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11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, MN 56379
“Minnesota’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper” Vol. 162, No. 11
Sauk Rapids, Benton County, Minnesota 56379
A continuation of the Frontiersman, The Free Press, Sauk Rapids Sentinel and St. Cloud Sentinel.
Softball tournament Quietly reaching Adams Ànishes canceled SAUK RAPIDS — The Rapid River Days 12U and 14U Girls Fastpitch Softball Tournament has been canceled. The event, which was to be held at noon on Saturday, June 25 at Bob Cross Park Softball Fields, is hoped to be revived next year. The shuttle bus stop at Mississippi Heights Elementary has also been canceled.
One injured in sideswipe crash ST. CLOUD — A Sauk Rapids woman was injured after her vehicle left the road on Monday evening. Bonnie Cecil, 37, was traveling southbound on Highway 15 near Veteran’s Drive around 9:38 p.m. when the driver of a transport truck and trailer failed to see Cecil’s vehicle and changed lanes. Cecil left the roadway to avoid further damage and suffered non life-threatening injuries in the crash. The driver of the truck, described as a UD 26000 was Angel Sandoval, 26 of Winthrop. Sandoval had no apparent injuries.
Forfeitures to be sold at online auctions by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE — The city of Rice will be using an online auction service to sell three vehicles forfeited to the city for DWI and drug related convictions. The council approved using K-Bid Online Auctions at Monday’s meeting to sell a 2003 Harley Davidson Fat Boy, 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche and 1999 Ford Taurus which are currently being held in the city’s impound lot. By law, any funds received from the future sales must be used for further enforcement and will be placed in the Rice Police Department accounts. Police Chief Ross Hamann was given permission by the council to work with the experts at K-Bid and use his discretion when setting opening bids for the items. The city has minimal cost invested in the property which would include towing and transfer title fees. In other council news: - Approved a garage encroachment agreement for 125 First Avenue NW - Approved making an employment offer to a treasurer applicant. - Approved an updated bid from Multiple Concepts Interiors of Waite Park for no more than $3,054 for the replacement and installation of ceramic tile in the men’s city hall bathroom. - Announced that election judge training will be held July 20 from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. or July 21 from 7-9 p.m. at Henry’s Catering in Foley. Those interested in becoming election judges should contact Rice City Clerk Stephanie Fischer before July 5 at (320) 3932280.
(USPS 482-240)
June 23, 2016
a milestone
Grandma’s 25 times by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE – As over 8,500 participants laced their running shoes Saturday morning for the 40th Grandma’s Marathon from Two Harbors to Duluth, one woman was in search of something more than a Ànish line. Simplicity. Silence. And solitude. After all, those were the characteristics of the sports which drew Katherine Adams to become a long-distance runner in the Àrst place. Adams, 59 of Rice, Ànished her attempt at the 26.2 mile foot-race along Scenic Highway 61 June 18 in 4:25:18. But this race was special. It was her 25th successful completion of Grandma’s — a race she’s been participating in since 1988. “I like the simplicity of running. Traveling and the logistics of marathons usually takes away from that, but Grandma’s is well organized and has great volunteers,” said Adams of why she runs the race each year. “It was the Àrst marathon I ran and it just stuck. It’s a nice combination where at the beginning you have spots of spectators but most of the time you can enjoy the scenery and the lake. It’s very pristine until you get
towards the end where the excitement builds and the crowds start pulling you into the Ànish.” Adams began track and Àeld at an early age, but participated in high jump and sprinting. At that time in history, prejudices and misconceptions about women’s athletic abilities restricted women to running distances of 800 meters or less. Adams wasn’t interested in mid-distance running and found it to be painful. It wasn’t until her junior year that the sport began allowing women to run the mile and her coach expressed she would be doing so. Adams ran an open time trial for herself. She Ànished at 6:20. “That was the start. The longer the distance the better I was,” Adams said. “I enjoyed the challenge and I have the personality to deal with things as they come along.” The long distance runner continued competition throughout her high school career as well as on Saint Cloud State University’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams. But Adams never desired to run the extreme distance of a marathon until after being pressured by col-
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Katherine Adams, of Rice, crossed the Ànish line at Grandman’s Marathon June 11, 1988. It was her Àrst-ever marathon. The 59-year-old distance runner participates today using a lifetime membership she purchased in 1991 for $100.
lege friends. “I didn’t understand why anyone would want to run that far,” Adams said. But years later after one friend had completed over eight Twin Cities Marathons and another Ànished Grandma’s, she decided she should at least try. She ran he Àrst Grandma’s in 1988 and upon crossing Ànish line in 3:43:11 gun time, she knew she’d be back. And she has been — 29 times. Adams most memorable race was when her faith in PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER God helped her run at what Adams holds the Àrst medal she received in 1988 for Ànishing seemed an impossible pace. On the drive to Duluth, Grandma’s Marathon. She has since Ànished 25 times.
while her husband and boys were sleeping, Adams recalls hearing the radio station announce the time periodically. When they broadcasted 3:33, she remembers hearing a voice and calm come over her proclaiming she’d run the race in that time. Doubtful, she continued to receive signs and comforting hugs from her creator including a message written on a nearby runner which said, “I can do all things through God who strengthens me.” As she approached the Ànish line later that day, Adams was grateful. But it wasn’t until she crossed the Ànish and looked
at her time of 3:33 that she understood God is always by her side. Because she enjoys the solitude, Adams usually runs alone during Grandma’s Marathon. “You’re going to have good stretches and bad stretches and if you’re with someone typically you end up having them at different times,” Adams said. “This can be helpful, but it can also make the race a little more work so you have to be ready for that. The big thing I’ve learned through all these years is that you have to stay calm and deal with it. Be calm and be smart.”
More than one basket of eggs
GNP Company’s Sauk Rapids facility begins hatching by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — On the east side of Highway 10, you’ll Ànd typical industrial park trades packaging food and liquids, engineering and fabricating metal-works and creating custom cabinets, but you’ll also Ànd a new neighbor who might just become the “cluck” of the town. GNP Company’s new hatchery facility launched production at the beginning of June. The building which boasts upwards of 74,000 square feet is located at 4 Industrial Boulevard and has the current potential to become the birthplace to roughly 850,000 chicks each week. The former Crystal Cabinets building was purchased late 2014 and has been modiÀed over the last year and a half to meet the needs of the state-of-the-art hatchery. It has been Àtted with an ample amount of incubators, hatchers and robotic processing equipment, but has the capabilities of future expansion as well. GNP will be using
both the St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids hatcheries as the chicken industry continues to grow. “I’m glad the company is moving in a positive direction,” said Breeder/Hatchery Manager Wayne Sanders. “We foresee the chicken business to do nothing but get bigger and better.” The demand for chicken continues to go up worldwide. According to GNP Company’s 2015 Farm to Fork report, chicken is the preferred meat protein source and is predicted to lead U.S. per capita consumption at over 90 pounds per person in 2016. Although GNP Company is only a small percentage of the chicken industry, its Goldn’ Plump and Just Bare brands reached $470 million in sales for 2015 — a 14 percent growth rate over the three previous years. The process of hatching GNP Company chicks is more complex than one might think. It begins with ordering the correct parent stock from the company’s breeder about 18 months in advance. The
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
GNP Company recently began hatching broiler chickens at the Sauk Rapids Hatchery. Wayne Sanders, Breeder/ Hatchery Manager, heads the new facility.
breeder chickens, which are chosen based on premium genetics or pedigree, are provided to various farms across the state where they mate. Eggs are collected from the barns and brought to the hatchery. The eggs remain in the building for about a week of reception and organization before they begin the incubation process. Twenty-four single stage
incubators, with the capability to hold 126,720 eggs each, line three air-sealed hallways. The eggs remain in their stations for 18 days while an electronic temperature and humidity program is set to ensure prime chick development. From incubation, a robot shines a light through the eggs to detect developing embryos. Those eggs which have been fertilized are transferred into
hatching baskets. Finally the eggs are placed in chick hatchers. “The birds today are sensitive during hatching. You really have to be dialed in tight to do a good job,” Sanders said. “These types of machines will do anything you want them to do within very Ànite numbers.
GNP continued on pg. 5