Star Tribune
The Pequot Lakes bobber water tower was sinking in disrepair. Residents rallied to keep it afloat.
PEQUOT LAKES, Minn. — The fishing bobber above the pines here is the answer to “Are we there yet?” for tourists and residents alike. When they see that red and white orb in the sky, they’re home.
But the water tower, empty for decades, has been sinking in disrepair with paint chipping and dulling from years of exposure to harsh Minnesota winters. So to give the bobber some overdue TLC and keep it afloat among the clouds, the Chamber of Commerce here started a campaign in March to raise tens of thousands of dollars.
“When people think of Pequot, they think of the bobber,” said chamber director Nichole Heinen.
So far donations from the community have eclipsed $57,000. If that sounds like a lot for a paint job, know that they need $10,000 more by Aug. 1 — and the fundraising goal was even higher until the chamber recently renegotiated the contract from $90,000 down to $77,000.
An anonymous donor will match up to $10,000. The chamber and city are each donating $10,000, and First National Bank is the top donor contributing $5,000.
But over the Fourth of July, she saw kids dropping a buck in a donation bucket. “All of it adds up,” she said. And she’s not the least bit surprised by the outpouring of support.
“The donations have kind of been coming in from everywhere. I’ve seen stuff from Colorado … Missouri … a lot from the Twin Cities area,” she said. “People that just have cabins up here, or they come to the area and they love Pequot Lakes as well.”
In neighboring Nisswa, the gift and retail shop Woodland Meadow teamed up with Minneapolis artist Cindy Lindgren to design bobber stickers. They sold for $4 and all proceeds (more than $800) went toward the fundraiser.
“It’s cool to just see the effects of having conversations with people about it,” said shop co-owner Jess Johnson. “It is something special and I love that it has been shared everywhere.”
Heinen said it wasn’t an option to tear down the water tower, as that would cost about the same. The idea behind the campaign is that a freshly painted water tower will better reflect the community.
“Our town is beautiful when you’re here. So we need it to look beautiful from the sky as well,” she said. “We don’t want it to look run down, because we’re not a rundown city. We’re a flourishing city, and we have to make sure that we’re keeping up with what we have.”
Heinen will announce a fundraising update at the upcoming Bean Hole Days — when massive cast iron kettles of beans are buried July 16, cooked overnight, and served to thousands of people the next day for lunch.
The water tower used to be blue and hold 50,000 gallons before it was replaced with a new one in 2000.
Prior to emptying the water tower, Pequot Lakes wanted to zhuzh it up with a redesign. Perhaps a beanpot paint job? But they opted for a bobber design, and it was painted red and white in 1987.
A Star Tribune article at the time said Pequot Lakes “will turn its water tower into Paul Bunyan’s humongous red-and-white fishing bobber. Supposedly, some of Paul’s favorite fishing spots were nearby.”
To finance the transformation, Bunyan Bobber Buttons were sold for a buck to help raise $9,300.
In 1998, then-Mayor Jack Schmidt proposed painting the water tower a giant golf ball on a tee in homage to 17 area golf courses. That was a swing and a miss for Schmidt because the bobber stayed.
Residents wore “Save our Bobber” pins in protest. One stalwart told the Star Tribune: “Did Paul Bunyan golf? No. He fished!”
Crews last repainted the water tower in 2007 for about $10,000, a fraction of what the work will cost this fall when crews will, once again, hover 125 feet above Bobber Park to preserve the landmark.
The only debate between DFL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and GOP challenger Royce White started Sunday on the street outside WCCO Radio.
As White approached the building, he loudly called some two dozen flag-waving and cheering Klobuchar supporters a “whole lot of commies.” The 33-year-old provocateur and podcaster also told them to thank Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney — who endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris — because there was “no chance in hell” that Harris would defeat Republican former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.
Klobuchar, 64, had arrived moments earlier, smiling and wishing “good morning” to her supporters. Once inside, the two took questions for an hour from moderator Blois Olson. Their tone was generally polite with White often interrupting a Klobuchar response with, “rebuttal,” indicated he wanted to respond.
The senator repeatedly raised White’s claims on X, formerly Twitter, that “The bad guys won in World War II” and that there were “no good guys in that war.” She called that stance offensive to veterans.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar arrives at WCCO Radio for a debate with Royce White in Minneapolis on Sunday, Oct. 27. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii)
Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth six-year term, portrayed herself as a pragmatist. She opened by saying that we live in “incredibly divisive times politically” but that she has listened and worked with Republicans to bring down shipping costs, drug prices for seniors and to help veterans and push for more housing and child care.
“Courage in this next few years is not going to be standing by yourself yelling at people,” she said, her opening allusion to White’s rhetoric, which she said is often vulgar.
White, a former NBA player, is a political novice, but a close ally of Steve Bannon, the jailed former chief strategist for Trump and right wing media executive. Last summer, White won the state GOP endorsement to run against Klobuchar.
“Our country’s coming undone at the seams. I think we can change that,” White said in his opening statement. He said he threatens the status quo, decried the “permanent political class” and referred to the two major parties as the “uniparty.”
Other buildings destroyed at Khojir and Parchin likely included buildings where Iran used industrial mixers to create the solid fuel needed for its extensive ballistic missile arsenal, Eveleth said.
In a statement issued immediately after the attack Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted ”missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”
Destroying such sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal after the two attacks on Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic missile program, has been silent since Saturday’s attack.
Iran’s overall ballistic missile arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles unable to reach Israel, was estimated to be ”over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, in testimony to the U.S. Senate in 2022. In the time since, Iran has fired hundreds of the missiles in a series of attacks.
There have been no videos or photos posted to social media of missile parts or damage in civilian neighborhoods following the recent attack — suggesting that the Israeli strikes were far more accurate that Iran’s ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel in April and October. Israel relied on aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.
However, one factory appeared to have been hit in Shamsabad Industrial City, just south of Tehran near Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main gateway to the outside world. Online videos of the damaged building corresponded to an address for a firm known as TIECO, which advertises itself as building advanced machinery used in Iran’s oil and gas industry.
Some take him up on it and fret when he’s not around.
“It is nice to be missed and be part of the school’s culture,” Arzola said. But mostly, he added, he wants kids to know that police aren’t around just for when the bad stuff happens. He’ll hand out his stickers and bracelets, even a trading card bearing his image. Then, they’ll talk about dogs and family.
School resource officer Al Arzola talks to students in his office at John Adams Middle School in Rochester on Oct. 11. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Two months ago, Rochester played host to a three-day training session for new SROs from across the state — an event organized by the Minnesota School Safety Center. On the final day, the 26 officers learned about surveillance challenges at the other school where Arzola works: Dakota Middle School.
It is a beautiful building with a scenic view. There is a lot of glass, too. Arzola, handling the role of instructor and tour guide, took the group outside and noted how one could look straight through the entrance to the large groups that gather inside. There were no curbs in front, either.
“There is nothing stopping any vehicle whatsoever from going through my front doors,” Arzola told the officers. “Law enforcement wasn’t talked to before this building was made. It was kind of like, ‘Here it is. You’re the SRO. Do what you do.’”
He showed them his office, too, which is separate from the main office and near those of other school support staff members. That makes sense, said Jenny Larrive, SRO coordinator for the Minnesota School Safety Center, given than SROs spend more time connecting with youth than on actual law enforcement.
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