? Blind wine and beer event set Friday The seventh annual Blind Wine and Beer Fundraiser that supports the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation Women's Fund and the Northland Arboretum will be held from 6-9 p.m. Friday at the arboretum.

WoodPicks to close out Staples Music in the Park series STAPLES - The WoodPicks will present the final concert in the Staples Music in the Park series at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Northern Pacific Park in Staples.

Three candidates filed Tuesday for positions on the Brainerd City Council but no races developed on the first day of filing. Filing first, at around 7:30 a.m.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A higher percentage of the class of 2010 from Minnesota colleges and universities graduated in debt and owed more money on average than graduates in the rest of the nation, according to a new report. The Project on Student Debt reported Thursday that Minnesota students who took out loans graduated with an average of $29,058 in education debt, the fourth-highest in the nation. It also found that 71 percent of the Minnesota class of 2010 graduated in debt, the fifth highest share nationally.

'Lot o' Shakespeare' Thursday at CLC Tim Mooney will performs his one-man William Shakespeare show, "Lot o' Shakespeare," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Dryden Theatre at Central Lakes College in Brainerd.

PEQUOT LAKES - The towering trees and multitude of lakes in the Brainerd lakes area have always provided a natural backdrop for many aspiring and established artists, painters and photographers.

EAST GULL LAKE - Like anything else, comic strips need to change with the times, and that's just what happened to a business comic strip that is co-authored by an East Gull Lake resident.

AITKIN - The Jaques Art Center in Aitkin is hosting Layers of Latitude, a solo exhibition by regional artist Sara Hanlon.

Two Brainerd High School graduates and a Pequot Lakes High School graduate each received a $1,000 scholarship from the Nisswa Women's Club.

NORTHFIELD (AP) - Valerie Veo loves the intellectual challenge in her classes at St. Olaf College. She questions everything.