PINE CITY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017 VOL. 132 NO. 5 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
GYMNASTS WIN AGAIN: Flamingos take two, preparing for postseason. P10
County talks up new plan Citizens, county officials discuss blight, pollution, autonomy in proposed comprehensive plan BY AILENE CROUP NEWS@PINECITYMN.COM
LANCE FURBER | THE PIONEER
High-flying Dragons get national attention Cheerleader Olivia Husum catapults up into the heights of the Dragon gymnasium during a Pine City High School boys basketball home game this past week. The team is also flying high after a positive story about the squad’s emphasis on high-percentage shots in the Wall Street Journal this past week. Find the full Wall Street Journal story online at http://on.wsj.com/2kaSkut.
New grant helps Pine City kids connect BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
Pine City students without broadband access will have a better chance to connect and learn with the help of a new state grant. The Pine City School District is one of just 12 school districts in the state to receive grant money aimed at giving more students access to high speed internet. Pine City School Superintendent Annette Freiheit explained that the $44,831 received will be used over the next three years to set up 42 mobile hotspot units called JetPacks for students in grades 6-12. Freiheit said that Dihanna Fedder and Matt Baker wrote the grant, and pointed out that the funds were focused on regions where high speed internet is lacking. “We’re one of those areas,” Freiheit said. “We have a lot of dead spots in our area where we have kids living.” The JetPacks can establish an internet connection anywhere that cell phone service is available – in rural areas, and even on the road. Freiheit said that even in a trial run of the new technology it helped kids use their time
Pine County is as diverse in its population as it is in their opinions about how the county’s land should be used and managed. The last Pine County comprehensive plan was adopted by Pine County Board of Commissioners in 1993. A new one has been drafted with the sensitive issue of countywide zoning as a solution to preservation of the land and water. A steering committee of several residents and county staff have designed a new plan which is scheduled to be adopted following a public hearing. It will be the first order of business at the board’s Feb. 21, 2017, regular meeting. The county has been working on the plan since 2015. Two comprehensive plan open houses were held last week at 6 p.m. Jan. 23 and 24, one in Sturgeon Lake and Pine City. Both were poorly attended. Approximately 10 residents who were not involved in creating the plan attended at Sturgeon Lake and five attended in Pine City. Throughout the comprehensive plan, countywide zoning was repeated as a recommended goal. The document addressed agriculture, economic and community development, recreation, natural resources, education, transportation and infrastructure. It also received the most attention at the Local Government Meeting held Jan. 25, 2017, at the courthouse. Township supervisors, clerks, city council members and local government staff attended. County commissioners and staff hosted the meeting and answered questions. Benjamin Winchester, a senior fellow with the University of Minnesota Extension Program, gave a
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SEE CONNECT, PAGE 8
Twelve Minnesota school districts received grant funding totaling $500,000.
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