It was chaos at the parking lots in the Brainerd school district on the first day of school. The new transportation system was a mess for the afternoon run, said Supt. Jerry Walseth. “The worst case scenario happened,” he said. “We had a number of issues, and if they could go wrong they did.”

Sale of the former Brainerd Dispatch building at 215 S. 6th Street has been sold to the owners of radio stations KLIZ-AM and KLZ-FM, the Dispatch publisher announced today. The two-story building had been occupied by the newspaper from 1908 until 1990 when it moved to its current location at 506 James Street.

Voters in the city of Baxter will now be using voting machines in the upcoming election – a move that city clerk Al Schmitz says will make vote counting faster and more accurate. The last election saw judges hand-counting ballots until 8 a.m. the next day. The city purchased three rebuilt machines at a cost of $1,650 each.

Strong defensive play, which saw the Warriors permitting just three first downs and 39 yards in the first three quarters, led to a 13-0 season opening victory at Two Harbors. Brainerd's defensive line is anchored by 6-4 Roger Twombly and 6-3 Bruce Gross. Two Harbors is coached by former Brainerd and UND standout Chuck Halsted.

The county may lose one of its five “Long Lakes,” but in name only. Action on the name change will take place at the county commissioners meeting in October. They will act on a petition by residents of Ideal Township and Pelican Lake Village where the lake is located. The new name they are suggesting is Lake Ossawinnamakee.

A tourist driving east on Laurel Street in his Oakland sedan, struck the traffic post at the intersection of 6th and Laurel Streets. He broke the flashing lamp on top but didn't hurt his automobile. He claims the sun shone so brightly in his eyes that he couldn't discern the post ahead of him.