Progress 2013 by Austin Daily Herald

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Progress 2013

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PROGRESS 2013 EDUCATION 8. 11. 14.

BUILDING A FUTURE: EDUCATOR LEADING WORK ON I.J. HOLTON INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL PACELLI: CELEBRATING A CENTURY RENE LAZARO: SUCCESS IN SERVICE

SPORTS 43. 44. 46. 4 8. 51 .

DEER CREEK: THUNDER IN THE SUMMER CHATEAU: RACING FOR 30 YEARS BRUINS: RIGHT WHERE THEY WANT TO BE GYMNASTICS: FINDING THEIR GROOVE FOOTBALL: LIFTING A PROGRAM

FAITH 54. RYAN SYNOGROUND: FOOTBALL AND FAITH 56. PASTOR SIMON DUP: UNFINISHED BUSINESS 58. BILL HOLDER: FAITH THROUGH TRIALS

COMMUNITY 60. DANIELLE NESVOLD: MOM ON A MISSION 63. HORMEL: THE BUSINESS OF RUNNING 64. PAINT THE TOWN PINK: ALL OUT FOR A CURE

HEALTH 66. JEN HAUGEN: THE STORY OF SPROUTS 68. JACOB BURKHART: FLYING HIGH 70. MAYO CLINIC: EXPANDED CARE

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

BUSINESS/INDUSTRY 81. 82. 84. 88.

QPP: SERIOUS ABOUT SWINE HORMEL: SURGING AHEAD CLIMATE CHECK: HOW IS BUSINESS IN AUSTIN? ST. MARK’S: A $13.5-MILLION REMODEL

AGRICULTURE 90. TECHNOLOGY: FUTURE ON THE FRONTIER 92. LEE SACKETT: ‘EVERY TRACTOR HAS A STORY’

MOWER COUNTY TOWNS 18. 20. 22. 26. 30 32. 34. 36. 3 8. 40. 42. 52 .

ROSE CREEK: 100 YEARS OF HARDWARE DEXTER: REBUILDING AFTER A TRAGEDY ELKTON: A CENTURY OF BANKING LEROY: RESIDENTS ENJOY WELL-ROUNDED TOWN HAYFIELD/WALTHAM: DRYING THE SOIL ADAMS: LOCAL HISTORY, GLOBAL IMPACT GRAND MEADOW: VIRTUOSOS OF VINYL BROWNSDALE: A MEANINGFUL EMPLOYER LYLE: SCHOOL IS UP TO SPEED BLOOMING PRAIRIE: A MARKET FOR METALS BLOOMING PRAIRIE: MOTORCYCLE MAN LYLE: UNCOMMON WATER

BELOW: Sparks fly from a laser cutter at Metal Services in Blooming Prairie. The company does a large amount of business in town and regionally. Turn to Page 40 for the story

THROUGH THE YEARS 74. THE HORMEL INSTITUTE 75. RIVERLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE 76. AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

ORGANIZATIONS 78. AAF: INVESTING IN AUSTIN 80. VISION 2020: PROGRESS FOR TOMORROW PHOTOS THROUGHOUT: ERIC JOHNSON

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DESIGN & LAYOUT: JASON SCHOONOVER, AND ERIC JOHNSON

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Building a future Longtime Austin educator Jean McDermott is leading work on I.J. Holton Intermediate School By Trey Mewes

Austin Daily Herald

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Jean McDermott is coming full circle this fall. She’ll be back in a middle school, like the one where she taught math and science for years. She’ll be the principal, just like she was at Woodson Kindergarten Center. She’ll lead teachers and students in new, technological ways, just like she did at Ellis about 10 years ago. McDermott is hard at work planning the opening of I.J. Holton Intermediate School, which is scheduled for this fall. From the furniture to the classroom lessons, the tiling on the floor to the curriculum organization, she’s spearheading Austin’s biggest education innovation, and arguably will have the biggest impact on Austin’s school system for years to come. McDermott is an Austin native who graduated from Austin High School in 1974. She has spent more than 20 years as an Austin Public Schools teacher and administrator. Though she spent recent years as the principal at Woodson, her passion lies in educating middle schoolers. She wasn’t always so sure of that, however. McDermott earned her bachelor’s degree from Bemidji State University in elementary education. “I really thought I was going to be in elementary [classrooms],” she said. “I was a camp counselor as a high school and college person, and really liked elementary teaching.” Yet her first teaching job at St. Rose of Lima School in Roseville put her in a

middle school classroom, and 10 years later she still loves teaching middle schoolers. She came to Austin in 1989, teaching for a year at Pacelli Catholic Schools before getting a Title 1 specialist position at Ellis Middle School, where she stayed until 1998. With so much experience at the middle school level, McDermott has an appreciation for what middle school and junior high teachers do. “Every teacher at every level has a gift,” McDermott said. “You look at kindergarten teachers and see the patience they have to have. ... With middle school teachers, again, the patience they have to have to do the work they do is incredible.”

“Every teacher at every level has a gift.”

Classroom upgrade

A new school means plenty of new routines to learn. That includes major classroom technology upgrades, as the district may potentially roll out iPads for students in some capacity to solve engineering and science problems, or to use in general music classes, for example. While students will get those technology lessons, teachers will do a bit of learning on their own: I.J. Holton will have its own technology integration specialist to help staff with any Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math, known as STEAM, curriculum questions of their own. The tech integration specialist won’t help with IT-related questions, but rather will help teachers find ways to use technology in lessons. “The expectation for teachers is that they’ll be implementing a lot more technology into their curriculum,” McDermott said.

-Jean McDermott

The school will be organized to reflect that tech influence. There will be classrooms in pod areas, meaning classes will be organized so they can open into larger commons areas. In addition, there will be production labs where students can do multimedia-based projects, and McDermott said students will have video production courses at times. Those same production labs will be home to a “tech café” of sorts, where students can use Kindles, e-book readers or other technology before and after school. That dovetails with what parents, students and community members were looking for in a new school, according to Superintendent David Krenz. “We’ve tried very hard to make sure we’ve gotten input and participation from the community members,” he said. Students will have elementary-style scheduling, so lessons throughout the week can be more flexible than a high-school schedule would allow. Though I.J. Holton’s school day will run from 8 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., the same as Ellis, students will be able to explore more of their lessons. “At a high school, with kids all over the place, if I want to grab 30 kids and do something I’ve disrupted 20 different teachers in the building, and kids need to get to their classes,” McDermott said. “So the ability to [be flexible] is very difficult on a secondary mindset.” Class sizes should run about 30 students per classroom, and classes will be grouped together in teams, similar to what’s done in fifth grade now. Each of their three main teachers will teach reading lessons in his or her class, and will also specialize in either science, social studies or math. “Those three teachers will be the adult support for those 90 kids, and those kids will have a majority of those classes with these teachers,” McDermott said. Sixth-graders will have similar schedules, only there will be four classes grouped into a team. Students will be introduced to electives as well, since they will have physical education and music two days a week. Each quarter, students will get what McDermott calls “exploratory” courses: keyboard, industrial tech/robotics, and personal wellness classes among others.

Higher learning

The levy amount Austin voters approved to build I.J. Holton Intermediate School and to expand Woodson Kindergarten Center.

Number of months to build I.J. Holton School.

Number of students per classroom.

Number of classrooms in I.J. Holton School.

Getting ready McDermott expects to start parent meetings this March at each elementary school. Construction workers won’t finish I.J. Holton until mid-August, and school is expected to start on time next year. The school won’t have an official open house until the end of September, as construction will finish just before the school year starts. Yet there’s plenty to get ready before then: Teachers are finding more things to include in each classroom, from garbage cans to pencil sharpeners. Science teachers are still requesting more items for science labs, and everyone is trying to make sure the school is fully stocked before September. And guess who’s responsible for those supplies? “I’m the one who’s going to have to get them,” McDermott said. “I’m getting emails from all sorts of directions.”

Work progresses on the new I.J. Holton Intermediate School next to Ellis Middle School.

Austin Daily Herald

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The classroom changes reflect a large shift in the school’s educational approach. Most teachers in the U.S. teach according to standards-based lessons, or lessons requiring students to memorize and recall information and processes, which each state tests for every year, more commonly known as state comprehensive testing. I.J. Holton teachers will change things under a STEAM approach, focusing more on critical thinking and having students master the process of learning. In effect, teachers will go one step further in educating students, showing them not only what they need to know but how they can find out other things by themselves. “It’s going back to inquiry-based learning,” McDermott said. “As you look at standards and testing, because that becomes what’s

$28.9 million

right in front of you ... it’s hard to get all those other things, too.” McDermott said the inquiry-based curriculum will be a “fouryear process,” where teachers will plan more projects and lessons for students each year, slowly transitioning in more units and more hands-on activities. In addition, students will be expected to pursue projects they’re interested in, based on questions they’ve asked, as opposed to projects planned by the teacher. That means students will be introduced to many advanced concepts at an early age, through their own curiosity. “You want to introduce them to these things so they’ll try it,” McDermott said. “Not that they’ll master it, but so they’re exposed to it.” Students will still be expected to meet state and federal education standards, but the hope is the critical thinking approach will leave them in a better position to learn in high school and beyond. “Good teaching is going to hit all those standards,” McDermott said. “The standards will follow.” That reflects the innovation Austin schools have gone through over the past several years, from a push to individual education plans for each student and new ways to organize lessons, to even promoting positive behavior inside a school. That doesn’t cover the partnerships the district has formed over the years with local businesses and organizations. Hormel Foods Corp. regularly accepts AHS students for mentorships, and area organizations like The Hormel Institute are partnering with advance-placement bio courses to offer students chances to work alongside scientists while learning at a college level. Those partnerships should continue, as Austin educators are joining forces with community members on the Vision 2020 “Education Leaders” committee to find more ways the district and the community can intersect. That’s all part of the plan, according to Krenz. “We don’t believe status quo is OK,” Krenz said. “We believe we need to be finding new and innovative ways to educate our kids. It’s not good enough where we’re at. We want to move forward.”

Austin Daily Herald

Progress 2013

PACELLI

CELEBRATES A CENTURY

Pacelli Catholic Schools will commemorate its history throughout 2013, staging one event a month throughout the year

MARCH: Pacelli celebrates Eugenio Pacelli’s 1939 papal ordination

AUGUST: All-school reunion Pacelli graduates will be invited back to Austin during the second annual Downtown Artworks Festival Aug. 24-26. Pacelli will also be involved in the Mower County Fair, running Aug. 6-11.

Students will make banners for all three catholic churches in the area and take part in a special Mass on March 1.

APRIL: Benefit auction

SEPTEMBER: Blessing of the school buildings

Pacelli will host a benefit auction April 27 to raise scholarship money for students.

Pacelli students and staff will watch as local priests bless the school buildings on the first day of school.

MAY: Spring concert St. Columbia High School, 1913 to 1923, the start of what Pacelli is today.

JULY: Fourth of July float Pacelli students, parents and volunteers will have a special school float for Austin’s Fourth of July Parade.

Pacelli students will learn more about Pacelli’s association with the Catholic Church’s Franciscan order in the beginning of the month, around the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which takes place Oct. 4.

NOVEMBER: Spaghetti dinner Pacelli families will celebrate the school through its annual spaghetti dinner.

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Pacelli graduates will also celebrate the school’s 100 years of history at the school commencement ceremony June 5.

Photo provided

JUNE: Graduation

OCTOBER: Recognition of Pacelli’s Franciscan tradition

Austin Daily Herald

Pacelli alumni will be invited back for a special concert on May 16 or 23 to sing with the school choir.

A bedrock of faith Pacelli Catholic Schools celebrates its history this year as a small school inside St. Augustine Church that transformed into a powerhouse private school in the 1900s and 2000s By Trey Mewes Mary Holtorf is glad Pacelli is just as much a bedrock of faith in the community as it was when she was in school. The Pacelli Catholic Schools vice principal attended the school, after all. A 1984 Pacelli graduate, she appreciates how special Pacelli is to the community, and how many alumni have gone on to do good in the world. Holtorf is not alone, as she and many other local residents will celebrate Pacelli’s 100th year anniversary throughout 2013. “We want to get the students involved, we want to get the parents involved, we want to get alumni involved,” Holtorf said. “We want it to be an outreach to everyone.” After 100 years, Pacelli Catholic Schools still centers around its message of faith, something Holtorf knows all too well. “My mom and dad wanted me to have a firm background in my faith,” she said, explaining why she attended Pacelli. After graduation, Holtorf earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Saint Mary’s University, a private college Holtorf described as similar to Pacelli in its focus on faith and education.

”I just always knew that I wanted faith to be part of my job,” Holtorf said. She worked briefly with Winona Catholic Schools as part of her undergraduate and graduate work before accepting a teaching position at Pacelli in 1991. After that, she served as an administrator for six years, briefly acting as president of Pacelli Catholic Schools before accepting her current position. She now serves as one of the main organizers for Pacelli’s year-long celebration of 100 years of memories and service. There will be monthly events highlighting Pacelli’s educational commitment, its alumni’s record of postsecondary education and career accomplishments, and the school system’s commitment to its faith and volunteerism. The highlight of the event will come when Pacelli alumni come back for a special Pacelli show at this year’s Austin ArtWorks Festival. For someone who has known Pacelli from all perspectives, from student to teacher to principal and parent, Holtorf carries a deep respect for the school’s history. “It makes me appreciate why it was started,” she said. “I know test scores are really important and getting into a really good college is really important, but at the end of the day, if I don’t have the faith that was instilled in me as a younger child, and through middle school and high school, I don’t have much.”

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“At the end of the day, if I don’t have the faith that was instilled in me as a younger child, and through middle school and high school, I don’t have much.” -Mary Holtorf, Pacelli Catholic Schools vice principal

Austin Daily Herald

Progress 2013

Mary Holtorf, Pacelli Catholic Schools vice principal, is spearheading Pacelli's 100th-year celebration, which will include an alumni reunion in August.

“I felt like I should do something for the community instead of just watch it.” -Rene Lazaro Rene Lazaro, who attended Riverland Community College, keeps busy with activities at the college and in public, including the local Latino rights awareness group P’adelante.

Austin Daily Herald

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Success in service Former student finds his passion through volunteer opportunities

Lazaro moved to Austin with his family in 1998, when he was in first or second grade. A 2011 Austin High School graduate, Lazaro didn’t participate much in high school. He never felt the need to, and there were other things to keep his interest. Things like his camera. Lazaro found he wanted to take photos after following his friends around various house parties in town for a few months after high school, where he discovered his passion for documenting life as it happened. “There’s a whole lot of things going on here,” he said. That transferred to his college career far easier than he thought. He jumped into his classes starting in fall 2012 with ease. “[Riverland] was really easy and willing to work around your schedule,” Lazaro said. What’s more, he found immediate opportunities to get involved: Several of his friends participated in P’adelante, a youth group dedicated to raising awareness about Latino issues in Mower County and beyond. Not just a Riverland group, P’adelante included area high school students, young professionals and Riverland alumni. “I was interested in their message,” Lazaro said. “They wanted to work with Latinos and get their message out instead of just hiding or being scared of actually going out and speaking with our voices.” The group made its biggest impact last fall, when more than two dozen volunteers spoke at area churches, stores and events trying to register more Latinos in Austin and Albert Lea for the 2012 elections. “Several students came up to me and asked what they could do to help Latinos in the community,” said Yesenia Mendoza, an adviser for P’adelante.

Capturing the moment Lazaro may not be taking classes at Riverland this semester, but he’s working on his passion for photography. He’s become a chronicler of sorts for P’adelante, and for Riverland. He took photos of Riverland’s “Be Your Best” program last year, and was a photographer for Riverland’s Student Ambassadors group, which conducts college tours for prospective students, hosts events and acts as an event planning board, among other things. Lazaro has even taken promotional photos for Riverland. “I loved capturing peoples’ interests, what they liked to do,” Lazaro said. “I was capturing Austin, the people in Austin.” He hopes to continue his photography, studying either art or communications at a four-year college once he’s done taking his general classes here. He’s not sure how he wants to further his career yet, whether that means becoming a documentarian or a photographic artist. Lazaro is sure of one thing, though: He’s glad to have come to Riverland, and he’s glad to get involved in his community. “I felt like I needed to switch up my life,” He said. “I felt like I should do something for the community instead of just watch it.”

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Starting out

Rene Lazaro didn’t expect college to work out for him as well as it did. Though the 20-year-old Austin resident just finished his first semester at Riverland Community College, he never expected to work toward a postsecondary degree. In fact, he said he didn’t really want to go to school at all — he was pressured into it. “If I wanted to succeed in life, I should get into college,” Lazaro said. “That was the idea why I wanted to come here first.” Yet Lazaro has found the clichés of higher education do hold true: Going to college opens up opportunities to volunteer, to learn about things you’re interested in and to grow as a person.

The 2012 elections were important for P’adelante volunteers, as a proposed voter ID amendment to the Minnesota Constitution called for residents to present a stateapproved license or identification card whenever they wanted to vote. Proponents of the amendment said the measure would cut down on voter fraud, but political activists, county auditors and civil rights experts said the amendment was too broad, didn’t define what IDs were acceptable, and unfairly targeted minorities who may not have a driver’s license or state ID card, among other groups of people. Minnesota voters narrowly voted down the amendment. “It was interesting, making an impact,” Lazaro said. “We got to see that we were actually doing something, instead of just not doing anything.” That’s why volunteers worked to raise awareness about the ID, asking people to call Centro Campesino, an Owatonna-based Latino rights group, for more information about the amendment, the DREAM act and registering to vote. Yet P’adelante hopes to accomplish more. The group also plans to let people know about resources in the community, as well as urging local government officials to accept matricula consular — a form of ID from the Mexican Consulate to the U.S. — during things like traffic stops or filling out forms at county offices.

Austin Daily Herald

By Trey Mewes

You are always welcome here! Nancy Ulwelling 279-0427

Art Hollerud 438-1090

William Danielson 438-7728

www.semnrealtors.com

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ROSE CREEK

100 years of hardware

years of hardware

By Matt Peterson

“When I found out they were going to close it, I decided to come back and give it a shot.”

Ulven's Hardware not long after it was purchased in 1913. The word “Anderson” is faintly visible above the word “Hardware.”

—Photo provided by Fred Ulven

Fred Ulven flipped through the pages in his binder and talked about the history of the hardware store he has owned for more than 40 years. The story goes back much further, though. “This belonged to C.A. Anderson,” he said, paging through old news articles and black and white photos. Fred’s grandfather, also Fred, took over the building nearly 100 years ago, in late 1913. A horseshoe he found in the mud still hangs as a timepiece above the backdoor. Hundred-year-old promissory notes for $1,000 and $1,500, perhaps the sale of the building, are yet another piece of the collection. The building looked much different back then, as Fred pointed at the crack in the floor where a wall once stood. A house used to be attached. Fred remembers when he was a toddler, his grandfather taught him the basics, such as how to thread nuts on bolts — his earliest hardware -Fred Ulven store experiences. Every bolt needs a nut, Fred’s grandfather believed. After years of working and growing up in the store, Fred’s father, Stan, took over for a short while. Then it was Fred’s turn. He has run the show since 1972. “When I found out they were going to close it, I decided to come back and give it a shot,” Fred said. He made the right choice. Small-town hardware stores may be a thing of the past, but somehow Ulven’s Hardware in Rose Creek continues to defy time.

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• Community or Supported Employment • School to Work Transition • Center-Based Employment • Mental Health Service • Specialized Transportation

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Serving the people of Mower County in areas of Employment and Contracted Services by building business partnerships for over 50 years. www.cedarvalleyservices.org

Family continues to pass down store through generations “You don’t see too but already well many small-town known. hardware stores any“He’s a new cusmore,” Fred admittomer, but he’s a ted. good one,” Jamey Paint, motor oil, said as the man nuts and bolts, pliers, walked in the door. screw drivers and Many of the cuswrenches fill the tomers are like Fred; storefront like any they’ve lived in the other hardware shop. area for decades. By the smell alone, They don’t work at anyone can tell it’s a the hardware store, hardware store. For but they spend inor45 years, it has been dinate amounts of a dealer of Stihl time inside it. chainsaws. A shelf full “There’s usually a of different sizes and pretty good crew by models lines the wall. the end of the day But that’s only half that comes around,” of it. The focus isn’t Fred said. just on selling tools Many of those who and parts anymore. frequent the shop are It’s about fixing third- and fourththings. generation cus“The main thing for tomers. It’s the same us is power equipment store, familiar faces and the service we The original scale at Ulven's Hardware still sits near the cash register as Fred Ulven and the same family provide,” Fred said as goes about the day’s work. behind the counter. he stood in the back Generations of Ulvens half of the building, continue to punch which is essentially a repair shop. There, Fred and his son, Jamey, sharpen saws, the clock. service snowmobiles, fix small engines and do anything within their abilities. Since 1991, Jamey has been working at the store, and will likely take over “I just had to change it to that,” Fred added. “Sales was just not going to do when Fred is done. Like his dad, Jamey has boyhood memories about growit.” ing up in the store: his great-grandfather watching the traffic through the winThat approach has worked well for locals and the Ulvens. Both Fred and dow, or chasing Jamey around the store with his false teeth. Jamey said repair work is one of their favorite aspects of the business. Other Perhaps Jamey’s 2-year-old son, Mason, will be a fifth-generation Ulven to than that, they enjoy the customers, who over an hour filtered in and out of learn the ropes. It isn’t taking him long to learn the inventory. the store. One needed repairs. Another simply had a question. One was new, “He goes right for the suckers under the desk,” Jamey joked.

Age: 63 Town: Rose Creek Fun fact: Enjoys snowmobiles, restores and collects old and new cars; has a 1948 Chevy Coupe and 2005 Chevy SSR

JAMEY ULVEN

Age: 39 Town: Rose Creek Fun fact: Likes to golf, snowmobile and enjoys classic cars; has a 1977 Camaro

Progress 2013

Ulven’s Hardware in Rose Creek hit its 100th year of family business in 2013. Fred and Jamey Ulven have adapted to meet the community’s needs.

Austin Daily Herald

FRED ULVEN

The Grundmeier family, Gina and Todd and their daughter, Emma Waters, left, have seen their share of hardship. Their house burned down in 2010, and several weeks later, Emma suffered a seizure and got into a car crash. But hopes are high two years later as the family has started T'NG Plumbing, and Emma is going to college.

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Rebuilding after tragedy Series of setbacks can’t keep Dexter family down

In just their second year of business, the Grundmeiers have already added one employee. Gina even said they’ll have to get another van soon. “I thought the first five years I’d just be by myself,” Todd answered, in a rush. He was on the run, in the middle of another busy workday. He had a few minutes to chat, but a few more customers. The Grundmeiers started T’NG Plumbing (which stands for Todd and Gina) less than four months after the fire. In two years, T’NG landed accounts in nearly every town in Mower County. Todd even goes to Albert Lea. Gina spends life with a phone by her side. Vacations include work, too. Some small businesses hesitate to advertise. T’NG puts up billboards. Gina told Todd to start the business. As a wife, she already tells him what to do. Now

Todd has been plumbing since 1993, after he got out of the Navy. After 20 years of connecting pipes and fixing water heaters, that could’ve become mundane for anyone. For Todd, though, it’s about pride. Even when he didn’t have his own business, he took care of his customers as if they were his own, Gina said. Perhaps he gets some of that mentality from her. That’s Gina’s lifestyle. “I guess I really like it,” she said. “My lifestyle is taking care of people.” The fire still hangs in the back of their minds, but they moved on and moved into a new house. Something like that sticks with people forever. But they don’t look back and ask “why?” They’re thankful. “I still think about it, not the fire, but how lucky I was to make it out,” Waters said. “I just try to look at the better sides of it, I guess.” And Waters, Madison and Gina already have enough to deal with every day. Waters, 19, copes with schizophrenia. Madison, 13, has Asperger’s syndrome, and Gina has generalized anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. Waters and Gina aren’t afraid to talk about it, either. They want people to know about such disorders instead of running from them. They want people to understand them, not avoid them. Besides the new business, Waters is progressing in college and practicing with the Riverland theater department. And both Gina and Waters have become certified speakers through the National Alliance of Mental Illness, and will give speeches about how they cope. No matter how busy, stressful or painful life becomes, the Dexter family that has been through a lot won’t give up. “We sustain and manage and press on,” Gina said.

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Moving forward

Still at it

Life is anything but easy for one family from Dexter, which is why they cherish it so much. They don’t complain, even during the toughest times. In November 2010, Todd and Gina Grundmeier’s house burned to the ground. Gina and two of her daughters, Emma Waters and Madison Sladek, awoke to smoke and flames. By chance, they were all in one room, and they ran outside in panic. “The state fire marshal said the girls never would have made it out,” Gina said. While the fire department was on its way, the three shivered and watched the second floor of the house become the first floor. Nearly everything they had perished in the blaze. Several days later, Waters suffered a seizure while driving. She rolled her car at 55 mph and suffered injuries to her head and arms, although she has completely recovered. Even before all that, Todd wasn’t getting enough hours at work. The problems were piling up. “We were doing all we could to pay our mortgage,” Gina said. Furthermore, Gina had been pushing Todd to start his own plumbing business — not an easy decision. “He wasn’t kidding when he said I pushed him,” Gina said. “I pushed him for three years. I’m Irish and German.” Obviously, the Grundmeiers couldn’t afford another setback. But after being kicked while down so many times, risk taking wasn’t a big deal. What could be worse? Sometimes risks pay off, and they did.

she tells him what to do at work. Somehow, that’s been working out for two years. “I couldn’t have a better position,” Gina said. “As a wife, I get to tell him what to do and tell him where to go.” That could be stressful, but it’s OK. “I can hang up the phone, too,” Todd joked. “I don’t have to listen, but it’s in my best interest if I do.” Make no mistake, though. The whole family is happy with the arrangement. As mentioned, they don’t complain. “We’re all in this together,” Gina said. “This is a family venture. He doesn’t want to let anybody down when it comes to his business.”

Austin Daily Herald

By Matt Peterson

A century of banking Family-owned Elkton bank reaches 100-year milestone By Kevin Coss One hundredth birthdays are nothing to scoff at. Yet when Farmers State Bank of Elkton reaches its big anniversary in October 2013, one man in particular will celebrate his and his family’s long line of dedicated work. “This is where I’ve been since I left college,” said Michael Schneider, president of the bank. “We know everybody by their first name.” A handful of people opened the bank a century ago with only $3,500 of their own money. In 1920, Michael’s grandfather, J.F. Schneider, began his family’s legacy with the bank when he became president. Today, it has total assets of -Michael Schneider about $50 million, and it continues to grow. There are 2,500-2,800 accounts in total —which belong to 900-1,200 customers — at the bank between its main office in Elkton and a branch near Dexter.

“We know everybody by their first name.”

Michael Schneider, co-owner of Farmers State Bank of Elkton, shows an old picture of the bank. The bank will turn 100 years old in October.

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22 Progress 2013

DEXTER & ELKTON

1913

The bank is chartered as a commercial bank in Elkton. It opens with just $3,500 in capital.

1920

J.F. Schneider is the first in a line of Schneiders to begin his career at the bank.

TIMELINE OF FARMERS STATE BANK OF ELKTON 1950

Robert Schneider begins his career at the bank.

Late 1950s

The bank building undergoes an expansion.

1974

Michael Schneider begins his career at the bank.

1977

A branch is built in Dexter as an extension of the Elkton location.

But for Michael, it’s not just a numbers game. His favorite part is the role the bank plays in the community. “I enjoy visiting with people,” he said. “Each person that comes into the bank has a different issue or concern than the other.” Michael, who started at the bank in 1974, suddenly became president in 1990 after tragedy struck his family. His father, Robert, passed away unexpectedly while on vacation overseas. While the bank had been handed down from father to son before, his father’s untimely death meant Michael had to take the reigns on very short notice. “It was quite an adjustment,” he said. During his time at the bank, Michael has seen it change from all-paper to personal computers and servers. While there’s still a lot of paper involved, there’s not nearly as much as there used to be. “The technology has changed banking a lot,” he said. “People don’t have to visit the bank as often.” Even if clients leave Mower County, they can still maintain their bank accounts, he added. Recently, the holding companies for Elkton bank and Farmer’s State Bank in Adams merged. Michael said the plan is to merge the banks themselves in the near future, which could happen in late 2013 or early 2014. “We’re going to have more resources to run the bank,” Michael said. While the Schneider family has led the bank for most of the past 100 years, they aren’t the only ones to stick with it. Out of the nine employees that work at the two offices, most have been on staff for a long time. The most recent hire was in 2005.

1990

Robert goes on vacation and dies unexpectedly while away. Michael takes over as president.

2001

The Dexter branch is moved to the intersection of Interstate 90 and Highway 16.

2010

Michaelʼs son, Tim, starts working at the bank in compliance and as a loan officer.

Farmers State Bank in Elkton will reach the 100-year mark in October.

Co-owner Michael Schneider is the third generation Schneider to run the bank.

Paul A. Tangen

507.584.1215 fax 507.584.1195 Paul.Tangen@fbfs.com

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236 S. Main St., P.O. Box 69 Dexter, MN 55926

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CLU, ChFC, LUTCF Agent

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Living in LeRoy By Kevin Coss Justin Brandau will be the first to tell visitors to LeRoy: there’s more to this small town than they might expect. Brandau is a perfect example of a LeRoy expert. “I’ve lived here almost my entire life,” he said. Brandau is lead bartender at Sweet’s Hotel, a prominent attraction in LeRoy. Originally constructed in 1898, the building features eight themed suites and rooms to reflect its history, five of which have Whirlpool tubs. The hotel caters to all guests, from business travelers to those looking for a romantic getaway. Local legend says the hotel is even haunted, and “ghost investigators” visit from time to time. The bar is open all day at Sweet’s, from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. With advance notice, the restaurant accommodates parties of up to 35 people. It also has won several awards for best food in Mower County, Brandau said, and a lot of the estab-

lishment’s business is out-of-towners coming to visit the restaurant they’ve heard about so much. For Brandau, bartending is a fitting trade. He has been doing it at Sweet’s for about three years. “I seem to be good with people, so that’s where I’m at,” he said. “Eventually, I would like to own my own place.” If he were to open his own place, Brandau said he would like to keep it about the size of Sweet’s. The establishment is small enough to keep a cozy atmosphere, but large enough to accommodate a crowd. When friends come to visit from Rochester or Austin, Brandau will routinely take them to Sweet’s to enjoy drinks, food and a bit of conversation. While he does enjoy spending leisure time at Sweet’s, he also likes to mix it up once in a while and head over to the Travel Lanes Supper Club, just a block down Main Street. Travel Lanes is a blend of bar, liquor store, bowling alley and restaurant in the heart of town.

BY THE NUMBERS

Locals enjoy the benefits of a well-rounded town

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26 Progress 2013

“It’s a very nice place,” he said. Newly-elected LeRoy Mayor Jennifer Gumbel said she was pleasantly surprised by the community when she and her husband moved to town. “We initially were just looking for a place equally distant from Austin and Preston, for our jobs, and where we could find the type of home we wanted for our budget,” Gumbel said. “We found out that LeRoy has so much more to offer than just location and home prices.” Amenities like a grocery store, two restaurants, hardware store 930 and a florist make the Approximate number town more self-suffiof people living in LeRoy. cient, and residents don’t always have to drive to Austin to run 5 errands or catch a Number of churches meal. in LeRoy. “We couldn’t be more thrilled we 115 landed here,” Gumbel Age in years of the said. “It’s a great place Sweetʼs Hotel building. for young families just starting out and for 1856 retirees looking for a Year the first school small-town atmosin LeRoy opened phere.” During his free time, at a home in town. Brandau can often be found pedaling the Shooting Star Bike Trail for a workout. The trail extends about 23 miles and runs from LeRoy through Taopi, all the way to Rose Creek. On the way, it passes through all sorts of natural scenery, from prairie and woods to Lake Louise State Park. “I usually ride my bike out on that at least once a day for a couple of miles,” Brandau said. “The state park itself is a beautiful area and a very enjoyable place to spend time, especially in the company of friends or family.” Gumbel also highlighted the town’s relationship to the outdoors. “We’re just a walk away from a bike trail and state park,” she said. “We literally feel like nature is in our backyard, while still having access to the necessities.”

Sweets Hotel bartender Justin Brandau talks with a customer during his shift. Brandau looks at home behind the bar, calling those he serves by name. When the weather gets cold, there are still ways to keep in shape. Brandau frequents an Olympicsize, indoor swimming pool in town, which becomes very popular during the winter. Residents can get memberships in three-month, six-month or yearly rates. If Brandau isn’t wrapped up in physical activity, chances are he will be at the local library. He appreciates the resources available and has made it a regular facet of his life. “I’ve always been a huge reader,” he said. “The city librarian I’ve known since I was a kid.” So often did Brandau go to the library that he asked if he could volunteer. Now he spends a good chunk of his spare time helping in any way he can. Lately, Brandau has also become involved in the workings of the city. He was elected as a LeRoy City Council member in November 2012. According to Gumbel, it’s the LeRoy way to be

an active community. “Even in our small town, there’s a theater company and numerous ways to get involved and get to know your neighbors,” she said. Brandau is one of those who keeps active in LeRoy’s theater community, where he both takes on acting roles and assists in the stage crew. Not long ago, he participated in an old-time radiostyle show, where the audience observed what was happening in a typical serial drama from back in the day. The actors dressed in period clothing for the performance and even had someone on sound effects detail to imitate the way old radio shows used to run. Overall, Brandau said LeRoy is an active, pleasant community, and likens it to the types of towns that were prevalent in early television. “You watch enough of those old shows like Andy Griffith, Leave it to Beaver,” he said. “People are always helping each other out, waving hello.”

LEROY

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A small town that lives big!

LEROY & OSTRANDER

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Drying the soil

Manufacturer keeps farm crops from flooding By Kevin Coss Weather conditions can prove fickle for growing crops, but Century Plastics in Hayfield gives farmers a measure of control. The farming business produces agricultural drainage tile, which increases yields and reduces compaction, says Century Plastics plant manager Alan Dahlen. Too much water below the surface of the soil can harm crops by preventing root development and inhibiting growth, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. Soil

U.S. manufacturing facilities owned by Century Plastic始s owner, Advance Drainage Systems.

Years the company has been in business.

Chris Root maneuvers the forklift to collect a spooled drainage tile at Century Plastics in Hayfield. with too much moisture will also suffer from compaction when heavy farm machinery rolls over it, and can cause a tractor to get stuck.

Minutes it takes to manufacture one maxi of tiling.

3,200

Feet in length of one maxi of tiling

Many soils in the Upper Midwest have poor natural drainage and would stay waterlogged for days after rainfall without maintenance.

8-12

Truckloads shipped out per day

Employees working at the Hayfield plant

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WALTHAM & HAYFIELD Drainage tiling, which comes in the form of corrugated tubing buried in the ground, is a way of removing standing or excess water from the soil, the opposite of using irrigation to add water to soil that’s too dry. Certain crops depend on specific conditions to grow well, and drainage can help optimize the soil for that growth. How effective drainage tiling is depends on how deep it’s laid, how far apart it’s put in

the ground and how much is used, Dahlen said. Drainage contractors as far out as St. Cloud or central Iowa are Century Plastic’s main customers. “It’s all based on footage,” he said. The company ships out supplies by the truckload, then contractors use it to install drainage systems. The plant runs 24-hours a day, three shifts a day, five days a week. “We run around the clock,” Dahlen said.

Fresh tile is run out during manufacturing at Century Plastics.

19,200

Feet in length of tiling in each truckload

Acres on campus

Buildings on Century Plasticʼs campus

Ryan’s Foods 4 East Main Street • Hayfield, MN 55940 Video, Lottery, Food Stamps, WIC Delivery Wednesday - Call by Noon Senior Citizen Day every Wednesday: 5% discount Laundromat - located behind the store

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507-477-3804

Local history,global impact A small town boasts a museum showing how important local soldiers are to our nation’s history By Trey Mewes

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32 Progress 2013

History books in Mower County tell students about the wars U.S. soldiers fought over the past century. Yet the books can’t show what those soldiers felt, thought, or experienced like the Adams Veterans Museum can. After more than five years, members of the Adams American Legion collected thousands of uniforms, medals, patches, rifles and relics from local veterans to tell their tales and carry on the memories of what it was like to serve their country. “There’s a lot of history here,” said Jerry Mathies, one of the museum’s board members. Legion members banded together to buy part of the building next to the Legion Post 146, off of West Main Street in Adams a little more than five years ago. They used the layout of what used to be part of a furniture store and started to fill it with memorabilia from local families. Mathies will point out various items when he takes people on a tour through the museum. On a stand just a short way from the door, there’s a door from a Humvee that was damaged with an IED roadside explosive device. The door was donated by National Guard members from Austin, Mathies said. Visitors can see various punctures in the door, as well as the broken pieces of thick glass that once formed a window, the results of an improvised explosive device. Not far from the door are uniforms from Vietnam, like the ones Mathies used to wear. He was drafted into the Army in 1966, served in Vietnam in 1967, and was discharged in 1968.

He kept a diary during his time there, which he donated to the museum. And less than 10 feet away from where his diary sits is a large shelf with photos of veterans who’ve passed away. Richard Mathies’ photo is on that shelf. Richard is Jerry’s brother, who passed away in Cambodia in 1970. “My mother’s got his medals, but she’s not

ready to give them up yet,” Jerry said. Many residents have contributed other precious items, as well. Dave Whalen contributed his collection of weapons, ranging from Civil War rifles to modern-era guns, for people to remember what local residents like him did. “When I’m gone, I know where they’re going to be,” Whalen said. “That’s forever.”

Jerry Mathies, a board member for the Veterans Memorial inside the Adams Legion, talks about the museum’s impressive collection and the interest it draws.

ADAMS Mathies said donated items stay there, and the museum is ready to accept more items from area veterans. The museum won’t accept uniforms, as board members have hundreds to potentially display.

The museum is open on the first and third Saturdays of the month during chicken feeds at the Legion, but Mathies said anyone can call the Legion at 507-582-3266 to schedule a visit. In addition, board members

are willing to open the museum to area schools or social studies classes interested in finding ways to tie local history to large class units. “It’s real nice for a small town,” Mathies said.

Carl Krebsbach, along with his three brothers Gerald, Lawrence and Richard, all have portraits displayed at the museum.

Adams Office 15 4th Street SW, Adams, MN • 507-582-3448 Rose Creek Office 61255 170th, P.O. Box 156, Rose Creek, MN • 507-437-4678

www.fsbadams.com

407 LINCOLN STREET NW ADAMS, MN 55909

ADAMS DENTAL CLINIC

HOME (507) 582-1019

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Dr. Joseph P. Ray

Virtuosos of vinyl GRAND MEADOW

Business at Featherlite Graphics is showing many positive signs By Matt Peterson Hundreds of big rigs roll past Grand Meadow every day along Highway 16, and many of those drivers don’t even glance when they pass Durst Grain Co. Neither would anybody else, for the most part. But little do those people know behind those mammoth, steel storage bins lies something entirely different: the reason their big rigs often look fancy in the first place. Welcome to Featherlite Graphics. There’s no sign out front, which is ironic: These people make signage for a living. “I just slid in as Featherlite Graphics,” said owner Steve Durst, who started the business in 1989. “When we started out, we did nothing but Featherlite Trailers,” he said, noting Featherlite Trailers’ long list of services now. The business has expanded. Durst and his employees make semi trailers, vans and company cars look pretty. Every year the numbers are different, but there’s always something sitting in the paint shop or waiting to receive vinyl graphics. Durst built a 25,000-square-foot shop in 2000 just for painting trailers. “We do a lot of government jobs: Coast Guard, Marines, Air Force,” Durst said. FOX Television’s broadcast rig, NASCAR on FOX, was one of many jobs Durst will see in 2013.

Darin Funk removed excess vinyl from hinges and cracks and made things flush with a heat gun. The process is the same as it has always been, but technology has made it easier. Vinyl sheets now have thousands of grooves on their adhesive side, which helps eliminate air bubbles. The smell of vinyl is rampant in a nearby room where there are chemicals, cutting tools, giant printers, computers, straightedges and numerous 50-yard rolls of vinyl. About three of those rolls will cover one semi trailer. Working for Featherlite Graphics is gratifying for the employees, too. Jeremy Pedersen handles graphic design and makes sure all the measurements fit. He sees the Cedars’ bus or Riverland Community College truck and is proud of the work Featherlite Graphics did. Schaalma feels the same way, especially when work is showcased in a magazine or on TV, for people around the world to see. “I love doing this,” Schaalma said. “You turn a motocross race on and you see a trailer you did. Not a lot of people can say that.” Featherlite has wrapped trailers for Ford, State Farm, KTM Racing, Drag Specialties, Medtronic and many more companies. On the other end of the spectrum, however, it prints simple things, too, like stickers. Most people, Durst said, think Featherlite Graphics just works with large trailers and expensive accounts. That’s not true. “We want to do more local stuff,” Durst said, “Vehicles and stuff like that. ... And that’s what we’re after, the vans for the newspaper, the TV station. That’s what I want.”

“I love doing this.”

Pride in work Russ Schaalma wheeled around the big trailer with squeegees in his tool belt and made sure the graphics were on straight, with no air bubbles or defects. “This place consumes you pretty good in the winter,” Schaalma said.

-Russ Schaalma

Austin Daily Herald

Paul A. Tangen

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CLU, ChFC, LUTCF Agent

Raymond Ptacek holds down a piece of the vinyl wrap going on a NASCAR on FOX broadcast trailer as Russ Schaalma pulls the backing away.

507.584.1215 fax 507.584.1195 Paul.Tangen@fbfs.com

236 S. Main St., P.O. Box 69 Dexter, MN 55926

STEVE DURST

Owner of Featherlite Graphics. The business has been a staple in the graphics industry, putting art on many iconic big rigs. Age: 61 Town of residence: Grand Meadow Fun fact: When not working, he enjoys golfing in the area

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Steve Durst, owner of Featherlite Graphics east of Grand Meadow, stands in front of a NASCAR on FOX broadcast trailer of which his company is in the midst of wrapping, one of several big jobs the company undertakes.

Dagna Simmons, a program manager for IBI Data in Brownsdale, talks about writing checks for coupon vouchers.

Mysterious company, meaningful employer IBI Data’s business is complex, but it is consistently ranked as one of the leading employers in the state By Matt Peterson The huge, white building that shows “IBI Data” on its front has sat on the north end of Brownsdale for years, yet many people are clueless about what’s inside. Is Iblings Bergstrom Industries somehow tied to a farm that sits on the same property, or is it some type of agricultural marketing company? The truth is, people who work there can’t explain it very well, either. “It’s very difficult to tell people what we do,” said Dagna Simmons, one of several program managers and nearly 50 employees inside the building. IBI Data is essentially a middle man for large food production companies like Kellogg’s or General Mills, and small-time food service providers like restaurants. The company owned by Katherine Harte started in Chicago in 1986 and moved onto Harte’s property near Brownsdale where it processes coupons and distributes checks to companies. It houses food samples and sends them to clients from its 123,000square-foot facility. It designs promotional banners, brochure display cases, and much of the work companies don’t have the time or means to do. That may not be entirely clear, but one thing is: IBI Data is a great place to work. There’s a Nintendo Wii, exercise machines, a reading room, huge breakroom, walking trails and plenty of employee incentives. In 2012, it was rated one of the 100 best companies to work for in Min-

nesota by Minnesota Business Magazine, continuing from its track record from 2009 and 2010 as one of the Workforce Development Inc.’s best places to work in southeastern Minnesota. “I think the biggest thing is we definitely try to be very flexible and accommodate people’s schedules,” said Geoff Smith, vice president. Both Smith and Simmons have been with the company for more than 20 years. Simmons’ husband is battling cancer. Throughout that, Simmons has had to take a lot of time off. People are OK with that. “I can’t say enough good about being able to do what I needed to do and when I needed to do it,” she said. “There was never a question of, ‘Why are you taking so much time off?’” Even newcomers seem comfortable with the -Dagna Simmons company. Cynthia Xicara is one of the freshest faces at IBI Data, where she does data entry with others who have stuck with the company for 20 plus years. She, too, likes the flexibility and the learning curve. And IBI Data’s services are ever changing to meet customer needs. That added variety keeps Simmons on her toes. “I find it very interesting and at times very challenging,” Simmons said about new projects and problem solving for clients. “It hasn’t become boring to me at all. And I don’t get up in the morning and go, ‘Ugh, I have to go to work.’”

“I don’t get up in the morning and go, ‘Ugh, I have to go to work.”

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36 Progress 2013

•2012 AIB Superior Rating •Minnesota Business Magazineʼs 100 Best Companies to Work for in the state •Promotional Product Industriesʼ PPAI Gold Pyramid Award •Certified Womenʼs Business Enterprise •2012 Jade Team: Relay for Life •2010 Woman Business Owner of the Year •2010 and 2009 Best Places to Work in Southeast Minnesota award by Workforce Development Inc. •2007 Employer of Choice award: Best Employee Retention Program

IBI Data employees Bret Canny, left, and Anthony Davis take a break and play Wii disc golf. The chance to unwind as well as exercise and take advantage of quiet time are part of the perks of working at IBI.

Rod & Ron Kester

• Welding • Sand Blasting • Prop Service

507-567-2016

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305 West Main Street Brownsdale, MN

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IBI Data awards and accolades:

BROWNSDALE

Lyle is up to speed Lyle schools will put iPads in students’ hands going forward

By Trey Mewes Lyle Public Schools is on the cusp of a technological breakthrough. The district has focused on classroom technology over the past two years, starting with an order for 30 iPads in 2011. Teachers found a good use for those tablets, as the district has expanded to about 120 iPads this year. Yet Superintendent Joe Guanella said the district’s technological innovations aren’t over yet. As more educational applications are released, Lyle students will use tablets and other computer-based learning systems. “We’re going to grow into it in a logical, responsible fashion,” Guanella said. While other districts in Mower County put technology in older students’ hands — Pacelli Catholic Schools and Grand Meadow Public Schools, among other districts, give computers to high schoolers — Lyle is going with a different plan: Elementary teachers will emphasize tabletrelated lessons. As there are far more elementary education resources for elementary students, Lyle teachers will integrate iPads and other tablets into fourthand fifth-grade classrooms over the next year, Guanella said.

Lyle Public Schools Superintendent and Principal Joe Guanella has been a driving force in advancing technology in the school. He set up a training system for teachers in their use of 120 iPads the school purchased. “If you think about that for a minute, it kind of makes sense,” he said.

Lyle student Kim Krulish works on an iPad in chemistry class. The school has embraced the use of technology like the iPad.

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Middle school and high school students will still benefit from increasing technology in other ways, specifically the “Flip Classroom” concept. Students will receive instructional videos going over new material to watch at home as part of their homework. Some students will understand the lesson in the video and can do further work when they come to class the next day. Those students who still need a little help understanding a concept will get it from the teacher, who will have more time to work with students in class. “The idea is to cut down that amount of time for the kids that get it,” Guanella said.

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Automated and semi-automated wall panel equipment for the construction industry panplus.com

A panoramic view of Metal Services in Blooming Prairie.

A market for metals By Matt Peterson The odor of burnt metal wafted through industrial buildings in Blooming Prairie and out through the ventilation units. The stronger that odor grows, the more it smells like success. Dennis Heimerman pushed the pause button on his busy day of phone calls, running numbers and bidding jobs and opened the door to the 32,000-square-foot shop. That’s the same spot he’d often rather be working, side-by-side with his laborers, instead of punching numbers behind a desk. Heimerman is the owner of Metal Services in Blooming Prairie, the catalyst that fuels several other businesses within the small town, such as Tyler Mundy’s Heavy Metal and Greg Peterson’s Extreme Powder Coating. While Heimerman is more than qualified to talk about the business side of things, he can’t help but chatter about the fabrication side. That’s where he got his start, worked for years and built his own company.

First and last stop Heimerman eagerly maneuvered around a delivery truck and piles of

A budding business is fabricating jobs across Blooming Prairie

ABOVE: Dennis Heimerman shows off some of the work going on at his business, Metal Services in Blooming Prairie, and talks about the company’s connection with Heavy Metal and Extreme Powder Coating, both of Blooming Prairie. BELOW: Shane Shinabarger cleans fabricated pieces as a plasma cutter works behind him.

steel to his newest tool, a computerized laser cutter he purchased in October for extremely accurate cuts. “It’s crazy that a light beam can cut steel,” Heimerman said as he peered through the window at the laser cutter, which trimmed fine notches and curves for materials to eventually go on firetrucks. Cuts like that — along with plasma cutting, pipe bending, sawing and welding— are just the beginning stages for chunks of steel about to be shipped around Blooming Prairie for further trimming or painting and returned to Metal Services as finished products to fire departments, waste services and construction sites throughout the region. Across town, several more of Heimerman’s 25 employees are working on smaller, local projects — welding, cutting, repairing and fitting pieces onto machinery — often for local farmers and laborers. “We try to take care of the little guy and the big guy both,” Heimerman said. “It presents its own challenges sometimes.” But Heimerman isn’t alone in those challenges. One company doesn’t need to specialize in everything.

Austin Daily Herald

40 Progress 2013

Heavy metal — literally Longtime acquaintance of Heimerman and seasoned machine operator Tyler Mundy opened Heavy Metal in one of Heimerman’s buildings in Blooming Prairie — a short jaunt from Metal Services. “He had this vision of bringing a lot of business into Blooming Prairie,” Mundy said about Heimerman. That vision is working. Mundy, who machined parts for years and then transitioned into sales for a while was ready for another career change. He even sold cars for a stint; that wasn’t nearly interesting enough for him. So Heimerman negotiated with Mundy with hopes that Mundy would open a business. “It was just an opportunity, and I had a building that was open,” Heimerman said. Sure, an electric guitar hangs on Mundy’s office wall next to a graphic of the company logo, but rock ’n’ roll has nothing to do with the name of Daryl Bowman of Extreme Powder Coating sprays parts from Metal Services. The his business. companies, along with Heavy Metal, often trade business, promoting a healthy industry Heavy Metal does the tedious work. in Blooming Prairie. Mundy and his employees machine and finish the bushings and small, specialty parts that connect to larger mathe region offering powder coating. People say the metals industry isn’t cession hit the metals industry, along chinery. The business wasn’t fully He, too, was ready for a career where it used to be in the early 2000s, with plenty of others. operational until October; however, change. But he didn’t roll the dice but it’s slowly creeping back from the “We’re not quite back to where we Mundy said about 30 percent of his until he spoke with Heimerman. Now were in 2008,” Heimerman said. recession. Heimerman noted when business now comes through Metal they’ve been doing business for 12 Yet the outlook is promising. A pile of construction projects hit a lull and Services. Not only does that keep busiyears. heavy machinery companies stopped parts often waits at Mundy’s shop, ness churning in Blooming Prairie, it “Dennis was absolutely the first person needing parts, he was the next to take ready to go back to Metal Services bemakes operations easier for those I called to start a powder coat busithe brunt of it. fore finally being returned to the cusBlooming Prairie businesses and their ness,” Peterson said, who frequently tomer. And like every day, a truckload “A lot of our customers took a hit, so, customers. does business with Metal of new material rolls through the inevitably, we did,” he said. “A lot of times, people Services. “Every day, there In 2006 Heimerman built his new, garage door at Metal Services, as the don’t want to deal with is something different in 32,000-square-foot facility and moved aroma of freshly cut steel hits the more than one perhere from those guys.” into it in 2007, but after 2008, the rebreeze. son,” Heimerman said And Peterson exchanges about his customers. business with Heavy So that’s why Metal Metal, too, all the way Services handles the down to painting custom load for them. Parts beer taps for one of come in to Metal ServMundy’s customers — ices, and they leave beer taps that Mundy from Metal Services. made. The three busi“Even if it’s going to be nesses feeding off of each subbed by a machine other has formed a “trishop, we try to handle - Tyler Mundy about fecta,” as Peterson calls it. the whole thing,” Dennis Heimerman “I’m pretty excited about Heimerman added. Tyler being around,” PeBut there’s more. terson said. “I think there is a need for that sort of thing.” A ‘trifecta’ Even a few more, nearby businesses Just around a couple corners, Greg Pesometimes fit into the equation. terson runs Extreme Powder Coating, We can produce & fabricate entire projects or parts for your project. where he puts the finishing touches of Picking up Laser and High Definition Plasma Cutting, color on cars, sheets of metal, all the Tube Bending, Punching, Shearing, Back at Metal Services, Heimerman reway down to simple railings. Rolling, Brake Press Work, turned to his phone calls and paperwork In 2000, Peterson started his business Production and Prototype Welding while his son, Ryan, sat in another office, as he saw the influx of dirt track racFree Estimates & Certified Welders negotiating with other professionals. ing in the area but saw few people in

“He had this vision of bringing a lot of business into Blooming Prairie.”

We offer field services in the fertilizer industry, certified welding in dry, liquid and anhydrous ammonia plants. We repair farm/home equipment & we also have portable repair.

Austin Daily Herald

Progress 2013

“AUGERS ARE OUR SPECIALTY”

BLOOMING PRAIRIE Blooming Prairie’s motorcycle man By Rocky Hulne Terry Trom has been riding motorcycles since he was 8 years old, and he found a way to keep them a big part of his life. For the better part of the last 27 years, Trom has operated a motorcycle shop. He started operating it out of his farm, but for the past seven years he has had a sweeter gig: TT Motorcycles in Blooming Prairie. “I’ve always been into Harleys,” Trom said. “It’s much easier to be in town. It’s much more accessible. We have one of the most competitive-priced shops in the area.” Trom’s shop offers a variety of custom-made bikes and draws customers from all around southeast Minnesota. He started the shop at his farm in 1984 but closed for six years after 1994 to spend more time with his children. Then he reopened in 2000 and moved it into BP in 2005. Through it all, Trom maintains his farm and stays very busy between his two jobs. “It has its days,” Trom said. “It’s been a little trying at times, but I’ve got two certified techs who do a good job when I can’t make it to the store.” Trom has attended many of the big bike rallies and has been to Sturgis, S.D., several times. Yet the biggest drawback to having his own business is quite ironic: He spends less time on a bike. Somehow, he manages to squeeze in 6,000 miles a year, sometimes more. “That’s the downfall of being an owner,” Trom said. “You don’t get much time to ride because you’re trying to keep everyone else on the road.” While riding a motorcycle can be liberating, Trom wants riders to remember to watch out for drivers who may not see them. “It’s very safe if you realize that you’re the only one watching out for yourself,” Trom said. “It’s so relaxing, and you get rid of all of your daily worries.”

TT Motorcycles boasts a repair and customization shop behind the showroom.

Terry Trom, owner of TT Motorcycles in Blooming Prairie, poses in the showroom of his business, which is enjoying a successful run supplying motorcycles, parts and services.

“It’s so relaxing, and you get rid of all of your daily worries.” -Terry Trom, owner of TT Motorcycles

TERRY TROM

Owner of TT Motorcycles Age: 49 Town: Blooming Prairie Hobby: Motorcycles and farming

Austin Daily Herald

42 Progress 2013

An aerial shot of Deer Creek Speedway and its adjacent campground.

Thunder in the summer —Photo by Gene Miller

Each year, Deer Creek Speedway roars with family fun, plenty of thrills

Tickets available at the speedway or online!

Conveniently located next to the speedway. Bring the family and join in the fun.With competitive pricing and a family atmosphere Deer Creek Campground has become a great getaway.

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State-of-the-art, high banked, 3/8 mile dirt track. Don’t miss as local and national “Dirt Daredevils” battle it out at speeds up to 100 mph!

When the Queensland family’s real estate company was dealt with the task of marketing and selling Deer Creek Speedway 11 years ago, a light bulb went off. The rest is history. Ryan Queensland, who is now marketing director and event coordinator at Deer Creek Speedway, had just been married at the time, and his family decided to purchase the property and operate it by themselves. The Queensland family had a background in marketing, but they weren’t sure what to expect from a race track. “There was certainly a lot of baptism by fire,” Ryan said. “A lot of people gave us advice, and we had to bring it together. It’s had its hills and valleys, but it’s an affordable family venue for entertainment.” Over the years, the track — which is located 15 miles south of Rochester on Highway 63 — has been redesigned, and VIP Suites added. In 2010, Deer Creek was awarded Regional and National Promoter of the Year by Racing Promotion Monthly magazine, and in 2009 the track was awarded the World of Outlaw Late Model promoter/event of the year. There are currently six members of the Queensland family working at Deer Creek, so work days can feel a little like family get-togethers.

“Blood is thicker than water,” Randy said. “We’re very fortunate as a family that we can work together. It’s been awesome and great.” The track is very popular every summer, and 2012 was no different. It drew 555 drivers from 23 states and paid $840,000 in prize money. Cars overflowed from the parking lot and into the ditches. Swarms of campers, trailers, race cars, four wheelers, golf carts and children flooded the grounds. On a typical night at Deer Creek, one can expect 130 racers, 60 employees and 1,200 to 4,000 fans in the grandstands. “It’s like any major sporting event,” Randy said. “There’s adrenaline, and the sounds are very exciting. It’s pretty awesome watching all the work we’ve put in come together and to sit back and watch all of the employees putting pride into their job.” Last season, Deer Creek drew a total of nearly 54,000 fans. “It’s grown locally, regionally and nationally,” Randy said. “We try to be a good community partner and provide a fan-friendly environment with good entertainment value.” Deer Creek is a 60-acre facility that hosts an average of 30 events a year. It has a high-banked, three-eighths, dirt/clay track with 24 VIP Suites, 36 VIP Decks and a total seating capacity of 8,000.

Austin Daily Herald

By Rocky Hulne

Modifieds head into a turn. —Photo by Scott Gulbranson

Like the back of his hand Bryan Hernandez knows his way around the Chateau racetrack

The elder Hernandez enjoys winning, but he said he learned over the years not to get too upset after coming up short. “The only time I get down on myself is if I crash or I do something stupid,” he said. “Years ago I used to get mad about losing, but it’s just By Rocky Hulne more expensive over the years, and it can be a hobby. You’re not going to be a millionaire off physically draining for someone who works hard it, and you’re not going to NASCAR off it. It’s just Bryan Hernandez is a wealth of knowledge on all week. a hobby, and you try to do the best you can at “At one time it was pretty affordable, now you it.” auto racing at Chateau Raceway in Lansing, really have to have sponsors no matter what class Minn. While he has been in a few wrecks, Hernanyou’re in,” he said. The Blooming Prairie resident grew up just dez has never experienced anything worse than three miles away from the track and ala little soreness. ways watched the races on FriThere is a sense of camaraderie day nights when he was a on the track, and the child. By the time he turned only thing that can 22, Hernandez was competing cause hard feelings is in the Bomber Class, which is when a driver gets a the equivalent of today’s Pure little too close. But it’s Stock Class, and he instantly nothing they can’t shake developed a love for the bright off. lights and high speeds. “You’ll have a little conn flict here and there, but o w s Since picking up the sport, Hera h d years an nandez has raced for 30 seasons and most of the guys I’ve ay for 30 w e c a R u tea a h s. C won Midwest Modified titles in t e raced with for years, and c a d ra z has race ds. Jesse, also 2002, 2004 and 2009. we’ve all moved up toHernande in Midwest Modifie . Fun fact: His son, irie ra Hernandez has always been suc- three titles P gether,” Hernandez said. g in m Bloo cessful, but it’s getting harder for him Age: 52. Town: “We all get along pretty decent.” to get to the track on a regular basis Hernandez hit Chateau Raceway just 16 times “The older I get, the last season. He used to race about 40 or 50 times because he works construction 10- to less energy I have. My family and a couple of a summer. He’s clearly slowing down, but he’s 16-hour days all week. friends help. They get the car out there and I just not done just yet. “You need dedication,” Hernandez said. “The show up to the track.” last couple of years, I haven’t gotten to run as “I’ll do it as long as I keep my sponsors, and I Even after 30 years on the track, Hernandez feel like I still have a little drive for it. I’m taking much. To be up front all of the time, you’ve got to be on the track all of the time and not miss still gets amped up for a Friday night at Chateau. it one year at a time,” he said. Chateau Raceway features a third-mile dirt any races. You’ve got to work on it pretty much Races became especially exciting for him when his 28-year-old son, Jesse Hernandez, joined the track and it holds races every Friday night at 7 every night.” p.m. from April to October. Hernandez is also finding racing to be much Midwest Modifieds last summer.

DEZ

RNAN BRYAN HE

Austin Daily Herald

44 Progress 2013

Bryan Hernandez has been around racing a long time, and can boast three track championships at Chateau Raceway in Lansing.

Mike Rand, Sales Representative • Toll Free: 1-800-544-2679 E-mail: mike@tsbm.com • Web: www.tsbm.com

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Pictured Left to Right: Johnny, Amy, Stephen, Alvina LeTendre (Owner), Josh, Gary LeTendre (Owner), Ben, Debbie, Erich, Gene

COPIERS PRINTERS SERVICE

Austin Daily Herald

4300 Highway 52 N, W Frontage Rd Rochester, MN 55901 Phone: 507-285-1513 Fax: 507-285-1123

“I can’t envision Austin without the Bruins at this point.” -Craig Patrick, Austin Bruins owner

CRAIG PATRICK

Owner of the Austin Bruins Age: 48 Town: Hudson, Wis. Fun fact: Likes hunting and fishing.

Right where they want to be In year 3, Bruins giving hockey fans what they want By Rocky Hulne

Austin Daily Herald

The Austin Bruins are in their third year in Austin, and things couldn’t be much better. The team is winning and fans are showing up in big numbers. It’s everything owner Craig Patrick imagined when he brought the team to Austin. “When I come to the arena and I see all of the Bruins apparel in the crowd, it’s incredible to me. It’s all turning out how I’d hoped it would,” Patrick said. “It’s the town’s team now, and they should be here for a very, very long time. I can’t envision Austin without the Bruins at this point.” The Bruins have already left a mark in Austin, and it goes far beyond the Friday and Saturday nights in Riverside Arena. Some of the Bruins’ players are becoming local celebrities, as they are often spotted by children and store owners around town. They also give back to those same children as the team makes school visits throughout the year. “The kids really love our visits, and sometimes when we’re at a restaurant we’ll hear a kid kind of mutter one of our names,” Austin goalie Nicholas

AUSTIN BRUINS

Lehr said. “ It’s really cool to be at this age and have kids looking up to you.” Lehr, who was named goalie of the month for December 2012, has grown into a solid player for the Bruins. He said it helps that he feels right at home with the team. “Coming into junior hockey I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Lehr said. “We spend eight or nine months of the year [together] and everybody gets close. It’s really like a whole new family.” Patrick gives credit to Bruins head coach Chris Tok and his assistants Jamie Huffman and Keaton Wolf, who have done a lot of recruiting to bring talented players to Austin. “Our goal is to win a national championship every year, and player development and improvement is paramount,” Patrick said. “Chris has done a really good job of teaching them about hockey and being involved in the community.” The more the Bruins stay involved in the community, the better the chances of them sticking around in Austin will be.

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Years in existence: 3 Record through 2 seasons: 40-22 in 2011-12, including 4-4 in NAHL playoffs; 23-31 in 2010-11 League: North American Hockey League, Central Division Head coach: Chris Tok

NICK LEHR

Lehr is a goalie for the Bruins Age: 19 Town: Roseville, Minn. Fun fact: Also likes to play tennis and golf.

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Curbside Services Curbside services for recycling pickup (twice per month) are available for residents in the cities of Austin, Mapleview, Brownsdale, Grand Meadow, and LeRoy (within city limits). Visit our website at www.co.mower.mn.us/Recy cling-HHW.htm to see the curbside schedule. How do I sign up for recycling and how much does it cost? Come to the MC Recycling Center (1111 8th Ave. NE) Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday from 1-5 PM to pick up three bins and be given a brief overview of the program. Recycling fees are included in the taxes paid by Mower County residents. As long as you are a resident of Mower County there is no additional cost to you. Why should I recycle? We have to do something with the garbage we produce. Americanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s produce on average 1600 lbs. of garbage per person every year - about 4.4 lbs. per day Acceptable materials Newspaper, magazines, white office paper, corrugated cardboard, pressed board (ex: cereal box), tin cans, aluminum cans, glass bottles & jars, plastic bottles with or . Visit our website at www.co.mower.mn.us/Recy cling-HHW.htm for more information

WE DO NOT accept the following wastes Waxed cardboard (ex: fruit box), frozen food containers made of paper (ex: frozen pizza box), juice container made of paper, window glass or mirrors, ceramic glass (ex: coffee cup), any plastic not in bottle form through , no styrofoam of any kind, no plastic bags of any kind. Drop-off for recycling We do have a drop off area at the Recycling Center located at 1111 8th Ave. NE in Austin. Questions? www.co.mower.mn.us/recycling.html or call Mower County Recycling office located at 1111 8th Ave. NE, Austin, MN 55912. Call (507) 437-9551.

e-mail: glenn@glennsmotorcoachtours.com

Austin Daily Herald

Gift Certificates Available in Any Amount!

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Only a Few Seats Left on Some Tours!

Finding ‘Ubuntu’

Members of the Austin gymnastics team work out above a foam pit on bar form at the YMCA. In recent years, the gymnastics program has progressed by leaps and bounds to become one of the best in Minnesota.

By Rocky Hulne

Watch the Packer gymnasts compete, and you’ll see why they’ve been so successful the past few years. No matter the event, no matter the competitor, no matter the result, you’re most likely to see a lot of support coming from the Austin bench. It’s an attitude that didn’t change overnight, but after six years of building, the Packers have found “Ubuntu” — a South African phrase that signifies togetherness.

“Our concept of team goes beyond the five that happen to be [competing]. We have the same expectations for the No. 1 one girl to No. 12, and all 12 are training the same way,” Austin head coach Mark Raymond said. “It isn’t that the numbers are different or the kids are different. It’s that their attitude and work ethic has gotten better every year. We’ve learned what it means to encourage each other.” When Raymond came back to coach the Packers six years ago, the program was on the chopping block, and the Packers were putting up scores of 128. By comparison, the Packers are now scoring 130s — on junior varsity.

Austin Daily Herald

48 Progress 2013

Gymnast Abby Bickler and Amy Hajek, a former Austin gymnast and now assistant coach, bring some family ties to the team: Bickler is Hajek's niece.

The Austin varsity squad, which has taken fifth at the Class ‘A’ state meet two of the past three years, has scores as high as 145, which is a mark only five teams in the entire state hit in the 2011-2012 school year. Austin sophomore Abby Bickler, who has competed since seventh grade, has seen the program change. She also happens to be the niece of Austin assistant coach Amy (Bickler) Hajek, who was a three-time Class ‘AA’ state qualifier and state champion in the floor exercise in 2002. Bickler doesn’t remember much of Hajek’s high school career with the Packers, but she recalls following her aunt’s gymnastics career at Winona State University. “When I was little, I’d go hang out with her. We’d jump on the trampoline, and she’d teach me all these cool things,” Bickler said. “I kind of grew up around it and she taught me it. I started to love doing it, and I wanted to be just like her when I was little.” Hajek remembers Bickler traveling to Winona to learn about gymnastics from her, and Hajek even flew to Washington, when Bickler lived there for a stint, to train with her. In 2012, Bickler took fourth on the floor at state, and that wasn’t even the best performance by a Packer that day. Sela Fadness, a junior, won a title on the floor and third in all-around.

“It’s really cool to see how Abby has grown, and to be a part of that success is huge.” -Amy Hajek, aunt to Austin gymnast Abby Bickler

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The Packer gymnastics team practices with the YMCA youth gymnastics program at the Y.

Austin Daily Herald

“It’s really cool to see how Abby has grown, and to be a part of that success is huge,” Hajek said. “They’ve just got a great group of girls. They all genuinely like gymnastics, and they’re in it together. They’re internally competitive, and it’s kind of like ‘I’ll do it if you do it.’” By the time Bickler got to middle school, training for gymnastics had become second nature. With her in the gym at that young age were current Packers Carolyn Hackel, Abby Snater and Fadness. That squad gradually learned they needed to work as a team and not as individuals. “We put a lot of time and energy in encouraging each other and being happy for each other,” Raymond said. “Carolyn Hackel’s a hell of a gymnast, and there’s been nights where she’s thrown on JV. When she does, she stands on the sideline and cheers as loud as she can for the girl who’s in the spot that she was in two nights ago, knowing she can get it back. That attitude has helped them get better. They don’t get upset with each other.” Bickler said that the gymnastics team has become like a second family. The group, which includes between 12 and 16 athletes on a given year, works together in the summer, and the girls support each other during the season. “We went through a lot, and we’ve seen lots of different situations,” Bickler said. “As we’ve gotten better, the biggest difference is how we work together, and we’re excited when other people succeed instead of being jealous. We use it to push ourselves to get to that level.” Like any good family, the Packers watch out for their younger “siblings,” as well. Austin had three newcomers on this year’s team, and all of them were taught to embrace the team mentality. Raymond said once that attitude is installed, it’s very hard to lose it. “Once you have a system, an attitude and a mentality, there’s no reason why it doesn’t transfer every year,” he said. “You graduate one or two, and you welcome one or two back on to the squad. Gymnastics will reward those that work really hard.” The Packers’ closeness is probably the biggest motivating factor they have. The whole roster is constantly trying to reach its full potential as everyone trains together and everyone is expected to bring their best. “Before it used to be that girls were waiting to be varsity girls when other girls graduated,” Raymond said. “That’s kind of gone away. Girls understand that they’ve got to challenge themselves and compete against their own best score. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Austin Daily Herald

Progress 2013

Lifting a program

Austin head football coach Brett Vesel watches Matt Anderson lift weights after school as Damian Ryks spots.

Packers hit the weight room to boost their record

Vesel spots Gabe Gerstner. Vesel is looking to build a strong foundation for a better program.

Progress 2013

BRETT VESEL

In his first year, Austin head coach Brett Vesel helped the Packers snap a two-season winless streak. Now, he’s hoping for even bigger things. While football doesn’t start until the fall, the season has been very much alive in the Austin High School weight room during the offseason. Vesel has been front and center in the team’s weightlifting program, which includes workouts on Monday through Thursday. Since he came to Austin, Vesel has been adamant about the importance of the weight

room, and he’s pleased with the turnout this year. “It’s the backbone, the legs Vesel is entering his second year as the and the neck [of head football coach of the Packers, the program]. who went 2-7 in his first season. It’s everything,” Age: 49 he said. “If you Job: Math and physical education don’t lift, you’re teacher, and Austin football coach not going to Town: Austin win, and that’s Hobbies: Vesel likes motocross racing, the bottom line. hunting and spending time with family. Hopefully we can get these guys to buy into lifting consistently, dents who might be interested in playing football and things hopefully can change.” in the fall. The Packers went 2-7 in 2012, and many soph“I feel better now,” Vesel said. “I know who acomores and some freshman received a trial by fire tually plays football, and I know who we need to by playing varsity. Those players are now hoping try to get to play football. Now I know the kids betto build some strength for 2013. ter and know what they can do. That makes it easAustin junior Gabe Gerstner is hoping the ier.” younger players buy into the weightlifting proAustin’s younger players are slowly coming in gram this winter and the offseason program this more often, and the veterans on the squad have summer. been in almost every day. “I talked to some of the underclassmen, and As the program grows, Vesel is hoping his numthey said the game is really fast and the guys are re- bers increase. ally big. I told them, ‘you’ll get that way if you work “Football is a numbers game, and if you get dehard and lift. It’ll come to you,’” he said. “The off- cent success, that’ll help the numbers,” Vesel said. season is really important, because you can’t lift “We didn’t win nearly as many games as we during the season. You get bigger, stronger and wanted to last year. I think kids can see we’re on faster in the offseason.” the road to improvement, and hopefully we can Gerstner said Vesel picked a few leaders amongst get some more numbers.” the upperclassmen, and those leaders drafted Of all the players working in the offseason, junweightlifting “teams” to keep things competitive. ior Cory Hepler may be one of the more motivated. “It makes the offseason more of a team aspect Hepler injured his knee on one of his first carries of instead of being an individual,” Gerstner said. the season last year, and he’s aiming to come back “That’s a good way to do it.” strong for his senior year. Vesel came to Austin last year from La Crescent “I’m very hungry,” Hepler said. “I really want to and had to spend much of his early time getting to start next year and make up for junior year. It’s esknow his team. Besides coaching football in the fall, pecially competitive between me and Elijah Vesel was the junior varsity hockey coach this win- Dammen, because he started last year and it’s beter, which helped him get to know a few more stu- tween me and him at running back.”

Austin Daily Herald

By Rocky Hulne

Uncommon water Kevin Binkley, one of the owners of Artesian Well south of LeRoy, stands in the company’s warehouse with pallets of bottled water ready for shipping.

Bottled beverage company looking to make a splash Story by Matt Peterson

Austin Daily Herald

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Few people get as jazzed about something as simple as water as Kevin Binkley. The CEO and one of several co-owners of Artesian Well in LeRoy is fascinated by it, especially the stuff that’s right under his feet. “How the water was found here is an awesome story,” Binkley said as he sat in the lobby among display cases of Artesian Fresh water bottles. “But it wasn’t me.” In 2004, a farmer built a house on the property and while drilling the well, he struck an aquifer. Water shot into the air like a geyser, and a business of naturally pure water was born. Binkley and the other owners acquired the business in March 2012 and have big plans to market the water, expand their customer base and to make sure people know they exist. Why they exist and why their water is superior, Binkley said, is the message he wants to deliver. Almost every bottle on a store shelf, Binkley says over and over, is inferior. “Almost all of the water you buy and drink is essentially filtered tap water,” he said. However, he swears, the water underneath the large metal building south of LeRoy is of the most virgin sort in the world. “This water hits the atmosphere when the user pops the top and opens the bottle,” Binkley said. “This water has been sealed forever in an aquifer.” Artesian wells aren’t common, and that’s why Binkley jumped at the business opportunity. The uniqueness, the potential, the implicit quality: All of those aspects pry at him. The whole process — water coming from the ground and going out the door in a bottle — still fascinates Binkley after a year. The man is giddy about it. Inside a corner of the warehouse, water rises into the building at the earth’s discretion. There are no pumps. A steady stream of water spills into a drain in the floor. That way, the water won’t sit in the lines and become stagnant. “Then we would have water sitting in pipes,” Binkley said about what would happen if they capped the flow. “I don’t want to drink that water.”

As a precaution, the naturally pure water still passes through UV and mechanical filters before it is routed to the bottling area of the building, where Artesian Well blows and forms its own bottles out of small, plastic vials. “It goes, ‘poof,’ and there’s your bottle,” Binkley illustrated as he meandered throughout the warehouse and showed the machines. The bottles travel along a conveyor, through a filling room, where they are rinsed upside down and filled with the pure water. Then they are sealed, labeled, shrinkwrapped and placed on pallets, ready to go to their customers. Binkley and his nine employees are proud of it. “Now that I am general manager, I just love the ins and outs of it,” said Gerald Payne. “We have great employees and great companies we work with.” Yet Binkley knows the company can do better, and he and Payne are ready to expand their marketing. “We believe that most people in Rochester and Austin don’t know that we exist,” Binkley said. That’s why Binkley wants to land at least 100 more local accounts and drill the public with a marketing campaign in 2013. “I think I want to communicate to people what they don’t know,” he said. “They don’t realize the quality of product we offer.” Thus far, Artesian Well has a distributor in Atlanta and several local buyers, such as small-town grocery stores and gas stations. It also custom prints labels and bottles cases for insurance companies, graduations, town celebrations and more. A host of its examples sits proudly in a display case in the front of the lobby. Other businesses buy cases for their employees, which was clearly indicated by Binkley’s enthusiasm when the afternoon call came from a client. “Viking is out,” Binkley shouted at Payne. “I took them five cases yesterday!” Meanwhile, rows and columns of pallets sit in staging, waiting to be loaded on a truck for their weekly shipments — but that’s not enough. Binkley has big plans for 2013: 2 million bottles.

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Football and faith Austin High multi-sport athlete Ryan Synoground is a leader on the football field, but he's also a leader off it with a prominent role in AHS’ Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Christian student athletes find common interest By Kevin Coss n November 2011, Austin High School athlete Ryan Synoground took his friend’s advice and went to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting — referred to as a “huddle.” He immediately felt at home. “It was just awesome to see a bunch of Christians like me,” he said. “It was fun to be around like-minded people.” Interested in athletics since kindergarten, Synoground was a junior in 2012, his first year playing varsity football as a quarterback for the Packers. He has been on the football and basketball teams for three years each, and runs track in the spring. The FCA’s huddles, which take place every two weeks and attract 20-30 students, opened the door for Synoground and other students to talk about their faith, play games or study. Not long after joining, Synoground became Austin’s FCA captain. Now it’s up to him to encourage his fellow students to come to meetings, put posters up around the school and spread the word about FCA. He also leads Bible studies every Friday morning. “I kind of took on that role toward the end of -Ryan Synoground, [2011],” he said. Math teacher Will Pazurek, huddle coach for Austin FCA captain Austin’s FCA chapter, said encouraging leadership and accountability is one of the group’s goals. “That’s where FCA can really have a big influence,” Pazurek said. “It’s student driven. Ryan does a good job of keeping it going.” The boys basketball team started FCA in Austin four years ago. Today, the group is split evenly between boys and girls, and students of all fields of interest. “We have some people who aren’t athletes but just love to come,” Pazurek said. During the fall 2012 semester, FCA became an official student group. The new designation makes it easier for the group to use school facilities, which Pazurek said could encourage growth. “That’ll really help us explode,” he said. The Austin chapter is also looking to help other areas start, he said. While there are already chapters in nearby communities like Rochester, Owatonna and Faribault, the Austin group has set its sights on helping Lake Mills, Iowa, get started. A chapter in Lyle might also be a possibility.

“It was fun to be around like-minded people.”

Austin's Ryan Synoground steps up in the pocket to throw during a game against Mankato West at Art Hass Stadium in 2012.

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Unfinished business Local minister to travel to South Sudan to complete construction of school By Trey Mewes

In just a short time, Pastor Simon Dup will travel to South Sudan to finish a mission he started years ago: He’ll see a new school built in southeast Africa, one of many he hopes will sprout up across the new country. “We try to help our people,” Dup said. Dup came to the U.S. in 1994, one of many Sudanese refugees from the southern part of the region to escape violence and persecution by Sudanese armies in the north. He came to Albert Lea in 2003 from Des Moines, Iowa, where he started school at a seminary. Dup, who graduated in 2008 and completed ordination in 2009, formed the Sudanese Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church of Southern Minnesota. He leads two Sudanese congregations, one at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Austin and one at Zion Lutheran Church in Albert Lea. Yet Dup, like many Sudanese refugees, thought of ways to help people back in Sudan who were trapped in the fight between the Sudanese government and its Christian residents. Dup resolved to raise money to build a school, collecting $9,700 in 2010. Dup ran into harsh reality in 2011, however, when he tried to go back to the region: The road needed to get to his small part of southeastern Sudan was closed because of fighting. “North Sudan tried to destroy anything they could,” Dup said. “So they blew up the way to the place I want to go to build the school.” South Sudan declared its independence in July 2011, after residents overwhelmingly voted to split the region into its own country. Though the country has made great strides since then — South Sudan is a mem-

ber of the United Nations and signed the Geneva Convention in July 2012 — its government has yet to centralize enough to offer municipal services U.S. residents have long been accustomed to, such as a country-wide education system. “Right now, [U.S. refugees] try to help people to build things, to build a church, help children by building a school,” Dup said. That’s why Dup will go to South Sudan in March. His church still has the money to build a new school, all $9,700 of it. “This school is not a special school that we have right now,” Dup said, as it’s more important children simply have a place to go and learn. Dup will go to Africa and attempt to get back home either through Sudan or by renting a car in nearby Ethiopia, though he speculates he may have to walk. He and other Sudanese volunteers will only have two months to build before summer rains complicate the process, but Dup is confident he’ll be there for a couple months at most. “I will stay there until the school is done,” he said.

PASTOR SIMON DUP

Age: About 45 Town: Albert Lea Interesting fact: Dup got to choose his own birthday. In Sudan, people don’t usually keep track of birthdays or how old they are. That’s why a lot of Sudanese refugees write their birthdays as Jan. 1, and pick a year based on how old they might be. Dup thinks he was born in 1967, and chose April 5 as his birthday.

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Pastor Simon Dup of the Sudanese Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church of Southern Minnesota is heading to Southern Sudan in March to help build a school. He raised $9,700 in 2010 to build it, but fighting in the Sudan prevented him from getting to the village where the school will be built.

FAITH

THROUGH TRIALS By Kevin Coss

“There’s so many guys who didn’t know what it took to be a Christian,” ome people go to breakfast after church on Sunday. Others relax at home. But Holder said. Bill Holder has a different routine. Each week after attending the service One former inmate Holder used to visit, Jim, said Holder’s visits deepat Grace Baptist Church, Holder goes to the Mower County Jail and Jusened his faith with God and Jesus, and convinced him to tice Center. read the Bible more. Holder is one of three people who go to the jail to do“He helped open my eyes to God and Jesus,” he said. nate religious literature and talk with the inmates. Over “He definitely got me thinking more along the lines that the last 39 years, Holder has visited the jail on a weekly prayer can help.” basis. He has touched many inmates and encouraged Holder came to visit regularly during Jim’s six to eight them to seek guidance through faith. months in the county jail. He would ask Jim about his sit“I would just talk to them, get to know them a little uation and spend time getting to know his interests. They bit,” he said. Voluntarily would also pray together. Holder moved to Austin in 1970 and worked as a teaches faith “I looked forward to him coming to see me,” he said. “I school teacher at Ellis Middle School. About six months at the Mower had never been in trouble before in my life.” after he arrived, he experienced a life-changing moment County jail Although their jail meetings were about 23 years ago, while talking with a song leader at his church. Age: 74 the two still keep in touch to this day via letters and “He asked me: If I died tonight, would I go to heaven?” Town: Austin phone. Holder was a big influence for Jim, and helped him Holder said. Fun fact: Holder make the decision to never want to harm another human Following a divorce, Holder was having a rough time. and his wife, being again. This question got him thinking, and changed his views Helen, have a “I got a bigger high out of helping others rather than on life. He remembers Jan. 6, 1971, as the date he was large collection of harming others through Bill’s influence,” Jim said. saved. nativity scenes During his visits, Holder tells inmates his own story, and Two years later, Holder’s friend, Ken Binkley, got the they display the difficulties he has faced over the years. It helps them idea to go to the jail and help the inmates there. He during the relate to him and understand accepting faith into their urged Holder to come with. Christmas season. lives is more of a process than a simple switch. Some in“He just went to the sheriff and asked if we could do mates will identify ways they would like to change and that,” Holder said. work to embrace their beliefs, but get frustrated or conAnd so began many years’ worth of dedication to infused when they make mistakes along the way. Being born again doesn’t mates. make you perfect, Holder said. It takes time and dedication. When meeting inmates, Holder asks if they have a church, and if they have accepted Christ as their personal savior. Often, he will ask the same “I can tell them it’s not an easy road all the time,” he said. “You do have trials.” question he credits as sparking his salvation in 1971. These days, his most One of the biggest problems inmates will face, he said, is starting to becommon role is leading Bible studies at one of the classrooms in the jail. lieve circumstances have conspired against them. That sort of thinking But he also works with inmates one-on-one. hampers any positive change.

BILL HOLDER

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Bill Holder has been bringing the Word of God to inmates for many years, praying with them and handing out literature.

Volunteer helps inmates see light of God “Don’t think the system’s against you,” Holder tells inmates. “Just get out and help people.” The Bible is a big part of Holder’s visits, along with religious literature in both English and Spanish. He gives a copy of the book to any inmate who wants one, and gives them pointers on how to make sense of it. “I tell them what to do and how to read it,” he said. “It touches their heart. They tell me what they read that day.” Holder is a Gideon, part of the international group that distributes one Bible about every two seconds. There are about 150,000 of them across the world, he said. In Austin, they speak to local congregations to raise money for the books. Along with the three Gideons who go to the jail, Holder said, there are also Catholics who give communion to those who wish to receive it, and a woman who comes in specifically to talk to the women inmates. Holder doesn’t leave his service to the inmates at the jail doorstep. Instead, he keeps a calendar at home of who he prays for each day and for how long. And sometimes, his prudence is returned. Not long ago, Holder was worried about his wife, Helen, who would soon be undergoing surgery. He mentioned it during one of his visits, and an inmate told him he wanted to pray for her. “He said the most beautiful prayer for Helen,” he said. Holder’s work at the jail has shown him there are misconceptions about in-

There’s so many guys who didn’t know what it took to be a Christian.

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-Bill Holder

”

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mates, and the stigma is mostly not true. Many have a desire to better themselves, and are enthusiastic about participating in Bible study and other services. Of course, different inmates have a different reaction to Holder’s presence. “A large number would come up and talk, and some wouldn’t have anything to do with me,” he said. Some people warmed up over time, after a few weeks of seeing Holder show up. The same goes for former inmates who he had spoken with at the jail. There are those who forget about their experiences and ultimately leave unchanged from Holder’s visits. But there are plenty of the opposite. Through the work he does, Holder establishes a strong connection with many of the inmates. Some of them stay in touch after being released. Holder makes a point of calling them during the Christmas season to see how they are. One inmate he used to visit regularly told him he had really changed. He had taken a completely different attitude in life, and was earning good grades in classes like chemistry and physics. “I really can’t tell you the excitement I get from some of the results,” Holder said. Another had called him toward the end of summer to let him know how inspiring Holder’s visits had been, and to say he was now married, doing well and very involved with his local church. Even when he walks down the street, people approach Holder to see how he is. Though the visits only go until inmates are released from jail, the personal relationships last much longer.

Danielle Nesvold has taken an aggressive stance against bullying in Austin. She started Community Against Bullying with few expectations, but it has blossomed into a large-scale group of parents, educators and residents hoping to reduce the issue.

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om on a mission Through CAB, Danielle Nesvold is taking a stand against bullying

a local suicide prevention group, for several events related to area tragedies. Yet CAB is planning much, much more. Nesvold, the president of CAB and arSometimes it takes one woman to bring a community together. That’s what guably the glue holding the group together, is working with CAB volunteers on Danielle Nesvold found out, as she went from concerned mom to community leader “Paint the Town Orange,” a month-long event recognizing positive aspects of the over the past two years. community and educating people about bullying. “Paint the Town Orange” is scheduled for this October, which is National Anti-Bullying Month. The group she founded, Community Against Bullying, cele“It’s going to be kind of a gathering of the community,” brated its two-year anniversary in February 2013, and Austin’s parents, educators and active citizens are planning bigger things Nesvold said. to combat bullying in this town. As CAB has grown, so too has Nesvold. The long-time school Nesvold started CAB in February 2011, just a few weeks after volunteer and Austin Jaycees organizer has fielded calls from journalists both local and national, graduate students studying bulher son, Sam, was bullied at Southgate Elementary School. BulFounder of Community lying from as far as Texas, and various communities around the lying was a hot topic at the time, as the sudden suicide of 18Against Bullying U.S., all wondering how CAB has become so successful and how year-old Tyler Clementi sparked a national and international Age: 38 best to duplicate the awareness CAB has fostered. discussion over bullying and LGBT rights. For Nesvold, the fact Town: Austin that her son was being bullied by another student — who did“It’s an issue that really binds people together,” Nesvold said. Fun fact: She is distantly n’t show any sign of stopping — drove her to act. “What’s really wonderful about Austin is people are really effecrelated to Celine Dion and “I guess I didn’t have [CAB’s sudden growth] in my mind at the tive. They’re immediately thinking, ‘What can I do to be a part Madonna on her mother’s of this?’” time,” Nesvold said. “What I did have was just trying to really side. She also lettered in Nesvold is also embarking on a new path. She speaks to explode awareness, and really to gauge what would happen after wrestling in high school, that.” groups and organizations about anti-bullying efforts, and things because she was the they can do to foster a peaceful environment. She’ll soon speak Nesvold described CAB’s early days as “driving off the adrenwrestling team manager. aline of what happened to her son.” to about 90 girl scouts from Kasson, Minn., who experienced their own tragedy when an area teenager committed suicide last Within weeks, CAB had a purpose and a big surprise for Austin: Volunteers would raise money to bring The Scary Guy, an interyear. “There’s simple things that I’ve learned that I can address with these girls,” Nesvold nationally recognized anti-bullying motivational speaker, to Austin to speak to stusaid. dents. They did just that, bringing Scary to town in late October 2011 for almost two Bullying is not an easy issue to tackle, however. But Nesvold and other CAB volunteers are well-aware of the effort they’ll have to give to make Austin a better place. weeks. Scary spoke at each Austin school and even held public events for parents and residents on what they could do to curb bullying in the community. “It brought me an awareness that I realized how big bullying is, and what it’s going to take [to combat it],” Nesvold said. “It’s going to be a continuing process to stop Since then, CAB has put on or helped with a series of smaller events including a bullying. But I’d rather do that than just let a problem exist.” parenting clinic at the Paramount Theatre, and a partnership with Desperate Tears, By Trey Mewes

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DANIELLE NESVOLD

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he business of running

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Hormel Foods employees, including Jeff Grev, Greg Baskin, Brent Brehmer, Nicole Shute, Tim Garry and Scott Nemec leave, Hormel Foods’ corporate north office for their daily run.

In a gang of fit business types, Greg Baskin considers himself the old-timer. But at 56 years old, he has been running for about 18 years, and doesn’t act like an old-timer — he still comfortably knocks off four- to five-mile runs at an eight-and-a-half-minute per-mile clip. And almost every weekday just before noon, he and a handful of other Hormel Foods corporate employees meet for a run — inclement weather and interruptions be damned. “The one thing about this running group is, we will run 365 days a year, and we do not let the weather stop us. We’ve been out in some very bad storms in the winter time that we probably shouldn’t have been,” says Baskin, the director of Hormel’s specialty products division, with a laugh. “Sometimes we’re maybe not the most intelligent people running in some of that weather, but somehow you just work your way through it.” Hormel employees in Austin have been running together in one form or another since roughly 1991, Baskin says, when the company carved out a trail behind its corporate office. Since then, employees have been transferred, others have retired, but a core of dedicated runners remains, a group that now includes Baskin, Hormel’s Corporate Manager of Business Development Jeff Grev, and one of their biggest motivators, Brent Brehmer. “His philosophy is nothing stops us,” Baskin says of Brehmer, once a collegiate runner from Fargo, N.D., who now works in food safety. “You can’t say ‘no,’ or he will come after you.” Many in the group, like Nicole Shute, also compete in road races and even triathlons. “I joined the group about a year ago, and started getting into long-distance running three years ago to help with my training for triathlons,” Shute said. And while Baskin says they all have a passion for running, the atmosphere is light-hearted, and they all enjoy each others’ company. “The whole purpose of this is to go out and have fun and clear your mind,” he says. “Then come back more energized and be able to attack the afternoon.” But often the run not only refreshes, it’s a time to get work done. “It’s not only fun, but you can bounce ideas off other people,” Baskin says. “And it’s surprising how much business gets done during the run.” Because of that, and because there probably always will be an excuse

not to swap the suit for running shorts, the group has another mantra. “You need to treat it like another meeting,” Grev says. “If you get it on a schedule, you’re much more likely to get it in.” And that’s something with which Hormel is completely on board, they say. When Hormel began planning for the multi-million dollar corporate expansion it finished last summer, the designers actually asked for the group’s input. The result is a small kitchenette off the east end of the expansion where the sweaty runners can cool off and grab a bite to eat without disturbing other workers in the new cafeteria. The company also allows the group to take more than an hour for lunch, as the run itself takes 35 to 45 minutes, and that doesn’t include time to cool down, eat and shower. “Hormel is pretty flexible,” Baskin says, “and I think at the end of the day, they really want healthy employees.”

Austin Daily Herald

By Adam Harringa

Painting Austin pink Locals went all out in effort to fund local cancer research By Kevin Coss Austin turned pink in February, and it wasn’t for Valentine’s Day. The 10-day sophomore run of Paint the Town Pink, which raises funds for The Hormel Institute to fight breast cancer, built off the well received 2012 debut with a number of new events and still more community support. It began with a kickoff in mid January at The Hormel Institute, where Austin Bruins Forward Chris Fischer and his father, Joe, honored Chris’ mother, Debra, who died in May 2012 after a six-month battle with breast cancer. The Fischers placed a memorial panel in The Institute’s Donor Recognition Wall. “There was not one dry eye in the place,” said Cheryl Corey, executive director of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Hearing their story just made you want to say, ‘I’m on board, what way can I help?’” And the response was enthusiastic. Churches, nonprofits and businesses all got on board to set up events and fundraisers under the pink

BY THE NUMBERS More than $62,000 Total money raised in 2012 inaugural Paint the Town Pink

$39,819

Amount raised during 2013 Paint the Rink Pink, not counting town-wide events

About $22,000

Amount raised at the Bruinsʼ first Paint the Rink Pink

$500-$3,500

Amount jerseys sold for at the 2013 Paint the Rink Pink auction

Year of Paint the Town Pink

Number of days event ran in 2013

theme. Corey said it helped that the event’s debut in 2012 was such a success. “Now that we’re a viable event and have success behind us and visibility, it’s easier to ask for things,” she said. “People are really being creative on how they can raise money.” Last year, a number of businesses got on board with activities, but this year, many more individuals stepped up. “Every day our phone was ringing off the wall,” Corey said during the weeks of planning leading up to the events. Corey was one of a dozen people on the Paint the Town Pink planning committee who whittled away at the event’s second go. Representatives from the Bruins, the city of Austin, the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce and other groups were also involved. “We have a really nice, well-rounded mix of community partners that want to help,” she said. The event may only be in its second year, but the roots of the idea go further back. A number of years ago, the CVB board had been talking for a while about how to put together a winter festival that would get people to spend the night in Austin. The CVB is funded by lodging tax, and relies on guests booking stays at local hotels.

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During Paint the Rink Pink, 100 percent of sales from the jersey auction benefited The Hormel Institute’s cancer research. This year, jerseys fetched anywhere from $500 to $3,500. Paint the Rink Pink T-shirts also support the cause. Those looking to donate smaller amounts purchased raffle tickets, which put them in the running for local prizes like Holiday Inn stays, Torge’s Bar and Grille gift cards, golf gift certificates and more. “A lot of the businesses do love to help out,” Delhanty said. Players also got involved at the pink pancake breakfast, where they help serve, bus dishes and mingle with locals.

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LEFT: Bruins’ player Nolan Kirley has a little fun during the auction as the Hulk Hogan theme blares. BELOW: Paul Kuehneman of Rose Creek bids on Jay Dickman's jersey during this year’s Paint the Rink Pink jersey auction.

Austin Daily Herald

Then, three years ago, the Austin Bruins put together the Paint the Rink Pink event. Mike Delhanty, director of community relations with the Austin Bruins, said it was an idea players and staff were eager to try. “A lot of teams around the league had done different benefits for cancer,” he said. “We didn’t know what to expect.” The turnout was a resounding success. “The first season, it sold out the night of,” Delhanty said. “We had to turn people away at the door.” The CVB board soon got the idea to build off it, and approached Bruins owner Craig Patrick for permission. “He and the Bruins were very receptive to that,” Corey said. The event took off in 2012, and the community pulled in more than $62,000 from the Bruins game and the other events around town.

The story of Sprouts JEN HAUGEN

By Jason Schoonover To Jen Haugen, the idea to form Sprouts was natural: Children grow food, they learn about food and they eat food. The dietitian debuted Sprouts: Get Out and Grow at Austin’s HyVee in 2011 to expose children to gardening and healthy homegrown foods, and to expand their palates and improve their eating habits. In its first year, the program was successful enough in Austin to attract the attention of corporate officials, who later decided to implement the program at many other Hy-Vee locations. “It just kind of was like a small snowball that started to grow as it rolled down the hill,” Haugen said. “More people just got excited about it because they saw how it was working here, and it was really successful.” In its second year, similar community gardens started at about 40 Hy-Vee stores across eight states, most using Haugen’s lesson plans and template. That commitment isn’t waning as Sprouts nears its third year in Austin. While some may find a dietitian and community garden un-

Founder of Sprouts Age: 34 Town: Austin Job: Hy-Vee dietitian Fun fact: In high school, Haugen wanted to be an accountant, but she job-shadowed her aunt, Peggy Saxton, an outpatient dietitian in Worthington, and decided to follow her lead.

conventional for a grocery store, store manager Todd Hepler said the business has a responsibility to help customers be healthy and live longer. “[Haugen] is probably one of the most important people in our store,” Hepler said, noting he once sought Haugen’s help to change his diet and lower his cholesterol.

An idea sprouts The idea for Sprouts dates to when Haugen, a Minnesota State University, Mankato graduate,

worked as dietitian at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. To Haugen, the idea hit close to home. “I’ve always been around gardening through my parents, my grandparents,” she said. “And I after I got married, we had a garden. It’s just something we always did.” When Haugen interviewed for Hy-Vee’s dietitian position in 2008, Hepler asked if she had a dream project. “That’s when I said I would love to have a kids’ garden where kids

learn how to grow their own food and what to do with it,” she said, noting she even envisioned the garden where it is now. Haugen got the job and by 2010 began planning to make the project a reality. Originally, Haugen feared the project wouldn’t take off, and that it was just her brainchild. “I felt like I was birthing another child,” Haugen said. “Because it’s this project that was mine, and I didn’t know if anyone else thought it was a good idea.”

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Children’s garden grows to promote healthy lifestyles in eight states

Cassidy Davidson picks a carrot with the help of her sister, Allie,at the Sprouts: Get Out and Grow program's open house in August 2011.

Her co-workers would soon give her a vote of confidence. A few weeks before the first Sprouts, Haugen was working a long day to build the garden and a fence to enclose it when she took a break. She returned to find many Hy-Vee employees building the fence. “It really just brought me to tears,” she said. “I was like, ‘They do believe in me. They do think this is a good idea.’”

Learning through the senses In the first year, Haugen planted six vegetables, as Sprouts kicked off as a hands-on program. She said it was important for children to explore the food. “There’s lots of research that shows when the kids are involved with gardening and cooking their own food

they’re more likely to eat it,” Haugen said. Over 10 weeks from June to August, about 80 children from Kids Korner and the Austin YMCA took turns going to Sprouts. The children would learn food doesn’t come off a grocery shelf. They’ve learned how it grows, how it’s cooked, and then they taste the food. “It’s kind of a cool circle,” Haugen said. Even after a successful first year, Haugen worried she wouldn’t be able to quantify Sprouts’ effect on children’s daily eating habits. But then Haugen sent a survey to parents and received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with all the parents saying they wanted their children to be in Sprouts again. “I knew it would make a difference, but I didn’t know how I could show it

until I got the parent survey done,” she said. “That just kind of gave me the chills.”

Sprouting success The success of Sprouts did not go unnoticed. Hepler said Haugen’s vision to help families and children eat better mirrored leaders’ goals at Hy-Vee’s corporate level. Some officials visited Austin’s garden, and Haugen later spoke to a group of store directors about Sprouts. They liked what they saw, and they decided to employ Sprouts at other stores, with Haugen training other dietitians. “I was just really amazed that something I thought of was going to be implemented in other places,” Haugen said. “It made me feel good. It made me feel valued.”

The second year of Sprouts saw changes in Austin, too. Haugen grew the garden to about 19 different items, including vegetables, herbs and sunflowers. The Salvation Army summer program joined Kids Korner and the Y, bringing the total to about 150 participants. Haugen also added a key partner, The Hormel Institute, which sent leaders to Sprouts to teach children about how different foods affect cancer.

Growing forward Even though Haugen’s lesson plans are now used at the other stores, she hasn’t changed her technique. Hepler still sees the program as a definite positive for Hy-Vee. “Anytime that you can take children and healthy eating and combine them, you’re going to win.” he said.

A FEW EXAMPLES OF WHAT HY-VEE DIETITIAN JEN HAUGEN TEACHES AT SPROUTS Basil

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• Basil is a good source of essential oils, which act like antioxidants in fighting inflammation. • During class, the children explored the herb with all five of their senses. The children were surprised to know how much this herb reminded them of pizza and spaghetti. • Because basil is so easy to grow, the children were amazed each week at how quickly it gained height. They were able to harvest the basil almost weekly, using the leaves for various dishes, including pasta salad, rainbow wraps and pesto sauce. • They had an herb area of the garden where various herbs were featured, and by the end of the season, the children were able to identify each of the five herbs.

Tomatoes

• They planted the Burpee Boost variety of cherry tomatoes called “Cherry Punch.” • These tomatoes boast a 30 percent higher vitamin C and 40 percent higher lycopene content compared to regular tomatoes. • Lycopene has a strong connection to preventing cancer and during the season, The Hormel Institute played a “mix and match antioxidants” game with the children to help them learn more about which antioxidants came from which plant. • The children planted these tomatoes in early May of 2012, and by the first class in early June, they were already producing red tomatoes that could be harvested that day. • The children were able to harvest frequently for use in recipes in class, as well as some for home. In fact, up to 700 cherry tomatoes were taken off the vines each week. • From all ages, this tomato frequently was given a five-plus star rating for flavor, they were sweet and juicy, similar to a grape. • The recipes the children made with these tomatoes included fresh garden salsa and pizza toast.

Austin Daily Herald

Swiss Chard

• Swiss Chard is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K, making it a powerful vegetable for the eyes, in preventing cancer and in bone formation. • Grows quickly and can repeatedly be harvested. The children caught on quickly on how to harvest the large leaves. • The leaf and the stalk are edible. • Chard is a member of the beet family. • Looks like a giant spinach leaf (and tastes like it, too). • Can be eaten cooked or raw. • The leaves make good additions to salad, or cooked can add to soups and stews, or pizza. The stalk can be used like celery. • The children prepared it in cheese quesadillas – they loved eating them. • The kids prepared it as a salad along with strawberries and cantaloupe as a topping. • By the end of the season, the children rated Swiss Chard as their favorite vegetable. And throughout the summer, they were able to take some leaves home, along with the recipes, to enjoy with their family.

Austin High student is honing his BMX skills, avoiding broken bones Jacob Burkhart is an aspiring BMX rider working rain or shine to get better at his craft. During the spring, summer and fall months, Burkhart is at Austin's skatepark nearly every day after school working on his style.

Flying high

BY MATT PETERSON

Scar tissue ran down Jacob Burkhart’s right leg like a red, gnarly zipper. He dropped the denim back over his sock and got back on the bike. “The pedal comes around and just gets you,” Jacob said. “My leg is just scar tissue now.” Pedals were invented for efficiency, but they can be nasty, too. Jacob — a 15-year-old Austin High School student who is as comfortable riding bike as he is walking — is one of many who use Austin’s skate park. He’s just there more often than most. After all, who goes to an outdoor skate park in Minnesota in January?

A riding session

Austin Daily Herald

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It was cold and windy, and the Austin skate park was slick, dotted with puddles and covered with leaves on a gloomy October day. Sure, it wasn’t winter. But this was different than the time he and his buddies rode in January. Yet Jacob emerged from the distance that fall day with a backpack and a broom — on a bike, of course — about 20 minutes after school. Plenty of youngsters frequent the skate park, but Jacob was the only one there for quite some time that day. “I think I rode every day,” he said about that cool, unpredictable week. After sweeping leaves and pushing puddles around, he was ready to shred. By all means, the conditions looked sketchy: greasy, wet concrete and decayed leaves. Regardless, pain would be a small price for Jacob. He won’t complain because he knows pain is inevitable. “There’s no way you can do this and not get hurt,” Jacob said. Jacob has been luckier than many others who do what he does: ride wheelies, tail-tap, spin 360s, grind on rails, jump boxes and push their limits. Besides bloody shins, Jacob’s worst injury has been a badly bruised heel, which kept him from riding for about a week. He has avoided the dreaded broken bones that would prevent him from riding for weeks at a time. “I’ve gotten lucky,” Jacob said. “I haven’t done that yet.”

Burkhart gets air on a sunny day, practicing at the city's skate park.

Jacob is safe and knows his limits. That’s one of the reasons why his dad, Jon Burkhart, is supportive of BMX as a hobby. After all, he used to do it himself. “The best part for me is he’s really safe when he rides,” Jon said, whose views would be different if his son were breaking bones and riding beyond his capabilities. “He has to be responsible while he’s riding. He has to wear a helmet; that’s always a requirement. He has to be respectful to everyone.” Jacob’s bikes take more abuse than he does, though. Just after Christmas, he bought a new bicycle frame, as the past one was cracked, worn out from serious use. As always, he got his new equipment from Rydjor Bike shop in Austin where he is often seen with his friends. Jacob, as others will say, is not the typical skatepark dude, but he is part of the culture. And the bike shop isn’t such a bad hangout. “It’s not like some mass, chain bike shop where you go to, and they’re all just worried about their paycheck,” Jacob said. “They are actually into what you do — take the time to talk to you about what you’re doing.” Because Jacob’s dad used to work at the store, the family has built quite a rapport with those at Rydjor. They’ll say it, too; they can respect a kid with a good head on his shoulders. “He’s a great kid,” said Jens Raffelson, “comes from a really nice family.” Raffelson and manager Chad Burma see Jacob about once a week, and much more often in the summer, of course. While they don’t get opportunities to watch one of their best customers ride, they’ve seen videos of him on YouTube and know that he works hard. Jacob isn’t just wasting time at the skate park. He’s exercising, building muscle, improving his social skills and pushing for more. “He seems pretty hard-working at what he’s doing,” Raffelson said, who like others hope Jacob will keep riding, improving and heading the right direction in life. Yet with life skills and responsibility aside, Jacob clearly knows his way around a skate park and a bike. “I definitely think he’s one of the best in town,” Burma added. While many youngsters about to turn 16 worry about cars and parties, Jacob may keep focusing on the craft he’s been honing for years. Like his dad, Jacob is passionate about cycling.

“

Learning a new trick, it’s all a mental game. It’s just getting over the fear of crashing. -Jacob Burkhart

”

One thing is certain: Jacob will do more competitions, as he’s only getting better.

After the fun and games To some, it may seem like Jacob is simply wasting his time. The pros of any era started competing when they were toddlers, but becoming a professional isn’t necessarily Jacob’s motive. That would be nice, but Jacob is realistic, too. He knows becoming a professional is a tall task. “To go pro ... that’s asking a lot,” he said. That’s why Jacob is gaining valuable knowledge in another form just from being around the sport: audio and video production. Music and extreme sports videos go hand in hand, something Jacob is figuring out well now that he’s tooling around with compilations of his riding videos to catchy songs. Regardless of how far he pushes himself, Jacob may indeed have a way to hang around the sport he loves. Or, he can do anything else he wants, too. “I see he’s got a pretty good future for himself,” Raffelson said about the multi-talented teen who plays baseball and the trumpet, too. Though Jacob wanted to push even further by competing in another indoor BMX competition this winter, he was preoccupied with a high school band function, so he did that instead. That may not sound like a typical BMX’er; but then again, Jacob isn’t.

BMX rider Jacob Burkhart works on his moves on a rainy day at the Austin skate park.

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So how does one learn a new trick, anyway? Like anyone else, Jacob started by hopping curbs and popping wheelies and progressed from there. But learning newer, tougher tricks not only takes guts, it takes sacrifice and a different mindset. “Learning a new trick, it’s all a mental game,” Jacob said. “It’s just getting over the fear of crashing.” But Jacob isn’t blindly throwing new tricks he’s never attempted, he said. Once he learns the aspects to a new trick, he focuses on perfecting that one before moving on to the next. His dad can understand that from watching him. “The way to describe him is ‘responsible,’” Jon said. BMX may not look like the most responsible sport in the world, but at least it’s easy to tell who is comfortable and safe with their tricks and who isn’t. Without hesitation, Jacob hit the ramp and stomped a 360 at the Austin skate park for his first trick on another late-fall afternoon. Then he started warming up. “I just got those down this year,” he said about 360s. Though Jacob couldn’t land every trick that day, he never bit the concrete, either. It was somewhat apparent why that right leg takes so much abuse: So nothing else has to. The right leg is his power leg, and his safety valve when things go wrong. After all the seasons at the Austin skate park, Jacob competed in his first competition last summer in Zumbro Falls, Minn. Then, in November, he competed in another in Lake Elmo, Minn. He’s not sure how he placed, but that didn’t matter. Soaking up the experience, watching pros, storing ideas for future tricks and simply meeting other riders was a good start. “That’s probably one of my favorite parts of going to competitions is meeting new people and getting to chat to people who you wouldn’t get to know if you weren’t riding bikes,” Jacob said.

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Pushing the limits

Expanded Care By Kevin Coss

Dr. Darryl Barnes, an orthopedic physician, has been with Mayo Clinic Health System — Albert Lea and Austin for about four years. He came from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where he worked since 1996 and did his residency. Barnes headed to Austin in 2009 to help the clinic establish its musculoskeletal division. At that point, a $28-million expansion project was still in its infancy. “The planning actually started in 2008,” he said. “It’s really exciting to see it come to fruition.” The expansion, which opened in January 2013, brings orthopedics, radiology, pain management, podiatry and physical therapy all to the same branch of the hospital, where each are given their own hall. Doctors in those areas have offices next door to one another, so they can easily collaborate

New Mayo wing boosts patient experience

and possibly cut down on the number of visits a patient has to make. “It allows us to see patients more efficiently,” Barnes said. While these services were all previously offered by the clinic, they traditionally were organized in a way that was difficult for patients to understand. The eye clinic was in a separate building in a different part of town altogether, but now it will be right by the expansion’s new entrance. “It’s all been all over the place,” Barnes said. At the same time, patients can more easily understand the layout and use color-coding cues to navigate. It’s no longer a trip up and down stairs to find the radiology department for an X-ray; a patient can walk down the hall and even hit the changing room along the way. Educational materials will be available in the spacious waiting rooms — part of the sleek, clean appearance of the expansion. The expansion allows for a patient-centered approach, where the same group of people can work with a patient again and again.

“It’s really exciting to see it come to fruition.” -Dr. Darryl Barnes, orthopedic physician at Mayo Clinic Health System — Albert Lea and Austin

• 3 Day Mattress • Acclaim Studio of Dance • Anytime Fitness • Artistry Wedding Events • Austin Area Art Center • Devriess Boutique • DFL Headquarters

• Gypsy Imports & Consignment • Just For Kix • Legacy Comics & Games • Mower County Human Services • Piece by Piece • Spirit Bear Academy • Two Bears Trading Post

• Vision Works • Weight Watchers • Willow Cove • IMPACT Martial Arts & Fitness • Kids Against Hunger • Enchantertainment • PC Tech Connect

• Land Drainage • Backhoeing • Consulting • Conservation Construction • Wildlife Ponds • Road Boring

Austin Daily Herald

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“One person being taken care of by a team,” Barnes said. “It’s going to serve them better.” Jennifer Levisen, public affairs specialist at the medical center, said the effort was part of a refocusing that changed the concept of sick care to “well care.” Barnes’ role in the expansion project focused on the design of the lower level. He had finished his new house in Austin just before the expansion began, and that experience left practical design concerns fresh in his mind. “How can we do it and make it attractive to our patients?” he said, pointing to the inclusion of natural light even on the lower level as key. But the importance of aesthetics goes beyond patients. “It’s key in retention of staff,” Barnes said. “It’s nice to be in a place that looks good.” He also helped fundraise 10 percent of the total cost needed through donations. He helped spur staff, community members and other physicians to contribute. The expansion, which includes a new entrance, a cafe and a medical supply shop, finished four months ahead of schedule. Gentle winter weather expedited the construction schedule. The expansion was a time of change for everyone, including Barnes, who had yet to settle into his new office in early January. “I don’t have anything in there yet,” Barnes laughed.

DR. DARRYL BARNES

Barnes, who assisted in the $28-million expansion project at Mayo Clinic Health System — Albert Lea and Austin, will be one of the doctors moving into the new wing to work in its musculoskeletal division. Age: 44 Town: Austin Fun fact: Barnes designed his new home in Austin shortly before the expansion, which got him thinking about design elements that would be important for the hospital.

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ADULT DAY PROGRAM

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HOME HEALTH CARE

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SKILLED NURSING HOME CARE

Austin Daily Herald

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The Austin area has enjoyed significant growth in recent years. Last year was no exception with over $80 million in capital projects completed.

Austin Daily Herald

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Employment is growing, and our economy is expanding and diversifying. Austin is a great place to be today. We are working to make it an even better place tomorrow, through the work of community partners involved with Vision 20/20 and the Business Friendly Committee.

The Hormel Institute

THROUGH THE YEARS

1941

The Hormel Foundation is founded by Jay C. Hormel, the second CEO of Hormel Foods Corp. and the son of its founder, George A. Hormel.

1942

The Hormel Institute is founded on Nov. 20 by Jay C. Hormel, with a mission to conduct research in biological sciences with applications in medicine and agriculture. For many years, The Hormel Institute is the sole recipient of the foundation’s funds, outside of the Hormel family. The Foundation enters an agreement with the University of Minnesota to operate a 400-square foot biological research lab in the horse stables of the Hormel family’s estate outside of Austin. The estate is now Gerard Academy.

1943

H.O. Halvorson, Ph.D., becomes The Institute’s first executive director. Halvorson serves as an advisor to Jay Hormel on food stabilit y.

1949

Walter O. Lundberg, Ph.D., becomes its second executive director, serving for more than 25 years.

1960

—Scientists working in a laboratory at The Hormel Institute's first facility located in an old horse barn on Jay C. Hormel's property in northeast Austin.

The Hormel Institute moves in June from its original location in the horse stable, now at 12,000-square feet not counting animal barns, to its current location at 801 16th Ave. NE, next to Hormel Foods’ corporate headquarters. Its new home has 10 labs to start.

— Dr. Ralph T. Holman, left, joined The Hormel Institute in 1951 and conducted world-renowned lipid research for several decades at The Institute, coining the names Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Holman, who served as executive director from 1975 to 1985, passed away in August 2012. ences in Nutrition.

1985

Harald H.O. Schmid, Ph.D., becomes its fourth executive director.

2001 The Institute names Dr. Zigang Dong its fifth executive director.

1960s

The Institute supplies “Arnold” the pig for the TV show “Green Acres.” The show airs from 1965 to 1971.

2004-2009

1963

The research of Dong and Dr. Ann Bode, associate director — which makes the world’s No. 1 cancer research journal “Nature Reviews Cancer” — is the most cited in the world in molecular biology for five years.

Dr. Ralph T. Holman first names Omega-3 fatt y acids in a scientific journal. He also names Omega-6 fatt y acids. His work involves collaboration with people from 15 different countries.

1975 Holman becomes The Institute’s third executive director.

1981

Holman is named to the National Academy of Sci-

2006 A busy year for The Institute, as it signs an agreement for collaboration with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and breaks ground on a $23.4-million expansion. While the agreement with Mayo is the start of the entities official partnership, a Mayo representative has been on the Institute’s board of directors since the lab’s inception.

2008

The Institute finishes its expansion, which triples its size and takes it from 60 to 120 employees. The expansion, which opens on Oct. 3, creates 20 new state-of-the-art cancer research labs. • The Institute partners with IBM, bringing a BlueGene/L Supercomputer to its lab. At the time, it’s the world’s fastest supercomputer. •The International Carcinogenesis Symposium is held in Austin, attracting cancer researchers from around the world. •Dong is selected as a National Institutes of Health Merit award recipient.

2011

The Institute officially announces in October its plans for a $27-million, 74,000-foot expansion, which it says will add 120 jobs.

2014 The Institute plans to break ground on its latest expansion. —By Adam Harringa

Austin Daily Herald

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—The Hormel Institute’s present-day facility opened in 1960 next to Hormel Foods’ corporate office.

Riverland Community College THROUGH THE YEARS

1941-1945

Enrollment drops to as low as 37 people one year during World War II — 36 women and one male on medical discharge from the Navy. However, the college is still busy. The college begins work with the Civilian Training Pilot Program and War Training Service, an introductory training program for pilots going into the Airforce and Navy. Meland and Airport flight instructor Marcellus A. King are among the teachers for the class.

1951

1968

On Nov. 4, the State Board of Education formally approves the formation of Albert Lea Area Vocational-Technical School, with Wayne Broecker as the director.

1970

Reuben Meland retires as president.

1971

Austin State Junior College Owatonna Extension Center begins classes on Sept. 20. That same year, KSMQ is established as part of Austin Public Schools.

1972

The Austin Area Vocational-Technical School is established in the annex of Austin High School as a part of the public school system, but separate from Austin Junior College.

Austin Area Vocational-Technical School changes its name to Austin Area Vocational-Technical Institute. The new technical school is completed that March. That same year, the school moves to what is now Riverland’s west campus.

1963

1976

consists of the Austin, Faribault and Rochester campuses, and the Owatonna Technical Training Center.

1992

Austin Community College receives $7.2 million for an expansion that includes the current main entrance and 33,000square-foot library and renovations to bring the building up to date for handicap accessibility and safety codes.

1996

Riverland Community College is established July 1. The move merges Austin Community College, South Central Technical College — Albert Lea, and Riverland Technical College locations in Austin and Owatonna.

2002

The first day of classes are held at Owatonna College & University Center on Jan. 14. While Riverland is the host institution and has classes at the center, Concordia University, St. Paul; Minnesota State University, Mankato; Southwest State University; University of St. Thomas; and South Central Technical College also offer classes.

2003

Terry Leas becomes Riverland President.

A report states the Austin Area Vocational-Technical School enrollment is about 250 in programs for carpentry, farm equipment mechanics, welding, machine shop (tool and die), automotive mechanics, auto body rebuilding, industrial electronics, practical nursing and cosmetology (beauty school).”

The Austin Community College Foundation forms; it later becomes the Riverland Foundation. The board forms under the direction of Greg Meyer and 18 members with the goal of providing financial support to strengthen the quality and availability of education.

1964

1985

The Owatonna Higher Education Center opens as a way to create a seamless link between education, work and the community.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities acquires Owatonna College and University Center, with Gov. Tim Pawlenty signing it as part of the bonding bill in April. The sale is finalized Dec. 31.

1966

1991

2011

Austin Junior College officially becomes a part of the state system of junior colleges.

Austin Junior College changes its name to Austin State Jun-

Minnesota Riverland Technical College forms July 1 and

2004

KSMQ moves to Riverland’s east campus.

2008

Terry Leas leaves his post as president.

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Austin Junior College opens on the third floor of Austin High School Sept. 3 with 138 freshmen and a faculty of five full-time and four part-time instructors. The school is formed as part of the public school system, with Reuben Meland serving as dean and later president. Tuition was $4 per semester hour. That first year, the college has football, basketball and hockey teams. Austin Daily Herald Sports Editor Tom Koeck calls the football team the “Blue Devils” in an article, and the name sticks.

ior College and moves to the current east campus. Classes start Sept. 22 that year with about 850 students and 40 faculty members. The new $2.75 million wing is officially dedicated on Jan. 29, 1967. The 90-acre campus is said to be on the “outskirts of Austin.”

1940

d n a l r e v Ri

Austin Daily Herald

Bonnie Rietz, from left, Frank W. Bridges and James Wegner pose near a sign for London, Minn., to promote a trip to London, England, for RCC’s London Dash.

t a s u Join

On Nov. 9, the Herald prints its first issue as a weekly under the direction of A.B. Hunkins. The paper is published on the second floor of a building at Fourth Avenue and Main Street. Austin had a population of 6,000 then, and a total of three weeklies plus one daily newspaper. Herald carriers make $160 per year.

Even an organization dedicated to recording the events around it has some newsworthy milestones along the way. Below are a few entries from the Austin Daily Herald’s own history book. By Kevin Coss

The Herald office shares space with the Mower County Democrat newspaper in a building on North Main Street only five feet from the edge of the Cedar River. The machinery at the building was operated by steam power, as electricity wasn’t available. When the presses ran, the entire building trembled. The Herald reviews its progress on its 50th anniversary with a special “Golden Anniversary” edition, which includes a reprint of a letter of congratulations from President Franklin Roosevelt as well as University of Minnesota School of Journalism Director Ralph Casey. Instead of

HOME OWNER GREETS NEWS CARRIER — A paper boy delivers the day’s edition to a subscriber in town. (Photos courtesy of Mower County Historical Society)

bringing in news by express delivery, the newspaper now uses a wire service via teletype from the Associated Press that runs constantly from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Geraldine Rasmussen acquires the original Marigold Dairy building and turns it into the Herald’s pressroom.

across the street from the Herald offices on “Herald Square,” the intersections of First Drive and First Street NW. Lacking a press in Austin, the Herald prints in Albert Lea. On Oct. 2, the Herald begins the move from the old to the new. Dozens of workmen and Herald staffers load up the desks and typewriters of the old office on First Drive Northwest and move them to the Herald’s present home on Second Street Northeast. On March 30, the Herald switches from letter press to offset printing, which improves the quality of photos in the paper. Pictures become clearer, sharper and show a higher contrast. “We are doing this to produce a better looking newspaper,” Editor Edmund E. Smith says.

Thomsom Newspapers Inc. purchases the Herald.

On Feb. 5, the Herald prints its first Sunday edition under the masthead “Austin Sunday Herald.”

A fire destroys the Herald’s pressroom, which stood

The Herald celebrates 100 years in print.

NEWS CARRIERS DELIVER THE GOODS — Early 1920s paper carriers gather outside a former Daily Herald building.

PRESS WORKERS PLAN NEXT EDITION — Four Herald employees work on a linotype machine.

AUSTIN’S LEADING NEWS SOURCE — The old Austin Daily Herald building decades ago.

Austin Daily Herald

TELEPHONE OPERATOR — A Daily Herald telephone operator places a circulation call.

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AUSTIN DAILY HERALD OWNERS — Daily Herald owners gather for a photo in 1940. From left: seated are John Skinner and Harry Rasmussen; standing are Arnold Daane and Fred Ulmer.

Men and women from around the county have been donating their time, money, hearts, and souls to special young people in the Mower County Mentoring Program so they have better opportunities for success in life. These people deserve your thanks and congratulations.

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Jill Marsh Shari Mason Steve Mason Mark Nibaur Heidi Olson Jane Orvik Kate Schoonover Linda Sheely Greg Storey Robert Stratton Pamela Vaughn

Nicholas Johnsen Arlen Knight Ken Kroupa John Kruger Vicki Kuhlmann Pete Kuhlmann Melissa Ladlie Kathy Leisen Jennifer Lloyd James Loven Mary Mangskau

Austin Daily Herald

Greg Baskin Carolyn Bogott Brytnie Carolan Jeremy Carolan Samantha Dietrich Miguel Garate Jolynn Gentz Sandra Halbach Royce Helmbrecht Ally Hendrikson Michael Jordal

Investing in Austin

Austin Area Foundation continues promoting community groups By Dave Churchill From helping to feed hungry children to sponsoring concerts, the Austin Area Foundation has had a growing role in the community for a decade. This spring, as AAF marks its 10th year, a growing pool of managed assets assures the community-supported and funded foundation will continue its work into the foreseeable future. Like other community foundations, AAF provides a vehicle for individuals and families to leave a legacy for the people of their town. Donations and bequests given to the foundation are managed for investment income and the proceeds of the investments returned to the community in the form of grants. Although it has been operating for nearly 10 years, AAF had its genesis even earlier. “It was about 1999 that I had heard Matchbox Children’s of other community foundations and Theatre’s production costs wondered why Austin’s didn’t have for Pinocchio $1,000 one,” said Mike Ruzek, AAF’s chairman and a trustee since the organization’s Paramount’s card access inception. reader $500 With seed money from the Blandin Austin Symphony concert Foundation, AAF formed in April 2003. sponsorship $2,500 Unlike many community foundations which consolidate their assets with oth Mower County Historical ers, AAF is independent. Society’s large-format AAF’s grants to community organizascanner $1,200 tions have grown steadily, along with Children’s dental health the value of the funds it manages. From “Happy Smiles Kits” $1,200 $5,769 in 2007, the total grants awarded reached $15,000 in 2012 and Summerset Theatre is expected to be about $17,000 in production funding $1,000 2013. MC Advocacy Classes The Mower County Historical Society $1,500 is using an AAF grant to help preserve Austin Community Band historical photographs. With AAF funds, “We upgraded our operational costs $700 print scanner to a more robust scanner Freedom Fest 2013 events that can do a larger format,” Historical and activities $1,000 Society Executive Director Dustin Heck St. Olaf’s backpack man said. “It’s really been great to work program, and weekend food with the Austin Area Foundation.” From the perspective of donors, AAF bags $1,000 offers a means to leave a gift that will Mower County Humane benefit the community for many, many Society’s cages for cats and years. The Qual family of Austin made a kittens $1,000 $500 gift to the foundation in memory PRC fridge for Catherwood of family members Jim and Bob. The investment income goes annually to Home $650 Mower County ARC to support its pro Cornerstone Church’s car grams. repair for single moms $750 “I’m very happy with the whole Arc Mower County idea,” said Alice Qual. “And with the Scholarship Funds $1,000 way the Foundation has worked for us.” AAF also assists with community projects by serving as an umbrella, of sorts, TOTAL................$15,000 under which other organizations can operate to avoid the time and expense of getting their own federally recognized non-profit status. The Austin Dog Park and Veterans Memorial projects have taken advantage of AAF’s administrative services in that manner. The Foundation’s Austin Legacy Endowment is valued at $529,000, but that’s only a start toward what the foundation board hopes will become a much larger asset pool. Ruzek noted that the community foundation in Grand Rapids, Minn., which started about 10 years before AAF, has $11 million in managed assets. AAF’s goal, for now, is to reach $3 million in assets, a benchmark that would allow it to employ a full-time director to help further boost growth — and further boost service to the community. “In a nutshell, our mission is that we enhance our community through charitable giving,” Ruzek said. “We work through donors to achieve their goals and intentions.” More information on AAF is at www.austinareafoundation.org.

2012 AAF grants

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1952

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Progress 2013

1962

Austin Daily Herald

1961

1964

1963

PROGRESS FOR TOMORROW Austin’s Vision 2020 organizers will have a busy 2013 schedule, as this year is arguably the first year residents will see big changes from the community improvement project. Here’s the latest rundown on each of the Top 10 Idea Committees’ progress. 1.) Embrace and Maintain Our Waterways —City workers have cleared trees near Turtle Creek off of 12th Street SW. —Committee members split into subcommittees to work on improving water quality, enhancing local waterways, educating residents on water conservation, and promoting recreational activities. —The group hosted a first annual “Plunging for Pink” polar plunge in January as part of Paint the Town Pink, to raise money for The Hormel Institute. —There are two planned enhancement projects for the Cedar River: one near the Old Mill Restaurant to denote where the first mill in the area stood, and one by the Fourth Avenue Northeast bridge. —The city and committee plan to install another aerator in Mill Pond to combat algae, pending flood mitigation work. —The education subcommittee is looking for volunteers to help shape education campaigns for residents.

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2.) Gateway to Austin Attraction —Committee members met with and received preliminary approval to build an “iconic overpass” for walking and biking over Interstate 90. —The committee will work with city officials to secure Minnesota Department of Transportation funding for a landscaping project along the I-90 Corridor this summer. MnDOT would reimburse the city for building materials and look at the design, but the committee must provide volunteers for the effort.

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3.) Community Wide Technology —The committee hopes to create a high-capacity Internet fiber infrastructure throughout Austin, where the fiber cable would be publicly owned through Austin Utilities, but Internet service would still go through private companies. —Members will work with Bill Coleman, a broadband consultant paid through a Blandin Foundation grant, to plan the next steps and find state funding.

4.) Expanding Bike/Walk Trail System —The committee is pursuing a MnDOT grant through the “Safe Routes to Schools” program to gather information to improve dangerous intersections for students walking or biking to school, which will also improve several bike trails throughout the city. —Members will work with the Shooting Star Trail group to connect the regional bike trail through Mower County.

5.) Downtown Austin Destination Point —The committee hopes to improve the plaza area off North Main Street, which could include building a stage for outdoor performers. —An inventory of downtown businesses will be taken, as the committee wants to have no vacancies in the downtown business district. —Members want to increase downtown events this year. —Members want to preserve vacant fire property lot for prospective buyers.

6.) Education Leaders —Committee members are preparing a community assessment toward a collective approach to education, similar to the Strive collective group in Cincinnati where a group of public and private partners improved public education offerings.

7.) Community Pride and Spirit —The committee launched the Spread the Spirit campaign in January, asking residents to perform random acts of kindness and setting up a website to report such acts throughout town. —Members are planning a small-scale fix-up project for the neighborhood north of Queen of Angels Catholic Church. —There could be a Peer Power Partners group at I.J. Holton Intermediate School, where students with physical or mental disabilities would partner with general education peers throughout the school year.

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8.) Revitalization of Austin Utilities Building —The committee is pursuing a historical site designation from the state historical society. —Members still plan to create more residential space inside the vacant building, though a public or retail space is still in the works. Austin Daily Herald

9.) Business-Friendly Environment —The committee hopes to organize events to encourage and help local entrepreneurs. —Members want to create a personalized job connection for families who move here for a job and bring a “trailing spouse” looking for work.

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Progress 2013

—The committee is securing funding for a feasibility study by Anderson, Niehbur & Associates over a five-month period. The study will cost $53,000 and the city of Austin has donated $5,000 to the effort. Researchers hope to find how a new recreation center can help even more members of the community, such as minority families and older residents.

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As president and owner of Quality Pork Processors, Kelly Wadding has a busy job in the day-to-day operations of the company, which works side-by-side with Hormel Foods.

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QPP’s Kelly Wadding brings the company onward and upward By Kevin Coss It isn’t a stretch to call Kelly Wadding a busy man. As CEO and president of Quality Pork Processors in Austin, a company that processes 19,000 hogs a day, there’s a lot to do. Wadding wakes up early every day and gets to work at about 6 a.m. He goes through emails and reviews the previous days’ activities before meeting with the vice president of operations and the plant manager. “We take a tour through the plant,” he said. “It probably takes us an hour and a half.” After that, Wadding meets with department heads, then drives to Select Foods in KELLY WADDING Albert Lea. As the owner of that company, CEO and president of also, he does the rounds through the Quality Pork Processors plant and meets with the plant manager. Age: 60 It’s about noon when he heads back to Town: Austin Austin for more meetings, emails and Hobbies: Golf, and phone calls. It’s 4 p.m. or later by the time he leaves the office. hunting in the fall Wadding is a graduate of Albert Lea with his yellow labs Senior High School. Between then and his time at QPP, he traveled, and worked at companies like Wilson Foods in Oklahoma City, Iowa Pork Industries in South St. Paul and John Morrell & Co. in Sioux Falls, S.D. It was July 1993 when QPP’s then-owner Richard Knight hired Wadding as a general manager. He held that role for a few years before buying into partnership with Knight. They remained partners until 1997, when Knight retired and Wadding took his current position. “I bought his share of the company out and became sole owner,” Wadding said. Since then, things at QPP, which leases its property from Hormel Foods Co. and delivers the processed hogs to Hormel, have only been getting better. “We’re probably as steady and stable as we’ve been in years,” he said. He attributes a lot of that success to his workers, and commends them for their contributions to community projects like the United Way and local blood drives. “I really think QPP employees do not receive the credit in the community that they deserve,” Wadding said. “I’m very, very proud of the work force.” There are no big changes on the horizon, Wadding said. He intends to keep QPP going as-is, and make it better along the way. “We’re constantly looking at automation and improvements in our process,” Wadding said. “Hopefully we’re going to do it for a lot longer.”

Progress 2013

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Acquisitions, innovation push company’s profits to record levels

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101 11th Street SE • Austin, MN STORY BY ADAM HARRINGA

im Splinter went to Austin Packer cross country meets last fall like the other parents. His daughter, senior Haley Splinter, was second on the team most of the year and qualified for state meet. But unlike the other parents, the day after each meet Splinter was back at work as group vice president of Hormel’s grocery division, which tallied $1.17 billion in sales in 2012. Splinter, who has been with Hormel Foods Corp. or a subsidiary for about 30 years, lives in Austin with his family, and says the company now netting more than $8 billion per year in sales is still focused on being a part of the Austin community and maintaining the family feel upon which it was founded in 1891. “We want to be engaged,” said Splinter, a Vision 2020 Community Recreation Center committee member also active with the Austin YMCA. But Hormel isn’t the company it was 100, 50, or even 10 or five years ago. When Splinter became senior vice president of sales and marketing at JennieO in 1999, the meatpacker had less than $4 billion in total sales. In 2012, Hormel cleared $8.2 billion in sales and $500 million in profit, both records. Over the past decade, through acquisitions of household name brands like Jennie-O Turkey Store, Farmer John, Country Crock and now Skippy, and through a heavy emphasis on product innovation, the company has positioned itself as a U.S. meat industry leader.

Recession proof?

Austin Daily Herald

82 Progress 2013

Like much of Hormel, Splinter’s grocery division has had substantial, steady growth through the recession that started in 2008. The grocery division has grown 38 percent in the past six years, or a $324-million increase from $846 million in sales in 2006. The segment increased 10 percent, or by $106 million, from 2011 to 2012 alone. The company as a whole went from $5.75 billion in total sales in 2006 to $8.23 billion last year, a 43.3 percent increase. In addition, Hormel’s annual profit has increased four years running; by 20.1 percent in 2009, 15.4 percent in 2010, 19.9 percent in 2011, and 5 percent in 2012. The only dip occurred during the first year of the recession, from $301.9 million in 2007 to $285.5 million in 2008, a 5 percent drop. “We’ve done quite well [throughout the recession],” said Hormel President and CEO Jeff Ettinger at the company’s shareholders meeting in January. “We have seen some phases where [some areas] of business were down a little bit in the early days of the recession, but overall if you look at our track record over the past four or five years, we’ve found ways to continue to grow the business.” Ettinger talks about Hormel’s diverse portfolio, which he says allows the company to grow even when certain segments are down. So when the recession hit, Hormel relied on its cheaper meat products to pick up the slack. “I think especially early on we did see some benefits in the canned meat segment of the business,” he said. “During the first year or two of the recession, Spam, Dinty Moore and Hormel Chili were up double digits, and that’s probably a little bit higher growth rate than we typically see for those products.” Since then, those products’ growth has moderated, he says, and now Hormel is battling increased grain costs because of the drought, something that’s reflected in the refrigerated division, the only one of Hormel’s five segments to report a decrease in profit — down 22 percent — in 2012 from the year before.

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When the drought hit, grocery products — in particular Spam and the Don Miguel brand of MegaMex Mexican food, Hormel’s recent acquisition — made up the difference. For the year, Hormel reported a 12 percent increase in profits and a 10 percent increase in total sales for its grocery products division, which includes Don Miguel. The company cited a strong year for Spam — as Hormel unveiled two new flavors of the canned meat and a strong marketing campaign based on its 75th birthday — and even more so for Don Miguel. Taking the Mexican brand out of the equation, the grocery division only would have had a 1 percent increase in sales over 2011. “Last year, the grocery division had a very good year,” Splinter said. “MegaMex continues to perform very well, driving volume growth, and it has very good margins.” And Spam helped, too. “We don’t believe in product life cycles, or that [products like Spam] reach maturity and decline,” he said. “We think of extending them for the long term.”

Skippy and China To Splinter and others at Hormel — a company based on meat for nearly 122 years — buying Skippy peanut butter makes perfect sense. “It’s a very strategic move,” said Splinter, explaining that Hormel sells protein, and Skippy gives them a non-meat protein to diversify their portfolio further. And through innovation, they hope to make Skippy much more than peanut butter in a jar.

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“It balances risk exposure,” Splinter said. “But it also helps us extend into untapped categories [for peanut butter]; baking, snacking, breakfast, a lot of very fun innovation opportunities.” Hormel announced on Jan. 3, 2013, it had acquired Skippy for $700 million, and immediately started discussing ways to innovate the brand, along with using it to tap into the international and Asian, specifically Chinese, markets. Skippy is the No. 2 peanut butter brand in the U.S. behind Jif, and the top brand in China, where Ettinger says peanut butter is a growing category. While Hormel’s international sales only accounted for 4 percent of its total sales in 2012, the division has been growing much faster than the company’s others, and Skippy’s projected $100 million in sales outside the U.S. — including $30 to $40 million in China — would be an immediate boost of 30 percent for Hormel’s total sales abroad. “When we compare ourselves to other food manufactures within our industry, we’re really quite low in terms of our sales outside the United States,” Ettinger said. “We’ve said we’d really like to increase that. The Skippy acquisition was certainly one great opportunity to do that.” The company expects the peanut butter category to grow domestically, too, even as some schools move toward a no peanut butter lunch policy because of some children’s severe allergies. “In terms of allergies, I think society is figuring out best how to handle that,” Ettinger said. “But overall, the category continues to grow. It’s a great tasting, convenient, inexpensive protein, so we’re confident it will find avenues to get to multiple consumers.”

A bigger family Ettinger says the company will continue to look for acquisitions as they come up if they’re a good fit. And through acquisitions, innovation and a balanced business model, the goal is for the company to grow at a clip of 5 percent in sales and 10 percent in earnings. So how big is too big? “There’s no magic number,” Ettinger said. “One of the things I think about and talk about with our team is to make sure we keep the family feeling, to make sure we keep a lean organization where everyone has a lot of access to the decision makers within the company.” Ettinger says as they’ve grown, and more than doubled sales in 12 years, they’ve preserved most of that family feel.

Parade of Progress

Progress 2013

DAVE’S LAWN CARE 2004

Hormel Foods CEO Jeff Ettinger at the company’s annual shareholder’s meeting in January.

Jodi Klukow, Owner/Groomer

Austin Daily Herald

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Games People Play manager Corey Anderson has seen his share of hard times, but believes the worst is behind Austin and the recession is easing locally.

Climate check: By Adam Harringa Corey Anderson says the 2012 holiday shopping season was one of the best Games People Play had in years. He has managed the Austin clothing and screening specialty store for roughly 18 years, and while he’s not sure how the recent recession ranks, he knows sales were down in 2009. But they weren’t hit as hard as some other areas of the country, he says, and since then business has “absolutely picked up.” “Three years ago was the worst, where it really seemed to slow down,” he said. “The [recession] that hit the country has affected us, but we’ve been lucky enough to have decent sales. ... And sales were definitely up compared to the last few years.” That’s the same picture many other business leaders in Austin are seeing. “I think overall we didn’t have as large a downturn as other sectors of the country,” said Sandy Forstner, executive director of the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce. “Our unemployment rate remained below the state and national level, and that helped.”

Most business sectors in Austin on the mend

The national jobless rate hovered just below 8 percent for much of 2012, and Minnesota’s rate was between 5.5 and 5.9 percent. But Austin’s rate was below 5 percent six times last year and was 4.5 percent in November and December 2012, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. And as the national rate was above 9 percent for 20 of 24 months in 2009 and 2010, Austin’s highest during that span was 8 percent in March 2009, and it was below 7 percent for 18 months and below 6 percent for nine months. Forstner said Austin’s agriculturally based economy and the success of Hormel Foods Corp. through the recession have kept the town from hitting the low much of the nation did. “The ag economy has really gone through the best years I’ve ever seen,” Forstner said. “And Hormel has been adding jobs.” Hormel — by far Austin’s largest employer, with 2,689 jobs between its Austin plant and corporate offices, not counting the 1,300 jobs at its meatpacking facility, Quality Pork Processors — added 135 jobs in Austin last year alone, and now has about 19,800 total jobs throughout its corporation, a huge jump from the roughly 12,000 in 2000, according to CEO Jeff Ettinger.

Austin Daily Herald

84 Progress 2013

All that translates into more shoppers, Anderson says. But as the economy improves, one thing that may drag it down is consumer confidence. “The media does play a role for some,” Anderson said. “The mindset as people are out thinking about spending, what they constantly hear is the country is struggling. That does play a role.” Nowhere is that more evident than in the housing market.

Better than perceived

“Restaurants really saw a sharp downfall in business, but that seems to be improving.”

Shop like it’s raining Anderson lives in Austin, and buys into the Chamber’s “Buy Mower, Grow Mower” campaign. He said when the weather is bad, he gets more business because Austinites are less likely to travel to Rochester or the Twin Cities in poor conditions. But he thinks residents should look locally first, and not make it an afterthought. “I’m a firm believer in it,” Anderson said of the Chamber’s shop local campaign. “If I can buy anything local, I do to support the economy.” He said a change in mindset, which is improving, will also help the local economy. “It is positive now,” he said. “We’re starting to see some new businesses coming to town, and I love to see it grow. I definitely think we’re starting to see an upside.”

1. Hormel Foods Corp. Austin plant — 1,740 2. Quality Pork Processors — 1,300 3. Mayo Clinic Health System - Albert Lea and

Austin (Austin location) — 985 4. Hormel Foods Corp. corporate offices — 949 5. Austin Public Schools — 627 6. Hy-Vee Food Store — 373 7. Walmart — 350 8. Riverland Community College — 243 9. Austin Packaging Co. — 285 10. Mower County — 243 11. St. Mark’s Lutheran Home — 225 12. REM Woodvale Inc. — 161 13. Sacred Heart Care Center — 150 14. Holiday Inn/Days Inn/Perkins — 148 15. International Paper — 146 16. Gerard School — 145 17. City of Austin — 137 18. The Hormel Institute — 130 19. Cooperative Response Center — 110 20. McFarland Truck Lines — 93 21. Austin Utilities — 89 21. Cedar Valley Services — 89 23. Southland Public Schools — 82 24. Target — 80 25. Shopko — 75

Progress 2013

Steve Davis, owner of Steve’s Pizza in Austin, says the restaurant business is good and sales are going up, but so too is the cost of doing business. “Sales have increased, but expenses have been going up,” he said. Davis cites insurance costs, property taxes — which will increase for many commercial businesses in the county after a property value change begins this year — and the price of cheese as the three biggest hits to his bottom line. “Food prices, especially dairy, have been going up and up,” he said. “We’re actually bringing in more money, but profits are less because of expenses.” Davis said when dairy prices spike, he sometimes pays $1,500 to $2,000 more per month on cheese, and because he doesn’t increase his prices, that comes out of the bottom line. “It fluctuates, and sometimes you just have to eat that increase,” he said. “We haven’t changed our menu prices for over seven years.” But more business is always a good thing, and that’s been the trend in Austin, according to Forstner. “Restaurants really saw a sharp downfall in business, but that seems to be improving,” -Sandy Forstner, Forstner said. “Everyone tightens the belt a litAustin Area tle bit [during a recession], and as you tighten, you look at things you can cut that don’t have Chamber of Commerce a dramatic affect, so you don’t eat out as much.” Forstner said now that restaurants are doing better, it’s a clear indication people are feeling better about their jobs and the economy. “I’ve been fortunate,” Davis said. “Our business has been good.”

Eating the bottom line

Mower’s 25 largest employers Mayo Clinic Health System - Albert Lea and Austin (Austin location) came in at No. 3.

Austin Daily Herald

Home sales hit a four-year high in 2012 for Austin, but some locally are quick to point out that sector of the economy is one of the slowest to recover. One of the main culprits: hesitant buyers. “We’ve been fighting that perception for years,” said Jerry Wolesky, associate broker and manager of the Fawver Agency in Austin. “The national perception is it’s the wrong time to buy, when it’s actually the right time to buy, mainly because of low interest rates.” Wolesky said because the demand is lower, prices remain low. In addition, home loan interest rates in early 2013 were between 3.25 and 3.5 for a 30-year loan, and 2.5 to 3 percent for a 15-year loan, he said. Meanwhile, the number of homes sold in Austin hit a four-year high in 2012, at 362, up from 357 in 2011, 303 in 2010 and 345 in 2009. “Locally, we certainly seem to be doing better than we’ve been doing,” Wolesky said. “Each year seems to be doing a little bit better. The way the economy is now, we think we should improve in 2013 like we did in 2012 and 2011.”

Austin Daily Herald

Progress 2013

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Austin Daily Herald

Austin Area Landlord Association

A fireplace anchors the rehabilitation, dining and living room portion of the St. Mark’s expansion.

St. Mark’s new look The home is on the verge of completing a $13.4M remodel By Jason Schoonover When Chris Schulz started as administrator of St. Mark’s Lutheran Home & Apartments a little more than a year ago, people told him the facility was the Cadillac of Austin nursing homes. Before the home celebrates its 50th anniversary in July, St. Mark’s will finish a big step in maintaining that status. St. Mark’s will complete a $13.4-million remodel this spring to add memory rooms, a new wing of living quarters, new community space,

dining areas, rehab facilities and more. It has been some time since St. Mark has had a remodeling project of this magnitude. “It’s a 50-year-old nursing home,” Schulz said. “Structurally, it’s still solid, but the inside is what I would consider a traditional nursing home that’s 50-years old that needs to be remodeled.” While the facility needed cosmetic updates for things like paint and carpet, Schulz said, the remodel represents a shift to match the changing direction of the industry and the needs of residents.

Austin Daily Herald

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• Scenic, wooded location along the Cedar River • 24 hour safety, temperature & alarm protection • Tender, loving care from an experienced staff • Very clean, spacious, modern facilities • 5,000 square foot doggy playground • Many activities for your K9 kids • Heated & air conditioned • Residence on-site • Pet gift shop “Our large, individual, indoor/ outdoor runs allow your pet unlimited freedom to exercise outside!”

“Our clients — the people who we take care of — their needs and their wants are changing, so we have to change along with that,” he said. More people want to stay in assisted living, rather than traditional nursing home beds to maintain a level of care but still have personal freedom. Schulz said residents want to feel safe and comfortable, but also independent. The assisted living unit is increasing from 15 beds to 25, and each will be a private room with a bathroom and shower. Changes in the industry also show in other shifts. St. Mark’s will still offer 61 skilled nursing home beds, but they’re changing from 12 short-term rehab beds to 16 for people who typically return home. One reason to revamp the rehab wing is to meet enhancements in health and technology. In the past, a procedure like a hip surgery meant a stay of more than four months or even permanent residency at St. Mark’s, but that’s not the case anymore. St. Mark’s administrator Chris Schulz “Hips aren’t putting people in the nursing home for checks out an apartment in the new months and months now,” Schulz said. “They’re in, they get their surgery, they come here; sometimes they’re out addition. of here in 20 days.” After a short rehab stay, most people are able to return home. been excited to watch the progress and are eager to move. The biggest change will be the addition of 21 memory care rooms for residents Along with the change in room styles, the facility will feature a new chapel. It will with dementia and Alzheimer’s, which will take the place of the current assisted livbe slightly larger than the old one, and will boast higher ceilings and a better ating and short-term rehab wings. mosphere with a good sound system. Other facilities offer memory care in Austin, but experts in the industry predict the “Our chapel is beautiful, very high ceilings, lots of windows,” he said. need for memory care to increase with a projected rising number of Alzheimer’s paWhile services are held at the chapel during the week, Schulz said they’re looking tients. to bring back Sunday morning services. There will also be an enclosed courtyard, community rooms, sun rooms and a lot “I still think if you put the numbers that are coming out with the amount of beds of social area for the residents. there are, I just think you’re looking at there needed to be more beds,” Schulz said. Even with the remodel, the number of St. Mark’s employees will stay at about 115. Schulz admitted the move will be a culture change, but he said residents have

BECKER AUTO SALES 80944 County Road 46 Hayward, MN

507-373-3170 www.findcars.com

Austin Daily Herald

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600 2nd Street NW • Austin, MN 433-1817

uture

on the rontier

Technology has bridged the gap between the old ways of farming and the future By Matt Peterson The combine revved louder with a higher pitch as it turned into another swath of corn. Jim O’Connor dropped the head and rumbled forward in his 2006 Case IH combine. A view from the road suggested he only needed to steer between the rows. Simple enough. But harvesting isn’t quite what it was decades ago, when Jim first took the helm in a combine at age 11. Inside the cab, both Jim’s brain and his onboard computer were bombarded with information. He was multitasking, just like countless farmers across the Midwest that day. “A lot of people collect the data, but it’s all what you do with it,” Jim said, as his eyes shifted back and forth from the ground to the computer.

A good day for picking

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Despite an extremely dry year, that October morning was a perfect day for harvesting — teetering on that brink of almost warm just southwest of Blooming Prairie. Leaves and debris flew in the air. Jim’s son in law, Sam Wencl, pulled a wagon just a few feet from the combine. Craig Strand, whose family owns the cropland, shuttled a truckload of corn to the elevator as the hour passed. Inside the combine cab, the computer screen just to the right of the driver’s seat was filled with data about moisture content, continuous yield information, rate of harvest, hopper level, head height, fuel consumption and other statistics. One could tell it was indeed dry, as indicated by the moisture content on the screen. Right there, Jim already knew the corn wouldn’t have to sit for weeks in a dryer bin. Jim stopped at the end of the pass — joystick in one hand — and unloaded his hopper into Wencl’s wagon. The two repositioned, and Jim crept into another pass of corn, scanning — field, screen, field.

Usable data

90 Progress 2013

Just like with a computer or camera, Jim holds all his information on removable memory cards. “It’ll hold all the information for the whole year,” he said. That’s where technology offers significant advantages. Jim can look back and see not only what his

“A lot of people collect the data, but it’s all what you do with it.” -Jim O’Connor, farmer

A GPS sensor sits on top of Jim O'Connor's combine, allowing him to map every inch of his field. yields were in every field, he can see which area of each field did better or worse. Last year, farmers reported crop yield fluctuations all the way from 0 to more than 200 bushels per acre in one field. Jim and

those farmers use that data to apply more or less fertilizer and seeds each spring. Like any tech-savvy youngster would, Jim’s son, Patrick O’Connor, learned the concepts of the new onboard features. That still required hours of familiarization with new equipment, however. “As far as the combine and stuff, it probably took a good five or 10 hours just to figure out how things work with monitors and making sure everything is what it needs to be,” Patrick said. “It can mean a lot of time on the phone with the tech guys from the dealership.” But the features may be improving faster than it takes to figure them out. Yield monitoring is almost becoming old technology for the O’Connors and many other farmers. Jim suspects at least 90 percent of farmers now use GPS technology to map their fields. In 2011 the O’Connors bought a new planter with more features, as well. “In the spring, when we are planting, that is even more complicated yet, as far as all the technology we are using,” Patrick said. “That’s kind of my area of focus.” Patrick said the new planter has features such as variable rate planting. Furthermore, computers can now talk to planters and shut off rows that may be overlapping. By combining GPS coordinates, an auto-steer system and computers that communicate with farm machinery, farmers can achieve subinch accuracy. They apply fertilizers and seeds to within an inch of where they want them. Sure, the auto-steer aspect sounds nice, but that’s not just for convenience. The whole key is efficiency. “I see it all as improving efficiency, where you can maximize profits through reducing costs, whether it be labor, fuel inputs, whatever,” Patrick said. With that type of accuracy, farmers inevitably use less fertilizer, fewer seeds and save time, so they can save on input costs.

A long day of picking With all that technology, GPS mapping for every field and auto-steering, Jim’s day of picking corn may have seemed a little easier. But he’s not using autosteering on his combine. There are risks. The operator still plays a role, indeed.

“All the automated stuff is nice, but somebody has got to dig the rock out. Somebody has got to put the grease on.” -Jim O’Connor comes to a screeching halt,” Jim said while reaching for the door. He knew what had happened. The bells and whistles sounded — the quintessential sound that indicates something clearly is wrong. The combine automatically stopped as a safety measure. Jim climbed down the ladder to investigate. Though he hoped to remove the rock before it passed through the head, it was too late. Still, the combine has its own defenses. The machine detected the object before it ran through all the inner workings and safely stored it in a separate bin. The farmer wins some and loses some. This time was a tie. Jim climbed back into his seat. Everything seemed OK. The engine revved, and the combine lumbered forward again as it toppled the stalks, 10 rows at time.

The future of future farming

Jim O'Connor harvests his field southwest of Blooming Prairie last fall. Like many farmers, O'Connor has invested in technology that improves planting and harvesting.

At the end of a long day, people like Wencl, Strand and the O’Connors have done more than just pass responsibilities to the machines. They have to know their equipment, stay current on ever-changing features and deal with occasional headaches. Still, some wonder if or when that day will come, when machines actually take over operation. Jim doesn’t see that happening, at least not anytime soon. Regardless of how far technology goes, he knows the farmer will always play a role, and will want to. There is no doubt equipment has made aspects of farming better for aging farmers. Yet the high-tech features imply farming could become a young-man’s game. “I think technology as a whole is going to get more complicated as we go down the road,” Patrick said. “And one thing that concerns me about this whole farming career and the industry in general is the lack of young farmers.”

Few people wake up and simply decide they are going to be farmers; they grow up on farms, like Patrick. And Patrick knows the average age of farmers is increasing. More people are moving to urban areas, and fewer youngsters are staying on family farms. To start farming from scratch isn’t feasible, especially as land prices steadily increase. “Young people just absolutely cannot afford to compete,” Patrick said. “I don’t know how that problem can be fixed. I’m 22 years old, and that’s something I deal with every day. How, can I deal with farming personally?” Patrick knows he and his peers won’t go far in farming without significant assistance from their elders. But at the same time, he and those bud-

ding, young agriculturalists have a few chips on their side, as they will invent, decipher and employ the farming practices of decades to come.

Austin Daily Herald

Corn is transferred from combine to wagon as Jim O'Connor harvests his crop. Technology allows farmers a more efficient harvest and helps them reach better yields.

Progress 2013

Jim tried to pry under the stalks previously flattened by strong wind, so he lowered the head, dangerously close to the ground as he crawled through the field. Here, an auto steer system would do no good. With precision, Jim slid the teeth under the stalks and turned them upward just enough. “There’s no monitor to tell you how to water ski,” Jim said. “The same thing with the combine: You just have the feel.” The stalks evenly slipped into the teeth, and the ears disappeared into the combine. It worked quite well. There was no time to look at the monitor now, though. While eyeing the ground closely, Jim discussed the rigors of such a process. “Yesterday we ran a rock in it,” he said, “That was no fun.” Despite all the autonomous machinery, no machine will tell a farmer where the rock is — not yet, anyway. Like Jim says, picking rock is still a job every kid should have at least once. “All the automated stuff is nice, but somebody has got to dig the rock out,” Jim said. “Somebody has got to put the grease on.” Patrick still knows plenty about digging objects out of fields, more than just rocks, too. Some people use cropland to hide their trash. “Someone’s got to pick that stuff up, and usually it’s me,” Patrick said. “It’s no fun. That’s one part of farming that I really hate, especially the tires.” Jim spoke about his irritation with trash in his fields. He feels the same way about the tires, too, perhaps more. Last year, the combine ate one. It took a pickup truck and a chain to remove it. Not more than a few minutes after discussing the ordeal, it was as though Jim had somehow angered the crop gods ... a rock. “Just like that, a $250,000 combine

‘Every tractor has a story‘ Waltham shop grinds, wrenches new life into old machines much of his work on Facebook. Last year, Sackett and his employees completed 27 restorations. Since he Outside of the big, old building, the scene looks like any old machinery repair started, his business has cycled through more than 175 projects. He even took on shop. Tractors, lawnmowers and parts that have seen more weather than work lie car restorations and now runs a shop in Ellendale. The work keeps coming, from waiting for someone to fix them, to do anything with them. Perhaps they are junk. farther away, too. Even inside, the workers are covered in dirt, their hands caked in grease. But “We have customers from all over the U.S.,” Sackett said. “Last year, we hauled those laborers are bringing back to life pieces that tell stories from decades past. two tractors to Florida.” They’re the grimiest artists of any sort, wrenching, grinding, sanding and poundIn January, Sackett crunched numbers and attempted to land a customer in ing for hours at Lee Sackett’s tractor restoration shop in Waltham. They may be Switzerland. Somehow, he’ll make it happen. Even executives at Toro like Sackett’s mechanics, but they’re artists work, so they hired him to re— keepers of time. store several pieces for their “Every tractor has its own 100th anniversary. At any given story, and each customer has time, Sackett has 20 to 30 projan emotional attachment to ects underway, with 20 to 30 their own tractor,” Sackett said. more on deck. “And I think that emotional at“That’s why I keep hiring tachment rubs off on us.” people because the work just By a stroke of luck, Sackett, keeps coming,” he said. 38, has a knack for awakening Yet some of Sackett’s best old rust buckets from the dead. customers are right in his backNow he does it for a living, yard, so to speak. By chance, along with 17 others: his emagain, Sheldon Sayles of rural ployees at Lee J. Sackett Inc. Rose Creek bumped into SackThe run-down pieces keep arett at a tractor show in Owariving, waiting to be revived by tonna in 2008. Sackett and his fleet of artists. Sayles has brought several Were there a slight shift in projects to Sackett and is circumstances, the whole scene happy with the results. Sackett inside the building wouldn’t restored a tractor that beeven be happening. With Sacklonged to Sayles’ father. Then ett’s background, it shouldn’t Sackett helped Sayles find the be. same model of tractor Sayles’ “I continued to look for jobs grandfather used and restored for a few years,” Sackett said, it. Like everybody else, Sayles Lee Sackett of Lee J. Sackett Inc. stands in the display area of his tractor who now lives in Ellendale. was tied up in the emotions of “Eventually I stopped looking it. He wanted the stories back. restoration business in Waltham. The business is the result of a single tractor for jobs and started hiring He needed the illustrations. restoration a number of years ago that he did while searching for a career. people.” “Each one of these projects, Sackett, an an engineer and there’s a story behind it,” Sayles production manager, lost his job in 2002. As a way to fund his job search, he resaid. “It’s not something that’s economically feasible. It’s not something you do to stored a tractor with the intent of selling it at a tractor show. But the first customer resell because you could never resell it for what it cost you to do the project.” didn’t buy Sackett’s work. Instead, he asked Sackett to restore another tractor. As he does with every customer, Sackett took special care of Sayles’ projects. He “So that’s when I felt I’d be able to didn’t keep any secrets or cut corners. Restoring machinery isn’t cut and dry. There restore another one,” Sackett said. are hiccups along the way. Sayles understands that, and he keeps going back to From that point, 11 years ago, Lee hasSackett’s shop. n’t had time to finish his own projects. “We tease him that he’s our best customer,” Sackett said about Sayles. “It’s the old saying: ‘The cobbler’s kid About once a week, Sackett eats lunch with the guys at work. Besides restoraSackett started a tractor is the last to get shoes,’” he said. tions, Sackett offers more. The storefront, which he took over in 2007, orders and restoration business years Sackett hired his first employee in his sells parts, another feature Sayles likes. ago, and it keeps growing second year of work. And the hoards of When little Waltham is quiet, Sacket’s shop is a bustling place. People are calling, and gathering more clients customers kept coming. He quickly wondering if their tractors — their stories — are progressing. Sackett is the editor. around the world. started a website and now displays He’s busy, critiquing, tweaking and making sure all of them are done right. Age: 38 By Matt Peterson

LEE SACKETT

Town: Ellendale Hobbies: Enjoys music, plays percussion and guitar, also plays hockey and likes to ski

Austin Daily Herald

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Austin Daily Herald

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Austin Daily Herald

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Mohammad Saleem Bhat, Ph.D. Assistant Professor

Molecular Cemoprevention and Therapeutics

Young-In Chi, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Structural Biology

Yibin Deng, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor

Cell Death and Cancer Genetics

Bing Li, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Immunoregulation of Autoimmune Disease and Cancer

Dr. Shujun Liu, Ph.D. Associate Professor

Cancer Epigenetics and Experimental Therapeutics

“The Hormel Institute is a team project. By working together, we will bring more job opportunities and economic growth to our local community, help lead our university in realizing the goal of becoming a top research institute worldwide, and more importantly, we will help to realize the dream of a cancer-free world.”

ZIGANG DONG, M.D., DR. P.H. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Cancer Biomarkers and Drug Resistance

Rhoderick E. Brown, Ph.D. Professor

Membrane Biochemistry

Margot P. Cleary, Ph.D. Professor

Nutrition and Metabolism

Edward “Ted” Hinchcliffe, Ph.D. Associate Professor Cellular Dynamics

D. Joshua Liao, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor

Translational Cancer Research

Rebecca Morris, Ph.D. Professor

Stem Cells and Cancer

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McKnight Presidential Professor in Cancer Prevention Hormel-Knowlton Professor Cellular and Molecular Biology

Ann M. Bode, Ph.D.

Professor and Associate Director

Executive Director

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Zigang Dong, M.D., Dr. P.H.