October 11 – A rural Eveleth man is dead, the result of a late morning house fire in the Central Lakes area. 63 year old Dale Wallander was severely burned during a fire at his residence, located in the 7100 block of the Antoinette Road. Emergency medical personnel from Eveleth and Virginia provided life saving measures. Wallander was then flown from the fire scene by the LifeLink 6 medical helicopter to a Twin Cities hospital for more specialized care. Firefighters from Central Lakes, Makinen, Colvin Township, Fayal Township, Ellsburg, Lakeland, and Palo battled the house fire. The house was a total loss. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office, continues to investigate the cause of the fire. The Sheriff’s Department, Eveleth Police Department and Minnesota State Patrol assisted at the scene by securing a landing zone for the medical helicopter.