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11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, MN 56379
“Minnesota’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper” Vol. 161, No. 51
Sauk Rapids, Benton County, Minnesota 56379
A continuation of the Frontiersman, The Free Press, Sauk Rapids Sentinel and St. Cloud Sentinel.
Waiting to
SAUK RAPIDS – When most people Ànd out they’ll be getting a new brother or sister, they typically wait less than nine months. That wasn’t the case with Sauk RapidsRice Middle School student Jeremiah—he waited over four years. Jeremiah is a “Little” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring program. His “Big” McKinley Lain, a senior at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, was paired with him almost a year ago. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, Jeremiah’s story is not uncommon. B i g PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER Brothers Big McKinley Lain and his “Little,” Jeremiah, spend time together each week as part of a Big Brothers Big (BBBS) Sisters school-based match. Lain is a senior at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School and Jeremiah attends the Sisters is experiencing middle school.
Fatal accident stops traffic
SAUK RAPIDS – The Sauk Rapids Community Center Advocates group presented at the Sauk Rapids regular city council meeting March 28 bringing the council and public up to speed on a community Àeldhouse project. The group, which has been meeting over two years, was represented by Mark Kotcho and Randy Krebs, both Sauk Rapids residents. The two gave a presentation which detailed the past timeline, funding and budget thoughts and included an unofÀcial drawing of a conceptualized
Àeldhouse. The group hopes to work together with the public, city and school district to make this concept a reality. According to Krebs the idea for a community Àeldhouse in the Sauk Rapids area was more than likely spurred from community members visiting other athletic Àeld houses and wondering how a facility similar could beneÀt Sauk Rapids. In November 2014, a half-cent sales tax was passed by voters to not only include regional projects but also fund recreational athletic facilities, recreational parks and trails and complementary
City Council continued on pg. 7
a critical i i l needd ffor male l volunteers within both their school-based and communitybased mentoring programs. In January, the nonproÀt launched the Man-Up campaign to recruit 100 men in 100 days to their central Minnesota program. The campaign ends April 9 and there’s still a long way to go. As of last week the group had recruited 69 potential male mentors with the deadline fast approaching. “I’ve been in this program for many years,” said eighth grader Jeremiah, who started in the program roughly six years ago. “But I haven’t had a chance to be paired with someone for over a full year at a time. I had a Big Sister in second grade and another in third, but I had to wait until McKinley to have a Big Brother because there weren’t any males available.” Although Jeremiah waited much longer, the average number of days a boy Little waits to meet his Big in central
Minnesota 304. Y Yet JJeremiah Mi iis 304 i h wasn’t discouraged. Although he felt hopeless initially, Jeremiah said the program did a good job of reassuring him they’d eventually Ànd a match. That match was McKinley. “I have a feeling she [an employee who paired the two] had us cut out for each other from day one,” Lain said. Lain came to the program as a junior after watching the experience his older brother had volunteering as a Big. He enjoys teaching, so he thought becoming a Big would help him grow his skills. “It’s a good opportunity to grow as a mentor. We’re ultimately just like friends, only he’s in eighth grade and I’m a senior,” Lain said. “You don’t necessarily know what you’re going to get out of it, but you can always learn something from a new person, no matter their age. What each
Big brother continued on pg. 2
SR-R students visit D.C.
he struck a bicyclist who was crossing the southbound lanes. The cyclist did not survive by ANNA SALDANA the incident. Stocker was not STAFF WRITER injured. The victim’s name had not SAUK RAPIDS – The been released by the time the Sauk Rapids-Rice School Sauk Rapids Herald went to District is all about providing print. as many opportunities for stu-
Long-term funding unsecured by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
March 31, 2016
Man-UP by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
SARTELL — TrafÀc came to a halt on Highway 15 Tuesday morning after a fatal accident. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Jason Stocker, of Sartell was traveling southbound on Highway 15 just north of County Road 1 at approximately 5:45 a.m. when
(USPS 482-240)
dents as they can. When the opportunity was presented for students to visit Washington D.C., the district’s administration was immediately supportive. “Washington D.C. is a place like no other. By students experiencing it Àrst hand and by working closely with our local and national politicians, we can and will continue to be part of the solution. Our children will ensure that our future is in good hands,” said Dr. Daniel Bittman, superintendent of the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District. A group of seven Sauk Rapids-Rice High School (SRRHS) students – Nikki Bukowski, Stephen Erickson, Cameron Helgeson, Marissa Leeb, Logan Mclaired, Katie Oltz and Ruth Wesenburg – were recently able to take that
six-day trip. “It was the trip of a lifetime,” Bukowski said. “I didn’t want to leave at the end of the trip. I would highly recommend it to anyone.” The trip was offered to students enrolled in the Advanced Placement (AP) Government class at the high school. Win Anderson, the teacher of the class, was the chaperone on the trip. Since they returned from the trip on March 18, Anderson has seen a renowned appreciation for the class. “I’ve noticed an increase in the level of energy these students have in class. They are more engaged and eager to learn,” Anderson said. The trip was made possible through the Close Up Foundation, a program that works to get students to Washington D.C., to the seat of government, so that they can take what they’ve learned in class and see how it is applied. “Probably the most important part of the program is the day on Capitol Hill, where
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Sauk Rapids-Rice students – (front, from left) Cameron Helgeson and Stephen Erickson; (back, from left) Katie Oltz, Ruth Wesenberg, Logan McLaird, Nikki Bukowski, Marissa Leeb and Winifred Anderson – visited several monuments on their trip to Washington D.C., including one of Maria Sanford.
they got to meet with Con- capitol, met with Al Franken gressmen Emmer and ask him Washington D.C. questions, got a tour of the continued on pg. 7
More than a fender PHOTO BY ANNA SALDANA
Marcus and Jerry Moldaschel, with Avri Paulson, have designed fenders for Paulson’s wheelchair.
by ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS – Avri Paulson is one of many students in the Sauk RapidsRice School District that has special needs. Last year, she received a customized wheelchair to increase her mobility and independence. “Up until she got her wheelchair, Avri was using an adaptive stroller without the ability to self-propel. Now that she has the wheelchair, every day is all about increasing her independence and quality of life,” said LaJune Moldaschel, the paraprofessional at Mississippi Heights Elementary School that works with Avri. “She is very intelligent, but just can’t verbalize what she is thinking. Everything that Avri learns is a blessing and she’s always looking at things to see how they work.” One of the things that Paulson loves to do is listening to music and watching people dance.
“Sometimes we have to sing or dance to keep her motivated,” LaJune said. Now as a third grade student, she has renowned motivation and some new accessories to show off – fenders on her custom wheelchair. “One of the problems Avri and her mom, Kristi, were having was when Avri would push her wheelchair, she would push on the rubber tire part rather than the rails. Particularly when it is rainy or snowy, her hands would get all dirty and her coat would get dirty from getting caught in the tires,” said LaJune. “Kristi looked all over online, but couldn’t Ànd anything to Àx the problem.” That’s where Marcus and Jerry Moldaschel came in. Jerry is an engineer and Marcus is on the high school’s robotics team. They both are interested in 3-D printing and often work on projects together. “He got started with a 3-D printer at home and I got
real inquisitive about it as an engineer,” Jerry said. “Now we work on projects together.” Printing in 3-D has become a hobby for the father and son. “We sit downstairs until 10:30 or 11 at night talking about it and what we want to do next,” Marcus said. Since getting into 3-D printing, Jerry purchased his own 3-D printer that was a little bigger and could print bigger parts. When the idea came about for Paulson’s wheelchair fenders, they were all for designing and 3-D printing them. “This project would have never even been a thought if Marcus wasn’t a part of the robotics team,” LaJune said. “In fact, I didn’t know what 3-D printing was until it came into my house.” Robotics is a big part of Marcus’s life. When he heard Paulson was having problems, Jerry and he designed the fenders on SolidWorks. “We pretty much drew
the shapes and dimensions to start,” Marcus said. “After each prototype, we would modify the design a little bit and try it again. Eventually we worked up to the fenders she has today and they seem to work great for her.” Each fender is made from a tough plastic. To mold into the design, the plastic is heated up to approximately 400 degrees and creates one layer at a time, taking about 18 hours for the whole print. “It’s stacking and creating. It runs at my house all night long and it’s not exactly quiet. Then they have fans blowing on the plastic to cool it,” LaJune said with a laugh. Currently, Marcus and Jerry are using printers they assembled themselves and they tweak the settings based on the print they are working on. The printer at the high school has its own software, is already assembled and it
Paulson continued on pg. 3