Member, Minnesota Newspaper Association (in spirit)
Vol. CXXIX — No. 36  •  Misquah, Minnesota  •  The Chain of Lakes
Tuesday, September 8, 2026  •  September 8 Edition
The Misquah Pilot-Independent loon seal
The Voice of the Chain of Lakes

The Misquah Pilot-Independent

“Where the coffee’s hot, the lakes are cold, and all the children are above average.” — Serving the Chain since 1897.



At press time74° · Big Pelican 64°One juvenile loon remainsGrouse opener Sat., Sept. 12Absentee voting opens Sept. 18Since Press Time →
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 · Current Edition

Puzzles

No. 36’s puzzle page: school, sixteen lots, one loon and the second week of September.

View No. 36 print-edition index →

Misquah Mini Crossword

The Second-First-Day Mini.

Across.  1. Two of them all summer; one of them since Sunday (5)   4. What the motion was written on, and what it was not typed from carefully enough (5)

Down.  1. What Pike did at Braham, 21–14 (4)   2. What the doors do at 7:40 (4)   3. What the county engineer must approve before a shovel (4)

Answers

Across: LOONS, SHEET. Down: LOSE, OPEN, SITE.

Chain Word Search

The Second Week of September. SIXTEEN · HANDWRITING · ABSENTEE · GROUSE · KINDERGARTEN · HOMECOMING · SPELLDOWN · HOTDISH · FROST · ONE

NHODPVPEWUQNQTJV
YBHALIAZSGWXGZML
YYNJVDCJCOMPNIHP
AZXETIEDDHQTIWDS
FAPVTMTLTKIKMLDL
YFAOSRLYXQHTOABW
EKAANEAARUNSCGOF
EEUDPEPGSPAOEWGV
AQXSCLYXRIXRMOIV
IESUORGVTEXFOPZK
GOHLGLVCXFDTHWKL
LSYZDRYSHAGNEYZI
QNTTOLYLZNULIECQ
RGNITIRWDNAHFKNH
NJVXQUPIRRGEZLPY
BEETNESBAHSIDTOH

Any direction, diagonals included. HANDWRITING is in there and it is long, which is fitting.

Lake Trivia

Minnesota has required schools to open after Labor Day since 1985. So how did Lakeside legally open September 2 this year — and how long does that permission last?

Answer

A temporary legislative waiver, passed because Labor Day falls late in 2026 (the 7th) and 2027 (the 6th), letting boards open any day from September 1. It covers this school year and next. Then the old rule comes back, and so does the argument.