West Side Of Park Rapids Forced To Evacuate After Scare

What started off as just a regular shift for Alicia Adkins at the West Forty Restaurant in Park Rapids changed quickly today when police arrived.

“Highway was shut down right in front of us, there were cops everywhere and they were redirecting traffic,” said Adkins. ‘Then right after that Justin Frette walked in, one of the officers. He said we needed to make sure everyone got evacuated, because they had found dynamite in the area.”

The Park Rapids Police Department received a call at 1:24 this afternoon about a box possibly containing dynamite in front of a business.

Officials wouldn’t speak on camera, but Park Rapids Century School and Park Rapids High School were placed on lockdown. Highway 34 and nearby roads within the perimeter were also closed.

“We needed to direct them to go west and make sure people were like a mile or tell them to go half a mile away,” said Adkins.

Adkins says there were about 40 customers inside the restaurant when everyone had to leave.

“Everybody, we need to go, between me and one of my other waitresses,” said Adkins. “My boyfriend said I was yelling kind of, because I had to run in the bathrooms and make sure nobody was in there. It was kind of panic.”

Crow Wing County Bomb Squad arrived on the scene to inspect the suspicious item, which turned out to be road flares that resemble dynamite.