Northern Sky District

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 (701) 446-7795 cell
District Executive Melissa Halda (701) 499-0659 (218) 252-8706 cell
District Executive Shaun Grover (701) 293-5011 (701) 367-7965 cell

2020 Charter Renewal

Each year, Scouting units are required to renew their charters with the Northern Lights Council. The charter is the official agreement between the council and your local chartered organization to provide a program under the auspices of the BSA.  The process of renewing a unit's charter reinforces this agreement year-to-year and provides an opportunity to update registration records and qualify for Journey to Excellence recognition.

Thank you for completing your unit’s charter renewal on time and error free! 

For questions and support, please contact Jefri Jones, District Commissioner, also Megan Wiesneski (D5W), Missy Halda (D5E) at the Council Office. 

Deadlines

Completed renewal due to commissioner by November 27, 2019.

On-time Charter Renewals due by December 13 to the Center for Scouting, Fargo (error free).

Resources available www.nlcbsa.org/charters

BIG CHANGES IN THE POPCORN SALE!

Trail's End App Update! 1.5.2! UPDATE NOW! 

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!

  • Sign up for an online webinar to learn how to use the app! The next training is on July 20th at noon. Learn more here! 

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. 

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!

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! 

DISTRICT NEWSLETTER

Spring 2019 (March, April, May)

Winter 2018-2019 (December, January, February)

Fall News 2018 (September, October, November)

District Calendar

Eagle Scout Projects and Boards of Review

Scouts with questions about project approvals and scheduling boards of review should contact John Dockter at (701) 371-3474.

 

September 2019
2         Offices Closed
5         Roundtable
12       Eagle Boards of Review
18       Classroom Youth Protection Training (CFS, 7pm)
27-29  Fall Camporee @ Clausen Springs
28       IOLS Training (Scoutmaster Outdoor Skills) @ Clausen Springs
TBA   Scouts BSA Leader Specific Training
 

 

October 2019
3         Roundtable
3         Cub Scout Leader Position SpecificTraining (CFS, 5:30pm)
5         Fall Day Camp (MB Johnson Park, Moorhead)
8         Classroom Youth Protection Training (CFS, 5:30pm)
10       Eagle Boards of Review
12       Fall Day Camp (Detroit Lakes)
14       Offices Closed
25       Popcorn Sale Ends
30       Final Popcorn Orders Due

November 2019
4         Classroom Youth Protection Training (CFS, 7pm)
7         Roundtable
11       Offices Closed
14       Classroom Youth Protection Training (CFS, 5:30pm)
14       Eagle Boards of Review
14-16 Popcorn Distribution
23       Merit Badge University
23       Cub Scout Leader Combined Training 
28, 29 Offices Closed

 

News / Current Events

2019 Membership Growth Incentive

Our goal, as always, is to increase the number of young men and young women that we serve through our life-changing program.  We do transform our communities and have a powerful positive impact on the future!

To encourage unit leadership to pursue membership growth in all packs and troops this fall we are offering the following incentive:

  1. Existing Packs and Troops that achieve growth of + 5 or more youth members over their December 31, 2018, registered members will be given a voucher for one Pinewood Derby car (Packs) or 1 Merit Badge Pamphlet (Troops) for each registered youth member as of the deadline date of November 15, 2019. 
  2. New Packs or new Troops chartered after February 1, 2019, that achieve 10 or more youth members will be given a voucher for one Pinewood Derby car (Packs) or 1 Merit Badge Pamphlet (Troops) for each registered youth member as of the deadline date of November 15, 2019.
  3. All membership must be turned in, processed, and paid for no later than November 15, 2019, to count towards the incentive. 

For more details and to determine your membership goal speak with your District Executive.

Posted: 2019-07-01
Amazon Smile Gives Back to Northern Lights Council

Support the Northern Lights Council When You Shop on Amazon

Smile.amazon.com is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice.

Designate the Northern Lights Council as your charity, and your purchase will help the council with no cost to you!

Posted: 2019-03-18

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4200 19th Ave South
Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 293-5011