September 2026

New flagpole sparks interest in rural cemetery

By PHIL MONSON
When Jayden Erie moved up in the scouting ranks in his local Boy Scout Troop 108, it didn’t take him long to find a community service Eagle Scout project.

In less than six months it has all become a reality after the recent installation of a new flagpole at the Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church cemetery in Corinth Township, southwest of Humboldt.

“When I ranked up in scouts, scout leaders Gerald Davis and Sandy Collins were pushing me to think about what I would do for an Eagle Scout project. We asked Pastor Katie Russell if she had any ideas and she came back with the idea of re-doing the flagpole out at the church cemetery southwest of town,” Erie said.

“The troop leaders and the scout council approved of it. Then I began the planning and paperwork to get started. I started attending meetings at the church to get approval,” Erie said.

A celebration of life was held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, at Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home in Humboldt.
Richard Freddie Beseke, 63, of Humboldt, took over social hour in Heaven on Aug. 30, 2026. He’s as stubborn as they come and he left this world exactly the way he lived in it: always working on a project, looking for a tool he just misplaced (or one of the kids “borrowed”), chatting up a stranger and surrounded by his loving family.
Richard was born July 29, 1963 to William “Bill” and Karen (Stockfleth) Beseke. He’d always tell you he wasn’t born IN a barn, but right beside it, as he just couldn’t wait to make it all the way to the hospital. He was raised and made a life in Humboldt. On Oct. 24, 1992 he married Brandi Jai Schultz. They briefly moved away, but later returned to Humboldt. Together they raised three children, and later welcomed four beautiful grandkids, who were the absolute light of his life.

By APRIL KELLEY
The Public Safety Commission met in special session on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to discuss hiring a Communications Officer to oversee dispatch following several meetings held to gather information.

Shawna Crahan, Deputy Auditor and payroll/HR Administrator, presented the job description formed during the meetings.

The position summary states, “The Communications Officer's primary duty is the management and supervision of Humboldt County 911 Communications Center while continuing to serve in the role of dispatcher as needed. Dispatching duties are performed only on an incidental basis to ensure continuity of operations”.

The Commissioners disagreed over the last sentence, changing the description to read “Dispatching duties are performed only on an as-needed basis to ensure continuity of operations.”

By APRIL KELLEY
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors heard from several citizens during the general public concerns portion of their regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 31.

Bret Harklau with R.I.V.E.R. Development Inc. attended the meeting to let the supervisors know that he had attended the Conservation Board meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to discuss the sale of the Reasoner Dam.

“I met with the Conservation Board about our contract to purchase the Reasoner Dam. We want to go forward but we need to have paragraph two removed that says the buyer assumes from the seller all of the seller's liabilities, obligations, debts, contracts or other commitments,” Harklau said.

Harklau told the Supervisors that the R.I.V.E.R. Development Inc. lawyers and the Conservation Department lawyers are continuing to talk to each other to iron out the issues.