Kim Hyatt

1 week ago | startribune.com | Kim Hyatt

A nearly 20-year-old community center in northern Minnesota took the uncommon step of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Walker Area Community Center has been a money pit on top of the hill overlooking Leech Lake since it opened in 2007. Its budget is generated from ice rentals, gym memberships and donations, which hasn't been enough to sustain operations. Many community centers in Minnesota are taxpayer-funded. Walker's is a nonprofit.

1 week ago | thebrunswicknews.com | Kim Hyatt

By Kim Hyatt, The Minnesota Star Tribune CASS LAKE, Minn. - Inside an old car dealership, gymnasts navigate unconventional hurdles at practice. Coaches spot the girls for form and to ensure they don't hit the ceiling. This organized chaos is set to the melodies of Disney songs and pop music. A collection of hand-me-down mats and equipment from bigger, longstanding gymnastics programs around the state help this newer, smaller team grow.

1 week ago | dailygazette.com | Kim Hyatt

CASS LAKE, Minn. — Inside an old car dealership, gymnasts navigate unconventional hurdles at practice. Coaches spot the girls for form and to ensure they don’t hit the ceiling. This organized chaos is set to the melodies of Disney songs and pop music. A collection of hand-me-down mats and equipment from bigger, longstanding gymnastics programs around the state help this newer, smaller team grow. And against all odds, they are soaring, all because their coach, Erin Reyes, decided to come back home.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Kim Hyatt

By Kim Hyatt A 65-year-old Brainerd woman died in a grass fire Sunday afternoon. The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office said deputies were called to the fire shortly after noon in the 6400 block of Wetherbee Road, where they located the homeowner deceased near a lawn tractor. "She was on the lawn tractor and had some mobility issues and wasn't able to get away from the fire," Sheriff Eric Klang said in a phone interview Monday. Klang said the woman died from the fire.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Kim Hyatt

By Kim Hyatt Northern Dreams Gymnastics is earning top honors and looking for space to grow the program. The Minnesota Star Tribune Northern Dreams Gymnastics, housed in a former car dealership building in Cass Lake in the heart of the Leech Lake Reservation, is a fledging gymnastics program that earned top honors recently at the USAA Midwest Regional Meet in Madison, Wis. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune) Short ceilings provide just enough room for bar routines.