Jan. 5 edition
The public is invited to observe nifty robots and their ingenius makers perform wonderous feats at the statewide VEX Robotics Tournament Jan. 6 at Sartell Middle School. Sartell participants included award-winning teams from the middle school and the high school.
Volunteers who make Lions Community Park in Sartell an ongoing reality were honored at a recent Sartell City Council meeting with a presentation of certificates by Lions Club member Phil Ringstrom and other members. Sartell Mayor Sarah Jane Nicoll and council members also thanked the honorees, who through the years have contributed thousands of hours to keeping Lions Park in fine condition. Those honored are Kim Allar, Katie Kitzmiller, Melissa Kitzmiller, Kris Menke, Bud and Lorna Nestel, Mitze Olson, Judy Pohlkamp, Diane Schellinger, Sue Tembrock, Adam Wenker, Kaye Wenker and Mary Wenker. Also honored was Lions member Karen Maruska, the leader of the Leo Lions, a youth group who also worked hard to make the park a success.
Spoken glimpses into Sartell’s past can be heard and seen on the City of Sartell’s website. Residents in video presentations reminisce about various aspects of the city, including the East Side, the School District, the Police Department and Rivertown. The videos were produced by the Sartell Senior Connection in partnership with the Sartell-St. Stephen School District. Organizers of the videos would like to produce more of them.
Jan. 12 edition
Young entrepreneur and visionary Alex Bertsch of Sartell is being honored as one of the two winners in the third annual “2 Under 20” awards by the St. Cloud Times. Bertsch, the son of Carolyn and Matt Bertsch, is a senior at Sartell High School.
Yash Hindka’s grace under pressure, reinforced by his all-around intelligence, paid off, resulting in a perfect score on the American College Testing test – a solid composite score of 36. Hindka is now the second Sartell High School student to receive a perfect 36 on the ACT. In 2014, that honor was achieved by Gopi Ramanathan, who happens to be a friend of Hindka.
An intolerable stench in the vicinity of Sartell’s sanitary-sewer system’s lift station 1 just might be solved, at long last – or so the city council and others, with noses pinched, are hoping. The council approved two proposals that might bring a fix. One is to install aerators at lift stations 4 and 9; the other is to add chemicals (hydrogen peroxide, primarily) into both lift station 4 and the olfactory-offender lift station 1.
Jan. 19 edition
The name of another priest has been added to a list of about 40 area Catholic clergy “likely to have abused minors,” according to a recent announcement from Bishop Donald Kettler, head of the Diocese of St. Cloud. The priest is the Rev. Antonio Marfori, who was ordained in 1978 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud. Marfori has had two complaints against him. The first was filed in 2015, the second in 2016.
No one likes to think of a child going hungry or being shamed for not having money in his or her lunch account. Unfortunately, that’s the public concern in some school districts, as seen in recent headlines across the United States and even within our own state. In the central Minnesota school districts of Sartell- St. Stephen and St. Cloud, children and families need not fear such treatment.
For eight local women, Saturday mornings from mid-November to April are spent hitting the paved trails in and around Lion’s Community Park in Sartell. Now in its second year, the Polar Run Club is giving women the chance to continue developing their running stamina and endurance throughout the winter months.
Jan. 26 edition
The Sartell-St. Stephen School Board had a full menu of items that occupied its attention at the regular Jan. 22 meeting. Those concerns included the progress of the new high school, fundraising for a new athletic complex and school calendars for 2018 through 2020.
It’s been nearly two months since the Minnesota Department of Public Safety launched the text-to-911 service statewide. But since the service has been active, law enforcement throughout Stearns County have seen limited use of the technology.
Most people, if they even hear of it, will dismiss from their minds National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day, Jan. 26. Most have never heard of it. Not the Stephen and Julie Muenchow family of Sartell. They hope people on that day and forever after will learn and remember what that disease is. Kawasaki can be deadly if it is not caught in time. Their baby, Gavin, had it when he was born May 5, 2016, but his parents didn’t know it, their doctors didn’t know it and nobody else had a clue. At least not at first. Fortunately, an intravenous treatment saved Gavin’s life. An injection of immunoglobulin worked wonders for Gavin after only one infusion.
Feb. 2 edition
An energetic, loud, rambunctious pep rally at Sartell Middle School Jan. 26 suddenly morphed into a big win for fifth-grader Sophie Lathe. Lathe was one of four students chosen to participate in a Disney-themed version of the TV game show Jeopardy.
A special volunteer force has been suiting up to help welcome out-of-town visitors for Super Bowl LII since Jan. 26. Among the 10,000 volunteers are 10 individuals from Sartell.
It’s a rare honor for somebody at the age of 85 to be inducted into a Hall of Fame, but that’s what happened to Don Reedstrom of Sartell. He is now one of 33 former athletes inducted into the Sauk Rapids High School Storm Athletic Hall of Fame since 2012 when the honorary program began.
Feb. 9 edition
Award-winning artist Jabreel Abdi of Sartell loves to extend his cultural horizons in directions that lead him to new ideas, new techniques, new styles. Abdi, a graduate of Sartell High School, recently won first place in an art contest titled “Be HumanKIND: A Way to Honor Community Healing.” The contest at St. Cloud Technical & Community College, was one of the college’s ways to honor the legacy of the great civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Abdi, a first-year student at SCTCC, is the son of Abdi Abdi and Audra Abdi of Sartell.
Adults aren’t the only people interested in what happens with the daily rise and fall of investments in the stock market. Several area students are also learning about the market. At Sartell Middle School, the students began playing the Stock Market Game from 7:45-8:20 a.m. Tuesday mornings in late January and will continue through May 2.
Entering the home of Jack and Suzanne Toftey in Sartell is a bit like entering an enchanting storybook world that causes visitors to smile and sometimes chuckle and laugh with wonderment. Everywhere on display are whimsical bowls, plates, paintings and wood-carved figures, and each one of them evokes the magical delights of Norwegian folk scenes. Suzanne is an award-winning master of rosemaling whose art works are cherished by collectors in many countries. Rosemaling is a form of decorative Norwegian folk-art painting.
Feb. 16 edition
The surest path to effective law enforcement, not to mention crime prevention, is a tightly interconnected, collaborative approach, according to Stearns County sheriff candidate Dave Bentrud.
Students in the Sartell-St. Stephen school district are learning about hamsters, hamster dances and more as they participate in the One District, One Book program. Sartell students at Oak Ridge and Pine Meadow elementary schools and their families are reading The World According to Humphrey, written by Betty G. Birney, for the program.
On her birthday, on her last day of work, Sandy Paggen of rural St. Stephen gave a flurry of hugs to a circle of misty-eyed co-workers, then looked out the front door, and through eyes still wet with tears, she saw a sleek white stretch limo parked there. It happened at Wiman Plastics, Paggen’s longtime work place in Sauk Rapids Industrial Park. In 45 years, Paggen was never late for work, not even once.
Feb. 23 edition
Sartell-St. Stephen High School’s dance team successfully defended their 2017 high-kick title at this year’s State Dance Team Tournament on Feb. 16-17 in Minneapolis. The Sabres won their second consecutive championship in the Class AA high-kick contest on Saturday. The title was the team’s fourth in high kick.
In just a few short months hundreds of multisport athletes will be lacing up their running shoes and checking over their bikes as they prepare to participate in the 36th annual Apple Duathlon. Hosted during Memorial Day weekend, the Apple Duathlon tests multisport athletes with a 5K run, a 33K bike ride and another 5K run to the finish.
n the 28 years of his law-enforcement career, Lt. Robert Dickhaus, a Melrose resident, has served in so many diverse jobs he is confident he would make a good choice for Stearns County sheriff.
Dickhaus recently announced his candidacy for that position and has begun campaigning for the Nov. 6 election. Thus far, Waite Park Police Chief Dave Bentrud is also vying for the sheriff job. Dickhaus has been with the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department for 25 years. He is currently a patrol lieutenant and now serves as administrative assistant for the department’s patrol division.
March 2 edition
In its first year at the Sartell Community Center, the Community Showcase drew a record crowd Saturday, Feb. 24. More than 1,800 attended this year’s event compared with an average of about 1,300 in past years when the showcase was staged at Sartell Middle School, according to Nikki Sweeter of the Sartell Chamber of Commerce. The event featured booths from more than 70 local businesses and organizations, filling the main gym while people on the walking track looked on from above.
A memorial fundraiser dubbed Denim to Diamonds will raise money for Terebinth Refuge, an organization that is helping victims of sex trafficking in central Minnesota. The fundraiser will take place starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 10 at Grands at Mulligans’ event center in Sartell.
It is a necessary, but difficult part of the job for AG Hout. As program manager and continuum of care coordinator for the Central Minnesota Housing Partnership, Hout and her team spend one day every year tracking down and compiling information on those without a home. Known as the point-in-time count, trained staff spend one day, during the last 10 days of January, tracking down and logging various characteristics about those experiencing homelessness.
March 9 edition
The highlight of the Feb. 26 school board meeting was the presentation of members of the Sartell High School Student Council requesting that the board permit them to host the 2020 Minnesota Association of Student Councils -Minnesota Association of Honor Societies (MASC-MAHS) State Convention. The convention would be sometime in April and the Sartell chapter of the MASC-MAHS would play host for four days to 300 – 400 students from around the state in the new high school.
There will be lots of people sporting leprechaun-green jogging gear when the third annual Pot ‘o’ Gold 5k run takes place on St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17, at Pine Meadow Elementary School in Sartell. The event, billed as affordable, healthy family fun, is one of the four annual events in the Bernick’s Family Fitness Series in partnership with the St. Cloud YMCA. This year, Pot ‘o’ Gold’s main sponsor is Country Financial of Sartell.
A comprehensive plan to protect Sartell’s drinking water supply was approved by the city council at its Feb. 26 meeting. The plan is called the Comprehensive Wellhead Protection Plan, Part II. It was presented in great detail to the council by consultant Marilyn Bayerl of Bayerl Water Resources, Alexandria; and by Karen Voz of the Minnesota Department of Health.
March 16 edition
Sgt. Steve Soyka, a Stearns County Sheriff’s Department deputy, has announced his intention to seek the sheriff position in the Nov. 8 election, a decision that forces a primary election Aug. 14. The primary election will determine which two of the three candidates will face off in the Nov. 8 general election. Soyka announced his candidacy March 3. He’s the current team commander for the Stearns-Benton SWAT unit and former commander of the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force. He’s also a sergeant serving in the Stearns County Sheriff Patrol Division.
A community problem that advocates say is largely hidden will soon get a highly visible solution. Pathways 4 Youth, a resource center founded by central Minnesota’s Rotary clubs, plans an open house from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20. The center, 203 Cooper Ave. N., Suite 206, St. Cloud will open for clients the week of March 26.
It was a proud family moment when Carl Shobe and his grandfather showed up together at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. His grandfather on his mother’s side is Gene Sandvig, 87, of Minneapolis, who was a competitor as a speed skater for the United States three times in the worldwide Winter Olympics – in 1952, 1956 and 1960. Dr. Shobe is an orthopedic surgeon (spine specialist) for St. Cloud Orthopedics in Sartell’s Medical Campus.
March 23 edition
A lake and river drawdown meeting that will affect hundreds of Sartell residents will be the topic of a public meeting scheduled from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 28 at the Old Village Hall on Rice’s main street. About 850 residential river lots north of the Sartell dam will be affected to some degree by the drawdown, which will begin Aug. 1 and continue until Sept. 15.
A march is planned in Sartell for Saturday, March 24, as part of the national March for Our Lives movement. The Sartell march will start at 10 a.m. at Sartell City Hall, 125 Pinecone Road N., and end at First United Methodist Church.
Parents and students gathered Friday, March 16 at Pine Meadow Elementary School for the first Math Night. The event, sponsored by the school’s Parent/Teacher Organization and Mathnasium, aimed to show math can be fun.
March 30 edition
Seeking solutions to gun violence, about 300 people participated in Sartell’s March for Our Lives Saturday, March 24. The demonstration, organized by Angie Trulson of Sartell, started with a rally at Sartell City Hall before marchers traveled more than a mile to First United Methodist Church where some marchers lit candles in memory of gun violence victims.
A St. Wendel Township woman, Heidi Everett, was endorsed last weekend by the DFL as a candidate to compete against Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) for the Minnesota House District 13B seat.
When Rebecca Kurowski told her children she will be making something for an Imagination Library dinner, wide-eyed son Grant looked up at her and asked, “Is Dolly Parton going to be there?” Well, no, unfortunately – not unless she pops in for a surprise visit. The legendary country singer has touched the lives of many children, including Grant, by founding and supporting the Imagination Library 23 years ago. That is why Sartell resident Kurowski and many other local people are involved in an Imagination Library Progressive Dinner, sponsored by United Way of Central Minnesota, that will take place on two days, April 14 and April 21.
April 6 edition
Who in the world would wish for a drought? Nobody probably, except for the folks who are concerned with Little Rock Lake near Rice. A drought, they believe, would restore that sick lake back to health and also help the Mississippi River north of Sartell. And that was the subject of a two-hour meeting March 28 at Rice Village Hall, attended by more than 150 people. They included residents of Little Rock Lake and many people who live along the river north of Sartell.
As memories fade, as townspeople get older and pass on, town history often disappears with them. That is why a group of people is determined to start a renewed Sartell Historical Society. One of them is distinguished historian and author Bill Morgan of Sartell. Morgan, his wife Judy and about eight others have been meeting, brainstorming and trying to form a plan of action to form a historical society.
Six months ago there were large earth-moving machines pushing mounds of dirt, loading trucks and readying the site. Today three skeleton frameworks mark the classroom portions of what will be the new high school. Behind the framework sits other enclosed portions of the school.
April 13 edition
Longtime Sartell City Council member David Peterson announced Tuesday he intends to file for mayor in the Nov. 6 general election. Sarah Jane Nicoll is the current Sartell mayor.
The city of Sartell is in excellent fiscal shape, according to an audit summary delivered to the city council at its April 9 meeting. Steve Wischmann, a certified public account for the firm of BerganKDV, used the word “excellent” repeatedly in outlining the results of the audit for fiscal year 2017. As in previous years, Sartell received the highest level possible, described as a “clean audit.”
The Rev. Dr. Jack Eichhorst of Sartell met the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. long before that towering civil-rights leader became famous, and he was in Atlanta when the murdered King was put to rest 50 years ago.
April 20 edition
Sartell’s Knowledge Bowl team won this year’s Class AA championship at the state meet in Brainerd April 12-13. The top 40 teams, out of more than 1,000 statewide, competed in one written round and four oral rounds. Team members are Janagan Ramanathan, Nathan Schmidt, Jacob Fandel, Yash Hindka and Mohannad Alkhatib. Luke Walker coaches the team.
The Sartell St. Stephen school board held its regular monthly meeting on April 16 with most of the meeting being taken up by reports. Of key concern was the report on the progress of the new high school. Lee Gruen, project manager at Winkelman Building Corp., related how the latest round of inclement weather has affected the building progress of the new high school. The projected date for full enclosure of the building was June 21. That has been pushed back to July 21 because of the weather.
Business and education leaders in Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud are in the early stages of launching a program that will teach high school seniors to be entrepreneurs. Called Great River CEO, the program will welcome its first students in fall 2019. Right now, organizers are raising funds to train and market the effort and then to hire a facilitator/teacher.
April 27 edition
As they have for the past 30 years, dancers took the floor for the Sartell Community Education dance show on April 21. While all the dance shows of the past three decades have had something special about them, this one was a true tearjerker. The 30th anniversary dance show was also founder Shelly Teff’s last.
Green Card Voices, a traveling exhibit featuring the lives of immigrants to central Minnesota, will be widely seen in Sartell during the month of May. One of the immigrants featured in the show is Sartell resident Zurya Anjum, who works as a psychiatrist at the VA Health Care System in St. Cloud. Green Card Voices will be displayed at the Sartell Community Center from April 30 through May 11.
Poets from all over Minnesota will gather April 28-29 to read their poetry and write new poems during the League of Minnesota Poets annual spring conference. Sponsored by Sartell’s Grandview Poets, the event will be held at the Country Inn and Suites West in St. Cloud. St. Cloud-area poets, under the leadership of Dennis Herschbach of Sartell, planned all the conference details including its theme.
May 4 edition
Two Sartell residents, Zurya Anjum and Itoro Emmanuel, are being honored in a traveling exhibit dubbed Green Card Voices, which is now prominently on display in the lobby of the Sartell Community Center. The exhibit will run through May 11, after which it will be shown in all of Sartell’s public schools.
Are you interested in making a “big” difference in helping shape someone’s life? If so, you might be interested in checking out the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota program like Sartell residents Sarah and Andy Noble did. They and their children Alexandra, Katelyn and William, were recently selected as the 2018 Big Brothers Big Sisters Minnesota State Big Family of the Year. The family has been a mentor for two years.
First United Methodist Church announced plans for a Garden Sanctuary as part of the church’s master plan. The congregation’s plans include a memorial garden, where cremains will be interred; a large patio with a wood-fired bread oven; outdoor worship and concert space; and a labyrinth.
May 11 edition
Hundreds of area business professionals and aspiring leaders from around the Sartell area had the opportunity to hear from experts and known industry leaders at the annual Leadercast event hosted by the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce. This was the seventh year the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce has hosted the international simulcasted event. The event, which took place May 4, was hosted at the Waters Church in Sartell to a sold-out crowd of 180 people.
Singer/storyteller Charlie Roth cast a campfire spell May 8 at the 10th annual Lemonade and Laughter concert in Sartell. Like a friend/father/grandfather, Roth told stories and sang intimate songs that clearly captivated his full-capacity audience of nearly 300, most of them senior citizens.
Glaring yard lights and dirt piles. Those two issues caused concern to Sartell City Council members at their April 23 meeting. The topics were part of the updated Zoning and Landscaping Amendment in the Sartell City Code presented to the council by Sartell Development Director and Assistant Administrator Anita Archambeau. The council voted 4-1 to approve the extensive multiple-paged and highly detailed amendment.
May 18 edition
The Sartell City Council unanimously approved at its May 14 meeting spending up to $13.12 million for a new public-safety building after getting a look at design plans. The new building will house the fire and police departments, combining all emergency operations in one building with space to grow.
Sartell City Council member Ryan Fitzthum announced May 15 he will seek the position of mayor. The current mayor, Sarah Jane Nicoll, announced recently she will not file for re-election. Another contender for the mayor’s position is David Peterson, also a member of the council. Fitzthum is now serving his second year on the council.
It all started with a baby girl, 16 years ago. The last of Sue and Ron Wochnick’s four children was a teenager and soon they would be empty nesters. The Sartell residents had considered opening their home as a foster family but had never quite gotten around to it. Sue and Ron completed the foster family application and licensing. The family was approved and they welcomed the little 9-month-old girl. She was the first of 78 foster children Sue and Ron have cared for. They eventually adopted three foster children over the years to join their family of two sons and two daughters.
May 25 edition
Cuts in probationary personnel were among the actions taken by the Sartell-St. Stephen school board at its May 21 meeting in the Sartell-St. Stephen High School Media Center. Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert said it’s one of the most unpleasant tasks he has to perform, but it’s something that has to be done in order to right-size the district. In accordance with state statutes, the district severed contracts with eight probationary teachers. Depending on student numbers and other circumstances some of the nonrenewed teachers may be rehired.
An artistic rendition of Sartell’s paper mill will be up for sale starting May 25 at The Pantry at Rolling Green II mall in Sartell at the corner of Second Street S. and Pinecone Road. The print of an oil painting by a commissioned Iowa artist, J.D. Speltz, was created about five years ago. There are still a few dozen limited-edition prints left, both framed and unframed, and those will be up for sale at The Pantry. Lisa Feuling, manager of the Pantry, quickly agreed to sell the prints in order to help a good cause. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Retired Sartell Firefighters organization to help fund that group’s volunteer civic activities, such as helping elderly residents check and install smoke detectors and batteries.
A former college professor, a police officer and the Sartell American Legion commander – all of them veterans – will be three of the main speakers at the Sartell Memorial Day ceremony in Veterans Park. History author and former professor Bill Morgan of Sartell will be the keynote speaker at the Sartell Memorial Day ceremony in Veterans Park.
June 1 edition
Area city officials heard an update on sex trafficking investigations and then they asked law enforcement leaders what else needs to be done to combat the problem. Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall and Waite Park Police Chief Dave Bentrud spoke to mayors, city council members and city administrators during a St. Cloud Area Joint Cities meeting May 29 in Sartell. “We want our elected leaders to understand what we are seeing,” Kendall said. “There’s a misperception that this only happens in big cities.”
Michelle Fischbach’s resignation from the Minnesota Senate means there will be a special election this fall for Senate District 13. Fischbach resigned May 25 and took the oath of office for lieutenant governor, a post she’s legally held since January. Current District 13A Rep. Jeff Howe announced May 29 that he will run in the special election to fill Fischbach’s Senate seat. Howe, a Republican from Rockville, was first elected to the House in 2012 and was reelected in 2014 and 2016. Prior to his election to the legislature, Howe served on the Rockville City Council.
Bill Morgan of Sartell has a lot to remember every Memorial Day because so many soldiers in so many wars have affected him personally, deeply, sorrowfully. Morgan, a history writer and retired American Studies professor, was the keynote speaker at the Sartell Memorial Day ceremony May 28 in Veterans Park, the 150th anniversary of the founding of Memorial Day. Morgan’s memories visibly moved his listeners who reacted with a mixture of empathy and awe. His speech was entitled “Wounds of War: Honoring America’s Veterans.”
June 15 edition
Sartell SummerFest 2018 lacked sunshine, but it brimmed with fun for thousands of people, including many-out-of-towners who gathered to enjoy the 28th annual event. It began with the Liberty Parade and its nearly 80 units, including eight marching bands that wowed the long lines of spectators. The parade also featured a surprise guest – Joyce (Yozamp) McCann, now in her 80s, who was the Sartell Winter Haven Queen of 1951.
The Sartell Muskies amateur baseball team will celebrate its 40th season before the home game on Wednesday, June 20. The Muskies will host the Foley Lumberjacks at Champion Field starting at 7 p.m. The Muskies were founded in 1979 and immediately qualified for the state amateur tournament in their first and second seasons. In their third season, the Muskies moved to Muskie Field, now known as Champion Field. That field was built through organizing, fundraising and labor of the Muskie families, with assistance from the city of Sartell and its citizens.
Three history buffs lovingly arranged and re-arranged more than 100 “orphans” in the lobby of city hall on the morning of Sartell SummerFest June 9. The “orphans” are historical artifacts that have no home. For years, they’ve been fostered out to basements, attics and garages in the city. That’s why the three history buffs and many others want a museum to preserve those objects for posterity, so newcomers to town and future generations can get a feel for the origins and development of Sartell, a unique river city.
June 29 edition
At its June 19 regular meeting, the Sartell-St. Stephen school board received reports on the Community Survey and on a year-old program called the Circle of Friends. Kay Nelson, assistant superintendent of learning services, along with school officials Brenda Steve, Kurt Stumpf, Kip Lynk, Sara Nelson and Kris O’Brien shared the highlights of the 2017-18 District 748 Annual Community Survey. While the survey was considered a success, it was noted the number of respondents this year is down by about half, from 1,118 in 2016-17 to 553 in 2017-18. Nelson said she did not have a good explanation as to why the drop occurred. Eighty-six percent of respondents felt the level of services received for the dollars spent was well worth the cost.
Ayleigh Hammond of Sartell will attend a year of high school “Down Under,” in the nation of Australia. For Hammond, who loves to travel and learn about foreign cultures, it’s a dream come true. The traveling-learning bug bit her in the summer before seventh grade when she had a chance to do some cultural-enrichment traveling in England and France. That experience was part of the Young Ambassadors exchange program.
It’s about time little dogs had their day – not in the sun but out of it. That’s what Kelly Thompson thought, and that’s why she paid $640 to get eight shade trees planted in the dog park in Sartell. Now the little dogs will have some shade to romp and play in, just like the big dogs do on their shady side of the park. As the little pooches romp near the new trees, they’ll likely lift their legs in praise and gratitude.
July 13 edition
Two busloads of Sartell Chamber of Commerce members viewed updates on community developments during a tour led by city and school officials on July 10. On the way to the new high school site, riders saw the major construction work underway on Pinecone Road and navigated the detours on the north side of the city. At the school site, Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert pointed out the location of athletic fields surrounding the school.
By a unanimous vote, the Sartell City Council decided at its July 9 meeting to go ahead with the long-discussed drainage solution in the city’s Celebration neighborhood. The final proposal was outlined by April Ryan, a water engineer. The council approval happened at a public hearing on the matter. Two men, both Celebration residents, spoke at the hearing. Both said they oppose the proposal because their lots do not have drainage problems, that it would be better just to fix the lots where there are problems.
With the continued growth of the Sartell area, people who enjoy being outdoors can appreciate being able to spend time with nature in areas such as around Lake Francis, near the Sartell Community Center and Chateau Waters, and other parks and trails around the city. Sartell resident George Torrey is encouraging people to donate to help beautify the Lake Francis area. He said donations of more benches, trees and paver stones will help increase the beauty around the lake. The benches will also give people a chance to walk for exercise around the lake and rest on a bench when they need to.
July 27 edition
A proposed drawdown of Little Rock Lake and the Mississippi River north of the hydroelectric dam at Sartell has been postponed until next year, according to an announcement July 25 by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The drawdown had been scheduled to start Aug. 1 and to last until Sept. 15 during which time the water level of the lake and river would drop by three feet.
The Sartell-St. Stephen school board voted on July 16 to implement the planned increase for additional revenue to finance school operations. The annual financial impact is projected to be an additional $82 per $100,000 of assessed value, according to the district. The revenue authorization would be applicable for 10 years. The levy will appear on the November general election ballot.
St. Stephen Mayor Cindy VanderWeyst resigned on July 11 after the death of her mother. The City Council appointed council member Jeff Blenkush to be mayor.
Aug. 10 edition
Local races on the ballot for the Tuesday, Aug. 14, primary election include choosing a new Stearns County sheriff and electing St. Cloud school district board members. For the first time in 16 years, there’s no incumbent sheriff on the ballot. Four men have filed for the office and the primary will narrow the field to two candidates.
The little metal bridge over Watab Creek stood tall for 100 years. It survived farm work and fun with four generations of Trauts but it didn’t survive a suspicious fire that burned the beams and boards. Early on the morning of July 24, Larry Traut was startled when a Sartell police officer drove into his yard west of Sartell.
For the second consecutive time, the BankVista Rock ‘n’ Block concert was a big success in the huge parking lot to the south of Bernick’s Ice Arena.An estimated 1,500 people attended the concert Aug. 4. It was the 12th annual Rock ‘n’ Block, which began originally on a lot near Pine Cone Market Place in south Sartell. The Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce has sponsored the event year after year with help from other sponsors, such as the biggest sponsor, BankVista.
Aug. 24 edition
It’s been a long time coming, but plans for an ambitious street improvement project in east Sartell are now approaching a final form. At a public hearing during the Aug. 13 city council meeting, more than a dozen east-side residents voiced their concerns to the council. Those concerns included assessment questions, water-flooding issues and requests not to widen all the streets to a 32-foot width.
About a dozen neighbors living near Creekview Preserve Park met in that park July 24 with city officials to discuss the park and possible improvements. The session was part of a series of “community conversations” about Sartell parks between residents and city staff. As in previous meetings, residents had a chance to take a city survey about a particular park – a survey that included possible new or improved amenities, concerns about the park and safety factors.
Steve Soyka and Dave Bentrud will compete for Stearns County sheriff in the Nov. 6 general election. Voters chose Soyka and Bentrud from a four-candidate field in the Aug 14. primary election. Soyka finished with 7,346 votes followed by Bentrud with 6,335 votes, Robert Dickhaus with 4,112 votes and Dwight Pfannenstein with 1,115. Although his name remained on the ballot, Pfannenstein withdrew from active campaigning after his appointment as St. Joseph police chief in June.
Sept. 7 edition
A preliminary 2019 budget and levy that could raise city property taxes by 1.16 percent was approved unanimously by the Sartell City Council at its last meeting. The preliminary levy is the maximum amount the city can levy. The council, however, can decrease that amount, and its departments will continue to look for expenses that could be trimmed or cut before a final budget/levy is adopted.
As students head back to school this week, teachers and administrators received their own report cards on student performance. The state Department of Education released the latest performance scores based on five indicators –achievement and progress on state reading and math tests over time, progress toward English language proficiency, graduation rates and consistent attendance.
All three bids for a proposed drainage-improvement project for the Celebration neighborhood of Sartell were rejected by the Sartell City Council at its last meeting, and the project will be up for bids once again. The council rejected the bids unanimously on a 5-0 vote. The reason for the rejection is that the bids had come in substantially in excess of the engineering estimate for the project.
Sept. 21 edition
Two men, each with nearly three decades in law enforcement, are competing to be the first new sheriff elected in Stearns County in 16 years. Dave Bentrud, Waite Park police chief, and Steve Soyka, a Stearns County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, are on the ballot Nov. 6. One of them will replace Don Gudmundson who was appointed to fill out the term of Sheriff John Sanner after Sanner retired in 2017.
The first tour of the new Sartell high school started in the parking lot of Oak Ridge Elementary School and lasted about an hour. To prepare for any future tours, be sure to bring your curiosity, a sense of wonderment and a sharp imagination. Right now the school is a world of girders and beams, conduit and concrete and metal studs that give a vague outline of what it will be when it is finished. But it was well worth the time and energy.
At its regular Sept. 17 board meeting the Sartell-St. Stephen school board heard a good news report in the form of a comprehensive 2017-18 District Assessment Results. The report detailed results from the Northstar Ratings Every Student Succeeds Act, the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments and the American College Testing. After the presentation of the 2017-18 assessment results, there was further discussion on the continuous improvement goals for 2018-19.
Oct. 5 edition
“What we want is for people to get as informed as they can be, and then to make an informed decision,” said Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert when talking about the upcoming Levy for Learning. The Levy for Learning is basically another name for an operational levy to allow the district to keep buildings in operation.
“Our position is to get as much information as possible into the hands of the public so they know what is going on and can make a decision as to what they want us to do,” Schwiebert added. Getting the word out is crucial and that is why the district scheduled information meetings for the public.
New York City would likely be a big, leaky, soggy mess of a city if it were not for the DeZURIK company in Sartell. That’s because DeZURIK manufactured to precise specifications all the valves that are used in the Big Apple’s water-distribution system. That is one of the intriguing fun facts visitors learned when DeZURIK opened its plant to the public Sept. 22 for its 90th birthday party.
The investigation of Jacob Wetterling’s 1989 abduction and killing “went off the rails” from the beginning and the sheriff at the time, Charlie Grafft, lost control of his investigation to the FBI in the first few weeks. That’s the judgment of current Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson. Before releasing more than 47,000 documents on Thursday, Sept. 20, Gudmundson presented a summary of the documents that in his view revealed 20 clues bungled by investigators that should have led them to Danny Heinrich.
Oct. 19 edition
One of two current Sartell City Council members – Ryan Fitzthum and David Peterson – will be elected as the city’s new mayor in the Nov. 6 general election. Incumbent Mayor Sarah Jane Nicoll decided not to file for re-election.
Nine-year-old Sophina Lindquist of St. Cloud knows how to hit a target and how to put out a fire – at least an imaginary one. She did it recently on the back lot of the St. Stephen Fire Department. Standing there on the edge of the lot was a “fire house” constructed by Tim Haas of Sartell, who made the mock house as part of his requirements to become an Eagle Scout. The house front has two cutout windows in it. Within each cutout is a bright-red-orange flame logo that spins when it is hit by water from a fire hose. The structure is a fun way for children to learn about fire safety and firefighting.
The Sartell-St. Stephen school district received a generally favorable report from KDVBergan Auditors at the Oct. 15 regular school board meeting. The only major misstep on the district’s part was that in the student activities account no established procedures existed that would provide assurance that all cash collections are recorded in the accounting records. In addition, the district’s student activity accounts did not have adequate segregation of accounting duties because of a limited number of office employees.
Nov. 2 edition
After two beloved Sartell fathers died of ALS, so many Sartell students who knew them and their children felt the grief along with the families and decided to turn their sadness into action. They sold homecoming T-shirts to make money. And recently, the Sartell High School Student Council was honored with the Good Neighbor award from State Farm Insurance for raising $3,000 for the ALS Association. The donation was given in honor of Scott Raden and Brent Weber, the two men who both died at tragically young ages.
Members of the Sartell City Council were treated at their Oct. 22 meeting to a preview of the proposed Sartell Public Facilities Building. The building, which could begin as early as next April, will be the new home for both the city’s fire department and its police department. The preview was in the form of an architectural video of what the building will look like, with stylized exterior views and interior layout of all of its features and functions.
A special election that will decide which party controls the Minnesota State Senate and a wide-open race for Stearns County sheriff are key races for Sartell and St. Stephen voters in the Nov. 6 general election. In the Senate race, Republican Jeff Howe and Democrat Joe Perske are competing for the District 13 seat vacated by longtime Sen. Michelle Fischbach. Senate District 13 includes Sartell, St. Joseph, Sauk Rapids, Cold Spring, Kimball and Paynesville areas. The winner will serve a two-year term. For the first time in 16 years, Stearns County residents will elect a new sheriff. Waite Park Police Chief Dave Bentrud and Stearns County Sgt. Steve Soyka are running for that office. The sheriff will serve a four-year term. In House District 13B, Republican incumbent Tim O’Driscoll is being challenged by Democrat Heidi Everett. District 13B includes Sartell, St. Stephen, Sauk Rapids and Holdingford.Sartell residents will elect a new mayor because incumbent Sarah Jane Nicoll is not seeking re-election. Current City Council members Ryan Fitzthum and David Peterson are running for mayor to serve a four-year term.
Nov. 16 edition
After Sartell City Council member Ryan Fitzthum learned late in the evening of Nov. 6 that he will soon be called officially Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum, he didn’t celebrate; he couldn’t. He had to be up at 9 a.m. the next day to fly to Las Vegas for a business convention about heavy machinery. The week following his win over contender council member David Peterson was a very busy week, he told the Sartell Newsleader in a Nov. 12 interview.
The votes are in and tabulated and the leaders of the Sartell-St. Stephen School District are asking themselves what went awry with the attempt to pass an operations levy referendum in the district. The proposed levy, titled Levy for Learning, was defeated by more than 1,600 votes.
Two candidates – Tim Elness and Jeff Kolb – were elected Nov. 6 to two seats on the Sartell City Council. They defeated two other candidates – Brady Andel and Barika Davis. Of the four, Elness received from voters in Sartell’s seven precincts the most votes – 3,571 (30.67 percent of the total votes cast). Kolb received 3,205 votes (27.52 percent). Andel garnered 3,016 votes (25.90 percent) and Davis received 1,804 (15.49 percent).
Nov. 16 edition
After a regular school board meeting Nov. 19, the Sartell-St. Stephen board members met in a working meeting to grapple with several questions related to the recent defeated operations levy: what happens now, where do we go from here and why did the levy fail. The next chance to try again to pass an operational levy will be in November 2019, according to Director of Business Services Joe Prom. If it passed, it would not take effect until the fiscal 2020-2021 budget year. That means there will have to be belt-tightening for the foreseeable future. Prom also reminded the board this is a funding year for the state legislature, and how much or little they will appropriate is still a question mark until early June at the earliest. Hopefully, the legislature will be generous, but even that generosity would be later than needed.
The operational revenue-expense balance of the new Sartell Community Center is going “extremely well and right on target,” said Sartell Finance Director Heidi Ostlie. In an interview with the Newsleader, Ostlie said both expenditures and revenues are just about where they are expected to be, based on projections during the planning of the center. The long-planned center cost about $11 million, money from the city’s share of the regional half-cent sales tax revenue. It opened in October 2017 in south Sartell, and during that first month there were no fees or charges for people to use it.
Once again, the lights around Lake Francis will sparkle and glimmer to delight young and old alike during the holiday season. The second annual Country Lights Festival will begin Saturday, Dec. 1, and continue throughout the rest of the month. About 75,000-100,000 lights, many more than were used last year, will be on every evening during December.
Dec. 14 edition
Costs and communication led to the defeat of the Sartell-St. Stephen school district’s operating levy. That’s what about two dozen people gathered for the first of four community meetings told school leaders Dec. 6. Sartell-St. Stephen voters overwhelmingly rejected the levy in the Nov. 6 election. There were 3,230 yes votes and 4,924 no votes. The levy would have raised $1.7 million to fund operations that were part of the district’s master plan.
At a Dec. 10 public hearing, the Sartell City Council unanimously approved a city budget and tax levy for 2019 – one with a property tax that is about the same as last year’s. No members of the audience spoke at the public hearing.
Bob Strack, construction manager for the Public Safety Facilities project in Sartell, brought what he called “very good news” to the City Council at its Dec. 10 meeting.Strack is the head of Strack Construction Co. Inc., the company what will build the facility to house the police department and fire department in Sartell. The good news Strack presented is that the total bid for the project is about $430,000 below the budget estimate as approved by the City Council previously.