PEQUOT LAKES — The head of a Pequot Lakes dog rescue organization and her husband are facing multiple felonies for filing false income tax returns and failing to pay their taxes.
The Crow Wing County Attorney's Office filed charges against Shannon Steele and her husband Russel Steele for tax years 2017 through 2021.
According to the complaints, Shannon Steele was the only person with access to Northern Lakes Rescue's bank accounts.
She allegedly withdrew thousands from the nonprofit's accounts for personal expenses such as including airfare and jet ski rentals.
Collectively, the couple avoided paying taxes on more than $300,000 in taxable income, the charges say.
Shannon Steele also faces a probation violation as part of a previous theft by check conviction.
In that case, while working at a painting business in Garrison, Steele wrote checks to herself totaling $62,000 and charged more than $16,000 in unauthorized purchases to company credit cards.
Agreement to prevent plastic pollution in the Mississippi River
Mayors from numerous states and tribal leaders from Northern Minnesota gathered in Bemidji last week to announce a first-of-its kind partnership to protect the Mississippi River.
KAXE/KBXE Reporter Larissa Donovan found out how these partners intend to take action.
White Earth water regulations
The White Earth Band is one of a growing number of Native American tribes exerting their authority to protect reservation water reserves.
In the wake of a recent New York Times story highlighting the overuse of groundwater in Northern Minnesota attributed to agriculture, a new report from nonprofit news organization Circle of Blue highlights White Earth's regulatory efforts.
Band leadership are in the midst of developing regulations and a permitting program that sets mandatory standards of environmental performance for farm operations.
White Earth recently set a two-year moratorium on the development of large livestock and dairy operations within the reservation boundary.
A second ordinance establishes a tribal review and permitting process for high-capacity water wells.
Tribal Chairman Michael Fairbanks says the state of Minnesota's own practices around groundwater protections do not go far enough to prevent negative impacts, in the band's view.
Circle of Blue says the tribal rules are a clear rebuke to farm states and the federal government, which have advocated voluntary participation in pollution prevention and water conservation programs that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Tree debris drop off site to remain open two extra weeks
The tree debris drop-off site opened by St. Louis County following the powerful windstorm that knocked down hundreds of trees in and around Gilbert, Aurora and Hoyt Lakes will remain open through Oct. 9, two weeks longer than originally announced.
The extended schedule is to assist residents still cleaning up following the Sept. 5 storm. The South Gravel Pit in Makinen is open from dawn until dusk, seven days a week.
The county is not offering curbside pickup of debris.
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The decision to permanently chlorinate the city’s water starting this month came after a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak dating back to April 2023.
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Attorneys general in a dozen states — including North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa — filed the lawsuit challenging the EPA rule requiring states to consider the rights of tribal members for water management decisions on ceded lands.
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Unicon21, a two-week convention and competition for a global community of unicyclists, wraps up in Bemidji on Friday, July 26.
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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency stated tests show an increase of sulfate and boron in the Blackwater Creek at Minnesota Power in Cohasset.
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The region's new industrial space could help attract new manufacturing businesses.
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Installing a solar array didn’t just impact Stuart Lavalier's farm’s bottom line: it provided a way for his operation to be more self-reliant.
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The United Way of 1000 Lakes effort runs through mid-August, with a final packing party scheduled on Aug. 15 at Klockow Brewing in Grand Rapids.
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The tribal nation in Minnesota will use more than $3.3 million for small business capital and credit support for construction projects.
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Plus: Reminders for WE Fest attendees, flaming puck hockey on unicycles in Bemidji, Grand Rapids to host annual swap meet, and American Pickers are coming to town.
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Plus: The science behind coal ash wastewater a week after the Boswell spill; small business funding headed to Red Lake Nation; and United Way of 1000 Lakes' Stuff the Bus campaign is underway.