(This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Part 1 was published Jan. 6.)
July
A wave of sadness followed the sudden death of former St. Joseph City Council member Dr. Stephen I. “Steve” Frank, who died as a result of surgical complications June 22 at age 73. Besides being a council member for seven years, Frank was a long-time professor of political science at St. Cloud State University, where he taught for 38 years before his recent retirement. Frank served on the St. Joseph City Council from January 2008 through December 2015.
Benedict Gorecki, a generous benefactor to the College of St. Benedict and other places, died July 9 at the age of 87 at his home in Milaca. During his long life, Gorecki donated millions of dollars to help the needs of central Minnesota, including $2.2 million for expansion of the Benedicta Arts Center at CSB, as well as $3.5 million to build the Gorecki Dining and Conference Center, also at CSB.
Moving from the wide-open wilderness of Alaska to the relatively tame forests and plains of the Midwest may sound a little subdued to some, but Katrina and Sean Wherry, family medicine physicians, are eager to make Central Minnesota their long-term home. The married couple, set to join the medical team at CentraCare Clinic in St. Joseph on July 18, recently moved to St. Augusta along with their children – Ferguson, 5; Charlie, 3; and Julia Mae, 20 months – after a three-year stint at a military-based clinic in Anchorage, Alaska.
When motorcyclists sported red bandannas and T-shirts on July 23, thoughts of Cody Nuckolls will be on their minds. Cody the lively kid with the big laugh. Cody the boy who was so eager to start kindergarten. Five-year-old Cody was struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident on April 13, 2015, in front of his St. Joseph home.
Once again, the Fourth of July festivities in St. Joseph attracted an estimated 20,000 people to the city’s downtown for two days of fun that included an evening filled with pop-rock music and fireworks, and a day featuring the big parade, games, a quilt auction, and lots and lots of vendor food. The annual festival is now 110 years old.
Lee and Elaine Eisenschenk were chosen as this year’s Senior King and Queen, sponsored by the St. Joseph Y2K Lions.
Residents near a senior-housing development objected to the height of the three-story building in Graceview Estates. But the St. Joseph City Council voted 3-2 to allow for the 47-unit apartment building with three detached garages located west of Seventh Avenue SE and Dale Street E.
The College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph plans to build athletic fields by the Renner House, the college president’s house, which is located on College Avenue across the street from the main entrance of St. Ben’s. The project is expected to cost $12 million, with $9 million coming from bonds and the rest from fundraising from family donors, sponsors and other sources.
The construction of a Kwik Trip gas station at the former El Paso location in St. Joseph neared completion with signage looking to hire employees.
Hugs and tears abound at the National Guard Facility at the St. Cloud Airport when 20 soldiers, all members of B Company, are given a warm send-off by family, friends and guest speakers. The men then left for a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
August
National Night Out, Aug. 2, will be observed locally in several cities and neighborhoods in central Minnesota, including St. Joseph.
The Fare For All distribution, which will be held at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in St. Joseph on Aug. 15, will include shoes. “Good in the Hood,” a local nonprofit and hunger-relief organization, which began a “Shoe Away Hunger” initiative in 2012, will distribute the shoes.
St. Joseph voters Aug. 9 will determine which eight candidates will compete for four open seats on the St. Cloud School Board in the Nov. 8 election.
Luke Reber of St. Joseph rehearses his lines as “Lord Farquaad” in Great Northern Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Shrek the Musical Aug. 5-7 and 10-12 in Cold Spring.
The legislation to name the Collegeville Post Office after Minnesota’s own Sen. Eugene McCarthy was signed into law. McCarthy attended and taught at St. John’s University in Collegeville prior to his two decades in public office..
One hundred children from the St. Joseph area gathered for a week of Vacation Bible School from July 24-28 at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Children, ages 4 years old through sixth grade, learned about faith through this year’s theme of “Barnyard Roundup: Jesus Gathers Us Together.”
Stearns County commissioners approved a tentative master plan for the development of Kraemer Lake-Wildwood County Park Aug. 2. As it currently stands, the plan exists as a four-phase implementation of improvements, including a picnic shelter, canoe launch, beach and ecological restoration.
The winning streak of the St. Joseph Joes continued last weekend at Sartell’s Champion Field, guaranteeing the team will enter the Class C State Amateur Baseball Tournament.
New stained-glass windows that were recently installed in the interior front doors of the Church of St. Joseph Parish Center offer both beauty and glimpses of the history of the church. According to the parish business manager, Sandra Scholz, the windows were originally removed from the church when major renovation of the church was done in the early 1970s.
Parents of Kennedy Community School students can now learn more about the nutritional value of the meals offered with a new digital online menu that provides nutrition facts.
An appreciation picnic to honor local police officers, first-responders, volunteer firefighters and the sheriff’s department will take place Aug. 23 at Millstream Park in St. Joseph.
Parents who drop off their children at Kennedy Community School will have an easier time doing so when school resumes Sept. 7 because of a $570,000 driveway reconstruction project by C&L Excavating of St. Joseph.
St. Joseph Park Board members presented a budget request at the St. Joseph City Council meeting Aug. 22 that included a proposal to build a new park shelter at an estimated cost of about $500,000. The park board spent more than a year evaluating Millstream Park, which is located north of CSAH 75 and east of CSAH 3 on the northwestern edge of St. Joseph’s city limits, and it reviewed the city’s needs and wants.
September
The 11th annual Lake Wobegon Regional Trail Ride will take place Sept. 10, but the event is not a race and is instead a family fun event.
Central Minnesota residents – and people far and wide – are stunned to learn that the body of Jacob Wetterling has been found buried in a farm grove near Paynesville. People expressed a mixture of emotions ranging from horror and sorrow to relief and closure. Jacob, 11 at the time, was abducted and, as it turned out, murdered 27 years ago on a road near his St. Joseph home. Confessed killer Danny Heinrich, whose most recent home was Annandale, led authorities to the body and admitted he kidnapped the boy, molested him and then shot him in the head, killing him and then burying him. Heinrich agreed to a plea deal, to confess the crime and to reveal the body’s location so he would not be charged with murder. Heinrich, however, later received a sentence of 20 years in prison for possessing child pornography at his Annandale home. Heinrich also admitted to kidnapping and sexually assaulting another boy in the Paynesville area about eight months before Jacob’s abduction-murder.
Hindsight is often 20/20, they say, but it’s difficult for many people to understand how Jacob Wetterling’s abductor and killer, Danny James Heinrich, slipped under the radar so often when the dots to be connected were clearly there. Some or all of those “dots” point to the 53-year-old from Annandale. Now that Wetterling’s remains have been found and Heinrich has confessed to the crime, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, and others will conduct a thorough re-examination of the Wetterling case, and much of the investigation will involve how those connections were missed right after the abduction and in the nearly 27 years since.
Local talent will gather for a “Rock for Alzheimer’s” event Sept 24 at the Bad Habit Brewing Co. in St. Joseph. The event is being held in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Association/Walk to End Alzheimer’s being held that morning in St. Cloud.
Even though Dan Rassier feels vindicated by recent developments in the Jacob Wetterling case, he said he does not want to dwell on vindication. However, he told Minnesota Public Radio earlier this week he intends to file a lawsuit over the way he was treated for years as a suspect in the Wetterling abduction. He said he intends to sue a television station and one of its reporters, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Rassier told MPR he was treated badly and unjustly for years by investigators who tried to get him to confess to a crime he did not commit.
The second annual St. Joseph Jaycees Fall Fest 5k and kids 1k run will take place Sept. 24; both races will begin and end by the new city center building (Colt’s Academy) located at 124 First Ave. SE in St. Joseph.
The annual Millstream Arts Festival took place Sept. 25 in downtown St. Joseph. The event is an outdoor juried art show that draws many people to the area and includes a variety of music, dancing, visual arts, literature and poetry, foods, children’s activities and more.
The 17th annual Harvest Festival features locally grown fruits and vegetables, balloon animals, live music, pumpkin decorating, apple cider and pie, and pork chops, burgers and brats.
An investigation continues into the multiple stabbings by a St. Cloud Somali man at Crossroads Mall. The assailant was shot dead by an off-duty Avon police officer who happened to be in the mall at the same time. Fortunately, none of the people who were stabbed in the rampage suffered life-threatening injuries. Authorities believe the man was “inspired” by terrorist propaganda.
A musical about Bobby Vee will be performed from Oct. 1-30 at the History Theatre in St. Paul. Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story was written by Bob Beverage in collaboration with Vee’s sons, Jeff and Tommy Vee, and is directed by Ron Peluso. George Maurer, who has been Vee’s musical arranger for many years, provides musical direction and arrangements for the production. The production follows the life of 15-year-old Bobby Velline who charmed audiences at the Winter Dance Party in Moorhead on Feb. 3, 1959, when local talent was asked to fill in after Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed that same day in a plane crash.
Construction on the Fortitude Senior Living of St. Joseph apartment building is expected to be finished next May.
A community service is held at the College of St. Benedict for Jacob Wetterling and is well-attended by officials, including Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. Friends and families eulogize Jacob as a happy-go-lucky – sometimes humorously mischievous – child who had a kind heart for one and all.
October
To extend the lease or not extend the lease regarding Colts Academy? That was the question before the St. Joseph City Council that would affect plans for a community center. The St. Cloud Area School District is seeking a lease extension which would allow the district to keep early childhood programs at Colts Academy in St. Joseph.
Eight local candidates are vying for four seats on the St. Cloud School Board this November. They are the following: Scott Andreasen, Al Dahlgren, Peter Hamerlinck, Shannon Haws, John W. Palmer, Jeff Pollreis, Monica Segura-Schwartz and Ric Studer. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Receiving the diagnosis of ALS (or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative nervous-system disease), could cause a person to turn inward with despair, but not so with Glenn Hommerding. The late St. Joseph resident and his wife, Brenda, and their children chose instead to give back to the ALS Association through the St. Cloud Walk to Defeat ALS after Glenn’s 2010 diagnosis. The Hommerdings completed their sixth annual St. Cloud Walk to Defeat ALS at Lake George Sept. 10, and it was the third they’ve done without their inspiration, Glenn, alongside them.
Kennedy Community School students, staff and area residents raised almost $20,500 at an annual walkathon event held Sept. 30, the second-highest amount raised since the event was started.
Two St. Joseph residents are running unopposed for two city council seats in the November elections. They are Troy Goracke and Bob Loso.
Should a new St. Cloud high school be constructed? Should the current Apollo High School undergo major improvements? Those are two related ballot questions voters in the St. Cloud School District will be asked to decide in the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election.
St. Joseph Police Chief Joel Klein said a recent application for an Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant to hire a ninth officer for the department was denied. It was hoped the grant would cover about 75 percent of the new officer’s salary for about three years.
The St. Joseph All Saints Academy’s 33rd annual “Saints in Service” workathon day will take place Oct. 29. For many years, ASA-St. Joseph students have participated in the event to offer services such as raking leaves, clearing gardens, clearing brush, moving wood and more to assist elderly and disabled residents of the St. Joseph area, as well as raise money for their school.
Sartell residents Mark Bromenschenkel and Joe Perske will vie for the Stearns County Commissioner District 2 position this Nov. 8.
Legendary pop singer Bobby Vee dies of Alzheimer’s disease. The famed rocker and his family chose to live first in St. Cloud and then in Cold Spring for many years. He and his sons set up a recording studio in the old bank building in St. Joseph. The Vees were known to share their talents, gratis, for many good causes, including fundraisers for years for Cathedral High School (where his children attended school) and for years at the Fourth of July Joetown Rocks music festival in St. Joseph. Vee, whose fame endured through decades, sang many gold-record hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as Take Good Care of My Baby and Devil or Angel.
November
St. Joseph Police Chief Joel Klein and St. Joseph Fire Chief Jeff Taufen recently spoke about equipment requests their departments could use, at the October Y2K Lions meeting held at the Church of St. Joseph Parish Center. Their requests included a defibrillator, batteries, extrication gloves and even an aerial drone.
If Jeny Meyer could make a wish come true, she’d wish for 50 new members for the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce. But wishing won’t make it so, and that is why Meyer, the Chamber Board and other members plan to kick off a membership drive by early winter. In July, Meyer was named administrator for the Chamber, which currently has about 100 members.
More than a dozen veterans from American Legion Post 328 of St. Joseph took part in the Veterans Day Parade and Social at the campus of the St. Cloud VA Health Care System. Jerry Reischl of St. Joseph was one of those veterans in the 10th annual parade in St. Cloud and a member of the St. Joseph post for more than three decades.
On Nov. 8, voters have their say-so. Nationally, Donald Trump is elected as president, winning the most electoral votes but coming in second in popular votes. In St. Joseph, the following are elected: St. Joseph Mayor: Rick Schultz (incumbent); St. Joseph City Council: Troy Goracke (new) and Bob Loso (incumbent); and St. Cloud School Board: Al Dahlgren (incumbent), Shannon Haws, Jeff Pollreis, Monica Segura-Schwartz. The St. Cloud School District bond question results are as follows: Yes to a new high school, no to renovations at Apollo High School.
Students, faculty and staff from St. John’s Prep School in Collegeville shared the spirit of Thanksgiving by donating food and money Nov. 15 to the St. Joseph Community Food Shelf. SJP delivered 20 boxes of meals and $1,030 in cash to the food shelf.
The St. Joseph City Council discussed an on-going proposal to build a dog park in Millstream Park at its recent meeting that included a financial breakdown of expected costs. The St. Joseph Park Board decided to donate $10,000 to build a fence for the proposed dog park, which is about an acre in size, if the group could find the funds to match it. Mary Munden, a dog park supporter, has started a Facebook fundraising page for the project to raise the additional $10,000 by Dec. 1, 2018 so the fence could be installed as soon as possible. The St. Joseph Lions have also donated $1,000 toward the project.
December
Two men, who claim their civil rights were violated, plan to sue local law enforcement for actions taken after two notorious murder cases – that of St. Joseph boy Jacob Wetterling and of Cold Spring-Richmond Police Officer Tom Decker. Dan Rassier, who lives just down a driveway from the rural road where Jacob Wetterling was abducted 27 years ago, intends to sue for alleged defamation against him. Rassier is claiming those law-enforcement personnel and agencies treated him unjustly for years, implying he was a person of interest in the Wetterling case when there was absolutely no credible evidence against him. Another lawsuit is pending in a similar case, brought against the same law-enforcement agencies by Ryan Larson, who claims he was defamed after the murder of Cold Spring Police Officer Tom Decker almost five years ago.
Salvation Army bell-ringers are ringing for a good cause. The bell-ringing goal this Christmas season is to raise $429,000 overall, with about $200,000 of that raised directly from kettle donations.
St. John’s Prep eighth-grade student Jack Skahen was recently named to the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota Honor Choir for the second year in a row. The honor recognizes outstanding young Minnesota choral musicians.
The St. Joseph City Council approved the 2017 budget and levy at its meeting Dec. 5, which included hiring a ninth officer in July for the police department after failing to receive a hoped-for grant. The general fund budget for next year increased from this year by almost $187,000 and was approved at the meeting at $2.9 million.
Twenty-four Apollo High School students, many from St. Joseph, as well as 20 other volunteers, recently volunteered at the November Fare For All food distribution at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Students from the Apollo National Honor Society and swim team volunteered for the distribution.
Christmas came early this year for the St. Joseph City Council and Police Chief Joel Klein at the council’s meeting where they were presented a check to buy an automated external defibrillator. Local representatives of Rug Doctor presented an $800 check. “We need to support our police – not shoot them,” said Kris Haugen, a Rug Doctor area representative who was a reserve officer for the City of St. Joseph and is a friend of Klein’s.
Addy Salzer, 3, spoke with Mrs. Claus after selecting a candy cane at All Saints Academy during Winter Walk held Dec. 2 in downtown St. Joseph. When Mrs. Claus asked Addy if her class behaves well for their teacher, Addy replied with honesty, “Sometimes we’re good and sometimes we’re not.”
Local resident Joyce Stock has been busy sewing dresses for people in Haiti. She and her sister, Janice Stock of St. Cloud, have sewn more than 200 dresses and 30 skirts this year. They now have totes packed full with the dresses and skirts, to be transferred to bags and taken to Haiti in February.
St. Joseph resident Linda Heinen was recently honored at the All Saints Academy dinner held Nov. 19 at St. Paul’s Parish in St. Cloud. She received the 2016 Inspire Award. Heinen has worked at the school for 27 years and has helped students, faculty, staff, parents and others with everything from finding their way around the building, to stopping bloody noses, putting on bandages, distributing information and much more. Joe and Joanne Bechtold were also honored at the dinner for their many years of volunteering with serving lunches to the students, helping in the library and more.
(To read any of the above stories in their entirety, visit thenewsleaders.com then click on the Archives button mid-way down the home page.)
