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New Look. Same Local Coverage since 1854. Vol. 162, No. 46
11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, Benton County, MN 56379
Jimmy’s Pour
Thursday, March 9, 2017
House celebra
40 Years
tes
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Jimmy’s Pour House is celebrating 40 years in business. The business opened Feb. 17, 1977.
Hagberg relies on quality food, staff BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — When Dena Hagberg’s parents, Jimmy and Marilyn Lynch, opened a bar on Feb. 17, 1977, she had no idea the business at 22 Second Ave. N. would be growing years later. “It doesn’t feel like 40 years,” said Hagberg, who owns Jimmy’s Pour House with her husband, Jason. “I never thought it would turn into this.” The bar and grill is celebrating 40 years of business in 2017. It has grown from a mere four employees to an average staff of
55 and has expanded its occupancy roughly eight times the original 40 seats. Along with sales of limitededition T-shirts, Jimmy’s Pour House will be hosting its annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities and another speciÀc anniversary event this upcoming summer. The eatery has always been a family affair for the Lynches. Hagberg and her younger brother, Dan, who has been an integral part of the business’s success, have worked side-by-side with many of their siblings over the years. “Working here became a part of who I was,” said Hagberg, who originally thought she would
pursue the medical Àeld. “It gets in your blood I guess. I never thought I would own it because I thought Dad would own it forever. When you’re young you don’t think about those things. But I fell in love with the people.” Jimmy and Marilyn came to Sauk Rapids from Saint Paul Park with their 12 children after a lastminute fall-out on the purchase of a resort. Hagberg had just turned 15 when her father decided to make the family’s home within the walls of the former Blue Eagle building. “There was an apartment on the main Áoor in a really small part of the bar. Mom and Dad lived downstairs and upstairs became the kids’ rooms,” she said. “Gradually when my mom and dad needed to expand, we took out their kitchen and made a
kitchen for the bar.” The family proceeded to modify the building interior, eliminating the parents’ living area and bedroom until eventually Jimmy and Marilyn moved upstairs where they lived for more than 20 years. Slowly, the Lynches began to transform the rough biker bar into a newlyIrish-themed space that attracted the hometown crowd. “Dad was a born promoter. He was very charismatic and knew how to organize people,” Hagberg said. “When we Àrst bought the place we didn’t serve any food and probably seated about 40 people. He put in this little grill that would Àt about six burgers.” Jimmy also attracted the
Jimmy’s: page 3
Rice merging numbering of civil, criminal ordinances BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE — In an effort to streamline and provide consistency in enforcement, the city of Rice voted to merge the numbering systems of civil and criminal ordinances at the council meeting March 6. Portions of the city’s code are written with the Roman numeral system and will now be merged with traditional numbering in order to coincide with Minnesota State statutes. This will assist law enforcement, the court system and
the community in locating and easily understanding the code. According to information provided at Monday’s meeting, the council held a work session Feb. 13 with staff members of the Rice Police Department. At that time, ofÀcer Suzanne DimaggioBoom presented the council with both current city code and updated prosecutor-approved ordinances. Boom and attorneys from Kelm & Reuter, P.A. had worked on updating outdated ordinances that would not hold up in court. The document will also contain a fee schedule, which could be easily changed when necessary
without amending code. Following the approval, the city will merge the updated ordinances and remaining code. A new, completed document will be reviewed by law attorneys at Kennedy & Graven and presented to the community during a public hearing for Ànal discussion and approval. In other council news: • Approved a donation from the Rice Lions Club for $921 to the Rice Police Department to be used in the purchase of a speed radar sign. • Approved the 2017 ballÀelds lease agreement with SofTballs,
Inc. The agreement allows the league organizer exclusivity from 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from April 1 through Oct. 1. • Rescinded and adopted new annual appointments, changing the city assessor to Maurice Balder and city engineer to Bollig, Inc. • Adopted a resolution approving a gambling permit for the Knights of Columbus for a rafÁe on April 23. • Approved rezoning of 1203 and 1204 Sixth Ave NW, Rice. The two houses were mistakenly zoned general business and will not be residential.
Bringing the community together
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Pastor Gene Thomsen preaches for the congregation at Rice Community Church, which meets every Sunday at 10 a.m. at Rice Elementary School.
Church focuses on family BY ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
RICE – Each Sunday morning a group of 40 people gather at Rice Elementary School to praise God and Jesus as members of Rice Community Church. When the church started in 2011, it only had eight members. It was led by Pastor Emil Williams and met at Pine Country Bank in Rice. Since then, the church has experienced change and growth. The meeting space was moved to the school in January after holding service at the Old Village Hall for an extended period of time. Along with the move, Pastor Gene Thomsen began shifting the focus of the church to accommodating families of all ages. “The move to the school has helped provide space for kids,” Thomsen said. “The kids have a
separate area where they can go and learn about God, Jesus and their faith on their level. It’s helping us create strong families within our church.” Thomsen also tweaked the church’s vision statement as the meeting space moved locations. “My focuses are different than what Emil’s were,” Thomsen said. “I like to focus on the relationship with God rather than seeing it as religion. It helps show others that they can have a relationship with God. That’s one of my biggest passions, as well as family, so I just tweaked the language in the vision statement toward that.” While the church has everything from a kid’s zone to Wednesday night Bible study, Thomsen likes to make it about more than just their church. “We enjoy partnering with other area churches,” Thomsen
said. “We’ve done things with the Baptist church, our kids will participate in vacation Bible school at Shepherd of the Pines, things like that. We want to partner with them. The more people see churches working together through Christ, the more likely they will be to come to church and try it out. If people see churches Àghting, the chances of new people coming will go down considerably.” Thomsen is continuing to grow the church in various ways and is adding new activities and groups after Easter. “I want our congregation to have many things available to them, so that they may learn more about Christ and deepen their faith,” Thomsen said. “That’s really what’s important.” As pastor, Thomsen has goals for the church. “Within Àve years, I want to have a building to call our own,” he said. “We are already in the process of looking and praying for land.
I want our congregation to have somewhere they can call a home, rather than using other spaces. It will also help the next pastor that comes along. If they already have a worship space of their own, they will be able to jump right in and make the church what they want and what the congregation wants surrounding their vision and passions.” As the church continues to change and evolve, Thomsen keeps one thing in mind. “This church isn’t about me as a pastor, it’s about reaching people through Christ,” he said. “We are all there because Jesus died on the cross for us. He suffered for us. It’s with that understanding that we can create a loving, faithful community that stretches beyond the walls of our worship space.” The church worships every Sunday morning at 10 a.m., with prayer beforehand, at Rice Elementary School, 200 3rd St NE, Rice.
Vehicle crashes into house in Rice BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE — A Bloomington man was arrested Monday after his vehicle crashed into a house. According to the Benton C o u n t y Sheriff ’s Department, Daniel Saarela, Daniel Saarela 30, was arrested on one count each of felony third degree controlled substance, second degree driving while impaired and driving after revocation. Authorities responded to a home on Little Rock Lake NW in Watab Township shortly before noon March 5, after the homeowner called to report a vehicle had struck the south side of his home and was inside his bedroom. The vehicle had been headed north while driving westbound on Highway 10 when it left the pavement, drove through the ditch, crossed over a roadway and struck the residence. Saarela claimed another individual had been driving at the time of the accident, but injuries sustained by Saarela concluded otherwise. Law enforcement also located a prescription bottle with four different opiates. Saarela was driving after revocation and has two prior driving while intoxicated convictions from 2010.
Two face theft, false name charges BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE — Two vehicle occupants were arrested Thursday after a routine license check led to a vehicle coming back stolen. James Maldonardo II, of Bowlus, is facing charges of theft of a motor vehicle, giving a false name to a peace ofÀcer and driving after revocation. A passenger in the vehicle, Sara Smith of Sauk Rapids, is facing aiding Sara Smith and abetting theft of a motor vehicle, giving a false name to a peace ofÀcer, possession of a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a legend James [prescription] Maldonardo drug. According to the complaint, Rice Police Chief Ross Hamann was on patrol the afternoon of March 2 when he ran a routine license check on a vehicle that came back as being stolen from the Albany area four days prior. Before Hamann could stop the car, the vehicle pulled into the local Dollar General and the passengers went inside. Upon contacting the occupants, Maldonardo and Smith gave false names and birthdates to Hamann, which was determined by photographs on Àle with the Department of Motor Vehicles. The keys of the vehicle were located in Maldonardo’s pocket. Smith advised ofÀcers she was unaware the vehicle was stolen. OfÀcers located brass knuckles and non-controlled substance prescription drugs, not prescribed to Smith, as well as other paraphernalia within her purse.