A man found dead in the roadway on the 10300 block of Ibis Street N.W., Coon Rapids, shortly after 6 a.m. Feb. 5 has been identified.

According to Lt. Paul Sommer, Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, he was Dale Robert Hanson, 46, 1128 101st Ave. N.W., Coon Rapids. See more in Editor Peter Bodley's Coon Rapids Herald story.

A United States District Court Judge sentenced a 52-year-old Andover man Friday (Feb. 5) to 37 months in prison for his role in orchestrating a residential real estate loan scam.

Eric Krahnke, a loan officer at Associated Bank, bypassed normal loan-approval channels to get 21 real estate loans totalling more than $4 million between March 2003 and October 2003, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis. See more in Eric Hagen's ABC Newspapers story.

If your boss is one of the sponsors of a community event, it's a good idea to get involved.

But, this may be more than she was bargaining for. Alysia, an employee at Shopko, took the plunge Saturday, Feb. 6 at the first-ever North Branch Rotary sponsored Polar Plunge on Fish Lake.  Polar Plunges are becoming more and more popular in Minnesota communities as organizations use them as successful fund-raisers. The Forest Lake Rotary Club is sponsoring a Polar Plunge in First Lake on Saturday, Feb. 20.

More photos can be found in the Feb. 10 edition of the Post Review and a video of the exhilarating event will be online soon.

(Photo by MaryHelen Swanson, ECM Post Review)

With all the photo coverage of the earthquakes in Haiti the images of young children, now homeless and many parentless, seem to stand out amongst the rubble. These photos have caused more than one American family to think about adopting a child from Haiti and many think that given the circumstances of the country, it shouldn’t be too hard to give an orphaned child a home in the United States.

But adopting internationally isn’t that simple. See more in Lindsy Arrowood's Princeton Union-Eagle story.

Significantly more federal money is available this year to meet the emergency food and housing needs of low-income Anoka County residents.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded Anoka County $235,357 under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program. See more in  Editor Peter Bodley's ABC Newspapers story.

Two more purchases have been made by the Anoka County Board for the $1.9 million project currently under way to remodel and expand the space in which Anoka County Central Communications operates in the courthouse.

On the recommendation of its Management Committee, the board has approved the purchase of computer workstations in an amount not to exceed $46,000 as well as network and cabling work for a price not to exceed $43,600. See more in Editor Peter Bodley's ABC Newspapers story.

The Rogers Dance Team has qualified for the state meet for the first time, and will compete in both dances, after placing third in each at the Section 2AA meet Saturday in Chisago Lakes.

In both the high-kick and jazz-funk competitions, Totino-Grace placed first, Hill-Murray second and Rogers third among 11 schools. Other competing schools were Chisago Lakes Area, Duluth Central, Duluth Denfeld, Fridley, Monticello, North Branch, Park Center, and Zimmerman. See more in Star News sports story.

Rogers Dance Team gets in formation during its high-kick routine at sectionals at Chisago Lakes. (Photos by Brenda Reinert)

Five of the candidates for Minnesota governor participated in a lively question and answer forum put on by the Mille Lacs Tea Party Patriots in Princeton on a recent Saturday.

A crowd of 99 filled most of the Mille Lacs County Historical Society’s Depot Center Great Northern Room to take in the forum that featured Republican candidates Phil Herwig, Marty Seifert, Bill Haas and Tom Emmer, and Constitution Party candidate Harley Swarm. See more in Joel Stottrup's Princeton Union-Eagle story.