Three pageant winners visited Nisswa Elementary School in support of the Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser.

Lizzy Thurlow, Miss Central Lakes Outstanding Teen; Serena Schreifels, Miss Brainerd Lakes Outstanding Teen; and Bailey Wachholz, former Miss Minnesota Outstanding Teen, all jumped rope and played games with students during their gym period Thursday, Jan. 17.

Thurlow and Wachholz both attended Nisswa Elementary School. All three teens are now Brainerd High School students.

The Crosslake City Council held a public meeting Jan. 18 where it interviewed three candidates for city attorney.

Brad Person of Breen and Person, Robert Scott of Flaherty and Hood, and Lonny Thomas of Thomas Law all made presentations and answered council meeting questions.

Common questions included familiarity with shoreline laws, how the firm will communicate with the city and availability to attend meetings.

Below-zero temperatures and far below-zero wind chills met the lakes area Saturday, Jan. 19, with the Pine River dam temperature hitting 21 degrees below zero and the Brainerd Airport measuring 22 below zero Tuesday, Jan. 22. The wind chill reached 35 degrees below zero Monday morning, Jan. 21, at the Pine River Regional Airport.

Kevin Kraujalis, meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Duluth, said this is the coldest weather the area has seen in four years.

The new Crosslake City Council met Friday, Jan. 18, to talk about each member’s goals for the next year.

Planning and zoning issues were widely discussed. Mayor Darrell Schneider said he hopes to do something about the planning and zoning enforcement issues, saying there are 100 or so incidents that are at odds with city ordinances.

Council member Steve Roe pointed out that the city falls under many overlapping jurisdictions (state, county, Department of Natural Resources and city), which makes enforcing the rules tricky.