Articles written by Jeff Olsen
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Fire Danger Is Everyone's Concern These Days
Wayne Ziska lives on the River Road in the Beltrami Island State Forest near Hayes Lake State Park. He doesn't require a meteorologist to know that the fire danger has reached the danger level. A...
The Roseau River Almost Took Down Big Thor
Forget Bud Light Time! It was time to punch in and go to work with not a moment to spare. Last Friday evening on the Roseau River, two Roseau volunteer firemen, who had just started to enjoy a cold...
The Singing Princess Has Remarkable Patience
Gabbie June Johnson, 19, puts a smile on a headache, which these days has to do with her stalled musical career. The 2020 Roseau High School graduate was packing her bags again to rejoin her Country...
A Walk-Through with Superintendent Tom Jerome
by Jeff Olsen Stand in awe. From the outside at the construction site just feet away from the southeast building at Roseau High School, only the blind will never be able to see the individual columns... Full story
Three RHS Teammates Celebrate a Unique Accomplishment
by Jeff Olsen For an amateur hockey official, being chosen to work an NCAA Men's playoff hockey game is like being invited to officiate in the Olympics. For Nathan Voll, a linesman and a senior...
With a unique cast of characters and reprobates
Usually on a slow day when I’m not involved in various work projects with my present wife, an enterprising and brown-eyed lass who first caught my attention driving a 1955 Chevy, I frequently check...
Roseau Graduate Is First Minnesotan Charged in Capitol Riot
On Friday, March 19, Jordan Stotts, a 2007 Roseau High School graduate, was arraigned at the Beltrami County Courthouse in Bemidji for his role in the January 6 insurrection. Mr. Stotts, 31, had left...
New Roseau Parks and Rec Director Is On The Job
This past Monday, Keith Severson, a 2001 Roseau High School graduate, hit the ground running with a zest for his new position. Speaking by cellphone from Duluth on St. Patrick's Day, Mr. Severson, a N...
Meet A Young Grappler With A Zest For Travel
He wrestles hard and the scouting report on Seth Cossentine, all of 11-years-old and a Roseau fifth grader, is that he goes the extra miles to wrestle the best of the best. His Roseau elementary wrest...
A note to the deranged knuckleheads of America
Attention Maniacs: Last week, one of your many American crazies, a 21-year-old white man who has a problem with pornography and also is deeply religious, shot and killed eight residents in the...
Going to State With the Little Lady Rams
What a super outing for the Roseau 12-U girls hockey team. Last weekend at the Cullen Hockey Center in Moorhead, they won the region title to advance to the state tournament by defeating Fergus Falls...
They're glad to see you at the Roseau Library
by Jeff Olsen Nobody has to talk in a whisper at the Roseau Public Library where the two main gals, Melissa and Stacey, won't twist your ear to be quiet. "There is no "Shut your trap, you little...
A Tall Southerner Charms A Minnesota Miss
by Jeff Olsen Amelia Johnson, 23 and a Roseau High School graduate, has to stand on her tiptoes to kiss Blake Preston, one of the stars on the Liberty University basketball team, presently in...
This space is now for sale!
What a deal! For $5,000, you can own this space for one entire year and brag, beg, bully, and bloviate on all topics large and small. A helluva deal. All you have to do is provide a cashier's check...
This young man stands out in any crowd
by Jeff Olsen Peter VandeWege, a Roseau High School senior with a distinctive gentleness, a caring nature and a good guy to have around when you can't locate a stepladder, is a quiet role model. He do...
Two Inseparable Dogs Are Rescued From An Ice Floe
by Jeff Olsen Late on Monday afternoon, Spencer and Lily, two golden retrievers, had to be retrieved from the Roseau River after falling through the thin ice. On Monday evening, Roseau Police Chief...
Brad Dokken makes the outdoors a real adventure
by Jeff Olsen Lots of blokes and babes get up every morning, throw on their work clothes and think, "Another day of drudgery!" That doesn't include one particular chap, who could probably write a...
The years don't dim the memories
Say all you want about the overemphasis on sports in our lives. I still miss Kirby Puckett and Mickey Mantle. And if I mentioned Jimmy Piersall, any kid under 60 would draw a blank. Occasionally, when... Full story
Roseau's Long Distance Runner Never Slows Down
by Jeff Olsen On a recent weekday evening, Russ Sorenson, a chap with stamina and surely a stubborn streak, had just finished another of his six and a half mile weekday runs. He runs farther on the...
Catching Up With John Leo 'Booker' Delmore III
by Jeff Olsen Booker Delmore, a happy octogenarian who was a gifted athlete, occasional brawler, and maybe even a model altar boy, was holding court this past Saturday from his home in Coon Rapids. He...
Greenbush Lass Is A Lovely Miracle Preteen
by Jeff Olsen Adalynn "Addy" Sorenson, 12, comes at life with a smile, an innocence, and pretty hazel eyes. She has beaten the odds as a spina bifida baby who might never have walked had it not been...
In a lifetime with wonderful characters
I've bumped into a lot of amazing characters over the decades. Some are scamps, tramps, winos, roustabouts, Holy Rollers, charlatans, and even the totally legit. So, it was pure fate a week ago... Full story
Wrap This Young Lady In A Bow Because She's Special
Maybe it's Kali Austad's alluring smile that captures the moment. After all, she was reached on Valentine's Day with love surrounding her. She has this gentle laugh, natural charm, and unassuming...
Multi-Tasker Johnson knows Just One Speed
by Jeff Olsen He should be older, maybe in his fifties with a pot belly and balding gray hair. But Brady Johnson is only 32, and what isn't he up to these days? He's on the road again and was reached...
Where in the world is Ross Bernstein these days?
He's everywhere! Author Ross Bernstein is the Ernest Hemingway and Frank Deford of sports books that actually get read and don't gather dust on book shelves. He knows the winners, the losers, and...