Star News

The Minnesota State Patrol has identified four college students who died in a head-on crash on Interstate 94 near Alexandria. Among the victims were 19-year-old Jordan Playle, of Otsego and 18-year-old Megan Sample, of Rogers. Playle and Sample were 2011 graduates for Rogers High School. “Jordan and Megan epitomized the best, not only as students, [...]

by Jim Boyle Editor Elk River Lutheran Church is seeking a conditional use permit to remodel and expand the former First National  Bank building on Main Street in downtown Elk River. The church, which currently operates out of a strip mall between Coborn’s and Menards in Elk River,  submitted the request to the city of [...]

by Nathan Warner Contributing writer Fire hazards in the state are near an all-time high this year and fire chiefs from around Sherburne County are warning residents to take extra precautions. “People think that because there’s snow on the ground, it’s 30 degrees outside and we’re in the middle of February that they don’t have [...]

by Jim Boyle Editor A 48-year-old Elk River man, who collapsed in front of police while they were trying to apprehend him and discern what was causing him to act erratically, has died. Elk River police were called to the 500 block of Jefferson Lane at about 12:30 p.m., Feb. 13 on a report of [...]

by Jim Boyle Editor The Elk River YMCA will host a wine and beer tasting event from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Friendly Buffalo in Big Lake. Stems and Steins: “A Chocolate Affair” will be part of the YMCA’s annual Y Partners fund-raising campaign. The goal for 2012 is to raise [...]

by Jim Boyle Editor While the first bottles of the new FINNEGANS blonde ale came off the assembly line on Valentine’s Day at Summit Brewery in St. Paul, Jacquie Berglund commented on how there’s a lot of love in her beer. She’s right. FINNEGANS, a non-profit she founded more than 11 years ago, turns beer [...]

by Bruce Strand Sports editor Tony Sarsland, one of the most prominent prep coaches in the state with 588 hockey wins at Elk River, abruptly resigned Friday, Feb. 10, under fire. Sarsland’s sudden departure, which got metro-wide coverage, comes as he is the subject of an investigation by the school district, according to Casey Mahon, [...]

Sheriff Joel Brott has closed Big Lake and Mitchell Lake, located within the city of Big Lake, to cars, trucks and SUV’s effective Thursday Feb. 16. This year, two ATV’s have broken through the ice on area lakes. During the early evening hours on Feb. 12 an SUV broke through the ice on Big Lake. [...]

by Jim Boyle Editor Some of the leading factors causing parents who live in the Elk River Area School District to take their children out of District 728 schools and put them into other schools of choice are class sizes, program options and a desire for more challenging educational experiences. At least this was the [...]

(Editor’s note: The following was submitted as a letter to the editor and has been moved to the Health page as notice of MS Awareness Week coming in the middle of March. It is written by an MS sufferer.) I live in Zimmerman, Minn. and I am one of millions of people who have joined [...]