NS Northern Sky District - Northern Lights Council

Serving youth through community organizations in Cass, Clay, Traill, Becker, Mahnomen and Norman counties in North Dakota and Minnesota.

District 5 Leadership

District Chairman	Todd Medd	(701) 446-7697
District Commissioner	Jefri Jones	(701) 373-1420
District Director	Megan Wiesneski	(701) 499-0645	C (701) 446-7795
District Executive	Melissa Halda	(701) 499-0659	C (218) 252-8706
District Executive	Shaun Grover	(701) 293-5011	C (701) 367-7965

FALL RECRUITMENT TRAINING

Mark your calendar! Thursday - August 1st at 7pm! As units begin to gear up for the fall again, we are here to train your unit to have the best fall possible! Not only is this your time to bring more scouts into the fun, this is your time to look to their parents to volunteer in the pack to continue moving your pack forward. In this District, we have a plan for a successful fall and you need to do is - FOLLOW THE PLAN!

It is the expectation that each pack will have at least one leader/parent in attendance to receive the training. At this time, we'll be giving you all of the resources to have a good fall - including applications, give-a-ways, parent guides, flash light join night activities for your scouts, posters, flyers....etc. See you there!

For more information/resources on the fall recruitment, visit our council recruitment resource page.

BIG CHANGES IN THE POPCORN SALE

Popcorn sales play an important role in supporting the budgets of all packs, troops, and crews. It is our intent to help your unit fund your annual program expenses needs quickly and at once. The popcorn sale allows units to create and provide many great opportunities for the unit and the scouts in it. Due to the requests of many, key details in our sale have changed to allow for higher commissions for units, and longer sale periods.

Big Changes

1. Increased Commissions!

The first opportunity to earn an extra 2% commission has passed at this point (Attend the key leader briefings in June). But - if you missed this, there are still opportunities to earn increased commissions!
Earn an extra 2% commission by participating in the district kickoff/sellers academy on August 15th. To qualify, your unit must have 30% of registered Scouts attend to receive +2% commission. Note: These are not the trainings that have been held in August in the past - were the Key Leader Briefings in June. If you missed a key leader briefing, please contact the Council Office so you can meet with a District Executive and receive a training.
Increased sale commissions. More info to come.

2. Trails End is now introducing an app and credit card system with credit card readers!

3. The dates of the sale begin earlier, to maximize your time to sell!

Scouts can begin selling as early as August 1st.
Visit the Council Popocorn Resource Page to see a detailed schedule/timeline of the sale.

INTERNET ADVANCEMENT CHANGES!

The BSA is in the process of changing the existing advancement system to "Internet Advancement 2.0," also known as Scoutbook. This exciting upgraded tool will be available to unit key three members (Cubmaster/Scoutmaster, Committee Chairs, and Charter Representatives) via my.Scouting.org. Internet Advancement 1.0 will be accessible for approximately two weeks after 2.0 is available. Internet Advancement 2.0 will offer more user friendly features and will have a mobile interface. Existing Scoutbook users will not be affected. If your unit has someone managing advancements that is not a "Key 3," no worries! The unit key 3 can grant access to other adult leaders in the unit.

For assistance, please use the Scoutbook help tool. Please note that the council office or District Executives will not have the ability to help you with Scoutbook as they have no internal access.

Don't know how to begin setting up your unit for Scoutbook / Internet Advancement 2.0? Check out Scoutbook's "Getting Started" Videos!

Need help with Advancements? Contact the District Advancement Chair, Rodger Schmidt.

SCOUT DAY WITH THE REDHAWKS

Packs, Troops, Crews, families: Join us for Scout Night with the FM RedHawks as they take on the Winnipeg Goldeyes on Saturday, August 3 at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo! Included in the package is a baseball clinic, led by RedHawks team players helping you with Pitching, Fielding, and Batting. Bring your glove! Sorry dads, scouts and siblings only! View the different packages and register today! Questions? Contact Shaun Grover.

FALL CUB SCOUT DAY CAMPS

Shoot BB Guns, Slingshots, Archery! Build a Crossbow at Scoutcrafts! Play Gaga Ball! Give Leatherworking a shot, and more! Join us this fall for one of our day camps! Day Camp activities vary at each location - see leader guides for more information (posted in late August). Early Registration cost is $35. Late Registration runs at $40. See each page for early/late registration dates.

Saturday, October 5th at Trollwood Park, Fargo. Register!
Saturday, October 12th at Dunton Locks County Park, Detroit Lakes. Register!

SUMMERTIME PACK AWARD

Has your pack figured out how to stay active in the summer? With lake country nearby, planning regular summer activities seem impossible! No worries - enter the summertime pack award! Here's what the award asks you to do: 3 activities throughout the summer (one activity in each June, July and August) with great than 50% pack attendance for the pack to earn the overall award, or greater than 50% attendance by your den to earn the den award.

Following completion, fill out the form and send it to the council office!

PUTTING THE “OUTING” IN SCOUTING

The snow might still be on the ground – but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan for your summer camping trips!

Scouts BSA – Opportunities all over the place! Visit the Merit Badge Weekend/Resident Camp opportunities at Camp Wilderness! Get the 2019 Fall Camporee on your calendar (September 27-29), and hop in on a large outing with the whole district! For more information or assistance with Camp Wilderness, contact Tom at 701-293-5011.

Cub Scouts – Visit our day camps in the fall! We put them in Fargo and Detroit Lakes to make scouting fun! Don’t forget about Scout Day with the Fargo RedHawks on August 3rd. Check out Cub Scout opportunities at Camp Wilderness!

Need help getting your unit's camping plans ironed out? Our District Camping Chair, Sue Pfau is here to help!

ORDER OF THE ARROW

Are your scouts looking for the next thing in their scouting path? Order of the Arrow is a great way to get more involved in scouting and community service. Further, greater leadership opportunities exist, creating more opportunities for growth and travel! For more information, contact Seth Murray.

NORTHERN SKY DISTRICT IS ON FACEBOOK

Get updates faster! The Northern Sky District is on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/NorthernSkyDistrict. Send us pictures and we'd be more than happy to share them! Moving forward, we will also try our best to regularly go Facebook Live for Roundtables! Like our page and share it with your unit!