Good morning, St. Cloud.

Veteran-owned Higher Dimensions Roofing is partnering with Owens Corning + Purple Heart Homes to give a free new roof to veteran Sargent James Gill, nominated by his daughter in Cold Spring; he will receive it by Veterans Day.

St. Cloud Ice Fest will return Oct.

30-Nov. 1 at Scheels parking lot with 25 vendors, curling lessons, and a youth ice fishing clinic on Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. A Touch-A-Truck event with trick-or-treat from 5 to 7 p.m. offers early Scheels swag (bucket, cap).

Cold Spring, Richmond and Rockville will host their first ROCORI Halloween Crawl on Oct.

30, where local businesses offer daytime and nighttime specials for adult fun — think costume-friendly shopping and sipping. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes but participation is not required.

Thirty-five local makers will gather for Christmas in the Sheds in Waite Park this weekend to offer early holiday shopping and festive displays.

The event is set for Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24 in pleasant 70s weather.

Local teen Brooklyn Marie, a 14-year-old The Voice contestant, will sing the National Anthem at the Vikings game on Sunday, Oct.

25 while her Battle round airs on Monday, Oct. 26 on NBC.

The Paramount Center in downtown hosts Hidden In Plain Sight (a free monthly series spotlighting overlooked local stories) at 6:00 p.m. today in its lobby, featuring a discussion on the Sudan fire; a Veterans Day event on young veterans is set for November.

September saw Minnesota shed 4,600 jobs as private sector positions fell by 5,000 and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.5%.

State experts noted that annual gains still outpaced national trends and manufacturing led the rebound with over 92,000 openings projected through 2034.

St. Cloud high school students will join EPIC (Exploring Potential Interests and Careers) this week to shadow local professionals and learn about various career paths.

The local workforce team organized the event to help guide students towards future job opportunities.

St. Cloud Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a hearing today at City Hall at 6:00 p.m. to review two proposals: a youth shelter seeking solar panels for its property and a special education district planning to convert a former medical office into a school.

Staff recommends approval with conditions.

St. John's football won a 33-23 homecoming game in Collegeville (the win drops them to #3 in Division III polls) and will face Carleton on Saturday, Oct.

24 at 1:00 p.m.