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The ‘gritty folk’ who revived central MN’s Cuyuna Country

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Main Street is now filled with a plethora of businesses — the turnaround, a testament to not only the popularity of mountain biking, but the people who live there.

CROSBY, Minn. — Just two hours north of the Twin Cities, you’ll find a once-sleepy state park that’s fast becoming an enormous tourist attraction — thanks to the 70 miles of mountain bike trails that crisscross its 5,000 acres. 

When you ride the trails at Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area today, it’s hard to believe that 50 years ago, more than 30 iron mines operated in and supported the surrounding towns of Crosby, Ironton, Deerwood and Cuyuna.   

But by the 1970s, most of the mines were shut down, forcing many businesses in those towns to do the same.  

Aubrey Koop, who now heads the Cuyuna Lakes Chamber of Commerce, grew up in Crosby. She said that through the late 90s and early 2000s, there wasn’t a lot of hope in Crosby, as up to 40% of the businesses on Main Street had been boarded up. 

The land around it had become an unofficial dumping zone, with people tossing old couches and cars into the abandoned mine pits, but as the years passed, the land started to heal and the people who lived in the towns nearby decided they’d had enough. That’s when they pulled together and cleaned it up. 

“I can’t even tell you about the pounds and pounds of garbage that volunteers went into and pulled out of those mine pits,” Koop said. 

Business owner Johnna Johnson ran the Chamber at the time. She said it was the spirit of the volunteers that sparked a movement, which truly caught fire when a mountain bike scout came to town. The scout said the topography created by the mines would make for world-class mountain biking trails.    

Once again, volunteers paved the way, building the first five miles of trails that connect the towns of Crosby, Ironton, Cuyuna and Deerwood.

It was a grassroots effort, according to Johnson, involving physical work, fundraising and securing land acquisitions. After the first five miles opened, they gained momentum, and with the help of the DNR and state and federal funding, they built more trails, leading more people to discover what had been hiding all along on the Cuyuna Range.


“I think when the trails opened, there was like, 24,000 people that we saw,” Johnson said, “And that was huge, and now I’m thinking it’s 360,000 people. So, that’s a 10-year change.” 

Visitors can find a lot of beauty outside of the mountain biking trails as well, including a network of former mine pits that are now pristine, spring-fed lakes. Some are up to 500-feet-deep, and perfect forkayaking, paddle boarding and scuba diving. 

It was all of those activities and visitors that attracted the attention of entrepreneurs, like Jake Zoesch, who used to come to Crosby from Milwaukee to visit his in-laws.  

“I saw downtown, and I saw all these other little businesses starting, and kind of watching them just boom in the first year they opened — then stay busy,” he said. 


Two years ago, he and his wife decided to open a business of their own. They bought some of the last available land in Crosby and built four cabins that make up The Cuyuna Cabin Collection. They opened June 1 and business, he says, is booming.  

“If there was two or three days open for the entire month it was a shock,” he said.  “And that number just keeps going up. I don’t see it ending.”   

“I’m amazed,” she said. “It seems like every week there’s something else opening in the area.”

Main Street is now filled with coffee shopsrestaurantsbike shops and breweries — the turnaround, a testament not just to the popularity of mountain biking trails, but also, to the people who live there.   


“We’re gritty folk here,” Koop said. “I think, you know, there’s a kind of grit where a lot of us wanted to show off what we had and we had the vision and the drive.” 

She invites everyone to come experience it for themselves.  

“You have to see it to believe it, I think,” she said. “Come here, give it a shot, see what it’s all about. There’s something for everyone to do here. You’ll want to come back.”

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Red Cow offers Thanksgiving meal kits

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Love a yummy meal, but hate having to cook it? This is an option for you.

MINNEAPOLIS — If you love a good Thanksgiving meal but don’t have the time to make it, consider Red Cow for your event this season. 

The kit includes roasted turkey breast, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, whipped sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, mac & cheese, assorted artisan rolls, and pumpkin pie. The meal costs $285 and feeds 6-8 people. 

You can pick up your feast at Red Cow in Uptown on 2626 Hennepin Ave. Place your order at this link by noon on Nov. 25. 

Is your mouth watering yet? If you’d like, you can add on glazed ham, dark turkey meat, cranberries, brussels sprouts, wild rice stuffing, roasted salmon, apple and honey chevre salad, and charcuterie boards. Corporate chef Adam Lerner visited KARE 11 News at Noon to dish on a few of the holiday eats. 



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How are Minnesota teachers addressing kids’ bad behavior?

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PEW Research Center found 68% of teachers said they’ve experienced verbal abuse from a student such as being yelled at or threatened.

ST PAUL, Minn — Bad behavior in classrooms is a nationwide problem that has only worsened since the pandemic. 

A recent National Education Association (NEA) survey found teachers cited “disruptive and violent behavior” in the classroom last year as one of their top concerns. A PEW Research Center report found about 68% of teachers said they’ve experienced verbal abuse from a student such as being yelled at or threatened. 

About 21% said this happens a few times a month. 

Teachers also report students show disrespect by getting up in the middle of class or skipping class altogether. So the question many people have is why are we seeing this uptick in bad behavior? And how can behavior improve?

To learn more, KARE 11 morning anchor Alicia Lewis spoke with Angel Thomas from St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS). Thomas, a teacher by trade, is now a supervisor with the Office of School Support. 

She talks with teachers about their day-to-day with students at SPPS and says there is a lot more pressure on both students and educators post-pandemic with mental wellness at an all time high.

“You have a class of 25 to 35 little people, right? They all have different lived experiences,” Thomas said. “We don’t know what they’re going through at any given moment, right? Some kids are wondering where their next meal is gonna come from. Some kids are wondering where they’re gonna sleep at night. Some kids may have experienced a traumatic event just the night before and they’re at school. It’s the same for adults or teachers, right?”

SPPS is one of 37 districts in the state that utilize the Minnesota Department of Education’s “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports systems” also known as PBIS. It’s a multi-tiered program that trains educators on preventing problem behavior, teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors, and providing intensive interventions for students with more significant needs. 

Thomas said PBIS is working.

“I always say the framework is simple for a lack of a better word. It’s not. But there are core components. What do we want students to do? How do we recognize them when they do it? How do we respond when they don’t? And then how are we using data to make decisions?” Thomas said. 

“We know that recognizing positive behaviors is one of the best ways to actually change or to continue that behavior and to decrease the unexpected behaviors.”

Thomas added when students have a voice and feel a sense of community, they are more likely to exhibit good behaviors in the classroom. But what works for one student, in terms of dealing with behavior, might not work for another. 



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Police investigate body found at south Indianapolis gym

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Family told 13News that 39-year-old Derek Sink visited a tanning bed on Friday and was found dead there this Monday morning.

INDIANAPOLIS — Police are conducting death investigation at a south Indianapolis gym after a man was found dead in a tanning bed Monday morning.

A sign on the door of the Planet Fitness on Hardegan Street Monday afternoon said “tanning is currently unavailable.”

Family confirmed to 13News that 39-year-old Derek Sink went into a tanning bed on Friday and was found dead there Monday morning. They said Sink struggled with drugs and a needle was found in the room with him.

The cause of Sink’s death has not yet been determined.

Sink’s aunt said they reported him missing on Friday. She said he was wearing an ankle monitor that helped investigators determine he never left the gym.

A woman who was at Planet Fitness that morning, before law enforcement showed up, said she and other members noticed a foul smell in the building that got worse near the tanning rooms. Now she said she’s wondering how something like this could happen.

“The tanning bed has a door, I believe, but still, why are we not concerned that the tanning bed has been closed for three days, potentially?” said Elizabeth Len.


Sink’s family called him a loving person. They said they hope to see stricter policies on cleaning and an end-of-day checklist for staff to prevent this from happening again.

13News reached out to IMPD and Planet Fitness. Police could only confirm they were investigating a death at that location and did not elaborate on the circumstances.

A spokesperson for Planet Fitness said they’re looking into what happened with the local franchise owner.



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