Diocese of Crookston announces retirement of former Norman County Priest, and the shuffling of priest assignments 

On Tuesday the Diocese of Crookston announced that former Norman County Catholic Churches Priest Father Bill DeCrans will be retiring on June 30. Father DeCrans served the St. Joseph (Ada), St. William (Twin Valley), and Holy Family (Halstad) parishes from July 2016 to July 2021 and is currently assigned at St. Philip in Bemidji, and St. Charles in Pennington. 

The Diocese of Crookston also announced that Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis agreed to temporarily assign three priests to the Diocese of Crookston. 

According to the Diocese of Crookston Father David Blume, Father Thomas Niehaus, and Father Josh Salonek will be joining the Diocese of Crookston for three years, with Father Blume becoming the pastor of St. Philip and St. Charles and superintendent of St. Philip’s School. Father Niehaus and Salonek will also become parochial vicars for St. Philip and St. Charles, with Father Niehaus also becoming the chaplain for the Newman Ministry at Bemidji State University.