Park Rapids Lockdown Caused by Road Flares Not Dynamite

A report of possible explosives in Park Rapids forced the closure of some parts of this city today.

It was later learned the items were not explosives but road flares.

At 1:24 p.m. The Park Rapids Police Department and the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office investigated a complaint of explosives on the west side of Park Rapids.

Park Rapids Police Department received a call from a local business owner who stated they had located what they thought was dynamite inside of a storage box at their location.

The Park Rapids Police Department, along with the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office responded and a perimeter was set up around the location of the suspicious item.

The immediate area was evacuated and an area community notification was made. As a precaution, the Park Rapids Century School and Park Rapids High School were placed on lock down. All students and staff were advised to stay indoors until normal release time. At school release time all staff and students were routed away from the secured perimeter. Minnesota Highway 34 and local roadways within the perimeter were closed and the scene was secured. The Crow Wing County Bomb Squad was notified and later arrived to inspect the suspicious item.

When the inspection was completed, the items were found to be road flares that very closely resembled dynamite.

Assisting at the scene was the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office, Hubbard County Emergency Management, MN State Patrol, North Ambulance, Park Rapids Fire Department, Minnesota DNR, the City of Park Rapids Public Works Department, and the Crow Wing County Bomb Squad.