For KAXE News, I'm Chelsea Perkins with the Up North Report.A man and five children are suffering from burns after an explosion and fire at a storage unit north of Bagley on Monday afternoon.
Deputies from the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office responded along with the Bagley Police and Fire Departments and Sanford Health Ambulance.
According to the Sheriff's Office, a preliminary investigation indicates a propane tank was leaking inside the metal storage unit.When the man opened the door and lit a cigarette, the explosion occurred.
All victims were transported to area hospitals for burn treatment, including the children, ranging in ages from 6 to 14 years old. Six boys who were duck hunting on Leech Lake required rescue by authorities in the early morning hours Sunday.
The Cass County Sheriff's Office received a report of a capsized boat northeast of Boye Bay near the Boye River at 5.20 a.m.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Officer Pat McGowan was in the Leech Lake area at the time of the incident and immediately responded and launched his watercraft.
All six have been in the water or on the capsized boat and were treated on scene for exposure and mild hypothermia, with none requiring more treatment.Life jackets were present in the boat but not worn at the time of the incident.
Union workers at Essentia Health Deer River are taking part in a planned five-day strike after failing to reach an agreement with the health care organization.Megan Buffington was at the picket line on Monday afternoon and has the story.
Over a dozen employees picketed a block from the hospital on busy Division Street Monday.
More than 70 Service Employees International union members voted to authorize a strike earlier last month, and the union gave notice of the potential work stoppage Oct. 25. The two sides have been bargaining since August.
Janelle Denny works in sterile processing and has been with the hospital for nearly five years.She says they feel disrespected by what Essentia has brought to the table.
When we negotiate, they came back at a 33 cent increase.
33 cents doesn't pay my bills.I don't know about yours.Denny says there were pay cuts in the next proposal from Ascensia, and that was the union's final straw.It was just a slap in the face.So that's why we're here.
Ascensia Health Deer River Administrator Amanda Reed says the provider's proposal was a starting point with a new wage structure.
But never was it the intentions of Ascensia to have pay cuts.Never.
Essentia says when the union filed its strike notice, it was requesting a 55 percent wage increase over the next three years.
In its next proposal, the union only slightly reduced demands in the first year and kept the increases the same in the other years.
They are unrealistic and it's not sustainable.That's the biggest issue right now is these types of wages are not sustainable for a rural health care center. There's no way we could continue providing the care that we do."
Reed says negotiations can quote, get hairy and maybe uncomfortable, but the two sides need to keep coming to the table and having difficult conversations.
Essentia Health says there will be no interruptions to most care during the strike, though it anticipates no new inpatient hospital admissions.
The Boys and Girls Cross Country State Tournaments were at the University of Minnesota's Les Bolstad Golf Course on Saturday.Here's Megan Buffington again with an update on how Northern Minnesota runners finished.
Staples-Motley Jr., Audrey Brownell, is the girls' single-A state champion.Brownell was the runner-up last year and was the favorite heading into the race.She finished a whopping 5.8 seconds ahead of the second-place runner.
Staples-Motley qualified for the state meet as a team.They finished 7th of the 16 schools in the competition. United North Central finished 4th in Class A, with senior Anjali Aho taking 8th in the race of 160 runners.
Just ahead of Aho was a Chisholm freshman, Olivia Pascuzzi, at 7th.In Class 2A, the Hibbing Blue Jackets also finished 7th as a team, the only other northern Minnesota school to finish in the top half.Senior Tara Hertling placed 10th.
Northland runners did not fare as well on the boys' side.The best finish of the five qualifying teams was Greenway-Nashua-Keewatin at 10th.Megan Buffington, KAXE News.
That's it for the Up North Report from the KAXE News Desk.I'm Chelsea Perkins, telling the stories of northern Minnesota through local news.
The Up North Report is sponsored by Woodland Bank, with locations in Grand Rapids, Cohasset, Hill City, and Deer River.Dedicated to serving the financial needs of the community and their customers.More info at woodland.bank.
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