The Star Post 08-09-2023

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Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Avon Post Office rededication to honor Plantenberg

Community invited to Aug. 17 event

BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER

An Avon man known for his quiet kindness, gentle strength and service to his country and community will be saluted Thursday, Aug. 17.

The Avon Post Office will be rededicated to honor Kort Plantenberg, at 9:15 a.m., at 317 Blattner Dr., in Avon.

Outstanding

400 Block update

Community members are invited to the event, which recognizes Plantenberg, a 28-year-old military man who, along with James A. Rogers, 28, of Winsted; and Charles P. Nord, 30, of Perham, died in a helicopter accident near Kimball Dec. 5, 2019.

Congressman Tom Emmer authored a federal bill to rename the Avon Post Office to honor Plantenberg’s memory in Washington, D.C., with seven other representatives joining him as co-authors.

“Kort embodied the very best of Minnesota,” Emmer said. “I am proud to honor his legacy by creating a living memorial to him in the community he called home.”

Kerfelds recognized for community service

BY CAROL MOORMAN | STAFF WRITER

As the sun was starting to rise Monday, Commercial Contractors Company workers from Melrose were inside the Lisa’s On Main building working on securing the west wall

Rogers and Nord will have post offices named in their honor, as provided for in a legislative bill authored by Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach.

PHOTO

Minnesota National Guard Warrant Officer Plantenberg, who grew up and lived in Avon, the son of Steve and Laura Plantenberg, died with his two friends when their helicopter, a UH-60 Black Hawk, malfunctioned and went down at the edge of a farm field right on the outskirts of Marty, while conducting a maintenance test flight of the helicopter.

Plantenberg page 3

Art and Rosie Kerfeld, of rural St. Rosa, have attended their share of Princess Kay of the Milky Way pageants at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, watching Princess Kay being crowned on the evening

BY CAROL MOORMAN

Former

before the state fair opens. July 27 the Kerfelds received their own crowns and an honor that went along with it.

Stearns County Dairy Princesses Sophia Schiffler and Lanna Walter placed crowns on the Kerfelds’ heads minutes before Art and Rosie

Albany city administrator

Council approves interim agreement with Schneider

BY TIM HENNAGIR | STAFF WRITER

Former Albany City Administrator Tom Schneider is returning to Albany City Hall on a contract basis.

Schneider will perform temporary duties in

returns as

Albany as interim city administrator. He is now manager of Pine Needle, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company whose principal address is listed as 105 Whispering Oaks Lane, Albany. There was no council discussion of Schneider’s interim management proposal when it was presented during an Aug. 2 Albany City Council meeting as an agenda item.

Schneider attended the Aug. 2 meeting and

Senior Citizen. Rosie couldn’t hold back laughter as they were crowned. Program emcee Vern Frericks started the 20-minute program explaining 2021 was the last time the Minnesota State Fair named a state outstanding senior citizen, Marianne Walker from Sauk Centre.

Kerfelds page 3

independent

contractor

sat in the audience when the agreement was presented. Councilor Alan Amdahl moved to approve the independent contractor agreement with Schneider. Amdahl’s motion was seconded by councilor John Harlander and unanimously approved by the council.

Administrator page 3

Nights to unite

3

tomorrow.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN Albany police officers Derrick Bjork (from left) and Bryce Slone visit with Randy Pelzer, of Albany, during the Aug. 1 National Night Out at North Park in Albany, which showcased park improvements. Slone, from Prior Lake, has been on the Albany department one month, and Bjork, of Belgrade, has been an Albany officer since 2015, and Police Chief Ozzie Carbajal was Bjork’s first “boss” when they both worked in Belgrade; he is Bjork’s “second boss” here in Albany, Bjork said.

Melrose researching policing options pg 3 Hiltner happy to carry on legacy pg 7

were each named Stearns County Outstanding

PHOTOS BY CAROL MOORMAN

(Left) Rosie (front, from left) and Art Kerfeld smile as they each are crowned a Stearns County Outstanding Senior Citizen by Stearns County Dairy Princesses Sophia Schiffler (back, from left) and Lanna Walter during the senior recognition program July 27 at the fair in Sauk Centre. The Kerfelds have attended many Princess Kay of the Milky Way pageants where they watched young ladies being crowned. (Right) Rosie and Art Kerfeld display framed certificates July 27 after they were each named Stearns County Outstanding Senior Citizen during the fair in Sauk Centre. The Kerfelds were applauded for community service.

PHOTO BY MIKE KOSIK Avon firefighters Gary Schmitz (from left), Russ Panek and Eric Notch display one of the department’s vehicles during the Aug. 1 National Night Out at the Lake Wobegon Trailhead Park in Avon. The theme for the night was Friends, Family, Food and Fun.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN Bennet Theiler wears Melrose firefighter gear, while gathered with firefighter Joe Matt Aug. 2 during the Night to Unite at the Melrose Community Farmers Market along the Lake Wobegon Trail near Coborn’s in Melrose. Melrose fire, ambulance and police personnel were present along with close to 20 vendors, and there was music by the Wobegon Blues Band of Jesse Kuechle and Don Neu.

Robert

The best

of beef of beef

Wilwerdings preparing for state fair 4-H show

BY HERMAN LENSING STAFF WRITER

Adam and Alex Wilwerding are returning to the Minnesota State Fair.

Two years ago they both brought beef cattle to the fair and earned top placings in the beef show. They know what they will be going against this year.

“It’s a tough competition,” Adam said Aug. 3 at their farm northeast of Freeport. “Those showing are the best in the state.”

The Wilwerdings qualified for state trips with their placings July 28 at the Stearns County Fair 4-H beef show. Alex, the younger of the two, finished seventh, and 13th was earned by Adam, who graduated from Melrose Area High School this year. They were among 10 in the beef category from the county selected to advance to the state fair.

“That’s a lot,” Adam said. “Usually we have seven or eight. It depends on how many are showing.”

The brothers are two of Jim Wilwerding and Sarah Overby’s four children, that also include Andrew and Abigail.

Adam and Alex chose their best Simmental/Holstein crossbred dairy beef cattle to show since they were readily available on their farm.

Beef cattle were not their first choice for 4-H shows. It was Andrew who started that practice.

“We started showing dairy cattle,” said Adam, a 4-H’er for 13 years. “Then Andrew decided he wanted to show beef. Then Alex started showing them. When I decided dairy was not my thing, I started showing beef as well.”

One of the attractions of showing beef cattle is preparation of the animals.

“It’s easier to show crossbred dairy beef cattle because other

beef breeds can actually be a lot more difficult to prepare for shows,” Adam said.

Any animal in any show has to be prepared to look its best.

Beef cattle are easier to prepare than other livestock, the Wilwerdings said.

“With these guys you comb out the tail, wash them, shave out their head and walk them into the ring and set them up,” Adam said.

There also needs to be trust built up between the animal and the presenter.

“Sometimes you have a more spirited animal or they are more nervous or are skittish and can’t handle people. Others are super mellow,” Alex said. “That’s something you can’t control. You just have to work it out of them by working with them each day.”

That involves taking the beef cow for walks not only in a paddock but other areas. Walks down roads, between fields and even past other animals are routine.

“When they are young, we walk them by momma cows to get the feeling of that,” Alex said.

“The animal has to enjoy it too,” Adam said. “They are bigger than us. If they don’t want to go, they’re not going to go. It’s about what the animal wants, and you have to make them want what you want.”

Something else the Wilwerdings learned at this year’s county fair was how to keep animals cool. Most of the days at the county fair were way too hot for livestock. The presenters worked to make the animals comfortable.

“We had a big alley fan on them and were constantly refilling water buckets,” Adam said. “They take about 40 gallons of water a day.”

Cattle weren’t the only animals they cared for. They also showed sheep and pigs at the county fair.

“We were getting fans from Walmart to get extra air flow on them,” said Alex about the smaller animals. There are two 4-H animal competitions at the county fair. In showmanship, the presenter is judged on how well they show the animal. The animal is also judged on how much it looks like an ideal beef steer.

“They (judges) like to have them have a good strong structure with nice legs under them,” Adam said. “They look for the beefiness on the animal and how much

Business banking accounts with rates that really add up.

muscle it has.”

There are different classes of competition depending on breed, age, intent and sex. This year there were 13 possible classes at the county fair. Following each class competition, the best beef cows are called to the state fair lineup.

“Champions and runners-up from each class and sometimes the third and fourth place finishers, it depends on the number of people in the class, get a ticket,” Adam said. “At the state fair lineup, you show the ticket. Then

they are lined up by how the judges think they will place at the state fair.”

When the rank is determined, each member is asked if they want to accept or decline a trip to the state fair. Some don’t care to make the trip or don’t have time. Some show two animals, but could only bring one to the fair. Others qualified for state with a different animal type and opted to take that animal to the state fair instead of beef.

“You can only bring one animal to the state fair,” Adam said. “I could have brought a pig or sheep, but steers are more fun for me.”

When the initial lineup was announced Alex ranked seventh and was a pretty good bet to advance. Adam, ranked 13th, was able to do so when others opted to not go. According to the extension office, there will be seven from the county who elected to attend the state fair in the beef cattle category.

The Wilwerding brothers will be at the state fair Aug. 23-27 in St. Paul. Staying in the metro area for state trips is getting to be a habit for them. This past winter, they were both in the Minnesota State High School League swim/dive meet. They hope to return home with ribbons for top showings. They are already planning for the 2024 beef shows.

“We have next year’s animals picked out,” Alex said. “They are an Angus/Holstein cross.”

PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING

Alex (left) and Adam Wilwerding work with their Simmental/Holstein cross beef cattle Aug. 3 at the family farm near Freeport. The brothers both qualified to show their steers at the Minnesota State Fair.

“Sometimes you have a more spirited animal or they are more nervous or are skittish and can’t handle people. Others are super mellow. That’s something you can’t control. You just have to work it out of them by working with them each day.”

- Alex Wilwerding

Kerfelds from front

Not wanting to see the local program end, Stearns County Fair officials chose to honor a senior individual or couple each year during the fair. The Kerfelds were nominated this year.

“If any of you know people who do a lot of things in the community, please let us know,” Frericks said. “Anybody can nominate somebody.”

Frericks said the Kerfelds were recognized for “their contributions to help make this place a better world,” and their names will be submitted to the state, although there is no official state recognition program.

Called to the stage, the Kerfelds gave a brief overview of their life, Art the appointed speaker. Laughter erupted from the audience when asked which one of them was the boss, with no answer given. Art quickly went into his speech.

“We do various tasks on the dairy farm, and that keeps us out of trouble,” he said.

The Kerfeld family have hosted the Stearns County Breakfast on the

Administrator from front

City leaders entered into the interim agreement because more time is needed to conduct a search, select and train a new city administrator to replace Schneider.

Council members anticipate a position vacancy for an extended period of time, the agreement stated.

The contractor agreement signed Aug. 2 also stated “It is in the best interest of the city to hire a contractor to provide services as interim city administrator and to facilitate the transition of a new city administrator.”

Schneider will be paid $70 an hour in by-weekly installments and work a maximum of 30 hours a week. His hours accrued primarily will involve city hall time and attendance at council and commission meetings. The city will provide a furnished office and computer for Schneider to use at Albany City Hall. He will be reimbursed for mileage cost when called away from city hall to perform official duties in accordance with the city’s mileage policy.

The city or Schneider

Farm twice, the last time in 2021. Art and Rosie have lived on the dairy farm all of their married life and transitioned the farm to their son, Tim, and his wife, Carrie. Art and Rosie are active members of the Stearns County American Dairy Association. On this morning, Rosie volunteered in the Stearns County ADA milk-

can terminate the independent contractor agreement if two weeks written notice is provided to the other party. A conflict of interest waiver associated with the independent contractor agreement was signed by Mayor Tom Kasner, deputy city clerk Heather Cruz, city attorney Susan Dege and Schneider.

Dege’s legal firm, Jovanovich, Dege & Athmann, P.A. requested the wavier in relation to the drafting of the agreement between the city and Schneider. The waiver was listed as an agenda item for the Aug. 2 meeting, along with Schneider’s proposal and another memo from Dege.

In an Aug. 2 memo, Dege addressed the status of two applicants who had applied for the city administrator position, which also includes the titles of clerk and treasurer. Neither applicant had a four-year degree, a requirement listed in the advertised description of the open city position, Dege’s council memo stated.

“One applicant possesses a two-year degree in water environment technologies,” Dege stated. “The other applicant does not have any post-secondary

shake booth at the fair, right next to the Heritage Stage, where Donny Brang performed before and after the senior recognition program.

Art said he and two other men play cards with a neighbor, dealing with a traumatic brain injury, who loves to play cards.

“He shakes hands with us two or three times when

education.”

Both applicants have several years of experience as employees in public works departments with budgetary and supervisory experience. However, neither applicant has a level of administrative experience or city clerk experience, she wrote. “I recommend that the council review the job description and consider whether to re-advertise on the League of Minnesota Cities website to gain applicants that more closely align to the education and experience required for the

we leave,” Art said. Art delivers meals on wheels every other Wednesday.

“I was out peddling meals around yesterday,” he said.

Art is a volunteer TRICap driver, using his vehicle to take people to appointments. He calls bingo for tenants at Park View Center in Melrose and installs CentraCare medical alerts for people. Art is a St. Rosa Lions member, stepping down as a long-time treasurer.

“You said it all,” Rosie said when asked by Art if he missed anything.

She did add they have “a whole bunch of kids, eight of them, some are here today.” They have 25 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

“So we are a little bit educated,” Art said. Frericks, before presenting them with the plaques and the dairy princesses with their crowns, said they are “very fortunate to have Art and Rosie represent Stearns County.”

“We are very grateful to be able to help people in our communities,” Art concluded.

position,” Dege added.

Initially, the city did not post the city administrator opening to the LMC website.

Kasner said during the Aug. 2 Albany City Council meeting it was “pretty obvious” the city would have to rewrite or repost the position proposal.

“We have to be patient, and the right person will come,” Kasner said. He added council members would review a revised position description for the city administrator/clerk/treasurer at its Aug. 16 meeting.

Plantenberg from front

All three military men served on a team doing helicopter emergency medical evacuations in Kuwait, and they also served in Iraq.

From an early age, Plantenberg was fascinated by helicopters and flying. He graduated from Albany High School and from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, where he earned a degree in criminology. He went on to work for the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department as a correctional officer.

Plantenberg was an avid hunter and fisherman, a lifeguard, a ski-patrol member and represented the Minnesota Biathlon Team for the Army National Guard.

He enlisted in the Guard in 2016 and became an aircraft technician and served a nine-month deployment in Kuwait with an aerial medical evacuation unit. Upon his return home, he was hired as a federal technical mechanic at the Aviation Support Facility in St. Cloud. He was then chosen to start the state’s warrant officer program.

Birth ANNOUNCEMENT

Wilson Robert Pillsbury

Nate and Laken Pillsbury, of New Munich, are happy to announce the birth of their son, Wilson Robert Pillsbury, at 7:33 a.m., July 17, 2023, at CentraCare-Melrose Hospital.

He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 20 inches long.

Wilson Robert Pillsbury

What’s HAPPENING

Sunday, Aug. 13, 12:30 p.m. – Salem Historical Church potluck picnic, Alive Singers. 28547 220th St., Paynesville.

Monday, Aug. 14, 5:30-6:30 p.m. – Mental Health Support Group. CentraCare-Albany Clinic, 30 Railroad Ave., Albany. For information call the clinic at 320-845-2157.

Monday, Aug. 14, 7 p.m. – Holdingford City Council Meeting. Holdingford City Hall, 420 Main St., Holdingford.

Tuesday, Aug. 15, 12:30-6:30 p.m. – American Red Cross Blood Drive. Freeport Community Center, 307 Seventh St. SE, Freeport. Schedule an appointment online at redcross.org or call 320-836-2837 or 320282-2904.

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 6 p.m. – Holdingford School Board Meeting. Holdingford Jr./Sr. High School library and media center, 900 Fifth St., Holdingford.

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 6:30 p.m. – Albany City Council Meeting. Albany City Hall, 400 Railroad Ave., Albany.

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 7 p.m. – AA Meetings. Back to Basic, at Tutti Frutti Marketplace, 38914 County Road 186, Sauk Centre. For more information, call 218240- 1076. Big Book, Melrose City Center, 225 First St., NE, Melrose. For more information, call 320-2413909.

Thursday, Aug. 17, 6 p.m. – Melrose City Council Meeting. Melrose City Center, 225 First St., NE, Melrose.

Upcoming: Tuesday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m. – Schanhaar-Otte Post 7050 and Auxiliary meetings. Melrose American Legion clubroom, 265 County Road 173, Melrose.

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. – Melrose American Legion Post 101 and Auxiliary meetings. Melrose American Legion clubroom, 265 County Road 173, Melrose.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN

Art Kerfeld (center) receives his Stearns County Outstanding Senior Citizen certificate from Vern Frericks while wife Rosie looks at her framed certificate during the July 27 senior recognition program at the fair in Sauk Centre. According to program emcee Vern Frericks, the Kerfelds’ contributions make this place a better world.

A Last Supper picture is surrounded by crosses on a wall in my home.

Most of the crosses were gifts, including one from the Rev. Dan Ohmann. When I interviewed him years ago he insisted I choose a homemade ebony corpus he brought back from Tanzania. Two crosses were gifts after Mom died, including a homemade wooden cross made by a local couple. Another was a Christmas gift from my sister, Laura. Two of the crosses hung in our parent’s Melrose home. One was a sick call crucifix that hung in their bedroom. Inside, it has items used by a priest for giving last rights to a dying person. I’m not sure if it was ever used. Dangling from that cross is a rosary my godchild, Krista, brought back from Guatemala when she did a mission trip. The other cross hung on their chimney wall, above a family photo.

That Last Supper picture, like the crosses, are treasured trinkets. Names of Mom and Dad’s grandchildren on small wooden mittens dangling from a wooden hanger hung on the wall beneath it. When Mom moved to the nursing home she insisted the picture hang on a wall in her room, and now I am happy to have it hanging on my wall. It is a reminder of my days growing up in that house on Fifth Street North.

It was six years ago Sunday that Mom passed away. And not a day goes by that I don’t think of her and dad, who died in 2006.

I will never forget the last time she was in their house. We took her home so she could be involved in the discussion as we talked about what to do with their house. I saw her shed tears, similar to tears I feel welling up in my eyes as I write this column. As I wheeled her through the kitchen, where she had made many meals and cookies, she said, “stop,” so I did. Mom looked around and said, “This will be my last time here.”

How hard that must have been for her to realize she would never step foot in a house where she and Dad had put their heart, soul and finances all but a few years of their long married life.

For us kids, the work began. Once the decision was made to sell the house, we had to clean it out. We were

each given one month to remove whatever we wanted. A few things Mom had written on the bottom or back who she wanted them to go to.

After one month we started going through each room deciding what needed to be kept and what should be tossed. How does a person decide what to throw and what to keep, especially since chances are my parents, like many in that generation, thought it was all useful.

From the Heart by Carol Moorman

It was like throwing away a piece of our lives when certain items were tossed. The kettle Mom made soup in. The pans she fried fresh fish in. The double boiler she made divinity in. The Easter baskets stored in an upstairs closet. Mom’s clothes. She always said she didn’t need more clothes, and after going through her closet I had to agree with her. Lawn games stored in the little shed with gardening tools.

So much stuff and with most items were stories to go along with them.

I retrieved a few items, including Mom’s wedding dress, although it is not wearable. I clipped a small piece from her veil and handed it to my godson, Brandon, on his wedding day so he had something of grandma with him. I also received Mom’s pearls, which were worn by Krista on her wedding day and will also be worn by Mom and Dad’s granddaughter Holly when she gets married. I keep the pearls in Mom’s music box with a carpenter etched on the top. Dad was a carpenter, so chances are there was a story with that also.

I have a few of Mom’s Tupperware pieces, a box of family photos and dad’s Army duffle bag with his military uniform. End tables Dad made out of pews from St. Mary’s Church now sit in my living room, one next to Mom’s recliner. And the Last Supper hangs proudly on my wall.

Mom and Dad would be happy to know items they treasured continue to be cherished by their children and grandchildren.

Now, if only I could only find her elusive recipe box. I have not given up hope that it will reappear.

I first met Joe Mauer when I was playing first base in Osceola, Wisconsin.

I was newly married and just became a dad and was hanging on to a love for baseball by playing every Wednesday and Friday night in the small river town just over the Minnesota border.

Our manager was Ken Staples, a former skipper in the Twins minor league system and a friend of the Mauer family. I can count the true baseball men –the ones who carry the passion through their entire life – on one hand, and Kenny would take up one of my first two fingers. Kenny scheduled a summer game in 2001 against Air Freight Unlimited, a squad made up of recently graduated St. Paul kids. On that team was the recent No. 1 pick in the major league draft – Joe Mauer and his older brother, Billy.

We always drew decent crowds at the old ballpark in Osceola. The town of 2,000 looked forward to those Wednesday and Friday nights when the summer captured the spirit of small town baseball, almost giving it the feel of a minor league town. Burgers, beverages and baseball was what the working class town looked forward to on those mosquito-filled nights.

On this particular night the crowd was enormous as word got out the top pick in the major leagues would be coming to showcase his talent. To counter, our ever competitive skipper called on the talents of another young St. Paulite with a lightning bolt for an arm. His name was T. J. Prunty, and he had just spent his freshman season playing for the University of Miami, one of the top college programs in the nation.

Thanks to Kenny, the matchup was set, a young fireballer against what scouts said was the best 18-year-old player in the world.

The anticipation of seeing Joe Mauer, a kid who struck out just once in high school and was named not just the best baseball prospect but also the best football prospect in the nation bat against a legitimate division 1 pitcher was something to behold. Joe hadn’t signed yet with the Twins. As my 27-year-old slowing legs dug into the dirt at first base, I can say I was just as excited as the fans.

Cherish family items passed down Regular Joe Circus showcased the world to communities

There is a tendency to think, prior to the use of the internet, that people in rural communities had little contact with anything not just down the road.

Granted, a century ago knowledge of areas beyond a day of travel for some rural residents was generally confined to train trips, encyclopedias and textbooks. Radio brought more of the world into those communities, but well before the radio, people were given a chance to see for themselves things they only read about.

A Peek at the Past by Herman Lensing

In Holdingford, a century ago, a visible part of the world came to town. The July 12, 1923, Holdingford Advertiser had a full-length, two column ad announcing a circus was coming to the community.

Circuses came to America, and small towns, in the 19th century. Initially, they were primarily acrobatic and clown shows. Gradually animal acts and oddities became show staples, along with sideshows and games. The acts and displays were generally held in canvas tents, with the largest tent, also known as the big top, having the featured venue.

Circuses traveled from community to community with caravans of horse drawn wagons. Later, they rode the rails. The Honest Bill Circus coming to Holdingford, though, traveled by a caravan of trucks.

Circuses may well have started the tradition of having parades with a festival. They used parades as teasers of their attractions. When that circus came to Holdingford in

July of 1923 the ad promised there would be a big street parade as it made its way to the Schwieters’ pasture. Once at the pasture, according to the ad, area residents would be exposed to rarely seen events. The circus apparently specialized in horse acts and promised “100 horses, mules and ponies, trained and educated to do everything but talk.”

The circus claimed to have 100 people performing “the best acts money can buy.” Some were “clowns that would keep you in laughter from start to finish.” Others were an ensemble of 20 professional cowboys and girls riding “the best bunch of wild and bucking horses ever carried by any show.”

The collection of talent was, according to the ad, “America’s best show. This gigantic organization represents more wealth than any other overland show and is absolutely the largest in America.”

There were dog acts with troupes of “pedigreed dogs that perform daring tricks that seem unbelievable.”

The dog and horse acts promised entertainment, but featured attractions would be animals few people would ever get to see, most were not even American animals. Elephants, camels, lions, tigers, apes, leopards, zebras, baboons and monkeys were just to be viewed by the patrons waiting to purchase tickets and see the shows.

The 1923 ad, and the appearance of the circus with elements that would not be seen every day in Holdingford, showed the communities did, and still do, have interest in things farther than just down the road.

Crime & PUBLIC SAFETY

Avon police, fire respond to I-94 incident

AVON – Avon police and firefighters responded to an incident on Interstate 94 near Avon, just before 2:30 p.m., Aug. 4, when a Franklinton, Louisiana, man received non-life threatening injuries.

According to the State Patrol, Kenneth Eli Knight, 43, was driving a 2016 International semi eastbound on I-94 when it swerved to avoid a collision and rolled, blocking both lanes of traffic. He was taken by Mayo Ambulance to the CentraCare-St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota Department of Transportation assisted at the scene.

Freeport man dies in Elmdale Township crash

ELMDALE TOWNSHIP – A Freeport man died at the scene of a one-vehicle crash Aug. 4 in Elmdale

Township.

The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office received an automatic cell phone crash alert around 3:24 a.m. of a possible crash near the intersection of 30th Street and Dairy Road, just east of Upsala.

Emergency personnel arrived and located one occupant of the Buick Regal. The driver, identified as Hayden Edstrom, 19, was unresponsive and did not have a pulse. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful, the sheriff’s report said.

An investigation indicated the vehicle was westbound on 30th Street and entered the ditch on the south side of the road, traveled about 100 yards in the ditch before driving back on the road, crossed both lanes of traffic and rolled in the north ditch, just west of Dairy Road.

Upsala Fire Department and Fire Response and Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service assisted at the scene.

STAFF Mark Klaphake ...................General Manager …………………………………mark.k@saukherald.com

Joyce Frericks .....................Business Manager …………………………………joyce@saukherald.com

Missy Traeger .....................Sales & Marketing Manager ………………………missy@saukherald.com

Natasha Barber ..................Managing Editor …………………………………natasha@saukherald.com

Nancy Powell......................Manager……………………………………………nancy,p@star-pub.com

Tim Vos .................................Marketing …………………………………………tim.v@star-pub.com

Carol Moorman .................Editor/Writer ………………………………………carol.m@star-pub.com

Mike Kosik ...........................Writer ………………………………………………mike.k@star-pub.com

Herman Lensing................Writer ………………………………………………herman.l@star-pub.com

Evan Michealson ...............Writer ………………………………………………evan.m@star-pub.com

Tim Hennagir .....................Writer ………………………………………………tim.h@star-pub.com

Hans Lammeman .............Writer ………………………………………………hans.l@star-pub.com

Amanda Thooft .................Production Manager/Page Design & Layout ……amanda@saukherald.com

Maddy Peterson ................Graphic Designer …………………………………maddy@star-pub.com

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Karen Knoblach .................Graphic Designer …………………………………karen.k@star-pub.com

Annika Gunderson ...........Graphic Designer …………………………………annika@star-pub.com

Jill Borgerding....................Office Assistant ……………………………………jill.b@star-pub.com

Neil Maidl ............................Marketing …………………………………………neil.m@star-pub.com

Mauer stepped in and the crowd got eerily quiet. The count made its way to 2-2 when Prunty unleashed an unexpected back door curve ball. Our catcher didn’t move his glove.

“Ball,” the umpire said.

The crowd didn’t argue but let out an “ooooohhhh.”

Now 3-2, Prunty tried to tuck an inside fastball by Joe, and Joe almost took Prunty’s lid off his head. The ball was in center field before most fans could blink.

Joe rounded first hard, as he was taught, and settled in at first where I held him on.

I didn’t say a word to him. He didn’t say a word to me. Prunty got the next guy out quickly and we both jogged to the dugout.

When our catcher got back to the dugout, we asked him if that 2-2 curveball was a strike. He said yes, and he even asked the umpire if it was.

The umpire’s reply, “Nobody came here tonight to watch Joe Mauer strike out.”

Mauer would later get another hit and shortly thereafter sign a $5 million signing bonus.

On Saturday I watched Joe, now 40, be inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. We saw his talent that night in Osceola, but nobody knew 22 years later we would be watching him be inducted as a Twins legend.

I had some other associations with Joe in those early years. One is a really good story I wrote about years ago when we gave him a ride home from the Metrodome after a game.

But one thing that stuck out to me about Joe was his humbleness. He is just a regular Joe.

This kid had an enormous talent and has made a bucket load of money. As he gave his speech Saturday, he referenced his twin daughters in almost every sentence.

Joe was a great baseball player. Always will be.

But he is more than that. And he knows this. He’s always known what is most important in life. His most important job wasn’t trying to make the hall of fame. It was being a good husband and a good dad. All of that was on display Saturday. Joe, the best 18-year-old baseball player in the world in 2001, showed us at the end of the day, we are just mom or dad, brother or sister, uncle or aunt, and if we are lucky enough, grandma and grandpa. While his work on the ball field is over, his real career is just beginning.

And he proved to all of us what is most important in life, and if we are good people, good parents and good spouses, in someone’s eyes, we can all make the hall of fame.

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In Other Words by Bryan Zollman

Close to 700 attend North Park National Night Out

PHOTOS BY CAROL MOORMAN

Mary Sauerer (from left), Sharon Eickhoff and Gen Beutz converse during the Aug. 1 National Night Out at North Park in Albany. They were among more than 700 people who attended the event, a collaboration between the Albany Jaycees, Friends of North Park and the city of Albany, which included childrens activities, tours of park improvements, visits with Albany firefighters and police and a picnic lunch.

Albany residents Tony Vetter (from left) and Rod Wolf as well as Karen and Dave Mueller, of rural St. Rosa, get ready to play pickleball Aug. 1 on a new court in North Park in Albany, as part of National Night Out. Six pickleball courts were added during a recent park improvement project.

Melrose Night to Unite at farmers market draws 600

PHOTOS BY CAROL MOORMAN Georgia Barten eats a snow cone with her grandma, Lori Seawell, during the Aug. 2 Night to Unite at the Melrose Community Farmers Market along the Lake Wobegon Trail near Coborn’s in Melrose. More than 600 people attended the event, which, for the second year, included Night to Unite held in conjunction with the farmers market.

The City of Avon is holding a public hearing to discuss the proposed Preliminary Plat of Avon Estates Southern View Plat 2. A public hearing will be held by the Avon Planning Commission on Tuesday, August 15th at 5:30 pm at Avon City Hall. All meetings of the City of Avon are handicapped accessible. City of Avon Jodi Austing-Traut P-32-1B

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Elliot Overman (front) and Adelyn Overman sit in a Melrose fire truck during the Aug. 2 Night to Unite at the Melrose Community Farmers Market along the Lake Wobegon Trail near Coborn’s in Melrose. Grandma Lucy Overman brought them to the event, which included activities for youth, vendors and informational booths.

Friends, family, food, fun at Avon National Night Out

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: The Sauk River Watershed District Board of Managers will hold its annual budget public hearing, on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. The hearing is for the purpose of taking public comment on the proposed 2024 budget with a maximum levy of $1,145,914. The proposed budget includes: a General Purpose Tax Levy (MS 103D.905, subd. 3) and a Project Tax Levy (MS 103D.905, subd. 9). At such time, any interested person may appear either in person or by a representative and will be given an opportunity for a full and complete discussion of proposed budget as set forth and contained above. Any interested person may also provide comments on the proposed budget in writing to Jon Roeschlein, email at jon@srwdmn.org or by mail to Sauk River Watershed District, Attn: Public Hearing, 642 Lincoln Road, Sauk Centre, MN 56378, in advance of the hearing. To obtain a full copy of the proposed budget, please contact Jon Roeschlein by email at jon@srwdmn.org or by phone at 320-352-2231.

For more information regarding the budget, please see the SRWD website http://www.srwdmn.org

Jon Roeschlein Administrator Sauk River Watershed District 642 Lincoln Road Sauk Centre, MN 56378 (320) 352-2231 Phone jon@srwdmn.org Visit us online at: www.srwdmn.org PH-31-2B

A view from the Lake Wobegon Trailhead Park tower shows booths offering food, refreshments, activities and information during the Aug. 1 National Night Out in Avon. The event included appearances by the Avon Police Department, Avon Fire Department, Stearns County Sheriff ’s Office and Mayo Ambulance Service as well as music by Rocks & Cows DJ.

844-605-7368

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PHOTOS BY MIKE KOSIK

Stearns County Deputy Cole Thoma showcases the county’s MAT-V during

Aug. 1 National Night Out at the Lake Wobegon Trailhead Park in Avon. The vehicle provides a rapid armored response to critical incidents.

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Martins make triumphant return to state

Region 15C competition reaches final weekend

BY HERMAN LENSING STAFF WRITER

Timely hitting put the St. Martin Martins back into the Class C Minnesota Amateur Baseball Tournament, as St. Martin topped the Cold Spring Rockies 4-3 in a Region 15C Tournament state-qualifying game Aug. 6 in Lake Henry.

After a 4-for-4 game the day before, Bryan Schlangen kept coming through when needed. In the first, his bunt single sent Kyle Lieser to third. Kyle Lieser later scored on a Brady Goebel sacrifice fly. In the third, Schlangen was hit by a pitch and scored on Tanner Arceneau and Scott Lieser singles, breaking a 1-1 tie. In the fifth, Schlangen scored on singles by Scott Lieser and Nolan Rueter.

Kyle Lieser homered in the sixth for what proved to be the winning run.

The Martins put Ben Schroeder on the mound and stayed with him until the eighth inning. After he gave up a home run and a double, the Martins brought in Carter Thelen,

who pitched into the ninth.

When Thelen gave up a run, Scott Lieser came to the mound and earned the save.

Jaylyn Arceneau singled twice and Goebel added a hit for the Martins, who face Kimball for the Region 15C title at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, in St. Martin.

St. Martin 2, Lake Henry 1

Schlangen’s 4-for-4 performance included scoring one run and driving in the other in the Martins’ 2-1 win over Lake Henry Aug. 5 in Lake Henry. His fourth-inning double scored Kyle Lieser and put him in position to score

on Goebel’s RBI single. Two of Schlangen’s hits were bunt singles.

“You have to get creative if you are not hitting well,” Schlangen said. “You try to build up with a bunt and get on.”

Bunting is not unusual for Schlangen. He is good at it and it works well in the St. Martin gameplan.

“Usually, the idea is to move Kyle up on base and then the 3-4-5 guys can hit,” he said.

Kyle Lieser and Goebel each had two hits. Most of the game centered on the play of the defense and St. Martin’s pitching. Scott Lieser went the distance, striking out 10 and scattering five hits.

Kyle Lieser said it was a team win, noting while Nolan Rueter did not have a hit, the centerfielder changed the game’s momentum with a back-tothe-plate catch in the ninth inning.

Kimball 13, New Munich 3

Caden Sand’s two-run home run ended Kimball’s no-hit shutout bid but could not prevent a 13-3 eight-inning loss for the New Munich SilverStreaks Aug. 5 in St. Martin.

Region 15C page 10

Freeport advances to region’s final weekend

Black Sox survive elimination with 11-run inning

BY HERMAN LENSING STAFF WRITER

Patience paid off for the Freeport Black Sox in their 14-3 seven-inning Region 8C win over Fort Ripley Aug. 6 at Blattner Field in Avon.

The playbacks win keeps Freeport alive in the tournament. A win over St. Stephen Saturday, Aug. 12,

at Hellie Field in Pierz puts them in the state tournament.

“It’s been a long season,” said Ike Sawyer, shortstop. “You get hot at the end of the year, and it is a lot of fun to get up there with the confidence you have.”

Ike Sawyer and Mason Toutges led the Black Sox with two hits. Both drove

in runs in an 11-run sixth inning. Both of Toutges’ hits came in that frame, as Freeport sent 15 batters to the plate, eight of them drawing walks. Ike Sawyer said the team was being selective that inning.

Freeport page 9

PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING

Nate Mettenburg (right) races to beat a throw to the plate against Fort Ripley catcher Nick Jelacie Aug. 6 at Blattner Field in Avon. Mettenburg beat the tag, scoring from second on an error to give Freeport a 14-2 lead.

PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING

St. Martin’s Scott Lieser winds up to throw a pitch against Lake Henry Aug. 5 in Lake Henry. Lieser finished with 10 strikeouts in a 2-1 Martins win.

Greenwald Barley Days Greenwald Barley Days

Check out our website www.star-pub.com for more Barley Days photos.

St. John’s-St. Andrew’s Catholic School students and staff dress in groovy attire throwing out candy during the Aug. 6 Greenwald Barley Days Parade in Greenwald. The theme of their float was Groovin’ Into Bright Futures at SJ-SA.

(Left) Brooks Berning (front left) displays a cake he won in the cake walk and his sister, Ava, holds her kid’s corner prize with Grandma Margaret Silbernick Aug. 6 during Barley Days on the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church grounds in Greenwald. Barley Days started Aug. 5 with a volleyball tournament, polka Mass, food and music by Stone Road and continued Aug. 6 starting with a morning parade.

Mary Olmscheid throws out candy during the Aug. 6 Barley Days Parade in Greenwald. Following the parade there was food, refreshments, games and music on the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church grounds.

his fried bread while laughing with Grandpa Harry Zenzen during the Aug. 6 Greenwald Barley Days on the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church grounds in Greenwald. Among other food options were hamburgers and tacos in a bag.

Dan Winter (center), of Greenwald, and his bingo buddies Sharon Harrell, of Chaska, and Rosemary Burk Mary Sigler and Karen Koshiol all of St. Cloud gather after watching the Aug. 6 Barley Days Parade in Greenwald. Following the parade, Winter volunteered in the bingo stand while the four women played the game.

Duane (from left) and Bonnie Leukam and Kathy and Gary Haider toast to Barley Days Aug. 6 on the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church grounds in Greenwald. Behind them, the 19th annual bean-bag tournament was being held.

PHOTO S BY C AROL MOORMAN

The Groovy Grannies – Eileen Middendorf (from left) David Primus Karl Klaphake Judy Klaphake, Jean Hellermann and Janelle Moening – walk down the Aug. 6 Greenwald Barley Days Parade route in Greenwald. The parade theme was Let’s Get Groovy, and one “grandma” rode a three-wheel bike with a poster that read “Let’s Get Groovin’ at Barley Days.”

(Left) Bennett Medalen eyes

Cindy Noonan listens as husband Mike leads people singing happy birthday to her during Barley Days on the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church grounds Aug. 6 in Greenwald. Mike Noonan, Donny Brang and Pat Curto Crystal Breeze band members, performed during the afternoon.

(Right) Ava Lehner (left) and Kayla Forster help out at the Albany Huskie Booster Club food booth during the Aug. 5 Heritage Day in Albany. There were a variety of food and vendor booths.

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left),