State briefs: Warroad breaks record for longest skate path in US

The small northern Minnesota town of Warroad, just a few miles south of the Canadian border, now boasts the title of longest skate path in the country.

Jared Olafson, along with his brother and a friend, created the skate path last December amid pandemic boredom. The three men connected three ice rinks they had constructed in their backyards and kept going to create a 2.5-mile path.

In January, Olafson told the Star Tribune he'd see hundreds of people skating, playing hockey or competing in curling matches on weekends.

The Riverbend Skate Path along the Warroad River has doubled its size since last year, now measuring 5.2 miles and beating out the previous record-holder in Vermont, according to the Associated Press.

The path's creators, known as the Riverbender Crew, are partnering with Warroad High School to build warming hut concession stands and moveable fire pits along the path.

Jenny Berg

ST. CLOUD

A memorial for Mack Motzko, the 20-year-old son of Gophers men's hockey coach Bob Motzko who died in July, will be dedicated Thursday at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex.

Mack Motzko and 24-year-old Sam Schuneman, who was in a relationship with Motzko's sister, were passengers in a car driven by an Orono man. They died from injuries sustained in a crash.

Charges against the Orono man say Motzko and Schuneman met the driver less than an hour before the crash; the man was driving with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. He has been charged with two murder counts in addition to four counts of negligent and drunken driving.

Motzko was a 2020 graduate of St. Cloud's Cathedral High School, where he is remembered as a kind soul with a hearty sense of humor, a student of faith and avid hockey player and golfer.

Event organizers are asking attendees to wear red to the game — St. Cloud Cathedral vs. St. Cloud Crush — in honor of Motzko. The event will also include an auction of hockey jerseys created for the ceremony, with proceeds going to the Hugs From Mack Memorial Fund.

ZUMBRO FALLS

HEROES MEMORIAL TO HONOR THOSE WHO SERVED COMMUNITY, COUNTRY

A new Heroes Memorial in Zumbro Falls will honor veterans and firefighters in the community.

The project, organized by the Zumbro Falls Fire Department and VFW Post 1802, has been in the works for several years. In October, organizers broke ground on the site, which is green space along Main Street where houses stood before flooding in 2010 made town leaders question what to do with the space.

The project was funded through donations, with the VFW's charitable gambling proceeds accounting for more than 90% of project costs. The memorial is made up of granite walls, statues and several flags.