Pioneer PINE CITY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016
VOL. 131 NO. 8 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
HUNTER CAPTURES FIRST: Dragon wrestler Beau Hunter heading to State. P13
Last days at St. Mary’s Elementary school to close June 3, preschool will stay open BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
PHOTO PROVIDED
King and queen of Valentine’s Day crowned A special Valentine’s Day party was held for residents at Lakeside Medical Center on Feb. 13. Decorations, and foods served, music, games and prizes were in keeping with the Valentine theme. Roland Brandt and Barb Glienke were surprised and honored to be crowned Valentine’s Day king and queen as gold crowns were placed on their heads and red robes draped around their shoulders. Barb received a bouquet of artificial roses and Roland received candy to celebrate the occasion.
A 59 year chapter in Pine City’s history will come to a close this spring. Though school and church officials plan to continue to offer preschool education into the foreseeable future, St. Mary’s Catholic School will end its Kindergarten through sixth grade programs on Friday, June 3, the last day of the current school year. In a letter to parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church in Pine City, Monsignor Aleksander Suchan said the decision to close the school, which has been open since 1957, was made with deep regret. He said the school has explored a number of options, but the numbers from the past 10 years show a decline in both enrollment and funds. “The expenses of the school are becoming too high for the number of students served and to secure qualified CathMonsignor Aleksander olic teachers and a principal,” Suchan Suchan wrote. At a series of meetings starting last November, school and church officials began
‘The expenses of the school are becoming too high for the number of students served and to secure qualified Catholic teachers and a principal.’
SEE ST MARY’S, PAGE 10
MNsure estate claims shock Pine County families BY JOHN LUNDY DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE
Scott Killerud was about to throw away a mailing about the 2016 enrollment period for MNsure last November when something caught his eye. “Just as I was going to drop it in the trash, I was like — wait a second. What did I just read?” the Pine County farmer said. What caught his eye was a notification that if you’re 55 or older and on Medical Assistance — Minnesota’s version of Medicaid — the state places an estate claim with which to recover its costs after you and your spouse have died. Killerud was younger than 55, but his wife, Ellen,
Killerud discovered that his wife’s ‘free’ coverage had, in a little more than a year, run up a future bill of about $11,000 against their estate. had reached that age the previous September. The couple, who supplement their farm income with parttime jobs, were told when they signed up for insurance through MNsure in 2014 that their income level qualified them for Medical Assistance. But they didn’t know about the estate claim until Scott saw that mailing.
“I thought, ‘Can this really be?’ ” Scott Killerud said, as he and Ellen sat with a reporter around the dining room table in their modest home east of Interstate 35 and south of Willow River. “And then I did some research online, and I made some phone calls, and I found out that was, in fact, the case.” The fact, he discovered, was that Ellen’s “free” coverage had, in a little more than a year, run up a future bill of about $11,000 against their estate. The Killeruds were startled. “We don’t carry any debt,” Scott said. “We don’t have credit card debt; we don’t have a mortgage. We’re just not that mentality of having something owed. It’s SEE ESTATE CLAIMS, PAGE 8
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