Monday
• Participants in the 4-H dog show proved that hard work and commitment, along with a little canine cooperation, can be the winning ticket.
• After several counterfeit bills turned up at local banks and a local business, International Falls police are urging business people to be on alert for the fraud.
• Anglers braved the unpredictable weather during the North American Sturgeon Championship in Birchdale. Jason Hell took the win with a 53 1/2 inch fish.
• During the most recent installment of The Johnson Journals, Don Johnson takes a trip to New York City and enjoys many of the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.

Tuesday
• Ranier’s past and present character came to life during the annual Ranier Festival, where locals enjoyed waterfront rides, a pooch parade, festive foods, art and history.
• After disagreement and lengthy discussion, the Falls School Board approved adopting a Response to Intervention program and hiring an RTI coordinator. The board also discussed reassignment of current elementary teachers so that class sizes were more equal through the grades.
• The International Falls City Council and the Koochiching County Board will take a closer look at the Koochiching Economic Development Authority at a meeting in September, the Falls council announced after a presentation from KEDA Director Paul Nevanen.
• Residents of Ranier will not see a tax hike in 2010, as the city council approved a budget and tax levy the same as 2009. Officials also discussed a preliminary meeting with representatives of the Office of Administrative Hearings on annexation and planting 12 trees in the Ranier Park.
• Young entrepreneurs Jaeda Knutson and Allison Bobst spent the day working a neighborhood dog wash. They thought of the idea because of the number of dogs roaming the streets of Ranier and dogs they saw in the pooch parade at the Ranier Festival.
• Jay Boyle, the new Falls High head football coach, started preparing for the upcoming season once the practice season opened.

Wednesday
• The Falls School Board approved a resolution to call for a special election to allow voters to decide on whether to fund the International Falls Recreation Commission through taxes.
• Families released butterflies in remembrance of lost loved ones through a program with the North Star Hospice. Although the event was rained out, families were asked to take the butterflies home and release them once the weather cleared.
• The City Cab team captured the 2009 Men’s League Softball Championship with a win over Meyers Sports/Super One/Hardee’s.
• Brett Favre came out of retirement (again) to join the Minnesota Vikings in the upcoming season.

Thursday
• String musicians young and old joined together at the Ranier Community Building at a summer orchestral workshop, in preparation for a show for the public. Members were part of the Rainy Lake Sinfonia for youth and the Rainy Lake Orchestra.
• Members of the Koochiching Economic Development Authority Board questioned whether the foreign trade zones were within the proposed site of annexation into Ranier, and, if so, who would own and manage the property.
• As the summer months come to an end, Sylvia Johnston of the Falls shares a photograph of Rainy Lake that would remind many to enjoy the final days of warmth.
• Derek Fisher, Jesse Echternach, Jena Gordon and Drew Fisher took the 2009 Purple Pride Scramble at the Falls Country Club.

Friday
• Littlefork-Big Falls students have scored above average on Minnesota standardized tests, according to adequate yearly progress reports discussed at the L-BF school board meeting. Superintendent Fred Seybert attributed the positive results to quality teachers, paraprofessionals and aides.
• The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit from Duluth is in Borderland, checking commercial captains licenses and Transportation Workers Identification Credentials cards.
• The Littlefork City Council reviewed drawings of a proposed ambulance facility from architect Jim Cowgill. The council approved retaining the architect for $2,000.
• Rainy River was full of life for local photographer Joe Krause, who captured with his lens an eagle catching a fish with an angler looking on, and a snake swimming atop the river.