by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com Aki Rebeck said when she grows up she would like to be an architect, an actress and maybe – just maybe – a mayor. Recently, Rebeck, a Sartell Middle School fifth-grader and the daughter of Ken and Tomoko Rebeck, was one of three young students honored with a state award for her essay imagining herself as
‘Fitness Fever’ gives Kennedy kids a boost
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com By the end of January, many students at Kennedy Community School were feeling healthier and happier. That’s because of the school’s annual month-long nutrition and fitness effort dubbed Fitness Fever. The program started Jan. 1 and lasted through the month, although fitness efforts persist throughout the year. Physical-education teacher Barb Gabler explained how the program works.
Call for bids authorized for east-side reconstruction
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com The Sartell City Council unanimously approved a call for bids for the long-anticipated 2019 East Side Reconstruction Project. April Ryan, an engineer with Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. presented a slide show of the project at the Jan. 28 City Council meeting. The project, estimated to cost about $7.7 million, will involve the following: full reconstruction of
Bids to be taken for Celebration, again
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com An ordering of bids was approved by the Sartell City Council at its last meeting for safety improvements in the Celebration neighborhood of Sartell. The estimated cost of the project is about $500,000 for the actual construction, with an additional $125,000 to cover soft costs, such as design. Bids will be opened sometime in February. Celebration
Babich excited about Blackberry ice-rink fun
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com The start of the new year is filled with a growing excitement for Sonja Babich, who was recently honored as Sartell Chamber of Commerce Member of the Year. “I was honored and tickled to win that award,” Babich said. She was praised at the awards ceremony for her sense of community, her hospitality, her constant emphasis
Pond-hockey tourney set for Feb. 1-3 in Sartell
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com There is a 13-year-old kid inside of 63-year-old Gary Hines – a kid who pops up smiling and gleeful when Hines recalls his days of playing pond hockey so many years ago in his hometown, Little Falls. Hines, a longtime hockey coach for Sartell and Sauk Rapids, is the owner of Hockey Zone Minnesota in Waite
SS River Runners to celebrate 50th birthday
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com Nineteen sixty-nine was a long, long time ago – a half century, to be exact, but some members of the St. Stephen River Runners snowmobile remember that year fondly, as if it were yesterday, because that’s the year their club began. The club’s members are planning a huge public birthday celebration to memorialize the 50-year event
Deputy Chief Struffert to retire
After 34 years in the law-enforcement profession and 29 of them serving Sartell, Deputy Police Chief Dale Struffert will retire this May. In a letter to Police Chief Jim Hughes, Struffert stated that “recent changes in PERA, as well as continued issues with my personal health, have caused me to realize that it is time for a change in my