International Falls Journal - Education News - Comments

Great!I think it's very

melanyor — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:12:27 -0500

Great!I think it's very important to award students with scholarships.Because it gives a strong motivation for them and other students to study better.
Melany T., online nursing graduate

Actually, I graduated from

lesleyk — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:41:25 -0500

Actually, I graduated from Siouxland Community Christian school in 1995. AND I received two scholarships, the Aaron Douglas for high grades as a transfer student AND the SMART grant for being an Engineering student with a high gpa.

Congrats Mr B!!

skittles86 — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:23:11 -0500

Congrats Mr B!!

Congrats to all those who

nillsondan15 — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:45:38 -0600

Congrats to all those who made it to the Honor Roll! You're now eligible to be listed in the national Star Student Resume Directory at http://www.nuresume.com and enter Star Student contests for internships. Each student can get their free resume portfolio page to market themselves better in this economy. Good luck!

I commend the Band Students

Icesicle — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:55:26 -0600

I commend the Band Students for thier plan of action to raise the funds for this trip. I have to say they should be proud of themselves for doing actual "work" instead of taking money for doing nothing like some of the athletic teams at FHS in the past have done. It's very nice to see that some FHS students are willing to expend some time and energy and truly provide a worthwhile service in order to "earn" some funds. I hope folks around town who want to have thier snow removed after this glut of snow remember the Band members of FHS and give them a call to get thier snow removed. Good luck to you industrious Band members in your fund raising! You deserve this trip!

Thumbs up for the Indus

six-shooter — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:01:43 -0600

Thumbs up for the Indus school for having an Christmas concert like the ones I grew up with. Singing all the Christmas carols that we used to sing in grade school. All of us kids enjoyed the atmosphere of the approaching Christmas programs decorating with a real tree and making Christmas presents to bring home to our mom and dad. Thank you Indus school for creating these memories for students that will last a lifetime. Being politically correct was not your priority.

Great job done by these

nillsondan15 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:29:09 -0600

Great job done by these students! We would like to profile their work on www.nuresume.com which is the first Student Resume Network for students. These students would then have this achievement on their online resume portfolio.

I remember a time years ago

Thomas L. Johnson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:50:40 -0500

I remember a time years ago when my brother was trying to figure out where in Northern Minnesota to set up a dental practice. Probably the single greatest factor for the twenty-something guy he was then was the physical locale and the town itself. Bemidji is built on a lakeshore. It has always been an attractive town that knew from day one that it was in the business of attracting tourists. [Unlike our small town, it didn't have a huge factory in the middle spewing out sulphuric gases and it didn't have its beaches and golf courses hidden away on small county roads]. It had a big college of fairly mediocre reputation but with a nice campus and a huge service area. And no competition for about 100 miles in any direction.

Bemidji is still dwarflike in relation to Plymouth or Maple Grove, but it has allowed itself to become a regional center. When that happens, you get a Target, a Lowes, a strip that looks like urban strips anywhere in America -- franchises elbow to elbow. This adds something to the quality of life and also takes something away.

There seem to be stages to growth -- I would call them thresholds. Twelve thousand seems to be one sort of threshold. Once you get to 12,000, you can easily reach 15,000 because you pick up accelerators like convention-type hotels and better restaurants. [Bemidji has moved from 12,000 to 13,500 in this decade; International Falls has lost 8.7% of its population in the same period, falling to just over 6,000]

Bemidji has some real limits to its growth, largest of which is probably the lack of an easy or direct route to the Twin Cities. International Falls will likely see a rapid decline after it goes below 6,000 as it will lose its community college and retail diversity, getting down to one grocery store, one drug store, one fast food restaurant. . . . The irony is that a widened Highway 53 may well become the Road to Nowhere . . .

In a place like Bemidji, you don't get a lot of community because of the transient nature of college students and tourists, but you learn to live in a more fluid environment.

In International Falls, you focus on community even if it counters growth. I felt at the time and said as much that the community call to get rid of football at RRCC would be a death knell for the school. I did understand that the problems raised by football were huge, particularly in a largely homogeneous community like IF. But the problems created by killing a program rather than trying to redirect it will be even larger if the CC closes down completely.

Anyway, good question, kay.

Losing RRCC would be a

ILOVERAINY — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:37:22 -0500

Losing RRCC would be a dismal deathblow to the Falls. It already gets increasingly depressing each time we former Falls residents visit, as the community shrinks and the economy seems so unhealthy there compared even to other Minnesota towns. It's the most beautiful place on earth--truly. So why does it struggle so? As a child who moved there part way through elementary school and stayed until I was 19, I can say "outsiders" don't ever feel totally welcome, even after years. The families that have been there for generations are clannish and distrustful of outsiders. Some may deny this, but I know that I am not the only one who has left for this reason over the years--there are many. And I don't say this as someone who is scarred by it or something. I say it as constructive criticism--I say it to help you, give you, as a community, something you could work on a little. I don't want to see the town continue to deteriorate. It's just that it has always seemed as if you have only 3 choices if you move to I. Falls from somewhere else: 1) have a very strong skin and try to ignore the "anti-outsider" attitudes and fear of anything unfamiliar or new, 2) leave for greener pastures, or 3) become and alcoholic and spend most of your time in a darkhouse on Rainy spearing northerns--the only thing an outsider can do to actually earn acceptance. Tourists visit for the lake--and there is nothing else like being in a boat on Rainy Lake--that smell, that great air and the fantastic storms that can whip up on the lake. And, of course, the best walleye fishing on the planet. But people come to live there needing more than just natural beauty. They need to make a living, raise a family, have things to do on a Friday night, both for adults and young people. Hockey, yes, and other sports--but there has to be more than that to get people to come and stay. RRCC was always a beacon and I remember it when it contained some of the best in fine arts, opportunities and instructors that you could find anywhere. It has given people the chance to take a class, meet others--many people have "found themselves" there via a new career or a class that opened minds and doors or introduced them to a person who made all the difference. There aren't other venues for these kind of things in town. You all would do yourself a favor by fighting tooth and nail to make sure it doesn't fall into the drink, like so many other things have that used to be there for the Falls residents. It's definitely worth fighting for, guys.

Its no wonder why Bemidji

kay — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:01:31 -0500

Its no wonder why Bemidji has the amount of students it has. College students want part time jobs, places to shop and things to do. We just don't have what they need. We just lost the Thrifty White Drug and the Miller Mcdonald office is closing. How many people did these two businesses employ? It is getting worse and worse as each day passes. Pretty soon it won't make a difference if the main highway bypasses town since there won't be any reason for someone to stop. Bemidji is expanding and growing by leaps and bounds. WHY?

.

yayasister — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:35:57 -0500

Ok, guys and girls, this is

viperboy — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:16:47 -0500

Ok, guys and girls, this is what we have all been asking for in the last week and you know the saying, ask and you shall recieve, we got it now lets run with it and get some kind of change going on here, I'm looking for answers on why everything took so long... and with a little bit of luck i just might get them now... someone is listening to us for once.

According to Raboin this

six-shooter — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:16:02 -0600

According to Raboin this person could be charged with felony terrorist threats if so was the FBI called in or did our officials think they were better trained? This was handled like one big circle you know what. If any one should be shamed it is the supervision who handled this so ineptly right from 7:30 WEdnesday a.m.

The Duluth News also stated

maclean_ron — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:02:13 -0600

The Duluth News also stated and correct me if I'm wrong that both threats were bomb threats which I don't believe was the case. The first call that was placed and left for school officials was a direct threat of violence (which they never went into detail or specifics about) but gave the idea that the caller would do something to endanger the student body. The second call the caller made we were told that they stated that there was a bomb on the school premises that would go off at 11am yesterday. Why officials are holding back what the caller stated in their first message I don't get; but yet it's okay to tell us about the second message they left. I just hope they catch whoever it was!

Duluth News reported that

Icesicle — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:08:25 -0600

Duluth News reported that Wednesday's threat was to" kill everyone in the building ". How can that be misconstrued? In my mind that is a direct threat, is how young the caller sounded really a factor? Why do we have to wait and hear such important content from a news source outside of town? I listened to Langan explaining this situation twice on the radio yesterday and was more confused ( regarding the evacuation ) each time I listened. Langan did state in the interview that Wednesdays threat would require a physical presence in the school. He did not elaborate on what the threat had been.
I thank the Duluth News for making clear exactly what the threat was. The children are safe. How the handling of the situation went, I'm sure will be discussed thoroughly. I would hope that School officials here in I.S.D. 361 research how many incidents of school shootings (and other violent acts) in recent years that have occurred inside schools, by a member of the student body who may be emotionally disturbed , or angry. A threat to kill everyone is just that. A direct threat. I would take it very seriously no matter what age the caller sounded. I do not consider this threat "a prank". Everyone is safe, but until the caller is caught I won't stop worrying.