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Second Section!
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New Look. Same Local Coverage since 1854. Vol. 163, No. 40
11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, Benton County, MN 56379
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Making a difference locally, globally Eickhoff, FGHC give back BY ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
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Mitchell Eickhoff took his charity work to a global level with Impact Marathon. Eickhoff found the group in July and traveled to Nepal in November. During the trip, he got the opportunity for a little bit of sightseeing.
Overlay project to include three roads Fourth Street South, Lincoln Avenue, Franklin Avenue to see improvements BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — Plans for 2018 road construction in the city of Sauk Rapids have begun. The Sauk Rapids City Council received a feasibility study for the year’s overlay improvements and called for a public hearing which will occur Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. The 2018 improvements will include reconstruction to Fourth Street South, as well as Lincoln and Franklin Avenues. The total project cost is estimated to be $537,883, with $111,855 of the amount to be paid for through assessments to adjacent properties. The city’s portion ($426,028) is expected to be funded through a combination of sales tax and franchise fees. Property owners along Fourth Street South and Lincoln Avenue can expect an edge milling and overlay. Franklin Avenue will be reclaimed and then receive an overlay. Pedestrian ramps within the project areas will be replaced where necessary to comply with current Americans with Disabilities Act standards. “The reason that you see different methods in different places has to do with the age of existing bituminous, the condition of the existing bituminous and to some extent the wear that we anticipate happening on that segment of roadway,” said city engineer Terry Wotzka, of Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. “The key in pavement rehab is to do the right rehab at the right time. That helps extends the life wisely and hopefully helps save taxpayers’ dollars.” Council member Jason Ellering asked Wotzka about considering the
Sauk Rapids City Council page 2
PUBLIC NOTICES • Sauk Rapids-Rice Ind. School Disrict No. 47 work session - pg 3 • Mortgage Foreclosure - Bjerke - pg. 3 • Mortgage Foreclosure - Sulier - pg. 5 • Sauk Rapids School Meeting - pg. 5 • City Council - pg. 7 • Benton County Request for Proposals - pg. 7
SAUK RAPIDS – Mitchell Eickhoff is a giving person. He wants to make a difference in the live lives of others, both throughout central Minnesota Mi and the world. Eickhoff formed hi his charity, FGHC Active, with some friend friends five years ago to help raise funds for thos those in need around the St. Cloud area. “We are a fundraisi fundraising nonprofit that gives away 100 percent of everything that comes in,” said Eickhoff Eickhoff, who grew up in Sauk Rapids and works at Jimmy’s Pour House. “The three board members do not take a salary because we would rather see that money go to someone someo in need. We do particular events throughout throug the year to raise extra money, like 5k races, volleyball tournaments and kickbal kickball tournaments. All of that gets donated to those in need as well.” Eickhoff’s charitable work started prior to forming his charity when he helped with a fundraiser for a coworker. “When you are helping someone you
know, it makes you feel even a little bit better,” Eickhoff said. “That’s where my charity work started, and FGHC has only added to that.” Through his charity, Eickhoff has spearheaded events like the Trots for Tots 5k each December, as well as created partnerships with Tanner’s Team and Anna Marie’s Alliance among other local charities. “FGHC is always on a mission to give as much as we can to help others,” Eickhoff said. “Our partnerships with other charities makes that mission that much easier.” Recently, Eickhoff decided to take his charitable impact to a global level. In November, Eickhoff traveled to Nepal with a group called Impact Marathon. “I found them in July and decided to give it a try,” Eickhoff said. “I kind of fell into the trip, but I’m glad I did because it was a great experience.” Eickhoff’s trip to Nepal included a day of work with the Burn Violence Service (BVS), six days camping in the mountains and a run at the end. “Impact Marathon is a great charity to get involved with,” Eickhoff said. “For me, this charity combines my passions of
helping others, running and traveling. It’s great meeting others who have the same passions as I do and know we were making a difference over there. I am probably going to book another trip.” While there, Eickhoff and the others involved with Impact Marathon helped dig trenches to provide water to communities that otherwise did not have water. He said he also learned a lot about the Nepali culture, which was a highlight of the trip. “Every place or country you travel to has a unique culture of its own,” Eickhoff said. “I think that’s part of the reason I like to travel so much.” At the end of his trip, Eickhoff ran in a marathon. “I started running five or six years ago on a regular basis to get in shape,” Eickhoff said. “Now, I’m so passionate about it that when I do my runs, I want to make sure it’s charitable and the proceeds go to a good cause.” His passion for running has allowed him to set a unique goal. “I want to run on every continent,” Eickhoff said. “I like to run, and I just really love to travel and see the world. This was a good goal for me to set.”
Eickhoff page 2
Performance Foodservice expanding BY ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
RICE – Performance Foodservice, a nationwide cheese and food distributor, is expanding their location at 625 Divisions Street N, Rice. The business has been in operation under a number of different names since 1972 and will be adding an area for freezer, cooler and dry storage, as well as a larger dock area for loading trailers. “We have run out of storage in the current building capacity,” said Larry Cochran, president of Performance Foods-Minnesota division. “We have been using off-site storage for some time and want to be able to bring all of that back to our site. It will help us increase our efficiency, and it allows us to offer more.” The company’s expansion started in early November with the trenching and pouring of footings and ground work. The framing is expected to start within the next couple of weeks. This is the sixth expansion at the site.
“We expect to be using the expanded space for operation by late July or early August,” Cochran said. Performance Foodservice has been a supplier for the Italian and pizza industry and continues to produce their cheese and ship it nationwide. The company also distributes food products, such as fresh produce and canned goods, throughout the sevenstate Upper Midwest region. As the company prepares operations for the expanded area of the building, they are also brainstorming new products and services. “As a company, we recognize our roots are deeply embedded in the Italian and pizza industries,” Cochran said. “We don’t want to lose sight of those roots, but we also want to offer more to our customers.” PHOTO SUBMITTED
Performance Foodservice in Rice is undergoing the sixth expansion of their building. The company has the trenching and footings completed and framing is expected to start in the next couple of weeks.
Granite City Sound attempts to amp up music scene BY VICKI IKEOGU CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ST. CLOUD — Music and song lyrics come as naturally as breathing to Jon Theis. As one-half of the husband and wife Americana group, Harbor Drive Hookup, and local solo artist, Theis has been writing and producing his own music full time since 2016. “I like to just write notes,” Theis said. “I just keep a list of random phrases, lyrics, ideas, concepts and then I’ll usually sit down and write a few chords on the guitar. And then something will grab me and it will create a lyric.” But, writing and performing his own Central Minnesotamade music is not enough for the 32-year-old. “We’ve been trying to market our band,” Theis said. “And when you learn about marketing in general they say that you need to add value. And as a musician, I’ve been searching for that, other than just creating art that people like. You’ve kind of got to go beyond that.” For Theis, going beyond involves tapping into the other local singer-songwriters from across Central Minnesota. Late last year Theis started a
grassroots effort to bring musicians together in an effort to revitalize the Central Minnesota music scene. Named Granite City Sound, the informal group of 15 musicians is set on performing five, three-hour long concerts once a month from January to May on the second floor – known as The Nest – of The Pickled Loon, 715 W St. Germain Street, St. Cloud. “Based on my past, I’ve done music production and I’ve done video production, and with my skill set it hit me one day that I should do a concert series,” Theis said. “Bring in people to come see original music earlier in the evening. So I just kind of had this vision and tried to scale it into something that wasn’t going to kill me and was doable.” Theis said the inspiration behind Granite City Sound came from attending the Central Minnesota Common Roots Festival last August. This three-day event spread nearly 100 local musicians across various bars, restaurants and shops in downtown St. Cloud. “(When) Common Roots happened I talked to a lot of artists and got to know them,” Theis said. “And I learned that there used to be this thriving original local music scene in St. Cloud.” But in recent years, local music has been pushed aside for more familiar sounding cover bands.
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Adam Hammer performs at the Lemonade Concert & Art Fair at St. Cloud State University. Hammer, a local singer-songwriter, is one of the feature artists in the new Granite City Sound concert series.
Theis hopes to change that. “Our slogan is ‘Original music from the same place as you,’” Theis said. “And there are all of these talented artists that people don’t know about, but who they would really like.” Artists like Adam Hammer. “I actually had heard about Granite City Sound on Facebook,” Hammer said. “Jon had posted something about wanting to get local musicians together to support
each other. The post was a bit vague, but I chimed in and said I was on board.” Hammer has been playing music professionally around Central Minnesota over a decade, most notably at The Local Blend in St. Joseph. As a musician, Hammer said it was an easy decision to make when
Granite City Sound page 2