Progress 2015
The Daily Journal
TEACHERS WHO SHINE
MEET 3 FERGUS FALLS INSTRUCTORS AND LEARN WHY THEY LOVE THEIR JOBS LARRY SCHULZ LEADS LAKE REGION HEALTHCARE THROUGH YEARS OF GROWTH DOUG BECKER HAS HELPED COUNTLESS TOP ATHLETES PERFECT THEIR CRAFT
Service, experience and quality to help you go places. Locals serving locals for 35 years.
PAUL TYSVER Owner 218-998-1901 paul@qualitytoyota.net
STEVE WEBER Sales Manager 218-998-1902 steve@qualitytoyota.net
JEANNE TOSO MIKE TENNESEN Service Writer Service Technician 218-998-1919 218-998-1900 jeanne@qualitytoyota.net
RICH LUTZWICK BRIAN SHORES PAUL LANGSETH Sales Sales Sales 218-998-1903 218-998-1904 218-998-1908 richlutzwick@qualitytoyota.net brian@qualitytoyota.net plangseth@qualitytoyota.net
TIM PFEFFER Service Technician 218-998-1900
SCOTT MURPHY CHASE LARSON Detail Manager Detailer 218-998-1929 218-998-1900 scott@qualitytoyota.net
DAN EVANS Service Technician 218-998-1900
J.J HERON Detailer 218-998-1900
JOHN SCHROEDER Service Technician 218-998-1900
DAN HALL Detailer 218-998-1900
PETE THOM Sales 218-998-1905 pete@qualitytoyota.net
DUSTIN WYNN Service Technician 218-998-1900
DAN KARST Administration 218-998-1913 dkarst@qualitytoyota.net
GEORGE FRANCO Sales 218-998-1917 george@qualitytoyota.net
WES ZILMER Service Technician 218-998-1900
KATHY WRIGHT Accounting 218-998-1914
BLAKE RICKS Sales 218-998-1917 blake@qualitytoyota.net
ANDERS SPIDAHL Sales 218-998-1917 anders@qualitytoyota.net
JERRY ANDERS GRANT NYGAARD Parts Manager Lube Technician 218-998-1910 218-998-1931
SARAH BERTRAND Warranty & Title Clerk 218-998-1915 sarah@qualitytoyota.net
Quality Toyota
RICH WENTZEL General Maitenance 218-998-1900
ERICK SWANSON Business Manager 218-998-1912 erick@qualitytoyota.net
LIZA MARIE Parts 218-998-1911 liza@qualitytoyota.net
BOB MCMORROW Courtesy Driver 218-998-1900
MONTE BAEZ MIKE HOLSTROM CHRIS ALFREDSON Service Writer e-Commerce Manager Service Manager 18-998-1920 218-998-1923 218-998-1921 chris@qualitytoyota.net monte@qualitytoyota.net service@qualitytoyota.net
MICHAEL EFRAIN FRANCO ERICK LARSON ELLENSON Auto Body Technician Auto Body Technician Collision Center Manager 218-998-1931 218-998-1931 218-998-1931 collision@qualitytoyota.net
VIRGIL TOSO Courtesy Driver 218-998-1900
BRUCE HOPPER Courtesy Driver 218-998-1900
CONNIE WALLACE Courtesy Driver 218-998-1900
RYAN THOMAS Auto Body Technician 218-998-1931
PATRICK SAGERHORN Courtesy Driver 218-998-1900
1125 W. Lincoln, Fergus Falls, MN 800-666-0952 • 218-998-1900
www.qualitytoyota.net
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Progress 2015
At First National Bank you can count on a local process for the quick answers you deserve. Stop in or apply online anytime at fnbhenning.com.
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TURNING YOUR DREAMS INTO A REALITY CAN BE THAT EASY.
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INSIDE PROGRESS 2015 | ENTERPRISE
Progress 2015
Ringdahl family has been providing ambulance service for decades ................................................................................... 6-8 New EIC director Amy Baldwin has vision for community ...... 10-11 ShoreMaster doing well after major restructure ...................... 12-14 Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County unemployment rate ..................... 16 Rothsay hotel capitalizes on CapX2020 ........................................... 18
WHATEVER YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS ...
CapX2020 by the numbers ................................................................. 19
We’ll help you reach them.
Otter Tail Power’s Tim Rogelstad excited for the future ........ 22-23
Thrivent Financial offers a full range of products and services to help you achieve financial security, including: • Life insurance • Annuities • Mutual funds
• Retirement options • Health insurance
Bigwood Event Center provides a place to gather ................... 20-21 David Stoddard, The Spot lead charge to attract artists to FF ... 24-25 M State’s Lori Charest has passion for creating, inspiring ...... 26-27
HEALTH & WELLNESS Renae Lindgren discovers passion for cross-country skiing ...... 29
We’ll create a financial strategy that reflects your goals and values.
Diane Thorson leading charge toward preventive care .......... 30-31 M State nursing student Corinne Seiple advancing career ..... 32-33
Carol A. Juul
LRH CEO Larry Schulz leads hospital’s growth in many forms ... 34-36
Financial Representative Cell: 320-491-1451
Grappling standout Drew Roos takes swing at pro wrestling ... 37-39
AGRICULTURE Dan Schindler one of many telecommuters in Fergus ............. 40-41 Food hub grows on local schools .................................................. 42-43
Kurt A. Nygaard
Otter Tail County farms by the numbers ........................................ 44
ChFC®, CLTC®, FIC Financial Consultant Office: 218-998-2723
COMMUNITY Readers share: What could become of the Kirkbride? ........... 45-46
Enterprise
Through the Years: The Kirkbride ..................................................... 47 119 Friberg Avenue, Suite B • Fergus Falls, MN 56537 Insurance products issued or offered by Thrivent Financial, the marketing name for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Appleton, WI. Not all products are available in all states. Securities and investment advisory services are offered through Thrivent Investment Management Inc., 625 Fourth Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415, a FINRA and SIPC member and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thrivent. Thrivent Financial representatives are registered representatives of Thrivent Investment Management Inc. They are also licensed insurance agents/producers of Thrivent. For additional important information, visit Thrivent.com/disclosures.
Appleton, Wisconsin • Minneapolis, Minnesota • Thrivent.com • 800-847-4836 20328 R3-14
Through the Years: LB Homes ..................................................... 49, 52
EDUCATION FF robotics team training tomorrow’s engineers ................. 54-56 Q&A with: Gary Hoffbeck, FF Junior High ............................. 57, 60 Q&A with: Ellen Anderson, FF special education .................... 58-59 Q&A with: Andrew Millard, FF High School ..................................... 61 Doug Becker has helped countless athletes perfect their craft ... 62-63
EDUCATION
BRECKENRIDGE/WAHPETON
Hillcrest attracts international students who excel .................. 67-68 ELBOW LAKE Community Building could be on National Register ................ 95-96
COMMUNITY
Readers share: Locals who go Above & Beyond ...................... 69-70 Destination Fergus: There are myriad things to do in town ..... 71-77
Prairie Ridge: New and improved .................................................. 97-99
ROTHSAY
Someplace Safe’s Kate Laudon provides voice for voiceless .... 78-79 New school gives Rothsay students breathing room .................. 100 Veterans home chaplain Jack Stanek shares experiences ....... 80-81 Recent additions to Fergus make most of retirement .............. 82-83 Meet The Daily Journal team ........................................................ 83-85
ASHBY/DALTON Ashby’s baseball team still bringing in large crowds ............... 86-87
BATTLE LAKE/UNDERWOOD
Progress 2015
New track, bleachers, football field among improvements for Fer- Chahinkapa Zoo offers many attractions ............................ 90, 91, 94 gus Falls Public Schools ................................................................... 64-65 Commuters connect Wahpeton, Fergus Falls .............................. 92-93 Art on display: Anna Soenkson ........................................................... 66
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PELICAN RAPIDS Lake Region Electric Coop continues to provide for members ......... ......................................................................................................... 101-102
HENNING/ PERHAM/OTTERTAIL/NEW YORK MILLS Henning, Perham, BL students excel in CEO course .......... 103, 106 Henning students learn valuable life lessons ................................ 104
Through the Years: Everts Lumber ............................................... 88-89 CEO makes Perham students’ goals reality .................................... 105
Natural gas is the right choice. Insist on natural gas when you’re building or buying a new home. It’s convenient and delivered daily to your door. EfďŹ ciency-proven natural gas can warm your home, heat water, dry clothes and cook food at a cost that’s less than most other fuels. Natural gas homes also have a higher resale value than all-electric homes.
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Build your dream home with natural gas ... because it’s your money.
Progress 2015
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All in the family Enterprise
John Ringdahl, center, with his two sons, Tollef, left, and Bjorn, right, of Ringdahl Ambulance.
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Ringdahl clan has been providing ambulance service for decades
n the summer of 1967, the city of Fergus Falls found itself needing a new ambulance service. John Ringdahl, an ambulance worker at Smith Ambulance in Minneapolis, heard of the vacancy, set up a contract with the city, and opened for business on Oct. 1, 1967, taking over the existing operator. He bought the last business’ equipment and vehicles, and, according to him, “That was about it.” However, that was only the beginning of Ring-
dahl Ambulance Service Incorporated, a staple of Fergus Falls that is fast approaching its 50th year. John Ringdahl grew up on a farm in Milnor, North Dakota, working mostly with livestock, however, ambulance service began to call to him at a young age. “I’ve wanted to do it since I was about 13 to 14 years old. To this day I don’t know why. It was just something I wanted to do.”
He started ambulance work when he was 18, gaining employment first in Valley City, North Dakota. After that he ended up working in San Francisco after going west to spend a winter with a friend. He ended up getting a job with an ambulance service there, and did that for four winters, coming back every spring to help on the farm. In 1964 John ended up in Minneapolis, where he married his wife, Enid, and worked for Smith Ambulance for a few years.
Story by Miranda Hubert | Photos by Marie Noplos unless noted
starting in 1968. At top production, he made about two a month, until 2000, when he sold that side of the business to Premier Specialty Vehicles manufacturing and dealership in Fergus Falls, where they continue to get their vehicles. John and Enid’s sons Bjorn and Tollef also followed into the business nearly by the time they got a driver’s license, according to Bjorn.
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See Ringdahl — Page 8
Photo provided
John Ringdahl, left, and John Lunde, right, load a patient into an ambulance in 1969.
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Fergus Falls
218-998-2262 • 218-205-5347 cell seth.johnson@country¿nancial.com
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Trusted. Local. Reliable. 0215-128
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Seth Johnson
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“I read in the Minneapolis paper in July of 1967 that Fergus Falls was looking for another operator,� John recalled. “I made a contact, and that’s the way that happened.� He and Enid started the business with two units and a staff of about five. Enid worked as the dispatcher for the company, as John explained before 911 dispatching, they answered their own phone. In addition to running the service, John also built his own ambulances,
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Ringdahl
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From Page 7 Tollef added that they started doing wheelchair type transports, and then got their EMT and paramedic training and migrated into the ambulance work. In 2000, Bjorn and Tollef took over the business, and John retired. But that didn’t stop John. “I still come in and punch in every once in a while,” John quipped. Over the years, the changes have been phenomenal, John said. Bjorn explained that though the business started off with two ambulances, they now have 21: five in Atlanta, two in Pelican, four in Fergus Falls, four in Jamestown, three in Castleton, and three in Lisbon. All these locations are under the Ringdahl umbrella. They also now employ over 100 people, compared to the five that they started with. Collectively, the company takes over 6,500 calls Tollef Ringdahl, manager of the Fergus Falls and Pelican Rapids locations, left, a year. In addition to the ambulance serand Bjorn Ringdahl, general manager of both Minnesota and North Dakota locavice, the Ringdahl family operates tions. several smaller pursuits including a paramedic school. “It’s an accredited training program, teaches everything from CPR and paramedic to everything in between,”
Photo provided
John Ringdahl next to a Field’s ambulance in Sunnyvale California around 1963. Tollef explained. The brothers also said that they are the only ambulance service FEMA contracts with in the upper Midwest. “We consider our family all of our staff, all of our employees, because if not for them we wouldn’t be here,” Tollef said. “We’re here for the patients,” Bjorn added. “That’s why we’re here.” u
• Is Bankruptcy the right solution for me?
• What is the difference between Chapters 7, 11, & 13? • Will I lose my home and car? • Will I receive credit?
“Bankruptcy can be a life changing experience. Change your life for the better.”
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“We are a debt relief agency, we help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.”
PERSONAL ATTENTION INDIVIDUALS & BUSINESSES Chapter 7 Panel Trustee, District of Minnesota.
A h l g LAW r eOFFICE nA 218-998-2775
www.ahlgrenlaw.net • erik@ahlgrenlaw.net 220 W. Washington Ave • Fergus Falls
Tollef and Bjorn Ringdahl with a 1958 Desoto ambulance during the 40th anniversary of Ringdahl Ambulance. This Desoto is the first ambulance John Ringdahl, the founder, owned.
Our 4200 foot expansion is complete and includes a new reception area, a new worship center with overhead projection, a public gathering area, ample parking and easy handicapped accessibility. We are so pleased to help you celebrate the life of your loved one in a grand and meaningful way, and even include those that may be separated by distance.
The area’s only locally-owned funeral service.
FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICE
www.OlsonFuneralHome.com Pebble Lake Rd • Fergus Falls • 736-7586 • 800-530-8937
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Olson
Nicki Gale-Youngberg, Mortician; Pam Olson, Office; Lowell Brenna, Mortician; Al Kremeier, Mortician; Guy Olson, Mortician; Robbie Olson, Intern; Elaine Olson, Funeral Director.
Progress 2015
Expanded for you
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Progress 2015
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Name: Amy Baldwin Age: 39 Hometown: Lidgerwood, North Dakota Occupation: Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission director Fun fact: She played the flute in high school. Why she’s in Progress: Baldwin plans to implement measures in Fergus she proved were successful in other communities. Amy Baldwin started as Fergus Falls Economic Improvement executive director in January. Baldwin comes from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and has a lot of experience with economic development.
Our Roots Run Deep
Enterprise
Family owned and operated since 1922, Minnesota Motor Company is one of the most unique auto dealerships in the country. Four generations of Brimhall’s have been born here, raised here and served the Fergus Falls area and can’t imagine a better place to be.
We have seen a lot of change and growth but through it all, our commitment to our employees, our customers and our community has never wavered. Every day, we value our rich history and we celebrate our bright future and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for letting us serve you.
Matt Brimhall Steve Brimhall Ben Brimhall
SALES | SERVICE | PARTS | BODY SHOP | EXPRESS LUBE | DETAILING | CAR WASH | AUTO GLASS | ACCESSORIES
Moving Fergus forward By Jacob Tellers Daily Journal
Coming from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Amy Baldwin already has a lot of experience with city level economic development. She will use that experience in her role as the executive director of the Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission, which she took on at the start of 2015. Q: What are your initial impressions of the Fergus Falls community? A: The community has been very welcoming, beyond the profession side and from the personal side, being willing to make introductions. Q: What types of businesses would you like to attract to Fergus Falls? A: Some of the first work I’ll do is look at what are the needs for the community, and with the other resources and partners of the community determine what assets could Fergus Falls support and create a plan around that information. I feel it would be best for Fergus Falls to have a diverse industry base so that the local economy is not significantly impacted should one sector see a downturn. This also provides a variety of employment and career options for area residents. Q: What’s been your first impression
of your job? A: I’ve been meeting with a lot of business owners and other organizations and representatives, local manufactures, and hearing a consistent message of commitment to the community. They want what’s best for Fergus Falls and to support it. That’s been a resoundingly positive message I’ve heard. Q: What are some things you or others can do to encourage students to become involved in the manufacturing industry? A: I’ve read a little bit about what the school is doing with their manufactures lab they are putting together. Introducing it early to youth is critical. They obviously recognize that. Youth need to understand it is a career opportunity, not just a job in the manufacturing field. Today’s manufactures aren’t what they were in the past. It’s a very clean environment. It’s precision, high tech work. It’s important to introduce it early so they get hands on experience on what the work is. Q: What’s been your agenda the first few weeks on the job? A: It’s really been introducing myself to various people in the community. Being introduced to those people. Learning who our partners are, such as the West Central Initiative and their programs related to business.
people in. It needs to be about the community as well and making it a place for people to live and work. Q: What has been the most challenging part of your job so far? A: There haven’t been any big challenging. The biggest thing is just getting up to speed. Understanding the history is always a challenge when starting a position like this when it is based on work that has already been done. It’s learning what that work was and learning what worked and didn’t work in the past. Just learning the community. u
Progress 2015
New EIC director has vision for community
Q: What are your thoughts on the low unemployment rate and worker shortage in the area? A: Labor shortage is a challenge. Companies are looking to grow and are having some challenges in finding the right qualified workers for available positions. It’s not new or unique to Fergus Falls to have this issue now. It’s broadly seen within the region having this low unemployment and worker shortage. We need to make it a whole package so it’s not just about coming to Fergus Falls for a job, if it is about recruiting
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“Youth need to understand manufacturing is a career opportunity, not just a job ... Today’s manufactures aren’t what they were in the past.” Fabulous Finds for your Lake & Home! Personal Home decor Consulting Available! Something for everyone...Including Yourself!
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Enterprise Mon-Fri 8-7 Sat & Sun 9-5 120 S Union, Fergus Falls MN www.marketfergusfalls.com 218-998-3663
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Recovery and growth
Photos by Marie Noplos/Daily Journal
Enterprise
Todd Whaley makes some final measurements and adjustments while working at the CnC Milling Center at ShoreMaster in Fergus Falls this February.
IT’S EASY TO FIND A LONG-LASTING GARAGE DOOR.
218-736-2979 • 800-704-2979
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Overhead Door Company of Fergus Falls 1742 College Way Suite #10
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By Zach Stich Daily Journal
With several quality businesses in Fergus Falls, President and CEO of ShoreMaster Don Hurley looked to turn around the company after the economic downturn and bring back prosperity to the company synonymous with Fergus Falls for the past 30 years. With the help of Rob Katzenmeyer and his staff at the waterfront manufacturer, Hurley has helped get the company back on its feet. While the community has given ShoreMaster a home, Hurley and crew have also given back by providing jobs for more than 100 employees, donating money to the school district and local food shelf. The Journal spoke with Hurley on his passion for his job, how he got into his line of work and if he sees growth in his industry.
See ShoreMaster — Page 14
112 3,000 25,000
NUTS and BOLTS
The number of parts used in ShoreMaster products produced in Fergus Falls in 2014.
Enterprise
Q: Did you ever believe you would be working in the line of work you are currently doing? A: I am not surprised by the line of work, but I am shocked at being the CEO. Frankly, Rob Katzenmeyer and I made a presentation as to how to salvage ShoreMaster from the mess it was in from poor direction and leadership, and before I knew it they made me the president. And that was because Rob wouldn’t take it! I had the title of vice president of sales for two weeks, which was my ideal job. Looking back, it didn’t make sense at the time. But when you assess the situation and realize that our business is really market driven, it makes more sense than having a finance or engineer person running the business. And the results bear that out, odd as it may seem. Q: What is the best part of your job? A: The people. Our vision statement ends with our “GREAT PEOPLE” and it’s capitalized on purpose. ShoreMaster has a unique combination of a senior workforce along with really young executive team that is incredibly talented. The best part is witnessing them accepting concepts
and taking it to a whole new level. We constantly talk about the continuity of old school combined with new school. ShoreMaster brings the best of that to the market. Q: What’s something that’s not as fun about your job? A: Our restructure. I really agonized over dismissing people during our recovery. I will forever wonder why those people refused to change and contribute at the expense of their jobs and more importantly the expense of the company’s survival. The difficult part of it all is you have to be good to be at ShoreMaster. We are lean enough that anyone who isn’t really good at what they do will stick out. And unfortunately that can lead to dismissal. I hate that part. Now that we are really doing well, there still is no victory in “I told you so.” Q: Do you see growth in your line of work in the future? A: Absolutely. I often get asked about if the market is saturated, which is misguided and foolish. There are so many new entrants to the market and ShoreMaster is one of the few positioned to dominate in whatever segment it so chooses. Beyond that, we have such a great sales force, great production, sales processes, and call center, that we could be representing other lines of products and services to complement docks and lifts. Q: What is the best part of being in business in the Fergus Falls community? A: Being a valued employer that is vested in growing individuals professionally. We want to be the best Ryan Aday pulls product out of the up cut saw at ShoreMaster. The saw has a employer who provides opportunities for any career path an employee programmable feed for precision. so chooses up to and including my job. If climbing the ladder isn’t your thing, we also have the safest place to work. Our facilities are second to The number of people employed at the Fergus Falls ShoreMaster. The none and it’s a great place to come number is “growing weekly,” according to CEODon Hurley. to work every day. Beyond that, we also have brought a huge amount The number of products ShoreMaster produced in Fergus Falls in of our purchasing back within the 2014. region. We hardly do anything from China anymore.
Progress 2015
ShoreMaster doing well after major restructure
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ShoreMaster hardware out of Willmar. And so on. Q: What are ways ShoreMaster gives back to the community? A: We really focus on the kids. We try to support the high school in many ways, mostly financially. However we did also raise money for the food shelf. Coming off our record year financially, we are circling back to ask ourselves what else can ShoreMaster do to be very effective in its support. I would say that given our extensive training, we are a viable avenue to a lifelong professional career right here in Fergus Falls. That is a huge opportunity that I feel is yet to be fully realized by the town and surrounding area.
Above: The robotic welder is busy at work at ShoreMaster. Below: ShoreMaster has three production buildings in Fergus Falls, specializing in docks and boat lifts. Q: What are some of the products made by ShoreMaster? A: We have the broadest product offering in the industry. During the economic crash and the great
ShoreMaster turnaround, we had to close down five facilities around the nation and bring everything back here to Fergus Falls. This mitigated much of the job losses here locally, and immediately started to pay back on not only profitability, but in efficiencies, quality, and consumer satisfaction. So, we make aluminum, plastic and steel, standing and fl oating docks and lifts. Along with that, we also do some OEM business for agricultural business regionally. It’s quite a line of products and we do it all with our great people. Q: In an area crazy about recreating on lakes,
how does it feel to know that you are providing not only a need, but fun to area residents? A: We talk about that
all of the time. We are where all the fun and memories are. And we work in the perfect area to live in, too! u
Bobcat of Otter Tail County
3327 Fir Avenue Fergus Falls, Minnesota (218) 739-4505 & (877) 852-3288 www.bobcatofottertail.com - bobcat1@prtel.com XNLV138056
Although sometimes I feel we do not get treated very well by some local vendors, the bigger picture is that we source over $11.46 million of our supplies within a 60-mile radius of the Fergus Falls area. That also gives back by supporting other jobs we don’t directly employ. We are one of Alexandria Industries largest customers for example. We could go elsewhere but we choose to source with them and it’s a great deal for their people as well as our supply chain. They are a fantastic partner. We use Golden Ring trucking for as much as they will take. They have been a longtime valued partner and our dealers have come to know them as well. We source our
Bobcat Sales, Rental & Service
1220 N. Tower Rd. Fergus Falls, MN 56537
Enterprise
Progress 2015
From Page 13
218-739-4990
• Automated Equipment Builders
XNLV138301
“To nourish, delight and serve America, every meal, every day.”
• Precision Machining and Fabrication • UL Enclosures
www.westtoolff.com
West tool is proud to be apart of the manufacturing community!
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218-736-7511 • 914 E. Channing Ave., Fergus Falls
Enterprise
Is your business top of mind when your customers step out to buy goods and services? Advertise in the Daily Journal and at fergusfallsjournal.com. Familiarity rings the cash register.
Progress 2015
YOUR AD HERE
Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County unemployment rate 2009-2014 Fergus Falls
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Otter Tail County
Source: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
A global leader in valve communication solutions StoneL’s location on the northwest edge of Fergus Falls.
Professional job opportunities: • Assembly and manufacturing technicians • Operations/Administrative Support • Engineering (electrical, mechanical, industrial, design) • Communications networking • Sales and marketing.
Enterprise
Competitive wages and benefit StoneL has grown into a leading worldwide supplier of valve communication solutions for the process industries. Employees directly participate in the creation, manufacturing and/or selling of many exciting new products. StoneL offers competitive wages with medical, savings and other benefit .
A unit of Metso
1 (218) 739-5774 www.stonel.com
26271 US Hwy 59 | Fergus Falls
jobs@stonel.com
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Enterprise
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Inn a good location Rothsay hotel capitalizes on CapX2020 project By Jacob Tellers Daily Journal
With decades of real estate experience in the Twin Cities, Roger Phillips was the man for the job when Rothsay was wanting an inn to be brought back over a decade ago. The Comfort Zone Inn, located just a short ways down the road off of exit 38 on Interstate 94, was in a prime position the past few years to receive a boost from the recent CapX2020 project, which
brought new power lines along Interstate 94 from the Twin Cities to North Dakota. The multi-year project brought many construction workers with it. They have to have somewhere to stay and Phillipps’ inn was in the perfect spot to provide that service to them, some of whom would stay for as long as a year at a time, as they worked on sections of the CapX2020 project around Rothsay. His inn has been pretty much full since the project began sev-
Jeff Meier/Daily Journal
Roger Phillips stands behind the front counter of the Rothsay Comfort Zone Inn. eral years ago, but the busiest season actually has been the winter. “They want the ground frozen,” he said. “Rain can be an issue.” He purchased the property from the Rothsay School Dis-
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trict in 2000, and reopened it as the Comfort Zone Inn in 2002. “The people in town wanted it,” Phillips said, adding that his past real estate work gave him the necessary experience to get the inn up and running. He offers many amenities
including Internet, satellite TV, mini-fridges and microwaves. The best feature was one he was more than willing to demonstrate. The inn’s beds are remote controlled and have a massage setting, Phillips said. u
Towering over Otter Tail County C
apX2020 is a series of projects in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin that will span about 800 miles and cost around $2 billion. The construction that happened around Fergus Falls in late 2014 and early 2015 is part of a transmission line that will span from Monticello, Minnesota, to Mapleton, North Dakota, near Fargo. About 1,400 towers will make up the 238-mile line for a total bill of $642 million, which will be split by Xcel Energy, Otter Tail Power Co., Missouri River Energy, Minnesota Power and Great River Energy. The project is scheduled for completion this year.
Progress 2015
CapX2020 project connects Twin Cities to Fargo through region
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CapX2020 by the numbers The length in miles of the CapX2020 project. It will affect Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
800
$2B
Overall cost of the project.
150
The height in feet of each tower.
345
Electrical power in kilovolts.
600-900
Distance in feet between each tower.
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Above: A crews pours cement into place in September 2014 to create the foundation for a CapX2020 structure that will stand in front of Walmart in Fergus Falls. At right: Crew members guide a section into place near Rothsay. The structure will be 190 feet tall when all four pieces are together.
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Bigwood Event Center has options for many occasions For The Journal
Providing one location to meet, spend the night and enjoy a meal is just part of why the Bigwood Event Center continues to be a vital part of the Fergus Falls community. “We have a hotel and a restaurant attached to the event center so they partner with the event center,” said Tammy Banks, catering director at Bigwood, making it possible, for example, for wedding guests to stay on the property after the reception and not have to drive somewhere else. The next morning, guests of the Best Western The Falls Inn & Suites can get everything they need in one place. A draw to the hotel is its Minnesota-shaped pool and its unusual 9-foot depth. Having the Z103 Bar & Grill in the same building is another plus for those attending meetings at the event center. “If the company planning the meeting doesn’t want to provide a lunch for a seminar but those attending have a lunch break, they can go to the Z and have lunch without going into the cold,”
Banks said. “And there are plenty of eating opportunities nearby, too.” Bigwood provides space for many events throughout the year focusing on four categories: weddings; conventions; meetings; and social events like grooms’ dinners, bridal showers, anniversary celebrations and anniversaries. “Weddings, conventions and meetings make up the bulk of the events,” Banks said. “We handle all of it: beverages, snacks, tables, chairs, catering.” Several events are held annually there, such as a bridal gala, the Frostbite Family Fun Night, the West Otter Tail Crop and Forage Show and the Festival of Quilts Show. “We try to accommodate all events from two people to 800 people and everything in between,” Banks said. With seven meeting rooms, the Bigwood can also handle multiple meetings at once. “Those looking for a location for their event may not choose us because we may not be able to meet their budget, but we try to work with every group to have their event here,” Banks said. “Friday
night events are not as popular as Saturday night events but Friday events carry a lower price. So holding your event, even a wedding on a Friday, can save you money.” They also provide a reduced rate for fundraisers, and for events in January or February, or when they aren’t as busy. Business personnel often bring their spouses to a location meeting and in those instances the Bigwood strives to make their stay enjoyable, too. “We showcase Fergus Falls as a beautiful place with lakes, bike trails, A Center for the Arts and as a place we all love and as a place they can come and enjoy, too,” Banks said. The Bigwood can provide a shuttle so the spouses can enjoy an outing. “We can take them to other areas like downtown to shop, to a lake where there may be a fishing tournament, or on a regional tour to places like the Kirkbride, the Viking Valley Shooting Club, Red Horse Ranch, the Otter Tail County Historical Museum or on a tour of downtown,” Banks said. A plus for the com-
Progress 2015
By Dorinda Anderson
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A wedding held at Bigwood in September 2014. munity of Fergus Falls in having the event center is all the additional traffic it brings in each year. “We bring in events that generate traffic for restaurants and shopping,” Banks said. “We bring in dollars that help Fergus Falls businesses. When we host weddings, brides need fl owers, photographers, cakes and DJs, thus creating business for other bridal vendors.” u
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Powering Otter Tail
Progress 2015
Tim Rogelstad leads electric co. as industry evolves By Adam Harringa Daily Journal
Tim Rogelstad became president of Otter Tail Power Co. in April 2014, replacing Chuck MacFarlane, who was promoted to president chief operating officer of Otter Tail Corp. Rogelstad has a background in engineering, and has been with Otter Tail Power since 1989, starting in the system engineering department. Among Rogelstad’s professional accomplishments are roles in the company’s CapX2020 transmission line investment, two major transmission projects in the Big Stone area of South Dakota, and an international transmission line from central North Dakota to central Manitoba. He helped develop Otter Tail Power’s first large-scale wind generation strategy, and led an initiative to develop a methodology for prioritizing capital projects across the entire company. The Journal spoke with Rogelstad about projects happening now, future plans and about the company in general.
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Q: What got you interested in the energy business, and what led you to your current career path? A: I was infl uenced by my father, who was an electrical engineer working for a utility, and my older brother, who was an engineer. And I wanted the ability to live anywhere — a big city or a small town. Being a utility engineer offered that kind of fl exibility. Q: How do you see Otter Tail Power Co.’s relationship with the Fergus Falls community? What does having a large employer like this mean to the city and the county? A: Otter Tail Power is connected with the Fergus Falls community in many ways. Here are some examples. — We provide electricity to people in their homes and businesses. Without electricity, how would you watch your game or do your homework or get help at the hospital? We work hard to keep this service affordable. And we work hard to be environmentally responsible. — We also employ more than 350
people here and have more than 200 retirees living in this area. They are fire fighters, Scout leaders, Sunday school teachers, coaches, robotics mentors, Young Life leaders, board members, United Way volunteers, band and sports boosters, and more. They buy gasoline and groceries and many other products in this community. They eat out and go to shows. And they make donations to community organizations. Otter Tail Power Co. and Otter Tail Corp. also make charitable donations to enhance health and human services, art and education, community vitality, and the environment. — Otter Tail Power purchases many products locally — nearly $5 million worth annually. And we pay school, city, county, and state taxes on property with an assessed value of $50 million. Q: Hoot Lake Plant is scheduled to be phased out by 2020. Talk about that process, the time frame, and why it’s neces-
in 1972 with environmental controls that remove most of the particulate matter that would otherwise be emitted. Last year we upgraded those environmental controls again and added others to reduce mercury emissions. But smaller aging power plants, such as Hoot Lake, are coming under increased regulatory scrutiny, and we expect that further and more expensive pollution controls likely would be required after 2020 that would not be economic to install. In addition, many of the plant’s other systems will have reached the end of their useful life by then and would require major investment if we were to continue operating the 60-year-old plant. So when the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission requested that we evaluate retirement options for the plant, we studied several options and eventually recommended retiring the plant in 2020, likely replacing the generation with natural gas. The commission approved the decision.
“I was infl uenced by my father, who was an electrical engineer working for a utility, and my older brother, who was an engineer.” sary. How will Otter Tail Power replace the energy supply from Hoot Lake? A: The Hoot Lake Plant’s two operating coal-fired generation units, Unit No. 2 (60 megawatts) and Unit No. 3 (80 megawatts), came on line in 1959 and 1964, respectively, and produce about 20 percent of Otter Tail Power’s generation. Hoot Lake is one of our most reliable plants and routinely has higher availability than similarly sized units nationwide as measured by the National Energy Regulatory Corporation. This availability statistic is achieved largely through the dedicated staff who operate and maintain the plant and past employees who took good care of it through the years. A 1,000-kilowatt hydro power unit is adjacent to the coal-fired units. Both coal units burn low-sulfur western subbituminous coal. Both were retrofit
This year we are completing our analysis of `generation types and locations, keeping in mind needs such as proximity to natural gas pipelines and electric transmission lines. We also are considering the effect of pending EPA rules. We’ve targeted the end of 2015 for our decision and then would begin the permitting process for a new plant to be in service within our three-state region by 2021. We serve Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Closing down Hoot Lake Plant won’t happen overnight. We expect to operate it fully, safely, and efficiently through 2020. Then we will begin a decommissioning process that will take some time. We expect to have positions for most of the plant’s employees, and we’ll be working to match their skills and experience with the business needs we’ll have
Name: Tim Rogelstad | Age: 48 | Hometown: Pelican Rapids | Occupation: President, Otter Tail Power Co., and Senior Vice President, Otter Tail Corp. | Fun fact: Rogelstad referees area high school football games. throughout our system. Q: How has the CapX2020 project been going? What does it mean for the future of energy supply to the region? A: The Fargo to Monticello project was on its final stages of construction in the Fergus Falls area in February. It is on schedule and on budget. We recognize its impacts to the local area. Many of them are positive such as the economic boost to hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, dry cleaners, chiropractors, and others during construction. Some of the impacts are temporarily disruptive, and we appreciate the understanding of the people in the region. Q: Will Otter Tail Power look to diversity its energy supply in the next few years? How have changes in regulations affected planning? How does renewable energy fit into the equation? A: Otter Tail Power will continue to diversify its energy supply. Wind energy already serves 19 percent of our retail load. And, we expect we’ll be adding solar energy to comply with Minnesota’s Solar Energy Standard and natural gas to replace the coal-fired generation at Hoot Lake. Coal remains important as an around-the-clock, dispatchable, low cost, baseload resource. We emphasize energy efficiency, too. Since 1992 our energy-efficiency programs have helped customers conserve about 83 megawatts of demand and about 2.8 million cumulative megawatthours of electricity. That’s roughly equivalent to the amount of electricity that about 233,000 average homes would use in a year and represents more than 200 percent of the annual energy sales of our entire residential customer base. A diverse mix of generation resources is good for reliability, cost, and national energy independence. So far we’ve been able to diversify by procuring cost-effective resources. u
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Progress 2015
Otter Tail Power president and Otter Tail Corp. senior vice president Tim Rogelstad is leading the power company through change. Rogelstad, who became president of Otter Tail Power in 2014, was inuenced growing up by his father, who was an electrical engineer. Photo by Adam Harringa/Daily Journal
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Downtown sound David Stoddard, The Spot lead charge to attract artists to Fergus Falls By Seth Johnson For The Journal
One of the first customers to walk through the door of The Spot Panini and Wine has turned into a high note for the downtown Fergus Falls restaurant. David Stoddard lives and breathes music in Fergus Falls. He teaches music classes at M State, tours with folk groups, writes music, promotes local musicians, hosts a local radio show and hosts open mic night at The Spot. “What’s really neat about Fergus Falls’ support for the arts is that it’s not dependent on tourism,” Stoddard said. “We don’t have a large infl ux of consumers who support the arts three
months a year. We have support for arts year-round.” While technology has brought music a long way, Stoddard’s passion is for music with a short signal change. There are thousands of things that can be done to sound before it hits a listener’s ear, but nothing can take the place of pure, unaffected music. A venue like The Spot is perfect for facilitating that style, he said. “A carpenter doesn’t define herself by the quality of her tools. It’s the end result that’s the important thing,” he said. Stoddard’s relationship with The Spot started on the restaurant’s opening day about six years ago. “I think he might have been my first customer,” The Spot owner Michael Loreno said. “I remember he just walked in and had a piece of cheesecake.” In the following weeks, Loreno and Stoddard began to talk about moving open mic night from Barringer’s Coffee to The Spot. It turned out to be a perfect fit.
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who blows everyone away, Stoddard said. American Idol contestant Zach Johnson — who made it to the Hollywood Round of the Fox show in February before being eliminated — was one of the performers who took the stage at The Spot and left everyone breathless, Stoddard said. “Every once in a while, we have somebody come out to open mic who sucks all of the oxygen out of the room and nobody breaths,” he said. “I would put him up there, and it sounds like he’s on the verge of something big.” While Stoddard hosts open mic night at The Spot, Loreno sponsors Stoddard’s radio show, Northern Roots Radio. The show airs at 7 a.m. Sundays on 1250 KBRF. “It’s taking off,” Stoddard said. “People hear it going hunting or fishing in the morning, and some people hear it when they wake up before church.” Stoddard and Loreno both said they see a future for a thriving music and arts community in
Fergus Falls. “We have the potential to do something really sweet in this town, and we’re just trying to make it happen,” Stoddard said. u
“We don’t have a large infl ux of consumers who support the arts three months a year. We have support for arts year-round.”
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Progress 2015
Events like open mic night are part of the reason Loreno decided to leave his position as director of A Place to Belong and open The Spot downtown. “Eight years ago, I remember walking out of A Place to Belong at 5:30 p.m. on a sunny day,” he said. “I looked out at the intersection of Lincoln and Union, and there were no people, no cars.” There might as well have been a tumbleweed blowing across the intersection, he said. Since then, he has made it his mission to help bring life to the downtown area to life. “There was really no venue for singer/songwriters to go play music in Fergus Falls,” said Loreno. “It brings a liveliness to downtown to have live music.” Open mic night can pack the back room of The Spot some nights. Everyone is there to enjoy and support local musicians and anyone else who has the guts to get up on the small stage. On any given night, one might see original songs, covers, kids, poetry, beginners, unbelievable talent and occasionally a performer
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Progress 2015
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Loving her work
M State ceramics teacher has a passion for creating and inspiring
Enterprise
Article and photos by Miranda Hubert Lori Charest finds wonder in her work. “It never ceases to amaze me,” she said as she sat in her classroom one day in February. She gets to do what she loves every day, and share her love for what she does with others. Charest is the ceramics and 3D design instructor at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Fergus Falls. Her interest in ceramics started early, if informally. “I’ve always really liked mud,” she said. After graduating from Battle Lake High School, she went to the University of North Dakota, intending to major in mathematics, something that’s not usually associated with the arts. Her creative side eventually won out, though, and after taking a ceramics class recommended by a friend, she fell in love with the artform. Post-college, she still wanted to work with clay,
so she started her own pottery shop, The Potter Daughter, tucked on the shore of Otter Tail Lake where it meets Walker Lake and due west of the city of Ottertail. “I decided to just give it a try,” said Charest. “I really like working on the wheel. I like the throwing part.” Her time doing full time pottery in her own studio, at 39290 County Highway 1, was great, she said, adding that she worked with her husband, Mike, and kept her two young children around. “It was really great to be there, and be around the kids when they were little,” she said. Business went well, and she went through between 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of clay a year. She stockpiled her art during the winter, and then opened the shop for the summer to lake-goers. “I was completely happy doing studio pottery, but
I wanted to pay it forward,” she said. “When the chance came to teach other people something I really love, it seemed like a great opportunity to do it.” Twelve years ago, M State was hiring a new ceramics instructor after the previous one moved away. Charest was offered the position, and decided to make the leap into academia. “I love teaching,” she said, adding that taking the post breathed new life into her own art as she continued to work at her pottery shop during the summer. “Students are like baby birds when they start out,” Charest said, explaining that she enjoys giving out assignments and seeing how her students interpret them, and watching their progress. A few of her students have even gone on to open their own studios, something she says is extremely rewarding.
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Teaching has also given her the opportunity to put her artwork out into the community more, particularly the local galleries. She has exhibited and is currently exhibiting at the Kaddatz Gallery in Fergus Falls, and has previously exhibited with A Center for the Arts, the Elbow Lake Public Library and, of course, at M State. The Kaddatz showcase during the past year was a neat one for Charest, as it featured the art from area college and university faculty from Morris, Moorhead, Fargo and Fergus Falls. “It was really great to see the work of other art teachers,” she said, adding that she was nervous about having her pieces, including a large vase with red fl owers that was “kind of a showstopper, I think,” shown alongside the work of university professors. It turns out, though, she had nothing to fear. “I think people liked it,” she said. “The vase turned out exactly as I saw it in my mind.”
Progress 2015
Name: Lori Charest | Age: 55 | Hometown: Otter Tail Lake area Occupation: Ceramics and 3D design instructor, Minnesota State Community and Technical College Fun fact: Started as a math major in college before switching to art. Why she’s in Progress: Charest has a passion for art, first starting her own pottery shop and then inspiring young artists as an instructor at M State. Her current exhibition at the Kaddatz is in honor of its fifth birthday. Viewable in the front window of the gallery, her contribution is five ceramic teapots, five for five years. In retrospect, she has one piece of advice for aspiring young artists: Do what you love, and you won’t regret it. It’s been 12 years for Charest, and she sure hasn’t. u
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Keeping the cold at bay
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Progress 2015
Fitness buff discovers passion for cross-country skiing By Miranda Hubert Daily Journal
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Renae Lindgren uses cross-country skiing as a way to enjoy the outdoors, stay fit, and keep warm.
Name: Renae Lindgren | Age: 46 | Hometown: Guelph, North Dakota | Occupation: Personal trainer and group fitness instructor | Fun fact: Came in second place for the Raced ’Em All in Fergus Falls for 2014. Why she’s in Progress: A Fergus Falls resident, Lindgren is a cross country skier out of necessity. She needed an outdoor sport that could keep her warm, and cross country skiing filled the bill.
Health
Like a lot of people, Fergus Falls resident Renae Lindgren is not a fan of the cold. A diligent fitness enthusiast, she strives to keep her activity up year-round. However, in the winter, she finds that some of her normal activities become implausible. “One of my favorite activities is running,” Lindgren said. “But in the winter, it’s too slippery. I’ve injured myself falling on the ice, so it’s not the best activity.” Another sport she enjoys, more suitable to winter, is downhill skiing. Problems arose in that sport as well, however, as it was not active enough to keep her warm, and she’d often have to take a break to warm back up. “I felt like I was spending more time in the chalet than skiing,” she said. A solution came in the winter of 2010, when Lindgren discovered cross-country skiing. “I was trying to find a way to appreciate the winter without freezing,” she said. “What I love about cross country skiing is that it’s a combination of running and downhill skiing, and you generate heat, so your whole body is warm.” In January of 2011 she got her own equipment for the sport, and then nothing could stop her. She participates in the sport often, going out between one and three times weekly to ski the trails at Spidahl’s Ski Gaard or Glendalough State Park. She also enjoys night skiing and participates in the
moonlight skiing events that both places offer. “I usually can talk my husband into going with,” she said. “You don’t have to do it by yourself. Sometimes I can get my daughters to join.” While she enjoys skiing at either place, when she wants a challenge, Lindgren heads to Spidahl’s, where the more difficult terrain can be found. “I like to work on the harder trails,” she said. When asked about the best parts of cross country skiing, Lindgren was quick to reply. “I appreciate that the trails that I go on are out in nature,” she said. “I’m outside and warm, and I’m getting a good workout, too.” She doesn’t listen to music while she skis, preferring to hear the snow. “I think it is relaxing, because you’re out in nature. It’s enriching for your spirit, it’s uplifting. I like moving fast, so that satisfies that need for me.” She also remarked on the physical benefits as well, saying, it’s easy on the knees and joints. “It’s good for all ages, it’s a low impact sport,” she said. “I feel like it’s something that I can continue for the long term.” And it beats the heck out of the treadmill, she said. u
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Name: Diane Thorson | Age: 61 | Hometown: Rural Erhard Occupation: Otter Tail County Public Health Director Why she’s in Progress: After 37 years as the public health director, Thorson is leading the charge toward preventative care in the county.
A new focus for public health Diane Thorson leading charge toward preventive care By Jacob Tellers Daily Journal
When Diane Thorson became the Otter Tail County Public Health director in 1978, she said she didn’t quite know what she was getting herself into. “If I had known then what I know now I would have said, ‘Are you nuts?’” Thorson said with a laugh. “I took the challenge and I came over here and I learned much more about how public health services are provided in Otter
Tail County, and what we needed to do to move things forward in the future.” As a native of rural Erhard, returning to Otter Tail County brought Thorson back to where she was born and raised. “I bloomed where I was planted,” Thorson said. Prior to taking the position as the county’s public health director, Thorson had worked for three years at Lake Region Healthcare in its intensive care unit. That was 37 years ago. Today, there’s a big shift in the indus-
try to focus on preventative care, and it has been one of the biggest changes Thorson has seen. “What’s really exciting is we are finally starting to see the federal government and state government and our health care providers beginning to look at preventative health care,” Thorson said. Preventive care involves both preventing conditions from happening and treating them as early as possible, Thorson said. The benefit of preventative care is that it can help reduce the total cost,and not nearly enough money is being spent on it, according to Thorson. “On a national level, if you look at a percentage of the dollars spent in health care, about 1 to 2 percent of all
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of the dollars spent in health care support public health services, the rest of the dollars are used to pay for clinic services, hospital services, drugs, nursing homes, treating conditions for people who have developed illnesses,” Thorson said. One example of preventative care, Thorson said, is fl u immunizations. “If we can keep all the kids immunized, such as the fl u, we are protecting everyone else in the county from getting a disease,” Thorson said. “We focus on the upstream types of things to prevent them from happening in the first place or to mitigate them.” A lot of their current work also is directed toward environmental changes, Thorson said.
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Diane Thorson is pleased with the current direction of health care in the U.S., with an increased focus on preventative care. health services, access to hospital and clinic services,” Thorson said. Otter Tail County has also received grants to improve communication among health care providers by means of electronic records. “It keeps everyone on the same page with providing care for a person,” Thorson said. “The one thing you don’t want is for the doctor to be telling you to do one thing and I might be telling you to do something else.” As the technology has changed over the last 37 years, so too has Thorson’s role, but one thing remains constant: It’s about making Otter Tail County a healthy place to live. u
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“We are looking at what is it in the places where we live work and play that impacts our health,” Thorson said. “Do you have access to fresh fruits and vegetables? Do you have access to safe places to walk or be physically active? Are you exposed to tobacco smoke?” The Minnesota Freedom to Breath act was one of the most beneficial public health policies in recent years, in Thorson’s opinion. “In 2015 the biggest thing is we’ll be working more closely with the hospital and the clinic to create a rural health model that works, that provides access to safe environment access to public
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M State nursing student advancing career through program By Miranda Hubert Daily Journal
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Corinne Seiple, a non-traditional nursing student at M State.
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abundant supply. “I’ve always liked learning new things,” Seiple said. “I am a dedicated life-long learner.” The 54-year-old wife, mother of four, grandmother of 10, and life-long Erhard resident has many interests, including crafting, baking,
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and gardening. In addition, she had always wanted to be a nurse, but had never pursued the opportunity until a few years ago. It all started for her with a class through community education in Fergus Falls that focused on health care. Those who completed the course were given free tuition to an anatomy and physiology class at M State for credit. Seiple took the offered course in 2011, and really enjoyed it. “I did well in that, so I
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“They were all behind me. Every time I get stressed out, they’re there, encouraging me all the way.” Once her decision was made, there was no question in her mind as to where she would go to attain that goal. Though she could have gone to Detroit Lakes, Seiple picked Fergus Falls. “My son and my son-inlaw both graduated from here,” she said, adding that she was in a “reverse” generation career, as both had also been in the nurs-
“I’ve always liked learning new things. I am a dedicated life-long learner. ... I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, but to be honest, I was scared to go to college. ing program. What Seiple likes most about M State are the friendly people. “The professors are there to help you,” she said. “It seems like any time I’ve had any questions, they’ve always been right there.” She said that her previous teachers are always still asking how she’s doing when she sees them in the hall. She feels that its close knit because it’s smaller. Though there had been doubt in her mind because of her age, Seiple soon realized her fears were unfounded. “It doesn’t bother me. That’s the strange thing,” she said. “They’ve never made me feel like an old lady, even though some of them call me mom. Wonderful classmates.”
F
ew things are more
powerful than a
smile
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really develop teamwork. I don’t think you could make it on your own. We have study groups. We all get along, and that’s what’s really nice.” Seiple plans to graduate in the spring. She said that because the program is time-consuming, her children have marked her graduation day on the calendar as the day they get mom and grandma back. After graduation, she intends to continue working with New Dimensions, but now as a registered nurse. “I do highly recommend anyone who is thinking about going into the nursing program to do it here at Fergus,” she said. “You really get close. It becomes like a close knit family with the nursing students. And the learning, it’s been really awesome.” u
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decided OK, and I did all my generals, and now I’m in the last semester of the RN program,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, but to be honest, I was scared to go to college.” Some of her fear, she said, stemmed from thinking that she might be too old to go back to school, but after that first class, she realized she could do it. Her family and friends were very supportive of her decision, Seiple said. Before deciding to do the full nursing program, she worked as a certified nurse’s assistant with New Dimensions Home Health Care in Fergus Falls. “The girls who I work with at New Dimensions were always telling me, ‘You need to go back and get your RN,’” Seiple said.
However, it has been a little hard to master some of the new resources available, she said, particularly the technological side of today’s college experience. “That has been the hardest part of school for me, computer technology,” she said. “Everything is computer.” Her classmates are always willing to lend her a hand when she needs it, though. “I have fabulous classmates,” she said. “You
Progress 2015
Name: Corinne Seiple | Age: 54 | Hometown: Erhard Occupation: Home health aid at New Dimensions Fund fact: Only grandmother in the M State nursing program. She has 10 grandkids between 16 and 3 years old.
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Marie Noplos/Daily Journal
Health
Lake Region Healthcare CEO Larry Schulz stands on the roof of the current medical center. In the background is the expansion.
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Expanding care LRH CEO leads hospital’s growth in many forms By Adam Harringa Daily Journal
When Larry Schulz was a junior in high school in the Faribault area, he began pondering his options for a career path. His father ran a business, which in-
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and his master’s degree from the University of Minnesota. Years later in 2008, he began as Lake Region Healthcare CEO, moving to Fergus Falls after spending time with Catholic Health Initiatives, and since has led the regional health care
If we can become one of the healthiest places in the state, and that encourages others to locate here ... we certainly want to help do that. provider through considerable growth. Since he began, LRH has gone from 666 employees to more than 950, and the number of physicians has increased from 46 to 82. The hospital has, along with many health care providers across the country, transitioned toward more team-
nesota State Community and Technical College. Add up those parts, and the vision is to make Fergus Falls and the region as healthy as it can be.
See Schulz — Page 36
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Schulz said, adding that the administration there sees the hospital as an economic driver, through job growth and overall payroll in the region. It also contributes, he said, by helping individuals and businesses lower the cost of health care, by making residents healthier, and by supporting the local secondary schools and Min-
Synstelien Community Services (SCS) provides caring therapeutic treatment and daily living supports for people with physical and developmental disabilities, brain injuries and mental illness. We believe every person is valuable regardless of ability or resources and needs caring relationships. SCS provides licensed residential services for vulnerable adults in the community of Fergus Falls.
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terested him, but he also was always passionate about helping people. At one point he received a suggestion to consider health care administration. So he did. Schulz got his undergraduate degree in health care administration from Concordia College in Moorhead
based care, and LRH is more focused on wellness than it was even a decade ago. LRH also acquired the Barnesville Area Clinic in 2014, and officially partnered with Prairie Ridge Hospital in Elbow Lake at the beginning of this year. And to make room for the growing number of employees and need for health care, LRH is in the midst of a $30-million expansion of its medical center in Fergus Falls. “We see Lake Region Healthcare as an integral part of our community,”
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Progress 2015
Name: Larry Schulz | Age: 59 | Hometown: Faribault, Minnesota Occupation: CEO of Lake Region Healthcare Fun fact: He has had Minnesota Gophers season tickets for basketball and football for 37 years. Why he’s in Progress: Schulz is leading LRH through a period of growth. The hospital has almost doubled the number of physicians, it has acquired the Barnesville Area Clinic and is partnering with Prairie Ridge Hospital, and has increased its emphasis on wellness.
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Progress 2015
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Lake Region Healthcare is in the midst of a $30-million expansion, which is scheduled to wrap up in June 2016.
Schulz From Page 35 “So if we can become one of the healthiest places in the state, and
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Health
We are open late to better serve you & your family. Call or stop by to make an appointment today!
that encourages others to locate here as a place to live, or companies’ owners to move their businesses here or expand their businesses here, we certainly want to help do that,� Schulz said. The hospital also sponsors or organizes events like the Lake Region Run, circuit training around Lake Alice, and most recently, it added a wellness event to the annual Fergus Falls Frostbite Festival: the Corporate Cup challenge, where businesses compete in myriad athletic events to see who has the healthiest employees. “We want to create
opportunities where people can have fun and stay well,� Schulz said. “Our mission now is to help people in the region improve their health. Before, 10 years ago, it might have been when people get sick to help make them better, and this is certainly broader than that.� By making people healthier, Schulz said, the cost of health care should decrease. “The concept is if we can keep people well, that’s going to reduce the cost of health care,� he said. Likely the most visible sign of growth, though, is the 76,000-square foot medical center be-
ginning to take shape. Schulz said the project is on time and on budget, and employees should move into the new building this fall. Next winter, they’ll begin dismantling the old medical center, then remodel and connect the facilities, landscape and add parking, completing the project by June 2016. To Schulz, it’s a great time to live in Fergus Falls. “This is a diamond in the rough,� he said. “From recreation to excellent schools and good health care, I think it’s one of the best kept secrets in Minnesota.� u
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Rock Solid Ross
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Progress 2015
Grappling standout takes swing at pro wrestling By Zach Stich Daily Journal
See Ross — Page 38
Photo provided
Fergus Falls native Drew Ross is entering the world of professional wrestling, going by the stage name Rock Solid Ross.
Name: Drew Ross | Age: 25 | Hometown: Fergus Falls | Occupation: Aspiring professional wrestler Fun fact: He was the 2008 Minnesota state champion at 189 pounds in Class AA wrestling. He went 39-0 his senior season and recorded 102 career victories for the Otters. Why he’s in Progress: The former Otter grappler is making a run as a professional wrestler.
Health
Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock. For some, these names hold great meaning, for others, they are merely physical actors creating a great illusion for fans. For former Fergus Falls and North Dakota State University wrestler Drew Ross, they are icons in a new endeavor that he looks to conquer — professional wrestling. For Ross, it all started when he was working his day job. “I was working one night at a group home and heard a guy yelling in his room,” Ross said. “I opened the door to see what was going on and I found him sitting there watching professional wrestling.” Ross decided to turn on wrestling in the living room each Monday so the group home could enjoy it. That is when he got the itch.
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Ross
10 matches, but knows that he needs to earn the respect of his fellow wrestlers before moving up the ranks. “It’s a brotherhood,” Ross said of the wrestling culture. The former Otter wrestler is also known for being artistic, as he has performed in plays at A Center for the Arts and is working on a degree in that field. The pageantry and performance of wrestling is something that also compelled Ross to try out for the sport. One day, Ross wants to appear for the top promotion, WWE, but knows that he must continue to improve every chance he gets. “If your goal is not to get the WWE, to be the best, you are doing everyone a disservice,” he said. “I feel like I have a strong chance to get into the WWE, I am going to continue to work hard on my move set, promos and in the independent promotions.” u
“When I was growing up, everyone told me that I should become a professional wrestler,” he said. “A friend of mine and I started looking into and I found out that I had a lot of the same measurables that it takes to be a pro wrestler.” Ross’ accomplishments on the mat are well known in Fergus Falls, as the 2008 graduate went 39-0 his senior season and claimed the Class AA state title at 189 pounds. Ross’ toughness on the mat made him an ideal candidate physically to tackle the rigors of becoming a professional wrestler. Though his skill set gave him an upper hand, the transition into wrestling wasn’t easy, as Ross had to sacrifice a lot to train at the Pro Wrestling America Training Center in Minneapolis. “I ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Ross laughed. The PWA Training Center, run by trainer Terry Fox, is the place where Minnesota wrestlers, the Road Warriors, cut their teeth under former owner Eddie Sharkey. Picking up work where he could, usually as a bouncer, Ross trained three to four days a week for four hours a day, which did not include weight training. But not all of his time is spent in the ring or at the
Photo provided
Drew Ross, an aspiring professional wrestler known as Rock Solid Ross, has been in the sport nearly his entire life. weight room, as the Fergus Falls native studies wrestling film, practices his facial features and works on his mic skills. “I am constantly working on promos, I am talking to myself in the mirror, studying my facial features,” he said. “I will
look who’s in the promotion and practice trash talking to them as if we are feuding. So when my time does come and I create a good promo, I will be ready.” Ross’ moniker, Rock Solid Ross, mimics real life as he portrays a collegiate wrestler
XNLV137109
Health
Progress 2015
From Page 37
turned professional. Entering to Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock,” Ross’ babyface character uses the Solid Suplex, a renamed move made popular by Curt Henning, as his finisher and a half nelson choke hold for his submission move. He has appeared in
“When I was growing up, everyone told me that I should become a professional wrestler.”
Compassion Care is an established home health care agency. We are looking for part-time home care aides to help serve clients in our Housing with Services setting in Fergus Falls at RiverBend Apartments. CompassionCare is seeking individuals that are available to work Åexible hours up to 7 days a week. Holidays and weekends are required. As a home care aide, you will work closely with the nursing staff to provide superior and compassionate care to our clients. Experience is preferred but not required, and training will be provided.
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To apply please send your resume to Jiwuchukwu@schuettcares.com or call 218-477-1008 for more information.
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Progress 2015
Drew Ross, a Fergus Falls native, puts an opponent in a headlock, scoring back points, while wrestling for North Dakota State University. Ross has turned his attention to professional wrestling, and goes by the name Rock Solid Ross.
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Working in socks
Agriculture
Dan Schindler picked up his life in Wisconsin and moved to Fergus Falls with his family in 2009, but he was able to take his business with him.
LARRY PIKALA PO BOX 153 FERGUS FALLS 218-736-2344 CELL: 218-731-4997 OR 218-731-4998
Dan Schindler is one of many telecommuters who call Fergus home For The Journal
Start the car, wait for it to warm up, drive 13 miles to work, spend eight hours in a cube, start the car, wait for it to warm up, drive 13 miles back home, repeat. An increasing number of residents have said, “enough” to the commute. Working from home is easier than ever with high speed Internet, and more employers are now reaching out to teleworkers, said Amy Baldwin, executive director of the Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission. Dan Schindler works from a home office overlooking Swan Lake. When he moved from Wisconsin in 2009, he was able to take his business with him, and he and his three partners are now spread
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agement. He spends most days in front of two giant monitors, trading dairy futures and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. “Milk is a short shelflife commodity, and because of its short shelflife, prices are really volatile,” he said. Due to this volatility, it’s important for farmers to manage risk. To help Photos by Seth Johnson/For The Journal farmers manage that risk, Dan Schindler spends most days in his home office watching two large computer monitors analyzing dairy Schindler and his partners markets. He relies on high-speed Internet to get the most up-to-the-second information. need to see up-to-the second market updates, he “We’re lucky in Fergus also tap into this resource works.net with the search telework job postings on said. Falls to have Otter Tail to find employees outside option “telework.” Thou- these sites. “We don’t want 10-min- Telcom as a partner,” she of the area, Baldwin said. sands of companies, inAnd those who do likeute old data because that said. “It’s a real plus for Those interested in cluding household names ly won’t miss the time it price might be wrong,” the community.” joining the teleworkforce like American Express, takes to warm up their Schindler said. And working from can search for openings Health Partners, Apple cars, or especially the For now, Schindler is home and telecommut- on flexjobs.com or mn- and United Health have commute. u working with a compli- ing can be a great way for cated and expensive sys- families to move without tem to get the Internet leaving a job behind, she speeds he needs to see added. current data in his office. “I came here for a job He has to use an antenna opportunity, and my hus-
If someone who isn’t familiar with us called our number, they would have no clue we’re spread out all over the U.S. It could be four offices right next to each other. to receive a signal from the other side of Swan Lake. This $300-a-month set-up will be gone sometime in 2015, though, if everything goes as planned. Park Region Telephone/ Otter Tail Telcom recently received three matching grants totaling $650,000 to expand broadband Internet to new, populated outlying areas around Fergus Falls, including Swan Lake. After the match, the project will cost around $1.3 million and reach 196 new households and businesses, Baldwin said.
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band was able to keep his job in Minnetonka by telecommuting,” she said. Schindler loves the advantages and freedoms that working from home offers, but it’s not for everyone, and of course there are downsides. “I do miss the office camaraderie,” he said. “I talk with my partners quite a bit, but there’s something to be said about real office camaraderie.” While the workforce in Fergus Falls can seek out job opportunities elsewhere by way of telework, local employers can
Agriculture
out to Oklahoma, Washington and Wisconsin. “We have an 800 number with a commercialgrade phone system, and it rings at all locations simultaneously,” he said. “I can put people on hold and transfer calls. If someone who isn’t familiar with us called our number, they would have no clue we’re spread out all over the U.S. It could be four offices right next to each other.” Schindler is an owner of KDM, a full-service commodity broker, specializing in dairy risk man-
Progress 2015
By Seth Johnson
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Melissa Madsen, a Fergus Falls native, and Dana Rieth, of Fargo, the driving forces behind Fresh Connect Food Hub in Fergus Falls. The co-op, founded in 2012, has provided locally-grown produce for local entities like Fergus Falls Public Schools and others. Miranda Hubert/Daily Journal
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Food hub grows on local schools By Miranda Hubert
“What about a food hub?” That was the question Dana Rieth asked in 2012 that has set off a chain of events leading to just that — the creation of the Fresh Connect Food Hub based out of Fergus Falls. The realization of this idea came mainly through the efforts of two women; Fargo resident Dana Rieth and Fergus Falls native Melissa Madsen, both employed by Lakes Country Service Cooperative. Madsen is the manager of administrative services at the co-op, and multiple programs underneath it, such as the food hub and health and safety. She is also a dietitian. Rieth is a registered dietitian as well, and works with schools doing menu development, food service supports, and assesses the food service programs of members of the co-op.
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from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for feasibility, equipment, a refrigerated truck, a walk-in cooler, and a stainless steel counter in January of 2014. Fresh Connect has helped support it, and the Bush Community Innovation Grant will help support it for the next two years, and allow them to provide education and community outreach. On Sept. 4, 2014, the first shipment of food was processed and sent out the door, heading to schools. “We all looked at each other and said, ‘We got food out the door!’” Madsen said. “Local food in, local food out.” So began the pilot year of the program. The season ran from September through November, and the hub served 12 school districts (including Fergus Falls), one hospital, one nursing home, and one preschool. More than 34,000 pounds of food were aggregated and delivered during this time, spread between 25 different fruit and vegetable options, and sup-
We all looked at each other and said, ‘We got food out the door!’ Local food in, local food out.
Apples ready for delivery to schools in the area by the Fresh Connect Food Hub.
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plied by nine different growers from the area. “We were amazed when we totaled it up,” Rieth said. Both women were very pleased with the results. “I feel it went well for a pilot year,” said Madsen. “It was so fast and furious. It was nice to bring more local food into institutions. It’s an exciting idea, it’s an exciting program.” Rieth agreed. “It definitely was more than I expected,” she said. “I was impressed with the quality of produce we got from local growers. I thought it went really well.” Fresh Connect Food Hub will continue to grow, they said, starting up again in the spring as soon as there’s produce, and running through November again. They plan to continue outreach and education, and hope to bring more growers and buyers into the program. “I’m excited for it. The stronger connections we can make, the longer the season is extended,” Madsen said. “It’s fun to watch it grow.” u
Agriculture
Fresh Connect has been involved in school food service for about 20 years, according to Madsen, and a desire had been made known for more local foods to be brought into schools. Rieth’s work with the schools allowed her to see that desire, and also identify the barriers for getting local food into schools, such as aggregation and delivery. That’s when the idea of a food hub came into play. “It really stemmed from farm to school,” Rieth said. “The desire of schools to want local food.” Rieth and Madsen brought the idea to the Fresh Connect board of directors, who gave them permission to begin looking for grants for the project. 2014 saw the idea begin to take solid form. “We planned from January to June,” Madsen said. The planning involved recruiting growers, reaching out to schools, finding a facility and making modifications for the hub, and getting the proper licences. Funding was also important during this time. The hub received two grants
Progress 2015
Daily Journal
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Otter Tail County FARMS by the numbers
Progress 2015
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Total farms
3,033Â
882,349Â
Acres of farm land
291Â
Average farm size in acres
144Â
Median size of farms in acres
Oats for grain: Farms: 334 Acres: 11,494 Bushels: 553,931 Barley for grain: Farms: 34 Acres: 2276 Bushels: 105,575
Agriculture
Dry edible beans, excluding limas: Farms: 32 Acres: 9,140 Bushels: 199,443 Forage (land used for all hay and all haulage, grass silage, and greenchop) Farms: 1,272 Acres: 83,244 Bushels: 230,881 Sunflower seed, all: Farms: 20 Acres: 1,774 Bushels: 1,774 Sugarbeets for sugar: Farms: 8 Acres: 2,433
Vegetables harvested for sale: Farms: 35 Acres:10,605 Potatoes: Farms: 15 Acres: 2,433 Land in orchards: Farms: 24 Acres: 97 Corn for grain: Farms 1,056 Acres 204,173 Bushels 28,699,626 Corn for silage or greenchop: Farms: 292 Acres: 12,690 Bushels 203,674 Soybeans for beans: Farms: 780 acres: 169,160 Bushels: 6,400,397 Source: USDA 2012 Census
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What could become of the Kirkbride? The Journal asked readers about their vision for the iconic Fergus Falls structure. They answered, and we selected the top submissions.
Kirkbride rising
See Whitcombe — Page 46
Submitted by Laurie Mullen For a 125 years now, three towers have stood on a hill overlooking Fergus Falls, their tiled, red roofs peeking through a grove of trees. For passersby on Interstate 94, the scene basically remained unchanged. But the mission of this historic site will dramatically change in the next years. It is an important time to ask the question of what type of opportunities will we create for our sons and daughters and their grandchildren? What legacy will we leave for the next generation? It was 20 years ago this spring, when wandering the green space at the Kirkbride, appreciating the silence, warm sunshine, the beautiful garden and manicured lawn that showcases our castle, I heard a tiny voice. It was those moments of silence that the tiny voice in my head revealed, “Someday you will help save this Kirkbride.” At that time, I had no idea of what this would mean, but what I did know is that I loved this place, and the solitude it provided for thinking and renewing oneself. It is with that passion and intention almost 10 years later that moved me, Gene and Maxine Schmidt and a cadre of friends to form a group
call Friends of the Kirkbride. It was with that passion that we showcased this now empty facility and tried to share a vision and help shape the community’s narrative. Imagine what those adaptive reuse opportunities could look like. Imagine the economic engine it could become. Imagine what this would mean to the next generations. One thing was non-negotiable in finding its reuse, and that was that the entire horseshoe needed to stay standing. I feel pride when I think of our forefathers and how they rallied to bring this magnificent state of the art facility to Fergus Falls. This campus became the heart and soul of this community. It became our economic engine. It became someplace, a special place, a different than any other place. As stewards of this community we can do no less than fight for its rebirth. The Fergus Falls community is both our inheritance and our legacy. This national registered complex adds variety and richness to this community that can never be duplicated. Our wealth as a place is more than money — it is the mix of people, history, buildings, values and traditions, and in many ways it is most
visible in our architecture. Dr Thomas Kirkbride’s philosophy was “beauty is therapy.” Thus, great attention was given to every detail in its construction — massive windows, plenty of sunshine, fresh air, beautiful gardens and ample green space. This is our community’s work of art. It is our Monet. This historic architectural wonder is not only Fergus Falls’ best assets but one of the nation’s. Finding an adaptive reuse for this entire complex will become the link between this region’s rich past and its promising future. My dream for this campus is that one day it will be transformed into a vibrant new hub of activity. When complete with its hotel accommodations, it will play a vital role in growing cultural and heritage destination tourism. There is no doubt about the history and the cultural significance of this Kirkbride. It is the achievement of three prominent figures, the architect, Warren Dunnel, landscape architect, Professor Horace Cleveland, and Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride whose ideas about the treatment of mentally ill patients produced the design prototype for the See Mullen — Page 46
Community
Submitted by Albert Whitcombe Already Fergus Falls is realizing benefits from the Kirkbride castle. Through interests and concerns about the use or demolition of the structure, our community has become vibrantly involved with this complex issue. There is more real, open sharing, discussion and disagreement in town than there has been for quite a while now. Our city is alive. For too long we have limited our involvement concerning our community to comments and complaining with our friends. All this without using our right, our responsibility, to speak up to our local governments. This has changed. There is every reason to expect we will rewarded if we maintain this refound active involvement in our beautiful city. With this renewed commitment, we will find exciting and appropriate uses for the Kirkbride. The Kirkbride’s intent was to house people and that is what it is best suited for. The current proposal for housing, a hotel, and a wide variety of community use facilities is a good direction. The interest, energy and commitment of our citizens and the renewed commitment of our elected officials can and will develop an exciting and beneficial Kirkbride castle. With a beautiful and rich natural environment, so lush that early European immigrants called our area Park Region,
It’s the future for Fergus Falls
Progress 2015
Readers share vision for RTC
45
46
Mullen Care about the past and look to the future
Progress 2015
From Page 45
Submitted by Maxine Schmidt The Kirkbride can become the pride of Fergus Falls! The historic preservation and redevelopment of this imposing, awe-inspiring “castle on the hill” will mean many things for our city. It will show respect for the history of this magnificent building while bringing opportunities for new businesses and job creation that will enhance the economy of the entire region. The Kirkbride can continue to be a tourist destination for people from far and wide as they come to Fergus Falls to see all we have to offer in the beautiful lakes area of Minnesota. The Kirkbride campus can become home to many people as well as the center for activi-
ties for all ages, whether it be areas of the arts, health and wellness, community space for hobbies, caring for those in need, and more. The opportunities are endless. Yes, it will take vision, time, money and patience, but it can happen if we all work together as partners. Ray Willey of Historic Kirkbride LLC is excited to bring this multi-million dollar project to fruition in Fergus Falls. It will show the world that we care about our past as we look to the future. You will be proud to say, “Yes, I’m from Fergus Falls, Minnesota — the city that realized there was a wonderful, historic landmark in its midst, the Kirkbride — and worked hard to preserve it for future generations!” u
Whitcombe
with ample water and a rich cultural heritage all are available assets which support a positive future for a reuse project. Our jobs, yours and mine, is to keep active, keep positive and keep engaging with our school, city and county governments, and most important to talk, engage, hope and plan with each other. u
From Page 45
Community
there are many reasons why people visit here, and desire to live here. About 1,100 lakes, a river, creeks and wetlands, thousands of acres of rich farmland
Krekelberg Law Firm General Practice of Law • Trials In All Courts
Congratulations to our new partner Sarah C. Estep-Larson Charles A. Krekelberg, Jeffrey D. Skonseng, Chad D. Miller www.krekelberglaw.com 10 N. Broadway, Pelican Rapids, MN • 218-863-6651 213 S. Mill St., Fergus Falls, MN • 218-739-4623
dozens of asylums around the country. How can this remarkable place once more serve Fergus Falls and its surrounding region in a remarkable way? My dream is that we can renew the vision of these three giants, and that it can be again as revolutionary as it was magnificent in its day, and its renaissance will marry beauty and function with breathtaking landscapes, business and leisure, history and technology. My dream is that these grounds continue to be a gathering place to create memories, with walking paths and park benches, fl ower gardens and water features, bike trails and ski trails. I can envision the breathtaking grounds similar to that which has been created at the Clemens Gardens in St Cloud. In the winter we can have lit up ice sculptures, snowshoeing and cross country skiing, hot chocolate and community bonfires. We will start the process of creating new memories for our youth with the annual Summerfest, classic car show, and the Kirkbride arts and history weekend. My dream is that we also create additional weekend venues, such as an ice cream social with a spectacular light and sound show, a Renaissance theme, a Downton Abby theme and an ice sculpting event. I have already made some of these contacts! My dream is that this campus can again have a healing and medical component, med-
itation and yoga retreat component, gathering and conference facility, for the brightest of medical fellows whereby they can connect with others from around the world. This campus would serve as an excellent opportunity to develop a strong network within the med/tech sector. This is where collaboration meets innovation. Willmar Campus (MNWest Technology Campus) actively sought the agricultural technology sector and in eight short years created 450 jobs, with $100 million in annual impact to the local economy. We too can create a niche sector if we dream big enough. We too can create a $100 million impact. We best get started! My dream is that we can become a magnet community for that creative class, that can choose to live anywhere, and will choose Fergus Falls because of our cultural and historic assets and its natural beauty. My dream is that we create a spectacular corridor on Union lined with Historic Street Lights from our historic downtown to the castle on the hill, and let’s create a designated route from the castle to Lake Alice for carriage rides in the summer and sleigh rides in the winter. What is your dream? What is the future you want for Fergus Falls? I dream about all the opportunities that lie ahead for this community. I am proud to be a part of the positive energy that will be required to press forward. I am asking everyone to lean into this. We are at a pivotal point in Fergus Falls History. Lets dream together. u
THROUGH THE YEARS
Progress 2015
By Jacob Tellers Daily Journal
F
or more than a century, the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center housed and cared for thousands of patients. Known originally as the Fergus Falls State Hospital, and now colloquially referred to as the Kirkbride, the massive structures stands at the crossroads. As of early 2015, negotiations between developer Ray Willey of Historic Properties Inc. and the city of Fergus Falls are ongoing, with the hope that the both imposing and beautiful local landmarks might be saved from demolition. Willey’s development plans, with total costs of more than $40 million, would feature apartments, hotel and Thomas Kirkbride in 1898. several restaurants The Fergus Falls Regional as main assets in a Treatment Center is now remodeled Kirkbride.
referred to as the Kirkbride.
See RTC — Page 48
47
Construction of the administrative building at the Fergus Falls State Hospital in 1895.
Community
The hospital in 1894.
All photos provided by the Otter Tail County Historical Society
THROUGH THE YEARS
Progress 2015
48
At left: Replacement of sash window with glass bricks at the Fergus Falls State Hospital in 1950. At right: The Fergus Falls State Hospital library in 1940. Photos are courtesy of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.
RTC
some key points in its past.
1885:
From Page 47
Community
Now often referred to by the name of the infl uential asylum architect Thomas Kirkbride, the building has a long and storied history. Here are FOR UPCOMING EXHIBITS, HANDS ON ARTS ACTIVITIES AND GALLERY NEWS, VISIT OUR WEBSITE
WWW.KADDATZGALLERIES.ORG KADDATZ GALLERIES 111 W LINCOLN AVE FERGUS FALLS, MN 56537
218-998-4405
HOURS: TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND FRIDAY: 10-5 THURSDAY: 10-7 SATURDAY: 11-4
The Minnesota State Legislature established a commission to locate a third state hospital for the insane. Fergus Falls was chosen as the site.
1888:
Building began in Fergus Falls and continued until 1912. The institution was built on the infl uential asylum model developed by Thomas Kirkbride.
1890:
On July 29, the Fergus Falls State Hospital received its first patients.
1893:
Women began to be admitted to the hospital. On Dec. 19, 125 women were transferred from the St. Peter State Hospital.
1939:
Barker Insurance Agency $XWR ‡ +RPH ‡ &RPPHUFLDO 5HFUHDWLRQDO 9HKLFOHV ‡ %RQGV 1417 COLLEGE WAY ‡ )ERGUS FALLS, MN 56538-0378
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The Fergus Falls hospital gave shock treatment to its first patient.
1969:
The hospital’s farm operations ended.
1971:
The Fergus Falls State Hospital became the first regional health center in Minnesota. It began accepting
all patients with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, and chemical dependencies who lived in the region.
1981: 1985:
The hospital’s detoxification unit opened.
The hospital’s name changed to the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center.
1986:
The Fergus Falls State Hospital’s main building and tower were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2005:
center closed.
2013:
The Fergus Falls Regional Treatment
Developer Ray Willey and his group, Historic Kirkbride LLC, were selected by the Fergus Falls City Council to begin plans for the RTC’s redevelopment. u
THROUGH THE YEARS
49
Progress 2015
LB
Homes, also known as Lutheran Brethren Homes, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. In its century of operation, countless changes have taken place and thousands of people and their families have been helped, particularly the elderly and infirm. Through it all, the goal of assisting people and serving as Christ did here on earth has steadfastly remained at the heart of the LB Homes mission and ministries.
1915:
The Kellar Mansion, located in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, was purchased by the Church of the Lutheran Brethren to become Sarepta Home, the first of numerous homes and agencies designed and operated by LB Homes to care for the aging population. Pastor A. Vatne was called to serve as its first superintendent. The name Sarepta comes from the Biblical reference of 1st Kings, Chapter 17: “Elijah the prophet was at the widow’s house in Sarepta where God had promised to supply his needs as well as that of the widow and her son, from the nearly empty barrel of meal and the little oil in the cruse until the rain would come and the famine be over.�
1915-1950s:
See LB Homes — Page 52
Specializing in Lakeshore & Residential
ifica tes Gift Cert E! L AVAILAB
218-998-4400 130 S. Vine St. Fergus Falls EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY
www.mohagenrealestate.com XNLV138045
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The Sarepta Home operated an active farm from its start in 1915 through the late 1940s or early 1950s. It was by this method that the home would raise money in order to operate. When Mrs. Maria Berg came to run the agency, the Sarepta Home only had six residents, but with renovations and five new additions to the existing structure the house could then handle Photo provided about 80 residents and had a large chapel. To supNorthwestern College, a secondary school in Fergus Falls that existed from 1900-32. The building was conport a growing ministry, an annual fall festival was verted into a board and care facility for the elderly. LB Homes is celebrating 100 years of operation in 2015. held and an offering was taken for assisting with the operations.
144 143 YEARS Years
126 YEARS
324 E. Washington Fergus Falls www.stenersonlumber.com 601 Randolph Ave. Fergus Falls
998-0544
739-4481
Underwood & Fergus Falls
Farmers Elevator
South Pebble Lake Road, Fergus Falls 218-736-7586
406 Junius Ave E. Fergus Falls
218-998-2000 www.parkregion.com
77 YEARS
www.pioneercare.org
Lake Region Electric Cooperative
218-998-1500
321 West Lincoln Fergus Falls, MN 56537 218-998-9000
Pelican Rapids, MN 800-552-7658
www.servicefood.com
FUNERAL HOME “4 Generations of Excellence”
736-2894
118 Lincoln Ave., Fergus Falls 218-736-7588
65 64YEARS Years
64 YEARS
FURNITURE
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PIONEERcare
XNLV138628
106 YEARS
Tim Schonhardt, Manager
*OUFSOFU t 57 t 5FMFQIPOF
77 YEARS
1131 Mabelle Ave.S Fergus Falls, MN
107 YEARS
XNLV139357
XNLV138058
87 86 YEARS Years
109 108YEARS Years
(218) 736-6987 www.lmhc.org
208 W. Lincoln Fergus Falls, MN 218.736.3678 877.336.3678
XNLV139388
43 YEARS
36 YEARS
35 YEARS BRAUN VENDING
36 YEARS
OMechanical VERLAND Services, Inc.
Full Line Full Vending
1979-2014
25 YEARS Years 26
1007 N. Tower Rd. Fergus Falls, MN
Westridge Mall Fergus Falls
218-739-4584
218-739-4411
21 YEARS
Locally owned and operated since 1980
19 YEARS Years 20
P: 218-739-4546 www.MichaelSmithCPA.com
218-739-5856
109 Birch Street, Ashby, MN
218-747-2215
218-736-3885
w w w. l a k e s i d e l b r. c o m
20 YEARS
18 YEARS Years 19
Complete t (VUUFS $MFBOJOH Lawn Care and t 3BLJOH Snow Removal t 5SFF 5SJNNJOH
Call us and we’ll explain how we can help you stay healthy in your home
www.newdimensionshhc.com
Family Run,
Community Driven
Knutson Lawn Service & Snow Removal
Home Health Care
125 N Union Ave Fergus Falls, MN 56537
34 YEARS Years 35
INC.
(218) 736-7048
XNLV139361
Community
Progress 2015
Thru the Years
50
Jon Knutson
731-5820 XNLV139065
51
101 100YEARS Years
106 YEARS
The Fun Place To Shop
702 19TH ST. SOUTH FERGUS FALLS
In Historic Downtown Fergus Falls
Arneson Agency
736-7079 62 YEARS
54 YEARS
golden LivingCenter 218-583-2965
34 YEARS Years 35
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49 Years
Jerome & Lori Anderson owners
109 W Lincoln Ave Fergus Falls
218-736-5693 www.arnesonagency.com XNLV138958
45 YEARS
Owned & Operated by the Brimhall Family Since 1922
Minnesota North Dakota South Dakota DOT# 75644
Established 1917
218-736-3252
42 YEARS
41 40 YEARS Years
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www.gpng.com 877-267-4764
Bait & Tackle • Minnetonka Moccasins Apparel • DVD & BLU-RAY Rental Fishing & Hunting Licenses 21600 State Highway 78 Battle Lake, MN 56515
120 W. Cavour Ave Fergus Falls
218.864.5596
218-736-2979
Bennet / Craig Stich, OWNERS
www.bjornsheating.com
33 YEARS
XNLV139360
Sharing the passion of Dance with quality dance education
Quality Toyota
Ramona Jacobs- Director Kirsten Danielson Suzanne LaFond Mary Pettit Valerie Sohl
30 YEARS
OUR MISSION: Morning Son Christian School exists to be a Christ-centered academic environment where students think, live and serve Biblically.
218-736-4320
1319 Cleveland Ave. Fergus Falls, MN 56537 www.morningson.org 218-736-2477
15 YEARS Years 16
15 YEARS
13 YEARS Years 14
Bobcat
Area Lakes Party Rental
www.qualitytoyota.net 800-866-0952 218-998-1900
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Battle Lake, MN
218-770-1138
300 Industrial Drive Henning,MN 56551
Vining, MN
877-852-3288
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218-769-4540 lakesrental@prtel.com lakerentals.com
27 26 YEARS Years
t #VTJOFTT 4JHOT t %JHJUBM 1SJOUJOH t .BJOUFOBODF 4FSWJDF t 'VMM $PMPS #BOOFST
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770-7188
218-739-5333 XNLV138065
12 YEARS
7 YEARS
Buy-Mor
Parts & Service Auto and Trucks Accessories 17277 230th St. Fergus Falls, MN
(218) 998-7278 David Friedrich (218) 731-0024 (after hours) â&#x2DC;&#x2026; 24 HOUR SERVICE â&#x2DC;&#x2026;
35+ Years Experience
1120 FRONTIER DR FERGUS FALLS, Fergus Falls, MN MN 56537
(218) 998-4386 toll Free (866) 996-4386
XNLV137835
frontierpowersports.com
Community
of Otter Tail County 3327 E. Fir â&#x20AC;˘ Fergus Falls, MN $PVOUZ 3E t 'FSHVT 'BMMT ./ 218-739-4505 (218) 739-4505 www.bobcatofottertail CPCDBUPGPUUFSUBJM DPN bobcat1@prtel.com
Summer Aune Kiara Kaseman 2031 1/2 West Lincoln Ave (above the viking care)
27 Years 1403 College Way
Pebble Lake Auto Repair
218-583-4545
Elliott Transfer 88 Years of Service
XNLV138062
35 YEARS
Vehicle Air Conditioning Service
4 Generations Old in Fergus Falls
,QVXUDQFH $JHQF\
736-3301
TNT REPAIR INC. COMPLETE Truck Repair
89 YEARS
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Jeff Springer, Manager 225 Hampden Ave. Fergus Falls
19 YEARS
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Farmers Feed Mill
736-6229
98 YEARS
Independent Insurance Agency
Home Owned & Operated Established 1914
3100 S. PEBBLE LAKE RD FERGUS FALLS
98 YEARS Years 99
Progress 2015
SIGELMAN STEEL & RECYCLING
99 YEARS Years 100
Progress 2015
52
LB Homes
addition and renovation of parts of the existing building, it became Woodland Lodge, enhanced assisted living. The capacity for residents more than quadrupled to 33 rooms of various sizes with a wide range of service available for seniors 55 and better. People can come to Woodland Lodge needing little to no care and stay for the duration of their life.
From Page 49
1959:
Broen Memorial Home, named for a beloved professor in the Lutheran Brethren Seminary, E.M. Broen, began operation.
1969:
With an increasing need for senior care in Fergus Falls, a nursing home was added to the board and care facility. At the time of construction it was a state-ofthe-art facility in health care design.
Community
1974:
In April LB Homes ran the Sarepta Home without interruption until this time, when the hospital in Sauk Centre built a new nursing home, thus eliminating the need for other nursing care facilities in the area. Lutheran Brethren Homes closed Sarepta Home that spring, sold the property, then developed the Mesa Christian Home in Arizona, with a capacity for 192 residents. Meanwhile, the Church of the Lutheran Brethren owned a building in Fergus Falls (the Broen Memorial Home) that had once housed the Bible and Seminary Department. The building had been originally built as the Northwestern College but was no longer used by the synod, so it was decided to convert the building into a board and care facility for elderly residents, with Morris Vold as its first administrator. M.J. Quarum was Broen Memorial Homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first manager. Mrs. Sig Swenson was named the first supervising nurse. Eventually, Wayne
2013:
The Sarepta Home in Sauk Centre. Larson, who originally volunteered to help at the Sarepta Home, became the chief executive officer of Lutheran Brethren Homes and his wife, Ina, became the administrator of Broen Memorial Home.
1982:
Apartments were leased in Mesa, Arizona
1984:
A nursing home was built in Sun City, Arizona. That same year, an addition replaced all of the board and care beds in the original Broen Memorial Home building in Fergus Falls. The building that housed the board and care beds was converted into apartments for people 55 and older. It was named the Northwestern Manor after the college that was originally housed in the building.
1996:
The Arizona properties were sold, which made it
possible to add the Light and Life Auditorium onto the Broen Memorial Home and begin construction of the Sheridan House, with one and two bedroom apartments for people 55 and better who lived independently.
1999: 2000: 2001:
Wayne Larson retired. Ina Larson retired.
In April John Zwiers was named as administrator of the Fergus Falls campus.
2005:
With all the new additions, a new use was explored for the original Northwestern Manor building. As a result, 24 of the existing apartments were converted into 26 studio and one bedroom apartments to create Alcott Manor assisted living.
2006:
Looking to the future and wanting to fill a growing need in health care, Broen Home was the first in the Fergus Falls area to create a sub-acute, short stay unit where patients could come for days or weeks at a time to have personalized therapy and high quality nursing care while they recovered from surgery, illness or injury. The Broen Short Stay opened for operation in 2007.
2011:
LB Homes announced it would acquire two longstanding and growing health care agencies: Lakeland Home Care and Lakeland Hospice. Their merger became official in January 2012, adding to the spectrum of services available with LB Homes. As part of the acquisition, the Lakeland Hospice House was repurposed and upon completion of a new
LB Homes Connect began offering clients the ability to have in-home technology at their fingertips. Patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, heart and lung disease, cancer and other health conditions or concerns are able to have a system in their home to take and record vital statistics including: blood pressure, body weight, oxygen levels and more. This information can be made into reports and shared with medical practitioners and family members if desired, so even from remote sites, loved ones and health care workers can be monitoring a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress. There is also a social application of the system, allowing people to connect to others electronically, keeping loved ones in touch. That same year, longtime LB Homes nurse Andrea Zetah was named administrator of Broen Home and John Zwiers became the chief operating officer of LB Homes. As LB Homes looks to the next 100 years of its ministry, no doubt there will be development and change, but just as its new logo indicates with the cross on the tree trunk, Christ will always be at the heart of each and every endeavor.
53
Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church 207 North Vine Street • Fergus Falls, MN 56537 218-736-2429 • contact@ffolvchurch.org
Progress 2015
Weekend Mass Times: Saturday 4:30 p.m. • Sunday 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Father Alan Wielinski • Deacon Chuck Kampa
Our Lady of Victory Catholic School Pre-School through Grade 6
Principal Tonya Zierden • 218-736-6661
The Federated Church 224 N. Union Ave. • Fergus Falls • 218-739-3227
Check our website for current activities and worship schedule
www.federatedff.org
WORSHIP • MINISTER • EVANGELIZE • TEACH
308 East Douglas Ave., Fergus Falls, MN 56537 218-736-5308 • www.augustanalutheran.org Rides available, please call
Zion Lutheran of Amor ELCA 36051 Co. Hwy 74, Battle Lake • Off County Road 1 at Amor (218) 495-2563
Pastor ~ James Gronbeck Worship Schedule May 31st - September 6th 8:15 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Sept - May 10:00 a.m. ; 8:40 a.m. Sunday School Communion 1st & 3rd Sundays
Web Site: www.zionamor.org
Welcome to the Catholic Faith Communities of Our Lady of the Lake, St. James and St. Edwards
Our Lady of the Lake
Sunday Worship: 10 am year-around Education Hour: 9 am Sept.-May Lenten Services: 6:45 pm Wednesday
407 Lake Avenue North • Battle Lake, MN 56515 218-864-5619 • www.ollsj.org
Visitors Welcome!
10:30 am Sundays 6:00 pm Saturdays
St. James Episcopal Church
(Memorial Day-Labor Day)
St. James
Sunday Worship - 10:30 am
32009 County Hwy 74 • Underwood, MN 56586
“The Church Lake Alice” Whereontradition
8:30 am Sundays (May-September) 5:00 pm Saturdays (October-April)
St. Jamestoday existsand to be meets love & grace abound! the heart and hands of Christ in community “The Church on Lake Alice” 321 S. Lakeside Dr., Fergus Falls stjamesfergusfalls@gmail.com 736-6736 stjames@prtel.com • (218)• (218) 736-6736 www.stjamesepiscopalff.org www.stjamesepiscopal.net
St. Edward
201 Douglas Avenue • Henning, MN 56551 218-583-2490 • stedward.stclouddiocese.net
8:30 am Sundays (October-April) 4:00 pm Saturdays (May-September)
We are united in Jesus... Joyful in Spirit... Active in ministry. 8:30am traditional, 10:15am contemporary Pastors Tom Peterson, Kate Bruns and Stan Satre
Bethlehem Lutheran Church 102 West Junius Ave. • Fergus Falls, MN (218) 736-5614 • www.bethlehemff.org
Community
Welcomes You!
Mass Times ;1/9
Sunday Mornings 9AM • Contemporary Worship 10AM • Sunday School and Fellowship Hour 11AM • Traditional Worship
XNLV139095
Come worship with us!
54
Progress 2015
M State’s Fergus Falls campus oīers the Ňexibility you need to balance your educaƟon and your busy life. Choose from more than 21 career and technical programs and majors and more than 27 degree opƟons. Get involved with a variety of student life acƟviƟes, athleƟcs and Įne arts opƟons. Build
Education
With all the choices within your reach, you will
learn more to earn more!
minnesota.edu 87 7.45 0. 332 2
Our Spartan Center gets students the support they need to succeed, Įnd employment or transfer.
FF robotics team training tomorrow’s engineers By Seth Johnson For The Journal
While the gears, metal and automation get the attention, the Fergus Falls Otterbots robotics team is all about training tomorrow’s leaders of the engineering and technology world. FIRST team 3293, better known as the Otterbots, started in 2010, but in just five years, the team has grown into a competitive force in high school robotics. The team has made it to the state tournament two of the last three years. “There are 180 FIRST robotics teams in Minnesota,” team mentor Bill Swanson said. “There are now more FIRST robotics teams than there are boys
Yearly tuition andd fees total $5,425 at M Statee (compared to $7,315 att a ,780 state university or $33,780 at a for-proĮt college).
hockey teams in Minnesota. Getting to the state tournament is quite an accomplishment.” The best part of competing with the Otterbots is getting the opportunity to bring textbook concepts to life, said senior captain David Grotberg. “It’s the real world application of physics and math,” he said. Robotics is different than any other high school competitive activity because the competition changes every year. At the beginning of each season, instructions become available to teams, outlining a challenge with specific guidelines, limitations and goals.
See Robotics — Page 56
Photos by Seth Johnson/For The Journal
Cody Drake and David Grotberg work together to control the robot. Their objective is to get the bot to stack and move totes across an arena.
Arrange a visit today at minnesota.edu/visit and choose the Fergus Falls Campus. We look forward to showing you
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A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and UniversiƟes System. Minnesota State Colleges and UniversiƟes is an Equal Opportunity/ AĸrmaƟve AcƟon/Veterans/Disability employer/educator commiƩed to the principles of diversity.
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Central Lakes Robotic team members David Grotberg (left), Eric Atchison and Elizabeth Grotberg demonstrate their robot, which they presented at the BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) Robot competition in November 2014 at the North Dakota State University track and field complex in Fargo. They took first place.
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M State’s Fergus Falls campus oīers the Ňexibility you need to balance your educaƟon and your busy life. Choose from more than 21 career and technical programs and majors and more than 27 degree opƟons. Get involved with a variety of student life acƟviƟes, athleƟcs and Įne arts opƟons. Build
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minnesota.edu 87 7.45 0. 332 2
Our Spartan Center gets students the support they need to succeed, Įnd employment or transfer.
FF robotics team training tomorrow’s engineers By Seth Johnson For The Journal
While the gears, metal and automation get the attention, the Fergus Falls Otterbots robotics team is all about training tomorrow’s leaders of the engineering and technology world. FIRST team 3293, better known as the Otterbots, started in 2010, but in just five years, the team has grown into a competitive force in high school robotics. The team has made it to the state tournament two of the last three years. “There are 180 FIRST robotics teams in Minnesota,” team mentor Bill Swanson said. “There are now more FIRST robotics teams than there are boys
Yearly tuition andd fees total $5,425 at M Statee (compared to $7,315 att a ,780 state university or $33,780 at a for-proĮt college).
hockey teams in Minnesota. Getting to the state tournament is quite an accomplishment.” The best part of competing with the Otterbots is getting the opportunity to bring textbook concepts to life, said senior captain David Grotberg. “It’s the real world application of physics and math,” he said. Robotics is different than any other high school competitive activity because the competition changes every year. At the beginning of each season, instructions become available to teams, outlining a challenge with specific guidelines, limitations and goals.
See Robotics — Page 56
Photos by Seth Johnson/For The Journal
Cody Drake and David Grotberg work together to control the robot. Their objective is to get the bot to stack and move totes across an arena.
Arrange a visit today at minnesota.edu/visit and choose the Fergus Falls Campus. We look forward to showing you
all we have to offer!
A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and UniversiƟes System. Minnesota State Colleges and UniversiƟes is an Equal Opportunity/ AĸrmaƟve AcƟon/Veterans/Disability employer/educator commiƩed to the principles of diversity.
Education
lasƟng relaƟonships by living in our on-campus housing.
Building the FUTURE
Progress 2015
Central Lakes Robotic team members David Grotberg (left), Eric Atchison and Elizabeth Grotberg demonstrate their robot, which they presented at the BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) Robot competition in November 2014 at the North Dakota State University track and field complex in Fargo. They took first place.
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Robotics
Education
Progress 2015
From Page 55 At that point, teams get to work on building a robot to fit the challenge before competition gets underway the first weekend of April, Swanson said. The team’s performance at the regional event determines if they can move on to the state and world tournament. This year, third-year Otterbot member Mathew Johnson has his eyes on the big stage. “I’m hoping we will win the regional competition this year and go on to St. Louis for Worlds,” he said. This year’s game is called Recycle Rush. It involves stacking totes and recycling cans. The game’s reveal and instructions can be found on Youtube at www. youtube.com/watch?v= mAN1B7oKDXE Robots are usually capped at 120 pounds, and it takes a lot of resources and materials to put one of these
help the team as mentors. These mentors are available to the students to assist with construction techniques and general guidance, he said. “Students bounce ideas off mentors,” Swanson said. “They want to come up with the easiest way to accomplish a task they are trying to do and think strategically. They’re really just there to assist and train students in some of the modern techniques and programing.” Mentors are a great resource for students, and those relationships are much more important than any robotics competition, Swanson said. “That’s the most important thing by far. The program really isn’t about building the robot. It’s about inspiring kids to be tomorrow’s leaders in technology,” he said. “It’s a chance for students to meet mentors who work in technological fields and how to think creatively and work as a team. That’s far more important than the aluminum, copper and lexan that goes
The Otterbots will compete at regionals the first weekend of April 2015. If the team performs well, they could go on to the state tournament and potentially the world tournament. Front: Gabe Venberg, Cody Drake and Hannah Fietek. Back: Mathew Johnson, Sean Mills, Taylor Georgeson and David Grotberg. Grotberg said. The team now is seeking out younger students interested in robotics as well through the First Lego league team.
“The program really isn’t about building the robot. It’s about inspiring kids to be tomorrow’s leaders in technology. ... That’s far more important than the aluminum, copper and lexan that goes into a robot.” — Bill Swanson, team mentor together. Every event costs the team about $5,000, but sponsors including StoneL, Pentair and Otter Tail Power Co. generously help fund the activity, Swanson said. These sponsors also have representatives who
into a robot.” Some of the Otterbots team members plan to go on to study aerospace engineering, biotechnology and astrophysics. “I want to study astrophysics and work for a private space company,”
Fourth- through eighthgraders are presented with a Lego robotics challenge. This helps get the students thinking about robotics at the next level, Grotberg said. From there, who knows. u
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Name: Gary Hoffbeck | Age: 60 | Hometown: Redwood Falls Occupation: Junior high history teacher, Fergus Falls Public Schools Fun fact: He grew up on a dairy farm and really likes chocolate milk. Why he’s in Progress: Hoffbeck has been teaching in Fergus Falls for nearly 25 years and is an influential teacher in the district.
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Junior high history teacher, Fergus Falls Public Schools
Daily Journal
When turning the pages of history, Fergus Falls teacher Gary Hoffbeck finds it natural to talk about memorable stories from the past. In 35 years of teaching, 24 of those at Fergus Falls, Hoffbeck has been a strong infl uence on students that have passed through the halls of Kennedy Secondary School by creating enjoyment of the past. The Journal spoke with Hoffbeck to ask him about the many changes in his time in the Fergus Falls district, who he would want to play him in a movie and his classroom accomplishments.
See Hoffbeck — Page 60
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Gary Hoffbeck
By Zach Stich
Progress 2015
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Ellen Anderson Special education teacher, Fergus Falls Public Schools
By Zach Stich Daily Journal
Something for everyone. That’s what Fergus Falls special education teacher Ellen Anderson thinks of when she describes the school district. Working in an environment that allows students with and without disabilities to participate in different activities in the district, Anderson works to help her students work independently and experience life in and around the school. The Journal spoke with Anderson on why she chose her profession, what her responsibilities are as a special ed teacher and what she wanted to be when she was young. Q: What made you want to be a teacher? What led you to teach special education? A: Teaching is in the family. It seems to be a natural fit. I worked at Pebble Lake as a lifeguard one summer and always looked forward to the clients coming from the Regional Treatment Center. Then the next summer I taught summer school and worked in a group home for adults with disabilities. It was a
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natural fit and it just felt right so my junior year in college I switched my major to elementary education with a minor in special education. Q: How long have you been teaching? A: I have been teaching since 1986. I have been in Fergus Falls since 1994. I have not been teaching consecutive years during that time. I spent some time at home with my boys, worked in an accounting office and owned my own business for a few years in the middle. Q: What are some of your classroom goals? A: To make sure my students work as independently as possible and to make sure I give my students as many opportunities as possible to experience life outside of the resource room because when they graduate from high school there isn’t going to be a “resource room.” Q: Other than the type of students you work with, how do you think special education is different? A: Special education teachers teach classes as well as case manage students. With this comes
many components outside of the classroom such as work-related skills, mental health concerns, home/daily living skills, health and physical needs, managing schedules and speech and language (social) skills. Q: When you were growing up, want did you want to be? A: I’m not sure I ever had a plan for what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was very busy being “social.” I started out in college as a business/finance major and considered accounting. Q: When you think of the Fergus Falls School District, what stands out? A:The phrase that comes to my mind is “something for everyone.” I think our district does a great job of offering something for everyone. Every child and adult in our district can find something to participate in if they choose to. Q: If you could spend a day with one person in history, who would it be and why? A: Anne Sullivan. I think it would be amazing to be with Anne as she discovered and unfolded the true person inside Helen Keller. u
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Name: Ellen Anderson Age: 50 Hometown: Fergus Falls Occupation: Special education teacher, Fergus Falls Public Schools Fun fact: She took piano lessons for five years and never got out of the beginner book. “My piano teacher finally told my mom she would not take her money anymore,” she said. “The funny part is I loved piano, practiced all the time.” Why she’s in Progress: Anderson works with special education students in the Fergus Falls School District.
Marie Noplos/Daily Journal
Ellen Anderson, a special education teacher in Fergus Falls, looks to not only improve the learning of her students but help them to prepare for the outside world. Anderson has been part of the Fergus Falls School District on separate occasions, but came back to her true passion.
at the State Capitol since 1996
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From Page 57 Q: What made you want to teach? What led you to teach history/social studies? A: I love being with people, sharing information and thoughts. Teaching is a profession that provides that opportunity. Teaching history comes naturally, and I enjoy hearing the unique stories of people from the past and present. Q: What are some of your classroom goals? A: Connect with every student and make learning fun. Help my students discover new things about our wonderful world. Q: Being in the Fergus Falls district for many years, how has it changed? How has your position changed? How has the teaching profession changed? A: In the past 24 years, the school district has changed in many ways. Even though our student and staff numbers have decreased, I am so grateful for the beautiful facilities. It is a treat to teach in a classroom that has computer access, a projector unit for movies, whiteboards, numerous materials, and terrific staff. I am presently teaching six classes of
seventh grade American history. Since hired in 1990, I have always taught junior high social studies. The teaching profession is still going through a transition of changes. Year by year, the state is giving teachers teaching standards to follow. In viewing new teachers, I see a similar passion in teaching being carried forward. Q: What are some of your proudest accomplishments in education? A: Awarded the recognition of being an infl uential teacher. Also getting my master’s degree. Classroom accomplishments: Whenever I see a student who has challenges, getting things done right and being proud of it. Being greeted on the streets of Fergus by past students. Getting to know my students like family members. Students making connections with current events and classroom topics. And once in a while hearing the comment, that “history is fun. I like your class!” Q: If you could have anyone play you in a movie, who would it be and why? A: Kevin Costner. I like his style. Q: What did you want to be when you grew up? A: President of the United States. Q: If you could talk with one person Photos by Marie Noplos/Daily Journal from history, who would it be and why? Gary Hoffbeck looks to make history fun and exciting for students through using A: Jesus. He’s got a lot of great ana mock government and several other projects in his classroom. swers about life. u
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Andrew Millard English teacher, Fergus Falls Schools By Zach Stich Daily Journal
English teacher Andrew Millard has made an impact in his time at the Fergus Falls Alternative Learning Center. Helping change the perception of the ALC, Millard in his eight years in town has helped students advance their writing and vocabulary skills, while also providing opportunities for students to express themselves outside of class. After teaching for more than a decade, Millard is still amazed by different aspects of his job. The Journal spoke with Millard about what made him want to become an educator, what his goals are in the classroom and his never ending books, albums and shows to-do lists.
with a wonderful sense of pride and camaraderie. Q: When you think of the Fergus Falls School District, what stands out? How do you think it stands out in the community? A: I think I’m continually impressed by our youth. It’s a generational complaint that young people aren’t the same, but it’s been my experience that the students I see are more genuine and caring than I even remember my own peers. Q:What is something people may not know about you? A: I think it’s fun knowing someone enjoyed a book, album, or anything that I recommended to him or her. So, I always try to listen, watch, or read what people tell me about. Spreading the word about our interests is one of the best ways Marie Noplos/Daily Journal to connect with anyone; Andrew Millard has created opportunities for students to express themselves in student, stranger, friend a different fashion in his Never Ever Resist Discovery group. or family member. Unfortunately, that means my reading and watching lists are always full! Name: Andrew Millard | Age: 34 | Hometown: Fergus Falls Q: If you could spend a day with one person in Occupation: English teacher, Fergus Falls Public Schools history, who would it be and why? Fun fact: He grew up wanting to be a visual artist or journalist. A: Scholarly answer: Jorge Luis Borges. Fun Why he’s in Progress: Millard provides alternative teaching of answer: Conan O’Brien. (He’s not history, though, English to students at the Kennedy Secondary School. just on TBS!) u
Community
Q: What made you want to be a teacher? What led you to teach English? A: As a student reading and writing classes were my favorite. I had eye-opening experiences in every subject through school, but discussing and reading about big ideas really drew me in. Q: What are some of your classroom goals? A: No matter what the class, I want students to
advance their writing and vocabulary skills. My goal is that they leave better than they came, even if only by a small measure. And if they found a book or author from class they liked along the way, well, that would be icing on the cake. Q: We heard you have a club called the N.E.R.D. Club. What is that about? A: Hmm. Well, I pushed back against the name NERD club when it was first presented to me by student organizers, but they convinced my to think of it as an acronym for Never Ever Resist Discovery. Though to be more on the nose, it’s mainly a safe place for students to be after school and spend time on any “geeky” or “nerdy” hobby they might be into: collectible card games; book and dice role playing games, cartooning. We’ve even had a member show her skills in costume design! Q: What are some of your proudest accomplishments in education? A: I’m quite proud of my time teaching at the Fergus Falls ALC. Under the direction of Kristin Tuel and all of the teaching staff there, I was privileged to watch it grow from a place of stigma to an educational setting
Progress 2015
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Progress 2015
Name: Doug Becker Age: 52 Hometown: Fergus Falls Occupation: Fergus Falls Fitness Center owner Fun fact: Becker has competed in multiple marathons and has a son, Mark, who ran a marathon in Israel. Why he’s in Progress: Becker has continued his business for 31 years through an ever-changing landscape by providing top quality weight training and vinyl record sales.
Community
A local lifting legend
S
Doug Becker has helped countless athletes perfect their craft
wing open the doors to the Fergus Falls Fitness Center and trot down the stairs, and you’ll get the sense you’ve stepped back in time — straight into a 1980s-style weight room with an Arnold Schwarzeneggerian aura, complete with clanking weights, grunts of exertion and possibly even Europe’s
“Final Countdown” blasting through the speakers. To the outsider it might seem dated, but to those who frequent it, it’s the antithesis of antiquated. It’s a gathering place for an eclectic mix of vacationers looking for a nice base tan, vinyl junkies ready to scour a collection of albums, and, most of all,
it’s a place where countless Fergus Falls area athletes have come to better themselves. Doug Becker, known for his training methods as much as his sometimes mad-as-a-hatter personality, has been training athletes in his basement facility for more than 30 years, and continues to do so with the same
Story and photos by Zach Stich
enthusiasm he had the first day the doors fl ung open. “When I walk through those doors and head down the steps, I feel like I am in heaven,” former Fergus Falls and North Dakota State wrestler Drew Ross said. “When I head into the locker room and start on my first set, I feel like I am home.”
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Former Minnesota Golden Gopher and Fergus Falls state swimming champion Stacy Busack also credits Becker with developing her passion for strength training. “His program helped me gain sportspecific strength, but beyond that, he modeled a love for training that helped me learn how to enjoy finding out where my limits are and then pushing past them,” Busack said. Ross, a state champion for the Otters, believes wholeheartedly in the training Becker provides. “If you are a high school athlete and you are not going to the fitness center, you are doing yourself a disservice,” he said. “When I began my training at NDSU, the only difference between what they were doing and what Doug was teaching me was the speed at which I lifted.” Becker also has fond memories of Ross’ run to the championship. Ross trained with Becker throughout high school and when he reached the pinnacle of his high school career — winning the Class AA state title at 189 pounds — Ross called his longtime trainer to tell him the news. “Someone gave Ross a cellphone and immediately he calls me after the match and all he said was, ‘Dougie, we got it done,’” Becker said. “You know what that felt like to me? It felt so good, like a breathe of fresh air.” While Becker has a passion for strength training, the other facets of his enterprise are succeeding, too. Tanning has gone hand-in-hand with the weight training as Becker has four
Above: Doug Becker spots a customer as he lifts in January at Becker’s Fergus Falls Fitness Center. Below: Becker’s record collection, which has attracted a different crowd to his training room. vinyl has made a comeback,” Becker said. “I use to sell a lot of albums on eBay, but now many people are making the trip to see if they can find something special. I have people coming from St. Cloud, Brainerd, Minneapolis, Grand Forks and other places.”
When I walk through those doors and head down the steps, I feel like I am in heaven. When I head into the locker room and start on my first set, I feel like I am home.
“
After he had heart surgery a few years back, Becker sold most of his high-value albums, but there is still some diamonds in the rough. He sold one for more than $1,200. When it comes to weight training, though, Becker keeps a close tab on current trends and breakthroughs in the field. “I have changed my workouts from previous years,” he said. “I watch what injuries athletes in sports I train seem to sustain and I try to improve those areas and move away from overworking certain muscles.” Becker’s training doesn’t differ from
fitness center, but he does know the landscape of weight training is changing for the better. “There is more sport-specific training and instructors are focusing on sports kinesiology,” he said. “This will only help athletes perform better and achieve their goals.” Until the doors close, though, expect Becker’s gym to be clanking and rocking as customers, no matter what they are looking for, are having a great time doing it. u
Community
tanning beds that seem to be running from when he opens to when he shuts the door. “This is another crowd of people who come down here who are different than the other two,” he said. “There is some overlap, but most of the time, the groups are very separate.” The third aspect of the business, the album sales, was born of Becker’s love for music, but quickly grew as more people discovered it. People from all over have traveled to Fergus Falls to sift through the vinyl that aligns the back walls of the weight room. “Record sales have been huge as
what most athletic trainers will have you do, but it’s his personality and friendship that keeps people coming back. “I would describe Doug as a person who loves life and the people in it,” Busack said. “His positivity is contagious. He loves to work hard and he has fun doing that. He is dynamic and passionate about helping people achieve their goals.” There is no telling how long Becker will continue to operate the
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A place to play At left: Fergus Falls Public Schools athletic director Gary Schuler stand in front of the football field and track in the spring of 2014. The school will get a new track, new bleachers and an artificial turf thanks to a bond referendum and private fundraising.
Community
New track, bleachers, football field among improvements for Fergus schools After a long process that included two failing bond referendums, the Fergus Falls School District will finally get an upgrade to several facilities at the Kennedy Secondary School this fall. Since taking over in 2005, Fergus Falls Athletic Director Gary Schuler has seen several proposals cross his desk, but the third referendum, in 2014, became special as the
community passed the measure by 62 percent. “Obviously, with all the upgrades that have been accomplished in the past five years, it makes a person feel very proud,” Schuler said. “To see the community support all of the things for young people gives a tremendous feeling of pride.” The referendum provided a remodel for the school’s tennis courts, auditorium, pool and the completion of a new sports facility, including new bleachers, track and football field. “The pool is 45 years
“To see the community support all of the things for young people gives a tremendous feeling of pride.”
Story by Zach Stich
old, so it is time,” Otters boys and girls swimming coach Tom Uvaas said on the pool’s retiling. “To replace tile that have broken, the school has had to have other colors and sometimes the repairs do not look perfect.” Although in need of repair, the pool, according to Uvaas, is still one of the best compared to that of their competition. Schuler believes that the referendum that passed was perfect for the school, despite being a stripped down version of prior referendums. In two previous plans, the school district attempted to pass referendums of $6.27 million in 2012 and $5.48 million in 2013, both rejected by voters.
Athletic UPGRADES by the numbers
$2.73M $900,000 $192,011 $169,180
The bond referendum amount that passed for Fergus Falls schools athletic facilities upgrades. The amount being raised in private donations to install an artificial turf on the football field.
The cost to demolish the stadium bleachers.
The cost to upgrade the auditorium. The cost to replace tiling and make other improvements for the school’s swimming pool.
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“We did not need a Cadillac version of anything,” Schuler said. “But the investment in the future of our kids was important. When the patrons of the district voted down the first two referendums, it was still felt that something on a smaller scale had to be done. A lot of time and thought and listening to community ideas went into the third referendum.” One of the things removed from the previous referendum was an artificial turf football and soccer field paid for by the voters. Not scrapping the idea, the school district looked for donations from members of the community to help with the additional costs that would incur for the field. The addition of a privately funded artificial turf field has also had local sports fans excited for the 2015 Fergus Falls athletic season. “Just having the possibility of turf puts icing on the cake,” Schuler said. The hope going forward is that the school will be able to host sectional and regional track meets as well as provide a field that will need less maintenance as both football and the school’s two soccer teams use the field. With the remodels unfolding throughout this school year and the summer, Schuler can already see the excitement from the coaches and hopes to see that carry over to students when the project is complete. “Our coaches are very excited about what the possibilities are for their particular activity,” he said. “I think it will hit home with our student/ athletes when they see completion getting close. It is going to be something that our kids and community will be very proud of.” u
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Art on display Artist: Anna Soenkson School: Kennedy Secondary School Title: “Untitled” Medium: acrylic Photo of art by Tim Engstrom/Daily Journal
PIONEERcare
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Progress 2015
Across the world
Hillcrest Academy attracts international students who excel
F
Story and photos by Jacob Tellers
or one international student attending Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, studying abroad has given him the opportunity to be more independent. Shilong Lee, whose English firstname is Jack, first came to the United State from China at the age
of 15 to attend a boarding school in Kentucky as a freshman, before coming to Hillcrest in Fergus Falls for his junior year. Experiencing independence was one of the reasons Lee wanted to come to the U.S. “I want to experience a different
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choose something on my own. They are really glad to see me learn new stuff and gain responsibilities.” Another reason Lee chose Hillcrest was because of the good preparation it offers for ACT and SAT tests.
See Shilong — Page 68
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Community
A tradition of ¿ne diamonds and jewelry in Fergus Falls since 1956.
life,” Lee said. “I want to experience being independent, how to do things by myself.” He said his parents were supportive of the decision, despite him being their only child. “They think it is good,” Lee said. “Because I am growing up and can
68
Progress 2015
Name: Shilong Lee (his English name is Jack) Age: 18 Hometown: Dalian, China Occupation: Student at Hillcrest Academy Fun fact: His favorite American food is steak. Why he’s in Progress: Shilong picked up everything and moved to the U.S. for his education.
CALL US TODAY TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT, WE WOULD LIKE TO MEET YOU! ssgacpa.com
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122 North Court, Fergus Falls, MN 56537 Jacob Tellers/Daily Journal
Shilong Lee practices the saxophone at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.
Shilong
Community
From Page 67 Learning styles in the U.S. and China are very different, Lee said. In China, there is a focus on memorization and learning facts, whereas there is more hands-on-learning in the U.S., Lee said. His plan is to attend college in the U.S., so being ready for those tests is essential. Some of his favorite classes include calculus and physics. “I might do something with math or chemistry,” Lee said about his college plans, but he also wants to study music as he plays the piano, saxophone and the guitar. One school he is
considering applying for is the University of Minnesota. Lee hopes coming to the U.S. for his high school experience will be beneficial for getting into an American college and he has enjoyed the transition to Fergus Falls. “It’s quiet,” Lee said. “It’s in a small town. I have more time to study.” Lee also described his hometown of Dalian as small. Despite a population of 5 million, it’s small when compared to other cities in China, Lee said. His first impression coming to Fergus Falls: “People are really kind.” The initial shock of coming to Minnesota was not actually how cold it was, but how hot the fall was, Lee said.
The climate in Lee’s hometown of Dalian, China, has a moderate temperature range, Lee said. “It’s never too cold or too hot,” he said. Speaking English was a difficult transition for Lee, despite the amount of time he spent studying it. “It was hard really,” Lee said. “The first time I came here I didn’t even know how to reply when people said ‘thank you’ to me. I said ‘that’s OK.’ We know lots of grammar stuff. We know how to build up a sentence, but we don’t really speak a lot.” Having lived in several parts of the U.S. now, Lee’s noticed the differences even inside American culture. “I can see the culture difference between the
South and the North, the greetings and how people call each other,” Lee said. One thing Lee found interesting in the U.S. is the many different Christian denominations. “In China, religion doesn’t have denominations,” Lee said. While China has a well-deserved reputation for suppressing religions, including Christianity, the province where Lee comes from isn’t strict in enforcing those laws, and his family is able to freely attend a public church. While he has come from the other side of the globe, Lee’s found himself at home in a town which seems to have a Lutheran church on every block. u
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Serving the area since 1970
Website: getconnected.uwotc.com Get Connected is an easy-to-use FREE website that matches the right donors, advocates, and volunteers with the right opportunities in our neighborhoods. Use Get Connected to find ways to give your unused materials and household items to agencies in need of donations, advocate for causes that require your passionate voice, and volunteer your time in ways that make a real difference.
Events coming up in your community! Community Connect Mobile Food Drop: March 27th Fergus Falls Armory – Volunteers Needed! Parker’s Prairie Day of Caring: April 23, 2015 Perham, Dent, Richville Day of Caring: April 29th, 2015 New York Mills Day of Caring: April 30th, 2015 2nd Annual Pet Parade: June 19th, 2015 Catholic Hearts Work Camp: July 19th - 25th, 2015 Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive: August 4th, 2015 Coats for Kids Drive and Distribution: September-October 2015 WLC Family Bingo - November 1st, 2015 - Fergus Falls VFW
218-736-5147
Above & Beyond
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Progress 2015
Readers nominate their picks for everyday heroes
The Journal called on area residents and organizations to nominate Otter Tail County people who have done something special, been through a unique experience or who were actively involved in the community to be featured in Progress 2015. The readers answered, and we selected the top submissions.
GREAT PEOPLE. PREMIUM PRODUCT. ShoreMaster is driven by two assets - great employees and great WWW.SHOREMASTER.COM
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cycling e R y t n u o C Otter Tail
ERIN JOHNSON
g n i t p e c c A w No
! d r a o b r e p a P
— Nominated and written by Margie Gettel, Fergus Falls
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was seated. A couple at a nearby table was not familiar with our town and was asking questions that were taking time for her to answer. While it would have been far easier for her to direct them to the hostess, she gave them a huge dose of “Fergus Friendly” and the positive remarks they made after she walked away made me proud to know her and grateful to have her living here.
aterial mmon paper m ns such o c a is rd a o rb o Pape aging applicati frozen k c a p y n a m r used fo l boxes, t p boxes, cerea as 12-pack po oxes, empty paper and toile b t if g s. food boxes, any other boxe m d n a , lls ro r e pap cyclable! Now, it is all re rd: ling paperboa c y c re r fo s e Guidelin recycling bin all paperboard t Break down wsprint compartment of the ne t Place in the e with corrugated cardboard cl lls t Do NOT recy e in Fergus Fa d si rb u c d te c t Also colle in ables accepted site at cl cy re f o t lis ll For a fu our web ty, please visit e Otter Tail Coun mn.us/solidwaste or call th il. a 8 rt 9 e -998-48 www.co.ott rtment at 218 a p e D e st a W Solid
Community
Employer: Security State Bank, Mabel Murphy’s Erin Johnson is my hero. No matter the type of day — no matter the day of the week — no matter if she isn’t feeling up to par, Erin has that genuine sunny and positive disposition that is so needed in today’s world. She is kind; she naturally zeros in on people who need a smile or a friendly “hello,” and does her best to make their day a little brighter. She is a hard worker; she holds a full time job at Security State Bank, works part-time as a server at Mabel Murphy’s, teaches YMCA fitness classes and has a Xyngular business. She has an easy smile and a quick laugh and provides the best of who she is at every turn. I had the opportunity to dine at Mabel Murphy’s right after the holidays; it was a Friday evening and the restaurant was bustling. Erin was the server assigned to many of the tables in the part of the restaurant where I
customers. This has been the key to our success since the very beginning. We are a team of great people working to do great things for our customers and our community. With over 40 years of experience and knowledge, ShoreMaster is primed for continued growth well into the future.
Above & Beyond
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West Central Minnesota’s Largest Selection Home of Lakes Country Wine Club Monday-Saturday Open 9 am-10 pm 227 Washington Ave. 2010 W. Lincoln Ave. 218-736-2088 218-998-7790
INTERNET
TV
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MARCH FOOD CAMPAIGN FERGUS FALLS COMMUNITY FOOD SHELF Minnesota Food Share is
MATCHING ALL PROCEEDS DONATED DURING MARCH.
Food Shelf hours: 1-4pm Mon., Wed., & Fri. MAIL CHECKS TO: P.O. Box 136, Fergus Falls, MN 56537 Watch 3. Watchfor forcampaign campaign envelope envelope in in the the paper on March 1.
Community
In 2012, overover 4,200 FAMILIES were helped In 2014, 12,200 PERSONS in the Falltowns! area inserved Fergus Falls & Fergus surrounding
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SARIE DORSEY Employer: InVision Eye Care Sarie Dorsey is not your ordinary American citizen. She is extraordinary! Sarie moved to Minnesota from South Africa in 2006. She married her fiancé, Rob, and they made their home in Fergus Falls. Sarie has been employed at InVision Eye Care since that time. You will see her cheerful smile as she greets patients and hear her lovely accent as she answers the phone. As a receptionist at InVision Eye Care she goes above and beyond to help others. No matter the request or the task, Sarie is always first to lend a hand. She offers to stay late, work weekends for emergencies, and always puts the patient’s needs first.
Sarie also cares for her extended family without hesitation or expectation of reward. She has been known to stay in the ER all night with family, yet appeared for work the following day with a smile. Her genuine concern and empathy are visible in all she does. She truly is a living example of what can be accomplished if you give of yourself to others. In addition to all of her other duties, Sarie also studied diligently to obtain her citizenship. During the process she marveled at facts that we as natural born Americans take for granted. She taught us again how truly wonderful our country is. We were very proud when she passed
her citizenship exam in 2014. Sarie is now a proud American — and we’re very happy to say that she is an everyday hero at our office. — Nominated and written by Tara Kempfer and Denise Hanson, Fergus Falls Invision
VAL LUNDBY Employer: Lake Region Healthcare That Val, she’s everywhere! We nominate Val Lundby as an everyday hero for her multitude of volunteer services. Val works as an accountant at Lake Region Healthcare and lives with her husband in rural Fergus Falls. Yet she finds time to volunteer for a number of causes, including the following: — Reading newspapers on the radio for the blind — Volunteer tax preparer for low income and elderly through VITA — Plays in bell choir at First Lutheran Church — Video operator at Calvary Free Lutheran Church (her church) — Occasionally sings as guest musician at her church
— Assists with preparing communion bread and wine at her church — Serves on the vision and planning committee at her church — Volunteer phone operator for KFNW phone-a-thon — Volunteer cook at Camp Joy during the summer — Volunteer helper during the Fergus Falls half-marathon Several of these volunteer services require commitment and reliability such as a scheduled reader for the blind or a shift as volunteer tax preparer. Val can be counted on to fulfill her commitment. She is dependable. Val says that she would not be comfortable leading a group or com-
mittee — even though we know she could do it. She is a reliable soldier doing the necessary hands-on work to accomplish the mission. We believe Val Lundby is the epitome of an everyday hero and should be recognized for her work. — Nominated and written by Jeff and Renae Legge, Fergus Falls
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Destination Fergus
A
s a native of Fergus Falls, I can tell you that the perception of most is that there isn’t a lot to do here. We don’t have a megamall or shopping center, no nightclubs and the like. The community boasts a large number of churches, banks and different senior living environments. But the home of the Otters gets a very undeserving perception. What many locals forget
is what we consider average, everyday events are actually what draws people to Fergus Falls. Taking in the scenery at the Prairie Wetlands, a fine dining experience at Mabel Murphy’s or catching a musical performance at A Center For the Arts are just a few things that drive people to the community. And don’t forget about all the recreation in the summer. Taking a sabbatical from my traditional sports
Story and photos by Zach Stich
writing duties at the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, I decided to spend my vacation from the hustle and bustle of the print world right here at home with my wife, Claire. Setting out to hit key landmarks and mainstays of the city, we set off for an action-packed day in the city of the big Otter.
Destination Fergus continues on Pages 72-77
Community
There’s plenty to do in town, from arts and recreation to dining and more
Destination Fergus
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Pages 71-77
The Viking Cafe Our first destination on my â&#x20AC;&#x153;staycationâ&#x20AC;? is the state famous Viking Cafe. Entering the back of the restaurant, the smell of bacon and coffee hits me as I open the door and the rush of waitresses and customers vying for booths sends a breeze my way. We find an open booth and am greeted by a friendly waitress with a glass of water and a menu. I tell the waitress there is no need for the menu as my wife and I already know what we want. I order a ham and cheese omelet, best in the state, and she gets The Viking Cafe provides the best breakfast in Fergus Falls, as their omelets have been named the best in the eggs benedict. Minnesota and the portion sizes are a value for customers looking for a hearty meal. I drink my water as I watch patrons leave their booths and new ones quickly rush in, trying to beat the oncoming rush of breakfast-goers. After about 10 minutes, I see our waitress coming toward the table with morning delicacies. After a pleasant exchange with our waitress, we begin to indulge on the food that was set in front of us. I cut into my omelet and out spills amazing tasting ham. I savor each bite as hash browns and white toast border the exceptional egg masterpiece. My wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eggâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s benedict is filling, as the portion size defeats her. With a full stomach and energy in our step, we get our tab and pay at the front counter. Owner Pat Shol greets me by name and we share some small talk while he rings up my check. I bid Pat farewell as we AUTO AND TRUCK ACCESSORIES exit to our next stop.
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Lake Alice Being within walking distance, my wife and I decide to take a stroll around the sometimes infamous Lake Alice. Surrounded by several beautiful homes, the lake creates a picturesque view of what Fergus Falls once was and what natives of this town look for it to be again. The lakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s circumference isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too daunting and allows walkers to share a conversation or runners to get a nice warm up before heading out for more cardio work. Being from Fergus Falls, my wife and I talk about the different memories that we have had around the lake, whether it be trickor-treating, running the lake in gym class or the hours we spent walking around basin while we were dating. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t walk around the lake without mentioning the rumored safes of gold, jewelry and other assorted valuables that may be in the waters, left by the cyclone of 1919. Wondering what could be hidden in the lake has always intrigued me, but as we circle back to the start we decide to take a walk along the Otter Tail River.
Destination Fergus
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Pages 71-77
Starting by city hall, we travel the riverwalk looking at the foliage that adorns the riverside. The riverwalk is a nice daytime stroll for local residents and a great place to collect your thoughts. Traveling under the Court Street bridge, you get a slight gust of wind as the river travels through the half pipe build. We can hear the sounds of cars passing over us as we stop to read several different plaques about the river and its significance to
the city. I quickly point out to my wife the bridge that crosses over the river, a place that my friends and I enjoyed leaping from as we swam through the rapids in the summer, and the falls that come from the Wright Dam. A very scenic look as we pass under the old Post Office bridge and make our way to street level and cross Cascade Street to finish the walk. We stop for a second in the park
area behind Shopko to watch ducks fl oat on the water and just feel the sun on our faces. We get up from our moment of relief and make the turn around the river, back to the sidewalk, and look at the train bridge. For an outsider, it looks like a graffiti-filled mess, but as someone who graduated from Fergus Falls High School, I can tell you that the bridge and its markings are a sense of pride for many former Otter students. The Union Bridge marks the area near the Wright Dam and Otter Tail Power Co. Our jaunt brings us The sound of the rapids is very peaceful and the mist from the falls brings a nice back to the downtown chill on a warm day. area of Fergus Falls and we proceed to kill some time shopping.
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As we end our walk on the other side of Shopko, my wife and I decide to stroll through downtown and possibly stop for a goodie or two. We pass the Fergus Falls Fitness Center, a place that I am well familiar with, and Cally’s Cafe and Coffee. Across the road we see people entering one of my wife’s favorite restaurants, Don Pablo’s, while we cross the street to the next block. In the middle of the downtown shopping district lies Biffl ey’s and Bookmark. This is a perfect stop for the hardcore gamer, as
Progress 2015
Exploring the Otter Tail River
Destination Fergus
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Pages 71-77
A colorful atmosphere, friendly service and great food makes Cafe 116 a place to stop with friends, visitors or to dine alone.
Community
the store sells old video games from the days of the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. I pick up a few treasured memories, as my wife snickers at my child-like glee. We decide to swing into Victor Lundeen Co. on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Court Street. I check out the new releases in books, while my wife wanders the store in search of different supplies for projects for our kids to do at home. We hit the last block, where I stop to pick up some fl owers for my grandmother at the Flower Mill. Quick and friendly service puts us out the door and down to the Fergus Falls City Bakery. I am getting a little hungry from lunch and decide to tide myself over with a delicious donut pop from the confectionery.
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Lunch at Cafe 116
Noticing a second purchase from the bakery, my wife suggests we stop at the neighboring Cafe 116 for lunch. The cafe gives off a very warm feeling, a place where you can spend hours sipping on smoothies, reading a newspaper and working on your laptop. There menu presents a very different approach to the names of their menu items as each sandwich is named after a street in Fergus Falls. I order the Franklin, a Bavarian ham sandwich with swiss cheese, lettuce, mayo and dijon mustard, and a strawberry smoothie. My wife opts for a chocolate frappe and the Summit, a turkey, bacon, avocado and mayo sandwich. Our waitress is very friendly as we munch on our sandwiches and Representing clients chips. The smoothie leaves me with throughout Minnesota brain freeze — its deliciousness overrides my rational thinking. The and North Dakota moment gets a chuckle out of my wife as she watches me squint my hastingslaw@prtel.com eyes to prevent the self-induced www.hastingslawmn.com pain. 218-998-2260 Another meal down and another full stomach as we depart from 124 East Lincoln Ave. the cafe in search of even more Fergus Falls, MN 54537 adventure as our day continues.
Destination Fergus Pages 71-77
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WE HAVE MOVED! Our new address is 1215 N. Union Ave. Fergus Falls
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Progress 2015
Prairie Wetlands Learning center has a lot to offer.
A trip to the Prairie Wetlands different projects for junior high classes and also enjoying a different learning environment from the typical fl uorescent lighting of a classroom. Seeing monarch butterfl ies and hearing frogs croaking in the distance allows someone to reestablish themselves in the natural order of things. Spending
more time than in recent memory with my wife, we are able to have meaningful conversations about life and the future that many couples miss out on when working and spending time with their children. We make our way back to the car and decide to continue our walk in a different environment.
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After lunch, we make our way out on Highway 210 to the Prairie Wetlands. Looking to head out into nature, without traveling that far, my wife suggests that we walk along the paths at the wetlands and check out the natural grass setting that is located within our city. Not being one to shy away from the outdoors, I agree that it would be nice to get back in touch with nature after having spent days and weeks in front of a computer screen. We walk past the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center that has multiple uses from hosting classes for the community on different aspects of wildlife, classes for Fergus Falls students and it promotes stewardship of both wetland and prairie. I remember spending several days at the wetlands tackling
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Grotto Park stop Another great stop is John Adams Park, affectionately known to locals as Grotto Park. Where else can you wind your way through a path that takes you to an iconic giant otter? In the summer, the park is usually packed with families watching baseball games, lunch-goers taking in the scenery before they have to head back to work and those who came to pay their respects to those memorialized at Angel of Hope Park. Taking a stroll along the drive keeps bringing back memories of stepping into the batter’s box during Park and Rec League baseball and winning Big Friday with my teammates. Many fond memories of climbing the otter, despite my fear of heights, and hanging out with friends in the days where the sun never seems to set and you had all the time in world stir up as we pass the playground. My wife mentions that the road used to be dirt when we bend the corner: A paved road is a recent addition to the park. We reach the end of the walk and decide to stroll up to the field. I start to ramble about our children playing baseball and softball at Grotto when they get older and how much fun it will be to see them in action. As we cut through
the park to our car, we make a dash for our next destination.
A tour of the Kirkbride Heading North, we travel to the city’s biggest landmarks — the Kirkbride, formerly the Regional Treatment Center. The breathtaking campus brings a feeling of serenity to mind as you wind through the entrance. The buildings brings out a sense of a millionaire’s compound or a private school that hails from the past. Beginning the tour, you see much of what you would expect to see in a state run facility, a waiting area, a cafeteria, a gymnasium and patient quarters. But what really grabs a hold of a visitor to the Kirkbride is the living quarters in the hospital. Beautiful looking rooms and a view that many people would love to have out their front window, you begin to understand why the megacomplex has been the center of a lot of attention this past decade. The tour highlights many of the nuts and bolts of the campus and explains what the Kirkbride has been used for throughout its existence. One interesting thing of note is that the building offered free room and board to several students attending the junior college in the early 2000s. Other facts that you get from the tour is the dimensions, the story of the fire in the bell tower and why there is writing on
Community
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Pages 71-77
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A tour of the Kirkbride in Fergus Falls brings stories of a fire in the bell tower, and why there’s writing on the walls in one of the wings. the walls in one of the wings. Some things you take away from the tour are that the building, although beautiful, also gives you a scary movie vibe. Such movies and even a Halloween haunted building have been hosted here. Trust me though, in traveling throughout the Kirkbride, you won’t hear blood curdling screams or a poltergeist, but it is fun to imagine. As we get back to where we started, my wife and I look to continue our journey through history and decide to head to the Otter Tail County Historical Museum.
Museum tour Getting back to our vehicle, we drive down North Union as we look to make our way to the Otter Tail County Historical Museum. The museum is close to my heart as I remember taking class field trips there and attending the “haunted museum” to hear scary tales of Otter Tail County. We take a tour of the exhibits, looking at old automobiles and farm equipment. The museum provides several views of what life was like
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Pages 71-77
Dinner at Mabel Murphy’s
Performance at A Center For the Arts With our staycation nearly complete, we
decide to take in a performance at A Center For the Arts in downtown Fergus Falls. Both my wife and I have seen several performances at the Fergus Theatre throughout our lifetimes. I remember seeing the Jimmy Stewart classic “Harvey” at the theater and being very impressed with the production. Tonight we take in a musical performance by a Beatles tribute band as I enthusiastically wait for the first sound of a guitar. The theater is in very good condition and is usually sold out as the community takes in the plays, musical performances and films that are shown at the Fergus staple. The theater continues to bring a unique artistic fl avor in its choice of performance that add to the culture of the community. After the amplifiers die down and the last song has been sung, my wife and I make our way to the street for one final adventure.
A drink and music at The Spot As our night nears a close, my wife and I walk down to The Spot for a nightcap. The Spot, which has a great selection of wine and craft beers, is a comfortable retreat from the rush of everyday life. I order a glass of pinot grigio and collect a merlot for my wife. I remember
visiting the restaurant for meetings and enjoying their paninis that always seem to hit the spot. The venue also welcomes in musicians, poets and other artists looking to express their creativity. Live music beckons us to the back of the establishment where a group listens to a local artist plays guitar and sings folksy songs. After our drinks, we decide to wait around awhile and bask in our fun-filled day in Fergus Falls. We exited the establishment a little tired, but happy that we were able to reconnect and enjoy the surroundings our community.
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After the museum, we get back on Lincoln Avenue and head west to Mabel Murphy’s for an early dinner. Pulling into the parking lot, we prepare to enter the restaurant and bar that gives off a homey feeling. It’s outside looks like a bed and breakfast or large family’s home with its brown and cream colored exterior. I hold the heavy wooden doors for my wife as we enter the establishment. Having been privy to several meals at Mabel’s, my wife and I opt for the dining room, leaving the delicious french dip
sandwiches, burgers and friendly bar staff for another day. We walk up to Joanne McQuisten, owner of the fine dining establishment, and are escorted to our table. We skip over appetizers and order a few drinks. I ask for a pint of hard apple cider, while my wife requests a glass of merlot. Our waitress brings back our drinks and we proceed to order. I go with the scallops with au gratin potatoes on the side and she orders the steak and ribs combination with fettuccine for a side. We partake in the restaurant’s salad bar and are greeted by the cooks as we load up our plates with goodies. After washing down my salad with some cider and water, not together of course, the waitress enters the room with our meals. The scallops melt in my mouth as I dip a bite into the drawn butter. The au gratin potatoes are the perfect blend of cheese and starch. My wife takes a bite into her award winning ribs, which appear bigger than those typically served at other establishments and her fettuccine alfredo is creamy and delicious. After we finish our dinner, we pay our bill and bid au du to the cooks and the hostess.
Progress 2015
in the county during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Museum executive director Chris Schuelke continues to provide different exhibits and attractions every year to keep the museum fresh. Exiting the museum, my wife and I take a few minutes to look at the Super Goose in Van Dyk Park and swing on the swings. The goose was another design by Fergus Falls metal artist Steve Jaenisch, who did the framework for the otter that sits at John Adams Park, and has been a staple outside the museum since it was erected. We return to our vehicle as hunger pains hit me — dinner time approaches.
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Kate Laudon has been an advocate at Someplace Safe in Fergus Falls since last year, helping counsel crime victims in Otter Tail County. Laudon, who said she comes from a family of strong women, got her law degree in 2013. She said there are misconceptions about Someplace Safe: that it’s anti-men and it operates primarily as a shelter for women. The goal there, though, is to keep families together.
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Name: Kate Laudon | Age: 32 | Hometown: Montgomery, Minnesota | Occupation: Someplace Safe advocate Fun fact: She doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any social media accounts Why sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Progress: Laudon helps counsel and advocate for crime victims in Otter Tail County
Someplace Safe advocate provides support By Jacob Tellers Daily Journal
As the sexual assault advocate for the Fergus Falls Someplace Safe offices, Kate Laudon has to deal with many situations that can be tough to handle. She credits her mother for showing her that she could be strong as a woman and stand up for the rights of others.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;She could see it in me as her child,â&#x20AC;? Laudon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I come from a long line of very strong women.â&#x20AC;? Her mother was one of the first women in Minnesota to own her own pharmacy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She was very driven,â&#x20AC;? Laudon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She understood and knew the importance and power of a women being educated and able to sup-
port and take care of herself and that is what she wanted for me.â&#x20AC;? Laudon initially attended Saint Thomas where she graduated with a business degree in 2005. She stayed in the Twin Cities working various business jobs including a gig in advertising, but she said she always knew that there was more she wanted to do.
Laudon went back to college in 2011 at the William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul and graduated in 2013 with her law degree. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something I knew I always wanted to do,â&#x20AC;? Laudon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After all those years of school I had decided I wanted a little bit of a break.â&#x20AC;? While working toward her law degree, Laudon did criminal work in
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what led her to apply for a position with Someplace Safe, where she started in spring 2014. Laudon says that two incorrect perceptions about Someplace Safe are that it is anti-men, and it operates primarily as a shelter for women. The goal is always to keep families together, not break them apart, Laudon said. Laudon said she is always impressed by the women who come to her for help. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if I would have that courage,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are so much braver than I am.â&#x20AC;?
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Ramsey County, often with juveniles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I got to see the underdog a lot, Laudon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was always involved with the underdog. That was why I wanted to do victim advocacy work, to help the underdog, to give people a voice who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have one.â&#x20AC;? Laudonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother unfortunately passed away before she could see her daughter graduate from law school, but the lessons she taught have stuck with Laudon. Laudonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience and desire to advocate for people who have been victims of crimes is
Progress 2015
A voice to the voiceless
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‘It’s about them’ Veterans home chaplain shares experiences
Community
Story by Miranda Hubert | Photos by Marie Noplos
“I
t’s not about me, that’s for certain,” Chaplain Jack Stanek chuckled, when asked about his work. “Whatever I can do to minister to them, to comfort them, to put them at ease, to walk with them in their spiritual journey. It’s about what they want.” Stanek has been the chaplain at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Fergus Falls since August 2014, but that by no means was the start of his service. Born in the Twin Cities area, and then spending most of his childhood in Texas, Stanek had what he calls a unique upbringing when it came to his faith. His mother converted from Norwegian Lutheran to Catholicism when he was 4, and his father was Jewish. After his personal conversion later in life, he felt a call to ministry and entered seminary after marrying his wife, Susan, 27 years ago. He was a
pastor for many years, serving in churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He moved to Colorado but had difficulty securing a church. That’s when he thought about trying out chaplaincy. “I really enjoy the one-on-one with people,” Stanek said, adding that he didn’t get a lot of that in pastoring, but that chaplaincy provides him that opportunity. Stanek previously had served in the Navy from 1968 to 1983. As a chaplain in Colorado, he served in hospices and hospitals with the Army National Guard. In 2012 he moved back north to Fargo and took a position as the director of spiritual care for Sanford Medical Center. However, when Sanford changed the requirements for the position last year, he found himself looking for employment elsewhere. That’s when the veterans home in Fergus Falls came into the picture. The home invited
him to chaplain with them, and he took it. “I feel very very blessed,” Stanek said. “I have aspects of both a church ministry here as well as chaplaincy.” His duties include counseling with the resident veterans of the home, leading a Bible study group, officiating church services three times a week and otherwise fulfilling the other spiritual needs of those with whom he works. “Every ministry has its unique experiences,” he said, adding that at the vets home, many people have questions about end-of-life or their spirituality. He said his job is to walk with them in their faith. Stanek also enjoys the great amount of knowledge and history the veterans provide. “It’s really interesting,” he said. “We have such a wealth of not only information but of service to our country. It’s really an honor to be here.” Memorable experiences are abundant, Stanek
Name: Jack Stanek | Age: 64 | Hometown: Fargo | Occupation: Chaplain, Minnesota Veterans Home in Fergus Falls Fun fact: Stanek is also a chaplain in 119th “Happy Hooligans” squadron of Civil Air Patrol in Fargo. Why he’s in Progress: As chaplain, Stanek works with the vets to ensure their spiritual needs are seen to just as their physical needs are.
Progress 2015
“This walk I enjoy because I’m walking with them rather than preaching down to them. Their faith boosts my faith.” said, adding that a particular highlight is when children visit. “It’s neat to see those generations interacting,” he said. “There’s defi nitely a bond there.” As people get older, faith becomes more important, Stanek said, and sharing in their faith not only strengthens, but it encourages. “It is always rewarding when I talk with the residents about their walk with the Lord,” Stanek said. “This walk I enjoy because I’m walking with them rather than preaching down to them.
Their faith boosts his faith, and he’s always excited about faith questions. “Bible study leads to interesting, personalized questions,” he said. “It’s more theological, more probing questions about faith, and I always appreciate that.” When asked if there was a best part to his job, Stanek didn’t hesitate. “They’re all best parts, as far as everything I do,” he said. “I really appreciate the one-on-one with the residents. The Lord has given me the desire of my heart in placing me here.” u
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Above and at left: Chaplain Jack Stanek reads a passage from the Bible during service at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Fergus Falls.
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New in town Recent additions to FF make most of retirement By Dorinda Anderson For The Journal
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Vacationing in the Fergus Falls areas for several years led to a love of the area, causing Laurie and Phil Bauck to choose it as their retirement community. “I think living here has been even better than what I expected,” Laurie said. The Baucks moved to Fergus from Milaca, in east central Minnesota, in June of 2013, but they’ve had property in Fergus since 2000. “We vacationed here often on our little piece of lake property,” she said. “It was always our intention to retire here someday.”
But moving to a new area is like starting over, and can be difficult, from everything like meeting new people to being included in other people’s lives and routines. “The friendliness of the people can make or break the experience,” Laurie said. “But this has been a good change for Dorinda Anderson/For The Journal us. We have wonderful neighbors and every- Laurie Bauck and her husband, Phil, retired to Fergus Falls in 2013. They say they love the area and all it has one is friendly. What we to offer. have seen in the church and our little area here grew up in Moorhead the lake.” locations to fish on the was a concern, but the has been wonderful. It and spent a great deal An advantage to living lake, if they have retired Baucks have found they has that old-fashioned of time at the family lake on a smaller lake is that from fishing, and the see them more often niceness right down to cabin near Perham. most of the people who good places to hunt. We than when they lived 30 being able to borrow “And I fell in love with spend time on the lake summer fish and ice fish minutes away. cookie cutters from the the area and its roll- also live on that lake. and Phil likes to duck “They come to hunt neighbor because mine ing hills,” Laurie said. “So when we are out hunt, and the neighbors and fish with grandare still packed away.” “I had never lived on a fishing we get to know let us walk through their ma and grandpa and Choosing the Fergus lake before other than the others living on the trails in the woods.” like riding through the Falls area was an easy swimming in area lakes. lake,” she said. “And Having the grandchil- woods on the John decision because Phil I definitely like living on they will tell us the good dren two hours away Deere tractor,” Laurie said. And they are very involved with their church A CENTER FOR THE ARTS where everyone has been very nice. Laurie also works for Hallmark The shows are set for our in Fergus Falls, which has been another positive experience. Laurie also enjoys the area’s history like the old cemeteries, the Kirkbride and hearing the stories will be announced soon! of the older people in the community. 124 W Lincoln Ave, downtown Fergus Falls Paid for by Ingebrigtsen for Senate. www.FergusArts.org 218-736-5453 PO Box 1325, Alexandria, MN 56308
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Progress 2015
Meet The Daily Journal team responsible for inserting advertising in the paper. Back row, from left: Cliff Coleman, Tom Aagren, Kay Guerra, Becky Kohlmeier and Klara Julsrud. Front row: Teresa Johnson, Shirley Hanson, Carol Motz and manager Ellen Donaldson. Not pictured: Roger Haugen.
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love talking to older people and hearing their stories,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And I am totally in love with the Kirkbride and its history. For someone coming in from somewhere else and seeing it, it is amazing.â&#x20AC;? During the course of moving to Fergus Falls the Baucks built a pole shed on their property and made half of it into living quarters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When real estate prices got better we put our little hobby farm up for sale and it sold â&#x20AC;&#x153;For All Your Printing Needs!â&#x20AC;? five days later for full price, so we decided it was time to move,â&#x20AC;? Laurie said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Phil wanted to build his own house so for about a year we lived in the shed while the house was being built.â&#x20AC;? Unfortunately, early on 218.736.2364 in the building process 110 E. Washington Ave. Phil was in a 4-wheeler Fergus Falls, MN 56537 accident and so learned DIGITAL COLOR COPIES firsthand about area mediLETTERHEADS â&#x20AC;˘ ENVELOPES â&#x20AC;˘ BUSINESS cal facilities. Because the CARDS â&#x20AC;˘ NCR FORMS & MORE... driveway to the building site
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was so rough, ambulance crews had to walk into the property and then carry Phil up the hill back to the road, Laurie said. And now Phil is having his knee replaced. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Having to change doctors always makes us a little nervous but we are impressed and confident with the care here and the kindness and concern we have seen,â&#x20AC;? Laurie said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the little things like getting into appointments on time. We feel like we belong here and that everything is turning out like it is supposed to.â&#x20AC;? u
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Our team
Meet the Fergus Falls Daily Journal team that brought you Progress 2015.
TIM ENGSTROM Publisher What do you like most about Progress magazine? Progress is about faces and names. The stories highlight not just problems of the community but rather the people with solutions. It is solutions-oriented journalism at its best. What are your 3 favorite … discs? I like to disc golf. My favorite is my putter, a purple, 172-gram Super Stupid Soft Magic putter from Gateway Discs. I like my yellow, 170-gram Star Wraith driver from Innova primarily because I got an ace with it last summer. And I like my red, 170-gram Elite-Z Buzzz midrange from Discraft. Super Stupid Soft, Star and Elite-Z are types of plastic, while Magic, Wraith and Buzzz are models of discs. ADAM HARRINGA Associate Publisher/ Editor What does progress mean to you? It means moving forward — learning from the past and improving upon it. What are your three favorite … classic horror films? Night of the Living Dead (1968) The Omen (1976) Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
CONNIE KNAPP Audience Development Manager How do you define progress? Progress is always moving forward toward a new goal; looking at the past to learn along the way. What are your 3 favorite … wines? Malbec Tannat Cabernet Sauvignon KERI BUCHHOLZ Circulation How do you define Progress? When you are moving forward and achieving your goals. What are your 3 favorite … places to camp? Roy Lake State Park, South Dakota Pickerel Lake State Park, South Dakota Otter Tail Lake, Minnesota MARK LAHAISE Press Manager What do you like most about the Progress magazine? When it’s all done printing, and it comes back complete and looking good. What are your 3 favorite … things? Cheap gas, good beer and Las Vegas.
BERNICE OVERLAND Accountant How do you define Progress? The advancement to a better tomorrow. What are your 3 favorite … places to visit? Costa Rica, the Florida Keys, and St. Thomas. DEE FORKEY Advertising/Bookkeeping What do you like most about Progress magazine? Discovering what is new around the county. What are your 3 favorite … TV show theme songs? Chuck — “Short Skirt Long Jacket” by Cake Dukes of Hazzard — “Good Ol’ Boys” by Waylan Jennings The Love Boat — “The Love Boat theme” by Jack Jones DEB ERICKSON Graphic Design Manager What do you like most about the Progress magazine? The finished product. What are your 3 favorite … concerts? Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Guns n Roses
EMILY HERMES Graphic Designer What progress would you most like to see in your community? I would like to see Fergus Falls become more of a youth-oriented and “family fun” community, bringing more options for fun and exciting things for our youth and young families to do. Things like a pool/waterpark, roller skating rink, an amusement park. What are your 3 favorite … movies? The Best of Me The Notebook The Lucky One TOM GROUT Marketing Consultant What do you like most about the Progress magazine? I like human interest stories and seeing how long a business has been in business. What are your 3 favorite … things to eat? Chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate. JOE BARFKNECHT Marketing Consultant What do you like most about the Progress magazine? I like reading all the stories about everyone in Progress. What are your 3 … weapons of choice during a zombie apocalypse? Hand held M134 minigun AA-12 shotgun with a drum magazine (32 rounds) M4A1 carbine-fitted with Heckler & Kock AG-C grenade launcher
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Progress 2015
SARAH KAMPA Marketing Consultant What do you like most about the Progress magazine? The ads of course! What are your 3 favorite … names? Cory, Alex and Alyssa. (my nephews and niece who are very special to me.)
NICK SORUM Sports Reporter How do you define progress? Continually moving toward a goal. Making each day better than the one before. What are your 3 favorite … songs? “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan “When I Paint My Masterpiece” by The Band “The Maker” as performed by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
MARIE NOPLOS Photo Editor What do you like most about the Progress magazine? The opportunity to have some unique photo shoot opportunities. What are your 3 favorite … musical artists? Kenny Rogers, Sammery Kershaw and the Backstreet Boys JACOB TELLERS Reporter What progress would you most like to see your community make? To me progress in Fergus Falls would be an expanded choice of restaurants to eat at. The three chains I would like to see the most in Fergus Falls would be Buffalo Wild Wings, Taco Bell and Godfathers. What are your 3 favorite … book series? A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card
MIRANDA HUBERT Reporter How do you define Progress? I define Progress as change for the better over time. What are your 3 favorite … palindromes? Kayak, madam, and attarrattat. JEFF MEIER Reporter What do you like most about the Progress magazine? I enjoy how the stories in Progress are about the community members specifically. What are your 3 favorite … movies about time travel? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Terminator 2, and Back to the Future.
Community
NANCY VALENTINE Classifieds Specialist What progress would you most like to see your community make? I would like to see our community become more “Millennial-minded” by investing in music and arts programs created for not just children, but also teens and young adults. What are your 3 favorite … donuts? The Creme Brûlée Donut from the City Bakery The Calendar Girl from Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis The Maple Bacon Long John from Sandy’s Donuts in Fargo
ZACH STICH Sports Editor What progress would you most like to see your community make? I believe the community needs to bring in businesses and different events to attract the 13-22 group in the city. Growing up in Fergus Falls, this is one of the major complaints from the youth and now that I have children, it is hard to find things for them to do if the weather is bad. What are your 3 favorite … professional wrestlers? Stone Cold Steve Austin, Macho Man Randy Savage and Sting
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Glory days Ashby’s baseball team still bringing in large crowds By Jeff Meier Daily Journal
Kyle Rylander recalls sprinting around the baseball diamond at Ashby’s school field after smacking a ball into right field with the crowd going wild, his teammates cheering him on as he rounded the bases. Baseball has been doing well in town. “There’s been a great turnout recently at games,” Rylander said. “It’s great fun for the town.” Rylander is a part of the 2015 Ashby As which have been a town league team since the 1890s. The As have gone through many different managers, name changes and roster updates but remain a staple of the town’s community throughout its history. Every member of the current Ashby As except one is either from Ashby or currently lives in Ashby. The players have a variety of backgrounds including farming, banking, construction and many others. Baseball brings them together.
Ashby/Dalton
“We’re really a closeknit group. It’s all serious when the game starts but we often barbecue and chat after games.”
Jeff Meier/Daily Journal
Robert “Andy” Anderson, Grant County Sheriff Dwight Walvatne and Jack Peterson pose at the Ashby As trophy box at the American Legion in Ashby. All three played for the As, each having careers with the team for at least 20 years. Players range from 19 years old to 32 and many of the players have several family members playing on the team. In fact, Rylander has been best friends with another player, Chris Ohren, since first grade. “We’re really a close-knit group,” Rylander said. “It’s all serious when the game starts but we often barbecue and chat after games.” The team won just as many games as they lost last year after having a couple rough years of winning only one or two games. As for attendance, Rylander said that last season there would be anywhere from 100 to 200 people sitting on the natural land banks made at the Ashby school baseball diamond. “We’ve been trying some new things and the team seems to be on the rise again,” Rylander said. The team holds several fundraising efforts through-
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out the year including a basketball tournament, a spaghetti dinner and youth training groups that started last April. Rylander said he really enjoyed the youth clinics they tried last year and plans to keep them going to get families interested in the town team. He said about 30 kids showed up for the first one in April 2014. This year’s basketball tournament will feature 10 Ashby and surrounding town teams. Some of the teams have been competing in the Ashby As basketball tournament four years in a row. According to Rylander, these fundraising events bring the community together and reinforce the togetherness that the As have had since their inception. “We would love to someday get back to the big crowds that used to show up,” Rylander said.
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The 1950s Ashby town baseball team that won the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? division Minnesota state championship. Robert â&#x20AC;&#x153;Andyâ&#x20AC;? Anderson is pictured second from left in the bottom row.
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of the time fondly. He said the talent on those town teams was incredible and that almost 2000 people attended their state championship game versus Duluth. Back then the team was just known as the Ashby town ball team. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was important to play on the ball team,â&#x20AC;? Anderson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was the only thing to do back in the day.â&#x20AC;? Anderson said that his son and two brothers both previously played on the As team throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. Current Grant County Sheriff Dwight Walvatne also played on the Ashby As for more than 20 years and played when he was as old as 42. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You get a ball team together and you watch each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back,â&#x20AC;? Walvatne said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t trade those years for anything.â&#x20AC;? At the American Legion restaurant in Ashby, a trophy box shows off all the winning plaques of the As. Rylander hopes that with the renewed interest they are gathering for the team, that they can bring some more great seasons to the town. u
Jeff Ellsworth
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The Ashby As have always played in the Resorters-West league as part of the Minnesota Baseball Association. They went to the state tournament in 1944, 45, 50, 87 and 98. Robert â&#x20AC;&#x153;Andyâ&#x20AC;? Anderson remembers playing for the team in their 1950 championship run and speaks
Loan Officer
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Mike Schriener
88
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THROUGH THE YEARS
<285 &203/(7( 6285&( )25 %8,/',1*
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UNDERWOOD SCHOOL
By Miranda Hubert Daily Journal
W Battle Lake/Underwood
REGISTRATION
Enrollment packets will be sent out the week of February 23. Please return the packets to the Elementary OfÂżce by Wednesday, March 11. If you did not receive a packet and would like to enroll your child in our Kindergarten next year, please stop by our ofďŹ ce or call 218-826-6101 to have a packet sent to you. An informational letter will be sent out in May to conďŹ rm enrollment.
hat started as a railroad car full of lumber more than 100 years ago is now a fifth-generation family business. Since 1882, Everts Lumber Co. has provided the residents of Battle Lake with lumber, paint, hardware and much more. About 133 years ago Edmund Everts, a settler in Otter Tail County, ordered a car load of lumber delivered via the Northern Pacific Railroad. He ended up selling the whole load to interested settlers, and
another order he placed also quickly sold out. Everts Lumber was born, a business that has been passed down through the family through present day. Rezin Everts and Ambrose Everts joined the business in 2008 and 2012, respectively. The brothers are the great-great-grandsons of founder Edmund.
1871:
Edmund A. Everts arrives in Otter
1882:
Edmund buys first railroad car of lumber
Tail County
Stop in and check us out!
1882: 1905: the business
Original store built Fred Everts, Edmundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, joins
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1954:
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The Fondest Memories Are Made When Gathered Around The Table Let Us Help Make Your Memories 110 North Lake Ave • Battle Lake, MN • 218-864-5454
BATTLE LAKE LIQUOR STORE Large Selection of Beer, Wine and Liquor Above: Fred. A. Everts Lumber and Coal, date unknown. Below: John Everts and Richard Hochstein receiving a shipment of lumber off the train in January of 1980.
1970s:
John and Peter Everts, Tom’s sons, join the business
1978: 1994: store
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Summer Hours: Mon.-Sat. 9am-10pm
Addition added to
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Breckenridge/Wahpeton
It’s not just the monkeys Chahinkapa Zoo offers many attractions Story by Miranda Hubert | Photos by Marie Noplos
“C
onservation, education, and recreation,” recited Kathy Diekman, the Director of Chahinkapa Zoo, located in Wahpeton. “That is our mission.” The zoo, founded in 1933, became accredited under the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in 1995 (an event that has been repeated five years since), and now boasts around 300 animals from almost 100 species, and had a visitor count of around 66,000 people in 2014. Some of the favorite native animals include the grizzly bear, river otters, bison, elk, and cougars, according to Diekman. As far as non-native animals, which species comprises about 50 percent of the total representation at the zoo, she said, “Some of the favorite exotic ones are the apes, the orangutan, gibbons, spider monkeys, tigers, kangaroos, and the fossa. Those are just a few of the favorites.”
The recreation side of the zoo is only one aspect, however. Conservation is very important to the zoo as well, according to Diekman. “We do a lot with local, regional, and global conservation,” Diekman explained, saying that the zoo is home to a breeding program for the endangered fossa, as well as endangered snow leopards. She also said they partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife department, with animal rescues and education. “There’s just a whole bunch of stuff we do.” Education is the third area of the zoo’s mission, and the zoo does a lot for it. Five years ago they started a training program for the animals for veterinary purposes. “If we want to look at a grizzly bear’s mouth, we just tell him to open his mouth, that way we don’t have to sedate him,” Diekman said. “It’s for the animals, which is great, and it enriches the animals.”
Marie Noplos/Daily Journal
This cougar sits on its log at the Chahinkapa Zoo.
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She added that it has become a great educational tool for the public, as they watch the animals train. “They’re pretty amazing,” Diekman said. “It takes a lot of work and the animals are responding very well.” The education also lends itself to the conservation aspect, as the zoo tries to raise awareness for current conservation issues. Right now, the big issue is rhinos, and the zoo offers a lot of classes and workshops every year, Diekman said. They hope to raise awareness for the endangered species, as a preview of what is to come for the zoo. “Rhinos will be on exhibit at the zoo within the next few years,” Diekman assured. She also hinted that penguins
may be coming in the future, bringing the animal representation from the current six of the seven continents to having animals from all seven continents. The zoo will be opening for the main season on April 25, and will be hosting events all year, the biggest of which will be the annual Blue Goose Days. “We are very proud to be an attraction to our community, and we are very proud to welcome people into our community,” Diekman said. “It’s a great way to welcome people into the state. It’s just been a great location. Because of the small size of our community, people are surprised at the size of our zoo. We welcome folks into Wahpeton.” u
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Just hanging around, this White-handed Gibbon gets up close and personal to take a better look at the camera.
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Name: Chris Petersen Age: 29 Hometown: Fergus Falls Fun fact: He’s a music enthusiast. Job title: Operator Technician, Cargill Chris is one of many people who commute between Fergus Falls and Wahpeton for work.
Chris Petersen, an Operator Technician for Cargill in Wahpeton, commutes from Fergus Falls for work three to four days a week.
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Three to four days a week, Chris Peterson drives on Highway 210 from Fergus Falls to Wahpeton, and back again at the end of the day. “I actually enjoy it,” he said of the drive. “It’s peaceful. Nice way to start and end the day, mostly.” Petersen is just one of many people who choose to commute, taking the best of what Fergus Falls and Wahpeton have to offer. A resident of Fergus Falls, Petersen works as an operator technician at Cargill in Wahpeton, a branch of the globe-wide company. He was hired for the position in November 2013, switching from his previous career of working in telecommunication splicing fiber optics. For him, the decision to commute centered around his family, consisting of his wife and two stepchildren, and work opportunities that he could not necessarily find in Fergus Falls. “I don’t think the option is here in Fergus for the same wages. There’s more entry-level opportunities over there,” he said. “And my wife works here at the hospital and the kids are in school. It’s just easier to drive.” He feels that Fergus Falls is a good place for raising a family, however, saying it’s a pretty quiet town. “I never thought I’d appreciate that,” he said. Ron Rowland, the executive vice president of the Wahpeton and Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce, feels that the communities are strengthened by the exchange of workers. “I know there’s a lot of traffic on 210,” he said. “I know they go both
directions. Most everybody is looking for people to work, and if they drive in from somewhere else, that’s not a bad thing.” Jane Priebe, the Economic Development Director for the city of Wahpeton, emphasized the fact that the commuters choose the best of both towns and states. “Both cities have plenty of jobs to offer, but both have different amenities,” she said. “Maybe they’re splitting the difference. You can still have some of the plusses from both states and still have a quality job.” She also remarked on the drive time, which is less than 30 minutes between the two towns. Jason Price also commutes from Fergus Falls to work at Cargill. He echoed many of the same sentiments as Petersen, adding that the people he has met there really help connect the towns. “My family and some close friends run a charity softball team in Fergus, but promote in Wahpeton,” he said. “We get people from Wahpeton to Fergus to help us with our cause.” The cause is the Isaiah Anderson Memorial Tournament, which Price said two or three teams from Wahpeton usually participate in. He said it would be a lot more difficult to bring those people in, if not for the connections that are made by the commuters to the town. “Those kinds of things help bring those two communities together,” he said. Jane Priebe feels that the exchange of commuters is good for both towns. “We do have a draw, and they have a draw too,” she said. “We really play off of each nicely, I think.” u
9
98%
Commuters connect communities By Miranda Hubert
Live on campus
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From Fergus NEXT STOP: to Wahpeton career success and back again
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The Anna J. Scofield Memorial Auditorium, better known as the Elbow Lake Community Building, could end up on the National Register of Historic Places. It was the first building constructed in Minnesota, and one of the first in the country, as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Federal Public Works Administration, a New Deal program during the Great Depression.
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Elbow Lake Community Building could be on National Register By Tom Grout Daily Journal
The city of Elbow Lake is hopeful to have one of its most prominent buildings become part of the National Register of Historic
Places. An application to put the Anna J. Scofield Memorial Auditorium, better known to residents as the Community Building, on the National Register is scheduled to be presented to the State Review board in March.
GRANT COUNTY
Community news from the prairie to the lakes! CLASSY CANARY GROUP MEMBER
How the Community Building came to be built is an interesting story. So to is why it’s being considered for the National Register.
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Tom Grout/Daily Journal
The Elbow Lake Community Building has expanded over the years, with more meeting rooms, rest rooms and senior citizens room. The library also expanded into the auditorium.
History From Page 95 For a number of years the Elbow Lake City
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Council had made a special tax levy of $500 annually designated for a hall fund, which raised about $5,600 toward the project. Harold Thorson, a former president of the Bank of Elbow Lake, donated $5,000 for the city to build a public library. Then attorney Edward J. Scofield made Elbow Lake a beneficiary in his will with the understanding that the Village would structure a monument to honor his wife, Anna, who was a teacher and principal in the area. The donation ended up to be around $16,000. It is the fourth and final donation for the project that may lead the Community Building to land on the National Register. The United States was in the middle of the Great Depression when President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted his New Deal. The New Deal included programs funded by the federal government to find building projects to not
only help the area with the new structure but to put people to work. The idea of the New Deal was to put people back to work and to bring them out of the depression. With the money already raised and a plan in place, Elbow Lake was â&#x20AC;&#x153;shovel readyâ&#x20AC;? to build the Community Building. When the city received the rest of the funding from the Federal Public Works Administration, a New Deal program, the beloved building became the first building in Minnesota and one of the first, if not the first, structure built in the United States under the new program. To put this in perspective, the Lincoln Tunnel and the Grand Coulee Dam were also built with funds from this program. So in 1934 the Anna J. Scofield Memorial Auditorium and Harold Thorson Library was built for just $35,629. The building has earned its name as the
Community Building over the years with the auditorium in the early days used for many programs and bingo games and was the place of many dances for adults and teens. The basement was also used for many city functions and at one time the local rifl e club would actually shoot .22 rifl es at targets in the basement. In the 1970s the city added on to the building to the south with more meeting rooms, rest rooms, and a senior citizens room. The library also expanded into the auditorium and is now one of the most modern libraries in the area. The building is also the home of Elbow Lakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s city offices. The Community Building truly has lived up to its name, as it has been the most used building in town and with the National Register tag, it would surely remain as the premier meeting place for Elbow Lake residents for years to come. u
97
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Dr. Phil Holmes from Prairie Ridge Hospital demonstrates a powerful overhead light in the revamped surgical room, which opened in 2014.
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By Jeff Meier Daily Journal
Dr. Phil Holmes walked through the halls of the new Prairie Ridge Hospital in Elbow Lake with a smile. He knows every private and connecting hallway like the back of his hand. “This is the nicest facility I’ve ever worked at,” Holmes said. “It’s been re-
ally exciting.” Holmes and other Prairie Ridge staff moved into a new hospital in May 2014. It has made the staff’s work easier and it has also been more efficient for patients. Every operating room, whether for the clinic or the hospital, is outfitted with
See Prairie — Page 98
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Carly Haiby, BS in Animal Science, with Rookie after his joint fusion.
PRAIRIE RIDGE by the numbers
51,000 5,307 36 15 4 24,000 square feet.
Square footage of the Prairie Ridge’s new, state-of-the-art facility. This size is about double of the old facility, which was around
Number of clinic visits at Prairie Ridge for 2014. This is up from 2013’s count of 5,089.
Number of feet the new hanging sling can move around in patient rooms. The sling moves around on a ceiling grid and guides patient who have trouble maneuvering normally around their room. Number of private exam rooms in the facility’s new clinic.
Number of different parking areas at the new facility’s parking lot. The clinic visitors, ER, staff and providers all have specific parking areas. The previous hospital had no specific parking spots and guaranteed space was very limited.
Prairie From Page 97
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computers and state-ofthe-art equipment. The x-ray, CT scan and emergency rooms all received more space, new technology and a dedicated helipad was added. Plus,
“
“It’s a night and day difference from our old hospital.” According to Holmes, privacy was the biggest complaint at the old hospital. Limited space for rooms forced patients two to a room at times and no alternate routes existed to safely take patients from room to room. Plus, patients go-
and teach his patients as well. Holmes comes from an education background and likes to keep his patients as informed as possible. Holmes and the entire hospital staff helped with the move to the new facility in May 2014, roughly a mile away from the original location. Staff spent weeks organizing equip-
Everybody knew everybody’s business at the old hospital. The new place is a huge relief. It’s private, efficient and modern.
the new surgery center allows patients to be worked on right where they live instead of transferring further away. Holmes can now know exactly where patients are at or needed next with a digital scheduling system attached to every room. Finally, the surgery center at Prairie Ridge makes sure patients no longer have to transfer out to other hospitals. Every aspect of the upgraded hospital benefits patients and staff. “We basically have a suite now,” Holmes said.
ing into the ER had to be wheeled in and out on gurneys no matter the outside conditions. The new facility has many different paths and options for privacy’s sake and dedicated garages that visitors can pull into for dropping off or taking home patients. “Everybody knew everybody’s business at the old hospital,” Holmes said. “The new place is a huge relief. It’s private, efficient and modern.” Holmes said with the advances at the facility, he can focus on his job
“
ment and getting them ready for the move. The staff had the new facility up and running on May 5, with Holmes in the old facility that morning and the new one by night. Holmes, 49, has worked in about 20 different hospitals in his medical career and even had his own practice in Saltillo, Tennessee, for four years. He started working at Prairie Ridge in 2011 and was heavily involved with the move and suggesting changes for the new facility. u
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The new CT scanner at Prairie Ridge Hospital that came with the new facility last May.
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New school gives Rothsay students breathing room By Jeff Meier
Rosthsay
Progress 2015
Daily Journal
In January principal Staci Allmaras and Rothsay Public Schools staff walked through the new facility they will be moving into in July, and they collectively gasped and gawked at all the space they will soon have. “The staff is ecstatic,” Allmaras said. “We felt like kids in a candy store walking through there.” The process of making the new facility a reality has been trying for the district but Allmaras feels that all of the hard work will be worth it to the staff and students. The learning experience of planning and executing the move has been an entirely new one to Allmaras but will be a huge relief to her once they are completely moved in. To Allmaras the most important thing is that the kids and staff she oversees are safe and communicating with her. A task that will be much easier to do in the bigger facility. At the current school site, which has been through generations of renovations, teachers are battling for rooms making scheduling a real challenge. A lack of dedicated rooms for various subjects, an always packed gym for school sports and many students combines to make headaches that will all
Jeff Meier/Daily Journal
Rothsay School Principal Staci Allmaras celebrates the new school facility which is currently under construction. be fixed with the new building. There are dedicated student lounges, a teacher’s lounge, a bigger gym, a separate room for a stage and many other ways that will free up space. Allmaras said she couldn’t be happier to have this freedom that the new facility will bring. “It’s a burden lifted off our backs,” Allmaras said. With the new facility, Allmaras will be able to relax about scheduling hazards and focus on the students of the school.
The students have always been Staci’s passion coming from a background in elementary education teaching. Currently, the school is meeting with local businesses and planning to develop work programs with them that would let high school students work for a few hours at the businesses replacing a class. This effort will increase hands-on skills for students and help them succeed in STEM fields. Allmaras says she has always
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felt like a “teacher for teachers and parents” as a principal and is always hoping to stay involved and help with the school’s students. The new facility will continue to have open enrollment, which has been a great success for the school, as about 30 to 40 percent of students enrolled are from outside Rothsay. Allmaras sees that statistic as a great positive and says she wants to provide for any kid who needs
education whether they live in the immediate area or outside of town. Allmaras has six children of her own attending Rothsay: Tate,Cole, Tydan, Taia, Molly and Brett. She grew up in Pelican Rapids and wanted to be a teacher since she was in fourth grade. She studied at Concordia College in Moorhead for elementary education and got her first job teaching out of college in Walker, Minnesota, where she taught for 10 years as a third, fourth and fifth grade teacher. She went back to school after that and graduated with a Master’s Degree in educational leadership from Southwest State in Marshall, Minnesota. In 2012, Allmaras earned her administrative license from the University of Moorhead by working with the Rothsay School District. Soon after in 2013, she became a principal at a secondary school in New Rockford, North Dakota, which she said gave her a great experience that was very different from elementary education. She moved into her current position as principal at Rothsay in December 2013 and also worked on the referendum for the new school funding. Allmaras currently lives on a farm in Rothsay with her husband, Darren, and their six children. u
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Jeff Meier/Daily Journal
CEO of Lake Region Electric Cooperative Tim Thompson stands in front of the coop’s new solar panels.
Powering Pelican By Jeff Meier Daily Journal
Tim Thompson, CEO of Lake Region Electric Cooperative, walked through the service garage of his corporation’s facility in Pelican Rapids, admiring the amount of trucks bearing the company’s logo ready to serve its customers. “It’s always our goal to provide for our customers,” Thompson said. “I’m proud to be part of it.”
Thompson is part of a unique type of business that he feels is on a very noble mission, and it’s constantly working with its customers. Lake Region Electric Cooperative serves about 26,000 consumers and provides electricity for farms, businesses and various other customers who are also part members of the organization. The cooperative focuses on pursuits that will benefit customers
See Electric — Page 102
Pelican Rapids
Electric Coop continues to provide for members
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Progress 2015
From Page 101 the most and recently added solar, geothermal loops and LED lightbulb to their services as energy sources. The solar panels in particular have already been successful. All 96 panels have already been invested into by members and the coop plans to build another half set of panels in the coming months. The panels were built by the cooperative itself in effort to develop them in the most efficient way possible for their members and the organization. In addition, the coop has introduced LED lightbulbs that can be purchased via their website which will be more cost efficient for
The new solar panels at LREC opened in August 2014. Another solar garden at LREC in Pelican Rapids is planned and will include 96 more panels. the customers and provide them with a rebate. “We’re all about making things easy for our customers,” Thompson said.
Thompson has been around farming and electric cooperatives his entire life and has seen directly how much they impact and
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benefit communities. Thompson’s father worked at an electric cooperative in Iowa for 36 years engraining the work ethic involved with running it into his life from an early age. Also, Thompson grew up hearing stories from his grandparents who ran a farm that was among the first in the midwest area to receive electricity in 1939. “They were very inspiring stories,” Thompson said. “It was great motivation for going into the business later on.” Thompson’s first
job was offering summer help at his dad’s electric co-op in Iowa. He said the job gave him a tremendous amount of appreciation for what happens with the inner-workings of a large cooperative. In turn, Thompson was able to directly see the co-op’s outreach to the community. Thompson went to Iowa State University for a degree in Finance and later received his MBA from Jacksonville State University. Out of college Thompson spent 5 years in the finance side of the
telecommunications industry that moved him all around. Thompson’s first corporate job at an electric cooperative was in Florida and then for a short time worked at other coops in Alabama and Indiana. He moved back to the Midwest to take a CEO job at Albert Lea’s LeaFreeborn-Mower Electric Cooperative, and worked there for 10 years. Thompson moved to his current position as CEO at Lake Region Electric Cooperative in Pelican Rapids seven years ago. u
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The 2014-15 CEO group at one of their meetings, where they discussed their February class fundraiser. The group consists of high school students from Battle Lake, Henning and Perham.
Perfecting the basics of business Henning, Perham and BL students excel in entrepreneurial course By Jeff Meier Daily Journal
Seven students from Henning, Battle Lake and Perham stood proud at the end of their class sponsor’s
dinner on Feb. 6. The guests applauded the students as they gave a short speech about their positive experiences in the course. “I think that with the right student and the right mind-
set, they can do just about anything in this class,” Henning High School student Josh Wojcik said. The Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities course, known as CEO, is
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Henning students learn valuable life lessons, Page 104
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Name: Josh Wojcik | Occupation: Senior, Henning High School Hometown: Henning | Future plans: Josh plans to attend Minnesota State Community and Technical College, majoring in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning department
Henning students learn valuable life lessons By Jeff Meier Daily Journal
CEO offers great opportunities for students who want to learn future business skills and add new skills to their repertoire. One Henning student took the class just for that reason. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I signed up to learn something new,â&#x20AC;? Henning High School senior Josh Wojcik said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really any other classes like this.â&#x20AC;? The course has taught students like Jeff Meier/Daily Journal Wojcik about business management. Josh Wojcik is a student in CEO from Henning High School. He said the course Wojcik said the uncommon structure of the class really benefits him and has taught him a lot about how to communicate with industry members. can do the same for other students. Plus, Wojcik said the class fits in his school schedule and provides some variety for his normal school days. By treating their silent auction, dinner and business panel night as if they were starting a business, Wojcik said he has seen his social skills improve and he has become more actively involved with communicating and planning. They are actively working with instructors from their communities to get auction items and sell tickets to the event. In addition, they visit businesses and learn right from management. Wojcik said he has really developed
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I signed up to learn something new. There arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really any other classes like this.â&#x20AC;? his social skills by being in the class. For the second half of the class, Wojcik said he will be starting a pest control business that will work directly with farmers to protect their resources. He already has experience with trapping for neighbors and family members and will now be able to learn the business side of that trade. Wojcik is a native of Henning and has lived there his whole life. He also plays baseball at Henning High School and is part of its archery program. He plans to attend Minnesota State Community and Technical College for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning department, studying heating and air conditioning installation or servicing. u
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By Jeff Meier Daily Journal
Name: Kanyon Edvall | Occupation: Senior, Perham High School Hometown: Perham | Future plans: Kanyon is planning big and hoping to go to Stanford University for computer engineering.
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CEO can benefit aspiring entrepreneurs who want to someday start their own business. One Perham student joined CEO for just that reason. “I’ve always wanted to have my own business,” Perham High School senior Kanyon Edvall said. “This class has been really eye-opening for that reason. It’s been a great jump start.” Edvall has toured different businesses with the class and has learned directly how business owners fill certain roles in a community. Planning for the silent auction night also taught Edvall valuable skills about a business by working directly with a business plan that he might see when starting a real one. Edvall also suggested questions for the business panel portion of the fundraiser night. One of them was: “What are some hurdles you had to overcome when starting the business?” Edvall said his No. 1 goal with starting a business from the ground up is to help people, and the class has taught him how to achieve that. For the second half of the class, where students develop their own small business, Edvall plans to dedi-
cate a lot of his time and work into his startup business, as he hopes to keep it going after the class ends. Edvall will build a website that creates a custom desktop computer for consumers that don’t know enough to build one on their own. The site’s customers pick out what features are most important to them and the site will put together the unit with the right parts to get those results. Edvall said he wants to eventually launch a business that designs and markets technology. He sees starting with building custom computers as a great start to making that dream real. The CEO course doesn’t fit as well in Edvall’s daily school schedule, since he always needs to drive about 20 minutes everyday to get to the meetings and then back to school. But he said the class is worth it, and a Jeff Meier/Daily Journal good opportunity for students regardKanyon Edvall is a CEO student from Perham High School. He has wanted to start less of some of the kinks it needs to his own business, and signed up for the class to learn about business management. work out after the first year. Edvall is currently applying for different colleges but is aiming high and hoping to go to Stanford University to study computer engineering. Edvall currently lives in between Frazee and Perham and this potential move for college would be a pretty big step for Edvall who has always lived near or in Perham. u
Progress 2015
CEO makes Perham students’ goals reality
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the ins and outs of starting a business. The class meets at Thumper Pond Hotel in Ottertail almost every week day morning to visit businesses, hear lectures from business owners or gather items and attendees for events. The class meets at 7:30 a.m. and awards college and high school credit. For the first sponsored event, the students offered questions for the panel made up of community members, inviting them to share ideas for organizing the sponsor night. The planning for the night mirrored the process of starting a business, complete with a business plan and tasks designed to keep all students involved. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really like the class,â&#x20AC;? Perham High School senior Kanyon Edvall said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It gives us opportunities you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really get anywhere else.â&#x20AC;? The event night was attended by about 250 people, featured a silent and live auction,
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;The class is always about the kids. We get these opportunities together for them and they have really capitalized on them so far. They are bright kids.â&#x20AC;? two keynote speakers who talked about their startup company and a business panel of six business owners from the region. According to class teacher Jim Kraemer, the night raised about $8,900 to use for future classes, students starting businesses and for the classâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trade show in late April or early May. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The night went way above our expectations,â&#x20AC;? Kraemer said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The money goes right back to helping the students and they got great participation out
of the night.â&#x20AC;? The second half of the class, which lasts until early May, will have students planning out actual small businesses they can continue after the class. The students will walk through business plans with Kraemer and other business consultants and will use the fund they gathered through the sponsor night. The businesses will be shown off in the trade show. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The class is always about the kids,â&#x20AC;? Kraemer said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We get
these opportunities together for them and they have really capitalized on them so far. They are bright kids.â&#x20AC;? The CEO course started in Illinoisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Effingham County in 2005 as a way to actively teach kids about small business in an interactive way that helps them start on a career path. Kraemer said this course is really something special and he hopes to continue offering the class in the future with new events and speakers for future school years. u
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