Minnesota State Senator Jason Rarick announced a reelection campaign for his District 11 seat on Friday. The Pine City resident was first elected to the state Senate in a special election in 2019 after previously serving as a state representative. Rarick is in his third term after being reelected to his seat in 2020 and 2022. “I’m proud to represent the people of District 11, but the work is not over. I am announcing my intention to seek your support to continue serving you i

This summer, the Minnesota Historical Society plans to dig further into the rich history of the Snake River in Pine County — literally and metaphorically. On Tuesday, Minnesota Historical Society Director of Archaeology Jennifer Rankin joined WCMP for an interview to discuss plans to survey and study the Snake River valley. "The Pine City area has been an area that we've been interested in for a while now," Rankin said. Rankin said that over the past few years, the Minnesota

Voters rejected both ballot questions in a Chisago Lakes School District referendum election on Tuesday. The first question sought $48.1 million for acquisition and betterment of school sites and facilities, including safety and security improvements at the primary school, middle school, high school, and Taylors Falls elementary school. According to the unofficial results, it failed with 2,412 residents voting no, and 1,810 voting yes. The second question was contingent on th

Just over 2.5 acres of property adjacent to Hillside Avenue Southwest and 11th Street Southwest have been identified as the proposed site for a multi-use development that would include Pine City’s new location for municipal liquor store operations. According to information from the city, the development is proposed for two adjoining parcels, valued at $443,700 on Beacon. In an interview on Feb. 6, mayor Kent Bombard explained that the city is still early in the timeline of ex

Three known occupants of a Burnett County residence have been located deceased after a structure fire in the early hours of Saturday morning. According to a news release from the Burnett County Sheriff's Office, dispatch received a report of a structure fire at a Shogren Road residence in Anderson Township at 4:48 a.m. Law enforcement, fire departments, and ambulances arrived at the scene and discovered the residence was fully engulfed in flames. The Wisconsin Department of J

Pine City is in the preliminary stages of exploring moving municipal liquor store operations to a multi-use development proposed by a developer. In an interview on Friday, mayor Kent Bombard explained that the city is still early in the timeline, invoking the metaphor of “looking at the car and kicking the tires at this point of time.” “At this point, we’ve signed a letter of engagement with a developer to look into expanding our liquor store to a new location,” Bombard said.

Pine City has found elevated levels of copper in drinking water in some homes and buildings, according to a notice issued on Monday. The notices states the municipal water system exceeded the action level for copper during the compliance period from July through December of 2025. The action level for copper is 1,300 micrograms per liter; Pine City's water system exceeded that level with a 90th percentile of 1,510 micrograms per liter. The notice also states that more than 10

The Pine City School Board is looking to fill a vacancy after acknowledging the resignation of board member Shaune Macho on Feb. 2. According to information from Superintendent Dr. Cindy Stolp, the remaining six board members will make an appointment through November by majority vote. Voters will elect a replacement for the seat at the next school board election. Applications must be completed by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Stolp said applicants should plan to attend the bo

East Central Energy has officially been keeping the lights on in the region since 1936. On Monday, ECE president Justin Jahnz joined WCMP for an interview about the cooperative's past, present, and future at its 90-year milestone. 'Wonderful opportunity made available by the government' "Back in the 1930s, there were a lot of people in big cities that had electricity, and a lot of rural areas in our country did not," Jahnz explained. "And Franklin Delano Roosevelt actually si

The Pine County Courthouse hosted a ceremony to install Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe tribal flags in courtrooms on Friday morning. Judge Stoney Hiljus recognized that the courthouse stands on land that has long been home to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, "whose presence, governance, and cultural traditions endure today. "The installation of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe flags is a visible and lasting acknowledgement of that legacy," Hiljus said. Hiljus said the installation of the f

A two-vehicle crash at County Road H and State Road 70 in Burnett County shut down the intersection for several hours on Wednesday. According to a news release from the Burnett County Sheriff's Office, the Dewey Township crash was reported just before 1 p.m. Preliminary investigation indicates a pickup truck traveling northbound on County Road H failed to stop at the intersection, and struck an eastbound propane truck. The release states that the propane truck caught fire on

Pine City musical artists The Harlow Pennies have "tiny" ambitions for 2026 — Tiny Desk Concert ambitions, that is. On Thursday, Jan. 22, the folk-leaning outfit featuring Michaela Engh and Allie Gosen submitted an entry to perform in the storied NPR concert series. Filmed at Gosen's desk at the Pine City High School, Engh and Gosen performed "Passenger Seat" with guitar accompaniment from Steve Clemens. Gosen said Clemens is a fellow 2018 graduate from the Pine City High Sch

Rush City lifted its boil water advisory on Tuesday morning after determining the city’s drinking water is safe.  According to a notice from the city, the water samples submitted to the Minnesota Department of Health tested negative for bacteria. Rush City experienced a loss of pressure in its water system due to a battery back-up failure of the master water treatment plant controls around 7:15 p.m. on Saturday. Residents may resume using tap water as usual.

When area artist Bodie Emslander introduces his "Love Local" exhibition at the Pine Center For the Arts on Friday, Feb. 6, he'll do so with his own spin on the format. "Everyone kind of has the stereotypical picture of an art gallery, but I'm going at it out of my book," said Emslander, who is the creative force behind 80 Grit Studios in Pine City. After inquiring about restrictions for his gallery, Emslander remembers being met with "honestly, whatever" — a veritable blank

A Boil Water Advisory is in effect in Rush City after a loss of pressure on Jan. 24 may have caused contamination. According to the advisory, the city experienced a loss of pressure in its water system due to a battery back-up failure of the master water treatment plant controls around 7:15 p.m. on Saturday. Within 30 minutes of the notification, water pressure was restored. The impacted area includes everyone connected to the Rush City water system. The advisory states that

As winter weather brings dangerously cold wind chills to east-central Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, here's a look at closures, cancellations, and delays in the region. Thursday, Jan. 22: Hinckley-Finlayson School District: All after-school activities cancelled. Grantsburg: All after-school activities cancelled. Pine City: After-school activities cancelled. Friday, Jan. 23: Pine City: School cancelled. East-Central: E-learning day. Ogilvie: School cancelled. Rush City: Sc

Congress has approved $750,000 in funding for upgrades to Pine City's wastewater treatment pond system, according to an announcement from U.S. senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. According to a news release from Klobuchar's office issued on Jan. 20, the Senate-passed legislation — which also secures $1 million for water infrastructure work in Kettle River — will now go to the President's desk to be signed into law. “Water and wastewater infrastructure need to be upgraded t

An extreme cold watch is set to take effect on Thursday across east-central Minnesota, bringing dangerously cold wind chills to the region. According to the National Weather Service, the alert will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday in Pine County, and 9 p.m. elsewhere in east-central Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. It extends through noon on Saturday. The National Weather Service states that wind chills as low as 45 degrees below zero are possible, which could cause frostbite on ex

At the Pine City Council's Jan. 7 meeting, council member Gina Pettie said the library committee selected Kristina Shuey's novel "The Day The World Burned" for this year's Pine City Reads program. "We chose a local author, somebody who has been through our school system, and she wrote a novel about the Hinckley fire, and so I think that will be really fun for the community to read together," Pettie explained. On Monday, Shuey sat down with WCMP to discuss her debut novel, wha

Minnesota Energy Resources has alerted customers in Willow River, Sturgeon Lake and Finlayson impacted by Friday's damaged pipeline that there are no longer restrictions on their natural gas use. According to a news release issued on Tuesday, around 650 customers lost service Friday afternoon due to damage on a Northern Natural Gas interstate pipeline that provides natural gas to the Minnesota Energy Resources system. The release states that NNG provided a temporary supply of