McKinley
McKinley, MN · LATEST NEWS
Mesabi Tribune
Buhl bar owner convicted of fraud charges
BUHL—A 59-year-old Eveleth woman, Carla Dee Dombrowski, was recently convicted of gambling-related offenses, taking place from August 29, 2024 through March 20, 2025, according to court records. On November 4 of this year, Dombrowski, the owner of Billy’s Pit Stop Pub ‘n’ Grub was convicted of one count of lawful gambling fraud-claims prize by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, lawful gambling fraud over $2,500, a felony-level offense; one count of lawful gambling fraud-false information, lawful gambling fraud over $2,500, a felony-level offense; and one count of organization/employee/volunteer may not participate in electronic bingo/pull tipboard/, a misdemeanor-level offense, according to court information. Dombrowski was released on $5,000 bail. Conditions of release include: remain law abiding, no same or similar offenses, make all future court appearances, make and maintain contact with attorney, and other conditions of release. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Bill’s Pit Stop Pub N’ Grub announced they are open for food only, and are in the process and awaiting a new liquor license to be approved. “This will take a few weeks. We apologize for this and hope you will support us for food,” reads the post. “We can however sell non alcoholic beverages during this time.” A sentencing is
WDIO-TV
Mesabi Tribune
Virginia sets special meeting to review forensic audit
VIRGINIA—Councilor Liz Motley let the public know (at Tuesday night’s regular meeting) the forensic audit of Virginia’s finances has been received by the city. After some debate on the timing, the council set a special City Council meeting at 3 p.m. Nov. 24 to discuss the findings from the firm Perry Forensic. Engaging in a forensic audit was approved in July after the city discovered $3.7 million missing from a dedicated sales tax fund earlier in the year. The action came after the city had a cash flow problem and discovered about $3.7 million was spent out of a restricted special sales tax fund designed to repay a General Obligation Revenue Bond issued about six years ago for the Iron Trail Motors Event Center. The extra 1% sales tax was approved by the Legislature in 2019 and its proceeds were specifically restricted to pay back the ITMEC bonds, not the city’s general fund expenses. The council wanted to determine what, exactly, those funds were spent on and decided on the audit. Motley was hoping for the meeting on Nov. 17, but the timing didn’t work for the others on the council. “I do believe we owe it to the taxpayers
northernnewsnow.com
northernnewsnow.com
Mesabi Tribune
northernnewsnow.com
Fire destroys garage near Cook, homeowner treated for hand injury
COOK, Minn. (Northern News Now) - A fire destroyed a garage in northern St. Louis County, leaving the 70-year-old homeowner with a minor hand injury. The garage on Highway 1 near Cook was fully engulfed shortly after 1 p.m. The homeowner was treated for his hand injury at the scene.
Mesabi Tribune
Mesabi Tribune
Rock Ridge to keep discussing possibility of 4-day week
VIRGINIA/EVELETH—After a lengthy discussion, the Rock Ridge School Board will hold a working session at 5 p.m. Nov. 23 so board members can talk out the parameters of possibly going to a four-day week. While the board has not authorized going to a four-day week, Superintendent Noel Schmidt brought up the idea of studying it as a possible budget reduction. Any possible decision on going to a four-day week would have to be made by April. According to Schmidt’s rough draft timeline, a series of community meetings would be held next month to gather feedback and advice from the public. Meetings (three at each school) would be held at Laurentian, North Star and Parkview elementaries, along with Rock Ridge High School. Schmidt said once all of the information is gathered from the public, it will be “clustered’’ into big themes/big concerns. That is better than deciding what the themes are before the public meetings. He estimated there would be three-five clusters, and committees would be formed to look at them and come up with potential answers and recommendations before bringing it back to the full school board. The different clusters could possibly be on transportation, academics or athletics, he added.
Mesabi Tribune
Mesabi Tribune
Second Chance home revealed in Chisholm
CHISHOLM—A house located at 214 Second Street Southwest is the first of four former tax-forfeited homes on the Range to be given “a second chance” through a new pilot program. On Tuesday representatives from the partnering entities, along with elected officials from Chisholm and Hibbing, among others, stopped by to get their first look at the newly renovated home along with displays that included before and after photos. Launched in fiscal year 2024, the Second Chance Homes Pilot Program is a partnership among Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR), Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA) and St. Louis County to rehabilitate formerly tax-forfeited homes and preserve to help meet a need for housing. Phase 1 includes three other homes, two in Eveleth and one in Aurora that are expected to be completed soon. The approximate $1.2 million investment is Phase 1, according to information provided by the IRRR. The work preserves existing housing, revitalizes neighborhoods and creates homeownership opportunities while helping prevent deterioration that could eventually require demolition. AEOA Executive Director Mark Page said the three bedroom, two bath home in Chisholm took about 12 months to complete. Before and after photos of the project were available for people to view
Mesabi Tribune
Mesabi Tribune
Soudan man injured in one-vehicle rollover
BREITUNG TOWNSHIP—A 21-year-old driver was injured early Tuesday in a one-vehicle rollover on Highway 1 in Breitung Township, according to a report by the Minnesota State Patrol. The male driver from Soudan was traveling eastbound on Highway 1 shortly after 3:30 a.m. when when the vehicle he was traveling in rolled and came to rest on its roof across the lanes of Hwy. 1 between Mile Marker 264 and 265. Road conditions were dry at the time of the crash. The driver was transported to Essentia Health-Virginia hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. An airbag was deployed and the driver was wearing a seatbelt. Alcohol is suspected, according to authorities. The St. Louis County Sheriff Department, Tower Ambulance, Tower EMS, Virginia Fire, and St. Louis County Rescue Squad assisted on scene.
Mesabi Tribune
Wolverine girls hockey preps for road trip to open season
VIRGINIA—The Rock Ridge girls’ hockey team is only a few days away from their first game of the season and with just over a week of practice and three scrimmages under their belt, third-year head coach Kassie Strand is seeing plenty of signs from her players about how things could shake out this year. The Wolverines hit the road this weekend, taking on St. Paul/Two Rivers on Friday before battling Westonka/Southwest Christian on Saturday. Given two weeks to prepare for games one and two, Strand said the first few days of practice brought about plenty of excitement as a new crop of skaters entered the program, looking to replace the three seniors that graduated in 2026. “We had nine new girls come up, including one goalie, so we’re looking forward to seeing some added depth on the team this year,” Strand said. Her first look at her players in a more competitive setting came this past weekend when the Wolverines competed in three scrimmages against Owattona, Park and Hastings. “We skated well down there and I think it was really promising,” Strand said. “It was fun to see the new girls in the mix and we got to play around