Tri-Cities meeting resumes post-COVID

A yearly meeting between three northwest Minnesota cities, Crookston, Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks, is making a comeback after being interrupted by COVID and city staffing changes. It will be held at the end of the month in Thief River Falls.

Crookston Mayor Dale Stainbrook said it’s good to get together with the other cities and see what changes have happened since the last meeting. Tri-Cities is held to gather the three cities together and talk about topics affecting them, as they are all a similar size. Stainbrook said the cities could take any issues talked about to St. Paul to figure out a solution.

The three cities haven’t been able to hold the meeting since 2019, said Angela Philipp, city administrator of Thief River Falls. COVID halted them, and Crookston’s city administrator moving to a different position during the planning process delayed them from returning.

— Forum News Service

RAGBRAI will cross into Minn. for 1st time

A longtime summer tradition for our neighbors to the south will be crossing the state line into Minnesota for the first time this year.

Organizers of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — that’s RAGBRAI for short — have released this July’s 400-mile route.

The second day of the weeklong ride will take the thousands of bike riders into Jackson County, Minn., for about 15 miles. That will be on July 21.

The day’s ride will begin in Milford, Iowa, and head north — passing just west of Okoboji and Spirit Lake. It’ll cross into Minnesota along Highway 86, then turn east on County Road 4, stopping at Brown County Park. Riders will then continue east to County Road 25, and turn south toward Superior, Iowa. The day’s ride will end in Estherville.

“For over five decades, we’ve explored every corner of Iowa, and this year, we’re taking it to the next level riding into Minnesota,” RAGBRAI ride director Matt Phippen said in a news release. “It will be an unforgettable experience.”

The 2025 RAGBRAI — the 52nd year of the event — will begin in Orange City, Iowa, and end at Guttenberg on the Mississippi River. The event was started in 1973 by two employees of the Des Moines Register newspaper. It’s since grown into an iconic event that draws thousands of participants each year.

— MPR News

Bemidji flier charged with assault on plane

A Bemidji, Minn., woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for interference with flight crew members and attendants after an incident on an Allegiant Air flight in January.

Court documents show that Jody Sherry-Berg, 64, was arrested in Minnesota on Tuesday on a warrant from North Dakota. She was released on a personal recognizance bond after a court appearance. She is scheduled to be arraigned on April 21 in Grand Forks.

The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, alleges Sherry-Berg “did knowingly interfere with the performance of the duties of J.M., a flight crew member or flight attendant … by assaulting and intimidating … J.M. by grabbing J.M’s genitals,” on a flight from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas to Grand Forks International Airport on Jan. 16.

Initially, Sherry-Berg was charged in state court with providing false information to law enforcement, after she allegedly gave a false name to Grand Forks police officers responding to the report of the assault. Those charges were dismissed on April 3, following the federal indictment.

A message left for Sherry-Berg was not immediately returned.

— Forum News Service