Tim Speier joins the Dispatch staff after a windy path on his way here, including two tours in Iraq with the Marines, work in a factory, the oil fields, as a mechanic and then an accidental journalist. Join us for a conversation to get to know Tim.
The Dispatch reporters discuss the stories about area businesses they covered in this year's Progress Edition. The DispatchCast is a product of Forum Communications Co. and is brought to you by reporters at the Brainerd Dispatch. Find more news throughout the day at BrainerdDispatch.com.
On Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, Brainerd Dispatch Editor Matt Erickson and Community Editor Chelsey Perkins hosted an "Ask The Editor" Facebook Live forum. This is the audio of that conversation. The DispatchCast is a product of Forum Communications Co. and is brought to you by reporters at the Brainerd Dispatch. Find more news throughout the day at BrainerdDispatch.com.
For months of relative calm, area hospitals worked to develop complex and ever-adapting plans for how to handle what may lie ahead in the coronavirus pandemic. Now facing more COVID-19 patients than ever before, an influx of people who’ve delayed care for chronic conditions, and reduced staff due to illness or quarantine, the difficult days that were once hypothetical are becoming more and more frequent. The "DispatchCast" shares the interviews and process behind the weekend story featuring heal...
The Last Turn Saloon is one of Brainerd’s oldest and most iconic businesses, dating back to the early pioneer and railroad days of the city that grew from the banks of the Mississippi River. Its current location on South Eighth Street is not the original — the first Last Turn was located at the corner of Fourth Street South and Front Street. The original saloon was the site of one of Brainerd’s darkest moments, as was recently recounted in the pages of the Dispatch by contributor Jeremy Jackson....
It was 1918 in Brainerd, Minnesota, and residents were focused on the sacrifices they were making for the war effort abroad. Little did they know they would soon face an enemy much closer to home as the Spanish flu made its way to the rural northern reaches of the state. Join former Brainerd Dispatch publisher Terry McCollough as he takes us back a century to a time when faced with numerous other challenges, lakes area residents were forced to grapple with an unusually deadly pandemic as well. H...
Deborah Erickson is not only the elections head in Crow Wing County. She also serves as chair of the elections committee for the Minnesota Association of County Officers, as the Minnesota-designated local representative on the national Elections Assistance Commission Standards Board and on the federal Government Coordinating Council for elections critical infrastructure. She joins Community Editor Chelsey Perkins to discuss the impending changes to how residents vote, as more voting precincts sh...
With this week's epic misinformation on social media, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this 2018 conversation on journalistic ethics. What makes a journalist ethical? How can journalists develop and maintain public trust? Just as in many newsrooms, the reporters and editors of the Brainerd Dispatch must regularly grapple with ethical decisions regarding news coverage. How we arrive at decisions and what principles guide that decision-making process is the subject of this week's Disp...
Likely the most recognizable Brainerd Dispatch ambassadors, staff photographers Steve Kohls and Kelly Humphrey capture images of the passions, tragedies, laughter and fun of the lakes area community. They are just as likely to appear at a community picnic as they are a house fire, and each day presents a new challenge for the dedicated pair. In this week's episode of the DispatchCast, we look back at a July 2017 conversation when Kohls and Humphrey reflected on their gusto for the art of photogr...
Many unknowns still surround COVID-19, including its potential effects on household pets. With the lingering uncertainty, pet owners should be prepared to take special precautions to protect their furry family members in the event they themselves get sick, local animal experts told Brainerd Dispatch reporter Theresa Bourke. Catch her story along with the week's top lakes area headlines. Host/Co-Producer: Chelsey Perkins Contributor/Co-Producer: Theresa Bourke
We all could use a break from the reality we currently face, right? Here's your chance. We're bringing you a rebroadcast of our most popular DispatchCast episode ever. Ironton native John Henry Seadlund was the central figure in a captivating series of crimes 80 years ago -- crimes that led FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover himself to visit the Brainerd lakes area. The story of small-town boy turned brash criminal made headlines across the country, and a close look at the Brainerd Dispatch archives a...
Nick Anderson is one of the nine rising Major League Baseball stars who should be a household name, according to MLB.com's Richard Justice. The 2008 Brainerd High School graduate had his breakout season in 2019, ending it with the AL Wild Card game-winning Tampa Bay Rays. Anderson talked with Brainerd Dispatch sports reporter Conrad Engstrom about what it's like to not be playing baseball right now, along with what his experience was like as a rookie in the majors last year. Plus, the Brainerd D...
Brainerd City Council members have a big decision ahead of them with choosing a new mayor, students and teachers weigh in on the first week of distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and we catch up on this week's news in the Brainerd lakes area Host/Producer: Theresa Bourke
Leaders in the Brainerd lakes area business development community join Community Editor Chelsey Perkins to talk developments in federal and state aid to businesses over the week, ways they've seen small business leaders adapt and what makes them proud to be involved in this community. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Guests: Greg Bergman, regional director of Small Business Development Center at Central Lakes College; Tyler Glynn, executive director of Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corp...
"Something like this happens and the cynics might say, 'Oh, it takes a crisis for us to actually come together.' And I guess the optimist might look at is as, 'Yeah, in a crisis, we can still come together.' Maybe that’s the good way to look at it," said Brainerd Dispatch Editor Matt Erickson. "Something big comes up, we still have the ability to put everything else aside and work for the common good." On this week's episode of the "DispatchCast," Managing Editor Renee Richardson, Community Edit...
Coronavirus concerns are sweeping across the state, a large fire hit Brainerd, new inductees made it into Brainerd Public Schools' Legendary Women Hall of Fame, Second Amendment rights activists want county officials to take action, and new data sheds light on the county's housing situation. Host: Chelsey Perkins Producer/Contributing Reporter: Theresa Bourke Contributing Reporters: Jennifer Kraus, Gabe Lagarde and Frank Lee
Catch up on all the top Brainerd area headlines of the week, plus step inside to Brainerd High School for a rundown on the Tech Warriors program, connecting students and technology in a new way. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Reporter: Theresa Bourke
Who killed Rachel Anthony? On the 19th anniversary of her disappearance, we take a look back at the case. Plus, Dispatch reporters Gabe Lagarde and Theresa Bourke take us inside the grassroots action at the DFL and GOP caucuses this week, and the Brainerd Dispatch's top headlines. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Contributing Reporters: Theresa Bourke, Gabe Lagarde, Conrad Engstrom
We hear from young voters about their reasons for political activism, get the scoop on the latest in virtual reality technology and catch up on the his week's news in the Brainerd lakes area. Host/Producer: Theresa Bourke Contributing Reporter: Gabe Lagarde
A children's museum is headed to Brainerd, plus the Dispatch newsroom talks school updates, the upcoming presidential primary, a rape allegation against a former Baxter youth pastor that came to light recently, plus the week's top news and sports headlines. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Contributing Reporters: Theresa Bourke, Conrad Engstrom, Jennifer Kraus and Gabe Lagarde.
We talk light pollution in Brainerd, vandalism at Milford Mine Memorial Park and two upcoming theatrical productions you won't want to miss -- plus, catch up on the week's news in the Brainerd lakes area. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Contributing Reporters: Theresa Bourke and Jennifer Kraus
Around 5 p.m. on Aug. 6, 1969, a tornado that had intensified to a powerful category F4 with winds of more than 200 mph, barreled toward the northern Minnesota community of Outing. It was one of a series of tornadoes that cut across northern Minnesota and killed a total of 15 people, including 11 in the Outing area. Most of the Outing deaths were visitors staying at cabins located along the east shore of Roosevelt Lake and owned by Bethany Fellowship of Bloomington. One of the survivors from tho...
What are Brainerd residents doing to try to save the city's historic water tower, a landmark towering over the landscape for a century? And how can others help? In this episode of the DispatchCast, reporter Theresa Bourke sits down with water tower committee members Carissa Meyer and Dave Badeaux to learn about fundraising initiatives and how to get involved in saving the tower from destruction. Producer/Reporter: Theresa Bourke Guests: Carissa Meyer, Dave Badeaux
DispatchCast presents "This Week," a dive into Brainerd lakes area headlines and newsmakers. Feb. 22, 2019 A look at a bill on charitable gambling taxes , by Gabe Lagarde (5:34) Get to know newly elected Aitkin County Sheriff Dan Guida with Jennifer Kraus (8:29) Hear from Brainerd Community Development Director David Chanski on his vision for the city with Theresa Bourke (12:05) Learn more about Brainerd Family YMCA CEO Shane Riffle from Frank Lee Straight out of Brainerd's past, a posse chasing...
Robbery. Kidnapping. Ransom. Murder. Ironton native John Henry Seadlund was the central figure in a captivating series of crimes 80 years ago -- crimes that led FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover himself to visit the Brainerd lakes area. The story of small-town boy turned brash criminal made headlines across the country, and a close look at the Brainerd Dispatch archives adds some local flavor. Listen to Seadlund’s story, as told by former Brainerd Dispatch publisher and "This Was Brainerd" columnist ...
On DispatchCast Episode 038, Melissa Barrick talks about the upcoming native tree and plant sale hosted by the Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District, and Frank Lee shares some of his recent interview with Bob Nelson, who plans to retire from the Crow Wing County Veterans Service Office this May. Visit https://tinyurl.com/bobnelsonVSO to read Frank's full story on Nelson and his experience as veterans service officer. For more information on the SWCD's annual tree and plant sale, visit h...
Mike Bialka spent the last four decades covering high school sports in the Brainerd lakes area. The retiring sports editor sat down recently to reflect on his career -- and those who’ve been impacted by Bialka’s dedication to the craft shared some memories, too. Listen in as one of the longest-tenured sports editors in the state, a constant presence at Brainerd Warriors athletics events for multiple generations, recalls some of his favorite moments on the job. Special thanks to all those who sha...
The holidays are fast approaching, and with them comes elevated stress levels. But it doesn't have to be that way! Local naturopath and author of "The Blue Sheep Movement," Cynthia Ransom, shares her tips for alleviating stress naturally in this week's episode of the DispatchCast. Ransom recently shared her calming wisdom in a column in the winter 2018 edition of "Her Voice" magazine -- just in time to center ourselves for the approaching holiday season. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Guest: Cyn...
"In The Dark" lead reporter Madeleine Baran and senior producer Samara Freemark offered a behind-the-scenes look at their investigative journalism at an event Thursday night at Arrowwood Lodge at Brainerd Lakes in Baxter. Before the event, they sat down with me and talked about the cases they’ve investigated and their thoughts on their work’s impact. There are some spoilers in here, so if you’d like to maintain the suspense of the podcast, listen to “In The Dark” first -- then come back and list...
One of the Brainerd Dispatch's most ambitious annual projects, the Progress Edition, recently hit the stands. It tells the stories of people and businesses undertaking interesting and inspiring pursuits in the Brainerd lakes area. In this episode of the DispatchCast, Dispatch reporters share their experiences in pursuing some of the 20 stories filling 56 pages of the 2018 Progress Edition -- the things they learned, the interviews that captured their attention and the reasons they're excited to ...
