Pelican Valley special meeting Jan. 30 to discuss Sanford lease

The Pelican Valley Hospital District board will be holding a special meeting January 30, 6 p.m., to discuss the long term lease with Sanford Health.
Sanford leases clinic space from Pelican Valley.  The five-year lease ends on Jan. 31.

Pelican Valley board rejects detachment plan by Dunn, Scambler Townships

A request by Dunn and Scambler Townships to detach from the Pelican Valley Hospital District was rejected  January 23.
With one opposing vote, by Pelican Valley board member Dave Slotten, the board voted to deny the detachment.  
It was a vote that was more than a year in the making, following petitions from Dunn and Scambler, numerous discussions in the township and Pelican Valley meeting chambers, and several presentations from both sides of the issue.  
Dunn and Scambler have opposed the $6.2 million expansion at Pelican Valley, fearing that hospital district taxpayers will shoulder much of the expense if it doesn’t meet financial projections.  Taxpayers within the district’s region are presently levied $90,000 a year–but opponents believe the levy would be increased if the project doesn’t hit revenue targets.
(MORE DETAILS IN THE FEBRUARY 1 PRINT EDITION OF THE PELICAN RAPIDS PRESS)  read entire story. . . .

‘Paul’s Sledding Hill’ campaign  gears up; work starts this summer

The campaign to create “Paul’s  Sledding Hill” will accelerate into high gear in the coming weeks, as special t-shirts start appearing in the Pelican Rapids area.
The winter sliding hill is planned on the south side of Pelican’s Viking Elementary School. It will be in honor of Paul Pfeifle, the late Pelican elementary school teacher who died August 2, 2011. Friends and  read entire story. . . .

Bonds sold for Pelican school’s  $4.2 million air quality project

High school building to be vacated for nearly entire summer

By Louis Hoglund

A $4.2 million overhaul of the Pelican Rapids High School building’s air system will be underway almost as soon as school’s out this spring.
The school will be virtually shut down and vacated for three months.  The administrative offices will likely be moved to the Viking elementary school, reported Superintendent Deb Wanek at the January 17  read entire story. . . .

Manufacturing ‘Mancamp pods’

Pelican Lakes area facility ‘exporting’
locally made units to western Dakota

By Louis Hoglund

Not all of the jobs, the money and prosperity are headed west–to the boomtowns of North Dakota’s outback.
A fast growing company is producing a unique product right here in the Pelican Lakes area for export to North Dakota.
A former boat storage warehouse in Dunvilla, northeast on Highway 59 from the Lakeland General  read entire story. . . .

N.A. Building Solutions company bills itself as ‘instant housing... for hardest-working Americans

North American Building Solutions founder, Jim Morken,   formed a vision for the company when his son went to western North Dakota to work on the oil rigs.
Morken became acutely aware of the critical housing shortage in the oil production region and began to think about solutions to the problem.  read entire story. . . .

Digital images from near and far exhibited by Bosnian immigrant

Pelican’s Drago Nemec developed photography
interest after leaving war-ravaged Bosnia

By Louis Hoglund

Images, both foreign and local, are on display at the Pelican Rapids Public Library this month.
Photographer  Drago Nemec describes his work as digital photo art.  He starts with a photograph, but enhances color and computer-manipulates the image to alter it into something that would be more aptly  read entire story. . . .

Pelican Press now has online, electronic version of printed newspaper on website

The Pelican Rapids Press has unveiled a new, online version of its newspaper–which is available for free viewing through January 31.
A full edition of the printed newspaper can be viewed at no charge at the pelicanrapidspress.com website. By clicking the icon in the upper right, an exact copy of the printed newspaper can be read on the computer screen, in a “flipbook” format.  read entire story. . . .