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Newsleader Sauk Rapids-Rice
Friday, Nov. 4, 2016 Volume 2, Issue 43 Est. 2015
Town Crier Daylight-saving time ends this weekend
Daylight saving time, which started in March, ends Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 a.m. Residents should turn clocks back one hour before retiring Saturday evening, Nov. 5, to reflect the ending of daylight saving time.
Postal Patron
contributed photo
Tim Broda and wife Jane Garner-Broda stop for a rest during a hike along a rapid river. From left to right are Tim, Frank Garner, Taryn Broda, Jane, and Olivia Garner.
Metro Bus offers free rides Nov. 8, 11
Metro Bus will join transit systems throughout Minnesota to provide free rides to encourage voting on Tuesday, Nov. 8. And, for the first time ever, all veterans and active military may ride Fixed Route or Dial-a-Ride free in honor of their service on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11. For more information, visit thenewsleaders. com and click on Nov. 4 criers.
Catholic Charities looking for groups to adopt
It’s an American tradition to serve the poor during the holiday season, but one area program is serving not just the poor, but those in our community in the greatest need. Catholic Charities Share-the-Spirit program matches families who are experiencing hardship with groups of people who want to adopt such a family for Christmas. The organization is accepting donors to adopt families now on their website. For more information, visit thenewsleaders.com and click on Nov. 4 Criers.
Broda hopes to start young Alzheimer’s network by Dennis Dalman editor@thenewsleaders.com
One day recently, Tim Broda went to visit his wife, Jane, and she was thrilled. “Tim, you’re home!” she
shouted, her face brightening with a great big smile. But just seconds later, the smile disappeared. Her bright face faded and a look of confusion took over, as if a heavy curtain had been lowered.
me, Jane. I’m here. I’m right here, right in front of you.” But it was like speaking into an echoing well of darkness. Jane kept wondering where Tim was, where he went, why Broda • page 2
Principal shares outlook for the school year by Dave DeMars news@thenewsleaders.com
Sauk Rapids-Rice High School Principal Erich Martens watches “his kids” from his corner office on the ground floor as they get off the buses or make the walk from their cars to the front doors of the high school – a morning and
an afternoon parade almost every day for 18 years – 13 of them as principal in Sauk Rapids. “I try to Martens never tell people how many years I’ve
been in education because ... (the number of years) is less important than the work we do,” Martens said. It’s only the beginning of November, but Martens says with some assurance it has been a good year; no great new initiatives from the state department, no major building projects to deal with and no
major changes in the curriculum. That makes it easier, but that doesn’t mean he and his staff are not looking at some cutting-edge things to help students learn more, learn better, learn faster and have fun learning while they are doing it. “We’re always changing Outlook • back page
Army of volunteer rakers conquers two-acre lawn
Red Cross in need of holiday season donors
The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to give blood to help stock the shelves before the busy holiday season. Many regular donors delay giving between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day because of holiday activities. This often causes a drop in donated blood available for patients. Therefore, more donations are needed in the weeks leading up to the holidays to help ensure the blood supply is sufficient throughout the winter months. For more information, visit thenewsleaders.com and click on Nov. 4 Criers.
by Dennis Dalman editor@thenewsleaders.com
Sauk Rapids, Rice snow-season parking begins
Sauk Rapids and Rice city residents are reminded snow-season parking started Nov. 1. No parking is allowed on any city street between 2-7 a.m., lasting through March 31.
“Where’s Tim?” she asked, crying, frantic, nervous. “Where’s Tim? Where did he go?” Tim held his wife’s tearful face, turning it toward his, closely, and he said, “Look at
photo by Dennis Dalman
Volunteer students haul huge tarps filled with leaves across the lawn and into the woods of the Audrey Philippi home on the River Road in rural Sauk Rapids. The leaf-raking was one of the Sauk Rapids Middle School’s community-service projects.
Wielding her rake as she brushed fallen leaves onto a huge gray tarp, student volunteer Brooklyn Brigmon paused and smiled. “Today, I’d rather be holding this rake than a pencil,” she said. “I like the physical activity of raking, and it’s fun to jump in the leaf piles.” Brigmon was one of 60 Sauk Rapids Middle School eighthgraders whose astounding collective energy succeeded in raking leaves from a two-acre yard along the Northeast River Road in Watab Township. The raking job was one of the students’ yearly community-service projects.
www.thenewsleaders.com
And, like Brigmon, all of the students made the vigorous raking job lots of fun. Throughout the vast yard, students jumped, leaped and dove into the huge piles of leaves, squirming, whooping, jumping together and on top of one another in wriggling, giggling heaps. Other students – groups of rakers – took quick breaks by plopping down onto the fat leaf piles and throwing armloads of leaves into the air. Throughout the yard could be heard a loud swooshswoosh-swoosh of the rakes connecting with dead leaves, and the air instantly turned redolent with the sweet, melancholy smell of late autumn. The frenetic activity seemed Rakers • page 5
Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
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Broda from front page
contributed photo
Tim Broda and Jane Garner-Broda
Engagement Schneekloth-Scherbing Rajahna Schneekloth and Jacob Scherbing, both of St. Cloud, announce their engagement. Parents are Bruce Schneekloth and Newsleaders Publisher Janelle Von Pinnon of St. Cloud, and Bonnie and Glen Scherbing of Foley. Schneekloth graduated in 2016 from St. Cloud State University with bachelor’s degrees in community psychology and music. She is employed at the Newsleaders of St. Joseph, Sartell-St. Stephen and Sauk Rapids-Rice. Scherbing attends SCSU, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in community psychology with a minor in psychology.
photo by Ty Becker, S-E Photography
A June 17, 2017, wedding will be held at Molitor’s Quarry in Sauk Rapids.
People The following educators from the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District were honored at the Leadership in Education Excellence event held Oct. 26 at the River’s Edge Convention Center: Kathy Adamek, Michele Anderson, Crystal Davidson, Megan Foley and Cory Zimpel. More than 500
people attended the event to honor 155 educators who were recognized with a plaque and certificate from the governor of Minnesota. The honorees were nominated by their school or district. To date, there have been 3,654 educators in the Central Minnesota region who have received this recognition.
“Time for a New Generation of Leadership.”
Michael Willemsen
for State Senator, District 13 Now is the time for a fresh, energetic and pragmatic voice to represent us in the Minnesota State Senate.
Michael will fight for: • A fair taxation structure • Job growth at livable wages • Environmental protection • Affordable health care • Quality public education
Vote
Michael Willemsen on Nov. 8! This is an independent expenditure in support of Michael Willemsen, prepared and paid for by DFL Senate District 13, 327 Pleasant Ridge Drive, Sauk Rapids, Minn. It is not approved by any candidate.
wasn’t he there? Tim sagged in his chair, feeling helpless as he watched his wife once again slip into a strange place, a faraway state of mind, that he could not reach. That sad scene happened at an Alzheimer’s care unit in Staples. Broda, a 1980 Sartell High School graduate, is the investigator for the Sartell Police Department whose wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about four years ago. Jane, now 51, graduated from Sauk Rapids-Rice High School and worked for 20 years in the St. Cloud Hospital’s emergency unit. Tim and Jane met for a blind date arranged by a mutual friend who worked with Jane in the emergency ward. The two hit it off right away. She was an avid runner; he was a martial-arts enthusiast. They both loved the outdoors – camping, hiking, fishing. They decided to get married, and they set up house with their blended family – two daughters from Tim’s previous marriage; two sons and daughter from Jane’s former marriage. Tim and Jane have been together for 13 years.
Need for support
Broda decided to share his and Jane’s story with the Newsleader newspapers because he wants everyone in the area to know he is trying to start a support network for the families of loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. What is really needed, Broda said, is a support group focused on younger victims of the disease. Most Alzheimer’s patients are in their 60s, and even more of them are now in their 70s, 80s or beyond. There are some support groups for families of patients in those upper-age groups. Jane, his wife, was diagnosed when she was only 47; some people are diagnosed at even younger ages. “There is a big need for a group for loved ones of younger patients and mid-range patients,” Broda said. What’s needed are people who can listen, who can un-
derstand, who can maybe offer coping strategies. “I’m not looking for advice,” Tim said. “I’ve had plenty of advice. I just need someone who knows how to listen because they understand and know what it’s like.” Many times, well-meaning and sympathetic people – friends and acquaintances – will ask Broda how it’s going, how’s his wife? But when Broda mentions any changes in his wife’s illness, the listeners often glaze over and go blank. It’s not that they mean to be rude, but in most cases it’s hard for them to process such sad and deeply sad news and – feeling awkward, tongue-tied – they don’t know how to respond other than with tongueclucks of sympathy. Or with words that sound like tired clichés: “Oh, I’m so sorry to heart that. Oh, what a shame.” Broda doesn’t become offended. “They don’t understand,” he said. “They can’t understand.” Those who are coping with loved ones with the disease can and do understand, sometimes wordlessly. Anyone interested in forming a support network should call Newsleaders’ Editor Dennis Dalman at 320-3937410, and then a list of names and numbers will be forwarded to Broda.
Early signs
One day about five years ago, Broda noticed that, while setting a table for dinner, Jane placed down two knives instead of a knife and fork. He barely noticed it, thought nothing of it, didn’t say anything. Later, Jane would leave the blower on constantly on the thermostat for the furnace even though the two of them had agreed, often, to keep the blower on another setting. When Broda’s birthday rolled around, he was surprised when his wife didn’t remember it; she always had remembered in previous years. Later, she forgot about her daughter’s birthday, too. Then Broda began to notice some bills were not being paid, unusual for his wife who was usually so impeccable about such necessities. At times, Jane would become irritable for no apparent reason or because of minor things.
Friday, Nov. 4, 2016 Through all of those “lapses,” Broda was a bit perplexed, thinking his wife was getting to be a bit absent-minded.
Dread and terror
Jane’s at-home lapses, those moments of odd forgetfulness, suddenly turned deeply serious when one day she returned home early from her emergency-unit job at the hospital. She was standing there in the house still wearing her hospital “scrubs.” Usually, Jane worked 12hour shifts. “How come you’re home?” Broda asked her. She told him something about finishing work early. Less than a week later, Broda learned with a sense of gathering terror that his wife had not been at her job for four days. It’s then he knew something was wrong – very wrong. She had left the house on those four days but had not shown up at the hospital. It was a period of smiles to tears. One minute Jane would be happy and smiling; the next minute she would dissolve into tears for apparently no reason, Broda recalled. After her hospital crises, Broda began to ponder the recent past and to connect the dots. Suddenly, all the minor lapses of previous months took on another meaning. “Suddenly, it all made sense,” he recalled. What is so sad for Broda is he is sure she knew something was not right, something was going wrong in her mind, and she was courageously trying to keep the coming darkness at bay. Broda later learned one day at the hospital, Jane had made a series of mistakes, and a fellow worker, not meaning to be mean, had asked: “Gee, what’s your problem? You have Alzheimer’s or something?” Jane’s fears and denial must have been excruciating because of the giant frightening fact that her mother died of Alzheimer’s in her late 50s; her sister died of it in her 50s; and a brother, also in his 50s, is now being treated for the disease. After all kinds of discussions and efforts by the hospital, it became impossible for Jane to get her job back. “She knew what was going on, and it made her so miser-
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Newsleader staff members have the responsibility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public. Readers who feel we’ve fallen short of these standards are urged to call the Newsleader office at 320-363-7741. If matters cannot be resolved locally, readers are encouraged to take complaints to the Minnesota News Council, an independent agency designed to improve relationships between the public and the media and resolve conflicts. The council office may be reached at 612-341-9357.
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Friday, Nov. 4, 2016 able,” Broda said. “Knowing what was happening made her stress and anxiety – and ours – so much worse.” What followed were long, frustrating consultations with doctors and caregivers, always with big questions looming: How to take care of Jane in her home setting when Broda was working many hours? How to keep her safe? How to keep her as happy as possible? One solution, at least for awhile, was to take many trips with Jane and the kids. They’d always loved traveling in the great outdoors. Broda was determined to enjoy as many trips together as possible before the disease became progressively worse. Tim and Jane took trips to Yosemite and Sequoia national parks, to a couple of national parks in Utah, to the Grand Canyon and elsewhere. It was difficult because Jane needed constant vigilance and care, but they had good times together.
Care-giving
For about the first two years following her diagnosis, Jane was able to stay in her home. Aide workers would stop at the house to check on her. Her daughter got a job as a homehealth aide and she helped supervise, too. Later, a friend of a neighbor who knew Jane as a child also came to help. Broda, of course, too, did all he could, helping her shower and get dressed as the disease progressed from bad to worse. Another big help were Jane’s days spent at Opportunity Manor in Sartell, where Jane would spend time in recreational-therapy activities. She began to think she was an employee there and was so happy with her sense of accomplishment, helping the other clients during her days there. “They were so good to Jane there,” Broda said. “She really liked spending part of the day there.” One day, Jane managed to find herself in St. Cloud but could not remember where she was or how she got there. A panic set in because Broda and others did not know where Jane was, what had happened to her. A bulletin was broadcast over police stations. After
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Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com several hours, Broda, hugely relieved, received a call from Jane’s daughter, an employee of Sauk Rapids Coborn’s store. She told him her mother was there, that somehow she had found a ride from St. Cloud to the Coborn’s store. A sad day of reckoning came when it was determined Jane would have to be placed in a full-care unit somewhere. She was placed at a care facility in Dassel, then Little Falls and most recently in Staples where her medications had to be adjusted over a period of time. Broda and Jane’s other loved ones are hoping she can soon find care in a facility closer to home.
Shifting sands
Most people, Broda said, think Alzheimer’s disease is nothing but a massive memory loss, but it’s much more complex than that, he said. Those who get the disease, like Jane, experience a whole range of personality changes; they have trouble concentrating; they start reacting to people (even loved ones) in peculiar ways; they begin to withdraw from people. “Some changes are little things, barely perceptible,” he said. “Memory loss is only one part of the disease.” Living with a loved one who has the disease, Broda said, is like standing on shifting sands. “You’re always looking for a firm fitting on solid ground, something solid to hold onto, but you realize you’re always on shifting sands,” he said. About two weeks ago, Jane was moved from the place in Staples back to the care facility in Little Falls, closer to Broda’s Sartell home. During visits, she recognizes her husband for a couple minutes at a time, but then retreats back into a faraway region again.
Caring Bridge
Broda often updates his and Jane’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease on her caringbridge.org website. But, more importantly, Broda’s entries on the website celebrate the happiest of times he and Jane shared for so many years. The following are excerpts from some of his entries:
• On Nov. 13, 2003 (the first date) I picked her up at her house that night. Jane and I went out to a local restaurant. We talked and talked and were interrupted by the waitress who came over to take our order, then back to chatting. Our food arrived and we barely noticed as we continued to chat. We barely ate our food before it became cold. A couple hours passed and we asked for to-go containers. As we got up to leave, the waitress asked how long we had been married. We responded it was our first date. She said she had been watching us and couldn’t believe how much we seemed to enjoy our time together. She told us, “You are very good together.” We both smiled at each other and thanked her. • A problem with caregiving for someone with Alzheimer’s is after four years since her diagnosis I have found it increasingly difficult to remember how she was before the disease. Her personality was so incredibly vibrant. Although writing this has been extremely hard emotionally, it has helped me remember what Jane was like during our more carefree years. Occasionally, I will still see the personality I have loved come to the surface, but it only stays for a minute here and there. She relives the painful thoughts of not feeling a sense of purpose and loss over and over again. This disease is a constant and prolonged torture for both the person with the disease and those close to the person. It tears your heart out over and over daily to see her so miserable. • This disease is not about memory loss as many believe. It’s about taking away the person’s personality, which is the essence of who we are. • When you know someone truly loves you, it’s easy to spend life together. Jane and I became best friends and enjoyed doing anything as long as we were together. Because of the last four years we became even closer than we had been. Caring for a person’s every need tends to do this. I can say the past four years have been the “worst of times but also the best of times,” as quoted from Charles Dickens.
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Get ready, get set, go! Vote on Nov. 8 by Dennis Dalman editor@thenewsleaders.com
Although many people have already voted early for Election Day on Nov. 8, most people will vote the old-fashioned way – at the polls on the day of the election from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. in Sauk Rapids and Rice, as elsewhere. It is recommended, if possible, that people go to the polls in midday hours to avoid longer lines that tend to happen in early morning and after 5 p.m. Information about forms of identification and polling places for Sauk Rapids and the Rice area are listed below: Voters should remember to bring the proper form(s) of identification to the polling places.
The following IDs will be accepted (choose one):
• A valid, current Minnesota driver’s license, driver’s learner’s permit or a receipt for either of those.
The following forms of ID must have a photo of the bearer on them (choose one):
• Tribal ID with name, address, photo and signature. • Driver’s license, state ID or learner’s permit issued by any state. Those IDs can be expired, but they must have a photo on them. • U.S. passport • Minnesota university, college or technical college ID. • Minnesota high-school ID.
Approved documents (choose one):
• Bill, account or start-ofservice statement due or dated within 30 days of the election date (Nov. 8). Those documents can include any of the following: • Phone, TV or Internet. • Garbage service, sewer, electric, gas or water. • Banking or credit card. • Rent or mortgage.
• Residential lease or rent agreement valid through election day (Nov. 8). • Current student-fee statement. Another way to verify identity is to bring along a registered voter from you precinct who is willing to sign an oath confirming your address. (This method is known as “vouching.”) For a more detailed list about registration or proof of identity on election day and other information about voting, go to mnvotes.org.
Rice polling places:
People living within the City of Rice or in Langola Township will all vote at Rice City Hall on Rice Main Street. People living in Watab Township south of Rice will vote in the Watab Town Hall, 660 75th St. N., rural Sauk Rapids, just a few blocks west of the “Seekers” business on Hwy. 10.
Sauk Rapids polling places:
There are six precincts/polling places in Sauk Rapids: Sauk Rapids Government Center (for precincts 1 and 5), Mississippi Heights School (for precinct 2), Pleasantview Elementary School (for precinct 3), Bridge Community Church (for precinct 1). Those living in precinct 6 will vote by mail ballot. The best way to find out which precinct you live in and, thus, which polling place you will go to vote, go to the Sauk Rapids City website at www. ci.sauk-rapids.mn.us Then click on “Elections” and then click on the red-highlighted “HERE” under “Where Do I Vote in Sauk Rapids?” Then you can enter your address, and it will show you in which precinct you live and which polling place at which you can vote. Those who don’t have computer access should call city hall at 320-258-5303.
“Time for a New Generation of Leadership.”
Matthew Crouse
for State Representative, District 13B Now is the time for a bold and imaginative voice to represent us in the Minnesota State House.
Matthew will fight for: • Extension of the North Star rail line • Investment in higher education • Workers’ rights and fair wages • Affordable health care • Veterans’ benefits (USMC veteran)
Vote
Matthew Crouse on Nov. 8! This is an independent expenditure in support of Matthew Crouse, prepared and paid for by DFL Senate District 13, 327 Pleasant Ridge Drive, Sauk Rapids, Minn. It is not approved by any candidate.
Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
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Friday, Nov. 4, 2016
photos by Dennis Dalman
At left: A group of friends pauses for a photo Oct. 28 during the downtown Rice Halloween Trick-or-Treat event. In the front row (left to right) are Abigail Zimpel (Hedwig the Owl from the Harry Potter series), Grant Privratsky (Harry Potter); and (back row) two colorful piñata friends, Makenna Privratsky and Erica Zimpel. Below: Public-servant buddies “Rice police officer” Emmit Scheel, 3, of Rice and Rice firefighter Ben Phenow share a moment in front of the Rice Fire Department station on main street during the annual downtown Rice Trick-or-Treat Halloween event. Emmit is the son of Michael and Katie Scheel.
Kids trick-or-treat in downtown Rice by Dennis Dalman editor@thenewsleaders.com
More than three dozen businesses in Rice handed out candy for the annual Trick-orTreat event on Main Street on Oct. 28. Scores of children dressed up in imaginative costumes walked down the street with parents in tow, stopping at businesses – many with outdoor tables – to receive candy treats or other favors. The trick-or-treating hap-
Craft
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Saturday, Nov. 12 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Resurrection Lutheran Church 610 CR 2, St. Joseph Proceeds to benefit Youth & Family Ministries. Lisa: lwallin@gmail.com
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When: Nov. 5, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Where: LaPlayette in St. Joseph
Sponsored by Beautycounter and Thrive Other vendors include: Poppy Stella Rose, Young Living, Stella & Dot, Lularoe, Tupperware, Jamberry, Scentsy, Norwex, Imagine Chiropractic, Wildtree, The Red Door Decor, Usborne Books and Thirty-One!
CRAFT-VENDOR SALES Saturday, Nov. 5 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Waite Park American Legion 2 Ave. N. Waite Park
CRAFT-VENDOR SALES Saturday, Nov. 5 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. VFW 428 9-18th Ave. N., St. Cloud Bring a donation for Anna Marie’s Alliance and get your name in a drawing.
pened during the safe daylight hours, from 3-5 p.m. Children’s costumes delighted the grinning parents and business owners who participated at the event. There was a pint-sized cop, a little firefighter, Harry Potter, a purple unicorn, a princess, a spider, Spider-Man, Batman, little infant fuzzy bears and many more colorful characters. Many of the costumes were ingeniously homemade. The event was sponsored by the Rice Area Chamber of Commerce.
Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
Friday, Nov. 4, 2016
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photos by Dennis Dalman
Clockwise from left to right: Xavier Mills, Sauk Rapids Middle School eighthgrader, hauls a hefty load of leaves to the compost heap in the woods of the Audrey Philippi residence of rural Sauk Rapids; Carter Kayser, with a joyous yell, emerges from a pile of leaves to surprise his fellow leaf-rakers; Sauk Rapids Middle School students take a leaf-flinging break from raking, one of their community-service projects they did Oct. 28 at the Audrey Philippi residence on River Road in Sauk Rapids. From left to right are eighth-graders Nick Maxwell, Brooklyn Brigmon, Jaden Johnson, Shelby Strassburg (toward front), Micaela Garcia-Walberg and Matthew Trapp.
Rakers from front page at times like that of ants scurrying to build a sand ant hill. After filling the long, wide tarps with leaves, teams of students dragged the tarps across the lawn to nearby woods where, in a clearing, they emptied the tarps onto an ever-growing huge pile of leaves. The collective raking took place Oct. 28 at the home of 87-year-old Audrey Philippi, a
widow who lost her husband, Florian, years ago. The Philippis first moved into that house on that huge lot in 1959. It’s right across the river-drive road from the Mississippi about midway between Sartell and Rice. At 12:30 p.m., two school buses stopped on the river road. Students carrying rakes like battle forks swarmed off the buses and immediately attacked the vast expanse of lawn, raking furiously and happily in groups. It was like seeing an explosion of positive energy. They raked continu-
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ously for two hours. A couple of adult chaperones used leaf blowers to blow the leaves from corners and around the house. “They’ve done this for me for four or five years,” said Audrey Philippi, standing in her driveway and watching the swirl of rakers. “I’m so grateful. They do such a good job – a very good job.” School staff, including Cindy Hideman, media specialist; Amy Stedje, eighth-grade math teacher; and Brian Kothman, father of one of the students,
Bradley Kothman, accompanied the students. The staff, wielding rakes, worked right along with the students. When asked what they like about doing the leaf-raking project, this is a sampling of what the students answered: Nick Maxwell: “I just like to help.” Jaden Johnson: “It’s fun!” Shelby Strassburg: “Because I love jumping in leaves.” Matthew Trapp: “To get out of school and have fun in the fall leaves.” Micaela Garcia-Walberg:
“It’s better than sitting in school so long on a nice day.” Brooklyn Brigmon: “Today, I’d rather be holding this rake than a pencil.” Not that Brigmon is a slouch in school; she gets mostly A’s on her report cards. After the massive raking project, the students with their rakes ran back to the road as the two school buses returned. And off they went. Then silence settled onto the Philippi yard, its still-green grass showing brightly where so many dead leaves had been.
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Our View Express gratitude to veterans by hiring them for good jobs It’s disgraceful veterans who sacrificed for this country cannot find jobs when they get back home. Here in Minnesota, there are some bright statistics, to some degree. There were 3,940 veterans listed as unemployed in 2015, a big improvement over the 15,285 who were unemployed in 2010 when the economy was so much more depressed. Still, many of the employed veterans now are working, like many non-veterans, in two, three or more part-time jobs – often far below their talents and skill levels, and most often without any benefits. Thus, underemployment is an ongoing problem. There is hope, however. Many companies are developing strategies for meeting and hiring veterans. In some cases, if the veterans need to hone their skills to fit a particular company’s needs, the company pays for courses to teach a veteran the requisite skills. That’s only one hire-a-veteran strategy. There are other good ones proposed by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, also known as DEED. Here are some strategies companies can put in place: • Make a commitment. Take definite steps to hire veterans rather than just talk about it. • Get the word out. Let others know you want to hire veterans and then make an effort to meet veterans through organizations and support groups. Reach out, give veterans interviews, give them a chance. • Start a support network for veterans on the company staff. Blue Cross/Blue Shield, based in the Twin Cities, matches up veterans on staff, and their support network becomes aware of other veterans in need, including prospective employees. They also help deployed veterans through yard work, repairs or other needs for their families. • Make connections with veterans outside the company. For example, the Wells Fargo banking system donates homes to wounded veterans, provides grants to veterans’ organizations and supports a wide range of veterans-related events. • Deploy communications strategies to reach out to veterans: word-of-mouth, social media, job fairs, advertising and more. Let veterans know you are there; let them know you are willing to consider them for hiring. Employers who used one or more of the above strategies are happy they did. One of them is Erick Ajax, co-owner of E.J. Ajax Metalforming Solutions in the Twin Cities. “We really started to discover the gold mine of hiring military veterans,” he said. “Our retention rate of our veterans is somewhere north of 80 percent. They come in with just awesome transferable skills.” Veterans have served our country, in many cases risking their lives. It’s time for all of us to express our gratitude and not just through words but through giving them the decent jobs they deserve – and have earned.
The ideas expressed in the letters to the editor and of the guest columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Newsleaders. Letters to the editor may be sent to news@thenewsleaders.com or P.O. Box 324, St. Joseph, MN 56374. Deadline is noon Monday. Please include your full name for publication (and address and phone number for verification only.) Letters must be 350 words or less. We reserve the right to edit for space.
Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
Friday, Nov. 4, 2016
Opinion Why electoral votes? Why not popular vote? What’s all this fuss about “battleground states?” The answer, in two words, is “Florida.” That state is a big recent reminder of how a presidential candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election. It’s happened four times in American history – 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000. The last time was the George W. Bush vs. Al Gore race. Florida became a battle about ballots that lasted six weeks during which time none of us knew for sure who would be our next president. On Election Day, Bush had won Florida by 1,784 popular votes, such a razorthin margin that a ballot recount was triggered. The patient counting, legal wrangling and nasty accusations continued. Finally, on Dec. 12, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision granted Bush the victory. Gore had won the nationwide popular vote by 543,895 votes. Nonetheless, he didn’t win a majority of electoral votes – 270. Florida’s 25 electoral votes were what mattered win or lose. Bush prevailed by 271 electoral votes, only two more than needed. Gore won 266. If the recount and/or Supreme Court had ruled in Gore’s favor, he instead of Bush would have been granted Florida’s 25 votes for a winning grand total of 291. Many Americans, including some election scholars, think the electoral system is outmoded and should be dropped in favor of election by popular vote. However, even with the best of intentions, it’s almost impossible to overturn what the U.S. Constitution ordained 230 years ago. After America defeated the British, it was time to draw up a “blueprint” for a new nation. One of the big questions was how to elect a new president. All agreed George Washington should be the first, but who should be the next?
Dennis Dalman Editor All too fresh in the minds of the Founding-Father visionaries were the monarchial tyrannies rampant in Europe, as well as feuding rebel factions that can destabilize any society, any country. The architects of the U.S. Constitution were meticulously careful to create a system of checks and balances to rein in tyrannies and factionalisms. The electoral method was just one of many compromises arrived at within the checks-and-balances framework. Momentous questions hung over the Constitutional Convention in 1787: If Congress elects a president, couldn’t one powerful congressional faction hold sway in a form of possibly corrupt cronyism? If the popular vote decided who is to be president, wouldn’t that favor the powerful interests concentrated in the big urban centers? Or could it favor a growing number of frontier people in westward expansion at the expense of urban interests? And what about the smaller states, with less population, that might be left out of any say so? They compromised – thus, the electoral system, yet another way of dissipating power, of checks and balances. Basically, here is how it currently works: In the months preceding a presidential election, political parties at their state conventions choose a slate of electors. They are the people who will officially cast votes affirming who won the presidential election in their state. Each state has its own number of electors,
based on population, on how many U.S. representatives that state has in the U.S. Congress. One representative is “equal” to about 700,000 people in a state. Thus, Minnesota has eight U.S. Congressional districts, eight representatives, and so it currently has eight electors, plus one for each of the two U.S. senators – a total of 10 electors. New York, heavily populated, has 35 electors. Seven states have only three electors each. The District of Columbia also has three electoral votes. In total, there are 538 electors in the nation. The electors pledge to deliver their votes in accord with which president and vice president win in their state. They cast those votes in their state capitals in December weeks after the presidential election. The votes are then sent to Washington, D.C. for official certification. Back to Florida, to battleground states. The reason presidential candidates spend so much time campaigning fiercely in battleground states is because those are states that are usually more or less evenly split in the number of people who vote Democrat and Republican. And battleground states are typically those that have a large number of much-needed electors in order to win the presidency: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, to name just three. California and New York have huge numbers of electors, but both usually favor Democratic presidential candidates. Most Southern and Western states typically favor Republican contenders. Thus, they are usually not battleground states. This election season is interesting because tightening poll numbers between Trump and Clinton have given the typically Republican-leaning states of Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and Texas “battleground” status. Ultimately, it’s electoral votes that count. Stay tuned to Nov. 9.
Letter to the editor:
Fantastic article on Michael Maurer, Perfume River Nights Joe Muehlegger, St. Paul, Minn.
I just read the article about Michael Maurer and his book Perfume River Nights. I am a friend of Mike’s, and we went to grade and high school together. I attended
his initial book signing and talk on May 22 at the College of St. Benedict. Since he and I are Facebook friends, I see all the events he has been at with his talk and book signings. Your article is the best coverage and addresses the message Michael conveys.
When he returned from Vietnam, he was definitely a changed person. After reading his book and listening to his talk, I now understand why. Thank you for the excellent report on Mike’s presentation.
Vote local to make a bigger difference
Have you ever felt powerless in politics? Do you feel like no one listens to your views and every election cycle is a slate of the same old candidates? I sure do, and I have a feeling many others feel this way as well. It’s not always our fault. After all, the president has more than 300 million constituents. Our U.S. senators from Minnesota have more than five million, and even our U.S. House Representative for the 6th District, Tom Emmer, has more than 760,000 constituents. Can you imagine trying to listen to such a large amount of people giving you advice and opinions? Let’s take Emmer’s situation for example. Say every constituent of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District were to write him a letter, and he was to take just five minutes reading each letter nonstop, it would take a whopping 2,639 days to read them. Even with the congressional staff he surely has, adjusting this amount to a normal workday schedule would still be horrendously time consuming and unrealistic, considering all of the other commitments one has as a U.S. representative. Even with their best intentions, it would be almost impossible for our national representatives in Washington to hear all our concerns if they tried. State politics is not much better. Despite the average State House legislator having about 41,000 constituents, these are still
Connor Kockler Guest Writer entire cities we are talking about. The short legislative session also doesn’t help to get anything done, as we’ve seen in the past few months, much less common-citizens’ concerns. Overall, this is getting depressing. Democracy is just way too big; one voice in a sea of thousands and millions is never going to get traction right? There is a glimmer of hope though, and one the national news media never gets time to cover: local and city politics. How many of us can name the mayor of our town, or our city councilor for that matter? Like national politics, some of us can, but a large portion of us cannot. This lack of knowledge is an even worse problem with local politics because it affects us much more directly. The road being repaved or a school referendum is close to home or just feet away. There is also an advantage to it. We can be much more involved. City council meetings are minutes rather than hours away.
The councilors and mayors are our neighbors, maybe even people we know. This is why we need to start paying more attention to, and participating in, our local politics. When we look at too big of a picture, we miss a lot of the details. This includes many municipal officers who run unopposed every cycle. How can we have democracy if we unquestionably vote someone back into office again and again without any need for him or her to prove they are doing their best for us? How do we explain when city council meetings in towns of more than 10,000 have less than 30 people participating? If we want to be heard, and we want politics to change for the better, look to our local cities and towns. Here, one’s voice is stronger, and our convictions are clear: we want what is best for ourselves and our neighbors. We are not just one person in a sea of millions; we are the person who lives right down the street or just outside of town. This isn’t random politicking hundreds or thousands of miles away; this is our towns and livelihoods at stake. There is a big movement now to “Buy Local.” I think we should start to “Vote Local,” too. Connor Kockler is a Sauk Rapids-Rice High School student. He enjoys writing, politics and news, among other interests.
Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
Friday, Nov. 4, 2016 Is your event listed? Send your information to: Newsleader Calendar, P.O. Box 324, St. Joseph, MN 56374; fax it to 320-363-4195; or, e-mail it to news@thenewsleaders.com. Friday, Nov. 4 Craft Sale, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., St. Benedict’s Senior Community, 1810 Minnesota Blvd. S.E., St. Cloud. Arts and Crafts Sale, 9 a.m.6 p.m., St. Scholastica Convent, 1845 20th Ave. S.E., St. Cloud. Benton County Historical Society, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 218 First St. N., Sauk Rapids. 320-253-9614. mnbentonhistory. org. St. Joseph Area Historical Society open, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Old City Hall, 25 First Ave. NW. stjosephhistoricalmn.org. St. Joseph Winter Farmers’ Market, 3-6 p.m., 27 W Minnesota St., St. Joseph. www.stjosephfarmersmarket.com. Ladies Night Out, 4-8 p.m.,, VFW, 901 N Benton Drive, Sauk Rapids. Art Crawl, 5-9 p.m., downtown St. Cloud. Somali Hip-Hop Performance, 7:30 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 913 W. St. Germain St. Saturday, Nov. 5 Craft Sale, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Eagles Club, 730 41st Ave. N., St. Cloud. Holidays at Whitby Gift Shop, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Whitby Gift Shop, St. Benedict’s Monastery, 104 Chapel Lane, St. Joseph. Holiday Craft and Bake Sale, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Great Hall, St. John’s University, Collegeville. Craft-Vendor Sale, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., American Legion, Second Ave. N., Waite Park. Craft-Vendor Sale, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., VWF 428, 9 18th Ave. N.,
Community Calendar
St. Cloud. The Hunt is On, deer-hunting widows’ event, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., LaPlayette, 19 College Ave. N., St. Joseph. Sartell Winter Farmers’ Market, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sartell City Hall, 125 Pinecone Road N, Sartell. www.marketmonday.org. Soup Luncheon and Open House, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Holy Myrrhbearers Orthodox Church, 601 Seventh Ave. S., St. Cloud. holymyrrhbearers.org. St. Cloud Film Festival, noon, Pioneer Place, 22 Fifth Ave. S., St. Cloud. Dashain and Tihar Night, Nepal students showcase their singing, dances and skits, 5 p.m., Ritsche Auditorium, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud. Fall Chamber Recital, 7:30 p.m., Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud. Sunday, Nov. 6 Breakfast, sponsored by St. Joseph Knights of Columbus, 8:30 a.m.-noon, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Heritage Hall, St. Joseph. St. Cloud Film Festival, noon, Pioneer Place, 22 Fifth Ave. S., St. Cloud. Veterans’ Day Parade and Social, 1 p.m., St. Cloud VA Medical Center and Apollo High School. Monday, Nov. 7 St. John’s Preparatory Discovery Day, Collegeville. 320363-3315. Benton County Historical Society, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 218 First St. N., Sauk Rapids. 320-253-9614. mnbentonhistory. org. St. Cloud Film Festival, noon, Pioneer Place, 22 Fifth Ave. S., St. Cloud. Blood Drive, 1-7 p.m., St. Francis Xavier School Gym, 219
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Second St. N., Sartell. 320-2528150. “Laughter for the Health of It,” a laughter yoga session, 5:30-8:30 p.m., St. Mary’s Help of Christian’s Church, 24588 CR 7, St. Augusta. 320-255-5433 ext. 34. mjean@quietoakshospicehouse. org. Rice City Council, 7 p.m., council chambers, City Hall, 205 Main St. E. 320-393-2280. Sauk Rapids Planning Commission, 7 p.m., council chambers, Government Center, 25 Summit Ave. N. 320-258-5300. ci.sauk-rapids.mn.us. Sauk Rapids Riverside Lions Club, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s Pour House, 22 Second Ave. N., Sauk Rapids. eclubhouse.org/sites/srriverside. French Film Festival, showing of Quai D’Orsay 7 p.m., College of St. Benedict (Gorecki 204), 37 S. College Ave., St. Joseph. Wednesday, Nov. 9 St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce, 11:30 a.m., St. Joseph Community Fire Hall, 323 Fourth Ave. NE. stjosephchamber.com. St. Cloud Film Festival, noon, Pioneer Place, 22 Fifth Ave. S., St. Cloud. 55+ Driving Improvement Program (four-hour refresher course), 5-9 p.m., Kennedy Community School Media Center, 1300 Jade Road, St. Joseph. 1-888-2341294. Sauk Rapids Recreation Board, 6 p.m., Public Works Building, 360 Summit Ave. N, Sauk Rapids. 320-258-5300. ci. sauk-rapids.mn.us. Thursday, Nov. 10 Coffee and Conversation, a senior discussion group, 9 a.m., Country Manor, 520 First St. NE, Sartell. Sartell-Sauk Rapids Moms’ Club, 9-10:30 a.m., Celebration LIVING WITH KNEE OR BACK PAIN? Medicare recipients may qualify to receive a pain relieving brace at little or no cost. Call now! 844-668-4578 (MCN) Stop OVERPAYING for your prescriptions! SAVE! Call our licensed Canadian and International pharmacy, compare prices and get $25.00 OFF your first prescription! CALL 1-800-263-4059 Promo Code CDC201625 (MCN) Call and Confess is the only service that allows you to leave an anonymous confession by phone. Also listen to countless anonymous confessions. 1-888-424-5294. $2.99 minute. 18 or older (MCN) TV + INTERNET $29.99/month each! We are your local installers for ALL Brands! Comcast, Charter, Time Warner, DirecTV, Dish, Cox, xfinity, Verizon fios and MORE! Call NOW for Super deals! 1-800-342-1528 MCN) MISCELLANEOUS ALL THINGS BASEMENTY! Basement Systems Inc. Call us for all of your basement needs! Waterproofing, Finishing, Structural Repairs, Humidity and Mold Control. FREE ESTIMATES! Call 1-800640-8195 (MCN) A PLACE FOR MOM. The nation’s largest senior living referral service. Contact our trusted, local experts today! Our service is FREE/no obligation. CALL 1-800-4425148 (MCN) 19.99/mo. for DIRECTV - HD Channels+ Genie HD DVR + 3 months FREE HBO,
Lutheran Church, 1500 Pinecone Road N., Sartell. Lunch ‘N’ Learn with Willow Sweeney “Top 20 Training,” Business and Professionals Alliance, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Rasmussen College, 226 Park Ave. S, St. Cloud. bpa.stcloud@gmail.com. 320-492-3420. St. Cloud Film Festival, noon, Pioneer Place, 22 Fifth Ave. S., St. Cloud. Walk-In FAFSA Workshop, get help completing a FAFSA application for state and federal financial aid, 4-7 p.m., Miller Center, St. Cloud State University. 400 Sixth St. S., St. Cloud. 320-308-2022. St. Cloud Area Mothers of Multiples, 7 p.m., VFW Granite Post 428, 9 18th Ave. N., St. Cloud. Friday, Nov. 11 Benton County Historical Society, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 218 First St. N., Sauk Rapids. 320-253-9614. mnbentonhistory. org. St. Cloud Film Festival, noon,, Pioneer Place, 22 Fifth Ave. S., St. Cloud. Veterans Day Program, 1:30 p.m., St. Cloud VA, Building 8 Auditorium.
Saturday, Nov. 12 Holiday Bazaar, sponsored by St. Paul’s Christian Women, 9 a.m.1 p.m., St. Paul’s Parish Center, 1125 11th Ave. N., St. Cloud. 320251-4831. Holiday Boutique, sponsored by Mothers of Preschoolers, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Celebration Lutheran Church, 1500 Pinecone Road, Sartell. Winter Market, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sartell City Hall, 125 Pinecone Road N. marketmonday.org. Holiday Craft Sale, 10 a.m.3 p.m., Resurrection Lutheran Church, 610 CR 2, St. Joseph. lwallin@gmail.com. St. Cloud Film Festival, noon, Pioneer Place, 22 Fifth Ave. S., St. Cloud. Central Minnesota Chapter of the Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, 12:30 p.m., American Legion, 17 Second Ave. N., Waite Park. Sunday, Nov. 13 French Film Festival, showing of Bande de Filles, 7:15 p.m., St. John’s University (Art Building 102), 2850 Abbey Plaza, Collegeville.
Goblin is a 9-year-old, spayed and declawed cat. She loves her treats and tries to work those calories off by playing with a feather teaser. Goblin has done well with kids and other mellow cats in the past, but her attitude takes a turn for the worse if she sees a dog. Her adoption fee would be waived for a senior citizen or veteran. “Helping one animal won’t change the world … but it will change the world for that one animal!” Dogs - 9 Rabbits - 4
Cats - 27 Mice - 3
Kittens - 42 Guinea pig - 1
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Outlook from front page things, but by and large, we felt really prepared for this year,” he said. While he felt well prepared for the year, he admits he is concerned with staffing. “It’s one of the most dramatic shifts I’ve seen,” Martens said. “In the last four years, there has been a significant amount of transition for teachers.” Some of it’s due to retirement, but there are lots of openings in lots of places, Martens said. Teachers have more freedom to move from one job location to another. Why? Because there are shortages of teachers, especially in some fields. Martens mentioned special education as being particularly in demand. Other areas include the sciences, math, even English. Sauk Rapids has been fortunate in that they have been able to fill their retirement slots with talented staff out of college and with experienced staff who moved in from other districts. But there are still issues. “Every time you make a change, there is going to be some time spent in getting folks up to speed and comfortable in the new setting,” Martens said. “Even experienced teachers have to become familiar with how we do things here in Sauk Rapids.” Martens likes to think in terms of what new staffers can bring that will benefit the district and what might be a
Sauk Rapids-Rice Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com challenge for the district. Advantages are things like new ideas and thoughts, new opportunities, new ways to connect with kids. Having a good high school staff is all about having a variety of individuals. The advantages help to enrich the curriculum, to take it in different directions, and get kids excited about learning, especially in elective-course areas. Martens mentioned two areas as examples: art and agriculture. “Like it or not, the truth is our elective courses are best taught in the areas where people have expertise and passion,” Martens said. “That’s what kids connect with, and that gives opportunity to take things in a different way.” The addition of an art program has produced real excitement. Kids love the program, Martens said, and they are signing up for classes in droves. Some are beginners struggling to draw stick figures, and others are putting whole portfolios together, but they are all benefiting from that program. Martens said the hiring pool in some course disciplines is shallower than ever and that has led to employing individuals who are skilled in the academic area, but not in the pedagogy of teaching and learning. Agriculture is one such area. This year, Martens was able to hire an individual who is well versed in agriculture but lacks the standard teaching credentials and is teaching under a “community expert license.” “She grew up in the ag world and worked as a county
extension agent, so she has all of the knowledge necessary but just doesn’t have that teaching license,” Martens said. “She’s doing a terrific job.” Martens said about the teacher-supply shortage that major cuts in education and changes in pay and benefits often make other professions seem more inviting and lucrative. Some occupations that require less schooling actually pay better than teaching. While Sauk Rapids isn’t struggling to fill full-time teaching slots, Martens said he doesn’t have the number of teaching substitutes he would like to have.
Technology, communications
One of the areas that has changed dramatically during the past 10 years or so has been technology. New teachers in the program have little problem with it, Martens said, because they all grew up with computers, iPads, cell phones, and the Internet and Wi-fi. It’s been more of a challenge for some older teachers, but they provide other experiences and balance to programs. “Alumni from our Hall of Fame who come back, when I tell them every student has access to a laptop computer, every single day, every hour of the day, their eyes just pop open,” Martens said. “They may have read about it, but they never imagined it would be their district.” There are no computer labs in the high school, Martens explained, because every classroom becomes a computer lab, so the key and the challenge
Friday, Nov. 4, 2016
for every teacher is how to make the best use of all the technology provided. Technology fuels motivation, it organizes the course, it presents material, it identifies where challenges are for students and helps them through those challenges, Martens said, and it makes education look different in that respect from what many of us grew up with, but the goal of an independent, self-reliant student is still there. Technology also influences communication between teacher and parents, and between student and teacher; if they want to, parents can monitor how well their child is performing, what homework they have, what they have missed and what kinds of discipline problems the child might have. Fees and lunch money can even be paid on line. If a student is absent a day, he or she can find out what went on in class that day from Schoology. Teachers usually put worksheets and future assignments on the website, and students can access those sites with little trouble.
While some might argue all the technology is a distraction to students in class, Martens pointed out distracted students have always been with us. What has changed is the way it looks or appears. “We could have students staring at us but not really engaging intellectually, where now that device makes their distraction or inattentiveness much more visible,” Martens said. “Now they become involved with the device as opposed to sitting there ‘thinking’ or ‘daydreaming.’” Martens said the message he would like parents and the public to hear is Sauk Rapids-Rice Schools offers a fantastic opportunity to lots of different students to engage in their passions, get a great education in a variety of ways and still meet the expectations of the state and society. They will be prepared to move on and continue exploration. Martens said, “This is, for many of them, their last chance to try things out for free with few significant downsides. Now is the time to explore and take advantage of the opportunities.”
Fresh, locally produced products close to home... produce from storage • meat, eggs • artisan breads & baked goods candies, caramel corn • sunflower oil • herbal tea dried herbs & spices, preserved goods • cheese • hand-crafted items
SATURDAYS 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
SA
RTELL’S
Nov. 5 & 19, Dec. 3 & 17 Jan. 7, Feb. 4 March 4, April 1
Sartell City Hall
125 Pinecone Road N.
www.marketmonday.org