Austin Daily Herald • Progress 2018

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

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HEALTH CARE: New clinic at The Hormel Institute will play a critical role in treating skin cancer.

PACELLI CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: Teacher Jonathan McDonough makes adaptability and responsive teaching his hallmarks.

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OUTDOORS: The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center expanded its educational mission when it opened its new interpretive center.

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THEATER AND EDUCATION: Director Madlain Vander continues to lift Southland High School’s theater productions beyond expectations.

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QUALITY OF LIFE: In 2017, Vision 2020 marked its fifth year of striving to make Austin a better place to live. In its sixth year, the effort will see a major project advance.

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AGRICULTURE: Riverland Community College adds an Agriculture and Food Science Technology Club, opening a new door for high school FFA members.

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FIGHTING CANCER: Paint Blooming Prairie Pink continues to evolve as a fundraiser supporting cancer cure research.

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RETAIL MARKETPLACE: Hy-Vee opened a larger store in Austin in 2017 and it is looking forward to what’s next.

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FAITH: St. Augustine Catholic Church in Austin is undergoing a renovation. This marks the third restoration of the 1896 church.

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INDUSTRY: Hormel Foods Corporation’s Jim Snee discusses his first year as CEO, company growth and long-term goals.

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COMMUNITY SERVICE: Austin’s Masonic Lodge steps up with pancake feeds to support local causes.

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GRAND MEADOW: Super Larks girls athletics is enjoying big results from hard work and dedication.

LYLE PUBLIC SCHOOL: The Lyle school district started the school year with a new leadership team and a growing student population. Then, 2018 began with a semitrailer veering into its school building.

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COLLEGE MEDICAL EDUCATION: Riverland Community College’s medical simulation lab is filling a need in area health care.

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DINING SCENE: Austin gained two Bella Victoria Italian Cuisine and 1910 Fresh Mexican Kitchen in 2017.

ARTS IN THE COMMUNITY: The Austin Area Commission for the Arts continues to expand its offerings.

HAYFIELD: Viking softball star Dani Wagner thriving on the University of Minnesota Gophers team.

LOCAL HISTORY: The Mower County Historical Society is taking steps to solve its space problems.

NEVELN ELEMENTARY: Austin school’s new learning studio opens new paths in education.

AUSTIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Austin research-evaluation-assessment director Corey Haugen’s expertise and reputation keeps the district on the cutting edge of information tech.

COMMUNITY AWARDS: See some of the community honors delivered in 2017.

RURAL BUS LINE: After a Rochester business dropped its route to Le Roy, the small town created its own bus service which is expanding.

AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: Brothers find success coaching Packers boys and girls soccer teams.

RURAL HEALTH CARE: Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin adapting for the future of local health care.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: Mower County’s 4-H program has a new director and expanding opportunities.

NATIONAL NOTORIETY: Four Daughters Vineyards and Winery’s reputation has grown far beyond southeastern Minnesota.

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Skin deep

By Deb Nicklay deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

The scientists at The Hormel Institute University of Minnesota are well-known leaders in the study of skin cancer — and now the Institute will play a critical role in the hands-on treatment of those cancers.

In partnership with the University of Minnesota Department of Dermatology, the University of Minnesota Physicians group and through the support and vision of The Hormel Foundation, The Hormel Institute plans to open a dermatology clinic this year.

The clinic will provide a long-anticipated second-step in realizing the Institute’s vision of not only conducting valuable research, but also translating that research to human care.

The Hormel Institute is and has been engaged in clinical trials with collaborators worldwide, but this is a historic first to conduct its own trials on-site.

“The transition of The Hormel Institute from basic research to translational research including clinical trials furthers its capacity for researchers to directly test their research,” said Gail Dennison, director of development and public relations.

New clinic will play critical role in skin cancer treatment

SKIN CANCER BY THE NUMBERS • Each year more new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed than the combined number of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.

• Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.

• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in th e course of a lifetime.

• Actinic keratosis (AK) is the most common pre-cancer and it affects more than 58 million Americans.

SKINCANCER.ORG

“We are very excited,” said Gary Ray, chair of The Hormel Foundation. “This is a critical path that we’ve entered into at the Institute, to take the basic research and show its validity — to have that capability. In the long term, having the clinic will also provide us with opportunities to commercialize some of the research work, to obtain patents, and bring products to the market.”

The Institute is positioned well for that work and

provides a valuable service at the same time, according to Dr. Zigang Dong, executive director director of The Hormel Institute.

“We are experts in skin cancer research and to have patients on site provides a valuable service to further advance skin cancer prevention research and provide important, improved treatments,” said Dong.

In Minnesota, skin cancer and dermatology treatments are predominantly provided in Minneapolis and Rochester. Skin cancer is a cancer that affects the most people in the United States and over the past 30 years more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined.

“A huge need exists for skin cancer prevention and better treatments,” said Dr. Ann M. Bode, associate director of The Hormel Institute. ‘”This affects many people and we are excited to share what we’ve learned through research and then through clinical trials, accelerate the process to treatments that will either prevent cancer or lead to better, healthier treatments.”

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The new dermatology clinic at The Hormel Institute will play a critical role in the treatment of skin cancer. Rooms such as this were included in the expansion of The Institute with a clinic in mind. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

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The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota Dermatology Clinic is expected to open this year and will be operated within the new, east addition, in patient labs and offices created with this possibility in mind when the Institute expanded in 2016.

The clinic will include a patient waiting room, receptionist room, two clinic rooms for seeing patients, a physician office and storage/support rooms. Some minor remodeling will occur before the clinic opens.

This clinic will mark the sixth such clinic operated by the University of Minnesota.

In the beginning, the clinic will be staffed two days a week leading to five days as the operation develops. The Hormel Institute Dermatology Clinic will include dermatologists from the University of Minnesota campus to first see patients and when it is operating full-time, clinical trials will begin.

“Eventually, even a larger facility could be built, on land owned by The Hormel Foundation, adjacent to the main building,” Ray said. “This clinic will focus solely on clinical trials.”

Providing a clinic in this area meets a need that is highest in Minnesota, according to Dong. Minnesota is one of the top states in the nation in skin cancer occurrence, he added. The reasons are a large Scandinavian population with light skin, a population engaged in agricultural and outdoor activities and a cultural wish for tan skin. The result is a high incidence of skin cancer, because light-skinned people

have little pigment in their skin to ward off a burn from ultraviolet rays – and when DNA in skin cells is damaged, it can lead to cancer.

“The incidence of most cancers is declining,” said Dong. “But skin cancer is on the rise. The incidence of skin cancer alone surpasses breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer combined.”

“Although not usually fatal, a huge morbidity rate exists,” said Bode. “Annual treatment costs average over $8 billion and treatment can sometimes result in disfigurement.”

The Hormel Institute UMN has long been long recognized for skin cancer research. In 2013, a research team at the Institute, led by Dong, discovered that an anticancer agent in milk thistle significantly restricted the growth of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer afflicting millions worldwide.

That work was featured in the May 2013 edition of Cancer Prevention Research, a publication by the American Association for Cancer Research, a leading cancer research journal. The study found that silybin weakened melanoma growth. The new “Ray of Hope” sculpture in front of The Hormel Institute depicts that discovery, donated by major benefactors Gary and Pat Ray as part of the 2016 expansion.

“The Hormel Institute’s skin cancer research is considered some of the best in the world,” said Dennison. “It will be a great achievement to apply discoveries and conduct our own clinical trials. This will be another historic milestone for The Hormel Institute and will help us accelerate answers to cancer in the quest to improve human health.”

The partnership with the University of Minnesota “has been great,” added Bode, and that staff from the Twin Cities are handling budgeting, certifications, and outfitting of the clinic.

Several other cancer research breakthroughs have occurred just in the past year at the Institute. Scientists have been recognized for groundbreaking research in leukemia, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, cancer biology, and prostate cancer, with awards, grants and recognition in several high-impact research publications. Eight innovative breast cancer research studies are underway with grants from Paint the Town Pink funding.

The Hormel Institute Executive Director Dr. Zigang Dong and Associate Director Dr. Ann Bode stand in one of the new examination rooms at the dermatology clinic in the Institute. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com In September 2017, The Hormel Institute co-hosted the eighth China-U.S. Forum on Frontiers of Cancer Research and the fifth Zhengzhou International Cancer Forum in Zhengzhou, Henan, China.

The quest to accelerate answers to prevent and treat cancer was the mission of the international conference that drew hundreds of researchers from around the world.

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Jay C. Hormel Nature Center naturalist and director Luke Reese sits next to the Interpretive Center fireplace, talking about the center’s progress over the last couple years.

Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

A larger interpretation

Nature Center opens new facility 12 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

By Michael Stoll, mike.stoll@austindailyherald.com

The significance of 2017 will be seen for decades at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center in Austin, with the completion and opening of its new interpretive center.

Construction of the new interpretive center began on Earth Day 2016, when staff and community leaders broke ground on the project. The doors opened to the public on Earth Day 2017.

“The building is three to four times bigger than the old interpretive center,” said Nature Center director Luke Reese. “Our new building has helped us with education now that we have more dedicated space.”

That means more places for presentations, “whether it’s the classroom or the (Ruby Rupner) auditorium,” He said.

Educational programs are also less likely to conflicts with rentals.

“It’s more open and there is more space for everything, from storage to teaching to exhibits,” he said.

When it comes to exhibits, Reese said more planning has gone into the exhibits in the new interpretive center.

Exhibits in the old interpretive center developed in an “ad hoc” manner.

As people brought in items, such as animal hides or bones they found,

they would become parts of exhibits, he said.

In the new interpretive center, “the exhibits were developed with a plan. It was well-thought out as to what we wanted to be interpreting.”

Exhibits include a kid’s room, several animal display cases, a prairie exhibit and a life-size, hollowed-out tree that leads to an exhibit about creatures of the night. The exhibits will change over time, Reese said.

RED TAIL HAWKS MOVE IN A pair of red tail hawks — Sha and Wiyaka — joined the Nature Center family in 2017.

“In fall of 2016, we started looking for new education birds,” Reese said.

After more than 35 years, the Nature Center’s resident red tail hawk, “Red” died. Replacing the hawk was put on hold “until we had a new building and a new space.”

The new hawks came from the Indiana Raptor Center.

“When we talked to them, they let us know that they had two red tails that had been housed together,” Reese said. “(They) asked if we would consider taking both.”

The Nature Center sent specifications on what the new hawk space would be like, and the deal was made.

“Everybody was on board with it,” he said of the Indiana Raptor Center, the city Park and Recreation Board and the Friends of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center Board.

Wiyaka and Sha came to the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center after being housed together at the Indiana Raptor Center.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Both had been hit by vehicles. Herald file photo

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 Sha and Wiyaka both have wing injuries, so they would not have been able to survive in the wild, according to Reese.

Sha is a male and is the smaller of the two. Wiyaka, a female, is the boss of their pen, Reese said. Because of this, staff has to monitor them during feeding time to keep track of their food intake and make certain they are each getting the nutrition they need.

Reese also said that Sha had to have surgery on his wing, which threw off their training schedule.

“Hopefully soon we’ll have them trained and on gloves, but I can’t make any promises,” he said.

SEEKING A DESIGNATION

Reese is hoping to get the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center designated as a regional significant park by the Greater

A globe that turns 15 degrees each hour so it rotates completely once a day and a statue of Jay C. Hormel planting trees are features of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center’s new interpretive building’s lobby.

People begin moving into the nature center’s new interpretive center following the ribbon cutting on Earth Day in 2017. Hundreds of people, along with members of the Hormel family, visited the center to take in what the new building had to offer.

Herald file photo

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Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission in the future.

The designation would allow him to apply for grant money every year. In order to get that designation, Reese said a 2018 goal is to get a master plan established that would allow for the Nature Center to apply for the designation.

“As a part of that master plan, we’re starting to look at what kind of projects we might do in the future,” he said. “Some ideas are for nature play areas. We’re thinking of having play areas down the trail with lessons related to the prairie or wetlands, etc.

It’s a place to play in nature and a place to learn. It’s out on the trail, so the idea is to get kids on the trail and tie in lessons that we have in the center. There is a lot of support for that idea.”

Jay C. Hormel Nature Center naturalist and director Luke Reese walks back to the new interpretive center.

Eric Johnson/photodesk@ austindailyherald.com

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Heart of Rebels theater Director lifts rural school’s productions beyond expectations

By Deb Nicklay

deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

Madlain Vander demonstrates a dance during rehearsal for “Shrek the Musical” at Southland High School. The musical will be the seventh production that Vander has directed for the school. She is also the One-Act Play director. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

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There are few venues in which Madlain Vander hasn’t performed — from dancing and singing in Swedish discos, to staging St. Lucia festivals in Montana and Austin.

“I’ve been doing this since I was a kid,” said the Stockholm-born Vander of her life in the performing arts.

“We have a really strong theater program, and a lot of that is due to her work in these programs.”

Scott Hall Southland principal

Madlain Vander chats with Emily Conroy during rehearsal for “Shrek the Musical,” which will be Vander’s seventh musical production for the Southland School District. Students from LeRoy-Ostrander schools and Sacred Heart Catholic School in Adams are also invited to participate. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

“I’ve always taken the initiative” to find a way to perform, direct, and make costumes or props, she said.

Today, Vander is happy and thriving as theater director of musicals and one-act plays for Southland Schools in Adams. The department also invites students from LeRoy-Ostrander schools, and Sacred Heart Catholic School in Adams to participate.

Her brand of enthusiasm and her energy have elevated her productions to a level

not often seen rural schools.

Students are in the midst of rehearsals for “Shrek the Musical.”

“We have a really strong theater program, and a lot of that is due to her work in these programs,” said Principal Scott Hall. “For this size of school, we have outstanding theater productions.”

Southland’s one-act plays have become celebrated after some thought-provoking selections chosen by Vander.

Last year, she chose “The Bells of Charlemont” to perform. This one-act play’s plot is based on a true story from World War II. True to Vander’s passion for context, she spread the word to local veterans to bring their photos and information to the school so she could hang them in the hallways. That way, audience members and students could see them — a reminder that local soldiers, too, have stories to tell.

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Madlain Vander draws on her own abilities to make things work on the Southland stage. She has acted, danced and sung her way through numerous productions, including the staging of St. Lucia festivals, and creating costumes and props for several local theater productions. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 Vander comes by her talents honestly. Her mother, who was born in Germany, operated a state child care center in Stockholm; her father, a carpenter, “made sailboats, and furniture; it was all quirky, very artsy,” she said.

She was a chip, excuse the pun, off the fatherly block.

“In Sweden, you graduate in the ninth grade. By the seventh and eighth grades, I was attending what they called ‘Scenia’ a few days a week, a place where they did improv.”

Soon, she was starting her own show dance group that got so popular – “We became a thing,” she recalled – that the group performed in clubs, discos and other schools.

“It became like a variety show,” she said. “We had professionals making our costumes. It was a hoot.”

Later, she shadowed professionals at an opera house performing in the commedia del’arte tradition.

A foreign exchange program brought her to Michigan and more theater experience.

She eventually moved to Montana, living near Bozeman. She found that after a time in the U.S., she missed the

“In Sweden, you graduate in the ninth grade. By the seventh and eighth grades, I was attending what they called ‘Scenia’ a few days a week, a place where they did improv.”

Madlain Vander Southland theater director St. Lucia Day festivals that were a staple of the Swedish holidays.

Given that it was Vander, it should come as no surprise that she helped to establish the festival in Bozeman, and later, in Austin.

“I started collecting the folk songs and carols and I started making the costumes, worked on the props,” she said. “It was a beautiful production.”

The production, Vander said, celebrates St. Lucia who, according to folk lore, brings light to the dark of winter.

The event is held on Dec. 13, which

was the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, in early calendars.

Vander moved to Austin and was drawn to the Matchbox and Summerset theaters, where both of her children – daughter Jennel, today 19, and son Lukas, 16, have been involved.

Jennel has done television commercials and has appeared as a movie and television extra.

Vander has worked on costumes for many productions – although she admits, “I only know two stitches” on the sewing machine.

“You don’t want to look too close” to the items she has sewn, she said.

But Vander has, she said, the ability to make things look good although they aren’t made exceptionally well.

Randy Forster, who has appeared and directed many Summerset productions, praised her passion for costumes – some of them, “well, you just cannot believe, they are so great,” he said.

A good example was her most recent work on “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Forster said the outfitting of the different personalities, “was just incredible.”

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 “We are so lucky to have her” in the community productions, he added.

Vander said she always seems to have had an innate sense of what will work on stage, and what won’t.

“I guess it’s the same thing that found me making a sandbox for my son; I thought, ‘why don’t we make it in the shape of a boat?’” she recalled with a laugh. “Pretty soon I was the only lady on the block with a 25-foot pirate ship in her yard. I had no power saw, no shop – but I can kind of build, I can kind of paint, like I can kind of make costumes. I make it work. I’m real good at fake.”

She found a job as a paraprofessional at Southland schools some 13 years ago. When the school was without a theater director, someone mentioned to her that she should take the job.

“I noticed that it could be a musical – and there was a budget for it,” she said.

That was seven years ago when Southland staged, “Lady Dither’s Ghost,” a Sherlock Holmes musical.

She laughed at the memory.

“We had so much fun – in fact, we laughed so hard, I didn’t think we’d

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SOUTHLAND PLAYS DIRECTED

BY MADLAIN VANDER ONE-ACT PLAYS 2018 “Juvie” 2017 “Bells of Charlemont” 2016 “Tracks” 2015 “Lockdown” 2014 “The Audition” MUSICALS 2018 “Shrek, The Musical” 2017 “Oliver!”

2016 “The Little Mermaid” 2015 “Beauty and the Beast” 2014 “Grease” 2013 “25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee” 2012 “Lady Dither’s Ghost” Madlain Vander said she had problems attracting male actors to roles early on; today, she is able to attract all genders due to the popularity of her productions – even the male-heavy roles that came with the production of “Oliver!” a year ago, as well as the well-received one-act play, “The Bells of Charlemont.”

Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

pull it out,” she said, grinning.

Casting the early shows wasn’t easy.

The school is small and males were especially hard to entice to audition – a situation that has since alleviated,

somewhat, as the program has become more popular.

The staging of “Grease” was a ground-breaker for the program, she said.

“We were filling the seats every night,” she said.

The community has since taken the theater to its heart. By the time she did “Oliver!” last year, she was more easily able to fill out the male-heavy cast.

The productions, she said, “continue to evolve” and still have challenges. She needs orchestration for her

musicals – “I won’t have someone just playing the piano,” she said – and the talent among the student pool. That pool shifts each year and influences what show she will consider.

She is quick to point out that she has had all sorts of help along the way.

One good example is Tom Flaherty, a seasoned lighting designer “who, of all places, lives in Adams!” she exclaimed. “I know nothing about lighting, and we were always blowing fuses.

Now we have Tom – he is absolutely wonderful.”

She recalled how the students took

to Flaherty, who has a long history in the theater.

“I’ll never forget him coming to rehearsal for ‘Oliver!’ one night, and he started talking to the kids. This was just after Frank Bridges died (who founded Summerset Theatre and was a longtime theater director at Riverland Community College and at Summerset) – and he talked about Frank and how at the age of 7, he (Flaherty) had been chosen by Frank to play Oliver Twist in Frank’s production of ‘Oliver!’ That was so special.”

Vander, 52, sees no reason to stray

from her love of the arts. She keeps circling around back to her love of writing, even playing with the idea of writing her own one-act play.

Or, maybe a full-length play.

“May I should,” she said with a chuckle.

But directing, she said, will always come first. And she loves the gig at Southland.

“I love doing what I do there; I love the community and I love the students and they know me,” she said. “It’s a wonderful group.”

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At 5 years into the future Vision 2020 continues to push forward on quality of life improvements in Austin

By Michael Stoll

mike.stoll@austindailyherald.com

Since its inception, Vision 2020 has been pushing forward with ideas from the community to make Austin a better place to live, and 2017 — its fifth year — saw some significant progress.

“I think for sure the recreational center was our Siems biggest accomplishment,” said Vision 2020 Director Greg Siems in an interview in December, referring to the approval

of plans to build a new community recreation center on the site of the old Austin Utilities plant.

“It’s one that’s been in the works for quite some time and we’re making a lot of great progress. Because it is such a big project, it takes a long time. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of different things that need to happen, but we’ve got a lot of great volunteers that are working on the design.

“We’ve been working with the construction company and the architectural firm trying to get those designs

Demolition has begun on the downtown utilities plant to make room for a Community Rec Center.

Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

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developed and, with the support of all of the great community partners that we have, the funding through the Hormel Foundation, and all of the folks that are on the committees, it’s really great to see that collaboration happening with the YMCA and the city and the schools.”

A public fundraising campaign will begin in March to help fill the gap of the last $5 million for the budget still needed to fund the building of the recreational center, according to Siems.

“It’s going to be a very visible symbol of the progress that we’ve made as a community and the work that

all of the different volunteers and committees have done with Vision 2020,” he said. “It’s going to be a really big hallmark of this whole process and we’re really excited to be moving forward with that.”

Siems said they are hoping to break ground on the center in July.

BIKING The Biking and Walking Committee held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in September to open the newest section of the Shooting Star Trail, stretching 3.219 miles from County Road 52 to County Road 58.

“Biking has definitely been one element that has continued to grow and improve,” Siems said. “When

you pair it with the gateway projects and the rehabilitation of the different bridges over I-90, part of that plan is expanding sidewalks and connecting trails around those areas and getting them integrated into the rest of the trail system and making it easier for people on foot or on bikes to cross those areas.”

Rehabilitation of the 11th Drive Northeast Bridge over I-90 proved integral to the connecting of bicycle and walking trails.

“We knew we had to spruce up that area from an aesthetic point of view with the bridge itself and wanting to present the best face of our community to people who are traveling through, but also make it more functional for the people that live here, Siems said. “Biking and walking was one of the original big ideas, so we’re really happy to see progress there with the bridge.”

MORE PROGRESS Other examples of progress made by Vision 2020 in 2017 include: • Packer Dome completed second successful season; • New pedestrian flashing beacon at 10th Drive and Fifth Place Southeast; • Second season of Red Bike; • Funding for soil health research through Cedar River Watershed District; • Moonlight Movie Nights organized by Community Pride and Spirit; • Community Pride and Spirit distributed Valentine’s Day cards to senior citizens; • Another successful season of Community Home Improvement Program (CHIP) through Habitat for Humanity; • Peer Power Partners still going strong through schools; • Community Concierge program continued to grow; and • Housing tax abatement program encouraged new home construction.

“We started in 2012, so we’re

Austin takes the volunteer spirit and runs — or in this case rides — with it. Volunteers help roll out a new fleet of red bikes. This program has been one of the most successful Vision 2020 programs. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com five years into it,” Siems said.

“At some level, I feel like there has been less for the volunteers to do recently, which is a good thing for the reason that I feel like a lot of this work and these ideas and this spirit of collaboration and progressive thinking and problem-solving is really getting integrated into the regular work of how things get done in Austin.

“You can look at a lot of these different issues and visions that were set up and talked about at the beginning.

Take Biking and Walking. Expanding the trail system and multi-modal transportation is just part of the planning process now for the Public Works Department of the city.

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An estimated 250 people took in “The Goonies” in 2017 night at the bandshell during Movie Under the Stars. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 25

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 “Business and Economic Development – creating a business-friendly environment – that’s something that when you look at the housing tax abatement to spur development or the Grow Austin fund that was recently approved, those are very business-friendly things and they did not necessarily spring out of the volunteers or the committees themselves, but who knows if they would have happened if we had not gone through this process as a community knowing that this is a priority and we want to be more proactive in how we approach these problems.”

In 2018, Vision 2020 will be partnering with University of Minnesota Extension on its program “Making a Home.” It is based on a program developed by extension services in the Dakotas and Nebraska about how to make smaller, rural communities more marketable and help them improve their marketing, according to Siems.

“It’s perfectly aligned with what Vision 2020 has been doing and

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The ribbon was cut last year for the new section of the Shooting Star Trail just north of Rose Creek. Herald file photo

Steve Kime rides his bike on a portion of the newest completed section of the Shooting Star Trail last year. Herald file photo

wants to do,” he said. “The program is set up in order to engage the community with study circles led by different facilitators that work through different materials and talk about different issues and different ways they can improve the community.

Through that process, we’re hoping to get some new ideas and get a sense of the pulse of the community and what other things that we should be working on.”

“The work of improving the community or developing the community never should be done,” he added.

“I think we’re still going strong. We have a lot of great volunteers, and if you look at the broader scope to the entire community, you see all of the great things that are happenning,” Siems stepped down as Vision 2020 director to take on a new position shortly after this interview was conducted. A successor has not been named.

THE COMMUNITY’S FOR TRAINING & EDUCATION

Austin, Albert Lea, Owatonna, Online | riverland.edu National Student Clearinghouse Data, July 2017. Riverland Community College, a member of Minnesota State, is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, www.ncahlc.org. Copyright © 2017 Riverland Community College. All rights reserved.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 27

“These members will be leaders in their community at some point.”

Nick Schiltz Riverland Community College FFA adviser

Fields of opportunity Riverland Community College’s Ag and Food Science Technology Club

By Deb Nicklay

Deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

The establishment of Riverland Community College’s Ag and Food Science Technology Club has opened a field of opportunities to not only collegiate fans of agriculture, but high school FFA members as well.

There are 37 members of the club that includes high school FFAers from Austin High School.

It is not a prerequisite at the high school level; of that club’s 20 or so members, about eight are part of the Riverland group.

It is a rare collaboration. While there are some colleges in the state that offer a collegiate level ag club, it is the only one that offers that kind of collaboration between the two education levels, said adviser Nick Schiltz.

The idea was generated by now-president Kayline Schechinger, but she is quick to say she won’t take all the credit. A fellow student “kind of spontaneously mentioned the idea” of establishing some type of agbased club that took the FFA model past high school.

It took on a life of its own, and soon, it began to come together, she said.

The club officially began to organize in September 2017.

“I think, coming from high school, you have that bond you had in high school (in FFA),” she added. “You want to keep up with leadership skills, and everything you learned in high school, you can use here.”

Hayley Wedin, who serves as club 28 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Riverland Community College FFA adviser Nick Schiltz briefs the members of the FFA on an upcoming project during a meeting at Riverland Community College’s east campus. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com secretary, added that involvement at the collegiate level opens more career opportunities.

“And I think it helps to bring more focus on a career path,” said Codie Wolfe, the club treasurer.

Wolfe is a good example of the collaborative nature of the new club. A high school junior, he is vice president of the Austin High School FFA, and treasurer for the Riverland club.

In addition to being involved in judging teams, the club has an intentional focus of working in the community on projects that benefit

Riverland Ag and Food Science Technology Center Interim Director Dan Hoffman is an adviser for the Riverland FFA.

the agricultural population – its Feed a Farmer during the harvest season is good example of that – but also the community as a whole.

“We work to support the food pantry, collect for Christmas,” said Bailey Schwarz, the club’s vice president. The club worked with the high school FFA to ring bells for the Austin Salvation Army; it was involved in the annual Corn Drive. The group also solicited funds for United Way. “They are always doing a project,” praised Schiltz. “They are busy, involved students.”

The officer group represents a good cross section of interest.

Schechinger, Wolfe and club historian William Okweari are from Austin, and Schwarz is from Vernon Center.

Wedin is from Alden; Alex Hagen, the club reporter, is from Albert Lea. Not all members in the group are geared toward an ag career. Some are headed to nursing careers; others, law enforcement, or business, in addition to agriculture.

“I did the fair since I was little, with 4-H and stuff ” said Schechinger, who always enjoyed the opportunities provided in that organization and

Riverland FFA President Kayline Schechinger leads a late 2017 meeting at Riverland Community College. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com FFA. Schwarz agreed, adding that growing up on a farm is a special environment.

“It just goes to show you that our kids enjoy being involved in ag –

we’re not exclusive,” said Schiltz.

“We all play a role in ag in some fashion; the food we eat, products we make. These members will be leaders in their community at some point.”

Schechinger said the club will also provide support when Riverland hosts its Ag Summit this month.

Schiltz added these kinds of opportunities help Riverland “offer the best in our class food science curriculum to high school and college kids; and, by providing opportunities to learn outside of the classroom with projects, we provide that extra experience we cannot replicate in the classroom.

“We want to make sure the students we have those experiences – and they are among the brightest students we have here, the most involved.”

Schechinger said club formation continues, and the first year is a learning year.

“What we’re doing this year may be done differently next year,” she added.

“We’re working out kinks as we go along,” agreed Wolfe.

One thing is abiding, however: this group is committed to service.

They have been discussing packaging meals for Kids Against Hunger, too.

“We have put a lot of work into this,” said Schwarz. “And we are getting a lot out of it, too.”

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 29

Rally for a cause Blooming Prairie’s ‘pink’ drive continues to evolve

By Eric Johnson

photodesk@austindailyherald.com

O

ne should never underestimate the strength of a small town dedicated to a purpose.

It’s what drives events such as Paint Blooming Prairie Pink each September.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

One of the most noticeable aspects of Paint Blooming Prairie Pink are the rows of flags put up annually along Highway 2018. Photo provided by Deb Harvey

Cheri Krecji speaks at a past auction during Paint Blooming Prairie Pink in Blooming Prairie. Cheri was also the honorary chair for Austin’s 2018 Paint the Town Pink. Photo provided by Deb Harvey

H APRIL 7........ CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY: 32 YEARS OF BUSINESS DEC 24.... OPEN 9AM-5PM H MAY 8.......... WINE TASTING: BENEFITING THE B.P. YOUTH CLUB DEC 25.... CLOSED H JUNE 23....... CRUISE FOR CANCER RIDE DEC 31.... NEW YEARS EVE MUNCHIES 5-8PM H JULY 3.......... STREET DANCE: 21 & OVER ONLY CHAMPAGNE MIDNIGHT H JULY 4.......... OPEN 9AM - CLOSE JAN 1...... CLOSED H JULY 21........ B.O.B. RIDE: TOYS FOR TOTS H NOV 1.......... HOLIDAY DAZZLE: WINE & BEER TASTING, BENEFITS THE B.P. CHAMBER H DEC 7........... HOLIDAY DAZZLE DOWNTOWN FESTIVITIES: 5-7 P.M. FULL EVENT DETAILS H DEC 15......... HARVEY’S HOLIDAY CHEER AVAILABLE AT J&H LIQUORS

DAY HOLIURS HO

30 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Donated items go up for bid annually at Blooming Prairie’s Cancer Auction, which lasts two nights. The live auction caps off Paint Blooming Prairie Pink. Photo provided by Deb Harvey

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 31

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30 It’s an event that has evolved into a 10-day drive that raises funds in the ongoing quest to find a cure for cancer, culminating in a massive auction that takes over the street outside the Cue Company.

“People rally around whatever kind of situation there is,” said Cheri Krejci, secretary/treasurer for the Blooming Prairie Cancer Group and cancer survivor herself. It’s that small-town drive that really contributes to success of efforts like this.

The event got its simple start 18 years ago when Eunice Coughlin, a woman who would have her own fight with cancer, simply couldn’t believe nothing had been done.

“It was actually started by (Eunice) as she was watching the (Eagles Cancer) telethon and couldn’t believe nobody from Blooming Prairie was donating any money,” Krejci said. “It’s funny because that first year she did a silent auction and dance and a bake sale and she raised $1,700.”

All of this was before the event had an organized format behind the name Paint Blooming Prairie Pink. The first official year of the event was 2012 where they raised $45,000 which gets split up in three different areas: a community fund that goes toward helping those in treatment for cancer, The Hormel Institute and the Eagles Cancer Telethon.

Just five years later, in 2017, the effort raised $64,000, representing a massive jump.

“This year, we kind of blew that right out of the water,” Krejci said, though it doesn’t really surprise her. “Not really.

The whole community has just really gotten behind us. I think it’s more … there’s more awareness now. People

32 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Underneath each pink flag are smaller flags dedicated to those fighting cancer.

Photos provided by Deb Harvey

didn’t realize, ‘the cancer group does what?’”

As in most communities, the money raised goes straight to cancer research.

But Blooming Prairie has taken steps to ensure that efforts are made to help those within the community and surrounding area, who are actively battling cancer through treatment.

That includes a variety of things, including gas cards, parking passes and a service that helps people get to and from their treatments.

“Through our community fund we started something called Cancer Cab that gives rides to people in our area by a volunteer that are going to treatment,” Krejci said. “We had one gentleman that was driving to Rochester, I think, 26 times for radiation by volunteers so when people hear that they are like, ‘Wow, that is really cool.’

Or some people will say, ‘Wow, I didn’t even know there as a cancer group.’”

It’s that awareness, Krejci believes, that brings people out to help with the continued push to make this event bigger each and every year.

Perhaps one of the most visibly noticeable things about the 10-day affair are the rows of flags standing alongside Highway 218, easily seen by people in town and those passing through.

The idea to place the flags mirrors the rise of the event itself. When the idea was conceived it required the group to rent 75 flag poles from the Zumbrota Legion, but soon the group doubled the amount of flags from within Blooming Prairie.

“Those flags were gone in two days,” Krejci said. “It took no time. People were so overwhelmed by it.”

That next year Dennis Heimerman, who owns Metal Services, was brought in and asked if he would be willing to help make poles.

“He made us 200 poles,” Krejci said.

“We went from 75 to 200, then they were gone so we raised it to 250 and we’ve done 250 for several years.”

The concept is people can purchase the flags for $10 each and then, similar to the luminaries sold at Relay for Life, smaller pink flags are placed under them with the names of those who have battled cancer.

“We sell them in memory of people,” Krejci said. “We sell them in honor.”

“I think there is so much more than people have realized, the impact that cancer has on a familiy for a friend or somebody like that.”

Cheri Krejci Like so many events like Paint Blooming Prairie Pink, there is much more to say about how the community comes together in support of one another, but in the end, perhaps the growth is better summed up by that one word: community.

“Everybody in our group has had a reason they are part of the cancer group, whether it’s a family member, a friend, a parent, a spouse, themselves,” Krejci said. “Cancer has had

an impact on everybody.”

“I think that’s part of the whole community thing, too,” she added. “People are way more aware of how it affects people, because you really don’t know how it affects you until it happens to either your family or yourself.

“I think there is so much more than people have realized, the impact that cancer has on a family for a friend or somebody like that.”

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 33

‘A helpful smile in every aisle’

By Michael Stoll

mike.stoll@austindalyherald.com

Coming up on a year, the new expanded Hy-Vee continues to impress Renee Bush straightens up shelves at the new Hy-Vee store.

Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com 34 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

F

ew openings in 2017 had as great an impact, or as tremendous a response, as the opening of the new Austin Hy-Vee grocery store.

Located on 18th Avenue Northwest, in the same shopping complex as the old Hy-Vee location, the new Hy-Vee opened its doors on May 9.

Dan Goshorn, general manager of the new Hy-Vee, said the planning had been several years in the making.

“We didn’t know if we were going to build or remodel the old one,” he said. “We got really close to remodeling, and then we got the word that we were going to build here from our corporate office.”

While the old location was 56,000 square feet, the new location is 81,880 square feet and features several new additions, including a food court that offers Chinese, Japanese, Mexican options along with a salad bar and a New York-style deli. The location also features the Market Grille Restaurant and expanded produce and health market sections.

“When we build new stores, not only do we have a lot of the things that were successful at the old store, but we also try new things and add new departments or new fixtures,” Goshorn said. “Not only will that hopefully help us out here, but it will be a proving ground for the company to see if they want to move forward with those things.”

Goshorn said the new Hy-Vee is similar to stores the company recently built in the Twin Cities. As to why they chose to build a new location in Austin, the answer is simple: It was time.

Leo Lindstrom works at checkout at the new Austin Hy-Vee. “It was a 31 year-old store down at the other location and it was less efficient,” Goshorn said. “This store is much more energy efficient. We put in a lot of different things with our lighting, our refrigeration, our enclosed casings versus open casings, and we try to be more energy efficient when it comes to that stuff.”

“Change is hard, but change is good often times,”

he added.

The new location uses the same amount of energy as the old location, according to Goshorn.

But the greatest impact to Austin with the opening of the new Hy-Vee, was in the economy.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 35

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

While the old location employed 250 people, the new location currently employs 526.

“Anytime you more than double your workforce, that’s always a little bit of a challenge,” Goshorn said. “It’s an exciting time, but it also gives some specific challenges. We are super fortunate to be able to go through a process like this with half the store already being Hy-Vee employees who know what ‘a helpful smile in every aisle’ means and understands that.

“Our training process is pretty extensive. It’s a lot more than filling out paperwork and wishing them good luck. We spend time with them and job shadow.

“We had a lot of help from our corporate office and a lot of our corporate supervisors, especially in the initial stages of opening the store.

“We had a lot of great help from Hy-Vees in the surrounding communities that come and help out for the first month or two until we can get our feet on the ground and get a lot of that training done. I don’t think there is anything that takes the place of spending quality time with people and showing them how to do their job as opposed to reading it in the manual.”

Austin embraced the new Hy-Vee store, with one patron going so far as to kiss the floor immediately upon entering the building on opening day.

“The response from the community has been awesome,” Goshorn said. “I couldn’t be happier with

36 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Matt Grav, Hy-Vee charcuterie manager, wraps up ham while working at the new Hy-Vee. how well we’ve been received and the new things we have to offer. I think it keeps people in town. I’ve had several customers say, ‘Hey, now I don’t have to go to Rochester to get that. Now I can stay here in town.’”

As the new Hy-Vee approaches one full year in business, Goshorn believes the store will continue to improve and grow.

“We look forward to a great year,” he said. “Last year was a super exciting year with the transition.

In 2018, we’re going to continue to grow and contin-

ue to understand our jobs a little bit better and continue to provide the community of Austin and the surrounding communities with the best shopping experience that we can.

“Whether it’s the old store or the new store, it’s ‘a helpful smile in every aisle.’ We may have a newer facility, but it’s still selling groceries and it’s still taking care of our good customers that come in here each and every day. What we do hasn’t changed.”

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 37

Sacred Space

St. Augustine: Combining the spiritual with the beautiful Above, pictures depicting the Stations of the Cross line the sanctuary of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Austin. The stations will get work like many of the elements inside the church. Below, Father Jim Steffes looks up at the ceiling above the sanctuary as he talks about the planned renovations.

Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

38 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

“Unfortunately, too much of our technological world distracts us from the reality of really true, good and beautiful. We become satisfied with something less. We become numb to reality. We no longer appreciate the beauty of creation when we are preoccupied with the façade of a screen.

“This is why it is important for our sacred structures to hold these properties liturgically, spiritually, artistically and architecturally … when we enter a church we should immediately be drawn into the Other.”

Father James Steffes, in a letter to the St. Augustine congregation

By Deb Nicklay

deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

It is a breathtaking walk, when you first enter the sanctuary of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Austin.

Vaulted ceilings draw the eye; the brilliance of its windows rains down on shafts of jeweled light.

“They’re marvelous,” says Father Jim Steffes, as he stands in the aisle, facing the large expanses of stained glass.

Steffes, you soon learn, is an ardent fan of church architecture, especially here at St. Augustine. He can speak at length about how the structure’s style relates directly to a love of Christ; and how that love melds with the beauty of the sacred space to heighten worship.

When it was clear the sanctuary of the 1896 church needed restorative work to its walls, millwork, windows and floors, it also was clear parishioners wanted the work to be done thoughtfully and in the right way.

Today, there is a palpable excitement in seeing the Gothic Revival church enter a new phase. With an estimated cost of $1.2 million, the congregation by December had already raised over $800,000 to freshen its sanctuary.

“And that is without any fundraising, any great pushes, any soliciting,” Steffes said.

Planning for the work began some months ago when it was decided that if the windows, sanctuary walls and plaster needed repair and new paint, it was also time to take an intentional look at the entire sanctuary and its needs.

As a result, flooring will also be replaced; its sacramental structures -- such as the altar, side altar and baptismal font -- as well as wainscoting and other millwork, will also be restored. Plans are to replace the pews.

It marks the third restoration of the church, said project manager and church member, Carter Wagner.

It is as much a project of the heart as it is of reclaiming its history.

“I have been a parishioner all of my life, and my dad was one of 19 children who all were part” of the St. Augustine church life. To be a part of the restoration also celebrates his heritage, he said.

Although president of the Joseph Company, a local construction firm, Wagner will only serve as a volunteer in overseeing the project. The company may be

Work has begun on renovating the inside of St. Augustine Catholic Church, starting with renovation of the stained glass windows.

called upon for “bits and pieces” if needed, but that is all, he said.

The work will be done by eight contractors in 2018, he said, from throughout the Midwest, he said.

Wagner said it was fortunate the parish has two churches: St. Edward’s will serve as the worship center during the restoration. Plans are to remove the pews and install the scaffolding needed for the work just after Easter.

“It will be exciting; the scaffolding will be as high as 40 feet,” he said.

The church was built in 1896, although the windows predate the building by six years. The windows, which were created in Buffalo, New York, were created in the Munich style, inset with opaque glass that diffuses light, Steffes said. A Winona-based firm, Cathedral Crafts, is doing the restoration of the windows and some of that work began last year.

Guidance for restoring original painting and stenciling comes through oral history, early photos and historical knowledge of the era in which the church was built.

The painting of the sanctuary — by far, the most expensive part of the project at almost $500,000 — will include a new vision in color scheme that is more in line with its Gothic design. The side walls will be painted off-white and the ribbing and arches will be highlighted with gold stenciling, Steffes said.

The most dramatic change will be in the ceiling, which will be painted a rich shade of blue and accented with gold stars.

Steffes said the changes reflect characteristics of the era, which include the soaring height of archways, ribbing and ceiling, “to raise your eyes, your heart, your soul, to heaven.”

Some of the painting will require educated guesses as to what the interior of the church might have looked like in its earliest years.

“Early photos are in black and white, so a lot of things are hard to tell,” said Steffes.

So, he said, the alternative is to follow design history –—what would be appropriate for the era.

There is hope that some paintings, now hidden, might be restored. The eight circular insets at the top of arches — today painted with Jerusalem crosses — originally were painted with scenes of the life of Christ.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 40 Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 39

Father Jim Steffes watches as renovated stained glass windows are put back into their housings.

40 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

“When we are up on the scaffolding, we’ll be able to find out if they are covered by plaster or by removable canvas,” Steffes said. “If we can restore them, we will. We understand, from some of our older members, that the paintings were in pretty tough shape.”

Still, he said, the Jerusalem crosses will be removed regardless, noting their more modern depiction would not have been in line with the era.

“I expect we will discover more than a few historical surprises” during the project, Wagner said.

Painting is expected to take four months, said Wagner, and is scheduled to begin on May 7.

Riehle Decorating of Father Jim Steffes Cresco, Iowa, will do the work. While the inhouse staff at Riehle will do some of the painting, the finer depictions will be done by artists contracted by the company. Also included will be a freshening of the Stations of the Cross.

“My philosophy is if we cannot do it in-house, we won’t do it; as money comes in, we’ll do it accordingly.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

Everything about the inside of St. Augustine speaks to the classical designs of gothic architecture.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 41

St. Augustine Catholic Church will soon look much different when renovations are complete.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41

A darker staining of the main and side altars, wainscoting, kneelers, and baptismal font will be applied. Again, the darker staining would be era-appropriate, Steffes said.

Some of the work will be done as finances allow.

“My philosophy is if we cannot do it in-house, we won’t do it; as money comes in, we’ll do it accordingly,” Steffes said.

From the response to date, there should be no worry. Wagner said he was confident the needs will be met.

Trustee Beth Schwab said she is excited to be part of a project that assures a beautiful church for her 42 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

family “for many years to come.”

Wagner said the result will be “very dramatic; very beautiful.”

“The cost and sacrifices are significant,” he said.

“But that really pales in comparison to what it took to build this truly beautiful church. Our goal is to enhance our spiritual worship and I believe this project will do that.

“It is already the most beautiful church in the Diocese of Winona,” he added. “I truly believe we are going to make it better.”

Sun shines through the stained glass windows of St. Augustine Catholic Church.

Jason Petersen of Cathedral Craft works on preparing a space for a renovated stained glass window.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 43

44 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 45

10 Minutes With

Jim Snee

By Deb Nicklay

deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

Hormel CEO discusses his first year, company growth and long-term goals

46 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

H

ormel Foods Corp. CEO Jim Snee recently completed his first full year as the head of what he proudly calls, “one of the best food companies in the world.”

Snee, who took the reins as CEO in late 2016, leads more than 20,000 employees worldwide.

The following are some of his thoughts about the company’s performance in 2017, and its vision for the future, given during a short press conference before Jan. 30’s annual meeting for shareholders.

FIRST YEAR AS CEO “It was a challenging year, but a year where we got a lot of great things done.

We are a results-oriented company … we don’t celebrate when we have a down year (in sales), like we did this year; (but) we are celebrating the fact this is the second best year (in profits) — by far — in the company’s 126-year history.

“We’ve made three strategic acquisitions (Cidade do Sol/Ceratti, Fontanini Italian Meats and Sausages, and Columbus Craft Meats), we made some great strategic investments. We feel really positive about the business, we’ve made some changes organizationally that will contribute to the success; and frankly, we just have a great team, we have great people, we live in a great community.

So, it’s really been a lot of fun.

On to 2018.”

THOUGHTS ON GROWTH “We want people to know how well-positioned we are for growth … the progress that we made in 2017 that is going to contribute to future success, is significant.

Our food journey, and it is a journey, is all about progress — growing our business with strategic acquisitions, making sure we make the right capital investments for Hormel Foods Corps. CEO Jim Snee opens the value-added growth for our 2018 shareholders meeting in January in Knowlton organic business, supporting Auditorium at Austin High School. our innovation efforts, and Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com supporting efforts around how the consumer is changing. So, we’ve put a lot of time and effort around our digital efforts … because we know that today’s consumer is a much different consumer than yesterday’s consumer (as to) when they shop, where they shop and how they shop; we need to make sure we’re aligned to them.”

LONG-TERM GOALS “Five percent top line (sales) growth … 10 percent on the bottom line growth; innovation is a key driver, so 15 percent from items created over 5 years until 2020 — those all are significant goals, but also very specific, achievable goals for the organization. Those are our long-term growth goals.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48 Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 47

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 If you look at our history, we’re certain we’ll be able to achieve them.

“Obviously, the economy has been strong so our consumers are strong and that’s good for our business, both in retail and food service. That 5 percent (long-term top-line) number is an all-in number (that reflects) our organic growth, but also from our acquisitions. And although it’s an aggressive number, we look at it on an all-in basis of being very achievable.”

PORTFOLIO “How we change (is based) on how we interact with customers. Our Columbus acquisition is a perfect example of that; we want to accelerate our presence in the food service industry, so we made an acquisition of Fontanini (Italian Meats and Sausages). That‘s the consumer shift, in how they eat — home, away from home … they are going to deli’s, the grab and go, and prepared food areas.

“We want to become a more global food company, and our acquisition in Brazil supports that initiative.

“In just six years, (we’ve acquired) Skippy Peanut Butter, Justin’s, Wholly Guacamole … so we’ve seen the profolio evolve to where the consumer is. Meat protein is important; and non-meat protein is also important, also important is a great line of Mexican products, as our consumers become more multi-

48 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

“We want to become a more global food company, and our acquisition in Brazil supports that initiative.”

Jim Snee

cultural. So, understanding where the consumer is going — being able to align with them, that’s been a huge part of our success. We need to continue to evolve into that broader food company; pork and turkey will always be at our core but we’re always on the lookout for whether its non-meat protein, season-

ings, whatever … we’re looking for those as well. “(And) if we have a product that’s not such a strategic fit today, we might be more aggressive in divesting that.”

THOUGHTS ON AUSTIN “Our success is tied to Austin … as our company grows, it provides economic stability to southern Minnesota, especially to the people of Austin; we’re able to add jobs, help grow the economy … we’re inextricably linked. As Hormel goes, so goes Austin. We understand that role; we undestand that responsibility in the community … we’re always very involved in fundraising, Vision 2020 — any of the things that are happening to make this community a better place, you’ll find Hormel front-and-center in those efforts.

“We’ve been so fortunate to give back to our employees (through profit-sharing) and frankly fewer and fewer companies are giving back to their employees .. it is something we’ll definitely continue.

“This is a company steeped in such rich history; we don’t take that lightly. We love our presence in the community; we love our employees …we are laying the groundwork for growth and continued success.

The path forward is a journey — and it will be an exciting ride.”

HIS FAVORITE FLAVOR OF SPAM “Low sodium — and I eat it on a regular basis.”

Hormel Foods Corp. CEO Jim Snee runs down the schedule for the 2018 shareholders meeting in January. Despite a couple bumps in the road in 2017, Hormel is still going strong as it pushes to the future. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

McGough proudly collaborates with numerous community organizations that reflect the diverse composition of our marketplace. We put our skills and resources to work where they are needed most ... in our communities! Keep an eye open for progress on the City of Austin Recreational Center project!

Buidling for the Next Generation www.mcgough.com Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 49

Gary Brolsma serves up pancakes during an Austin Masonic Lodge pancake feed. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Flippin’ for Funds Pancakes and Masons are becoming synonymous in Austin 50 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

By Deb Nicklay

deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

If you had some pretty tasty pancakes over the past year, chances are you have the members of Austin’s Masonic Lodge to thank for it.

The breakfasts are more than just offering up some good food; their causes are just as sweet. With the Masons’ help, pancake breakfasts are becoming the fundraiser of choice among a number of organizations in the community.

It is a win-win for the members of the Fidelity Lodge No. 39, as well as for those groups for whom the breakfasts are held, from youth hockey to the Mower County 4-H Archery Club. The most recent was held for Austin High School band programs.

Here is how it works: the Masons

put on a pancake breakfast — pancakes, bacon and sausage, juice, milk and coffee — and use volunteers from whichever organization they are helping to help set and bus tables, and other chores. Tickets are $5 for adults.

“We have a good time — ­ and good fellowship,” said Neil Hanson.

“It started when we were looking for a fundraiser of our own,” said Max Pecht II. They needed money for some improvements at the lodge. The Masons hit on the idea of providing their expertise at pancake breakfasts, held on the first Saturday of the month, and then giving the group a cut of the profits.

“Then we sent out some feelers to see if there were organizations in need,” Hanson said.

Since then, there have been plenty

of fundraisers. In 2017, the AHS clay shooting team, girls’ basketball boosters, SkillsUSA, youth hockey, girls’ soccer, Pacelli High School field trips, Gerard School and the Dutch Town Jumpers (part of Paint the Town Pink fundraising) all took part, and enjoyed the fruits, from the Masons’ breakfasts.

Hanson said the Masons get a kick out of helping young people, “and they’re really good help during the breakfasts,” he said.

“And they seem really grateful for the fundraiser,” Hanson added. “Many times they ask, ‘Can we do another one?’ Lots of our school groups just don’t get the funding they once did.”

Austin High School Director of Bands Christoph Dundas said he is extremely grateful.

“The breakfast we did was a huge boost for the band program this year,” he said. “It is a big trip year for us, and all of the funds that the band raised at the Mason breakfast will go directly toward individual students who worked at the event and sold tickets for it.

“With any trip, there are huge costs, and many students need to fundraise large portions of it. Through the breakfast, individual students were able to raise anywhere from $5 to $105 depending on the student, which can make a big dent in offsetting some trip costs.”

After a breakfast for the Austin High School girls’ soccer team last June, the team received $736, which was them matched by Minnesota Masonic Charities, bringing the total to $1,472. While not all fundraisers bring in a similar amount — lots depends on things

People line up for their pancakes during a pancake feed put on by the Austin Masonic Lodge. like weather and turn-out, of course — organizations always seem happy with the result.

The Minnesota Masonic Charities make many even happier. A partner to Minnesota Masons, the MMC provides matching grants to lodges and the Order of the Eastern Star — a subgroup of the Masons — for eligible projects and programs in their communities, giving the lodges the ability to support and connect with the communities in which they live.

The group annually grants an average of $600,000 to worthy organizations.

Pecht said a side benefit of the breakfasts is that it raises awareness about what the Masons do, which also includes many charitable works. The awarding of scholarships (a $2,000 scholarship that includes an MMC match), and a commitment to Wounded Warriors are just a few others.

“We want people to know who we are,” he said.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 51

52 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

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Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 53

For the love of sport Grand Meadow girls athletics seeing big results from hard work and dedication

Grand Meadow’s Kaitlyn Hilton hits in game two against Hayfield in the Section 1A West semifinals this past fall at Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center. Herald file photo 54 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Riley Queensland, from left, Isabelle Olson and Jordyn Glynn are just three of the athletes at Grand Meadow who are part of a resurgence of girls athletics at the school. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

By Rocky Hulne

G

sports@austindailyherald.com

rand Meadow is currently in the midst in a girls sports boom and it’s been a product of hard work, camaraderie and love of competition. Two years ago, Grand Meadow sent its first girl athlete to the Minnesota Class A State Track and Field Meet since 2007 and the Superlarks girls and basketball teams are making a habit of playing postseason contests in Mayo Civic Center after years of playoff struggles.

The current group of GM girls athletes includes a lot of three-sport athletes and a lot of them have been

“When we were little we competed against Cities teams (in the summer) and we realized we could be good.”

Jordyn Glynn playing together for years. Jordyn Glynn, a junior, and sophomores Riley Queensland and Isabelle Olson all start on the volleyball and basketball teams and they have all competed in the state track and

field meet.

“We’ve played together since we were little and now we’re playing together in high school years and that’s key,” Glynn said. “When we were little we competed against Cities teams (in the summer) and we realized we could be good.”

Glynn grew up around basketball as her mom Lisa was an assistant coach on the GM team that features former Saint Cloud State University standout Jessica Benson, who graduated from GM in 2009.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 56

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 55

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 55

Glynn, Olson and Queensland and their current teammates used to play youth games at halftime in front of Benson and her group and they’re hoping to find the success that those teams had.

“Looking up to them was fun,” Queensland said. “We played at halftime of their games and we watched them and they watched us.”

While GM has made some big strides on the court, they’ve also found some tough competition. In volleyball, the Superlarks have had to face off against perennial powers Hayfield and Faribault Bethlehem Academy in section play and basketball has seen GM face off against state contenders like Goodhue, Lyle-Pacelli and Hayfield in section play.

GM head girls basketball coach Ryan Queensland said that this current group of athletes won big at the youth level, and they’re learning to do the same at the high school level.

“Just because you win when you’re younger doesn’t mean you’re going to win when you get older and they’ve had some teams catch up to them,” Ryan said. “It’s tough for them sometimes because natural ability will only take you so far. They found they have to put in the extra effort in the weight room or summer ball to get better. They’ve taken it on as a passion.”

GM has seen its fair share of winning on the football field as the Superlarks went to the state nine man football title game five years in a row, winning four titles.

Isabelle had two older brothers play for those teams in Blake and Brenn Olson and she said she learned a lot from watching them compete at such a high level.

“I looked up to (Blake and Brenn) a lot,” Isabelle said. “They put a lot of work into it in the mornings and they lifted. Now I’ve got to work as hard as they did.”

Glynn said she’d like to match the football team’s success by making it to a state tournament in either basketball or volleyball.

“We want to eventually make it up there and play on the big stage and have our Grand Meadow community come support us [like the football team],” Glynn said.

While the Superlarks are looking to win Isabelle Olson in sports, they’re also making the most of their time as high school athletes. Olson, Queensland and Glynn were all quick to thank their teammates, fans and coaches and all three are involved in student council as they look to make the most of their time. Isabelle said she’s taken a lot of joy in being an athlete, on and off the court.

“We have a lot of fun times on the bus rides and in the locker room. There’s a lot of team bonding,” Isabelle said. “I think it teaches life lessons to work hard with school and being in three sports and then you have to go home and do homework. You learn responsibility and hard work.”

The current group of GM girls athletes is very unselfish and they’re happy to share the credit after a big win or a solid season. GM athletic director and head football coach Gary Sloan said that it’s been a joy to watch this current group over the past few years.

“I think the progress that our girls sports have shown in the past years has a great deal to leadership and mental toughness,” Sloan said. “I think these girls have all come up together and they are a close knit group. They do not rely on one or two people to carry the load when times get tough. I really like how the girls play together and are not a group of individuals on the courts. Both [GM head volleyball coach] Tori [Burmester] and Ryan, along with their coaching staffs, deserve a great deal of credit for their improvement as well.”

“I think it teaches life lessons to work hard with school and being in three sports and then you have to go home and do homework. You learn responsibility and hard work.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 58 56 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Grand Meadow’s Isabelle Olson tries to work out of a trap against Lyle-Pacelli during the Section 1A West semifinals at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester in 2017. Herald file photo

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 57

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 56

Playing in different sports has helped the GM girls become versatile athletes and it has helped them become more balanced. Glynn is considering playing volleyball in college and Riley is considering playing volleyball or basketball in college.

While basketball and volleyball have helped the group with teamwork and athleticism, track and field has helped the group learn to focus on their own and take responsibility for their own event. It has also helped them learn to make new friends as GM competes with LeRoy-Ostrander, Kingsland and Southland in the spring.

“In track you have to have a different mental toughness,” Glynn said.

“You’re friends [with the LO, Kingsland and Southland girls], but you want to beat them still. You see how hard they work and what they can do to help you improve your skills.”

Ryan is glad that GM doesn’t stress specializing in one sport and he thinks this group has benefited from playing

“I’m very proud of all of these girls. They’ve set a great example for the younger kids and we’re proud of each and every one of them.”

Ryan Queensland Girls basketball coach

various sports.

“I think it’s healthy for them to get coached by other people and to learn different sports. I’m very proud of all of these girls,” he said. “They’ve set a great example for the younger kids and we’re proud of each and every one of them. They’ve kept themselves together and hungry since they were young athletes.”

Grand Meadow’s Allie Lubahn sets during game three against Hayfield in the Section 1A West semifinals last fall at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Herald file photo

58 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

The Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/ Kingsland/Southland’s Riley Queensland nears the exchange with teammate Lauren Buchholtz in the 4 x 200-meter relay finals at the Minnesota Class A State Track and Field Meet last spring at Hamline University in St. Paul. Herald file photo Follow the Austin Daily Herald sports coverage on Twitter and get updates, photos and more!

@RockyHulneADH @EricJohnsonADH

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 59

Enrique Camarena calls out an order that’s ready at the 1910 Fresh Kitchen in Austin. Below, Camarena with 1910 owner Israel Gonzales. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Restaurants offer new Austin flavors

By Michael Stoll

mike.stoll@austindailyherald.com

The Austin restaurant scene welcomed two new establishments to the fold in 2017: 1910 Fresh Mexican Kitchen and Belle Victoria Italian Cuisine. Since opening their doors, both restaurants have been embraced by the community in a big way.

1910 FRESH MEXICAN KITCHEN Some people may remember the old 1910 Fresh Mexican Kitchen that closed several years ago. While that location catered more to nightlife, the new 1910 Fresh Mexican Kitchen is a family-friendly establishment offering a taste of authentic dishes hailing from Guadalajara and the Baja Peninsula.

1910 Fresh Mexican Kitchen opened its doors on July 10 and has since developed a loyal following, one that owner Israel Gonzales was not expecting.

“It was a big surprise; we had really good results,” he said. “People were commenting, ‘We’re glad you’re back.’ Now, we’ve got new people who have never seen 1910 at the other location. This is, I think, a little more of what Austin was looking for.”

60 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Part of The 1910’s allure for diners are the sizes of the portions you receive, highlighting the authentic and fresh flavors of the meals.

Gonzales said lunchtime proves to be the busiest during the week, with hungry customers getting to savor such favorites as their fish taco, shrimp ceviche, and marinated pork quesadillas. They can then wash it all down with one of several house-made margaritas, sangria or a raspado, a shaved ice treat made with fresh fruit.

“The fish tacos are our best sellers, as are the steak and chicken tacos,” Gonzales said.

Several months after opening, burritos, burrito bowls and nachos were added to the menu.

“When we included the burritos they got really popular,” Gonzales said. “We sell probably half tacos and half burritos. We sell ceviche and salads, but they’re not as popular as tacos and burritos.”

Gonzales said the menu will continue to grow and change in 2018.

“We’re looking to focus more on our raspados, adding more variety of flavors, adding more fruits,” he said. “We’re thinking of using seasonal fruits like guava or papaya or watermelon, whatever’s available. We’re looking to do a line of natural water, like lemonade, with flavors like cucumber and hibiscus.

A line of beverages with everything house-made.

Israel Gonzales We’re hoping that by the end of January we’ll have chimichangas. With that, we want dipping sauces like mole (pronounced mo-lay) and enchilada sauce.

There’s a couple more we’re still playing with, but those for sure.”

Gonzales is also looking to spread awareness of 1910 Fresh Mexican Kitchen by acquiring a food truck or trailer to travel to events.

“We’re on the right path,” he said. “Last year, wasn’t just profitable money-wise, but knowledge-wise in the sense of getting to know people’s reactions.

It’s been a process for 1910 and we’re adapting to find the right serving amount.

We want to offer options for people who want something healthier. We focus on making everything fresh and do everything as close as possible to feed everyone else’s needs.”

“Hopefully there’s a lot of new and exciting things for us this year,” he added.

1910 Fresh Mexican Kitchen is located at 507 First St. NW. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. They can be reached at 507-396-8688.

“Hopefully there’s a lot of new and exciting things for us this year.”

BELLE VICTORIA ITALIAN CUISINE For many years Austin residents have wanted a restaurant that served authentic Italian dishes. Their requests were answered on Oct. 15 when Bella Victoria Italian Cuisine opened its doors.

“We got a good welcome from the community,” said owner Magdalena Carranza. “When we got established, the business picked up more and more.”

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Changes from around the area to eating establisments Steve’s Pizza in Downtown Austin changed owners in 2017.

Former owner Steve Davis sold the restaurant to new owner Micah Lockie in August. Lockie plans to keep the standards the same as when Davis owned the restaurant.

The Port Bar and Grill in Elkton changed owners in 2017. Former owner Bob Fuller sold the restaurant to new owner Mike Dortland in June. Dortland said the restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday, though the hours will vary between warmer and colder months.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61

The increase in business was unexpected, according to Carranza.

“We weren’t well-prepared for the big welcome from the Austin community,” she said. “That was a big challenge. Now, we know how to provide better service.

We want to make everybody satisfied.”

Bringing over 30 years of experience to the kitchen, executive chef Carlos Victoria helps keep up with the business demands.

“Lasagna, pasta Milan, chicken marsala, chicken parmesan, those are some of our best sellers,” he said.

The opening of the restaurant brought 35 new jobs to Austin, ones that Carranza filled with locals.

Now that Bella Victoria has been established, Victoria said he would like to introduce new dishes in time.

“We have at least 300 dishes not on the menu, but we want to have something special everyday,” he said. “We would like to bring in some new items, like veal for osso buco or veal shank. Maybe some fish dishes as well. In a couple of months we will make changes to the menu and bring some new food.”

62 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Each meal at Bella Victoria isn’t just a feast for the stomach, but one for the eyes as bright colors are found in each dish.

Victoria and Carranza recently introduced a breakfast menu served Saturday and Sunday.

“We are hoping to stay and introduce more items and bring in more people during the summertime,” Carranza said.

Belle Victoria Italian Cuisine is located at 210 Fourth St. NE. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. They can be reached at 507-396-8800.

Bella Victoria executive chef Carlos Victoria prepares the parmigiano risotto for the Scallops Italiano. Above, Victoria prepares the parmigiano risotto for the Scallops Italiano.

Get to know your neighbors Read about both of these restaurants along with much, much more in Austin Living Magazine.

For a subscription call 1-507-4342204 today.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 63

64 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 65

Overcoming barriers The Austin Human Rights Commission continues making Austin a welcoming city

By Michael Stoll mike.stoll@austindailyherald.com

The demographics of Austin are continuing to become more diverse, and the Austin Human Rights Commission took significant steps in 2017 to make the city more welcoming.

“Austin is in a good spot because we’re probably 20 years ahead of where a lot of communities are,” said AHRC Chairman Jason Baskin. “A lot of the work the Apex group did with Bonnie Rietz and other community leaders when we first started to see our population change I think helped us move into a really good direction.”

Apex was a group that worked to spread awareness and provide opportunities for minorities.

In 2017, the AHRC conducted a survey of Austin’s immigrant community to figure out ways to make the city a more welcoming place. The results were shared with the Austin City Council in a “Welcoming

66 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Austin Human Rights Commission Chairman Jason Baskin (front) presents the findings of the commission’s “Welcoming Report” to the City Council on July 17, 2017.

Herald file photo

Report” over the summer.

“We found in the ‘Welcoming Report’ that we’ve got a lot of diversity now, but there’s not as much interaction between different groups within a community that really makes us one Austin,” Baskin said. “With the ‘Welcoming Report’ we’ve started to identify what are our barriers and what works well. The next question is how do we turn vision into reality?”

The biggest barrier: finding common interests.

“We found that one of the reasons people don’t interact is they have a fear of looking silly,” Baskin said. “I could walk up to somebody that looks like me and probably find some common interest and start to have a conversation. In the immigrant community and native Austinites, there is a knowledge gap of what the other’s experience is like. It’s not that they don’t want to talk so much as not knowing how to talk to each other. We’re trying to find a way to create more common interests and break down that barrier

that is just naturally human of being fearful of looking silly talking to someone.”

The AHRC hopes to overcome the barriers by creating a “Strategic Welcoming Plan.”

“What this plan will allow us to do is have everybody on the same page of ‘this is what we define success as, and here’s where we are today as a community ... because it’s not something we’re going to solve tomorrow, it’s not something we’re going to solve two years from now, but as long as we’re making progress as a community, I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Baskin said.

Mayor Tom Stiehm appointed a core task force to work on the plan. Baskin said they hope to have it ready by this summer.

The AHRC received a grant from Gateways for Growth, an organization that helps attract and integrate immigrants. Baskin said they have gained insight from Gateways for Growth, such as the creation of an advisory panel that represents a sample of everybody within the community in order to gain feedback.

“The thought process is we come together in March or April of [2018] and we’ll have a draft of all the ideas that we have that we’re thinking of making into final recommendations and get community feedback on what they like and what we haven’t thought about,” he said.

The AHRC also welcomed some new faces to the Welcome Center and the committee in 2017.

Solomon Paul replaced Jake Vela at the Welcome

Solomon Paul was named executive director of The Welcome Center in Austin in 2017 taking over for Jake Vela who stepped down last year. Herald file photo Center. Paul has been in Austin a number of years, but is originally from Africa. Having been both a refugee and an immigrant, Paul brings the unique perspective of both to the Welcome Center.

“I think the Welcome Center continues to evolve,” Baskin said.

The AHRC also added Oballa Oballa to their committee membership in 2017. A refugee from Ethiopia, Oballa is president of the Student Senate at River-

land Community College. He was appointed to the AHRC during the summer of 2017.

“Oballa is someone incredibly driven to succeed,” Baskin said. “He sometimes makes me think about how much I take for granted some of the opportunities we get just by growing up in America. He came over because he had some family here and said, ‘I want to be part of this community and I want to be a leader.’”

Baskin said that 2018, as well as the next couple of years, will be a really important time for Austin as a community in defining its long-term success.

“We have a cohort of individuals who are highly talented and have a lot of experience that actually want to be in Austin,” he said. “If we can find ways as students are graduating high school and moving on to college to make sure we’ve got the right opportunities and the right welcoming elements of the community that they either want to stay in Austin or come back after school because this is where they feel culturally at home, there is a huge amount of talent we’ll be able to leverage as a community that we may not have always been able to leverage when you compare us to some of the bigger cities.”

The community has reacted positively to the AHRC’s efforts to make Austin more welcoming, according to Baskin. The ultimate goal is to enable more leadership in the multicultural community.

“We’re together as a community,” Baskin said.

“Now, we’re trying to get people to be one community together.”

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 67

Marva Blake coats a piece of her pottery in glaze during a pottery class at the Austin ArtWorks Center. The center offers several classes throughout the year for a variety of interests. Herald file photo 68 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Arts

A year for the

By Michael Stoll,

mike.stoll@austindailyherald.com

Austin Area Commission for the Arts continues to expand its offerings The Austin Area Commission for the Arts in 2017 expanded existing programs and introduced of a new movie screening series.

“In June, we started doing weekly movies at the Paramount Theatre and that is going really well,” said AACA Executive Director Laura Helle. “We’re slowly learning what audiences are looking for. We do get requests for movies, but we’ve also picked up some patterns in the fall season.”

The movie shown at the Paramount Theatre that drew the largest audience last year was “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

This year, the AACA began the movie series with older movies from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

“We’re excited about these movies, especially

because I think a lot of those older movies many people have never seen on a big screen, only on a TV,” Helle said.

But the movie series was not the only new development at the Paramount Theatre. The AACA opened the doors to the public from noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays to allow people a chance to see the theater.

“We chose the end of the week to maximize visitors,” Helle said. “That’s been a dream for the organization for quite a few years. We wanted to have the staff to do it on a predictable basis. We’re happy to be able to do that.”

Begun in 2016, the Kids Studio art classes, held at the ArtWorks Center, saw increased attendance in 2017, which was the first full year the program

was offered.

“We had 42 sessions, 38 percent of which sold out,” Helle said. “We served 201 unique kids and that was much higher than we predicted. The child with the highest attendance came to 29 of the 42 sessions. We set up a waiting list mechanism, so if there is a sold out class, you can get on the waiting list. That helps us when we’re writing grants and getting support for that.”

The ArtWorks Center also offers adult classes, which Helle said the AACA has been working to refine to get artists and topics that have peaked people’s interest.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 70

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 69

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 69 “We had a gallery artist, Lori Tapani, who had a show here in the fall that was really popular and sold well,” Helle said. “She is going to come in and teach a class in April.

“I get excited when our programming touches a nerve in the community, and I think it’s great for the artists to make those kind of connections.”

But one of the most significant changes from 2017 was holding the annual Austin ArtWorks Festival outdoors.

“We had been at the downtown power plant for six years and this was our first year we came to the green space just south of the Paramount Theatre off of Fourth Avenue and that’s where our exhibiting artists were,” Helle said. “We were able to leverage the Paramount Theatre and the ArtWorks Center and the Spam Museum, and we had our author’s stage across the street at Sweet Reads.

“Feedback was almost entirely positive, though there are a few tweaks we can do. We were a little worried that some of the artists wouldn’t want to be outdoors, but most of them prefer it. They told us a completely outdoor set up with tents like what we had generally generates higher sales.

“The artists were really happy with it. We felt logistically it was great and moving to the site offered more flexible parking.

“We also heard from the area restaurants that they felt a big economic impact, which we’re excited about. About 7,500 visitors came.”

The AACA has several goals for 2018, including getting artists more involved in the community.

Early in February, musical group Rogue Valley came to Austin to do school residencies with support from the Minnesota State Arts Board. They worked with students at Riverland Community College, Austin High School, Ellis Middle School and MacPhail Center for Music during the week.

Some ensembles from those schools joined Rogue Valley on stage for part of the band’s Feb. 10 concert at the Paramount. Rogue Valley also gave a free workshop at the Austin Public Library on Feb. 5.

Another goal for 2018 is to have more in-depth art classes available to the public, such as a three-day watercolor session with master watercolor instructor Bonnie Bortzman from March 6-8.

But an unofficial goal for Helle is to have a soldout show at the Paramount Theatre.

“I think that would tell us that not only are we choosing the shows that people want to see, but they’re the right ticket price, they’re scheduled at the right time, and we’re promoting them well,” she said. “If you get one of those wrong, it takes down your level of ticket sales. “ I see great progress in all of those areas, partially because we have been doing some focus groups asking people what they want to see, what would they come to, what would they get excited about, and also studying our data from previous years.”

70 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

“I get excited when our programming touches a nerve in the community and I think it’s great for the artists to make those kind of connections.”

Laura Helle Executive director of the Austin Area Commission for the Arts As rain clouds begin to move in, Zumbrota artist Christopher Beebe paints the Paramount Theatre from afar during the 2017 Austin ArtWorks Festival.

Herald file photo

A packed house and low lighting create the atmosphere for music at the ArtRocks Jam Sessions in the Austin ArtWorks Center. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 71

Shining on the Big

DIA OND Hayfield graduate and current University of Minnesota Gopher Dani Wagner during an at-bat against Iowa last spring. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

72 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Hayfield grad Dani Wagner has thrived with the Gophers softball team

By Rocky Hulne

sports@austindailyherald.com

MINNEAPOLIS — When Dani Wagner was growing up in Hayfield, it was impossible for her to avoid sports — especially softball.

Both of her parents coached sports — her mom Jana is still the head softball coach in Hayfield — and her three older siblings were also active in sports, including softball and baseball.

Dani was never far from the action, so it wasn’t a surprise when she worked her way into Hayfield’s softball starting lineup as a seventh grader.

Dani improved every season she was with the Vikings as she went from defensive specialist, to a table-setter, to a flat-out power hitter. But she wasn’t even thinking about playing Division I softball until she landed on a summer roster with the Mankato Peppers. It was there Dani raised her confidence level and improved her level of play, which eventually allowed her to move on and play for the University of Minnesota Gopher softball team.

moving to Minneapolis, where the population is 413,651 people, and there was the much higher level of play.

“It was a big adjustment. I knew I was good at softball, but this was a whole different level from the HVL,” Dani said. “I thought the city was going to be kind of scary, but now I usually stay in this area so it doesn’t seem as big to me anymore.”

“It was a big adjustment.

I knew I was good at softball, but this was a whole different level from the HVL.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 74

Dani Wagner

“They were the first to bring up playing Dani playing at the DI level, much to her and our surprise,” Jana said. “We hadn’t even thought about it. Without the Peppers coaches Dan Nessler and Jerry Maschke, Dani would not be playing at the level she

does today.”

While she was unstoppable while playing for Hayfield, Dani had to make some big adjustments when she moved up to the Gophers. There was the culture shock of moving from Hayfield and its population of 1,328 people to

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Hayfield graduate Dani Wagner holds down center field during a game against Iowa last spring at the University of Minnesota. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 73

Dani was lucky enough to have a familiar face with the Gophers in Sam Macken, who had played against Hayfield for Rochester Lourdes in high school. Macken, who finished her Gopher softball career last spring, said she considered Dani a rival in high school, but the two became closer when they were teammates in Minnesota.

Macken also pointed out that her and Dani both proved small-school athletes can make it on the big stage if they put in the necessary hard work.

“You don’t have to go to big schools to play here at Minnesota or any other big college,” Macken said. “It’s cool that we can excel at this level, even though our high school competition wasn’t the greatest.”

It took Dani a couple of years to adjust to the speed of play in the Big 10 as she served as a defensive specialist and went 5-for-25 at the plate, but 2017 was her year to shine. Dani broke into the Gophers’ everyday lineup as a center fielder and she found her swing, hitting .333 with an on-base percentage of .445, 74 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Wagner Dani Wagner’s 2017 Stats (61 starts) Triples: 2

Doubles: 6

Singles: 52

Home runs: 52 RBI’s: 30

Batting average: .333 On-base average: .445 while piling up eight homers, six doubles, two triples and 30 RBIs. Minnesota also had its best season in school history as it went 56-5 overall and it won the Big Ten championship.

Dani didn’t have a huge secret to her success. Mostly she just had to believe she could take the next step as a softball player.

“I think it’s just been my mentality and keeping my confidence up,” Dani said. “Everyone on the team and the coaches have told me that I can do it and that’s what I’ve been focusing on.”

Former head coach Jessica Allister, who now coaches at Stanford University, recruited Dani and coached her for three years at Minnesota.

Allister said it was great to see Dani put in the time and work to improve herself.

“She works her tail off. The great thing about Dani is, she does it in softball and she does it in every aspect of life,” Allister said. “She works as hard as she can in the classroom, she works as hard as she can in the weight room and she works as hard as she can on the field. She’s a firm believer in hard work pays off.”

As she found her way to the Gophers, Dani created a lot of Minnesota softball fans back in Hayfield. Over the last few years, she’s been flooded with congratulatory texts and emails and

Dani Wagner takes a lead after earning a walk against Iowa. plenty of community members have found themselves cheering for the maroon and gold in the spring.

“The community support has been great,” Dani said. “I love how much they support me on social media. Obviously they can’t be here all of the time,

but it’s great to know that they’re still following me.”

While Dani has found plenty of success in her softball career, she missed out on playing in a Minnesota Class A State Softball Tournament. But since she’s left, the Vikings have made it to

three straight state tournaments, taking fourth in 2017.

Dani has been able to be part of the action as she’s served as an assistant coach for those teams after her Gopher season ended.

“I love going back to help the team out,” Dani said. “My mom will text me about who she should pitch on a certain day [during the season].”

Jana said that Dani’s presence was certainly welcomed by the Vikings, as all of them are very familiar with her.

“They respect her success and knowledge of the game,” Jana said.

“She’s part of the Hayfield Vikings team.”

During her freshman season with the Gophers, Dani may have felt a little bit like a fish out of water as she was surrounded by a lot of players from different communities. But as she prepares for her senior year, she feels like she’s right at home with the team.

“We’re always on the road together and with 20 girls, you’d think it might go bad, but once we come home we’re still hanging out together all of the time,” Dani said.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 75

Expanded history

By Michael Stoll mike.stoll@austindailyherald.com

The Mower County Historical Society saw a major change in 2017 with the resignation of director John Haymond and the hiring of new director Randy Forster.

Forster, who started in October, said the MCHS moved forward on its project to build a new collections building. The project began several years ago.

“We have some great funding that’s going to help complete that project,” Forster said.

The MCHS has received a $47,000 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society. The Hormel Foundation donated $2,300 and the Austin Area Foundation gave $700. Prior to that, the MCHS received a significantly large donation that completed the first phase of the building project.

“We’ve exceeded our fundraising efforts and we would like to continue to grow on that,” Forster said.

Forster said the county also did lighting and heating upgrades to the main building last year.

Completing the new collections building can set other projects in motion, making it “probably the most important goal we have for 2018,” he said.

The MCHS has been using other buildings for storage rather than for sharing history.

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Mower County Historical Society continues to grow

“The church, communications things have a local connecbuilding, and fire museum have tion to Mower County. It’s all been closed to the public for helpful if there is a history the past few years because we or a background on the parhave had a space issue,” Forster ticular item that we’re addsaid. “Our goal and hope is to get ing to the collection.” those buildings open again this As the Mower County Hissummer. Hopefully by the (Mower torical Society heads into County) fair time we’ll have those 2018, Forster is hoping for buildings open so people can increased attendance and enjoy the collections that are in memberships. those buildings and that they’ll “Membership has been The new executive director of the Mower be more accessible to the public. pretty steady,” he said. “One County Historical Society, Randy Forster, Right now, with our space conof the goals that I would like stands in the newly refurbished collections to see is increased awarestraints, we’ve had to pile boxes and things have been put in those room at the historical society. ness among our education Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk buildings because we don’t have groups and get more school @austindailyherald.com the space.” groups out here. It would The space issue is caused parbe really great to see more school groups participate. The main goal is to contially by the ever-expanding artifact collection, a result of donations made to the Mower County Histinue along the path that they set forth in our fiveyear strategic plan. I want to bring to the society an torical Society.

“The Collections and Exhibits Committee look at increased awareness so that people know we exist out here and hopefully increase memberships so things people want to donate and we are selective people will take advantages of the services we have about that,” Forster said. “One of our main criteria in adding something to the collection is we prefer and see the items we have on display.”

The new shelves in the collections building are adjustable and can be moved to make better use of the space. More shelving is expected to be added down the line. Above, the refurbished collections building offers easier access to everything not on display.

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Space Odyssey Learning studio opens new paths in education

By Deb Nicklay

three classrooms-worth of children, but the flexibility to move children in If you walk into the fourth grade and out of groups. classroom at Neveln Elementary “Although it is wonderful to have School, you will notice two things. one teacher in a small classroom all First, this isn’t a classroom with year long, the ability to have three which you’re familiar; and secondly, teachers all year long allows you where are all the rows of desks? more flexibility in terms of programThis area is called ming for each child,” a learning studio, deSchara said. signed specifically to That ability is seen provide a new, flexible in the easier flow of and comfortable envimoving from small ronment in which 90 group to large group fourth graders learn, instruction, to group under the tutelage of and regroup students three instructors as into units who might be well as paraprofessionhaving a more difficult als, interventionists time with a particular and special teachers. part of a lesson, and The move was made, individualized instrucafter much research tion when needed. and study, to provide It is a more efficient what is called “differuse of time and reentiated instruction,” sources. For instance, Pam Schwarz meaning, said Prinin the traditional Neveln teacher cipal Dewey Schara, classroom structure, he that “our kids need a would have a math invaried, different approach” to learnterventionist work with students in ing, utilizing as many resources as three different classrooms for 15 minnecessary and with state-of-the-art utes each; in the learning studio, that technology. same interventionist can now group The fourth graders meet in one those students in a small group for large room, remodeled from a small 45 minutes. That, he said, increases auditorium was retrofitted and extime spent with the interventionist panded. and is a more efficient use of time.

The large space provides the area necessary to not only accommodate CONTINUED ON PAGE 80 deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

“Overall, it’s a fantastic approach; it’s really nice to have the flexibility to group kids according to skill levels.”

Students can also use the studios to relax and maybe read a book if they have no homework to do. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 79

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 79

Teachers Pam Schwarz, Erik LaRock and Carissa Gabrielson are the three instructors that teach out of the learning studio. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

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The space is outfitted with state-of-the-art technology to complement instruction and today is the most technologically advanced classroom in the district, said Schara, although that’s not immediately evident upon entering.

While most think of laptops and iPads when they think of technology, he said, this room’s technology is found in sound and integrated software. Whole walls are outfitted with white or SMART boards, some of which interact with a mimeo projector that hangs from the ceiling; other projectors are used to throw images on the boards for lessons.

There are more than a half a dozen types of seating, from “trampoline” and satellite chairs, to high tops and floor pillows. There are some desks and tables, several at different heights.

Comfortable surroundings, research has found, provides a less regimented environment that reduces stress for students.

But the most important component to the room, said Schara, are the three veteran instructors who have worked double time this year to implement the new, collaborative approach.

“They do a fantastic job ….

I think they have worked two years into this year,” Schara said.

They have been willing participants and the experience has been like no other they have had, said instructor Pam Schwarz, who shares teaching duties with Carissa Gabrielson and Erik LaRock.

The year has gone well, she said, although “there is some trial and error, realizing we needed to move some kids around” to optimize instruction, she said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 82

The learning studio at Neveln Elementary School in Austin provides students a relaxed environment to work.

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The learning studio at Neveln Elementary School provides a comfortable and unique classroom experience for students to work. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 80

“Overall, it’s a fantastic approach; it’s really nice to have the flexibility to group kids according to skill levels. It’s also nice to be exposed to different teaching styles,” she said, that comes with collaborative teaching.

LaRock agreed.

“If they (the students) don’t connect with the way I am teaching a particular lesson, Pam or Carissa might step in with a different way,” he said.

Gabrielson said this is a learning year for the teachers as well, as they work in a new environment that challenges more traditional styles.

Gabrielson said while the studio holds 90 students, they are usually not in the space all at one time. Art, physical education and other classes result in students rotating in and out of the space at different times of the day. Teacher-to-student ratios remain mostly on target. Schara said it is rare when there aren’t four or five adults in the room, 82 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

between teachers, paraprofessionals, or interventionists.

All agreed they realized early on that the space was still on the small side. As a result, another classroom is now utilized for skill-building, with students also being rotated during the day. That has alleviated space concerns.

All three were asked if it would be difficult to return to a traditional classroom. And, all three agreed while they could do that, all would also be better teachers due to this year’s experience.

Instructional coach Eric Kossoris, who meets with the teachers weekly, said the teachers and students “are on a journey together” this year, and it was a great experience for both.

“They are so open to trying new things” and can swiftly target areas that need work.

“It is just such a different way to teach; but they are so invested,” he said.

Students seem to enjoy the change. Nine-yearold Faith Kalliokoski said, “it’s bigger; I have more

space to read,” referring to the ability to stretch out on the floor, if she wanted, or to cozy up to a large pillow.

“I like it,” she said.

Schara said the studio for the fourth grade also was designed with the kids’ move to I. J. Holton in mind. The transition of going to a much larger building, with more students, can put a lot of stress on both student and teacher, Schara said.

“So, we wanted to mirror some of the opportunities they would see at I. J. Holton,” that puts emphasis on self-advocacy, how to work in large and small groups, “and behavior that is not controlled in a single desk,” he said.

The concept is not new in Austin Public Schools, although schools may have transformed areas in different ways. Perhaps most closely aligned to the Neveln concept is Sumner Elementary School’s lear ning suites used in both third and fourth grades. The entire I. J. Holton Intermediate School was designed with flexible learning spaces in mind.

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Cory Haugen, pictured here at Austin High School is the research-evaluation-assessment director for the district, a multi-faceted position that handles everything from mass registration and providing student assessments to tracking student progress and handling state reporting and more. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

The importance of being Haugen Austin Public School data director’s expertise keeps district on cutting edge of information tech

By Deb Nicklay

deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

Corey Haugen always believed that mathematics was something “of an art … in a world of chaos,” he said, only half joking.

As it turned out, math became the springboard for Haugen to bring order and understanding to the quickly-evolving world of technology and the data it generates at Austin Public Schools.

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As a result, Austin is often seen as a leader in its collection and management of data and how that data is used to assist teachers in helping their students succeed.

Haugen is the research-evaluation-assessment director for the district, a multi-faceted position that handles everything from mass registration and providing student assessments, to tracking student progress and handling state reporting. And that’s just

some of it.

While you may not know Haugen personally, you probably have seen his work. When assessment information is released, it is through his evaluative efforts; when testing is performed, it is under his guidance. He tracks enrollments.

If you are a parent, you know how the online information system Infinite Campus provides student information, from attendance to schedules and

grades. Students can get homework assignments online and track scores.

Even health information is accessed online, all under tight security controls. Haugen does beta and prototype testing for the Blaine-based company that keeps the district on the cutting edge of new ways to collect and manage data.

“Selecting Austin for piloting a program roll-out on features that would improve their (Infinite Campus)

product is no random event,” said Mark Raymond, head of human resources for the district and a longtime colleague.

“We were selected because of who we have in charge” of the program operation.

Having someone who is “smart enough, intelligent enough” to do the REA job “is really only half of the equation,” Raymond added. “Corey really understands what goes on in the classroom – and can relay that data to teachers in a way they can use it most effectively.”

Haugen, 42, was always intrigued by the world of math.

“I had a great teacher in 10th grade who taught geometry – and that was when I knew I wanted to do something in the mathematics field full-time,” he said from his district office. His desk is barely large enough to handle the monitors that live there.

The Windom native went on to earn a secondary education and math degree from Gus-

“Corey (Haugen) really understands what goes on in the classroom — and can relay that data to teachers in way they can use it most effectively.”

Mark Raymond Austin Public Schools head of human resources

tavus Adolphus College.

“I had an interview in Austin the day after graduation,” he said.

That was 21 years ago. After teaching middle school math for several years, he was approached by then-superintendent Candace Raskin to review some district-wide data

Image courtesy of Infinite Campus

“Selecting Austin for piloting a program roll-out on features that would improve their (Infinite Campus) product is no random event,” said Mark Raymond, head of human resources for the Austin Public Schools and a longtime colleague of Haugen’s. “We were selected because of who we have in charge” of the program operation. for evaluation.

“And that started me down the road to information management,” he said.

He served as technology integrationist and data specialist; then, as director of technology for the district. Along the way, he earned two master’s degrees, in educational

leadership and in information technology leadership.

Then, in 2014, he earned his current position – a meld of many experiences.

“I love working with both kids and adults,” he said. “I really liked the direct relationship I had when I was in the classroom, but that was 150

kids a year. Now, my impact is on over 5,000 kids a year.”

One of the best parts of his job, he said, is working with teachers and helping them track student progress and achievement, “to maximize their effectiveness in the classroom.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 86

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 85 “I enjoy working with them to make sure students are moving in the direction we want them to move, by helping teachers understand what some of the different metrics mean, what different measures mean, and how we use assessments to form our instruction.”

The quickening pace of technological improvements represents his biggest challenge. The changes in education over the past 20 years have been greater than anything experienced over the last 100, he said.

Accountability, brought to bear with the federal legislation of No Child Left Behind, “has been a huge shift,” he said. “In the past, the end game was graduation; today, having to show what’s working and what’s not working changed everything – and then there’s the technology piece. When I started in education,

“In the past, the end game was graduation; today, having to show what’s working and what’s not working changed everything.”

Cory Haugen Austin Public Schools research-evaluation-assessment director

there were no student computers; computer labs were few and far between. Now every child has a computer.”

The resulting data base, between today’s instructional and information systems, is huge.

“We have 450 teacher, administrator and support staff, over 5,000 students and over 10,000 parent users,” he said.

Haugen said he was more than comfortable in his position. He says there is plenty to look forward to, many challenges still to meet.

The district is growing, as is its diverse population. The challenge of language and testing requires more study of tools to allow students to learn.

He’s equally excited about the work the district is doing on a more holistic way of providing for students, with what is being called a Grad Score – a process that takes into account all types of student information that results in a score “that is a sliding metric that moves as the student progresses through

Cory Haugen, a native of Windom, Minnesota, is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College with a secondary education and math degree. He spent many years in the classroom. His path changed after a superintendent asked him to review some district-wide evaluation data. He since has added two master’s degrees, in educational leadership and in information technology leadership.

Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

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school and works similar to that of a tax credit score for adults, but indicates graduation readiness.

Neveln Principal Dewey Schara said while some districts have REA directors, none approached their job like Haugen. Haugen’s teaching prowess – “Corey was one of the best teachers I ever worked with,” he said -- combined with his work in technology and data worlds, results in a support few districts have.

“We are so data rich because of Corey,” Schara said, adding the expectations of today’s education cannot be met without good information. “He knows what we need and delivers it in valuable ways. He does things with such fidelity.”

Raymond agreed, adding “he is spectacular and unassuming.”

Haugen is cautious, though, in making sure all understand that while there are a growing number of supports for teachers, instructors remain the student’s primary educator. Austin is filled with excellent instructors, he added.

“There is an art to teaching,” Haugen said. “We still need instructors to blend all this information together.

Cory Haugen looks over data of the school from his office at Austin High School. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com And in Austin, they do a fantastic job.”

Haugen said he is “totally content” to stay where he is. He and his wife

Jen are the parents of two children and Austin and its school district is a great place to raise them.

“This job fills my skill set well,” he

said. “I am at a point now where I feel I can serve every student in the district; that kind of reach isn’t something you get in every position.”

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Pacelli teacher Jonathan McDonough strives to keep what he’s teaching fresh for students.

Photos by Eric Johnson/ photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Classroom fit

Adaptability and responsive teaching are McDonough’s hallmarks at Pacelli

By Deb Nicklay Deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

Jonathan McDonough was never one of those teachers who thought just mixing two chemicals together just to see a reaction was particularly impressive.

The Pacelli science teacher, instead, works to create lab experiments that have something of a cool factor -- even if it means blowing something up.

In a controlled way, that is.

He laughs.

But don’t let that he-almost-lookslike-a-high-school-student-himself image fool you. McDonough, even at the young age of 27, has quickly honed his teaching chops in his short, three years at Pacelli. So much so, he was

88 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

named Teacher of the Year at Pacelli in 2017.

You don’t have to speak with him for very long before you understand why.

McDonough is focused on building student relationships, making his material relevant to their worlds, and making sure there are real life applications for the subject he is teaching.

“My classes from year to year are never the same,” he said. “I constantly change everything I do.”

While the curriculum may be the same in terms of content, he works hard, he said, to find new ways to make the information fresh, trying new ways to deliver the information.

McDonough said he was lucky to have two great early teachers: his mom

and dad. His dad, a brew master in LaCrosse, Wis., and his mom, a nurse, were both “huge into science education,” he said.

“They were always there to help me along the way,” he said, adding that his dad was always willing to find chemicals for experiments at school and at home.

“My dad knew the real world applications; I was able to get an industry perspective” in how chemistry was used at the workplace.

His first day of teaching found him nervous –and with a preconception about how it would go.

“I thought it would be more formal, and that the kids would say, ‘Oh, I had a question and you answered it so well,’” he recalled with a laugh. “It wasn’t anything like that – and I found that that was better; that that was what I enjoyed.”

He wasn’t talking about lack of discipline, but a more comfortable atmosphere where students could ask questions more readily and the discussion “was more conversational,” he said.

This year, McDonough is teaching biology, chemistry, physical science and biochemistry. In the second semester of biochemistry, he will teach anatomy and physiology – almost a direct response to student requests for more study in health sciences. Responding to those student needs just makes sense, he said, and after the request was made, he made sure that he took a medical chemistry course during the summer.

It also falls in line with his role as an adviser of the Pacelli HOSA Club – Health Occupations Students

Pacelli science teacher Jonathan McDonough kicks off a class. of America – which was created last year. In its first year, one of the teams qualified for nationals, he said proudly.

That kind of response matches his teaching philosophy: make it relevant to the real world. For instance, he and his students have studied antibiotics where students were able to grow bacteria in a lab setting, to find out how antibiotics affect – or don’t affect— bacteria. He also took a class in biotics last summer

that will allow him to talk about biology and its application in technology.

After earning his teaching degree in chemistry, he began rounds of interviews. His session with Pacelli quickly showed him that he had found a home.

“I had this idealized view of what I wanted in a job -- smaller class sizes, a personalized atmosphere where you were building relationships with students rather than just focusing on what I specifically taught,” he recalled. “I knew that if I didn’t have those relationships, it just wasn’t what I wanted. Pacelli was the right fit.”

Principal Laura Marreel said McDonough is “the whole package” in teaching.

“He is so bright, a lifelong learner, and is always trying new things to make everything he teaches relevant.”

She added that he is the “go-to” person when “students have a problem or need a trusting adult.”

“He shows them over and over that he cares about them.”

Junior Pal Koak said McDonough has an abiding passion for teaching. He recalled when he began chatting with McDonough about work-outs in the weight room, “and he started going into the science of muscles,” Koak said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘Who is this guy?’”

“He’s outstanding,” agreed Shenali DeSilva, a sophomore and a member of the school’s HOSA club.

“He always stresses how you should never stop learning — that it is never too late to learn.”

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Lyle Public School students gather in the school gymnasium to sing during a Veterans Day celebration in 2017. Christopher Baldus/chris.baldus@austindailyherald.com

Growth and adversity in Lyle School district facing space questions adds new administrators, then gets hit by semitrailer crash

By Christopher Baldus chris.baldus@austindailyherald.com

Lyle Public Schools in the past year has undergone a change in leadership as it has been wrestling with having enough teachers for its a growing and diversifying student population.

Then as 2018 got started, a semitrailer veered off Highway 218 into the side of the school building. Three students were injured -- one in a car that was struck by the semitrailer and

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two in the school. They all have since returned home, according to administration.

The school is in the process of fixing the school and weighing its next move to handle its population growth.

CHANGES Five years ago, the school district based in the 551-population city on the border of Iowa served a student popu-

lation of about 260. This school year, it had 310 as of an October accounting.

“We’re a beacon of hope” for small rural schools, said Superintendent Bryan Boysen, who was hired in June after the departure of Jennifer Backer.

Backer had split duties between Lyle and Mabel-Canton Public Schools.

She took a job with Lewiston Public Schools.

On May 17, 2017, the School Board accepted her resignation and Principal

Nick Jurrens.

With Boysen’s hire, the district changed the structure of the position to have a lead administrator in the building. The sharing arrangement with Mabel-Canton took Backer out of the building much of the time.

Jamie Goebel was also hired in 2017 as the 7th-12th grade principal. He is also the activities director.

School Board members at their January meeting said the benefit of

The cab of a semitrailer is embedded in the west side of Lyle Public School Tuesday, Jan. 16, in Lyle. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com the new arrangement was obvious in the time of emergency when the semitrailer hit the school. Boysen and Goebel coordinated evacuation efforts at the school to the next door church and more.

forward-thinking school atmosphere is important to the new leadership. To make the school work best, Goebel and Boysen put a lot of stock in being transparent and approachable, they said.

MORE STUDENTS Lyle has been an attractive open enrollment landing spot for students in Austin as well as Iowa, to the point the

School Board on Oct. 25, 2017, closed open enrollment for K-12. The district was running out of lockers and room on buses.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 92

NEW OPPORTUNITIES The school has been advertising a number of teaching jobs throughout the year while the new administrative team strives to move the school ahead.

When it comes to opportunities for students, they tout the school’s relationship with Riverland Community College to provide post-secondary options. And, they want to grow a program to give students on the job training opportunities.

Encouraging a positive and

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 91

LYLE PRINCIPALS AND MORE

Although at 310 the student population exceeds what the Lyle school building was designed to accommodate, Boysen said they are effectively making do.

The School Board has talked about entering a larger dialogue with the community about what to do to accommodate the growth. The semitrailer is likely going to have an effect. Serious doubt has entered any thoughts about growing west in the open space between the school and highway, according to Boysen.

Currently, all students K-12 attend class in the one school building. Lyle’s larger classes are in the younger grades, which indicate the district is poised to grow, according to Goebel.

The district also attracts open enrollment from Austin and surrounding districts, Boysen said. The district sends buses to pick up students in Austin.

Boysen respects the Austin Public Schools and its superintendent, David Krenz, who has mentored Boysen. However, some school atmospheres work out better than others for individual students, Boysen said. Lyle offers a small town flavor where students don’t get lost in a crowd, because “there’s not much of a crowd to begin with,” Boysen said.

Lyle Public School Superintendent Bryan Boysen addresses an assembly at the school on Veterans Day in 2017. Herald file photos

Lyle Public School 7th-12th grade principal Jamie Goebel addresses an assembly on Veterans Day in 2017.

BRYAN BOYSEN

JAMIE GOEBEL

Role: Superintendent, elementary principal, and director of assessments and curriculum.

Career: His teaching career began in Lyle in the 2002-03 school year as the early childhood teacher. He then moved on to Austin at New Dominion School. He has taught social sciences and special education. Was an elementary principal in southwest Minnesota for three years before moving back to Lyle.

Degrees and diplomas: Austin High School diploma, associated degree from Riverland Community College, bachelor’s degree from Winona State University, and a master’s degree from Hamline University.

Role: High school principal, activities director and director of transporation.

Career: He was in the U.S. Army from 1995-2004 (One aspect of his military service included time as an honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.) He has been a teacher at Kaleidoscope Charter School and Stride Academy in St. Cloud. He was a principal for the Rothsay (Minn.) School District and later for Stride Academy. Between that time, he was an assistant principal for Fairmont Area Schools, according to his Linkedin webpage.

Degrees: Bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University, and and education specialist degree from St. Mary’s University.

• Community or Supported Employment • Day Training and Habilitation • Center-Based Employment • Mental Health Service • Specialized Transportation Serving the people of Mower County in areas of Employment and Contracted Services by building business partnerships for 58 years.

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www.cedarvalleyservices.org

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Nursing student Casey Mullenbach takes the pulse of the simulation dummy at the Riverland simulation lab.

Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

The Practical method

By Deb Nicklay

deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

RCC sim lab is filling a need in health care 94 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

“Simulation, although not as new as people might think, is very important for students, to learn in a real-life environment and make mistakes in a safe place.”

Laura Beasley Riverland Community College Director of Nursing

W

hen you first walk into door of the West Building at Riverland Community College, you suddenly find yourself watching nurses gathered around the bed of an asthmatic child; in another bay, you see another group trying to help a woman deliver a child.

Then you realize the patients are simulation mannequins, posed to help student nurses evaluate conditions and practice skills for care.

This is RCC’s medical simulation lab, a critical part of nursing training. This “sim lab,” as it is more familiarly known, is considered one of the best in the state.

Its importance cannot be overstated.

“Simulation, although not as new as people might think, is very important for students, to learn in a real-life environment and make mistakes in a safe place,” said RCC Director of Nursing Laura Beasley.

The lab is also important in terms of access to valuable training. Part of nursing study requires so many hours in a clinical setting, such as a hospital.

With the ending of Albert Lea’s overnight hospitalizations, Austin and Owatonna hospitals will become

the major recipients of nursing students, but will now be pressured to handle increased numbers, said Beasley.

But simulation labs will help alleviate that pressure, due to recent studies that show learning outcomes in simulation labs were comparable to lessons learned in a clinical setting. As a result, the state will be allowing time in simulation labs to make up for a portion of a student’s clinical hours.

That will mean the Riverland lab will be busier than ever — a profile that did not look as promising a few years ago. Too-low testing pass rates threatened the nursing program.

However, a rejuvenation of staff, curriculum and a new director — Beasley — have changed the program’s complexion. Riverland is busier than ever in helping prepare nursing students for registered nursing (RN) and licensed practical nursing (LPN) degrees and providing certifications in other healthcare programs, such as Medical Assistant (MA), Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and in Radiography.

The lab provides a valuable piece of the training

for future health care professionals. There are 66 students in the nursing cohorts and another 15-18 in the CNA program. There are 17 in the radiography group and 10 in the MA program.

Student nurses earn their associate’s degree at Riverland, and then move on to earn their bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) at Metropolitan University in Minneapolis, whose classes are taught on the Riverland campus. Riverland belongs to the Minnesota Alliance for Nursing Education (MANE) program.

The curriculum in the MANE program was developed by seven colleges and one university. However, that will change soon, when the curriculum will be partnered with Winona State University. Riverland is currently developing this partnership with Winona State and will roll out a dual admission program fall of 2019. This will allow students to get their associates degree through Riverland and BSN through Winona State University on the Riverland campus.

Lab simulations are a vital part of the curriculum at Riverland.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 96

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 95

Nursing students Cynthia Infante Sandoval, from left, Casey Mullenbach and Kaley Moen take part in an exercise at the Riverland Community College simulation lab.

Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 95

One area located just off the lab is used by the CNA program, overseen by program director Carolyn Veldman. In that area, with beds and mannequins, students learn about basic care, such as teeth brushing, foot care and giving baths, and to use equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs.

But the big event, so to speak, happens when students enter the nursing program and use the simulation lab.

“Once they graduate from CNA, they get to come in here with all the bells and whistles,” said Veldman.

Nursing students spend two to six hours a week in the sim lab during their studies at Riverland. In addition to its usefulness, for allowing students to practice and learn skills – as basic, but as difficult as finding a vein for a blood draw, or inserting a catheter — without harm to a patient, the lab also provides a vast range of scenarios rarely seen during clinical sessions. Clinicals provide observation of real patients, but their learning is limited to whatever might be occurring on that day.

96 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

In an adjoining room, other nursing students can watch simulations in real time.

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Flavia DeFreitas looks up information on a laptop during a simulation of treating a child suffering from an allergic reaction.

Nursing instructor Judy Thurnau said those simulations can range from having to deal with a psychotic patient — not an unusual scenario in real life nursing – to helping deliver a child.

There are many mannequins in the lab, but only four of them are live simulation mannequins. An instructor, behind a wall of a bay — which is outfitted with everything you would expect in a real hospital room, including monitors with vital signs and other equipment — will speak for a patient, creating a scenario such as the aforementioned asthma attack suffered by a child. The instructor can make the mannequin cough and wheeze; and talk.

“You can listen to her breathing, watch her heart rate — it’s all very real,” said Thurnau.

Jane McKinley, who is the lab supervisor and part-time instructor, is known for “dressing” the scenarios; she could, many joke, be a Hollywood makeup artist.

She uses makeup to mimic symptoms or conditions and even wounds. At a recent career day for high school students, the lines were long for her demonstration — on them — of applying face bruises and arm wounds.

The range of skills offered in the lab is broad. Students practice colostomy and wound dressing and care. In addition to catheters, they learn care for tracheostomies.

As importantly, they will learn how to be sensitive to cultural differences. A recent scenario created by McKinley provided insight into end-of-life customs for a Native American patient.

“These are things they would most likely never see” during clinical experiences, she said.

Beasley agreed. When she was in nursing school, “culturally, I was not prepared,” she said. “Today, being sensitive in terms of diversity is a big cornerstone in our curriculum. It was something I never would have experienced back then.”

The lab staff is the instructional staff as well, with four full-time instructors and four part-time in the nursing cohorts; radiography has two full-time instructors; CNA, one full-time and several adjunct teachers, and one part-time in the Medical Assistant area.

The staff continues to find ways to provide the right experiences in the sim lab.

In the spring, a simulation exercise with the EMT program will find the lab being used as a full-out trauma center.

But at the end of the day, its purpose will remain the same, no matter what the scenario.

“The more chances we get to expose our students to scenarios, the more they begin to think like nurses,” Thurnau said.

507-373-9446 | 316 Main Court, Albert Lea Southernlockandglass.com

Email: southerlockandglass@gmail.com Web: www.southernlockandglass.com Facebook: www/facebook.com/southernlock Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 97

Community honors

Each year, communities recognize extraordinary service and achievements. Here are some Austin area awards delivered in 2017.

PILLARS OF THE CITY Beginning in 2016, the city of Austin recognizes individuals, past and present, who have made significant contributions to improving the quality of life in Austin related to growth, economic impact, health, education, culture, recreation, communications, business or scientific innovations. Their bronze plaques get put on the city’s North Main flood wall. These are three pillars added in 2017: IRA JAMES HOLTON (Aug. 16, 1919-April 11, 2012) was originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but served the Austin community in business, philanthropy, education and literary programs for nearly 65 years. He worked at Hormel Foods Corp. from 1947 to 1983, serving as attorney, head of the law department, director, vice president, president and chairman of the board. He also served on the Hormel Foundation. I.J. Holton Middle School is named in his honor for his contributions to Austin’s education programs and social growth.

98 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

ESTHER MITCHELL MORSE (June 3, 1822 – Sept. 30, 1910) was born in Norway, Maine, and came to Austin in 1864. She was a writer, poet, educator, seminarian and the driving force behind the formation of the Austin Ladies Floral Club in 1869. Under her leadership, the Floral Club raised the funds to purchase the books that formed the genesis of the Austin Public Library.

Her legacy continues through the Floral Club’s literary and social programs and on-going financial support of the library.

GARY J. RAY was an integral member of the Hormel Foods Corporation for more than 40 years, arriving in Austin in 1980. He held positions of Director to Vice President of different divisions in the company, culminating in his post as President of Protein Businesses. A member of Hormel’s Board of Directors for 20 years, he was also active in the work of the Austin Medical Center, the Hormel Institute and as the chairman of the Hormel Foundation.

“It’s a real honor to be selected,” he said.

AUSTIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Austin Public Schools 2018 Teacher of the Year is Arik Andersen.

The award was announced in November.

AUSTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AWARDS These awards were presented at the February 2017 banquet: • Small Business of the Year – Belles and Beaus Bridal

In November of 2017, Austin High School Teacher Arik Andersen was named Austin Public Schools 2018 Teacher of the Year.

Herald file photo

and Formal Wear, owned and operated by Marie Fryer • Large Business of the Year Austin Daily Herald • Project of the Year – Spam Museum • Volunteer of the Year – Jackie Bumgardner • 2016 Ambassador of the Year – Brenda Landherr • 2016 Ambassador Team of the Year – Team led by Sharon Alms The Chamber of Commerce also presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Jim Herrick, DDS, in October 2017.

OTHERS Southern Minnesota Tourism Association’s 2017 President’s Award – Nancy Schnable, Discover Austin Minnesota’s 2017 Distinguished Principal – Jessica Cabeen, Woodson Kindergarten Center

Pictured from left are Riverland Community College ag instructor and college FFA adviser Nick Schiltz, RCC President Dr. Adenuga Atewologun, Hormel Foundation executive director Gary Ray and interim head of the ag department Dan Hoffman as they cut the ribbon on the new combine simulator at Riverland in 2017.

Herald file photo

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 99

Staying relevant Bus service keeps small-town living options open

By Christopher Baldus chris.baldus@austindailyherald.com

LEROY — Much has happened in LeRoy since a Rochester bus service decided it just didn’t make business sense to run a commuter route through the small town whose population has grown only by 18 people since 1990.

The Census Bureau says the city had 922 people as of 2017.

The community tried to attract another bus service, but

100 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

there was no business case to be made, said LeRoy Economic Development Authority Board member Axel Gumbel. After being turned down again and again, the community made its own bus line. It’s not anything they expected to do.

“Our initial intention was not to actually own a bus service,” Gumbel said.

Nearly a year and half after the launch of LeRoy City Lines, its service has grown to two

routes and charter rentals. It has gone from one used bus to three.

It’s also kept the city in the conversation when it comes to choosing where to live in southeast Minnesota, even in the face of another blow — Mayo Clinic ceasing services at LeRoy’s medical clinic.

“We needed to be relevant one way or another,” Gumbel said.

Offering public transportation seemed to be an answer.

THE RESTORED SERVICE

Riders disembark from a LeRoy City Lines bus on a Monday night in February. During the week, LeRoy buses make two morning and afternoon trips to downtown Rochester and the Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Marys Campus. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

After the Rochester bus service ended, a pool of commuters used a rented van to get to Rochester, while the EDA tried to attract other bus lines, Gumbel said. None decided to take over the LeRoy route, but one did sell the EDA a 30-seat “executive coach” to operate its own route.

Today, LeRoy City Lines has two of those coaches that make two morning and afternoon trips to downtown Rochester and the Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Marys Campus.

LeRoy City Lines also has a 23-passenger backup bus.

Gumbel and fellow EDA member Craig Jacobson work together to manage the service, which expanded its morning route into Chester, Iowa, beginning in the fall of 2017.

From Chester, the route goes to LeRoy, Grand Meadow and on to Rochester. The typical ride time is about an hour, Gumbel said.

Le Roy’s coaches are equipped with Wi-Fi internet access and one includes a restroom.

The EDA intended to simply break even so it could keep the service on the road, Gumbel said.

Helping with that goal is the growing local demand for charter bus service.

“What was really surprising was the charter side of the service,” he said.

The line began running Dec. 1, 2016. In the spring of 2017, it began running charter trips about every weekend, he said. They were to sporting events, entertainment venues, weddings and more.

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Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 101

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 101 “If you drew a circle, we’ve gone up as far as Fergus Falls (for Riverland Community College volleyball) and to Cedar Rapids for a church lock out,” Gumbel said.

Word of mouth about the service helped a lot. When you transport a group of 30, each of them becomes an ambassador for the line, he said.

“That kicked in to the extent we never talked about,” he said. “I don’t even remember we talked about any organized way to offer the buses as charter. It wasn’t until calls started coming in that we put together a pricing model.”

In early February, LeRoy City Lines announced on its Facebook page that it was “deep into planning the new charter season” and many summer weekends have already been booked.

THE NEXT SERVICE With the end of Mayo Clinic medical services in town, LeRoy City Lines is dabbling with providing another service — medical transports to get people to medical appointments.

The small bus has a wheelchair lift and can accommodate two passengers

102 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

LeRoy Economic Development Authority Board member Axel Gumbel, left, and President Craig Jacobson are photographed in the LeRoy Lines garage in LeRoy. They work together to manage the growing service. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

in wheelchairs at a time.

“We have done a handful of those transports for those medical appointments,” Gumbel said.

SMALL-TOWN RELEVANCE The city of LeRoy includes the motto “A small town that lives big!” in its city logo. It is trying to encourage new home construction with housing incentives such as waiving some city fees, having two trees donated by the LeRoy Tree Board and $1,500 in LeRoy Dollars. It also will abate taxes.

It’s city website touts an active business climate with a pair of banks, a bowling alley, restaurants, “a lively weekly newspaper” and more. It’s library is up-to-date in a historic Carnegie building and the public school district is “excellent.”

It’s on the Shooting Star Bike Trail and near Lake Louise State Park.

The community “feels very strongly” that it can be relevant even though it is not woven into a metropolitan area such as Rochester, Gumbel said.

“You can live in LeRoy and we can get you to Rochester,” he said.

Gumbel added, however, that “It’s not just about LeRoy. It’s the whole re-

A LeRoy Lines bus pulls up in front of the LeRoy Independent for an evening drop-off in LeRoy. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com gion. We see ourselves serving northern Iowa and Fillmore County just as much as LeRoy.” He added that “We want other towns to be just as relevant.”

Public transportation as a tool to accomplish that is not an idea unique to LeRoy. Maybe about four years ago, Gumbel was part of focus group about public transport, economic development and quality of life, he said.

A major point he took away was that transportation is key to success to a small town, he said.

BY THE NUMBERS Ridership has increased for LeRoy City Lines, if look at December to June last year, it probably averaged between 15 and 20 passengers per day, Gumbel said. They filled about half

the bus.

“But at the same time, we had a list of a dozen people, who were looking for different route times, he said, and people were asking them to go to Chester.

“Rochester never tried a second route,” he said.

LeRoy decided that if a second route didn’t pay for itself, they’d just sell the bus.

Today, anywhere between 30 and 40 passengers ride each day.

In its first year of operation, LeRoy City Lines had 6,377 passengers. A oneway trip is counted as one passenger. Up and back is counted as two passengers.

The fares are: • Single ride for $10 • 10-ride pass for $86 • Monthly pass for $219 The Mayo Clinic subsidizes the rates for its employees, so a10-ride pass for a Mayo employee is $46 and a monthly pass for $133, according to the LeRoy City Lines web page.

The web page also says: “LeRoy City Lines is owned and operated by the City of LeRoy’s Economic Development Authority. The purpose is to benefit everybody in our region, not just employees of Mayo.”

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 103

Jens and Jake Levisen find success along similar paths in Austin

Brothers of the Pitch ABOVE: Jens Levisen huddles his team together before a home match last fall at Art Hass Stadium. BELOW: Jake Levisen watches his Austin girls team from the sidelines during the same season. Herald file photos

104 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

By Rocky Hulne sports@austindailyherald.com

The Austin High School boys soccer team is finally standing under the big lights of U.S. Bank Stadium in the Minnesota Class A State Boys Soccer Semifinals, and the team is gathered in a tight circle as Jens Levisen begins a very familiar routine.

Jens stands in the center of the circle, hopping and screaming at the top of his lungs as the Packers jump along with him.

To get the team pumped, Jens turns to classic line that he picked up from a pre-game music selection in a soccer game in Albert Lea years ago.

“All these haters?!” Jens asks.

“What they say?!” the team responds.

Jens picked up the phrase from an actual song recorded by an AL soccer player that he remembered hearing before a game in the past. It’s fitting that the Packers still use the phrase in their pre-game ritual as Jens, and his brother Jake, who coaches the Austin girls soccer team, both hail from AL. “Our pre-game routine has grown based on things that seem like they would feed the team,” Jens said. “We say one day, will be my day because

Jens left and recently graduated, visits his brother Jake Levisen during his freshman year at Luther College. Photo provided that sounds great and we say you’ve got to beat the best to be the best. That goes back to our wrestling days. We were fans of of Dan Gable and Iowa wrestling.”

Jens and Jake both wrestled and played soccer for the Tigers in high

school, but neither of them had too much trouble adjusting to being Packers when they both began teaching at Austin High School. However there is one lasting reminder of the Levisen’s being in AL and it shows up when the Packers play in AL where a photo of

Jens, who graduated from ALHS in 2000, and the Tiger team that won a Big Nine title in 1999 sits on the locker room wall.

Jake said he enjoys coaching against his old school whenever the Packers take on the Tigers.

“Austin was the place I needed to be after I graduated and it was pretty seamless,” Jake said. “The opportunities opened up and I had to jump on them. It’s fun going back to AL and competing. On the inside, it’s like we kind of have to beat them. I like to say I’m fully converted over to Austin.”

After one year as a C-Squad coach, Jens took over as the head coach for the Packers in 2006 and he spent eight of the last 11 years with Jake by his side as an assistant. The two led Austin to its first-ever state tournament in 2009 and Jens led the Packers to their best season in school history as they won the Big Nine and tied for third place in the state in 2017.

Jens has gone out of his way to instill values and respect to his players over the years, but he’s also enjoyed the winning his team has done.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 106

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“We have a saying that you respect yourself, respect your team, respect your family and respect your community and don’t do anything to disrespect any of them.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 105

“I’d be lying if I said we didn’t want to win,” Jens said. “To not compete to win is to not be an honest competitor.

You’ve got to go after that victory. But at the same time I think about conversations I’ve had with players a year or two after they’ve left the program and the things they picked up on. They’ll reflect upon their experience and you realize they got it.”

When Jake moved from Austin boys assistant coach to take over the Austin girls’ program two years ago, he wanted to bring many of the things to his program that his older brother had taught him. Jens was very supportive of Jake making the move and Jake hopes to bring the Packer girls program to where the Packer boys program is now. When they coached together, Jake and Jens would often be on the same page even before they spoke to each other during games.

“We both knew what we wanted to achieve and our coaching styles were similar so it really meshed well,” Jake said. “Plus, I could tell mom if he wasn’t behaving.”

Jake has adopted the saying of

106 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Jake Levisen Austin girls soccer coach

Austin girls head coach Jake Levisen hugs player Isabelle Leuer as she comes off the field.

The senior was injured, but still took to the field for her final home game. Herald file photo

“more to give” to motivate his squad as he’s always looking for his players to dig a little deeper. The saying began when the Packers beat Rochester Mayo on homecoming while some of their players were out with injuries. Jake’s point was that the rest of the team had to give more for the players who weren’t able to take the field.

Jake also wants to hand out some life lessons to the Packers.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 108

Growing Diversity

By Rocky Hulne

sports@austindailyherald.com

If you watched the Austin boys soccer team, you probably saw at least one player or coach wearing a shirt with a quote from pro soccer player Neymar, Jr. It was simple and it also summed up the growth in diversity that the Packer team has seen over the past decade.

“The world is changing, people are changing, everything is changing … and we need to keep in our minds that we are all equals, no matter the color, or the social conditions,

we are all the same.”

With a roster that features players from a variety of countries and cultures, the Packers have thrived in diversity as everyone has chipped in for the same cause — winning.

Austin head boys soccer coach Jens Levisen said a lot of the team’s camaraderie comes when the squad attends a teamwork clinic in the summer and all players are encouraged to be vocal and get to know their teammates.

“Soccer is a sport that so many people around the world can play, and it’s a chance to let your skills speak for them-

AT KNUTSON, WE’RE LEADING THE WAY IN INNOVATIVE IDEAS. WE SEE A WAY TO CREATE A MASTERPIECE FROM YOUR VISION.

selves,” Jens said. “It’s a great chance to make a connection, too.”

While the boys team has tapped into a lot of players with different backgrounds, Jake Levisen is hoping his girls team can do the same thing in the years to come.

“We’re really trying to reach the diverse population and we’re trying to do that in the offseason too,” Jake said. “We want more awareness that there is girls soccer in Austin and hopefully we can truly represent the diversity that Austin holds.”

RESPECT | FLEXIBILITY | COMMUNICATION | COLLABORATION | TRUST |

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 107

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 106

“We have a saying that you respect yourself, respect your team, respect your family and respect your community and don’t do anything to disrespect any of them,” Jake said said. “That means being a role model. At the high school level, it’s unbelievable how much the younger generation looks up to the current athletes and the current students.”

The Levisen family was one that was hooked on soccer, and it all began when Jens played in a youth soccer tournament in Blaine against a team

from Colombia.

“They destroyed us. It wasn’t even close,” Jens recalled. “But at the end of the game, they gave us Colombia pins and we gave them USA pins. We all had our pop after the game and we were chasing each other with squirt guns. We knew nothing about them, they knew nothing about us, but at the end of the game we just had a blast.”

Jake soon picked up the habit of playing soccer as well and the Levisens also had two sisters who played soccer.

“Monday through Saturday there was soccer

somewhere, whether it was Jens, my sisters or myself,” Jake said. “Soccer in the summer was our life.

We traveled as a family, we watched all of the games.

We saw the wins. We saw the losses. We ate tons of Twizzlers and lots of oranges.”

Although their dad didn’t play soccer, Jens said he was very supportive of his children playing the sport.

“Dad used to always say, win, lose or draw, I love you any way,” Jens said. “If this is a sport you want to go into, I’ll support you. Otherwise you can find something else.”

The Austin Packers soccer team meets postgame following their Section 1A championship over Rochester Lourdes last fall. Herald file photo 108 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

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Rural health care under real pressure Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin adapts for the future of local health care Mayo Clinic Health System’s Austin campus is undergoing a change in how it deals with patient care including the hosting of new services.

Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

114 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

By Deb Nicklay

Deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com

Changes are imminent at Mayo Clinic Health System on both the Albert Lea and Austin campuses. According to medical center leaders, the organization is changing how and where patient care is delivered to ensure the future of health care remains local in both communities.

Mayo announced in June 2017 services between the two campuses will be realigned to better meet the needs of its patients, citing chronic staffing shortages and declining hospitalizations as factors driving the need for changes.

“These challenges are not unique to Albert Lea and Austin — they are impacting rural health care across the country,” says Mark Ciota, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System

in Albert Lea and Austin. “Our realignment of services will allow us to continue to offer high quality of care, but in larger state-of-the-art units.”

Being able to provide the best patient care remains the motivator for the changes, Ciota said. And while change is sometimes difficult, the result will be about “How great can this be? How are we going to be better?” he said.

The intensive care unit (ICU) already transitioned to the Austin campus in January and major surgeries that require hospitalization are tentatively scheduled to move to the Austin campus this summer.

Inpatient behavioral health care (psychiatric services unit) is tentatively scheduled to move from the Austin campus to Albert Lea late summer to

“These challenges are not unique to Albert Lea and Austin — they are impacting rural health care across the country.”

Dr. Mark Ciota CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin

be more closely aligned with the medical center’s Fountain Centers addiction treatment programs. And the hospital’s medical/surgical/pediatric unit in Albert Lea is scheduled to move to Austin in 2019.

It’s important to note that the majority of the services patients receive from the medical center in Albert Lea aren’t changing.

A new family birth center adjacent to the Austin inpatient facility is also being discussed as deliveries move from the Albert Lea campus to

Austin in 2020.

All told, the Austin campus was the best site that allows for remodeling and expansion of hospital rooms and services, with 95 percent of current services remaining on both campuses, including emergency care, same-day surgery, primary care, pediatrics and pre- and post-natal services, specialty care such as orthopedics, endocrinology and neurology, and laboratory, radiology and pharmacy.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 116

Pictured are Mark Ciota, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin and Kristin Johnson, associate administrator. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 115

Mayo Clinic Health System’s Austin campus is undergoing a change in how it deals with patient care, including the hosting of new services. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 115 In the midst of all of that, said associate administrator Kristin Johnson, the moves have or will be made for the best of reasons: providing the best level of care, as well “keeping treatment of patients local” in a challenging health care environment. More demands on primary care and a national shortage of health care workers put pressure on health care systems to find operational efficiencies and other ways of delivering care, which is what Mayo is doing in Albert Lea and Austin.

One new option for patient care was the opening of the Express Care clinic in May, which was met with almost immediate positive response. The clinic, located inside the new Austin Hy-Vee, is staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who provide treatment for common conditions — sore throats, sinus infections, cold and flu among them — and other medical issues that require prompt treatment. Express Care is a walk-in clinic but patients are able to book an appointment through their online patient portal if they wish.

There has also been more use of telehealth services 116 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Pictured is one of three examination rooms at the Express Care Clinic in the Austin Hy-Vee. This option for patient care opened in May 2017, and was met with almost immediate positive response.

The clinic is staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Deb Nicklay/deb. nicklay @austindailyherald.com

“We are working hard to offer more convenient alternative care options at a lower cost to our patients. ” Kristin Johnson associate administrator, Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin enabled by Mayo technology; by use of online services through a patient portal, patients may view test results, message a doctor, review prescriptions, even use the Express Care online services.

“We are working hard to offer more convenient alternative care options at a lower cost to our patients,” Johnson said.

Another change that will improve patient care is the transition to a new electronic record system, which now easily allows the transfer of a patient’s medical information across multiple sites throughout the Mayo system. That, Johnson said, will improve the delivery of care with more immediate record information available.

In the midst of those changes, between 1,800 to 2,700 patients were admitted to each of the Albert Lea

and Austin facilities, which equals about five to seven admissions per day. Inpatient surgeries (surgeries that require hospitalization) have accounted for close to 400 annual procedures on each campus.

In contrast, there are approximately 200,000 outpatient visits each year or nearly 550 patients per day that come to each of the Albert Lea and Austin campuses and over 2,000 outpatient (same-day) surgeries on each campus every year.

Just last month, Mayo earned another honor: Mayo campuses in Rochester, Albert Lea/Austin, Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Arizona were all rated five out of five stars for overall hospital quality by CMS Star Rating System. The average national rating is three stars and the evaluation considers 64 measures of inpatient and outpatient quality.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 117

T

here is a quilt that hangs in the 4-H building at the Mower County Fairgrounds that is filled with history.

“There are a number of clubs that are no longer present, but also it’s fun to see a lot of these same names (carry on),” said Mower County 4-H coordinator April Von Ruden.

Today, there are roughly 425 active 4-H club members in 11 clubs in Mower County.

“Across the state, Mower County ranks near the top as far as membership goes,” she said.

The county’s 4-H advisory board set its membership goal for 2018 at a net increase of 25 members.

Optimism appears warranted considering how Mower County Extension’s 4-H program is coming off a year of growth and change, which included the hiring of Von Ruden, who has emphasized adding opportunities for 4-Hers — such as the Project Bowl competition — as well as for younger children in the form of Cloverbud Adventures.

“We are trying to be really intentional in our programming and really focusing on both our foundation of our club roots and providing educational opportunities,” she said.

THE NEW COORDINATOR: YEAR ONE Much of Von Ruden’s first year has been about building connections with 4-H members, their families and supporters of the program.

“I think Mower County is very fortunate in the fact

118 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

4-H 4 Youth

By Christopher Baldus chris.baldus@austindailyherald.com

Program looks to build on a year of growth that we have a lot of support and a lot of enthusiasm for our programs, and a good core of volunteers,” she said.

The value to 4-H of volunteers can’t be overstated.

“We really rely on our volunteers to grow and carry out the programs,” she said. “We have some very dedicated people who serve as livestock superintendents both youth and adults, who lead most of the livestock project work.”

More than 120 Mower County 4-H members advanced to the Minnesota State Fair in 2017. Most competed in livestock contests.

“We brought home a large number of champion and reserve champion awards,” she said.

The chance to compete is not limited to farm kids.

“One other thing that is neat about our livestock program is our leasing program,” she said. “So for kids that don’t have livestock — their family doesn’t raise livestock, they don’t have access to them — they can actually lease and borrow them from friends and neighbors so that they can still be involved in the program.”

Getting youth involved is a start. From there Von Ruden aims to foster growth.

GROWING “Growth can be defined in a number of different ways,” Von Ruden said “One of the ways I like to think about growth is ‘How can we grow the knowledge base of those people who participating? How can they learn more about their projects to do better than they did the previous year?’”

The shooting sports and wildlife program is one of Mower County’s fastest growing.

“I think it’s really because we’ve got some great teachers,” Von Ruden said. “The volunteers are great teachers. They’ve put on a number of different practices trainings and workshops.”

In the wildlife focus, 4-Hers are researching pollutants in local streams and water sources.

The llama group’s program is also among the county’s most successful.

“We have one of the largest llama programs in the state,” Von Ruden said.

Some other programs Von Ruden is helping to develop are: Project Bowl — Patterned after the classic television show “College Bowl,” it challenges teams of three to six youth on their knowledge of 4-H project areas: dairy, dog, general livestock, horse, poultry, rabbit and wildlife.

There are four Regional Project Bowls (each team only has to attend one regional event), followed by the State Project Bowl. Each has two divisions: Junior (grades 3 - 8) and Senior (grades 4 - 4-H graduation). Regional winners advance to the State Project Bowl and state winners in dairy, general livestock, horse, and poultry go on to national contests.

A Mower County Dairy Project Bowl team has formed. It will be practice on Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. at the 4-H Building. Patty Conradt has volunteered to coach.

Science of Agriculture Challenge — The 4-H Science of Agriculture Challenge asks youth in grades 6 through 12 to identify agricultural problems and develop science-based solutions. The teams of three to five members work with a coach and a mentor from the agriculture-related field related to their project. The teams present their projects at a statewide event for evaluation. The top three teams are

“We are trying to be really intentional in our programming and really focusing on both our foundation of our club roots and providing educational opportunities.”

April Von Ruden Mower County 4-H coordinator

awarded scholarship money.

The projects must focus on agriculture and its relationship to the environment, animals, lifestyle, technology, the economy or food, fiber and energy.

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Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 119

Competitors line up during the goat showing at the Mower County Fair in 2017. Herald file photo CONTINUED FROM PAGE 119 The Cloverbud program is for children from kindergarten age to second grade. They, along with their families, explore the 4-H program through activities tailored for their age groups. The program intends to help children explore their world, build self-esteem and practice basic social skills.

The program includes regular meetings — called adventures — throughout the year led by 4-H ambassadors. The adventures include get-to-know-you activities, story time, crafts and games. Volunteers also teach segments; for example 4-Her Isabel Beck demonstrated how to make pumpkin pie in October during the Pumpkinfest Cloverbud Adventure. In November, Cloverbuds learned about poultry at the Turkey Time adventure, which included an appearance by

120 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Henrietta, a live turkey.

Cloverbuds also can show animals at the Mower County Fair. The types allowed are beef, dairy, cat/pet, goat, horse, llama, poultry, rabbit, sheep and swine.

In January, Mower County hosted a free pork party for Cloverbuds to learn about pigs.

NEW OFFICE HIRE Another new member to the Mower County Extension office is Patty Conradt of Rose Creek, who began on Jan. 2 working as support staff for the Extension office.

She was an 11-year member of Mower County 4-H. She and her husband, Mark, for the past 20 years, worked together at their family business, Rose Creek Locker. They have retired from the business.

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Getting it just right Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery goes its own unique way That attitude also is seen in the lengths Four Daughters goes to procure Honeycrisp apples year round for what an ION television network show deems as the “World’s Greatest” hard cider. Loon Juice was to be featured on the ION show in February.

By Christopher Baldus chris.baldus@austindailyherald.com

SPRING VALLEY — It’s the kind of place where wedding memories are made amid trellised grapes, and chef-prepared cuisine is served against a floor-to-ceiling backdrop of oak wine barrels.

The Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery has built an elegant reputation that has been nationally recognized. In 2017, the establishment just outside of Grand Meadow, was No. 3 in the USA Today Readers Choice rankings of Best Winery Restaurants.

It’s also a place where Justin Osborne stirs caramelizing sugar in a 250-gallon, propane-fired contraption he had custom built so its seasonal hard cider tastes “right.”

122 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

THE WINERY

Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery hosts wedding parties in its vineyard and among its wine barrels.

Photos provided by Four Daughters

The origins of the winery that was first built in 2011 and owned by Gary and Vicky Vogt, is rooted in family.

“All this farmland around this is my mother and father in law’s,” Osborne said. “My mother- and father-in-law had four daughters, so it’s not just a clever name, they actually have four daughters. All of their daughters moved away;

Four Daughters’ facilities include a tasting room, pictured here, as well as a winery, cidery, restaurant, event center, and large production areas. they moved more than two hours away, every one of them. So, they said they wanted to start a winery in hopes that some of them would return.”

Winemaker Justin Osborne is married to daughter Kristin.

The winery, which has a six-acre picturesque vineyard, has expanded markedly. Its original structure encompasses only about one-third of the facility. In May 2016, cider operations moved into a new facility on site.

“The old facility was 3,000 square feet where we made everything,” Justin Osborne said. “The new facility is

about 14,000 square feet, that’s just for cider.”

It also expanded its canning capacity — used primarily for Loon Juice Hard Cider, but not exclusively.

“We’ve been putting some wine in the cans and we’ve been doing sparkling wine in cans. That’s one of my favorites, that Sparkling Brianna right there on the left,” he said motioning to a collection of wines and ciders on the wooden bar of the tasting room.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 124

Loon Juice has been on tap at the Four Daughters since the beginning.

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 123

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 123 Four Daughters’ facilities include a winery, cidery, restaurant, event center, tasting room and large production areas.

USA TODAY READERS CHOICE Kristin Osborne called the Readers Choice distinction “a huge honor” and was thankful for all the area residents who rallied around them and voted online.

“We beat out wineries throughout California, New York and Virginia to take the No. 3 spot. What a huge honor for our winery located in a Midwestern corn field!” she said.

USA Today describes Four Daughters like this on its website: “Situated in rural Southeastern Minnesota, the restaurant at Four Daughters Vineyard serves a sizable menu of small plates, with options ranging from cheese and charcuterie to crab rangoon flatbread and pork belly BLTs.” The restaurant changes its menu daily, according to its website. An early February memo included among 18 items were lollipop lamb chops, smoked brisket tacos, coconut shrimp lettuce wrap and Smokey Joe Nachos.

The Readers Choice award is not the winery’s first bit of national exposure. Four

124 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery owners Gary and Vicky Vogt, center, back row, are surrounded by their children and grandchildren. Photo provided

we’ve got something going on here’ and we decided to try and sell the cider on a wider scale and it turned out to be a pretty enormous scale, eventually.”

In June 2017, the ION Network show “World’s Greatest” contacted Four Daughters, which was chosen over 69 other cideries.

In the interview process of the competition, Osborne explained that what differentiates Loon Juice LOON JUICE is the cider’s freshness when it hits store shelves which is made possible Four Daughters has been serving because of their unique apple supcider on tap since it began, plier arrangements.

Justin Osborne said. It de“We use one type of apple, veloped a following among the Honeycrisp apple,” he international clientele, said. “We have an extensive beginning with several network of suppliers for our visitors from Ireland via apples and our juice. Our Hormel Foods. juice is coming from five dif“They made their love ferent states in the fall, and for the cider well-known in the winter it switches over on many occasions,” he to Washington State where said. “The opinion of the Osborne Honeycrisp is picked most Irish, the English and the months out of the year, and French patrons that we had in here and their reviews of the cider meant then we’ve got some good connections with people down in Chile. a lot to me.”

Daughters wine was served at the 2015 Universal Music Group’s Country Music Awards after-party, various events during the 2015 South By Southwest Film Festival, and was the official wine provider for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Its hard cider Loon Juice is attracting more attention to the winery.

Empty Loon Juice cans are stacked and ready to go through the filling and canning process at Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery. Photo provided

He added, “So I thought, ‘Maybe

CONTINUED ON PAGE 126

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 125

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 125 Loon Juice consumes more than 4,000 acres of honeycrisp apples every year. There aren’t 4,000 acres of Honeycrisp trees in Minnesota, he said. “The largest planting is 78 acres.”

If there were enough honeycrisp trees in the state — which they would compete with fruit buyers for anyway — “that would be great. But it’s not reality.”

Family friends that are apple packers helped set up their wide supply network, he said.

“For someone who uses one specific type of apple to not take it all in at one time and make it for cider in the fall and have it just sit in the tank for the remainder of the year, that’s pretty rare,” Osborne said.

126 | Austin Daily Herald | Progress 2018

“It’s entirely possible that that cider, at least a portion of it, was hanging on a tree two weeks earlier.”

Justin Osborne Four Daughters winemaker Four Daughters does not make the cider unless an order is placed. So, when a can of Loon Juice is placed on a store shelf and “it’s entirely possible that that cider, at least a portion

of it, was hanging on a tree two weeks earlier,” he said.

The taste is bright, crisp and champagne-like, he said.

“I think a majority of people prefer the brighter, a crisper flavor profile,” he said. “There are tons of people out there that like aged, French, farmhouse they call them, ciders. I’m one of them. I like them all, but I just think generally a majority of the population prefers that light bright Honeycrisp flavor.”

ABOUT THAT CARAMEL In recent years, Four Daughters stepped into seasonals. For fall 2017, they offered Caramel Apple Loon Juice, which is why Osbourne had the equivalent of a really big frying pan made to caramelize sugar himself.

“Yeah, it’s difficult and you get burned a lot, that’s why I do it,” he said. “It seems to be a little bit dangerous.”

His efforts are something of a contradiction. He doesn’t need to do it to make caramel apple hard cider. At the same time, yes, he does.

He could have settled for ordering the flavor in a jug and be done with it, but “it didn’t taste the same as the way I always made it.”

“It’s very important for me to put out things that I’m proud of, that I tried my best at,” he said.

“Doing this caramel, it’s a lot of work ... (but) I think the flavor is unlike anything you would ever get any place else. The flavor is just —you are not going to recreate it unnaturally.”

Four Daughters Vineyard and Winery co-owner Gary Vogt helps serve drinks in the tasting room.

Photos provided

Progress 2018 | Austin Daily Herald | 127

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