Sauk Centre Herald 06-22-2023

Growing every year

Children’s Garden Club program turns 5

BY BEN SONNEK | STAFF WRITER

With fair weather leading into the summer, the Children’s Garden Club in Sauk Centre is entering a promising fifth year. Volunteers, retired teachers and Stearns County Master Gardeners have been instructing local children of all backgrounds for the past few weeks on how to plant, grow and harvest their own produce at the Sauk Centre Community Garden.

“The numbers of children registering has been steadily increasing,” said Doris Jennissen, Stearns County Master Gardener. “This year, we have 25 children signed up for the children’s garden. The number participating can vary depending on vacation trips and family commitments. Many parents also attend, participating with their children.”

The Sauk Centre Community Garden with its children’s garden section was founded May 2018 by a local group of citizens, including the Sauk Centre Community Foundation, with the City of Sauk Centre providing the land and the water. Retired teachers Peggy Raitor and Roxanne Bergman taught the first children’s garden, and during the 2019 winter, Jennissen took a Children’s Garden in Residence class through the Minnesota Arboretum, learning how to help elementary school children learn science and nutrition through hands-on gardening experience.

The Children’s Garden Club continued through the 202022 years, with students, teachers and volunteers wearing masks and using infection control recommendations from the University of Minnesota Stearns County Extension. Even so, the student numbers continued to increase.

This year’s program started May 30 with the planting of the garden, and it continues every other Tuesday through Aug. 22. Most recently, during their June 13 session, students observed their garden’s growth progress and painted rocks for artistic row markers. For future sessions, students will be learning about flower parts and dissection, decomposers, worms, harvesting, the plant life cycle and pollinators. The importance of the sun, watering, weeding, thinning, trimming, monitoring and harvesting are also being emphasized.

Relay for Life of Western Stearns County surpasses fundraising goal

Volunteer shortage threatens event’s future

HBY HANS LAMMEMAN | STAFF WRITER

undreds of walkers circled the Stearns County Fairgrounds track in Sauk Centre June 16, raising just over $50,000 for the American Cancer Society as part of the 26th Relay for Life of Western Stearns County.

Despite surpassing their fundraising goal for another year, co-leads Missy Hornick and Marcy Johnson and com-

mittee members Joelle Anderson, Sarah Boser and Amy Lindquist participated in their last Relay for Life as event organizers due to the time commitment. Unless new volunteers fill their shoes, this year’s fundraiser may be the last hosted in Sauk Centre. ACS Senior Development Manager Sherri Maanum praised the resigning volun-

teers for their hard work and success during the opening ceremony. She said Hornick and Johnson received the Thunder Rolls award at the ACS statewide volunteer summit in February 2023 for exceeding event expectations despite severe storms during events for two consecutive years.

Maanum called on attendees to consider volunteering to keep the tradition alive in Stearns County. Otherwise, the relay would change locations and merge with an event in a surrounding county.

Amongst the teams to circle the track this year was Karen Rademacher and her friends,

who have returned annually to the fundraiser in Sauk Centre for more than two decades. Rademacher, a cancer survivor and team captain of Karen’s Country Friends, said she looks forward to the relay each June and hopes there is a future for the fundraiser in Stearns County.

“We started here in 2000, so this is our 24th year,” Rademacher said. “I have three teammates that have been with me every year; the rest of them have been here pretty much every year.”

Education aides wanted

Paraprofessional mentorship program approved

BY BEN SONNEK | STAFF WRITER

Sauk Centre Public Schools is working on filling assistant principal and paraprofessional position openings in time for the 2023-24 school year.

During the school board’s June 20 regular meeting in the school media cen-

Sewing

ter, High School Principal Sheila Flatau reported she and Elementary Principal Amy Millard have interviewed about 15 paraprofessional candidates, and there are 18 spots that need to be filled.

The school board also approved a paraprofessional mentorship program. According to Superintendent Don Peschel, the bulk of the program’s instruction will be toward the beginning of the school year and continue, as needed, as the year proceeds.

“Our goal is to not have a revolving door of paras through here,” Peschel said.

“They’ll have another support system of someone they can ask questions and have them teach them the ropes.”

The district is discussing a change in paraprofessional requirements. Previously, paraprofessionals have needed at least a two-year degree and a successful completion of a paraprofessional test, but it may be possible for certain positions in the future that the latter test may not be necessary.

since the ’60s

Otte enjoys creativity of quilting

BY BEN SONNEK | STAFF WRITER

A blue quilt has been making the rounds through Sauk Centre businesses for the last month, the handiwork of longtime sewer and quilter Marlene “Moe” Otte. She donated the 104-square-inch London Blues quilt to the Sauk Centre Rotary Club so they could use it for a fundraiser, and her quilting projects are only expanding from there.

“I just enjoy doing it,” Otte said. “I figure that, if I’m not doing something, I’ll sit in the chair and sleep.”

Otte’s creativity in fabric started in 1961 after her first daughter, Jenny Otte, was born. Otte started by making clothing, but in 1963, she branched out to make her first quilt.

“I don’t know where it is,” Otte said. “It’s

disappeared, but I remember the pattern and the colors. I didn’t quilt again except for a few baby quilts for friends and some applique work.”

Otte continued making garments and custom sewing projects, and it was not until 2000 that she made another quilt, this one in a Bargello pattern, which involved many strips of fabric. She promised to give it to another of her daughters, Sandra Gray, who was in the military at the time, but she took it first to the Stearns County Fair where it won a grand champion prize.

At the recommendation of her friend, Annette Hinnenkamp, Otte started quilting again in 2009, and she has been honing her craft ever since. Daughter Jenny has also taken up the hobby.

“We just had a weekend a few weeks ago where we had three ladies from up north who came down,” Otte said. “My daughter came from St. Cloud (and we went to) a friend in town here, and we spent three days at her house sewing.”

PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK Marlene “Moe” Otte stops by her quilt at Great River Federal Credit Union June 5 in Sauk Centre. Otte has been sewing since 1961, making her first quilt a couple of years later.

PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK

Sophia (left) and Eli Uphus paint rocks for garden row markers during the Children’s Garden Club session June 13 at the Conservation Park in Sauk Centre. The program was started in 2018 when the Sauk Centre Community Garden was established.

PHOTO BY HANS LAMMEMAN

The Kure Kickers – Tom Theis (front, from left), Ann Dean, Sue Hornick and Missy Hornick; (back, from left) Mark Hornick holding Liam Ritter and Scott Boser – begin the team lap June 16 at the Relay for Life of Western Stearns County at the Stearns County Fairgrounds in Sauk Centre. This was the 26th Relay for Life in Sauk Centre.

Emma Janet Arceneau

Jeremy and Kelli

Arceneau, of Elrosa, are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Emma Janet Arceneau, at 1:16 p.m., June 7, 2023, at CentraCare-Sauk Centre Hospital.

She weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches long.

Welcoming her home were siblings, Chloe, 6, and Kaden, 2.

Grandparents are Daniel and Joyce Schulzetenberg, of Freeport; and Fred and Janet Arceneau, of Elrosa.

Emma Janet Arceneau

Great-grandparents are Duane and Rita Frieler and Joan Arceneau, both of Elrosa.

Kenslee Ann Dunham

Austin Dunham and Stormy Merten, of Hill City, are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Kenslee Ann Dunham, May 25, 2023, at Riverwood Healthcare Center.

She weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces.

Grandparents are Steve and Holly Merten, of West Union; Melissa and Wade Johnson, of Swanville; Dillion and Sara Dunham, of Swatera; and Jennifer Dunham, of Hill City.

Let’s Go Fishing treats Eagle’s Healing Nest veterans

STRAWBERRIES

Pick Your Own or Pre-Picked

Strawberries Available

6 Miles South of Foley on Hwy. 25 & Duelm Road

For more information: 320.968.7238

www.svihelvegetablefarm.com HPFR25-1P-MT

a day of fishing June 14 in Sauk Centre. Since their founding in 2007, Let’s Go Fishing of Alexandria has taken over 25,000 people on fishing excursions.

School board from front

With Lucas Kosters’ resignation, approved by the board, the schools are also looking for an assistant principal candidate. If one is not found in the next

couple of weeks, the position may be changed from assistant principal to dean, under a teacher on special assignment contract.

Other school board news:

– In their elementary school renovation update, consulting firm SitelogIQ reported the school’s gas service relocation was completed in one day, and heavy demolition and earthwork is expected to commence this week. Structural steel delivery and installation is scheduled to occur in a few weeks as well. The project’s update website is live and accessible through the schools’ main website.

– Community Connection is planning on bringing in a welding camp and a Lego league.

– The school is transitioning to all-online ticket sales; so far, about 90% of their sales are online already. It will be possible for people to pay at the gate, though.

– Approved the schools’ 2023-24 budget and Q-Comp Annual Report.

– Approved 2023-24 membership dues for the Minnesota School Boards Association, the Minnesota Rural Education Association and Resource Training and Solutions.

– Approved Peschel as the school district’s identified offi cial with authority and Millard as the local educational agency representative for federal funding.

– Approved the hiring of first grade teacher Samantha Simonson.

– Approved the resignation of assistant principal Kosters, elementary paraprofessional Maria Martinez Juarez, bus driver Gail Scott and secondary paraprofessionals Lori Mynczywor and Haley Larson.

– Approved the termination of elementary paraprofessional Melissa Peterson and secondary paraprofessional Dacotah Wenninger.

– Approved child care leave for Early Childhood Family Education teacher Jamie Hoover.

– Approved the change of position of paraprofessional Yasmeen Soto to English language learner paraprofessional and interpreter.

– Approved the following quotes: $43,445.09 from TechCheck for the Wisenet WAVE Camera project, $3,766.97 from TechCheck for the Wisenet WAVE Camera project encoders, $36,960 from Security Lock Technologies for elementary school door locks and $34,560 from Schmeez Concrete for the tunnel project.

– Approved a change order of $47,354.17 for Ebert Construction for additional fencing and more elementary flooring. The original plan did not cover the kindergarten area, and it was decided to include that area for consistency.

– Accepted the following donations: $500 from Minnesota National Bank for stadium chairs, $2,000 from Greg Trisko and $2,000 from Douglas Machine for gym upkeep, $300 from Centre Pallet and Lumber for SCPS robotics and $500 from The Blackbaud Giving Fund for Rebecca Winters for the Margaret Shelby Theatre.

The next school board regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m., Monday, July 24, in the school media center.

Garden club from front

“The students enjoy the class on bees and have an opportunity to taste honey from various beekeepers,” Jennissen said. “They have the opportunity to identify the difference in taste, color and smell of the honey depending on the type of flowers that were used to produce the honey. … Other class lessons include decomposers and how they break down items. If you throw away a gum wrapper it takes 400 years for it to decompose into the soil,

while a banana peel takes a relatively short time of four weeks or so. They observe a worm as a decomposer and learn the parts of a worm.”

The program will conclude with harvesting and a graduation ceremony – where students are given their Green Thumb Award – as well as tacos in a bag, made from their garden vegetables. The Children’s Garden Club attracts families from all

areas of Sauk Centre, including the Latino community. Volunteer Perla Alvarez assists with teaching and language interpretation. Her children have participated in the children’s garden in its five years of operation.

“The children’s garden truly represents the community,” Jennissen said. “It draws families from different cultures, ages and many backgrounds. We enjoy meeting so many families who are willing to participate with their children in learning about gardening.”

PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK

Hungry visitors line up for cheese samples at the fifth annual Redhead Creamery Curd Fest June 17 near Brooten. The event featured live music, vendors, educational exhibits, farm tours and a milking contest.

PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK The Alexandria chapter of Let’s Go Fishing takes veterans from Sauk Centre’s Eagle’s Healing Nest out onto Sauk Lake for

PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK

With the help of teachers, volunteers and Master Gardeners, children and parents plant the children’s garden section of the Sauk Centre Community Garden May 30 in Sauk Centre. About 25 children signed up for the 2023 Children’s Garden Club.

Celebrating

Borgerding sees  Lake Wobegon Trail economic opportunities take shape

BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER

After more than 20 years, Cliff Borgerding is starting to see the vision for the Lake Wobegon Trail take shape.

“There is such an economic opportunity along the trail,” he said June 1 wearing a T-shirt with Lake Wobegon Trail on the front. “It’s about celebrating small towns, the connections. The stories of Lake Wobegon that Garrison Keillor came up with are classic Stearns County stories about Stearns County people.” Local businesses in communities along the trail are seeing the benefits of the trail coming through their communities, he said, citing Art in Motion and the BOHO Café in Holdingford, Bad Habit Brewing Company in St. Joseph, Oak Station Coffee and Cone in Freeport, The Outpost Mercantile in Sauk Centre and Jordie’s Trailside Café in Bowlus.

If anyone knows about small town life, it is Borgerding, who grew up in Freeport and is a 1969 graduate of Melrose High School, lived in St. Joseph, and currently he and wife Linda call Avon home. He is a history buff, whether about his family or communities.

He laughs when asked how the Lake Wobegon Trail came to be. For him, it goes back to the 1970s when he worked in St. Cloud, with employees traveling from Stearns County communities, like Osakis, Sauk Centre, Melrose, Freeport, all towns along Interstate 94 running parallel with the railroad. He always thought the railroad should have put buses on the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks to transport these people, but they never did, and he called it a “missed opportunity.”

At the time, Borgerding was a St. Joseph Jaycees member, a club that was instrumental in building the Millstream

Park system. That’s what the Albany Jaycees did with the Lake Wobegon Trail, he said.

“The Lake Wobegon Trail was the brainchild of the Albany Jaycees, led by Leo Sand, Jack Evens and many more from Albany,” Borgerding said.

In the 1990s, the Albany Jaycees approached the Stearns County Board of Commissioners with the idea of turning the Burlington Northern Railroad bed into a bike trail. They were encouraged by the county board to come up with $100,000, Borgerding said. The Jaycees raised $150,000.

“They went back to the board and said, ‘Here’s the money. Now build a trail,’” he said.

Almost 25 years ago, in the fall of 1998, the first stretch of the Lake Wobegon Trail from Albany to Sauk Centre opened. Since then, there have been trail expansions, and currently there are 70 miles of trails in Stearns County, some that hook up to other trails.

“In the not-too-distant future, our trails system will have nearly 400 miles of connected trails in the center of Minnesota,” he said.

Stearns County has two projects currently in the works to connect additional trails – a 12-mile extension of the Beaver Island Trail to Clearwater and the Dairyland Trail from Brooten to Albany for another 26 miles.

small town communities

and learned about their trail system, which has been a big plus for economic development. He cited the example of construction of a million-dollar theater in Lanesboro because of the increased popularity of community and professional theatre productions. sees this could happen in central Minnesota.

“The Lanesboro chamber director said it took 20 years before the business community realized the opportunities provided by the trail,” he said.

Pins and Needles Quilters Monthly Meeting: Second Tuesday of the month, 7-9 p.m. at the Sauk Centre Senior Center, 321 Fourth St. N., Sauk Centre. Goal is to promote the art of quilt making at all skill levels by discussion, lessons and show and tell of your projects at our meetings. They welcome new members.

Catholic in Recovery/All Addictions Anonymous: Second and fourth Saturday each month at 1 p.m. Located at Centre for Christ, Sauk Centre.

Little Sauk Legion Auxiliary Unit 417 Meeting: Second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Little Sauk Legion, Little Sauk. New members welcome.

Western Stearns DFL: Meets every third Tues. of the month, 6 p.m. potluck, 6:30 p.m. mtg. Location may vary, so please call Mitch Manoski at 320-282-8312 for location. New members welcome!

Sauk Centre History Museum and Research Center: Museum hours are Sunday and Monday - closed, Tuesday 1-5 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Thursday 1-5 p.m., Friday 12-4 p.m and Saturdays 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Located in the Sinclair Lewis Library building at 430 Main Street, Sauk Centre. Any questions, call 320-351-8777.

Mental Health Crisis Line: 320-253-5555 or 800-635-8008. Crisis Response Team for Benton, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright counties.

Steeple repair underway

The trails are well traveled. A 2012 study estimated over 300,000 people used the trail, with another 200 to 300 people who bike coast to coast using this trail.

“We have an economic opportunity to bring millions of dollars into our local economy as a result of the Lake Wobegon Trail system, and it’s only going to get better with time,” Borgerding said.

The Lake Wobegon Trail Association promotes the trail and economics of the trail. Currently, they have a seven-member board organizing three summer rides – the Caramel Roll Ride the second Saturday in June, the Lady Slipper Nature Ride the third Saturday in June and the Caramel Apple Ride the Saturday after Labor Day – as their only way to raise funds for the organization, along with money raised by the Friends of the Trail.

Borgerding, who has been on the board 20 years, officially retired in December 2022, but he is still helping with the rides because he does not want to see the organization disband.

“We need people who see the benefit of the trails to join the association, people who use the trails and businesses who have a vested interest,” he said.

It was through his involvement with the association that he attended Bike Day at the Minnesota Capitol, and he met the Lanesboro chamber president, from southern Minnesota,

He believes more economic opportunities are possible in central Minnesota. Borgerding recalls when his hometown, Freeport, had three grocery stores, implement and repair shops, a car dealership and even the Yellow Canary Café.

His trail promotion thinking cap is always on.

“I’m trying to come up with a Lake Wobegon cocktail. There’s that history of MN 13. All these things can come into play,” said Borgerding who has LWTRAIL on his vehicle license plates.

At age 72, he loves biking or walking on the Lake Wobegon Trail, where he has met people from England, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany and Spain. He talks about taking the jaunt off of the trail near Peach Drive in Avon, walking into the Avon Hills Forest North, a Minnesota scientific and natural area, relishing the sights and sounds of nature.

“There are acres of natural forest that are truly like it was when the first settlers arrived, with lots of trees and wildlife,” he said. “You can walk out there and it’s so peaceful.”

To him the Lake Wobegon Trail is a perfect connection to the history and stories in central Minnesota. His long-range goal is to write a book, a combination of a tour guide and history of the communities along the trail.

“It’s all about celebrating small town communities,” he said.

Relay from front

Hornick said several potential volunteers expressed interest at the relay, hinting at a possible future for the event she helped lead for the past five years.

“I’m excited for potential new leadership and will certainly help them through the process,” Hornick said. “Maybe they can revamp the event to increase participation. If nobody steps up to lead next year, there will no longer be an event in Sauk Centre. We are seeing this in communities across the U.S.; families are busy and don’t always have time to do volunteer work.”

BELGRADE

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

CATHOLIC CHURCH 541 Martin Ave. | PO Box 69 320-254-8218 parishesontheprairie.org/parishes

ELROSA STS. PETER AND PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH 302 State St. 320-254-8218 parishesontheprairie.org/parishes

BROOTEN ST. DONATUS

CATHOLIC CHURCH

301 Eastern Ave. 320-254-8218 parishesontheprairie.org/parishes

WEST UNION ST. ALEXIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH 11 Oak St. S 320-352-2563 parishesontheprairie.org/parishes

SAUK CENTRE

OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS CATHOLIC CHURCH Ash St. and 7th St. 320-352-2196 parishesontheprairie.org/parishes

ST. PAUL’S CATHOLIC CHURCH 304 Sinclair Lewis Ave. 320-352-2196 parishesontheprairie.org/parishes

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 504 Elm St. S 320-352-2827 saukcentreumc.org

If you would like parishioners to see your church here, please contact Robin at 320-351-7837

AA Meetings: Thursdays, 11 a.m. at United Church of Christ in Sauk Centre. For more information, call 320-429-1620. AA and Al-Anon 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays in Sauk Centre at United Church of Christ. Back to Basics Meeting, Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at Tutti Fruitti in Sauk Centre. For more information, call 218-240-1076. Wednesdays Big Book Meeting at 7 p.m., Civic Center, Melrose. For more information, call 320-241-3909.

NA Meetings: Mondays, 7 p.m. at River of Life Church, Sauk Centre and Fridays at 11 a.m. at Eagle’s Healing Nest Chapel, Sauk Centre.

Alzheimer’s Support Group: The support group for people caring for someone with memory loss holds monthly meetings every fourth Thursday of the month 10-11:30 a.m. at Alternative Senior Care, 418 10th St. S., Sauk Centre. For more information, call 320-352-3350.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission designated CenturyLink as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier within its service area for universal service purposes. CenturyLink’s basic local service rates for residential voice lines are $16.32-$29.50 per month and business services are $34.61-$48.61 per month. Specific rates will be provided upon request.

CenturyLink participates in the Lifeline program, which makes residential telephone or qualifying broadband service more affordable to eligible lowincome individuals and families. Eligible customers may qualify for Lifeline discounts of $5.25/month for voice or bundled voice service or $9.25/month for qualifying broadband or broadband bundles. Residents who live on federally recognized Tribal Lands may qualify for additional Tribal benefits if they participate in certain additional federal eligibility programs. The Lifeline discount is available for only one telephone or qualifying broadband service per household, which can be either a wireline or wireless service. Broadband speeds must be at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload to qualify.

CenturyLink also participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households with a discount on broadband service. The ACP provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands.

For both programs, a household is defined as any individual or group of individuals who live together at the same address and share income and expenses. Services are not transferable, and only eligible consumers may enroll in these programs. Consumers who willfully make false statements to obtain these discounts can be punished by fine or imprisonment and can be barred from these programs.

If you live in a CenturyLink service area, visit https://www.centurylink.com/aboutus/community/ community-development/lifeline.html for additional information about applying for these programs or call 1-800-201-4099 with questions.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN Cliff Borgerding displays a walking stick he made that has the towns along the Lake Wobegon Trail carved on it as he stands on the trail June 2 in Avon. In the close to 20 years he has been a member of the trail association, he has seen economic opportunities grow in communities like Avon, which has a well-used park the trail runs through.

PHOTO BY HANS LAMMEMAN

Dianna Nelson (left) and Lisa Sanders carry a banner while leading the survivor’s lap June 16 at the Relay for Life of Western Stearns County at the Stearns County Fairgrounds in Sauk Centre. Cancer survivors traditionally wear purple and walk the first lap at each Relay for Life event.

PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK

Workers are lifted up to continue repairing the steeple of St. Paul’s Church June 14 in Sauk Centre. The steeple is being fitted with new composite slate tiles, metal trim and aluminum louvres instead of wooden ones; structural issues will also be addressed, and the project is expected to take two months to complete.

Blues in the bandshell

Laurie Morvan Band to play in Sauk Centre June 24

BY BEN SONNEK STAFF WRITER

Sauk Centre has drawn the attention of the Laurie Morvan Band, a California-based rockin’ blues band, and the public is welcome to attend their free concert from 7 to 9 p.m., Saturday, June 24, in Sauk Centre’s Sinclair Lewis Park Bandshell.

“I think it’s very exciting a national band called us and wanted to be in our city, to play in our bandshell,” said Pam Borgmann, Visit Sauk Centre executive director. “I really appreciate the donations and the grant to make

Otte from front

Otte is also the longest-running female member of the SCRC. In 1989, women were finally allowed to be Rotary Club members, and Otte was the first to join in Sauk Centre. She would go on to be the first female Rotary district governor in the state.

The London Blues quilt Otte made is the first one she has put forward as a Rotary fundraiser, but it is not the first one like it she has made.

“I have a friend in Texas; we quilt together,” Otte said. “Three years ago, she talked me into doing a block of the month, which is where they send you the fabric to do a block a month, and at the end of 12 months, you have every-

it happen, because they’re quite expensive, and we would not have been able to afford them in just our summer concert budget because they’re way over that.”

Two years ago, the Laurie Morvan Band was looking for places to play in the Midwest, and they happened across Sauk Centre and its Sinclair Lewis Park Bandshell.

“Outdoor bandshells in smaller towns are pretty unusual,” Borgmann said. “Laurie (Morvan) called me, but I couldn’t raise enough funds the first year.”

VSC turned over Lau-

thing. So, I did, and I really liked the company, Wing and a Prayer Design, so I’ve gotten hooked on their patterns and I’ve done numerous patterns of theirs.”

Another part of the inspiration was a quilt Otte saw hanging on the back wall of Quilts and Quilts, a quilt shop in Branson, Missouri.

“It’s so striking, the coloration of it,” Otte said. “It came in a kit, and I did it and really liked it. The next time I was there, they had a kit left, so I bought another one.”

One of Otte’s favorite features of the quilt is its colors, and it was particularly easy to finish because it had a well-written pattern.

“It makes a big difference,” Otte said. “I did one I struggled with; did the center of it, threw it out and started it again because it just wasn’t

Minnesota National Agency, Westfield Insurance Foundation donate to Eagle’s Healing Nest

rie’s request to Artify Sauk Centre, and this year, they were able to secure a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board; other funding sources included Sauk Centre Community Connection, the City of Sauk Centre and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary. Bill Gillies with the area band Livewire was hired to run sound for the band’s performance. The band brings its own instruments but needs sound equipment.

The Laurie Morvan Band is a five-piece rockin’ blues band based out of Long Beach, California, and has toured throughout the United States as well as Canada, Mexico and Europe. Along with Laurie’s guitar work, the band features backup singer

coming together right.”

Once finished with the London Blues quilt, Otte opted to donate it to the SCRC. If they could not use it, she planned to donate it elsewhere, but the Rotary Club accepted it and are raffling it off, displaying the quilt at multiple Sauk Centre businesses and selling raffle tickets. The drawing for the quilt will be at 7:15 p.m., Wednesday, June 28, at the Sinclair Lewis Park Bandshell in Sauk Centre.

All proceeds from the raffle will go toward the SCRC local youth and community initiatives, including Youth Exchange, the Students Taking

and percussionist Lisa Morvan, keyboardist Tom Salyers, bassist Pat Morvan and drummer Robert Gates. Their June 24 stop in Sauk Centre is part of the 2023 Coast to Coast Tour, between Minneapolis June 23 and McIntosh June 25. The band first made their name at the 2008 International Blues Challenge, as a finalist for best live band, while their CD, “Cures What Ails Ya,” was a finalist for best self-produced CD. More recently, Laurie’s 2018 CD, “Gravity,” made the First Round Grammy Ballot for Best Contemporary Blues and was nominated for Best Blues Album in the Downbeat Reader’s Poll.

Renewed Interest in the Value of Education program, Camp Enterprise, Warm Hands, Warm Heads, Warm Hearts and other community service, fundraising and park maintenance projects.

With the fundraising quilt completed, Otte has already finished a number of lap quilts, throws and baby quilts. She plans to go back to making a big quilt in the near future.

“I get motivated when I’m sewing,” Otte said. “It’s enjoyable. … I’ll keep going until I can’t anymore – or until I run out of funds.”

Sauk Centre Public Utilities is issuing a WATER

REDUCTION NOTICE

Excessive use of water is impacting one of our wells which is only operating at 50%. The Sauk Centre Public Utilities is asking customers to please conserve water. The most effective way to sustain our water supply is to limit nonessential uses such as watering lawns and washing vehicles. SCPUC recommends limiting outdoor water use to twice a week. If water consumption doesn’t decrease, we will be forced to implement a watering ban. Minnesota DNR has also issued the first phase of a drought warning for the Upper Mississippi Watershed for which our community is located. This is due to dry weather conditions.

Thank you for your help in CONSERVING WATER!

Program; Minnesota National Agency helps Eagle’s Healing Nest with their Promises Made, Promises Kept project.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Melrose Housing Authority is accepting applications for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director is responsible for all aspects of financial and budget planning, program administration, and supervising maintenance and purchasing. This position is approximately 25 hours per week.

Desired qualifications include experience in related field of business or government. Applicants should have a general knowledge of budgets, accounting, and government procedures. Ability to maintain good public relations with various personnel and residents. Ability to adapt to changing Federal, State, and local requirements. Basic computer skills. 2023 Salary Range DOQ: $34,356 - $41,445.

A copy of the job description and application packet can be obtained on the City’s website at www.cityofmelrose.com or by contacting the Melrose City office at 320-256-4278.

Interested applicant should submit a completed application packet, along with resume to City of Melrose, 225 1st St NE, Melrose MN 56352, or email to hr@cityofmelrose.com by Wednesday, June 21, 2023.

PH23-3B-RB

SUCCESS

HERE!

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Heidi Beissel (left) and Mark Maloney (right), with Minnesota National Agency, present a $6,500 check to Melony Butler, with Eagle’s Healing Nest, June 16 at Eagle’s Healing Nest in Sauk Centre. Westfield Insurance Foundation partnered with the Minnesota National Agency to donate to Eagle’s Healing Nest to help veterans, service members and families stabilize or recover from disasters as part of the Legacy of Caring

There’s a mostly-written, Father’s Day-themed column on my computer somewhere.

Saturday afternoon, I was sitting on my deck, enjoying intermittent bursts of the cool breeze before our short – and I mean short –sprinkle of rain. I was taking a few moments to rest and hopefully come up with a topic for this week’s column.

My morning had started at a local coffee shop, enjoying coffee and conversation with a friend. The rest of my morning and early afternoon followed with mowing the lawn, weeding the garden and monitoring inside chores the children were in charge of finishing.

As a few more rain drops hit the deck, I said a quick thank you for the much needed moisture and quickly put away the patio furniture cushions. As I entered the house, my children were discussing how excited they were for their dad, Shawn, to return home that afternoon. He’d been on a fishing trip for the past week, and they wanted to celebrate his return.

Our children had made welcome home signs and wanted to put up decorations. I paused for a moment and thought, “Why not?” So, I helped them put up streamers and hang their signs, and we may have also purchased silly string and party poppers. We were set.

When Shawn returned home, our children greeted him with so much love and excitement they seemed to sparkle. Seeing their joy over simply celebrating Shawn’s return

had me grinning from ear to ear. However, it also had so many questions rolling through my head.

Why don’t we celebrate more often? Why don’t we celebrate more of our everyday lives?

Our everyday lives deserve to be celebrated and honored.

All too often, I find myself only focusing on the things I deem as major successes or on all the things that aren’t perfect in life.

Why can’t I focus more on the simple act of waking up to live another day? After all, not everyone is blessed to do so.

Why am I not thankful for the dirty laundry in my laundry hamper? After all, I prayed for the laundry-producing family I have been blessed with.

Why don’t I embrace the simplicity of a healthier diet? After all, nature doesn’t overcomplicate nutrition. I do.

I will be more grateful for what I have and can do.

I am thankful for today. I am given another chance to make it a great day.

I am grateful for my family, friends and acquaintances. I hope to impact their lives as much as I know they’ve greatly impacted mine.

And, I am blessed to share my home in this beautiful town with all of you. I am excited to celebrate the everyday beauty Sauk Centre has to offer.

What sets your soul on fire?

For me personally, it depends if you’re looking for a professional and career-based reply, or is it your personal relationships, pastimes, hobbies and family? From a personal standpoint, I could talk about my family all day long. I’d sit with you all evening and enjoy a good sunset and a great glass of wine or jump in the car at a moment’s notice for a P!NK or Steve Miller concert. Don’t judge, I enjoy a wide range of music.

However, I love what I do, and it often seeps into most conversations. I can be zealous when talking about all things and anything to do with supporting local. We have all heard “Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life,” and I am lucky to work at something that sets my soul on fire.

I recently returned from my week of studies for the Institute of Organization Management. This is a professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a four-year nonprofit leadership training program in Madison, Wisconsin. We had classmates from 36 states and six countries. It is amazing how we all came from different backgrounds, nonprofits, chambers and international associations, but we have many of the same goals, challenges and the desire to learn and be the best in our fields. I am excited and incredibly energized to use the tools we’ve learned, and connections gained, to strengthen our organization and community. Some of the topics of focus ranged from developing competitive workforces, effective government affairs, foundation management and classes on legal and financial matters. Each class ignited new thoughts and ideas on how we can continue to grow and improve.

Equally exciting is the nearing Sinclair Lewis Days festivities and the multi-day lineup of events that are just around the corner. Every 5K registration that comes through makes me smile and get excited. Participation is key; you can’t cross the finish line if you never start.

Life Hacks

Ultra Sonnek by Ben Sonnek

Father’s Day where I and my three other siblings have all been parents; my little sister had her first child last week, and my brother and his wife are expecting their first in December. In my column’s usual random style, I was able to work in mentions of a garter snake I saw while jogging and a for-sale Minneapolis house that has ties to Minnesota’s pickle history.

As I was writing the column Monday, though, headlines appeared on my newsfeeds that sounded like something out of a sci-fi horror film: The Titan, a deep-sea submarine carrying tourists to see the Titanic, had gone missing.

There’s still time to register, if you would like to participate in the chip timed 5K event or 1 mile fun run/walk.

The full lineup of events can be found on our website, and I hope you will take a look at the list of businesses that have provided sponsorships in order to make it all happen. The long list of events, bands, fireworks, inflatables and parade entertainment are only possible because 49 businesses have provided financial support to help make it all happen. In addition, the Chamber Board of Directors are selling raffle tickets to help with the expenses of Sinclair Lewis Days as well as other community programming put on by the Chamber such as Holiday Kickoff events, You’ve Been Elfed, scholarships and more.

You can help us and, at the same time, you might be the lucky winner of $10,000 by simply purchasing your ticket. Only 350 tickets will be sold and the drawing will take place Sunday, July 9, at the American Legion Post 67 immediately after their Sunday evening bingo concludes. You can’t win if you don’t have a ticket.

Being part of Sinclair Lewis Days is just another reminder of our local businesses coming together for community, so I hope you take a look at that list of sponsors and thank them for their support of an event that tends to fill our community with fun, family and visitors that boost our local economy.

The lines between personal and professional are often blurred, but there are consistencies that hold true in both. Give with all your heart, continue to learn and grow, adjust and correct when necessary, and own up when you make a mistake because there’s more respect in ownership of errors than excuses.

I hope you get to spend time doing all the things that set your soul on fire, personally and professionally.

Shipwrecks were a fascination of mine as a young reader. I’ve read Robert Ballard’s book “The Discovery of the Titanic” multiple times, detailing and showing images of how the infamous wreck was finally located in the 1980s. I’ve perused accounts and pictures of sunken vessels including the Britannic and the Lusitania, ranging from the eerily intact to the broken and flattened. It seems my fascination has followed me into adulthood; after all, one of my favorite computer games is Subnautica, the gameplay being based around exploring an oceanic alien planet – which, ominously enough, is filled with human spaceship wreckage.

No matter the medium, the simple lesson I’ve gleaned from these books and games is that, while ocean exploration is creepy on its own, the addition of human-made wrecks makes it immeasurably worse. It’s a little wake-up call to modern man’s illusions of invulnerability. “Oh, you built an unsinkable ship?” the ocean says. “That’s cute. Now, excuse me while I use an ice cube to sink it under millions of tons of crushing water, so deep that sunlight gives up about halfway there, and I’ll hide it on the unchartable seabed for 70-odd years where it’ll be eaten by rust and other otherworldly bacteria until you find its zombified husk.”

That brings me to Tuesday. Apparently, the ocean thought the tourist submarine was cute, too. I don’t even want to imagine what it’s like on board the Titan; my claustrophobia is bad enough as it is. As a child, there’d be times I’d wake up in the middle of the night and have a miniature panic attack because, in a dark and quiet room, I’d lose all sense of space. In my mind, my surroundings could be either terrifyingly vast or painfully small. I’m sure those nightmares would reawaken if I were on the submarine right now, especially if it’s still fathoms below. Some have said the submarine will just float to the surface in an emergency, but based on the stories, search methods and lack of contact so far, that wasn’t happened. For now, all I can do is pray the passengers are physically and psychologically sound. I mean, at least I’m not down there with them. I’d probably make four or five jokes about social distancing and “Don’t hold your breath” before they’d smother me to save oxygen.

To be serious, though, this story had better end with them climbing out of the Titan to stretch in the sun, mutual bonds forged through survival, and their only problems going forward are fears of swimming pools and small aircraft.

If that doesn’t happen … you know, I’ve heard rumors that some entity is building a Titanic II, a replica of the original Titanic, to sail from England to the United States. If the submarine is lost, we should scrap that project and agree as a worldwide society to never release anything with a Titan-based name into the North Atlantic ever again.

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Ultimately, I’m reminded of a line from the Book of Revelation, concerning Earth’s apocalypse. Specifically, I’ve been intrigued by the verse that says both Hades and the sea give up their dead; why not just Hades, right? Dead is dead no matter where you are, isn’t it? Well, even the Bible recognizes there’s something different and horrifying about being lost at sea. There’s a reason why water itself was a symbol of death in ancient times, hence its use in the rebirth symbolism of baptism. There’s a reason why we mark people’s remains with gravestones, and when some criminal doesn’t want a body to be found, the most obvious hiding place is a body of water. There’s a reason why people tend to dream about going to the stars rather than plunging into the deep; we’d rather be far away and visible rather than right next door and impossible to find.

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ASSUMED NAME: Synergy Powerline Construction.

PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS IS: 1435 SINCLAIR LEWIS AVE, SAUK CENTRE, MN 56378 USA.

NAMEHOLDER(S): Midwest Powerlines Construction, LLC, 1435 SINCLAIR LEWIS AVE, SAUK CENTRE, MN 56378 USA.

By typing my name, I, the undersigned, certify that I am signing this document as the person whose signature is required, or as agent of the person(s) whose signature would be required who has authorized me to sign this document on his/her behalf, or in both capacities. I further certify that I have completed all required fields, and that the information in this document is true and correct and in compliance with the applicable chapter of Minnesota Statutes. I understand that by signing this document I am subject to the penalties of perjury as set forth in Section 609.48 as if I had signed this document under oath.

/s/ Daryl M. Gemar 06/12/2023 H-24-2B

CITY OF SAUK CENTRE

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

ON PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT AND PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENTS OF LAKEVIEW DRIVE AND SAUK LANE

2023 STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, will meet in the Council Chambers at Sauk Centre City Hall, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, at 6:30 P.M. or soon thereafter on July 5, 2023 to consider the construction of the following improvements:

Full Depth Reclamation

The total estimated cost of said improvement is $153,890.00. The area proposed to be assessed for such improvements are abutting properties on Lakeview Drive and Sauk Lane. The Council proposes to proceed under the authority granted by Chapter 429 M.S.A.

Such persons as desire to be heard with reference to the proposed improvements will be heard at this meeting. Written or oral objections will be considered. A reasonable estimate of the impact of the assessments will be available at the meeting. By Order of the City Council s/Vicki Willer, City Administrator

PUBLISH: June 15 & 22, 2023

H-24-2B

NOTICE TO ASHLEY

Notice is hereby given that the July 2023 monthly meeting of the Ashley Township Board of Supervisors has been changed from Tuesday, July 4th to Tuesday, February 11th at 8:30 p.m. at the Sauk Centre Senior Center, 321 4th Street North, Sauk Centre, MN. Jessica Minette Township Clerk

H-25-1B

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that default has occurred in the conditions of the following described mortgage: DATE OF MORTGAGE: December 14, 2018

ORIGINAL PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF MORTGAGE:

$127,645.00

MORTGAGOR(S): Christina Irving, a married woman MORTGAGEE: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as mortgagee, as nominee for American Mortgage & Equity Consultants, Inc., its successors and assigns

Originator: American Mortgage & Equity Consultants, Inc. Residential Mortgage Servicer: PennyMac Loan Services, LLC COUNTY IN WHICH PROPERTY IS LOCATED: Stearns Property Address: 721 Midland Ave, Albany, MN 56307 Tax Parcel ID Number: 40.25113.0000

LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY: The Westerly 81 feet of Lots 4 and 5, Block 1, Bock`s Addition to the City of Albany, Stearns County, Minnesota AMOUNT DUE AND CLAIMED TO BE DUE AS OF DATE OF NOTICE: $125,999.05

Sheriff`s office, Law Enforcement Center, 807 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud, Minnesota to pay the debt secured by said mortgage and taxes, if any, on said premises and the costs and disbursements, including attorney fees allowed by law, subject to redemption within six (6) months from the date of said sale by the mortgagor(s), their personal representatives or assigns.

cation Number: 1008671-0000112105-0 Lender/Broker/Mortgage

THAT all pre-foreclosure requirements have been complied with; that no action or proceeding has been instituted at law or otherwise to recover the debt secured by said mortgage, or any part thereof; that this is registered property; PURSUANT to the power of sale contained in said mortgage, the above-described property will be sold by the Sheriff of said county as follows: DATE AND TIME OF SALE: July 05, 2023, at 10:00 AM PLACE OF SALE: County

If the Mortgage is not reinstated under Minn. Stat. §580.30 or the property is not redeemed under Minn. Stat. §580.23, the Mortgagor must vacate the property on or before 11:59 p.m. on January 5, 2024, or the next business day if January 5, 2024, falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Mortgagor(s) released from financial obligation: NONE THIS COMMUNICATION IS FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. THE RIGHT TO VERIFICATION OF THE DEBT AND IDENTITY OF THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR

NOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE

WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY LAW IS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS ACTION. THE TIME ALLOWED BY LAW FOR REDEMPTION BY THE MORTGAGOR, THE MORTGAGOR’S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OR ASSIGNS, MAY BE REDUCED TO FIVE WEEKS IF A JUDICIAL ORDER IS ENTERED UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES, SECTION 582.032, DETERMINING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT THE MORTGAGED PREMISES ARE IMPROVED WITH A RESIDENTIAL DWELLING OF LESS THAN FIVE UNITS, ARE NOT PROPERTY USED IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AND ARE ABANDONED.

DATED: May 10, 2023

MORTGAGEE: PennyMac Loan Services, LLC Wilford, Geske & Cook, P.A. Attorneys for Mortgagee 7616 Currell Boulevard, Suite 200 Woodbury, MN 55125 (651) 209-3300 File Number: 052818-F1 H20-6B

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that default has occurred in the conditions of the following described mortgage: DATE OF MORTGAGE: April 28, 2005

$184,680.00 MORTGAGOR(S): Sara A. Balfanz and Chad S. Balfanz, Wife and Husband MORTGAGEE: Mortgage

Registration Systems, Inc., as mortgagee, as nominee for Marketplace Home Mortgage, LLC, its successors

Dated: July 13, 2022

Recorded: July 14, 2022, Stearns County Recorder Document Number: A1636648 And assigned to: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, as trustee for Freddie Mac Seasoned Credit Risk Transfer Trust, Series 2021-3

Dated: January 12, 2023

Recorded: January 23, 2023, Stearns County Recorder Document Number: A1647786 Transaction Agent: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. Transaction Agent Mortgage Identification Number: 100249110000038691 Lender/Broker/Mortgage

Originator: Marketplace Home Mortgage, LLC

Residential Mortgage Servicer: Nationstar Mortgage LLC

COUNTY IN WHICH

PROPERTY IS LOCATED: Stearns Property Address: 1761 Forest Glen Dr, Saint Augusta, MN 56301

Tax Parcel ID Number: 81.43168.0597 LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY: Lot Two (2), Block Six (6), Blackberry Farms, according to the plat and survey thereof on file and of record in the office of the County Recorder in and for Stearns County, Minnesota AMOUNT DUE AND CLAIMED TO BE DUE AS OF DATE OF NOTICE: $242,467.69

complied with; that no action or proceeding has been instituted at law or otherwise to recover the debt secured by said mortgage, or any part thereof; that this is registered property; PURSUANT to the power of sale contained in said mortgage, the above-described property will be sold by the Sheriff of said county as follows:

DATE AND TIME OF SALE:

July 25, 2023, at 10:00 AM

PLACE OF SALE: County

Sheriff`s office, Law Enforcement Center, 807 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud, Minnesota to pay the debt secured by said mortgage and taxes, if any, on said premises and the costs and disbursements, including attorney fees allowed by law, subject to redemption within six (6) months from the date of said sale by the mortgagor(s), their personal representatives or assigns.

And assigned to: Nationstar Mortgage LLC

THAT all pre-foreclosure requirements have been

If the Mortgage is not reinstated under Minn. Stat. §580.30 or the property is not redeemed under Minn. Stat. §580.23, the Mortgagor must vacate the property on or before 11:59 p.m. on January 25, 2024, or the next business day if January 25, 2024, falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Mortgagor(s) released from financial obligation: NONE THIS COMMUNICATION IS FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT

NOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE

Document Number: A1595476

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that default has occurred in the conditions of the following described mortgage:

DATE OF MORTGAGE: July

13, 2020

ORIGINAL PRINCIPAL

AMOUNT OF MORTGAGE:

$191,369.00

MORTGAGOR(S): Drake Mudrow, a single man

MORTGAGEE: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as mortgagee, as nominee for Broker Solutions, Inc. dba New American Funding, its successors and assigns

DATE AND PLACE OF RECORDING:

Recorded: July 28, 2020, Stearns County Recorder

Document Number: A1575562

LOAN MODIFICATION:

Dated: February 20, 2021

Recorded: March 1, 2021

Early Publication Deadlines

ASSIGNMENTS OF MORTGAGE: And assigned to: U.S. Bank National Association

Dated: November 23, 2020

Recorded: November 25, 2020, Stearns County Recorder Document Number: A1586886

Transaction Agent: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.

Transaction Agent Mortgage Identification Number: 1003763-0300354802-3 Lender/Broker/Mortgage Originator: Broker Solutions, Inc. dba New American Funding Residential Mortgage Servicer: U.S. Bank National Association COUNTY IN WHICH PROPERTY IS LOCATED: Stearns Property Address: 413 5th Ave S, Sartell, MN 56377 Tax Parcel ID Number: 92.57074.0354

LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY: Lot 2, Block 4, Sartell Heights South Plat Two, Stearns County, Minnesota AMOUNT DUE AND CLAIMED TO BE DUE AS OF DATE OF NOTICE:

requirements have been complied with; that no action or proceeding has been instituted at law or otherwise to recover the debt secured by said mortgage, or any part thereof; that this is registered property;

PURSUANT to the power of sale contained in said mortgage, the above-described property will be sold by the Sheriff of said county as follows:

DATE AND TIME OF SALE:

PURPOSE. THE RIGHT TO VERIFICATION OF THE DEBT AND IDENTITY OF THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY LAW IS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS ACTION. THE TIME ALLOWED BY LAW FOR REDEMPTION BY THE MORTGAGOR, THE MORTGAGOR’S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OR ASSIGNS, MAY BE REDUCED TO FIVE WEEKS IF A JUDICIAL ORDER IS ENTERED UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES, SECTION 582.032, DETERMINING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT THE MORTGAGED PREMISES ARE IMPROVED WITH A RESIDENTIAL DWELLING OF LESS THAN FIVE UNITS, ARE NOT PROPERTY USED IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AND ARE ABANDONED.

DATED: June 5, 2023

MORTGAGEE: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, as trustee for Freddie Mac Seasoned Credit Risk Transfer Trust, Series 2021-3 Wilford, Geske & Cook, P.A. Attorneys for Mortgagee 7616 Currell Boulevard, Suite 200 Woodbury, MN 55125 (651) 209-3300 File Number: 052341-F1 H23-6B

Due to Independence Day, July 4th holiday, early deadlines for our publications are as follows: Star24-2F

$200,793.89 THAT all pre-foreclosure

noon

August 01, 2023, at 10:00 AM PLACE OF SALE: County Sheriff`s office, Law Enforcement Center, 807 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud, Minnesota to pay the debt secured by said mortgage and taxes, if any, on said premises and the costs and disbursements, including attorney fees allowed by law, subject to redemption within six (6) months from the date of said sale by the mortgagor(s), their personal representatives or assigns. If the Mortgage is not reinstated under Minn. Stat. §580.30 or the property is not redeemed under Minn. Stat. §580.23, the Mortgagor must vacate the property on or before 11:59 p.m. on February 1, 2024, or the next business day if February

1, 2024, falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Mortgagor(s) released from financial obligation: NONE THIS COMMUNICATION IS FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. THE RIGHT TO VERIFICATION OF THE DEBT AND IDENTITY OF THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY LAW IS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS ACTION.

THE TIME ALLOWED BY LAW FOR REDEMPTION BY THE MORTGAGOR, THE MORTGAGOR’S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OR ASSIGNS, MAY BE REDUCED TO FIVE WEEKS IF A JUDICIAL ORDER IS ENTERED UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES, SECTION 582.032, DETERMINING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT THE MORTGAGED PREMISES ARE IMPROVED WITH A RESIDENTIAL DWELLING OF LESS THAN FIVE UNITS, ARE NOT PROPERTY USED IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AND ARE ABANDONED.

DATED: June 12, 2023

MORTGAGEE: U.S. Bank National Association Wilford, Geske & Cook, P.A. Attorneys for Mortgagee 7616 Currell Boulevard, Suite 200 Woodbury, MN 55125 (651) 209-3300 File Number: 051936-F5 H-24-6B

A family

Welles celebrate 60 years in auto business

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER

The fourth generation of Welles are beginning to take the helm of Dan Welle Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.

The business has been in Sauk Centre for 60 years and has seen a lot of changes, but some things remain the same.

The 1957 Dodge Power Wagon, which was once used as the wrecker truck for Dan Welle’s Motors sits just inside the showroom. It was rebuilt many years ago with the help of Northside Body Shop Inc. and serves as a reminder to the fourth generation that they must preserve the past as they adapt to the changing landscape of the car buyer.

The family has a long history in the business. Originally, Leo Welle, Dan Welle’s father, had a Chrysler Franchise in Albany in the 1930s. Dan and his wife Arlene (Adrian) purchased the Chrysler Dealership in Sauk Centre in 1963 as they wanted to run their own dealership. Bruce started working full time at Dan Welle Motors in 1976 as the Parts Manager. Bruce and his wife Mickey (Polipnick) eventually purchased the dealership from his parents. Shortly after, Dan opened a Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and Oldmobile franchise know as Southtown, Inc. Years later, when Dan was ready to retire, Bruce merged

Southtown, Inc. and Dan Welle Motors to create the business that exists today.

In 2002, Bruce’s daughter, Chris Hokanson joined the business full time and serves as part owner and controller along with Bruce’s son, BJ Welle, part owner and manager.

“At all times, most likely somebody from our family is here that makes you feel welcome,” BJ said.

115 Years

For Chris the involvement in the community has always been important and continues to be.

“If we take care of our community, the local community takes care of us,” she said.” You just need to be with other people in the community and volunteer your time.”

Through the years they’ve supported local sports teams, schools and organizations.

114 Years

Members of the Welle family have also served in community groups including the Chamber of Commerce, the Sauk Centre Fire Department, Dollars for Scholars, the local Lions Club and helped organize numerous activities for kids.

Bruce said when the location was downtown Sauk Centre everyone came to town to go to the hardware store, grocery store, and clothing shops.

The dealership supported the agriculture industry and though they still support it, many of their agricultural customers have consolidated or closed. They still do a mighty business in trucks but now mostly for recreation and pleasure and those buyers often have specif-

BJ Welle (from left), and his sister, Chris Hokanson, stand with their grandfather and father Dan and Bruce Welle near Sauk Centre. The Welle family has a

business.

105 Years

104 Years

103 Years

Dan Welle from page 9

ics in mind to accommodate their tow capacity needs.

Consumers are beginning to revert back to how car buying used to be. Though there are plenty of shoppers who want to look at a car and take it home the same day, BJ said a lot of buyers are beginning to special order their vehicles to ensure they get all the options they want.

Additionally, they’re having a lot of conversations with customers who are considering pre-owned and new vehicles and want to seek out specific models and finish packages. BJ said that within a week or less they can usually find a dealer trade to satisfy the customer. They trade with dealerships as far as 500 miles away so customers don’t have to shop around.

“We go above and beyond for our customer base,” BJ said.

For CEO Bruce Welle, that’s been a cornerstone of the business for years.

“If we don’t have it, we will make an effort to get it whether it’s used or new,” Bruce said.

They’re working to keep up on technology in other ways as well. BJ works hard to stay up on consumer trends.

Chris said that also goes for their technician staff.

“Our mechanics have constant training on how to upgrade computer software and make sure all the systems in your car are talking the way they should be,” she said.

That means their mechanics are, in addition to using wrenches, using USB drives to install the latest version or update to a system.

The dealership is expanding its service department and upgrading the store with more charging stations as more hy-

brid and electric vehicles are sold. The Welles are also advocating with the city of Sauk Centre to have electric charging stations installed along Interstate 94.

“A lot of people wouldn’t think that’s a responsibility of a car dealership but it’s something we’ve been asking about and starting the conversation on,” he said.

Long term, Chris said the family’s goal is to remain in Sauk Centre as a family-owned business.

“We’re just bringing the business into the next century and focusing on that,” Chris said. “We are lucky and we have our Dad here and he knows a thing or two.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

(Above) The old Dan Welle Motors building stands at its former location in downtown Sauk Centre. The Dan Welle company has been around since 1963.

PHOTO BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE

(Right) A new truck stands on display outside the Dan Welle Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership June 10 in Sauk Centre. In the last 60 years the dealership has employed four generations of the Welle family.

S i x d e c a d e s of coverage

Polipnicks serve central Minnesota for three generations

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER

The Polipnick Insurance Agency is heading into its 60th year in business as the third generation joins the team.

Phil Polipnick, the current owner, has been with the business for three decades and runs it in partnership with his wife Jacque. He took over the agency after his father Dick Polipnick died; the two worked together there for 20 years.

Now, Phil is welcoming his own son to the team. Philip Jr. joined the agency three years ago.

“It’s always been a family business and I like that,” Phil said.

The company is an independent agency, meaning they can quote customer insurance policies from 20 to 30 different companies.

“That’s what I like about being independent, there’s always a good rate and a good coverage out there,” Phil said.

The agency offers automobile, home, life, health, disability and long-term care insurance as well as annuities, group health and business insurance.

Phil specializes in the retirement space.

“It’s what happens when people are closer to retirement and want to protect their retire-

ment money,” he said. “We put it in safer financial products that get a good return and guarantees them income.” He said that arm of his busi-

ness has gained momentum and he and his team are enjoying the work as they receive referrals. The first appointment when it comes to retirement planning is more of a creative one, he said.

“I think it’s important as people are planning their future,” he said. “It’s endless possibilities.”

Phil said he works to run the numbers for his clients so they know exactly what their financial picture looks like.

“It doesn’t take age to retire, it takes money,” he said.

Though he said his farmer clients are the most hesitant to look at the dollars they’d receive if they sold the farm, which he said they seldom do, it’s important for people to know exactly what might be possible.

As Phil and his team take on new clients, they use a thorough checklist to be sure they’re capturing all of the assets and important, strategic plans for each customer. They’re currently growing as an agency and looking for an

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Phil Polipnick Sr. (from left), Barb Hartmann, Jolene Poepping, Sally Kirckof and Philip Polipnick Jr. make up the staff at Polipnick Insurance Agency. The agency offers automobile, home, life, health, disability and long-term care insurance as well as annuities, group health and business insurance.

Polipnick Insurance from page

additional customer service representative to join the company. “I think that we’re thorough and we’re compassionate and we listen well,” he said.

He doesn’t leave an appointment without giving a client his personal cell phone number.

“I’m willing to work whatever hours it takes,” he said.

As he meets with clients, he said he takes extra time to uncover the little details of their lives, their assets, their recreational toys, making sure he didn’t miss an opportunity to protect them.

“I take that extra hour to make pretty much no more money, but to cover all these little details,” he said. “It’s a big deal when something happens. It’s what I’d want someone to do for me.”

He recently had a client who had a heat pump go out on her farm and he had reviewed her policy just weeks before, adding equipment breakdown coverage and saving her $6,000 in repairs.

“It’s not a standard appoint-

12

ment; it really takes time,” he said.

Whether a client takes him up on purchasing extra insurance is up to them but he said it is his job to offer multiple ways they can protect themselves, their families and their investments. He has a client who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

“He’s got good disability and life insurance and that’s really going to make a difference in that family’s life,” Phil said.

Though he said he and his staff, which has a combined experience of more than 50 years serving clients in the insurance industry, have a lot of fun with the movie theater ads they create, and they enjoy getting to know their clients, when it comes to people’s insurance, they take their jobs seriously.

“When it gets down to business…people don’t like joking around with their money and the things that they love, that’s very serious,” he said. “It’s not a joking matter protecting the things they love, especially people.”

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(Top) Barb Hartmann (left) and Jolene Poepping talk about a client’s auto insurance policy. The women are part of the team at Polipnick Insurance Agency in Sauk Centre.

(Right) Phil Polipnick explains insurance options at Polipnick Insurance in Sauk Centre. Polipnick Insurance has been in business for 60 years.

BY HERMAN LENSING

Elrosa takes first at home tournament

BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER

A trio of Elrosa Saints pitchers threw complete games as the team took first place in the Elite Eight Tournament June 16-18 in Elrosa.

The eight-team amateur baseball tournament is hosted annually by the Saints. Each team plays three seven-inning games. The Saints went undefeated in the three games, winning two in shutout fashion. Their pitchers allowed 14 hits, struck out 27 and walked a single batter.

The first shutout was a 3-0 win over Benson June 16. Will VanBeck was on the mound, scattering seven hits, all singles. Twice Benson had runners reach third but were stranded there.

Blaine Fischer was the offensive spark for Elrosa. He singled, stole second and scored on Gavin Kampsen’s RBI single in the first inning.

Kampsen and Peyton Winter singled in the third but did not score. In the fourth, Matt Schmitz and Fischer singled and scored on Jackson Peter’s double.

Payton VanBeck went to the mound June 17 in a 2-0 victory over Fergus Falls. He allowed one walk and two singles. The other Hurricane hitters never figured him out, as he struck out 17 batters.

The Saints did not do much better against Fergus Falls’ Alex Hexum, who allowed three hits. Singling for Elrosa was Andrew Weller, Ethan Vogt and Gavin Kampsen.

Elrosa scored in the first without a hit. Fischer drew a walk and moved to second when Ashton Dingmann was hit by a pitch. An infield error allowed Fischer to score.

Weller and Vogt’s singles put runners at the corners before Will VanBeck’s groundout produced another run in the fourth inning.

In the championship June 18, Vogt pitched Elrosa to a 4-2 win over New London-Spicer. He gave up five hits and struck out five with no walks. NL-S stopped Elrosa’s string of scoreless innings at 16 with two runs in the third but only had one other batter reach base in the final four innings.

Elrosa took a 3-0 first-inning lead on singles by Fischer, Peter and Kampsen. Kampsen drove in two runs, then scored on Dingmann’s double. Fischer scored his fifth run of the tournament in the fifth inning. He walked, was moved to second by Peter’s second single and scored on an error.

Carlos completes regular-season sweep of Titans

Mental mistakes sink Sauk Centre

BY EVAN MICHEALSON | STAFF WRITER

Missing a few key playmakers, the Sauk Centre Titans fell to the Carlos Cougars in Resorters League once more, dropping a road contest by a score of 9-5 June 16 in Carlos.

“We wasted the game away with errors and mental mistakes,” said Andrew Rousslange, manager.

One of Sauk Centre’s four errors came on Carlos’ first atbat, beginning a first inning that produced the Cougars’ first run of the game.

The Titans tied the game in the third. Andrew Primus hit a one-out single, advanced to second base on a wild pitch and came across on an RBI base hit off the bat of leadoff hitter Derek Holm. It was one of several successful offensive sequences for Sauk Centre against Carlos starter J.D. Hennen, who struck out 20 Titans in eight shutout innings May 27.

“We were a little bit more relaxed at the plate,” Rousslange said. “We were able to pick stuff up and put the ball in play more.”

Hennen still managed off the scoreboard for much of the game as Carlos stole momentum away with one big inning. The Cougars batted around in the sixth, using three hits, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and another Titan error to put a five-spot up and take a 6-1 lead.

“It’s (about) cleaning up the errors and mentally preparing for the big game,” Rousslange said.

Sauk Centre did muster a credible comeback effort, with Jared Gesell connecting on a two-run moonshot in the seventh inning of his second appearance of the amateur baseball season.

“It was a loud crack and caught everyone off guard,” Rousslange said. “I thought he was going to send it over the trees. It’s huge getting him back.”

Carlos put the game away with three more runs in their half of the seventh. Overall, the Cougars bombarded the Sauk Centre pitching trio of Shane Trattles, Eli Fletcher and Shawn Hayungs for 14 hits, taking 44 plate appearances and making the most of them.

“We just need to be prepared when we see them again,” Rousslange said. “We have enough fuel in the fire after these two games.”

Sauk Centre will continue its summer season with a nonleague showdown versus the Lake Henry Lakers at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 24, at Sauk Centre High School in Sauk Centre.

Legion offense lethargic in loss to Glenwood-Lowry

Sauk Centre falls to Benson/Hancock

BY EVAN MICHEALSON STAFF WRITER

With eyes on finding their first win of the summer campaign, Sauk Centre Post 67 Legion baseball faced off against regional rival Glenwood-Lowry June 19.

Sadly, Post 67 struggled to string hits together in a 10-0 loss at Sauk Centre High School in Sauk Centre.

“Our mindset is to go into every game looking to improve and have fun,” said Jake Zollman, manager. “We’re a young team facing some pretty good teams with a lot more experience. Every time we step on the field, we’re going to play to the best of our ability and look to get better.”

The game was competitive throughout its entirety, with Glenwood-Lowry separating late with a seven-run fifth in-

ning that included a home run.

Self-inflicted wounds have been a thorn in the side of Sauk Centre in the first two weeks of the season.

“Our defensive play has been our biggest enemy the past two games,” Zollman said. “We’ve had a lot of errors that have cost us a lot of runs.”

While Post 67 left a lot to be desired from a fielding standpoint, they also failed to find difference-making runs at the plate against Glenwood-Lowry. Sauk Centre struck out nine times in five innings, two coming to end potential scoring threats.

“As a lineup, we’ve struggled to hit off-speed,” Zollman said. “We have a lot of young guys on the team that aren’t used to varsity pitching just yet, but we’ve been seeing improvement each game.”

Growth has been shown by several Sauk Centre hitters despite the overall lack of scoring. Evan Zales, the team’s leadoff hitter, recorded a pair of hits, including a double, giving him five base knocks over the course of the previous week.

“Zales is really starting to get a good feeling for his swing and being able to drive the ball,” Zollman said. “He works himself into hitter’s counts and forces the pitcher to throw him something he can hit.”

Keegan Middendorf also added two hits.

Zac Bick went the first four innings for Sauk Centre on the mound, while Cole Roering closed the contest out.

Benson/Hancock 9, Sauk Centre 5

Despite a decent offensive showing, Sauk Centre could not propel themselves to a victory, falling at the hands of Benson/Hancock by a score 9-5 June 15 in Benson.

Zales reached base safely four times, drilling three singles to lead Sauk Centre’s attack. Him and second hitter Logan Frank combined for four RBIs.

Hunter Dickinson, Neal Stadsvold and Hunter Broich each pitched at least an inning for Post 67, who dropped to 0-3 with the defeat.

Summer softball in full swing

BY EVAN MICHEALSON STAFF WRITER

The Sauk Centre Streeters softball program has reached their developmental stage, beginning their summer season with a handful of exciting games.

Most recently, Sauk Centre took down Swanville with a doubleheader sweep June 15, winning 10-4 in game one before finding a 6-1 victory in the second contest.

The first game was a testament to the team’s growing depth, as Lanna Walter, Nadia Stadsvold, Sienna Klaphake, Jenna

Riley and Haddie Walter all compiled two hits in an 11-hit attack.

“That was a promising offensive start,” said TJ Schmiesing, coach. “The first week, we weren’t very aggressive at the plate. Last week, we really improved on that.”

Riley was also effective on the mound, improving her pitching record to 2-0 with five stellar frames, allowing two earned runs and striking out six Swanville hitters.

More throwing excellence was on display for Sauk Centre in the second bout, as Megan Broich relinquished only two

hits in limiting Swanville to a single run through a full five innings.

“Everything is fitting together well,” Schmiesing said. “We’ll still have our bumps in the road, but it’s progressing fast.”

Lanna Walter went 3-for-3 at the plate for Sauk Centre, who also received base hits from Stadsvold and Klaphake. Sauk Centre will continue their summer stretch of games against Melrose Thursday, June 29.

Connecting on the court

When Lori Pelkey-Wooley checked out the rosters for the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Showcase at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka ahead of the event, she came across an amazing discovery.

Her son, Brady, a 6-foot, 8-inch forward at Orono High School, was to play alongside Sauk Centre High School guard Jay Neubert, a distinguished record-setting guard from Sauk Centre High School. Oh, and the son of Ann Kane-Hess, one of Pelkey-Wooley’s childhood friends who graduated alongside her as a member of Sauk Centre’s Class of 1992.

“For the number of kids invited to that event, the chances of my son and her son being on the exact same team was crazy,” Lori Wooley said. “That was fun.”

Lori Wooley and Hess, who played basketball together in youth programs, had kept in touch since graduating. As parents of historic, high-achieving student-athletes, they understand the stressful but exciting process of traversing the college recruiting and AAU sphere.

“Being able to share our experience of traveling basketball and navigating the college recruiting process and sharing those thoughts and ideas was nice,” Hess said.

The MBCA Showcase features some of the finest basketball prospects vying to play at the next level. Over 60 collegiate coaches from Division I, Division II and Division III alike attended the event to get a glean on the competition’s talent.

place June 16-18.

Participating in the largescale series of competitions was Cierra Kortan and the North Tartan 16U Elite team, who won three out of four games, all at Jefferson High School in Bloomington, to snag fifth place in the Leech Lake division.

BY EVAN MICHEALSON Michealson’s Minutes

“Although Ann and I both played basketball together, this is obviously a completely different level,” Lori Wooley said. “I’m learning along the way. This is all new to us.”

Brady Wooley, who will be a junior next fall, and Neubert, a soon-to-be senior, played a two-day schedule June 16-17 consisting of four games and additional skills training. It was an exciting experience that ended with both mother-son combinations sharing extended interactions and taking a picture together.

“It was fun to hang out with her and get a picture of her and I with our boys together,” Wooley said. “It was fun to watch our boys connect on court as well.”

Other sports tidbits include:

• Another gigantic AAU event came and went, as the 2023 AAU Summer Jam took

Kortan dropped 10 points in the team’s tournament-opening 48-35 win over Northwest Elite-Schradle. She led North Tartan with 13 points in a 60-55 loss to Team Iowa 16U Blue Star, added 13 more in a 50-38 victory over MN Fury 2025 Premier and accumulated a team-high 19 points in a 63-53 triumph over All Iowa Attack 10th Nike Red in the fifth-place game.

• Kortan’s team nearly went up against Tory Jennissen and the West Central United 16U squad, who also logged court time as part of the Leech Lake division.

After suffering an unfortunate 61-41 loss to begin tournament play, WCU bounced back in a major way, taking down All Iowa Attack 10th Nike Black by 23 points, battling past Minnesota Stats 2025 Post 49-40 and earning ninth place with a 21-point victory over the Wisconsin Playmakers.

Jennissen picked up eight points in the finale in helping her team to its third consecutive win.

Several young Streeters and their Minnesota Comets

squads participated in the Prep Hoops Next Northstar Hoops Report State Tournament June 2-4. Jack Yarke and Blake Dingmann and Comets Little won its final of four games; Alex Drevlow and Eli Yarke and Comets Dahl won a pair of games; Isaac Hokanson and Comets Boyer won two games in the 14U consolation bracket; Jay McLellan and Comets Saue snagged wins in its final two games; Jacob

Drevlow and Matthew Zenzen and Comets Elite Meyer lost to MSP Elite 2026 in an action-packed bout June 2 and Damian Ahrens and Chad Herickhoff and Comets Elite Allen ripped off three victories against top competition. Carter Borgmann and Comets Trewick took part in the Gopher State Spring Basketball Series at Coon Rapids High School June 3-4.

PHOTO

Elrosa’s Will VanBeck fires a pitch toward home plate during a game against Benson in the Elite Eight Tournament June 16 in Elrosa. VanBeck was one of three Saints pitchers who earned wins in the tournament.

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Ann Kane-Hess (from left), Jay Neubert, Brady Wooley and Lori Pelkey-Wooley gather on the court following the conclusion of the MBCA Showcase June 17 at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka. Kane-Hess and Pelkey-Wooley are 1992 Sauk Centre High School graduates, with their sons playing for the same team at the showcase.

Track & Field

Nathan Lahr takes part in the 4x400 relay at the Class A Minnesota State High School League State Track and Field Championships

June 8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael. Lahr closed out his high school career alongside fellow Streeter seniors Brandon Kampsen, Reese Blondin, Derick Sorenson and Corey McCoy at the state meet.

Corey McCoy shows off his record-setting discus at the Class A Minnesota State High School League State Track and Field Championships June 9 at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael. McCoy set a new personal record with a 133-foot, 10inch toss.

Zander Olmschenk runs the final leg of the 4x400 relay at the Class A Minnesota State High School League State Track and Field Championships June 8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael. Olmschenk filled in for Brandon Kampsen nicely, helping the team to a 3:36.02 finish.

Speech

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PHOTOSUBMIT

Sydney Zollman (from left), Annie Sorenson, Christopher Polipnick, Luke Middendorf and Shalon Wilber celebrate after Zollman, Polipnick and Middendorf placed in the state competition April 29 at Eastview High School in Apple Valley. The competing trio got seventh in their respective categories – Zollman in dramatic interpretation and Middendorf and Polipnick in duo interpretation.

Reese Blondin dashes down the track during the 4x400 relay at the Class A Minnesota State High School League State Track and Field Championships June 8 at St. MichaelAlbertville High School in St. Michael. Blondin and the relay took 16th with a time of 3:36.02.

Derick Sorenson keeps an eye on the scoreboard while carrying the baton in the 4x400 relay at the Class A Minnesota State High School League State Track and Field Championships June 8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael. Sorenson and relay teammates Reese Blondin, Nathan Lahr and Zander Olmschenk earned 16th.

Brandon Kampsen crosses the finish line with a flourish at the Class A Minnesota State High School League State Track and Field Championships June 9 at St. MichaelAlbertville High School in St. Michael. Kampsen had just won the 1,600-meter run, the first of two event wins for the Sauk Centre senior at state.

(Right) Brandon Kampsen dons a state championship medal at the Class A Minnesota State High School League State Track and Field Championships June 9 at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael. Kampsen qualified for two individual events and won them both, earning state titles in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs.

TRACK & FIELD PHOTOS BY EVAN MICHEALSON