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11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, MN 56379
“Minnesota’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper” Vol. 162, No. 14
Sauk Rapids, Benton County, Minnesota 56379
(USPS 482-240)
July 14, 2016
A continuation of the Frontiersman, The Free Press, Sauk Rapids Sentinel and St. Cloud Sentinel.
Storm 12UAA baseball team earns fourth by ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Judy Hoofnagle, pictured with her husband, Bob, was installed as the District Governor of the 5M8 Lions July 1.
Hoofnagle becomes Lions District 5M8 Governor by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER SAUK RAPIDS — In a short conversation about the improvements her husband Bob and she have made to their home, Judy Hoofnagle will tell you she believes firmly in leaving things better than she’s found them. Unsurprisingly, this credence applies to more than material structure. It will relate over the next year as Hoofnagle fulfills her role as the District Governor of 5M8 Lions. Hoofnagle was appointed to her position July 1 after submitting her letter of intent, serving one year as first district governor and 26 years as a member of the Sauk Rapids Lions or Lioness Clubs. District 5M8 Lions encompass multiple clubs in what is Lions Club International, the largest service organization in the world. With over 1.35 million members and 46,000 clubs worldwide, Lions seek to better their communities with their motto “We Serve” by working through four main umbrella goals of sight, hearing, diabetes and youth. District 5M8 represents the largest membership sector of its multiple district 5M and boasts over 3,000 members from seven central Minnesota counties who embrace 78 Lions Clubs, one Lioness and six Leo Clubs. Hoofnagle joined the Sauk Rapids Lioness group in 1989 and later became a Lion in 1998 when the two groups combined, but service wasn’t new to Hoofnagle. She has served nearly her entire life. “Do you know the 4-H pledge?” Hoofnagle asked during the interview with the Sauk Rapids Herald. “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living,” she said. “I think I took that to heart.” Growing up south of Litchfield, Hoofnagle moved to Sauk Rapids in 1967 after meeting her husband, marrying and having their daughter. The two became involved in both the church and school. “Bob and I have been volunteers forever,” Hoofnagle said. “We got married and decided we didn’t have a lot of money but we had plenty of time. So we started working with the children at our church as youth directors and when our daughter grew older we were part of the group who formed the Green and Gold Club to help fund dwindling programs within the district.” Hoofnagle’s job at Wells Fargo brought her to the Sauk Rapids location in 1989. Her daughter had graduated three years earlier and with less involvement in the schools, Hoofnagle was looking to join
an organization. She asked to be invited to the local Lioness chapter meeting and has been serving ever since. The role of District Governor 5M8 will be to decipher the goals and messages of Lions Club International President Chancellor Robert Corlew and make decisions about how to apply them to her district. Hoofnagle has undergone extensive in-person and online trainings to prepare her for these duties over the past year, but also has in-house help to rely on. “Bob was district governor exactly ten years before me in 2006-07. I retired that year, so I was able to experience it with him. We’ve always been a team. If you ask any of our friends, we’ve always done everything together,” Hoofnagle said. As her husband was fulfilling his role, Hoofnagle baked over 50 apple pies to be auctioned at various clubs and became known as the “pie lady of 5M8.” Together they raised $2,500 for campaign Sight First with the desserts. District Governor isn’t the first leadership role Hoofnagle has staffed over her years with the Lions. She was president of the Sauk Rapids Lions in 2002-03. Although Hoofnagle faced initial reservations from male club members when she stepped into that particular leadership position, she said her team of 12 all-male M5 district governors have been more than welcoming. “I am really blessed with my team. When we said we could not go to Japan where I would be officially installed as District Governor because of Bob’s health, they were all really supportive. I thought I would live vicariously through their photo albums when they arrived home, but instead they brought along our picture and posted something every day. They have all embraced me,” Hoofnagle said. Hoofnagle’s reigning year will emphasis itself on children — children’s vision, children’s hearing, the Special Olympics and more. One of Hoofnagle’s goals she has set for the 5M8 clubs is to increase membership by one person, per club and to reduce the number of dropped members by 25 percent. “Then Lions started out as a businessman’s group almost 100 years ago and we’ve grown to where the ordinary person can join, but it’s harder to get that ordinary person. We’ve watched our club age and it’s hard. I understand there are kids and jobs which are no longer 9 to 5,” Hoofnagle said. “But I wish I knew the secret recipe to impassion people and to grab them. I thoroughly believe that I have breathed air in this community for 50 years and I need to give back to it.”
SAUK RAPIDS – Baseball has long been considered America’s favorite pastime. For one group of Storm 12-year-olds, that is definitely the case. The 12UAA Storm baseball team had a 29-1 record this season, qualifying as the No. 2 seed of 32 teams in the Minnesota Youth Athletic Services (MYAS) Gopher State tournament. The team took fourth place in the tournament. “The teams were better and the games were more challenging,” said Owen Arndt, a player on the team. “We had a lot of fun and we got the chance to prove we are one of the best teams in the state.” The MYAA Gopher State tournament isn’t the only tournament they’ve qualified for. The team took first place in the St. Cloud Spring Invitational, the Pierz John Hellie Tournament and the Osakis Silverstreak Classic. “We’ve had a very successful season and being seeded No. 2 shows respect for that. The kids deserve to be there and it’s a good way to cap the year for them,” said coach Mike Moilanen. The team also qualified for the Minnesota Sports Federation State Tournament, which will take place July 22-24 in Sartell. While the team is playing at the AA level this year, they will be moved up to AAA next season. “We’ve been so successful with these kids the past few years that we have to
PHOTO BY ANNA SALDANA
The Storm 12UAA baseball team – (front, from left) Jacob Peters, Will White, Owen Arndt and Nolan Widman; (back, from left) Eli Moilanen, Dane Dingmann, Noah Jensen, Alex Harren and Cayden Christensen; (not pictured) Dominic Mathies, Cole Ackerman and Carter Loesch – took fourth place in the Minnesota Youth Athletic Services Tournament July 8-10 in Sartell.
move up to the next level,” Moilanen said. “Each of the 12 kids on the team has really developed. They have all pitched at one point and they all hit well. Just the growth and development of the kids from last year to this year is incredible.” According to Moilanen, it has been a common occurrence to have players hitting the ball into the 300-500 foot range out on the field. At the MYAS tournament, the team played well and Moilanen hopes they got more out of it. “First, I hope they had fun. Second, the chance to measure themselves up to
these heavyweight teams of the baseball world – Maple Grove, Edina, Wayzata, Minnetonka – and take them on in head-to-head matches is good for the team,” Moilanen said. The resiliency and being good teammates is what Moilanen believes got them this far. “Every game it seems like we have a different kid that steps up and gets the big hit or makes a play,” Moilanen said. “Across the board, it’s just a bunch of kids who think they’re never out of the game. They play hard until the last out and that’s what has won us games.”
New London-Spicer was the one team the Storm fell to, but they found a victory later on in the season, beating them by seven runs. “The first time we faced them, it was early on in the season and one of those coldweather games and we only lost by two runs. We pulled ahead of them later on in the season though, so that helped the kids’ confidence,” Moilanen said. “We kind of took off after that loss. We’ve 10-runned most of our games this year.”
Storm 12UAA continued on pg. 2
Nine arrested after task force conducts multiple search warrants ST. CLOUD — Multiple people were taken into custody and two houses were condemned after the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force conducted five separate search warrants over the course of a week. The warrants also resulted in confiscation of illegal drugs and firearms. Jason Krause, 30, of St. Cloud was taken into custody for an unrelated outstanding warrant when officers searched 1601 33rd Avenue North, St. Cloud July 1. A small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were also located at the house, but no residents are subject to any criminal charges stemming from this particular warrant. A search warrant was conducted July 5 at 1012 Killian Boulevard, St. Cloud which led to police to a bedroom where they found synthetic marijuana and Xanax pills. The occupant of the bedroom, who was not home at the time the search was conducted, is subject to criminal charges for the illegal possession of pills and synthetic marijuana. The case will be sent to the Sherburne County Attorney for review of formal charges. The other residents were not charged with any crimes. Michael Hipp, 23, of St. Cloud and Nathan Rue, 48, of St. Cloud were taken into custody on outstanding warrants July 6 after officers searched 702 McKinley Place South, St. Cloud. Both were transported to the Stearns County Jail. The CMVOTF also found a small amount of cocaine and due to the conditions of the residence the St. Cloud Health Department was contacted and condemned the house.
Two search warrants were conducted simultaneously July 7 at 817 Golfview Lane No. 6, St. Cloud and 934 Longview Drive, St. Cloud because occupants of both residences were connected to each other during the investigation. SWAT teams from St. Cloud Police and Sherburne County Sheriff Office conducted the raids due to firearms being present at both locations. Dylon Aronson, 29, of St. Cloud was taken from 817 Golfview Lane to Stearns County Jail and booked on second degree sales of methamphetamine. Other items associated with the sales of controlled substances were found at the residence. A 934 Longview Drive resident Jason Rau, 28, of St. Cloud was arrested for fourth degree sale of controlled substances and for the sale of a short barrel illegal shotgun, both which occurred during the investigation. During the search methamphetamine and firearms were located. Nathan Zirbes, 37 and Robin Thompson, 42, both with no personal address, were present at the time of the search and discovered to have outstanding warrants. They were arrested and transported to jail for booking. Thompson had a current order for protection barring him from any contact with his minor children, but the children have been staying at the residence for the past two weeks. Thompson faces additional possible charges of violation of an order for protection. The case will be
Task force continued on pg. 3
Dylon Aronson
David Cantillo
Jason Krause
Michael Hipp
Jason Rau
Shannon Remme
Robin Thompson
Nathan Zirbes