by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
In 2015, St. Joseph experienced continued growth, city financial health, long-term plans for community buildings, academic and extracurricular achievements, and many other positive developments.
The year, however, was marked also by car collisions ending in death and the revelation of possession of child pornography by a man who may or may not be connected to the Jacob Wetterling case.
The following are capsule summaries of many of the news stories published in the St. Joseph Newsleader during 2015.
January
All Saints Academy fifth-grade students in Tess Koltes’ classroom learned how to interview for, write and publish a newspaper.
A new playground was installed at Colts Academy for the early-childhood programs of district 742. ECFE programs were moved to St. Joseph after a fire in 2014 destroyed the programs’ previous home at Roosevelt Education Center in St. Cloud. An inspection in the fall of 2014 revealed the equipment at the time was not up to code for district use. The equipment was designed to be movable for when the early-childhood programs move to a new building.
In a 4-1 vote, the newly convened city council moved its meetings from the first and third Thursdays of the month to the first and third Mondays. Meetings continued to be held at 6 p.m.
Matt Killam joined the council in 2014, replacing outgoing city council member Steve Frank. Mayor Rick Schultz defended his seat in the November election against council member Bob Loso, while incumbent city council member Dale Wick retained his seat. The other two seats were not up for election. At his final council meeting, Frank said it was a privilege to work with the mayor and council, though they disagreed sometimes.
A sign welcoming visitors to St. Joseph, sitting since 1996 between Old Hwy 52 and CR 75 on property belonging to Mike Deutz, was requested to be removed. In an email Dec. 17, Deutz’s attorney gave the city 30 days to remove the sign. City council members originally worked with multiple groups, including the Lions, to erect signs near the edge of town to welcome visitors.
Retired anthropologist and museum educator Douglas Petersen spoke to All Saints Academy sixth-grade students about fur-trading voyageurs in Minnesota history. Peterson, dressed in his voyageur costume, came as “Pierre DuBois” and passed around objects such as mink and beaver pelts, a beaver skull, a stone knife and more.
Students from St. Joseph and surrounding areas perform with the Central Minnesota Youth Orchestra, founded in 2013. The first concert of their year was held in April. The College of St. Benedict, St. John’s University and St. Cloud State University all play host for rehearsals.
The College of St. Benedict began a $2.5-million renovation project for its nursing-education facilities. The redesign includes six simulation rooms, a simulation control center, two interactive classrooms, a large laboratory, a fully functional nurse’s station and a seminar space.
Toni Pflueger and her daughters, Sara and Becky, traveled to Antigua, Guatemala to attend the high-school-graduation ceremony of Aura Camargo Perez, a child their family has sponsored for 15 years but had never met.
A record number of 122 people participated in the 23rd annual St. Cloud Ice Bowl disc-golf tournament held at Millstream Park. The event raised $9,442.28 for local food shelves.
February
Brent Fandel, Nate Honkomp, Shane Johnson and Gary Lauer were all sworn in as St. Joseph Police Reserves by Mayor Rick Schultz at the regular city council meeting. These four join four other reserve officers bringing the total to eight volunteers. Police Chief Joel Klein was in attendance along with Officer Matt Johnson, the reserve officer coordinator for the department.
Construction began of additional facilities at Kennedy Community School, which opened in the fall of 2008. Ten additional classrooms along with student and staff restrooms, renovation of the cafeteria and a small parking lot at the back of the school were added. Cost was estimated at $4.7-million, with construction expected to be completed before the fall of 2015.
Snow returned to the area on Feb. 3. Warmer temperatures had raised hopes of a milder stretch of weather to come.
St. John’s Prep hosted more than 2,200 students, kindergarten through 12th grade, at the Abbey Church for a Mass celebrating Catholic education during national Catholic Schools Week.
Provost Rita Knuesel announced she would retire in June after serving the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University for nearly 40 years in several capacities. Knuesel has been provost since 2007.
The Jacob Wetterling Resource Center turned 25 years old in January, and held a celebration to honor the hope and help the JWRC has provided to thousands of families of missing, exploited and abducted children.
A delegation of students and faculty from the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University obtained observer status for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held annually in Paris since 1992. The convention is responsible for creating and guiding international climate change policy.
Members of the city council, park board, economic development authority and planning commission, as well as representatives of the facilities task force and aquatics amenity committee and additional St. Joseph residents gathered together at the community fire hall to make sure everyone was on the same page in regards to city planning. Mayor Schultz said he likes to call a meeting like this about once a year.
March
Kristi Spaniol and her 14-year-old daughter, Kelli Spaniol, a freshman at Cathedral High School, volunteered at the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships held in Vail and Beaver Creek, Colo.
The water tower lights were extinguished the entire night of March 28 in response to a request to turn them off for Earth Hour, a campaign which began in 2007 to turn the lights off for one hour at homes, businesses and government buildings meant to draw awareness to electricity usage.
Dr. Judy Nagel, principal of Kennedy Community School, announced she would be leaving her position June 30, after the school year ended. Nagel was originally hired as an interim principal to replace Diane Moeller for the 2013-14 school year.
City Council member Matt Killam updated the rest of the council on the water amenity project. He said they are currently working out how to finance the project, which includes the following: a multi-use pool with a one- and three-meter diving board; a grass lounge area; a lazy river; three water slides and more. The design was created by USAquatics.
For the second consecutive time, the College of St. Benedict earned a place on the Peace Corps’ list of the top 25 volunteer-producing small colleges and universities in the nation. There were nine CSB students serving abroad as of Sept. 30, 2014. Small colleges and universities are defined as those with less than 5,000 undergraduate students. CSB was also cited by the Institute of International Education for ranking 29th among bachelor’s institutions for having the most Fulbright Scholars. In 2013, the school was awarded four Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Awards, the most the school has ever received.
The St. Joseph Rod and Gun Club held its 22nd annual Wood Duck-, Bluebird- and Wren-House Building Night. This year, the club helped area residents and kids build 25 wood-duck, 100 bluebird and 80 wren houses.
Laurie Putnam, assistant principal at South Junior High School in St. Cloud since 2009, accepted the principal position at Kennedy Community School after Dr. Judy Nagel’s resignation effective June 30.
Employees from Artistic Stone and Concrete dismantled the ‘Welcome to St. Joseph’ sign March 19 located between Old Hwy 52 and CR 75. The sign was placed into storage.
Central Minnesota Credit Union was approved for $125,300 in tax-increment financing by the city for a 14,000 square-foot member-services call center at 1140 Elm St. E. The total cost of the building will be $4.2 million, and it will house 42 staff members within the first two years, with room to hold about 80 employees total. The building should be complete sometime in late 2015 or early 2016.
April
Laurie Putnam, incoming principal at Kennedy Community School, began her transition into her new job and will be fully at Kennedy by the middle of June.
Instructors Mike Hengel and Bob Kempenich offered a bystander CPR class at Heritage Hall in St. Joseph Catholic Church. They are part of Take Heart Minnesota, which seeks to increase the survival rate for people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. SCA, which is different than a heart attack, can cause someone to be clinically dead within minutes if not treated with a defibrillator or with bystander CPR followed by defibrillation.
Area quilters from St. Joseph Catholic Church volunteered hundreds of hours to finish many beautiful quilts for the annual church bazaar held July 3-4.
The city council voted to move forward on documents presented by Tom Schaffer of USAquatics, an aquatic consulting and design firm based out of Delano. The next step includes 3D-modeling of the amenity as well as site researching and soil testing. The cost to move forward with these steps was $71,000.
At the April 6 city council meeting Fire Chief Jeff Taufen presented 4-year-old ShyAnn Jamison, St. Joseph, with a plaque thanking her for her life-saving action. ShyAnn noticed dinner caught fire when her great-grandmother had left the room, so she ran to a neighbor for help. The neighbor used two fire extinguishers to hold down the flames until the fire department arrived.
A facilities task force, created after disagreement surrounding the future of a city hall and/or community center, presented their recommendations to the council on the future of facilities in the city. The recommendation was for the city to move forward on a community center first, which would primarily need the following: a multi-purpose gym space; a multi-purpose room; a library space which does not require full-time staffing; and be centrally located, accessible to those with disabilities and those without vehicles. The second priority is for a police facility.
At about 2:30 p.m. April 13, Cody James Nuckolls, 5, of St. Joseph, was hit and killed by a black Chevy Trailblazer outside of his home on the 300 block of First Ave. N.W. Cody is the son of William “Ryan” Nuckolls and Lorraine Hipp. After reviewing video evidence, police quickly found and seized the vehicle and interviewed the suspect. Funeral services were held for Cody April 22 at Joy Christian Center, St. Cloud.
St. John’s Prep Junior Justin Terhaar received a perfect score of 36 on the ACT college entrance exam.
Pope Francis was shown the last volume of the Saint John’s Bible at the Vatican. The volume the Pope saw is about 2 feet by 3 feet and weighs 14 pounds.
The Pflueger family joined Aura Camargo Perez and her parents for a picnic lunch before Perez’s high school graduation in Guatemala. The Pfluegers have sponsored Perez for 15 years through Common Hope. Pictured are (left to right) Sara Pflueger, Toni Pflueger, Perez, Maria (Perez’s mother) and Mario (Perez’s father).
Patty Wetterling (center) cuts cake with the help of her granddaughters, Maizie (front) and Belle (back), during the 25th anniversary of the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center DATE??? Tuesday afternoon. Wetterling was there along with her husband, Jerry, and daughter, Carmen.
Renee Symanietz, council member, and Judy Weyrens, city administrator, look on as Tom Schaffer of U.S. Aquatics describes the plan his company has drawn up, with the help of the aquatics amenity committee. The plan includes three water slides and a six-lane pool.
Kelli Spaniol (front) is shown with the Championship theme of “Dream It, Live it, Share It” in the background. She said the theme was very evident throughout WHAT EVENT???
Ellen (front) and Tom Woods of Woods Farmer Seed and Nursery stock their new greenhouse with house plants. They opened their new location on Feb. 26 in Waite Park.
The final demolition of the above-ground portion of the sign had to wait until Monday, after power and gas lines in the ground were found and marked.
Employees of Artistic Stone and Concrete dismantled the “Welcome to St. Joseph” sign between Old Hwy 52 and Hwy 75 on March 19. The sign was put into storage by the city.
The final demolition of the above-ground portion of the sign had to wait until Monday, after power and gas lines in the ground were found and marked.
This sign has welcomed locals and visitors alike coming to St. Joseph via CR 75 since 1996. On Dec. 17, 2014, the owner of the land gave the city 30 days to remove it.
Area quilters from the Church of St. Joseph recently stitched on a butterfly hanky quilt for the annual parish bazaar July 3 and 4. Shown (left to right) are Delrose Fischer, Marilyn Brinkman, Ellie Studer, Betty Schloemer, Josie Meyer, Irene Symanietz, Judy Meemken, Ilene Schmitt, Ione Jacobs, Barb Heltemes and Geri Schwab. Missing quilters include Ida Johnson, Winnie Pfannenstein, Delores Lowell and Maryanne Poepping.
Laurie Putnam (left) and current Kennedy Principal Judy Nagel discuss the 2015-16 student schedule at Nagel’s office on March 30.
At the April 6 city council meeting, Fire Chief Jeff Taufen presented 4-year-old ShyAnn Jameison of St. Joseph, with a plaque thanking her for her life-saving actions. On Feb. 24, ShyAnn was staying at Hollow Park apartments, on Cypress Street in St. Joseph with her great-grandmother. The great-grandmother, Gwynith Copner, pictured here with ShyAnn, had left the kitchen when ShyAnn noticed her dinner had started on fire. ShyAnn quickly ran to a neighboring apartment where a friend of the family lived, who used two fire extinguishers to help hold the flames down while the fire department was called. Taufen, as well as Police Chief Joel Klein, called ShyAnn a hero. Along with the plaque, ShyAnn received a backpack and a gift card to McDonald’s. ShyAnn is the daughter of Ashlee Jamison.
Cody James Nuckolls is known for both his “Cody Hug” and his big, wide grin. His favorite color is red. Funeral services for Cody were held April 22 at Joy Christian Center, St. Cloud. This photo was taken of Cody Nuckolls during a free Outdoor Movie Night on Aug. 5, 2014 at Millstream Park.
