PARK RAPIDS — The Park Rapids School Board voted unanimously to decline a donation that would display the Ten Commandments outside the newly landscaped Park Rapids High School next year.
The Park Rapids Enterprise reported that the Board based its Monday, June 3, decision on the mostly negative feedback on the proposed monument offered by former school board member Dennis Dodge.
Dodge’s monument proposal prompted a response from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which warned the district that it would be open to litigation should it accept the monument.
Park Rapids High School is currently under renovation as part of a voter-approved referendum that passed in 2021, with landscaping expected to be completed by September 2025.
Itasca County recently painted over a Ten Commandments display at its new jail, and a decades-old Ten Commandments display at the Hibbing Courthouse was removed in 2018.
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Plus: the DNR has identified the origin point and people of interest in the Flanders Fire; Bemidji bus drivers advocate for better pay before School Board; and Itasca County votes to fly two different state flags. -
Contributed/Wesley Tingey via UnsplashJordan Zempel, 35, of Apple Valley, faces a third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. -
Megan Buffington/KAXEDaniel Dale of Hoyt Lakes made his first court appearance May 19, 2026, on the upgraded felony charge. He remains in custody in the St. Louis County Jail. -
Contributed/Minnesota Incident Command SystemAccurate mapping of the fire perimeter led to the fire size increasing to 356 acres. The wildfire destroyed 34 structures and was caused by a power line. -
Lorie Shaull/KAXEThe fire, which began May 16, 2026, burned around 1,666 acres in Crow Wing County. The DNR asks residents and others in the area with information to contact them. -
contributed/Julie CrabbGet to know the volunteers behind the mic on KAXE. This week, we find out more from the longtime "Green Cheese" and "The Dark Side of Love" host and volunteer Julie Crabb. -
Lorie Shaull/KAXEAbout a half-inch of rain fell across the area overnight into Tuesday, and crews are expected to return to work on securing and improving the fire lines again. -
And: A rural Orr man was arrested for allegedly shooting a firefighting plane; the Legislature passed a bonding bill; and filings open for public office Tuesday.
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Lorie Shaull/KAXEIn their final hours before the session ended, lawmakers passed a county hospital bailout, an infrastructure bill and small cuts to car tab fees and property taxes. -
Contributed/Ellen Schmidt / MinnPost / CatchLight Local / Report for AmericaHere’s what made it into the Legislature's infrastructure package and what lawmakers and others had to say about it May 17, 2026.
