Brakkes donate Shaw building to BMATTom and Sue Brakke recently donated the former Shaw Drug Store building to the Blue Mound Area Theatre (BMAT).According to Ben Vander Kooi, president of BMAT, operator of the Palace Theatre, the Shaw building is part of the long-range renovation plan for the Palace.According to Vander Kooi, the Palace architects recommended acquiring the Shaw building to provide possible lobby space.In addition, the building could also be used to display historical items which are presently located in the second floor Palace museum.Until the building is renovated, BMAT hopes to rent the building for retail or office space.Brakke managed the Palace Theatre in 1975 when it was owned by Jim Herreid.He leased the building from BMAT for a year beginning in 1998 and purchased the Shaw building during that time.Tom Brakke indicated that he and Sue were pleased with the direction that the reconstituted BMAT board was taking the theatre, and agreed that the donated building was a critical piece of property for the long-term success of the Palace Theatre.Check out ‘Brother Bear’ at the PalaceThe animated feature "Brother Bear" will be shown this weekend at the Palace Theatre in Luverne.Here is a synopsis of the plot found on the Internet Movie Data Base: "Long ago, as the Earth was emerging from the Ice Age, there were three brothers. After a bear takes the life of the oldest brother, impulsive youngest brother Kenai kills the bear in revenge, only to be transformed into a bear himself. Denami, the middle brother, comes upon this bear and, thinking it killed Kenai, vows revenge. Now brother hunts brother and Kenai's only hope for survival is to befriend his own worst enemy, a grizzly cub named Koda. Koda’s main goal is to show Kenai the real meaning of brotherhood."IMDA rated this movie 6.7 out of 10. The movie will show at the Palace 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 2 and 3, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4. Are you a distracted driver?What distracts you when you’re driving?According to the American Automobile Association, drivers are distracted by something both inside and outside their vehicles. AAA funded a study which showed that the biggest distraction (97 percent) is reaching for something.Other top distractions include tuning the radio (91 percent), talking to someone inside the vehicle (77 percent), eating or drinking (71 percent), Grooming (46 percent), passenger behavior (44 percent), reading or writing (40 percent), using a cell phone (30 percent), and smoking (7 percent).The most surprising percentage number to me was the distraction caused by the cell phone.With all the noise being made over the issue, I expected that number to be much higher.After all, some states have been passing laws to outlaw the use of the cell phone. I haven’t heard of any advocating banning eating, drinking or grooming.AAA also noted that road rage is also a bigger problem during the holiday season.Inconsiderate driving also causes many automobile crashes at this time of year when people are more stressed out and release their frustrations behind the wheel of their car.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com
