Bruce Allen Hams, of International Falls, Minn., died Sunday, June 22, 2008, at his home in the Falls. Bruce was 44 years of age.
Born July 31, 1963, at Sioux Falls, S.D., he moved to International Falls as an infant and had been a lifelong resident ever since.
He graduated from Falls High School in 1981.
Bruce was united in marriage to Susan Begg, March 17, 1990.
He worked as a bindery operator for North Star Publishing Corporation in the Falls.

Dan died March 6, 2008 at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, Minn., after a brief hospitalization.
He was born Feb. 12, 1959 in International Falls, Minn., to Peter and Helen Fichuk. Dan graduated from Falls High School in 1977, Rainy River Community College in 1979 and the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks with a bachelor of science degree in business administration (aviation major) in 1982.
Dan worked for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 21 1/2 years. He was an air traffic control specialist in Farmington, Hibbing and Princeton, Minn.; and also in Fairbanks, Alaska.

John B. Harris, 82, of International Falls, passed away Friday morning, June 20, 2008, at Falls Good Samaritan Center following a brief battle with cancer.
He was born Sept. 18, 1925, in Ada, Minn., to Raymond and Sarah (Foster) Harris.
As a young boy, he moved to Thief River Falls, Minn., and attended school.
He drove truck for a bakery in Thief River Falls until 1950.
He was in the Civil Service and was stationed in Hawaii with his father from 1944 to 1945.

Brittany Shober visits 20 European countries while studying abroad

Funny, to find such a thing, just as she was preparing for the trip of her life.
So thought 19-year-old Brittany Shober as she picked up the clinking St. Christopher’s medal from the washing machine. She had just done her laundry on the Duluth college campus and paused to read the above verse, representing the patron saint of travelers. She would soon depart for her study abroad in England.

StandDown scheduled for Aug. 21

The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans was back in International Falls on Wednesday to continue planning a “StandDown” fair event to bring the people and resources for veterans together in one event.
The StandDown will take place Aug. 21, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kerry Park Arena. The open, free and friendly event offers a free lunch at 11 a.m. with speeches and color guard ceremonies at 1 p.m.

The Koochiching County Board is expected to take action on several Planning Commission recommendations at its meeting Tuesday.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in the courthouse boardroom.
During Environmental Services Department business at 10:55 a.m., the board is expected to approve a recommendation from the Planning Commission to grant a conditional use permit requested by the city of International Falls for limited overnight camp sites at City Beach.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is accepting comments on a proposed change in regulations for carrying concealed weapons into national parks.
The current regulation for a majority of parks, including Voyageurs National Park, states that a person can carry a weapon into the park if it is inoperable and inaccessible, such as in the truck of a car, according to Chris Paolino, of the National Park Service.

Over 90 golfers took part in the 10th Annual Rainy River Community College Foundation Golf and Social Friday afternoon at Falls Country Club.
The social is the major fund raiser for the foundation’s scholarship and development fund that is used to support scholars and college development initiatives at RRCC.
The recipients of this year’s scholarships were on hand and worked as servers during the social. The recipients are Kate Anderson, Megan Harris, Christine Johnson, Maureen Johnson and Emma Pavleck.

By Ward Merrill, Executive Director

I just completed a fascinating book with some interesting analogies to the Backus/AB complex.
“Conquering Gotham: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels” by Jill Jonnes was a tremendous “Gilded Age epic” which told of the massive turn of the century project by the Pennsylvania Railroad to build the first “subaqueous” tunnels under the Hudson and East Rivers to reach Manhattan.

People’s perception of government actions becomes their reality, regardless of the truth.
Action by the International Falls school board last week has left questions for some people about what really happened.
And while the board does not appear to have broken any laws, the action may have created confusion.
First, the board publicly announced and interviewed three candidates from outside the district to fill the position of superintendent, which was to be left vacant with the announced resignation of Don Langan on or before Dec. 31.