ORGANIZING EXPERT & AUTHOR TO PRESENT VIRTUALLY JAN. 11
MOORHEAD – Lake Agassiz Regional Library will host a free virtual program featuring Minnesota author and organizational expert Jessica Litman. Greet the new year by learning how to embrace your home and incorporate fun and easy home organizational habits and how Jessica was able to use her experience to write her book, “Home Sweet Organized Home.” The presentation will be recorded and available for viewing after the live presentation at larl.org/organization.
View the virtual event on Thursday, January 11 at 7 p.m. by visiting larl.org/organization. This program is offered free-of-charge thanks to funding from the Minnesota Legacy Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. No registration is required.
CURBSIDE BRANCH PICKUP ON SCHEDULED RECYCLING DAYS TO END JANUARY 12
MOORHEAD – Thank you to Moorhead residents for efficiently piling downed branches on boulevards after the recent ice storm. Because the process has gone so smoothly, curbside branch pickup on scheduled recycling days will end January 12.
Crews will also collect natural Christmas trees curbside from January 2-12, 2024. Place trees 3-5 feet from garbage/recycling cans. Remove plastic bags, lights, ornaments and stands.
Branch pickup guidelines:
Piles must not be larger than 12 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 4 feet high. A pile this size will take approximately 15-20 minutes to chip. If a pile is too big, crews will chip what is equivalent to 12x8x4 and leave the remainder until your next recycling day.
Branches must be 8 inches or smaller in diameter.
Pile branches so the base of limbs point in the same direction. This will make it easier to grab branches and feed them into the chipper. Piles with branches facing all directions take extra time because they need to be pulled apart and then fed into the machine.
Branches must be placed on the boulevard, not in alleys.
Branches should not be bundled.
Do not put brush in bags, garbage cans, wheelbarrows, or boxes.
Branches cannot be mixed with root balls, compost, leaves, trash, dirt, lumber, etc.
BETHANY’S ANNUAL SOUP OF THE DAY RETURNS
FARGO – Bethany Retirement Living Auxiliary will host the Annual Soup of the Day events, returning after a hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. The two events will run from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23, at Bethany on University, 201 University Dr S, Fargo, and at the same time on Thursday, January 25, at Bethany on 42nd, 4255 30 Ave S, Fargo.
Dozens of homemade soups will be available and bread will be provided by Great Harvest Bread Co. Soups will be prepared and provided by Bethany employees, resident family members, representatives of sponsor churches and volunteers.
An offering will be taken at the door. Proceeds from this event will benefit the residents of Bethany Retirement Living through the purchase of equipment and other materials to enrich the residents’ quality of life.
For additional information on the Soup of the Day event, how to provide soup or to volunteer, contact Brianne Anderson, Director of Community Life, at 701.239-3246 or by e-mail at banderson@bethanynd.org.
DNR, COUNTY SHERIFFS WARN OF POOR ICE CONDITIONS ACROSS MINNESOTA
Widespread rain, wind and unseasonably warm weather during recent days have degraded ice conditions throughout the state, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
While the week between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays has become popular among the owners of deluxe fish houses (known also as wheelhouses), conditions so far this winter mean few, if any, areas of the state have the ice thickness necessary for these types of ice structures. In recent days, DNR conservation officers and county sheriff’s deputies across the state have responded to instances of fish houses and recreational vehicles falling through the ice.
In central to southern portions of Minnesota, what had been marginal ice conditions are now open water. The ice farther north has deteriorated as well, with ice-angler rescues having occurred from Upper Red Lake at least three times since Dec. 17. While temperatures are forecasted to drop, ice conditions will remain poor until there’s a string of cold days to form new, clear ice.
“Many of us love to spend the New Year’s holiday with family and friends on the ice,” said Col. Rodmen Smith, director of the DNR Enforcement Division. “But when it comes to ice conditions, the calendar doesn’t matter.”
Beltrami County Sheriff Jason Riggs, whose jurisdiction includes the popular early ice fishing destination Upper Red Lake, knows that reality all too well.
“Most years, the ice would be thick enough by now for vehicles and wheelhouses, and we’d be seeing a steady procession of them heading north,” he said. “But this year isn’t ‘most years,’ and the ice is changing constantly. It’s absolutely vital that anyone who heads out checks the thickness frequently, pays close attention to the weather, and has a plan in case the worst happens and they wind up in the water.”