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Tim Speier joins the Dispatch staff after a windy path on his way here, including two tours in Iraq with the Marines, work in a factory, the oil fields, as a mechanic and then an accidental journalist. Join us for a conversation to get to know Tim.

The Dispatch reporters discuss the stories about area businesses they covered in this year's Progress Edition. The DispatchCast is a product of Forum Communications Co. and is brought to you by reporters at the Brainerd Dispatch. Find more news throughout the day at BrainerdDispatch.com.

On Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, Brainerd Dispatch Editor Matt Erickson and Community Editor Chelsey Perkins hosted an "Ask The Editor" Facebook Live forum. This is the audio of that conversation. The DispatchCast is a product of Forum Communications Co. and is brought to you by reporters at the Brainerd Dispatch. Find more news throughout the day at BrainerdDispatch.com.

For months of relative calm, area hospitals worked to develop complex and ever-adapting plans for how to handle what may lie ahead in the coronavirus pandemic.  Now facing more COVID-19 patients than ever before, an influx of people who’ve delayed care for chronic conditions, and reduced staff due to illness or quarantine, the difficult days that were once hypothetical are becoming more and more frequent. The "DispatchCast" shares the interviews and process behind the weekend story featuring health care leaders, who shared the hospitals' surge plans and pleaded with residents to comply with public health directives surrounding the pandemic. Producer/Host: Chelsey Perkins Guests: Dr. Jon Pryor, Essentia Health; Jessica Herron, Essentia Health; Kyle Bauer, Cuyuna Regional Medical Center; and Joel Beiswenger, Tri-County Health Care.

The Last Turn Saloon is one of Brainerd’s oldest and most iconic businesses, dating back to the early pioneer and railroad days of the city that grew from the banks of the Mississippi River. Its current location on South Eighth Street is not the original — the first Last Turn was located at the corner of Fourth Street South and Front Street. The original saloon was the site of one of Brainerd’s darkest moments, as was recently recounted in the pages of the Dispatch by contributor Jeremy Jackson. A public lynching of two brothers of mixed Native American and European heritage accused of murdering a white woman named Ellen McArthur took place outside. That was July 1872. The brothers pleaded not guilty, were never tried and no verdict was ever brought in the case.  With a morbid history like that, it would be understandable if a creepy feeling persisted with the place. But it’s actually the second location on Eighth Street that appears to be haunted by any number of apparitions. At least, that’s what many former employees would swear by. The DispatchCast speaks with one of those employees to hear the haunted tales of the Last Turn Saloon. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Guests: Jennifer Karas, Ed Mattson

It was 1918 in Brainerd, Minnesota, and residents were focused on the sacrifices they were making for the war effort abroad. Little did they know they would soon face an enemy much closer to home as the Spanish flu made its way to the rural northern reaches of the state. Join former Brainerd Dispatch publisher Terry McCollough as he takes us back a century to a time when faced with numerous other challenges, lakes area residents were forced to grapple with an unusually deadly pandemic as well. Host: Chelsey Perkins, community editor. Guest: Terry McCollough, former publisher, "This Was Brainerd" columnist.

Deborah Erickson is not only the elections head in Crow Wing County. She also serves as chair of the elections committee for the Minnesota Association of County Officers, as the Minnesota-designated local representative on the national Elections Assistance Commission Standards Board and on the federal Government Coordinating Council for elections critical infrastructure. She joins Community Editor Chelsey Perkins to discuss the impending changes to how residents vote, as more voting precincts shift to mail balloting for the 2020 election due to the coronavirus. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Guest: Deborah Erickson

With this week's epic misinformation on social media, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this 2018 conversation on journalistic ethics. What makes a journalist ethical? How can journalists develop and maintain public trust? Just as in many newsrooms, the reporters and editors of the Brainerd Dispatch must regularly grapple with ethical decisions regarding news coverage. How we arrive at decisions and what principles guide that decision-making process is the subject of this week's DispatchCast episode. Have you ever wondered why we chose to include -- or not include -- certain information in a story? This just might be the episode for you. Producer/Host: Chelsey Perkins Contributors: Jennifer Kraus, Frank Lee and Gabe Lagarde

Likely the most recognizable Brainerd Dispatch ambassadors, staff photographers Steve Kohls and Kelly Humphrey capture images of the passions, tragedies, laughter and fun of the lakes area community. They are just as likely to appear at a community picnic as they are a house fire, and each day presents a new challenge for the dedicated pair. In this week's episode of the DispatchCast, we look back at a July 2017 conversation when Kohls and Humphrey reflected on their gusto for the art of photography, shared inspiration and practical tips for aspiring photographers and revealed the personalities behind the photographs of north-central Minnesota's only daily newspaper. Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Guests: Steve Kohls and Kelly Humphrey, Brainerd Dispatch photographers

Many unknowns still surround COVID-19, including its potential effects on household pets. With the lingering uncertainty, pet owners should be prepared to take special precautions to protect their furry family members in the event they themselves get sick, local animal experts told Brainerd Dispatch reporter Theresa Bourke. Catch her story along with the week's top lakes area headlines. Host/Co-Producer: Chelsey Perkins Contributor/Co-Producer: Theresa Bourke

We all could use a break from the reality we currently face, right? Here's your chance. We're bringing you a rebroadcast of our most popular DispatchCast episode ever. Ironton native John Henry Seadlund was the central figure in a captivating series of crimes 80 years ago -- crimes that led FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover himself to visit the Brainerd lakes area. The story of small-town boy turned brash criminal made headlines across the country, and a close look at the Brainerd Dispatch archives adds some local flavor. Listen to Seadlund’s story, as told by former Brainerd Dispatch publisher and "This Was Brainerd" columnist Terry McCollough, on this episode of the DispatchCast.  Host/Producer: Chelsey Perkins Guest: Terry McCollough

Nick Anderson is one of the nine rising Major League Baseball stars who should be a household name, according to MLB.com's Richard Justice. The 2008 Brainerd High School graduate had his breakout season in 2019, ending it with the AL Wild Card game-winning Tampa Bay Rays. Anderson talked with Brainerd Dispatch sports reporter Conrad Engstrom about what it's like to not be playing baseball right now, along with what his experience was like as a rookie in the majors last year. Plus, the Brainerd Dispatch's top headlines of the week. Host/Co-Producer: Community Editor Chelsey Perkins Contributor/Co-Producer: Sports Writer Conrad Engstrom