PINE CITY
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 VOL. 131 NO. 12 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
HAPPY EASTER! Kids celebrate the season at ‘Hands for Pine City’ Easter Egg Hunt . P14
I-35 work starts April 11 Traffic down to one lane each direction BY HENRY FISCHER NEWS@PINECITYMN.COM
Interstate 35 between Pine City and Hinckley will be scaled down to one lane in each direction this year while the Minnesota Department of Transportation replaces both bridges over the St. Croix Valley Railroad and installs an unbonded concrete overlay. Knife River Corporation is expected to start on the 11.6 mile project on Monday, April 11. Work on the $27 million project will continue through the spring, summer and fall with an anticipated completion date of Oct. 27. The bridges over the railroad tracks will be replaced one at a time, MnDOT Assistant District Engineer John McDonald reported to the Pine County Board last SEE HIGHWAY, PAGE 19
MIKE GAINOR | THE PIONEER
High-flying fun at Kindergarten Circus A crew of clowns were just one of the many entertaining acts at the annual Pine City Elementary School Kindergarten Circus on March 18. More Kindergarten Circus photos on Page 13.
‘Chicken Koop lady’ says so long for now BY MIKE GAINOR EDITOR@PINECITYMN.COM
Donna Overby said she doesn’t like it in her antique store these days. It’s too empty. “I love it packed full of goodies,” Overby said. “My high is going out picking, and then we get a van or a truckload of stuff, – then I’m excited. I’m so excited when I get a bunch of stuff to bring in here.” After eight years in the Chicken Koop on Main Street, Overby said it’s time to scale
back. The house that she converted into her antique store is sold, and she plans to move out in early April. But she doesn’t sound like she’s quite ready to retire yet. “It’s just fun,” she said. “I meet so many cool people. I told my hubby, now it’s either join the Red Hatters or hand out the carts at Walmart.” Then she bursts into laughter – a sound that has echoed through the knick-knackfilled hallways of the Chicken SEE KOOP, PAGE 19
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MIKE GAINOR | THE PIONEER
Donna Overby may be clearing out of her Chicken Koop on Main Street, but she doesn’t sound ready to retire just yet.
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ATV driver declared dead STAFF REPORT NEWS@PINECITYMN.COM
At noon on March 18, dispatchers at the Pine County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a male slumped over on an ATV south of Pine City along Highway 61. A deputy arrived on scene within a minute of the call and saw that CPR was being performed on the man by citizens who stopped to help. Essentia ambulance personnel arrived on scene as well, and traffic on Highway 61 was shut down in order to allow a medical helicopter to land. Despite the medical intervention provided, the male was pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim was transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. The cause of the man’s death remains under investigation by the Pine County Sheriff’s Office and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of family.
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