Suspect arraigned in Hubbard County following high-speed chase

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

June 30, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

A 30-year-old Onamia man was arraigned Tuesday in Hubbard County District Court for leading several law enforcement agencies on an hour-long high speed chase through Hubbard and Cass counties early Tuesday morning.

George Allen Machen was charged with fleeing a peace officer and running a stop sign, but was released on his own recognizance. He will be sent to Hennepin County on outstanding warrants for third-degree assault and terrostic threats.

According to the criminal complaint, Machen was stopped by an Akeley city police officer about 12:10 a.m. Tuesday for allegedly running a stop sign at the intersection of state Highways 200 and 34.

The officer asked Machen, who was driving a 1986 Mercury Cougar, for his license, but Machen said he didn't have it.

The officer then asked him to shut off his car, but Machen responded, "I can't do that." He then put his car in gear and drove at a high rate of speed northbound on state Highway 64.

The officer pursued him at speeds up to 90 mph, with Machen driving north about 11 miles and turning east onto Hubbard County Road 37 along the south side of Kabekona Lake.

Machen later turned north onto Hubbard County Road 39, where a Hubbard County Sheriff's deputy and a Minnesota State Patrol trooper began chasing him.

The chase continued through Laporte, around the north side of Garfield Lake and further on Hubbard County Road 39.

Finally, after the chase continued into Cass County, Machen was stopped about 1:05 a.m. when he crashed into a Cass County Sheriff's car.