David Colburn
CRANE LAKE- If someone had asked who was responsible for the beautiful sunny day at Crane Lake last Saturday, chances are good the reply would have been longtime community resident Sandy Bodkin.
Bodkin passed away in September 2019 at the age of 85, but her memory and joyful spirit were palpable as about 65 people gathered along Handberg Road on Saturday to dedicate a new emergency helicopter landing pad in her honor.
While some rural areas are close enough to a hospital that an ambulance can make the trip in the time it would take for a helicopter to arrive at the scene and transport a patient, that’s not the case in Crane Lake, which is 40 miles from the nearest hospital and 140 miles away from the nearest trauma center.