by Mike Knaak editor@thenewsleaders.com When new St. Joseph City Council member Brian Theisen is sworn in Jan. 7, he’ll bring years of problem solving and public-service experience. Theisen, 40, is a Stearns County deputy and member of the St. Joseph Fire Department. “I’ll be problem-solving for the city. That’s what I do 50 hours a week as a deputy,” Theisen
Council revisits Wetterling Recreation Center project
by Dave DeMars news@thenewsleaders.com Despite missing two of its members, the remaining quorum of the St. Joseph City Council was able to wade through a short agenda that included an open hearing on Truth in Taxation and discussion of a feasibility study dealing with capital funding for the Jacob Wetterling Community and Recreation Center project. The Jacob Wetterling Community and
Girl Scouts from the ’70, ’80s plan reunion
Newsleaders staff report news@newsleaders.com Were you a Girl Scout in the ‘70s and ‘80s in St. Joseph area? If so, former Troop Leaders Delores Giroux and Sharon Toogood Froehle would love to see you again. The event will be from 3-6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, at Giroux’s home, 103 Minnesota St. E. RSVP by Thursday, Dec. 20, to Froehle at 320-493-8493
Veterans profiles will mark American Legion’s 100th anniversary
The American Legion will be celebrating its 100th birthday in 2019. In addition to national and statewide activities commemorating this milestone, American Post 328 of St. Joseph is planning a number of festive and patriotic activities for the community. One of those special events will be profiles of St. Joseph-area veterans published in each Newsleader during 2019. The Newsleader is
It’s time to talk to strangers
Don’t talk to strangers. That advice is widely given, especially to children. Don’t talk to strangers because they pose a threat to your safety. Don’t make eye contact. March forward. Avoid the homeless people on the street corner. Don’t exchange glances with politicians looking for votes or with folks ringing bells next to kettles. No commitment. Don’t talk to strangers.
65 is no longer a magic number
Life’s milestones are measured in different ways. Births, deaths, weddings, divorces, funerals are markers on life’s timeline. For the more numerically inclined, there are birthdays. The numbers that increase with each trip around the sun clearly stamp crucial passages. A first birthday is always a big deal for a new family member. At 13, the teenage years begin. Sixteen-year-olds look
Will ‘National Restoration’ soon begin?
Come January, the National Restoration just might begin – a restoration of voting integrity, of the rule of law, of checks and balances, of strengthened treaties with our long-time allies, of rededication to environmental health, of renewed respect for science and facts. Time to make America decent again, sane again, democratic again. But will that restoration actually begin? Yes, but
You wouldn’t know it, but I live a life of privilege
I live a privileged life. I don’t worry when I’m walking down the street about that guy I see if he’s following me. When I’m with a group of my friends, I don’t worry about people mistaking us for a gang. In my younger days, I could have a first-floor apartment. Even better, when I get stopped for having a