YIR Part 3: 2017 filled with growth, changes for St. Joseph

(The Year in Review: Parts 1 and 2 covering January-August were featured in the Jan. 5 and 12 editions of the Newsleader and may be read in their entirety by visiting thenewsleaders.com.)

September

Kennedy Community School fifth-grade student Carlee Reber has a need for speed. At just 10-years-old, Reber has taken to the sport of drag racing. She participates at races at the Brainerd International Raceway, Grove Creek Raceway in Grove City and Top End Raceway in Fargo. She was also featured in the national monthly publication Midwest Drag Racers Associate magazine. “She just loves it because she loves going fast,” said Pete Reber, Carlee’s dad. “She was born with racing in her blood.”

Ground has been broken for the new Lake Wobegon Trail expansion. This project, valued at $4.9 million, will connect the cities of St. Joseph and Waite Park. It’s anticipated to be completed next spring.

The second annual “Rock For Alzheimer’s” event has been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23 in the parking lot behind Bad Habit Brewing Co. The event will immediately follow the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in St. Cloud. The “Rock For Alzheimer’s” concert series was created by Jeff and Tommy Vee to help honor their father, rock/pop music legend Bobby Vee, who passed away from Alzheimer’s in October 2016.

Clara Stueve had a lot of candles to blow out on her birthday cake. Stueve, a resident at St. Joseph’s Arlington Place, celebrated her 105th birthday Aug. 28.

Students at Kennedy Community School honor the life of Moses Beasely. Beasely was a 15-year-old sophomore at Apollo High School who committed suicide in August. Beasely’s mother Natoyia Alberts, spoke to students at Kennedy about her son. Beasely’s younger brothers, Kenneth and Ahmir, are students at Kennedy.

Kay’s Kitchen is expanding. Owner Tanya Finken is planning to open a second location inside Midtown Square Mall in St. Cloud. “After looking at the kitchen, I realized it would be a good fit for my catering business and to bring my pie baking there as well,” Finken said.

Millstream Park is set to welcome its newest edition – a dog park.  The first phase of the new park has been completed. Phase Two which includes water access and a shelter and Phase Three which includes an expansion area for small dogs have yet to be completed.

Charles “Charlie” William Preble publishes his second collection of poetry in a book entitled Portals. Preble has been working on this book for the past four years. And at 80 years old, he is already hard at work on his third book.

Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, stars of the History Channel’s American Pickers, are set to make a stop in St. Joseph. Victoria Weinberg, the show’s casting associate, sent an email to the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce stating they are looking for people who have collectibles they are willing to part with.

The College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University have plans to screen six award-winning French films at their French Film Festival. “The Tournees Film Festival is open to everyone, and we really aim to get as many people here as possible, even those who have never spoken or heard a word of French,” said Dr. Ana Conboy, assistant professor of French at CSB/SJU.

October

St. Joseph Township residents Todd and Sarah Theisen hope to provide others with the chance of home ownership. The couple is the proud owner of Future Equities, a business which specializes in purchasing foreclosed homes, refurbishing them and selling them contract-for-deed to those with poor credit. “It’s exciting for me to give other people life opportunities they may not have had otherwise, and this is one thing I can do,” Todd Theisen told the Newsleader.

Sister Colman O’Connell OSB passed away at the age of 90. O’Connell was the 11th president of CSB. A prayer vigil was held for O’Connell on Oct. 6 with a funeral Mass scheduled for Oct. 7.

Baby Jace Josephson remains at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester awaiting a heart transplant. But he might not have been so lucky without the quick-thinking measures local first-responders performed on U.S. Hwy 10. Off-duty Rice firefighter Blake Phenow happened to be driving along the same stretch of roadway when he noticed a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Akasha Ness-Breitwieser pulled over on the side of the road. Jace, who was 18 months old had stopped breathing. Minnesota State Trooper James Orlando and Benton County Deputy Ron Thomas also helped perform life-saving CPR on Jace until an ambulance arrived.

Sandy and Loyal Skuza can cross one more item off of their bucket list. The couple recently completed a motorcycle journey of a lifetime, having biked in all of the lower 48 states and five Canadian provinces. “There is something about riding on a motorcycle. Your vision is not obscured and you can see up and all around. You can also smell things for miles,” Sandy Skuza told the Newsleader.

St. Joseph firefighters were dispatched to battle a shed fire north of St. Joseph Oct. 13. The shed, located not far from CR 133 near the Five Points intersection, took about three hours to extinguish. No one was injured.

The Saint John’s Bible has come back to Central Minnesota where it’s permanently on display in the St. John’s University Alcuin Library. The Bible includes seven volumes of more than 1,100 pages all handwritten and hand illustrated under the direction of Donald Jackson. The project was officially commissioned in 1998.

A 60-acre solar farm opened just north of St. Joseph on Interstate 94. The 28,000 solar panels will produce enough energy to power about 1,200 Minnesota homes. “Over the course of 25 years, subscribers to this solar garden should see total savings in excess of $8 million,” IPS Vice President of Business Development Eric Pasi told the Newsleader.

St. John’s Prep junior Mitchell Brown takes center stage as the loveable but clueless groundskeeper George in the Great Northern Theater Co.’s production of Drinking Habits 2: Caught in the Act.

Central Minnesota Somali residents hosted a prayer vigil at St. Cloud’s Lake George after a terrorist bombing in Somalia killed more than 350 people and injured hundreds more earlier this month. St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis and St. Cloud Diocesan Bishop Donald Kettler offered their prayers and support.

November

Interest has grown as two local people have started advocating for the canonization of a nun buried at St. Benedict’s Monastery. Avon resident Patrick Norton has been working toward getting both the Diocese of St. Cloud and the sisters with the Order of St. Benedict’s to push for the canonization of Sister Annella Zervas. The Order of St. Benedict’s stated in 1989 they are not interested in pursuing canonization for any of the orders’ members.

After Hurricane Harvey devastated portions of Texas, students at Kennedy Community School wanted to find a way to help. The students helped collect books for children who were impacted by the hurricanes. With the help of efforts at St. John’s Prep, the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, the book drive was able to gather more than 3,250 books.

At age 53, Central Minnesota resident Jeff Janssen has completed a marathon in all 50 states. In fact, he has officially completed 69 races, each 26.2 miles long. Janssen’s last state to complete his goal was Iowa. “There also is a Seven Continents Club, which seems easy as I only have six to go,” Janssen said.

Students at All Saints Academy reached their goal of raising $21,000 during the 34th annual “Saints in Service” Workathon. As a reward for meeting their goal the students were given a Halloween carnival.

Millstream Park is now home to a new $534,351 shelter. A grand opening for the new addition will be held Nov. 27.

Family and friends are still waiting for answers 15 years after the disappearance of St. John’s University college student Joshua Guimond, who was last seen on Nov. 9, 2002 after walking from his on-campus dorm residence to play cards with friends at a party just a three-minute walk away. A vigil/prayer service for Guimond was held Nov. 9 at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Maple Lake.

An Avon home received some special holiday magic as local vendors literally decked the halls as part of the 28th annual Zonta Christmas House. Located on the outskirts of St. Joseph, the Zonta Christmas House is a fundraiser for the Zonta Club of St. Cloud. Ticket sale proceeds are donated to Anna Marie’s Alliance and Journey Home.

Mary C. Bruno along with a team of volunteers helped coordinate the sixth annual Holiday Art Crawl. The 2017 Holiday Art Crawl had five stops: Minnesota Street Market, The Local Blend, Bad Habit Brewing Co., Bruno Press and Rockhouse Productions. The art crawl also provided patrons with a shuttle service.

St. Joseph resident and U.S. Marine veteran Bob Ringstrom is helping Santa Claus out this year. Ringstrom has been promoted to serve as the new coordinator for the St. Cloud Area Toys for Tots campaign. “Toys for Tots is narrowly conceived as a mission to bring light into the lives of children who are not so fortunate as so many of us during the season of giving,” Ringstrom said.

December

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Country Financial Insurance Co. has set up its first “Country Lights Festival” around Lake Francis along Pinecone Road in Sartell. The display debuts on Dec. 2 and will run throughout the month. Santa and Mrs. Claus are also expected to make weekend appearances.

As Mother Nature prepares to dole out her wintry wrath, veteran Nate Chapman is preparing to gas up his snow plow. Chapman of St. Cloud is in charge of Plowing Vets, a service which plows out driveways for veterans, families of veterans stationed elsewhere, police officers, firefighters and first-responders for free. This is the second year of the program.

Thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment used to raise awareness for soldiers missing in action or who are prisoners of war was stolen from its storage space at the McKay’s Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram FIAT car dealership in Waite Park. Freedom Flight POW/MIA President Luke Cesnik said someone stole two Honda fan/engine units and a hot-air balloon burner. “All we do is honor our U.S. military veterans and raise awareness about those who are still prisoners of war or missing in action. Why would anyone do such a thing?” Cesnik asked.

Kennedy Community School students are asking St. Joseph residents for help in collecting toys for the local Toys for Tots drive. Seventh- and eighth-grade students working on the project are part of the “WE Act” program, an organization that helps adolescents learn how to make a difference both locally and globally.

Beer Choir has arrived in Central Minnesota. St. John’s University faculty member Maureen “Mo” Putnam has introduced the concept to the area. Putnam has hosted one choir sing-a-long at the Urban Lodge Brewery and Restaurant in Sauk Rapids in October.

The St. Joseph City Council hosted a truth-in-taxation hearing to discuss the 2018 city budget. The overall levy is set to increase 5.78 percent during 2017. According to the city, taxes on a $150,000 home are estimated to increase by $29. New items included in the budget include a ninth police officer, a part-time custodian, a part-time finance technician, and a part-time employee for the recreation program and open gym.

Local musician Dave Cofell plans to host his annual Christmas Show at the Local Blend. The show, now in its ninth year, will have music, spoken word and poetry.

Let 2017 be the year you expand your Christmas-tree knowledge. Liz Schultz, owner of Sartell’s Unique Design, said vintage ornaments are making a huge comeback. In addition, more people are opting for real trees instead of the artificial trees which are not biodegradable.

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