout over Lake of the Woods at Bronco Arena.

Six different Broncos scored and goalie Taylar Nelson notched the first shutout of her young career.

“I was ready for this game, definitely,” the eighth-grader said. “And I played hard. I tried my best.”

Broncos coach Bruce Elson was especially impressed by his balanced scoring in a game billed to be a battle. However, the Bears (0-4) continue to disappoint after coming into the season with high expectations.

Skoglund finishes two assists shy of triple-double

The Falls Broncos proved they can play physical on the road Tuesday, but Eveleth-Gilbert was too much to handle in a 76-71 win in the opener for both teams.

In a game with 45 fouls called, Aaron Skoglund led the Broncos with a game-high 24 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. Trevar Carlson came off the bench and made four 3-pointers on his way to 17 points, Zack Olson chipped in with 12 points and Chris Heibel had seven points, three assists and three steals.

The Babbitt-Embarrass Knights used a zone press to create turnovers late and defeated the Broncos 57-54 Tuesday night at the Falls High Gym.

With the Falls leading 53-50, the Knights’ Kasey Wennerson stole the ball off of the press and made a layup to cut the lead to one. The Falls turned it over again on an over-and-back violation on the next possession, and Wennerson scored on a driving layup to give the Knights the lead, which they would not relinquish.

Kristen (Vidor) Busch, a 1992 Falls High School graduate, was named the WDIO-DT/WIRT-DT Excellent Educator for December. Excellent Educator awards are given by the Duluth television station to anyone who has gone above and beyond their job in the field of education.
Excellent Educators are featured during Eyewitness News and also appear in a commercial that is shown throughout the month.

RRCC Staff Report

Registration at Rainy River Community College for spring semester classes, which begin Jan. 12, has started.

A variety of evening classes are being offered. Tuition for these and other offerings is charged by the credit and there is a discounted rate for senior citizens age 62 and over. Additional information on these courses, and registration is available by calling RRCC at 285-7722.