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Chorale spring concerts announced
Prairie Arts Chorale, singers of southwestern Minnesota under the direction of Cheryl Jeska and Kathryn Reese, invites the public to attend one of its concerts this spring, "Prairie Arts Chorale: By Request." The program include old favorites like "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "What a Wonderful World," "California Dreamin'," "Somewhere" and "Over the Rainbow" in addition to new pieces.
Area concerts include 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Estebo Performing Arts Center in Redwood Falls and 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Marshall. For more information concerning these concerts, call Vickie Daub, president, at 507-342-5662, speak to chorale members in their communities, or visit the website at www.prairieartschorale.org. Tickets are available in various business places in the communities where the concerts are held, from chorale members, or at the door before the concert. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. There is no charge for children or students under 18.
These concerts are funded, in part, by a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council through an appropriation from the MN State Legislature with money from the State's general fund.
Minnesota Author Project creates opportunities for self-published authors
The Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) announces a new statewide contest that will accept submissions of self-published young adult and adult fiction to be recognized as the top self-published books in the state.
Winners in each category will receive $1,000 as well as:
Inclusion in Indie Minnesota, a statewide digital collection of local indie authors
A review in Library Journal, one of the country's oldest and most renowned trade publications for library news
Honors at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Seattle
Opportunities to promote and have print copies of books available in Minnesota public libraries
Recent data from 2016 showed that 20 percent of the book market is composed of indie authors. The creation of the Minnesota Author Project combined with MN Writes MN Reads (a suite of resources for writers to use to self-publish their work) gives libraries a chance to encourage new work from this growing group. As MELSA Executive Director Ken Behringer said, "Writers in Minnesota will be able to create content in a variety of ebook formats, and the state's readers will be able to find that content in an online collection highlighting those self-published authors."
Winning authors will reach hundreds if not thousands of new readers via Minnesota's libraries, and can also leverage being an award-winning author for additional marketing opportunities.
Each book that is submitted to the contest must be: self-published, in the genre of young adult fiction or adult fiction, written by a Minnesota resident, available in either PDF or ePUB format. Multiple submissions are welcome.
Writers can enter the contest at indieauthorproject.librariesshare.com/Minnesota and can check out the free self-publishing resources at mnwritesmnreads.org.
Submissions open April 1, 2018, and close June 30, 2018. A panel of Minnesota librarians, educators, and booksellers will judge the submissions.
The contest is supported by the Minnesota Library Foundation, Library Journal, and SELF-e.
8-year-old boy at school slashes other students with knife
SAUK RAPIDS (AP) -- An 8-year-old student took a kitchen knife to a central Minnesota elementary school and randomly attacked three other children Monday, authorities said.
Police Chief Perry Beise said the victims -- aged 8, 9 and 13 -- suffered "superficial wounds" requiring stitches in the attack at Pleasantview Elementary in Sauk Rapids. No one else was hurt.
Beise told The Associated Press he didn't know why the boy did it.
"If I could answer that question I would," the police chief said. "He randomly cut three students then walked into the office and set the knife down."
School Superintendent Bruce Watkins said the boy lashed out at the other students until an adult intervened. The incident lasted about 5 minutes and took place in a school hallway.
The incident happened about 7:15 a.m. as students were arriving for class, Watkins told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. After putting his backpack away, the second-grade student took out a knife and slashed three students with it, the superintendent said. School officials immediately called police and an ambulance.
By the time officers arrived, Beise said, the boy was in an office with a counselor and the three injured students were being treated by the school nurse. He said the boy was cooperative with investigators. He said he didn't know if the boy had been bullied, or if he had mental health issues.
Beise said the boy was released to his parents. The police report will be forwarded to the Benton County Attorney's Office.
"They don't charge children this young with crimes," the chief said "You try to get them treatment and help them be successful. It's also possible that human services will become involved in some way."
In an email to parents, school officials said that the parents of the three injured students chose to take their children home or to get additional medical attention on their own.
One of the injured children is a seventh-grader who was waiting to catch a transfer bus. The other two are Pleasantview Elementary students.
Watkins said the school made mental health counselors available to students and staff. Classes went on as scheduled. The attacker will not be allowed back in school, the superintendent said.
Sauk Rapids is about 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Pleasantview has 720 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the school district's website.
Weapons in schools and school security have been ongoing issues in the U.S.
A 19-year-old former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is accused of bringing an assault rifle to the school in February and killing 17 students and staff members.