Saturday, February 17, 2024 | Country Acres • Page 1
Country Acres Saturday, February 17, 2024
PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #861 Sauk Rapids, MN 2 Second Ave S Suite 135 Sauk Rapids MN 56379
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 11, Edition 02
Handmade in Minnesota
PHOTO BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE
Daryl Stangler solders a miniature piece of equipment Jan. 30 at his shop near Rice. Stangler uses tin and brass for all of the metal pieces in his designs.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
A hog barn is displayed to showcase the detailed inside at the Stanglers’ shop near Rice. Daryl and Katy Stangler create a variety of barns, buildings and farm accessories with their business, Daryl Stangler Custom Buildings.
Stanglers make custom farm buildings, toys BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE STAFF WRITER
RICE — As a child, Daryl Stangler started making his own barns, sheds and accessories to go along with his toy tractors and animals. “I made my first building when I was 10,” Daryl said. “I just started making my own stuff to go with my farm toys.” Today, Stangler is doing
ST R
Publications The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
the same thing as a full-time career with Daryl Stangler Custom Buildings. Daryl started making shed and barns for farm toys for other people in his spare time while working at his parents’ cabinet business. “When I was about 16, I went to my first farm toy show as a vendor with some stuff I built,” Daryl said. “This one guy (Dale Matsen) comes over and buys everything I had on the first
This month in the
day. He is a larger vendor, and he is still my main vender that I work with.” The business quickly grew from a hobby to career. By 2007, Daryl quit his job at the cabinet shop and his part-time job for a neighbor, who had a dairy farm, to pursue the farm toy business. In 2022, Daryl’s wife, Katy, also quit her job to work full time with Daryl. “We have 10 to 12 large vendors that buy from us and go to shows and sell with their farm toy business,” Katy said. “Last October, one vendor ordered
“It is all handmade in Minnesota. That’s really cool.” For metal pieces, such as augers, stanchions and other equipment, the products are made from brass or tin. Wood is used for the buildings and hay bales, and the other various parts and pieces are made from resin.
Stanglers page 2
PHOTO BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE
A gravity box is showcased Jan. 30 at the Stanglers’ shop near Rice. Daryl and Katy Stangler create numerous pieces of farm implement by hand with their business Daryl Stangler Custom Buildings.
COUNTRY: Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on March 16, 2024
800 buildings, and we had a month and a half to build, paint, get stickered, boxed and send out.” Some of the larger retailers that buy products from the Stanglers are Outback Toys, Matsen Miniture Farm Toys, Hounsell’s Farm Toys and D C Toy Trucks. When Daryl and Katy attend farm shows to showcase their custom farm buildings and accessories, people assume their products are 3-D printed. “We don’t 3-D print anything,” Katy said.
5
Country store is a hidden gem Little Falls
7
More than a youth organization Tiffany Klaphake column
11 Starting from scratch Alexandria 15 Getting the community involved Glenwood
18 20-foot skid Nancy Packard Leasman column 19 Country cooking Avon 21 A little farm Airbnb Randall
Page 2 • Country Acres | Saturday, February 17, 2024
Country Acres
PHOTO BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE
A finished corn picker rests next to an unfinished corn picker Jan. 30 at the Stanglers’ shop near Rice. Daryl Stangler creates and paints each piece of equipment by hand to make it look as realistic as possible.
Published by Star Publications Copyright 2024 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6577 Fax: 320-352-5647 NEWS STAFF Sarah Colburn, Editor sarah.c@star-pub.com Tiffany Klaphake, Assistant Editor tiffany.k@dairystar.com Jan Lefebvre, Writer jan.l@star-pub.com Emily Breth, Writer emily.b@star-pub.com Herman Lensing, Writer herman@melrosebeacon.com Carol Moorman, Writer carol@melrosebeacon.com Natasha Barber, Writer natasha@saukherald.com Ben Sonnek, Writer ben.s@saukherald.com Hans Lammeman, Writer hans.l@star-pubs.com Sara Eisinger, Writer sara.e@star-pub.com
PHOTO BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE
r shop Jan. 30 near Rice. Daryl and Katy Stangler stand in theitom Buildings and builds Cus gler The couple owns Daryl Stan toy farm buildings and accessories.
Story ideas send to: sarah.c@star-pub.com SALES STAFF Robin Brunette, 320-293-5911 robin@saukherald.com Missy Traeger, 320-291-9899 missy@saukherald.com Tim Vos, 320-845-2700 tim@albanyenterprise.com Mike Schafer, 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Neil Maidl, 320-292-4454 neil.m@star-pub.com Jaime Ostendorf, 320-309-1988 jaime@star-pub.com Bob Leukam, 320-260-1248 bob.l@star-pub.com
Stanglers from front The Stanglers live next door to Daryl’s family’s cabinet shop and utilize a small space in the shop to build their miniature buildings. “Our dream would be to build our own shop,” Katy said. “But for now, we use a space in the cabinet shop to
build the buildings and have a space here (at their home) to build the toys and accessories.” To make each piece to the 1/64 scale, Daryl gets life-size measurements for each piece. He gets brochures from farm machinery dealers or finds someone who has the actual piece of equipment and takes measurements. Daryl creates rubber molds and uses resin for the various farm accessories
such as bulk tanks, gas barrels, waterers and different parts of equipment. He often creates several molds for a single piece of equipment. He then has to sand down each piece, wash it, dry it, put the pieces together by soldering or gluing the intricate pieces, and paint them. Daryl has five drills, each with a different bit size to handcraft each individual piece. The bulk of the Stanglers’ work is for vendors, but they make custom items as time allows.
“One of the more recent challenging projects we did was from an 8-yearold on Tik Tok,” Daryl said. “He wanted a Quonset building. I have never built one before, so I had to figure out how to make it.” According to Daryl, most buildings only take a couple of hours to build, but anything with resin will take longer as it needs time to set.
Stanglers page 3
PRODUCTION STAFF Amanda Thooft Nancy Powell Maddy Peterson Cheyenne Carlson Karen Knoblach Annika Gunderson Nadiia Zalitach
Deadlines: Country Acres will be published the first Fridays of April, May, June, September, October and November, and the third Friday of every month. Deadline for news and advertising is the Thursday before publication. ISSN: Print 2834-6440 Online 2834-6459
ST T R
“Committed to being the eyes and ears of our communities.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED
An example of the types of sheds the Stanglers create is displayed at their shop near Rice. The Stanglers create a variety of farm buildings that are sold through vendors, social media and online.
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Saturday, February 17, 2024 | Country Acres • Page 3
Stanglers from page 2 The completion time depends on the size and how many elements are incorporated. Katy said some of the more challenging projects they do are freestall barns with curtains. “But as fast as we can make freestall barns,
they go out the door,” she said. “People just love them.” Just like in real farming, buildings and PHOTO SUBMITTED A closer look at the inside of a free barns keep stal l barn shows the level of detail Daryl Stangler Custom Buil getting bigdings takes when creating thei r pro ducts. The Stanglers created ger; thereinside the barn except for the cow. the barn and all the pieces fore, the Stanglers have to update their scope their career choice of buildings and accessochallenging as well as reries. This includes updating warding. molds for the resin to make “At the end, when you the various pieces of equipare putting the final decals ment and accessories. on it and seeing the final “Kids always ask, ‘Can product is such a great feelI fit my combine in there,’ ing,” Daryl said. “It never and, ‘I need a shed with a gets old.” bigger door,’” Katy said. Katy agreed. “It’s great to hear people’s “We have been very responses: ‘It’s even better blessed to be able to do this than I expected. Oh, this is for a living,” she said. so great.’” Daryl and Katy both find PHOTOS BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE
(Left) A gas barrel is featured Jan. 30 at the Stanglers’ shop near Rice. Daryl and Katy Stangler, of Daryl Stangler Custom Buildings, created this farm toy accessory by hand. (Right) Rubber molds lay on the work bench Jan. 30 at the Stanglers’ shop near Rice. Daryl Stangler makes rubber molds to pour resin in. These molds help to create the main parts of the machinery he makes, and he uses brass and tin for the metal pieces.
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More than a youth Buying all metals! organization together to accomplish a goal, but we each had our own FFA is so much more than an agricultural youth set of duties that we needed to take care of to organization. In fact, there are many FFA make everything run smoothly. We worked simembers with no agricultural background multaneously but individually, each of us doprior to joining FFA. Sure, FFA may have ing what we needed to do while helping one started out as Future Farmers of America, but another. Sometimes something would come as times changed, so did the National FFA up last minute, and we would need to decide Organization. how to adapt to the new circumstances. The National FFA Organization is a Another aspect of FFA I found to be valunon-profit youth leadership organization that able is its formality. There is a certain way in is heavily focused on agriculture but also which all FFA meetings are run. There is a set includes many other topics such as public of lines that officers and the general members speaking, job interview and parliamentary Faith, family, recite at the beginning of each meeting. These procedure. Skill sets developed through these farming explain the duties and purpose of each officer areas are useful in every type of industry. By Tiffany Klaphake and of the FFA chapter. As a member, to It is a fantastic organization that teaches participate at regional and state contests, there youth about life skills and agriculture, skills is a dress code — an official dress that must be worn they might not have been exposed to otherwise. properly. The blue and gold jacket with black dress pants I grew up on a farm and was in FFA throughout my time in high school, as were my siblings. I was president for men and black skirt or slacks for ladies is highly regarded. Nobody questions these standards because the my senior year and achieved the State FFA Degree. At symbolism is explained, taught and, therefore, respected. the time, the overwhelming majority of students in our Attending FFA camps and regional activities enhance chapter were farm youth or lived in the country and these values and are led by regional and state FFA were interested in animals or mechanics of some sort. officers. These officers are juniors and seniors in high Like many students who were active in sports, FFA school or freshmen in college. As upperclassmen teach wasn’t just something I participated in after school. It and demonstrate these values, it has a greater impact on was a part of who I was. Sports are great, but to me, other students. investing my time in FFA was much more valuable than joining any sports team. FFA also taught me organizational skills. Being Being involved in FFA and participating in various involved in FFA by participating in contests and chapcontests, committees and holding officer positions gave ter, regional and state events, I had to stay on top of my me the confidence I needed. I was shy in high school school work in addition to participating in activities. As and did not know what direction I wanted to go in as far chapter president, I had to lead our team of officers and as a career choice. FFA goes beyond the classroom and chapter members as we had a new FFA adviser that year. is career-oriented. Our chapter visited and toured several FFA is for everyone and anyone. Some of the most agricultural businesses locally and throughout the state ambitious high school kids I have ever met, while in as well as colleges with agriculture programs. high school and today, are or were involved in FFA to Not only did I gain leadership and teamwork skills some capacity. Hearing about the success of young peobut I learned how to plan, delegate and coordinate with ple in agriculture is one of the best parts of my job. people of different backgrounds and personality types. National FFA Week is Feb. 17-24, and we are proud As an officer team, we all needed to work together to get to highlight many of the area FFA members and chapters meetings, events and activities to happen. We all worked in our coverage area.
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from page 8 The whole family shares mother and daughter’s enjoyment in operating a clothing store. Even 8-year-old Brantley has found jobs to do at the boutique. “I have a picture of the kids helping me unpack and fold everything, and Michael has been a supportive husband,” Wochnick said. “He helps with the planning of things. He is very involved in event planning. He is very smart financially, if I need advice.” Four employees, Molly Gerads, Marissa Murphy, Brekanda Lashinski and Sarah Soltis, have embedded themselves into the Pretty Kinz Boutique. “We have a great group of girls who work for us,” Wochnick said. A customer referred to a Pretty Kinz Boutique associate as “amazing,” because the associate asked the
customer to try on clothes outside of her typical day-to-day comfort zone. “You need to feel beautiful no matter your size, and we have the tricks to make you feel that way,” Wochnick said. “We cater to everyone. Customers are often absolutely surprised at what someone else has picked out for them to try-on.” Insider Pretty Kinz Boutique tips and tricks could entail choosing loose-fitting tops, accenting different parts of the body, throwing over cardigans, adding ruffles and fluff, selecting solid color options or simply paying attention to stripe patterns. It all depends on individual customer needs. Styles and preferences may vary, but one thing is certain. “Customers keep coming back,” Wochnick said. “So many customers say the boutique is so cute, like a little piece of heaven. We are just a little hidden gem in the middle of nowhere.”
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Page 10 • Country Acres | Saturday, February 17, 2024
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Page 12 • Country Acres | Saturday, February 17, 2024
Scott from page 11 “We divide and concur when making the items,” Shelly said. “I do all the soaps and take care of all the labeling, website and social media. Steven does all the lotions, magnesium oil, lip balm, lotion sticks and candles.” When looking to try a new product or variety, the Scotts experiment until they find exactly what they are looking for. The process takes time since each batch of soap takes on average four to six weeks to cure. “Sometimes we don’t like the consistency or texture so we would try it again, adding in our own variations,” Steven said. The Scotts also look to their customers for inspiration. “We ask our customers on our social media what they would like to see or what they are struggling with,” Shelly said. “We are fulfilling a need for our customers.” In 2019, the Scotts purchased a farm site with 21 acres and retained their established home. Although the acreage needed work, they started planting herbs and botanicals to use with the products. Ingredients that they do not grow themselves are locally sourced. “The cool part of our business is that we try to source all of our products as locally as we can,” Shelly said. “Our bee keeper is in Leaf Valley, and we get tallow from local farmers.” By 2020, Steven quit his full-time job to focus on Little House on the Homestead. “We really enjoy doing this,” Steven said. “We literally started from scratch, and now our business is self-sustaining.”
Scott page 13 PHOTOS BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE
A basket of homemade products sits out Dec. 27, 2023, at the Scott family’s home near Alexandria. The Scotts offer subscription boxes which include five to seven homemade items.
A tube of homemade lip balm is pictured Dec. 27, 2023, in the Scott family’s home near Alexandria. The Scotts make 10-12 varieties of soap at a time plus seasonal varieties.
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Page 14 • Country Acres | Saturday, February 17, 2024
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Minnewaska FFA members and Pope County Humane Society volunteers Isaac Hennen (front, from left), Katie Koenig and Taylor Oeltjen; (middle, from left) Ellie Douvier, Gretchen Erickson, Grayson Olson, Faith Kettering and Meghan Bird; (back, from left) Colten Schroeder, Chris Claunch and Anahbelle Ernst gather Feb. 1 at Minnewaska High School in Glenwood. Several of the Minnewaska FFA students volunteer or work at the Pope County Humane Society.
community involved BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE STAFF WRITER
GLENWOOD — When the opportunity arose for the Minnewaska FFA Chapter to organize a pet supply drive, the students rallied together to for a cause. “We talked about it and had interest in it because we have students within our chapter who volunteer and help at the Pope County Humane Society,” Tiffany Kobbermann said. “The humane society here is very active in the community.” Kobbermann, the agricultural
education instructor and FFA adviser at Minnewaska Area Schools in Glenwood, read off the list of community service challenges set last fall by the Region III FFA team. Each month during the school year, the regional team selected a topic to challenge local chapters to support their community. “Everything that we raise for each of the challenges stays in our local community,” Kobbermann said. “At the end of the year, there is an award for the chapter that collects the most, but for most chapters, including ours, it is just about doing community service.”
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The students chose to participate in several of the challenges but chose to focus their energy on the pet supply drive and set it as the main project for their chapter. FFA member and chapter president Gretchen Erickson was one of many students involved in the project.“We wanted to get involved in the community and have a service project that kids at our school and people in the community could participate in,” Erickson said. “It was a unique idea we have not seen before by an FFA chapter.”The FFA students starting planning their project last fall by coordinating logistics. They advertised across various platforms such as social media, the school’s website, the Pope County Community website as well as signs around school. Donation boxes were set up at the office at the Minnewaska High School, Fleet Supply in Glenwood and at Peddler Dans in Starbuck. Kobbermann said they had great partnerships with the businesses they worked with.
PHOTO BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE
Minnewaska FFA members Holly Hennen (front, from left), Kelley Hanson, Raelynn Williams, Libby Gulbranson and Issac Hennen; (back, from left) Katie Koenig, Colten Schraeder, Gretchen Erickson, Becca Femrite and Ellie Douvier gather after collecting pet supply donation boxes Feb. 1 at Minnewaska High School in Glenwood. The chapter coordinated a pet supply drive for the month of January.
“We had very good response from the community, and some of the boxes were overflowing when we went to collect them.”Over 100 items were collected such as leashes, collars, brushes, shoes, food and even dog rain coats. All items had to be new or gently used. Once all boxes had been collected, the FFA members took inventory of the donations and brought them to the
Pope County Humane Society. Colten Schroeder, Minnewaska FFA chapter treasurer, was pleased with the outcome of their first-ever pet supply drive. “What we’ve seen so far has been good,” Schroeder said. “Hopefully, this idea can inspire other ideas.” The 39 members of the Minnewaska FFA Chapter did not
set a monetary goal for the drive and instead, wanted to have a service project that brought the community and their school together, while also benefitting a local cause. “We had teachers, students and community members from all over participate,” Kobbermann said.
“What we’ve seen so far has been good. Hopefully, this idea can inspire other ideas.” - Colten Schroeder
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By now, we’ve lost cut, and cut and cut. He count of the number of hadn’t filled me in on the trees we’ve taken down in full repertoire of hand the last three years. Most gestures he might use, but were dead or dying. I’ve when the chainsaw stopped been through most of the and the tree still stood, I 25-acre woodlot, but there understood he had to go get are still dead and dying more gas in the saw. trees. That’s just the way it Back in our positions works. We took down six and cutting once again, Working out – trees a couple months ago. the saw worked its way outdoors, that is by Nancy Packard It was a good workout, and through the trunk. When Leasman really, they weren’t much the cut was complete, I of a problem. transferred my foot from But then, there was that big oak the brake to the gas. That only resulton the edge of the driveway. It was ed in the tree leaning into the top of dying, and Ron wanted to get the its neighbor. While there was a gap lumber from the trunk before it started between the pine trees through which to decay. the tree could have fallen, instead the I’ve mowed around that tree and upper branches clung to each other the adjacent pine wind break a thoulike long-lost buddies. sand times. A tire swing hung from Several woodpeckers flitted in the one of the lower branches for many tree tops while Ron and I considered years. Its acorns fed generations of the options. It wasn’t the time to call squirrels. In fact, when it came down, any of our adult children and say, I counted 123 growth rings. “Guess what we’ve gotten ourselves Ron climbed up and put a log into?” chain around the trunk, then attached We decided to reposition the truck it to the front of the truck positioned and see if pressure from another angle across the lawn near a patch of elderwould dislodge the branches. It’s a berries not far from the grape vines. I little scary working around a tree put the truck in reverse and held my that had been cut but is still standing. foot on the brake to maintain tension Those upper branches were holding it on the chain while Ron sawed the firmly, yet they could give way at any 34-inch trunk. It was a relief when time. It’s a good thing that there was that tree came down right where it was no wind. supposed to. That maneuver was no more We spent about three days cutting successful than pulling from the other up the branches and piling the brush. angle. Ron cut the log in two sections, and What to do? What to do? then his eyes drifted to another oak Who did we know who had a tree. It was dead, not far from the first back hoe, or maybe a big tractor? one but snuggled up between two oth- We came up with three options. We er large oaks that are still alive. needed to figure it out before dark. I would have been happy to leave You just don’t leave a tree in that kind that one for another year. Ron said of position. it was smaller, it would be dropping Then, Ron had an idea. He’d branches, and he wanted that trunk for worked with many tow trucks and lumber, too, while it was salvageable. knew the power of a winch. He called The December afternoon arrived the local tow company who said when we were both free, and the they’d send someone out within the temperature was in the low 30s with half hour. no wind. Ron assembled the necessary When Steve arrived and took a equipment. I held the ladder while he look at the situation, he wasn’t sure climbed up, put a log chain around the he was the right person for the job. 24-inch trunk and arranged a rope to He backed the tow truck out of the control the descent of a large branch driveway, drove down the road to our he wanted to remove before cutting second driveway and then backed the trunk. into position in the road ditch, a safe Ron just celebrated another distance from the tree. Working birthday, and as I watched his leather together, Steve and Ron positioned a boots from below while he climbed up chain on the trunk about chest high. the rungs of the ladder, I was thinking Steve attached it to the winch and behow this was really a job for a young- gan applying pressure using a remote er person. He was thinking that he control. didn’t like heights very much. He’d As the pressure increased, the tree fallen off the roof of the house this shuddered. Then, it hopped down from summer working on another project. its position on the severed stump. Still He had no long-term damage, but it standing perfectly upright, it began puts the nerves on edge. “walking” eastward. Digging a 20I stood back while he went up the foot long trench as it skidded toward ladder again, this time with the chain- the tow truck, it finally toppled to the saw, and cut the large branch. The west, missing most of the other trees, rope did its duty, and after lowering and lay in a heap of broken branches. the branch to the ground, we repeated Had I been a smoker, it would the process for a second large branch. have been time for a cigarette. Instead, With the chain hooked to the we all breathed deeply of the fresh air truck, this time on the back hitch with at the relief that the tree was down and the truck facing away from the tree, no one had been hurt. I kept tension on the chain while he
Editorial disclaimer: The views expressed by our columnists are the opinions and thoughts of the author and do not reflect the opinions and views of Star Publications. Star Publications recommends readers call a licensed professional for safety reasons.
Saturday, February 17, 2024 | Country Acres • Page g 21 An iris blooms at Twisted Willow near Randall. The land at Twisted Willow is covered with vibrant scenery.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
The house at Twisted Willow stands ready for summer guests. Carmen Goldsmith built this house near Randall with three bedrooms and decided to rent two of the rooms as an Airbnb.
A little
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Goldsmith shares home with others BY EMILY BRETH | STAFF WRITER
RANDALL — Horses and poultry are not the only things that can be found at Carmen Goldsmith’s farm. There are also rooms available for others to enjoy the peace and quiet the farm offers. “I worked really hard with a lot of the projects here,” Goldsmith said. “It’s just nice to let others come enjoy it as well.” Goldsmith operates Twisted Willow near Randall, a 20-acre property used to care for livestock and poultry. Goldsmith began offering her property as a two-bedroom Airbnb in 2019.
An Isabelcolored Brahma hen stands at Twisted Willow near Randall. Carmen Goldsmith raises many varieties of poultry.
A fire ring waits to provide a bonfire at Twisted Willow near Randall. Along with running an Airbnb, Carmen Goldsmith manages a small dog boarding business.
Goldsmith page 22
116
CAFeb17-1B-TV
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Page g 22 • Country Acres | Saturday, February 17, 2024 The pond reflects the nearby trees in the summer sun at Twisted Willow near Randall. Carmen Goldsmith houses horses and poultry at her property.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
A tent is pitched for guests to spend the night by the pond at Twisted Willow near Randall. Carmen Goldsmith added four camping sites to her property.
Goldsmith from page 21 Both rooms available for rent are furnished with queen-sized beds, and one room also includes a futon. Additionally, she offers four camping sites on her land. She has hosted everything from baby showers to a wedding at the property. After building her own home on the property, Goldsmith realized she had more room than needed and, she was ready to work from
home. Goldsmith boards dogs on the property. She is hoping to add either a llama or a donkey to the herd and build a dual-purpose barn. The new barn will provide shelter for the horses on one side, while the other side will provide housing options for the poults. “It’s exciting to use the farm as more of a farm, although it’s still the other businesses as well,” Goldsmith said.
There are 150 eggs in Goldsmith’s incubators, aiding in the growth of Goldsmith’s colorful variety of breeds of chickens, peafowl, turkeys and ducks. Guest who stay at Twisted Willow are welcome to visit the poultry. Goldsmith also provides Twisted Willow guests with treats to feed the animals and instructions on how to stay safe while interacting with the animals. “There are people around here who, during apple season, bring me apples for guests to feed
to the horses,” Goldsmith said. Goldsmith said one of her favorite parts of managing the Airbnb is getting to meet new guests. “I’ve gotten to meet some really cool people,” she said. “My first guest was from Canada.” Those guests come from an array of backgrounds, from construction workers to medical students starting their residency nearby.
Goldsmith page 23
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“I’ve had a lot of students that are in their third year of med school, and they are going to Little Falls or Brainerd for their (residency),” Goldsmith said. “They have really liked it because it’s not super busy here, pretty quiet all the time. They go to work. They come home and study a lot. They stay in their room or go out on the deck or by the pond, and it’s just a nice place for them to study without being caught up with the other students or drama.” Goldsmith said she received positive feedback from others who have stayed with her as well. “Some of the best guests I’ve had were single women who just needed to get away,” Goldsmith said. “I could tell they were almost at the point of having a
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break down, and they just got so much relief here and (were) just at peace.” Goldsmith plans to build small camping shelters that would allow guests to sleep on site without having to set up a tent or a camper. However, all guests would have to use the house for running water. Looking toward
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Ratka reflects on his career in FFA BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE STAFF WRITER
COLD SPRING — Tyler Ratka did not grow up on a farm, but that did not deter him from learning all he could about agriculture and taking on leadership positions within agricultural organizations. Ratka, a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, is serving as the 2023-24 Minnesota FFA vice president. At the UMN, Ratka is majoring in animal science with an emphasis in dairy production. “Both of my parents grew up on dairy farms and were active in FFA,” Ratka said. “They both work in the dairy industry with different agribusinesses. Even though I did not grow up on a dairy farm, I have always been a part of the industry.” Ratka and his family grew up in Cold Spring. As soon as Ratka and each of his two sisters, Megan and Allison, were old enough to join 4-H, they started leasing and showing dairy cattle from a family friend. Then,
when Ratka was in sixth grade, the family moved into the country. “My sisters and I own some dairy show heifers and have remained active showing, judging and with dairy quiz bowl,” Ratka said. When Ratka was a freshman in high school, he followed in his sisters’ footsteps and joined the Rocori FFA Chapter. He immediately joined the Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management Career Development Event and competed for two years. During Ratka’s sophomore year, the team won a trip to compete at the National FFA Convention & Expo. “That contest taught me a lot about evaluating dairy animals,” Ratka said. “Along with that contest, you had to learn about the National Dairy Herd Information Association records, which is also something I was interested in.” For the following two years, Ratka participated in the Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity. Meanwhile, Ratka also participated in parliamentary procedure, served as chapter parliamentarian and
was chapter president his junior and senior year. He was also involved with chapter activities on various committees. “I helped start up our chapter test plot that we use for educational purposes right next to the school,” Ratka said. Ratka continued to climb the ladder of leadership. He served as the Region III treasurer his junior year and president his senior year. “I really enjoyed being on that team,” Ratka said. “As region president, I was able to work with the state officers last year. I knew that was something I wanted to continue being involved in.” Megan was also Region III president her senior year. “She was a good leader and role model for me to look up to,” Ratka said. “She pushed me to get more involved.” Ratka decided there was no better way to get involved than to apply for a state officer position.
“I saw being a state officer as a good way to give back and help inspire new members,” Ratka said. “The judging process was two full days of individual interviews, group scenarios, a writing portion and a speech.” The candidate judging occurs during the days leading up to the Minnesota State FFA Convention held each
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Tyler Ratka shows off an award he received at the 2023 Minnesota State FFA Convention in St. Paul. Ratka is serving as the 2023-24 Minnesota FFA vice president.
year in April at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. Ratka and the candidates
Ratka page 2B
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Saturday, February 17, 2024 | Country Acres • Page 3B
Willmar husband, wife duo
labor in love Brunes’ values teach life is never too busy for work, family, FFA BY BY SARA EISINGER STAFF WRITER
WILLMAR — Willmar Senior High School’s very own husband-wife FFA chapter’s advisory duo Lance and Kayla Brune seize the daily hustle and bustle of work, chores and family life. The Brunes and their three children, Madelyn, Loren and June, live near Willmar. The whole family is in school Monday through Friday. Afterward, Madelyn can be found swimming, Loren wrestling and June tumbling on a gymnastics mat. It all depends on the day and season. Soon, soccer and baseball practices will be added to the family’s busy agenda. Household chores are a family project, in which everyone plays a part. After all, hens must be fed and eggs collected. All three kids compete in 4-H come summer, showing swine at the Meeker County Fair. This means caring for, feeding and walking laps with the pigs with one family agreement. “One always gets harvested,” Lance said. “They are not pets. They are food. The day after the fair can be a sad day. Last year, Loren helped load a pig and take it to the processor. It teaches life lessons.” Each child is involved in 4-H projects. “We live about 40 minutes from school,” Lance said. “The kids get up at 5:45 a.m. They go out to pick eggs in the morning and at night. They care for
PHOTO SUBMITTED Willmar Senior High School FFA advisers Lanc children, June (from left), Loren and Madelyn, ine and Kayla Brune pose with their together outside of school and extracurriculars 2023. The busy family enjoys time .
Ben, our yellow lab. They make sure he has food and water. … We usually leave the house by 6:30 a.m. When we come home, the kids are expected to do chores then too. It gets pretty late, sometimes. We like to get them to bed at 7:30, but it gets to be (a) long week.” The Brune family manages it with balance. “We are teachers, so we have our summers and holiday breaks off with the kids,” Lance said. “When we leave school, we leave school.” There is always fun to be had on the weekends when the family enjoys hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. Lance and Kayla each grew up on family farms with their fair share of responsibilities. The couple hopes to instill similar values in their own children, such as accountability, time management and a hard-work ethic. Neil Pearson, Kayla’s father, is the retired Willmar Senior High School FFA advisor of approximately 30 years. “My dad and I taught together for a couple of years,” Kayla said. “He wasn’t my ag teacher because I went to a different school, but he did a lot of different things with us. I have been around ag my whole life. When we were little, we were involved in FFA events.” Kayla said her agricultural classes as well as showing animals motivated her to become an agricultural instructor. Likewise, Lance, who grew up in Albert Lea, was also influenced by his high school agriculture class.
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“I enjoyed going to class every day, and (my teacher) always had the best stories,” Lance said. “I knew as a junior in high school that I wanted to be in agriculture and that I wanted to study at the University of Minnesota. Being an ag teacher is literally the best job.” As FFA advisers, the Brunes agreed that working for the Willmar Public Schools is where they want to be. “We have a good team with a lot of moving parts,” Lance said. “We always have a lot of support from administration. At Willmar, we teach to our strengths and passions. The six teachers in FFA get along well. We always have lunch together and bounce ideas back and forth. It is a bunch of people with all levels of experience and different perspectives.” Willmar offers agriculture courses in carpentry, floral design, companion animal care, global positioning systems, floriculture, landscaping, engine mechanics, power shop, vehicle maintenance, natural resources, veterinary, wildlife management and more. “I don’t think there is any other school around the area with all of that,” Kayla said. “I teach plant electives, floral design.” For the Brunes, an average school day means arriving at 7 a.m. with FFA students coming in and out of classrooms before the bell rings, typically working in teams to prepare for competitions.
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It might seem that the Brunes are together around the clock, but that is not how things usually pan out. “We see anywhere from 75 to 90 students a day,” Kayla said. “We have a graduating class of around 300. We are the largest school in our area.” Lance agreed. “As a husband-wife team, we don’t see each other that much,” he said. Apart from planning meetings with the other agriculture teachers, each does their own thing during the day. “I see all ages from freshmen to seniors,” Kayla said. “One of my favorite things that I started three years ago is student prom flowers. Last year, more than 70 kids made their own bouquets and corsages. It helps with costs. Coming up, the third and fourth term runs like a floral shop.” Students will be expected to design and sell their floral arrangements to peers and faculty. Eventually, floral sales could even open to the public. Lance said one-quarter of his schedule is plant science-related. “Before I came, we mainly had shop classes,” Lance said. “We have grown the plant science side of things. I am a ‘Jack of all trades.’” Lance handles drones, wildlife management, natural resources and much more. After a busy day, the Brunes family gets back to evening chores, sports, 4-H projects and bedtime for the kids, a balance perfected by Brune family values.
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Page 6B • Country Acres | Saturday, February 17, 2024
6 2 Reaching 31 for the top
Middendorf achieves highest degree in FFA BY EMILY BRETH STAFF WRITER
SAUK CENTRE — Sarah Middendorf, who is working as a safe quality food practitioner at Long Prairie Packing, earned the American FFA Degree, which is the highest degree an FFA member can obtain. The honor was announced at the 2023 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Middendorf was one of the
nearly 4,500 FFA members nationwide to receive this degree, being one of 96 from Minnesota. “It was an award I thought was very prestigious, and I wanted to try and get it,” Middendorf said. “I got my State FFA Degree so I just had to work a little harder to get my American Degree. It feels like an honor to be able to achieve an American Degree. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”
The daughter of Steven and Julie, Middendorf has helped on her parents’ dairy farm since she was young alongside her four siblings: Leah, Ben, Spencer and Zach. Starting by helping her brothers feed calves, Middendorf eventually worked her way up to help milk the cows by the age
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Sarah Middendorf stands with a heifer Jan. 24, 2023, in the North Dakota State University dairy barn in Fargo, North Dakota. Middendorf, who graduated with a degree in animal t science, received her American FFA Degree in November m f 2023.
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of 7. Continuing to gain more responsibilities on the farm, Middendorf developed an interest in the farming community which led to her joining FFA. Middendorf joined the
Sauk Centre FFA Chapter when she was in seventh M grade and stuck with it throughout her middle and high school careers. i
Middendorf page 7B
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