Star Tribune
Fire destroys Maplelag Resort lodge — for the second time in 23 years
The iconic wooden lodge at a popular resort near Calloway, Minn., is expected to be a total loss after a fire swept through a large portion of the structure Monday morning.
Emergency dispatchers received a call of thick smoke in the main building of the resort, which is popular for its bike and cross-country skiing trails, just after 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Within minutes of the first call, nearly a dozen regional fire departments were paged for mutual aid, according to a Detroit Lakes Tribune story, which reported no one was hurt in the fire.
It’s the second time the resort’s main lodge has been destroyed by fire. In 1991, an outbuilding that housed the boiler caught fire and the blaze spread to the main lodge, destroying irreplaceable collections of metal lunch boxes, stained-glass windows, antique light fixtures and street signs.
But owner Jim Richards rebuilt the cozy lodge that has hosted countless families and high school ski teams over the years, as well as other groups for retreats. Just this weekend, the resort hosted a quilting retreat in its “Little Sugarbush” dance hall.
Richards bought the resort property on Little Sugarbush Lake with his wife, brother and two other couples in the early 1970s. They produced maple syrup at the site for a dozen years but ceased production in 1988, the resort’s website states, as the early sap runs conflicted with the ski season.
The owners opened lodging in the mid-1970s and the resort has grown to about 660 acres over the years. It attracts Nordic skiers from across the country and is known for its family-style meals in the large gathering space.
The resort also started hosting the Concordia College Language Village programs in the 1970s. It has hosted the Spanish language camp annually since 1996.
Firefighters were called back out to the scene Tuesday morning and officials are still working to determine the cause of the fire.
Richards told the Detroit Lakes Tribune he plans to rebuild again.
Weary from the rat race nature of practicing commercial law, Danielle Miller had long dreamed of starting a new professional life as a bookstore owner. When the Lincoln, Neb., resident saw a space at St. Paul’s Union Depot, she moved to make her dream a reality. She and her husband now call the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood home.
Eye On St. Paul recently visited with Miller in her sun-drenched store, Story Line Books, to talk about what spurred her to leave the law behind and lose herself in shelves of books. This interview was edited for length.
Q: So, you’ve opened a bookstore, in Lowertown. Are you a little crazy?
A: That’s been the reaction. There’s been a lot of “Really? Lowertown?” There’s been a lot of that. It’s a little unnerving.
Q: Why decide to just up and move to St. Paul?
A: We travel a lot; we travel all over the world. And we go to bookstores. We were here visiting [my husband’s] parents in Woodbury, and we drove down Randolph because we like to eat at Due Focacceria. And we saw this building that had “For Sale” on it. It was a 900-square-foot retail spot on the bottom and an apartment above. And I was like, that is the European bookstore dream, right? I looked it up online, but it got scooped up. A week later, I was looking again and this [Union Depot space] was the first post.
I was immediately in love. The next time we were up here, we made arrangements to come and see it. And I told my husband, “You should probably get a job in St Paul.”
Q: Back up a few steps. Why this compulsion to open a bookstore when you were a working attorney?
The Lynx are in the hot seat.
The team lost Game 3 of the WNBA Finals series against the New York Liberty on Wednesday night 77-80, setting the stage for a decisive match at Target Center on Friday night. Fans in the arena reacted with resounding disappointment after Sabrina Ionescu sunk a three-pointer to break away from the tie game and dashed the Lynx’s chance at forcing overtime.
Before we get to the reactions, first things first: The Lynx set an attendance record, filling Target Center with 19,521 spectators for the first time in franchise history. That’s nearly 500 more than when Caitlin Clark was in town with the Indiana Fever earlier this year.
Despite leading by double digits for much of the game, the Lynx began the fourth quarter with a one-point lead over the Liberty and struggled to stay more than two or three points ahead throughout.
The Liberty took the lead with minutes to go in the fourth quarter and folks were practically despondent.
Of course, there were people who were in it solely for the spectacle. Nothing more.
The Lynx took a commanding lead early in the first quarter and ended the first half in winning position, setting a particularly jovial mood among the fanbase to start the game.
Inside Target Center, arena announcers spent a few minutes before the game harassing Lynx fans — and Liberty fans — who had not yet donned the complementary T-shirts draped over every seat.
DULUTH – The Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments will make upgrades to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge in the summer of 2025, in preparation for the structure to become the premiere route between this city and Superior during reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge.
Built in 1961, the Blatnik Bridge carries 33,000 vehicles per day along Interstate 535 and Hwy. 53. It will be entirely rebuilt, starting in 2027, with the help of $1 billion in federal funding announced earlier this year. MnDOT and WisDOT are splitting the remaining costs of the project, about $4 million each.
According to MnDOT, projects on the Bong Bridge will include spot painting, concrete surface repairs to the bridge abutments, concrete sealer on the deck, replacing rubber strip seal membranes on the main span’s joints and replacing light poles on the bridge and its points of entry. It’s expected to take two months, transportation officials said during a recent meeting at the Superior Public Library.
During this time there will be occasional lane closures, detours at the off-ramps, and for about three weeks the sidewalk path alongside the bridge will be closed.
The Bong Bridge, which crosses the St. Louis River, opened to traffic in 1985 and is the lesser-used of the two bridges. Officials said they want to keep maintenance to a minimum on the span during the Blatnik project, which is expected to take four years.
Ban on guns at Albuquerque area parks and playgrounds allowed to lapse by governor
Body of girl missing for over a year found in France after GPS data extracted from suspected killer’s car
Former Nebraska attorney opens bookstore in St. Paul’s Union Depot
Ban on guns at Albuquerque area parks and playgrounds allowed to lapse by governor
Body of girl missing for over a year found in France after GPS data extracted from suspected killer’s car
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings