The father of Steve Hennes of Sartell committed suicide in 1970 when Steve was only 19, just before Steve enlisted in the U.S. Army, partly to get away from his Little Falls home.

Steve was the third of four sons in the family.

Memorial Day ceremony slated - Sartell will once again hold a Memorial Day ceremony starting at 9 a.m. Monday, May 28 at Veterans Park. There will be a contingent of veterans present, the presentation of the colors and a 21-gun salute. A medley of patriotic songs will be performed by the Sartell Community Band and singers. Refreshments will follow in the gazebo.

It was definitely not a “good news night” for the Sartell City Council at its May 14 meeting.

At the end of the meeting, Sartell City Administrator Patti Gartland, like a reluctant bearer of bad tidings, shared the news she had received earlier that afternoon.

photo by Stacey Bartholomew
Emily Driste, 11, (holding sign) and (front row, left to right) Megan Driste, 7, Wesley Johnson, 6, and Julia Johnson. 8, all residents of Sartell set up a neighborhood Kool-aid stand on Mother’s Day.

The Sartell Senior Connection meeting place is now closed through the summer.

On May 11, the Connection’s board learned the center must be vacated because of remodeling in the north wing of the school district’s District Office Building. That remodeling will get underway in the near future.

Sartell High School is one of three schools in outstate Minnesota that earned ratings of “excellence” among nearly 22,000 public schools in the nation.

“Market Monday,” which opened the growing season in Sartell May 14, offered an abundance of springtime produce and many hand-crafted items.

Market Monday debuted in Sartell last spring and, like last year, the hours are from 3-6:30 p.m. every Monday, including Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Volunteers are badly needed for the Sartell Volunteer Garden Club. At the first Garden Club meeting recently, only seven people attended.

Mallory Johannes of Sartell, was recently named to the spring semester dean’s list at Jamestown (N.D.) College.

During the month of April, Playhouse Child Care Center in Sartell held a food donation competition. Between the seven rooms at the center, more than 1,200 items of food were donated by Playhouse teachers and families. The competition worked very well, as the children reminded their parents each day to bring in more food so their classroom could win.

CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON VACATION OF A WALKWAY, DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENTS SILVERCREST SARTELL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN upon motion of the city council of Sartell, Minn., a public hearing will be held before the city council of Sartell, Minn., in the council chambers at the Sartell City Hall, on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at 7 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, to hear all persons present upon the proposed vacation of a public street, drainage and utility ea...

CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENTS FOR THE TRUNK HIGHWAY 15/COUNTY ROAD 120 PROJECT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Sartell, Minn., will hold a public hearing at a meeting of the Council beginning at 7 p.m., C.T., on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 to be held in the Council Chambers at the City Hall, 125 Pine Cone Road N., in Sartell, Minn, on the proposal that the City abate property taxes levied by the City on the property iden...

CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON VACATIONOF A PORTION OF A DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENT AVALON VILLAGE, LOTS 1-7, BLOCK 2 AND AVALON VILLAGE 2, LOT 3, BLOCK 3 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN upon motion of the city council of Sartell, Minn., a public hearing will be held before the city council of Sartell, Minn, in the council chambers at the Sartell City Hall, at 7 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, to hear all persons present upon the proposed ...

CITY OF SARTELL PUBLIC HEARING CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES TITLE 7, CHAPTER 8 PUBLIC WAYS AND PROPERTY NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: That the city of Sartell will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, on Monday, May 29, 2012 at the Sartell City Hall, for the purpose of reviewing Title 7, Chapter 8 Public Ways and Property. A copy of the proposed changes to the ordinance is available for review at the city clerk’s office. All interested persons are invited to at...

That song, “Kids,” from the musical comedy “Bye Bye Birdie” keeps popping up in my mind.

“Kids, I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today.

Kids, who can understand anything they say?

After 10 years of cajoling and threats, the Minnesota Vikings finally got its way. The team will get a stadium at a cost of $1 billion, with slightly over half of that cost coming from various forms of public funds.

Purple Pride exploded when the stadium deal finally passed the legislature.

King of Pop. The greatest entertainer who ever lived. Inventor of the Moonwalk. These are just three of the many titles given to the late Michael Jackson.

Sartell is cleaner and more attractive, thanks to the efforts of more than 1,000 students.

Like a hive of industrious bees, the energetic students swarmed across the city May 2, which was the high school’s “Community Service Day.”

Attention parents of seniors  - Last chance! If your senior student has not turned in their photo, after-school plans and newspaper release information for the Sartell Newsleader’s Graduation Tab, please contact Sheila Frank at 320-257-1414 as soon as possible. All seniors will be featured with their photos and names in the June 1 issue of the Newsleader unless you have notified Frank by Wednesday, May 16.

After serving 17 years as the principal of St. Francis Xavier School in Sartell, Linda Wilfahrt will retire at the end of this school year.

Wilfahrt described her mixed feelings about retiring as a combination of “sad” and “excited.”

“On the one hand, I am sad,” she said. “The St. Francis Xavier School community – students, staff, parents, volunteers – are very dear to me.”

Patrick Jacobson-Schulte recently announced he will resign from the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board because he and his family will soon move outside of the school district to a home that better meets the needs of his family.

According to a news release from the superintendent’s office, Jacobson-Schulte will resign from the school board effective May 30.

The City of Sartell is seeking election judges for one –and perhaps two – elections in 2012.

Depending on how many candidates file for two city-council seats, there might be a primary election Tuesday, Aug. 14. In order for that to happen, there will have to be at least five people who file – 2.5 the numbers of open seats (two). If not that many file, there will be no need for a primary election. The filing period, early this year because of the primary possibility, will open May 22 and close June 5.

Sartell just might soon have the first municipal primary election in its 105-year history for city-council positions. And because of that possibility, the candidate-filing period will be earlier this year – opening May 22 and closing at 5 p.m. June 5.

The upcoming 30th annual Sartell Apple Duathlon is one of the few non-profit major duathlons in the nation, and virtually every dollar of proceeds goes to local causes.

The adult Sartell Apple Duathlon will get underway at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 26. The evening before, May 25, starting at 6 p.m., the Apple Children’s Race will begin. Both races will take place at Sartell Middle School.
Registration is still open for both races. Visit www.appleduathlon.com

Two long-time Sartell residents, Lint Edgerly and Tom Offerdahl, were honored by the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual awards banquet April 26 at Mulligan's Event Center in Sartell.

Edgerly was named Retired Volunteer of the Year, and Offerdahl was selected as Sartell Citizen of the Year.

At the banquet, House of Pizza was named Business of the Year. (For more on that award, see separate story in May 4 edition of the Sartell Newsleader.)

Tara Berger’s wish for books – lots of books – came true.

She never dreamed so many books would materialize so quickly.

Berger is a member of the Sartell-St. Stephen Early Childhood Education Advisory Board.

The Newsleaders would like to send a profuse thank you to those who volunteered to help us clean up a stretch of highway recently. We would also like to thank Joyce Albrecht of the St. Joseph Subway for donating food for the volunteers.

Local dancers from Sartell, St. Stephen and St. Joseph recently competed with hundreds of Just For Kix dancers at three “United We Dance” competitions in March and brought home the top awards.

Competitions were held in Bloomington, St. Cloud and Wahpeton, N.D. Dancers competed in various categories such as jazz, kick, lyrical and hip hop.

Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) was elated when Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law a school-trust land bill April 28.

O’Driscoll was one of the key authors of the bill. He called the governor’s signing of the bill good news for education in Minnesota.

A St. Cloud Family Thrift Store, which will benefit clients of the Salvation Army, will open sometime in early June in St. Cloud.

It will be located in the former Hoye Home Furnishings building at 55 Park Ave. S.

Four Sartell Middle School seventh-grade students brought back gold and silver awards from the Minnesota Science and Engineering Fair March 18-20 in Bloomington.

One team, comprised of Sam Neuman and Rory Spanier, earned the Gold Award, the top award possible from the Minnesota Academy of Science. The two boys impressed the judges with their project, which is an interactive tic-tac-toe game in which humans try to beat the computer at various skill levels. The Gold Award is given to those who receive judging scores in the top 5 percent.

Sartell city workers David Preusser (left) and Rick Schmatz wrap up spring clean-up work on “Pauline’s Garden” on the grounds of Sartell City Hall.

Fourteen Sartell Middle School students returned from an “Envirothon” competition bearing an armload of trophies, including a first-place honor.

Twenty-six SMS students, grades 7 and 8, participated in the “Region 2 Junior Envirothon,” which was held at the Prairie Woods Environmental Center in Spicer. The competition was sponsored by the Area IV Soil and Water Conservation District.

Cub Scout Pack 11, Sartell, position a wood duck house near the shore of the Mississippi River with the help of Cubmaster Ben Amundson.

Array Services Group and its family of companies – ProSource, J.C. Christensen and Associates Inc., and CareCall Inc. – has been recognized by the American Heart Association as a Gold Fit-Friendly Company and awarded with the prestigious Workstation Innovation Award for its ongoing efforts to provide a culture of corporate wellness and for demonstrating tangible results. According to AHA, Array joins an elite group of awardees for this initiative.

A Sartell Girl Scout was the top Daisy Cookie Seller for the entire Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines Girl Scout Council. Audrey Olson-Drake, a first-grader in Sartell, sold 1,328 boxes of cookies to be the top Service Unit Seller and Top Daisy Council Seller.

Two Sartell Middle School students will perform William Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with Great River Educational Arts Theater May 18-20 at the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater on campus of St. John’s University, Collegeville. Performances are 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

In the Crier section of the May 4 Sartell Newsleader, it states seven Sartell students were honored at a recent Students of Excellence banquet.

It’s about time Hillary Clinton is receiving the widespread admiration she always deserved.

She is, once again, on the top of the list as the world’s most admired woman.

It’s a wonder she was able to endure all that baiting, hounding, heel-nipping and blind hatred aimed at her all through the 1990s when her husband was president. She not only endured it but bounced back to become an acclaimed U.S. senator and, currently, a brilliant secretary of state.

Wouldn’t you know it? We should have seen it coming, and – sure enough – here it is: Emails may be hazardous to your health.

Such “hazardous” warnings about everything from soup to nuts inundate us daily. When you come right down to it, they might as well tell us “life is hazardous to your health.”

I’d like to someday change the common quip, “It’s the thought that counts” to “It’s time that counts.”

Mother’s Day is a bittersweet holiday for many, including myself.

It was two years ago this weekend I lost my mom. While others are bustling about trying to find the perfect gift for their mothers, I’m just trying to find the strength to get through the weekend intact.

Judge Frank Kundrat is a District Court judge for the Seventh Judicial District, chambered in St. Cloud.

In Central Minnesota and other jurisdictions, various specialty courts have been instituted to address ongoing problems caused by addiction, substance abuse and family violence.

Alex Engelsgjerd of Sartell is starring as “Tony,” one of the two lead roles in a current production of West Side Story at the Paramount Theatre in downtown St. Cloud.

The show is a production of GREAT Theatre.

Bromenschenkel sets citizen meeting Stearns County Commissioner Mark Bromenschenkel invites the public to a citizen meeting from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 5 at Cafe Renaissance, 2140 Frontage Road N., Waite Park. This is an opportunity to raise any concerns, talk about county issues or simply meet Bromenschenkel.

contributed photo
Members of the Sartell/Sauk Rapids Moms Club and some of their children planted an Autumn Blaze maple tree in Celebration Park in Sartell in honor of Arbor Day, April 27.

photo by Tom Gerds- This photo, taken by Sartell resident Tom Gerds, shows a scowling sky as it passed to the west of Sartell on May 1. 

photo by Tara Traut- This photo, taken by Sartell resident Tara Traut, shows the quarter-sized hail that was reported in Sartell.

Brandon Testa received a standing ovation when his House of Pizza was named “Business of the Year” by the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual banquet April 26 at Mulligan’s Event Center in Sartell.

Members of the Sartell Lions and Leos, Sartell-Sauk Rapids Lacross team and workers from Habitat for Humanity recently volunteered for the Sartell Lions Spring Cleanup held last Saturday, April 28 in the Sartell Middle School parking lot.

Amber Harlow, a student at the College of St. Benedict, was recently honored as part of the winning team of the CSB/St. John’s University Student Employee Team of the Year for her work with the CSB/SJU Bookstores.
Harlow is the daughter of Doris DiNello and Charles Harlow, both of Sartell. She is a junior management major at CSB.

If any readers have tips concerning crimes, they should call the Sartell Police Department at 251-8186 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 255-1301 or access its tip site at www.tricountycrimestoppers.org. Crime Stoppers offers rewards up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for crimes.

SECTION 00 11 13 - ADVERTISEMENT FOR REBID (ALUMINUM PACKAGE AND MECHANICAL PACKAGE)  PART 1 - GENERAL 1.1 PROJECT A. ISD 748 Early Childhood/District Service Center Remodeling 212 3rd Ave. N., Sartell, Minn.

NOTICE OF CANDIDATE FILINGS FOR THE CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that affidavits of candidacy for the Municipal Primary Election to be held on the Aug. 14, 2012, may be obtained from the City Clerk at the Sartell City Hall, 125 Pinecone Road N., during regular office hours (7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday-Friday (excluding holidays) between the following dates: First day for filing – Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Last day for filing – Tuesday, June 5, 2012 (office hours extended until 5 p.m.) City...

I call them the “Ramen Shoppers.” They never fail to fill me with sympathy and sadness.

You can see them in the grocery stores of all college towns. They are typically between the ages of 19 and 24.
Pushing their grocery carts down the aisles, they take time intently pondering the price of this or that item.

Some right-wing extremists want to throw out baby with bathwater.

The latest example of that all-or-nothing attitude surfaced recently, again, when so many radical Republicans rapped Earth Day as some kind of demonic rite of spring.

It started out just like so many of our previous girls’ weekends.

My best friend and I have been meeting each spring for nearly 15 years for a weekend away from the grind of careers, housework and family demands.

The Newsleader is inviting Sartell residents to share their favorite photos with our readers. Four times each year a name will be drawn at random from among those who submitted photos, and a gift card to a local business will be awarded to the winner.

Sitting in the outdoor bleachers, some of the Sartell High School students wiped tears from their eyes, some groaned or gasped and some looked away in horror.

What they were seeing looked all too “real.”

A young woman, perhaps 18 year old, lay dead -- face-down on a car trunk beneath the shattered windshield.

Summer baseball registration closes May 1 - Boys and girls second- to eighth-grade interested in playing youth baseball this summer should go to www.sartellbaseball.com and click “Youth baseball” to get additional information and to register for the summer 2012 season.

Kids’ Bike Rodeo set May 5

A Kids’ Bike Rodeo, sponsored by the Sartell Police Department, Health Partners and Revolution Cycle and Ski, will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, May 5 at the Sartell City Hall parking lot.

As the International Olympics’ stirring theme trumpeted from loudspeakers, a long parade of students solemnly entered the gymnasium at Pine Meadow Elementary School for Olympics Day April 20.

Each class of students carried a large hand-colored flag of the country they were representing, just like in the “real” Olympics.

The City of Sartell hopes to get applications for the two current openings for Sartell-LeSauk firefighter positions -- openings that became available due to retirements. The application deadline is Tuesday, May 15.

A third opening is expected to occur this October when yet another firefighter, Bob Heins, will retire after 32 years of service.

Applications might soon be accepted from people willing to fill the seat vacated earlier last month by Sartell-St. Stephen School Board member Julie Zupfer Anderson.

The application decision, however, is not yet written in stone. The school board will decide how to open up the vacancy-filling process at a special work session following the regular school board meeting May 14, which will start at 6:30 p.m. in the District Office building.

When John Gross talks, his rapid-fire phrases illuminate the wide world of sports with one breathtaking story after another, sometimes one running right into the next one in a jumble of vivid memories.

Like the one-handed pitcher who pitched a no-hitter. Or like the Olympic diver who drove drunk one night and killed two teenagers.

The 11th annual “Wine, Kibbles and Bits” fundraiser for the Tri-County Humane Society will take place Friday, May 4 at the Gorecki Center on the campus of the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.

When Francis Gomes of Sartell drives down the street, you’d think the circus is in town. From his vehicle a cheerful merry-go-round music drifts upon the air.

And that’s when kids, parents and grandparents come running.

Sartell will honor “Earth Day” a bit late this year, with a citywide clean-up set for Saturday, April 28.

Friends and business partners Jodi Wilken and Sue Mishow of Sartell are busy nearly ‘round the clock, preparing their shop, “Enchanted Floral and Gifts,” for the spring-and-summer season.

However, sometimes they get a sinking feeling their dream shop might be on a list of doom – the list of floral shops that have closed in Sartell. So far, three such shops have closed in just the past few years: Sartell Floral and Gift, Rosewood Nursery and Floral and Daisy A Day.

One of Shirley Strom’s favorite photographs is one of herself, taken when she was 4 years old, holding her mother’s Kodak Brownie Box camera and clutching that camera as if, for all the world, it was her own.

Even then, pre-school, Strom loved cameras and taking photographs. It’s no wonder after decades of shutterbugging, she has achieved the spotlight-honor of so many exhibits of her works.

Sartell Apple Duathlon will be held May 25-26. There will be various volunteer opportunities throughout Friday evening at the Kids’ Apple Duathlon and Saturday at the 30th annual Apple Duathlon.

The Newsleader is inviting Sartell residents to share their favorite photos with our readers.

In the near future, the newspaper will begin publishing reader-submitted photos – hopefully, at least one each week. And then, four times each year a name will be drawn at random from among those who submitted photos, and a gift card to a local business will be awarded to the winner.

CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON APPLICATION TO AMEND A CONDITIONAL-USE PERMIT SILVERCREST PROPERTIES NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: That a public hearing will be held before the city council of Sartell, Minnesota, in the council chambers of the Sartell City Hall, at 7 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, Monday, May 14, 2012 to hear all persons present upon the application by Silver Oaks Townhomes, LLC, owner and Strack Cos., applicant; to amend a conditional-use permit fr...

CITY OF SARTELL PUBLIC HEARING NPDES PHASE II PERMIT AND STORM WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: That the city of Sartell will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at the Sartell City Hall, for the purpose of implementing the NPDES Phase II permit and review the 2012 storm-water-pollution-prevention plan. The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Phase II program is a federally mandated program e...

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS The City of Sartell is currently seeking bids on the following project: 2012 Central Minnesota Area Cities JPA for Seal Coat Services. The official notices of such requests for bids are available on the city’s website at www.sartellmn.com. Bidding document for project is available by contacting city hall at (320) 253-2171 or city website at www.sartellmn.com.

REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748 MARCH 19, 2012 DISTRICT CENTER BOARD ROOM The regular school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chair, Mary McCabe. Members present: Mary McCabe, Chair; Patrick Jacobson-Schulte, Vice Chair; Greg Asfeld, Clerk; Dan Riordan, Director; Lesa Kramer, Director; Joseph Hill, Superintendent; and Steve Wruck, Business Manager.

SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748 APRIL 3, 2012 DISTRICT CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM  The special school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 5:19 p.m. by Chair Mary McCabe.

Sartell Pride Junior Olympic Volleyball team recently placed second in the Tin Division during an April 14 tournament held in Big Lake.

Five students from Oak Ridge Elementary School were awarded bikes April 13. The five are Rachel Stangle, first grade; Megan Stark, third grade, Matthew Bolton, second grade; Gabe Bengtson, fourth grade andMakayla Nienaber, kindergarten.

Jamie Zylka, Sartell, recently graduated and received her practical nursing pin from Central Lakes College, Brainerd and Staples.

The recognition acknowledges completion of the 40-credit diploma requirements to prepare graduates for the National Council Licensure Exam for Practical Nursing.

A correction is needed for a front-page story about the possibility of appointing someone to fill a vacancy on the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board.

How dare Dick Clark die? He wasn’t supposed to die. He had no right to die.

When we baby boomers were young, that’s what we’d say, “Dick Clark will never die. He never ages. He’ll stay young forever.”

Nobody likes to be micro-managed or second-guessed, and that includes school boards.

When that happens, people and school boards can become defensive – sometimes overly defensive. And sometimes, unfortunately, it can cause decision-making boards to dig in their heels and pull the covered wagons in a circle around themselves.

It started last spring when a reader called into the Newsleader office to ask, rather matter-of-factly when the staff was planning to clean up its two-mile stretch along County Road 3. After all, he assured us, the Newsleader name was on the Adopt-a-Highway signs bordering either end of the tract and we should be responsible for the work if we were getting the credit.

Take groups of young people from two widely different cultures, put them together for games and music and then watch the differences vanish as the fun begins.

Words, they quickly realized, aren’t the only means of communication.

That was the recipe for success when Sartell students visited a school recently in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean nation that shares an island with Haiti.

Barnes hosts Mary Kay open house - A Mary Kay Cosmetics spring open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21 at 34937 County Road 4, St. Joseph. For more information call Joyce Barnes at 320-251-8989.

Scott Hentges will replace John Ross as the head coach for the Sartell High School Sabre football team.

Hentges has been an integral part of Sartell High School’s athletics programs since 2000. For its football team, he served as quarterback coach and defensive-back coach, then as linebacker coach and running-back coach and most recently as defensive coordinator. He is also a social studies teacher at the high school.

The drainage project of Phase II improvements to Champion baseball field in Northside Park can proceed, thanks to an agreement between the City of Sartell and the Sartell Baseball Association and a positive nod from the city council.

The City of Sartell now has a new streamlined, interactive web page that city officials hope will be easier for city residents to navigate.

The new webpage even has two Facebook Pages. One is for the City of Sartell, the other for the Sartell Police Department. Visitors to those Facebooks can submit comments, questions and suggestions. The Facebook sites also give city officials and the police a chance to communicate, in an almost off-the-cuff informal way, with the people they serve.

contributed photo Joy Landeen-Shea  Joy Landeen-Shea of Sartell has just embarked on a new adventure – opening her own business. Located in Sauk Rapids, it’s called “J-Whitty Creations and Boutique.” She decided to name the shop after her children – the “J” for Jacob, 12, the “Whitty” for the nickname of daughter Whitney, 11. Some people have asked Landeen-Shea, “Why Sauk Rapids?” She opened her shop there simply because the space she found for it was perfect – just the right “smallish” siz...

The Sartell Knowledge Bowl team tied for ninth place (with two other teams in Class AA division) at the Minnesota Knowledge Bowl meet April 12-13 at Cragun’s Resort near Brainerd.

Members of the Newsleaders staff raised $440 for the March of Dimes this year. A team of four staff members and their families walked five miles in the annual March for Babies April 14 in St. Cloud.

On April 16 the St. Joseph Fire Department responded to a laundry room fire located at 709 College Ave. S., St. Joseph. Upon extinguishing the fire in the laundry room, neighboring apartments were checked for signs of fire.

Alycia Stidmon, was recently named to the dean’s list at Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis. To be honored, students must earn a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher.

Why am I still riveted by anything to do with the sinking of the H.M.S. Titanic, as if that disaster happened just yesterday? I’ve been pondering that question for the past week, prompted by the centennial of that ship’s sinking on April 15, 1912.

Whenever I happen to channel-flip through TV and glimpse something about the Titanic, I always think, “Oh, not the Titanic again! Enough!” And then, like an instant hypocrite, I start watching, once again, and within seconds I am, once again, mesmerized. I have the same magnetic reaction to another disaster – the assassination of J.F.K.

Although Minnesotans – famously so – are a weather-hardened species, this past winter, which was practically “balmy,” has probably spoiled us to some extent.

But let’s not fool ourselves. A benign winter is not necessarily the harbinger of a balmy, pleasant summer. A drought is possible, as are destructive floods. A lethal heat wave could develop, not to mention – heaven forbid – killer tornadoes.

by Reps. Tim O’Driscoll (R) and Denise Dittrich (DFL)

Many times those who hold public office are labeled as being too partisan and not willing to work together to solve problems.

We’d like to share with you a story of how the Minnesota Legislature is working together in an unprecedented bipartisan fashion this session to bring about change that will benefit public schools in the state of Minnesota.

Lewis Neuman, Sartell

Some of the run-of-the-mill political talk surrounding the Keystone pipeline is a bit misleading and a downright lie. Political candidates use the pipeline as favorable sound bites opposing President Obama.

Who in their right mind would think our president would want us to endure $10/gallon gas? Better yet, who can believe a candidate seeking the Republican nomination for president that promises us $2.50/gallon gas if elected. If so, lets see the truth now. Why wait? The president opposes the pipeline for environmental concerns as well.

ASSESSMENT NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, the Board of Appeal and Equalization for the City of St. Stephen in Stearns County, Minn., will meet at City Hall in said City of St. Stephen at 6:30 p.m., on Wednesday, April 25 for the purpose of reviewing and correcting the 2012 assessment of said City of St.

Re-bid Notification Sartell-St. Stephen School District will accept bids at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 1 for the redesigned Mechanical and Aluminum Systems as part of the Early Childhood/District Services Remodeling project.

Among the many cards Ester Sharrow’s received for her 106th birthday, one was from Sartell Mayor Joe Perske.

“You are a great inspiration to all of us in Sartell,” Perske wrote. “Ester, you are one year older than the City of Sartell!”

Early childhood holds book drive - Sartell-St. Stephen Early Childhood Program/Preschool is looking for books to add to its children’s library. Books can be dropped off now through May 25 at the Community Education office or at Oak Ridge Elementary School in the designated boxes.

The Sartell-St. Stephen School Board will decide at its April 23 meeting whether to appoint a man nominated to replace Julie Zupfer Anderson, who recently resigned from the board. She had cited irreconcilable differences among board members and a lack of common vision regarding board leadership as a reason for her resignation.

Even though the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board acted within its bounds in nominating someone to replace a board member, some school district residents are not happy about it.

Michelle Meyer, a former school board member, attended the April 3 working session when school board chair Mary McCabe suggested a Sartell resident, Dr. Gary Schnellert, be appointed to fill the vacancy left by the recent resignation of Julie Zupfer Anderson. There were no other nominations made and no objections to McCabe’s nomination (see related story).

When Jodi Westbrook of St. Stephen thinks about what could have happened to her daughter, an unsettling mixture of anxiety and anger overcomes her.

On Wednesday night, April 4, at about 11:30 p.m., Westbrook's 17-year-old daughter was driving home to St. Stephen after seeing the 3-D version of the movie "Titanic" in Waite Park. While driving north on 30th Avenue N., just past the Sartell compost site, she slammed on her brakes and went skidding to the edge of the road, almost into the ditch. At the same time, another vehicle – southbound –veered off into the ditch and then back onto the road.

Diagnosed many years ago with early-onset arthritis on her spine, Judy Wolters of Sartell has been living in pain – more or less constant pain – for most of her life.
That’s the bad news.

The good news is Wolters has discovered her own ways to keep pain at bay as much as possible through on-the-spot de-stressing techniques.

The roles and responsibilities for a joint development plan for a skateboard park in Sartell’s Pinecone Central Park were approved unanimously by the Sartell City Council at its April 9 meeting.

The Skate Park Development Improvement Process lists seven roles/responsibilities for the City of Sartell, the advisory committee and the fundraising group for the proposed skate park.

A repeal bill to do away with a state tiered water-pricing mandate was signed into law April 2 by Gov. Mark Dayton.

Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) is one of the advocates of the bill and helped carry it to passage in the House of Representatives. The bill, before it was repealed Monday, would have required all cities with populations of more than 1,000 to implement a tiered system of water pricing so the heaviest users, such as schools and businesses, would pay more per unit than those who use less water, such as homeowners.

Four Sartell students recently competed and scored in the 85 percentile or higher on the 2012 American Association of Teachers German Exam.
The students are as follows: Luke Payne, freshman, son of Troy and Sandy Payne; Evan Morrison, sophomore, son of Phil and Michelle Morrison; Maria Sebas, junior, daughter of John and Mary Sebas; Andrew Math, junior, son of Thomas and Kristen Math.

It is – unfortunately – official. The Minnesota Legislature’s Republican majority voted to place yet another issue on the ballot in next November’s election.

This one, if approved by voters, will make it mandatory for anyone who goes to vote to have a government-issued photo identification card. If approved by voters, the requirement would become a constitutional amendment. The other issue, which if approved would also become a constitutional amendment, is a ban on same-sex marriage in Minnesota.

They claim as people get older, they just keep getting better and better.

Well, that may be a sweeping generalization, although it certainly is true in many cases.

However, one thing is for sure: As the Sartell Senior Connection gets older, it does indeed get better and better, and there’s no doubt about it. During its first meetings years ago, the Newsleader covered those proceedings.

Betzy Gaetz, Owner,
Anton’s Restaurant in Waite Park

As the state slowly inches out of the recession, Minnesota restaurants and their 178,000 employees are still facing daunting challenges.

William Cashman is a district court judge from St. Cloud who presides over cases in Stearns and Mille Lacs counties.

Any person who is a victim of harassment may seek a harassment restraining order from district court. The parent, stepparent or guardian of a minor may seek an HRO on behalf of the minor. No family or household relationship is necessary to seek an HRO which, makes HROs different from orders for protection.

When Taylor Daniels’ mother woke her up from a snooze one day last week, Taylor couldn’t figure out what all the fuss was about and why her mother seemed too excited.

Then, rubbing sleep from her eyes, she heard her mother say, “I think you won. Yes, you won!”

Bunny Promo winners announced  - Once Upon a Child, Caleb Meyer, St. Cloud; Wenner, Susan Wolf, Cold Spring; Collegeville Community Credit Union, Alex Eiynck, Albany; Local Blend, Connie Roth; Rasmussen, Clair Bennett, Sauk Rapids; and Liquid Assets, Erin Idzerda, St. Cloud.

Fans of the state Geography Bee are still impressed by what amounts to a four-time deja vu.

For the fourth time, Gopi Ramanathan of Sartell again competed at the state level last week, and – for the second time – he won it, qualifying him for competition May 22-24 in Washington, D.C.

Now an eighth-grader at Sartell Middle school, Ramanathan won the state and advanced to the national contest in 2010, when he was in sixth grade.

In the past decade, the City of Sartell has collected just about $4.7 million in regional half-cent sales-tax revenue – revenue that has been used for a wide variety of city projects of a regional nature.

Now, area cities are asking the Minnesota Legislature to allow voters to extend that sales tax from 2018 to 2038. Legislative approval is expected to be announced any day soon. The half-cent sales-tax was first approved in a referendum in 2002 by the cities of Sartell, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids and St. Augusta.

For the second time in two years, Austin Sura of Sartell once again competed at the Minnesota Math Counts competition.

Sura, 14, is an eighth-grade student at Sartell Middle School.

Sapphire Silver Team: Taylor Harren, Jaden Turner, Kayley Isaacson, Rachel Haider, Kenadee Meyer, Eden Garman, Jordyn Anderson, Madilyn Fesenmeier, Madison Flaherty, Maggie Koltes.  Sapphire Blue Team: Brenna Chisholm, Shelby Hall, Emma Schwartz, Taylor Schmidt, Marisa Murphy and Morgan Gugger.  Sapphire White Team: Sarah Klimpel; Annie Dummer, Marley Michaud and Katie Cashman; Courtney Kosloski, Paige Grabow, Abigayle Starz and Mariah Murphy. Not pictured: Ali Hess.   Sapphi...

ProGrowth Insurance Agency, Sartell, owned by Allan(second from left) and Carrie Karki, (far right) recently purchased Insurance by Lundgren. Insurance by Lundgren was located in St. Cloud and owned by JD (far left) and Michelle Lundgren (second from right).

The Sartell Junior Olympic 12s Blue Team has been going strong starting the season winning the Silver division championship in St. Cloud and winning Gold championships three tournaments in Row in Ogilvie, Sartell and Foley. The team consists of the following: Lexi Winter and Addison DeMaine; Bella Jansen, Claire Ramler, Miah Gessell and Maddie Schnettler; Coach Melissa Jansen, Lexi Vos, Kylie Stonestrom and Madeline Davis.

Did you ever feel as if you are suffocating from compassion burnout?

There is too much suffering in the world, and there is nothing – or not much of anything – that any individual, including me, can do about it. Oh, sure, when I’m able to, I contribute some money to this or that good cause.
It’s better than doing nothing at all. Still, it seems like the most pathetic “drop in a bucket” compared to the rampant cruelties ravaging this planet.

As a garden-variety of scams keeps growing like noxious weeds, it’s difficult to understand why so many people fall for them.

How can victims be so gullible?

Cindy Fox Peternell

What’s the hullabaloo about the Titanic lately? Television ads tell us a movie, Titanic 3D, is coming out this week to commemorate its maiden voyage 100 years ago. But, sadly, on April 15, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg at 2 a.m. in the northern Atlantic Ocean and sank with its crew and 1,500 passengers.

Steve Cornett, Sartell

Dennis Dalman’s recent column “Death raises questions in gun-crazed culture” proves once again he is looking at things from a very narrow point of view.

The reference to the Stand Your Ground law saying it is unnecessary because “if someone kills an attacker because of imminent threat, that fact can be established through an investigation, resulting in exoneration.”

Some people day-dream about a fabulous chef magically appearing in the home kitchen to whip up a delicious dinner.

As a long-time caterer, Nina Koster of Sartell has made that dream come true for families – many times. And now, she is about to launch her own business called “My Chef.” There will be a party to celebrate her new business at 1 p.m. Friday, April 20 at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course in Sartell. Everyone is invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres, prizes and golf.

Healing Journey sales to benefit Quiet Oaks Hospice - Healing Journey Thrift Store is having their Grand Opening 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. March 30 and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 31. Profits benefit the Quiet Oaks Hospice House. They are located at 1313 2nd St. S. Waite Park. Healing Journey recycles treasures for transitional care.

The City of Sartell is sailing through turbulent waters rather nicely because it is not a single ship but a single-minded fleet of ships.

That is the marine metaphor Sartell Mayor Joe Perske used during his State-of-the-City speech to the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce at its last noon luncheon.

Two bills, both mainly authored by Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell), passed the Minnesota House of Representatives on the same day last week – March 20.

Both bills moved on to the Minnesota Senate for consideration.

Anyone in Sartell or St. Stephen with community-service ideas should speak up soon because about 1,000 high-school students are gearing up, ready to roll up their sleeves and work hard to improve their cities.

An electronics-related recycling fundraiser will take place Thursday, April 19 and 26 at the school (for more information, see very end of this story.)

Thanks partly to its Sartell “contingent,” the St. John’s University “Johnnies” handily won six of eight games at a baseball tournament recently in Tucson, Ariz.

Two pitchers and three coaches for the Johnnies live in, were raised in or work in Sartell. They are coaches Chad Krueger, a Sartell resident who works for Fed Ex; Jason Spohn of Cold Spring, who teaches eighth-grade social studies in Sartell; Thom Woodward, retired SJU employee who lives in Sartell; and pitchers John Schumer of Sartell, an SJU freshman; and Adam Wenker of Sartell, an SJU junior.

  photo by Kai Teoh Ten-year-old Logan Carlson (pictured) plays golf in his free time during spring break. His brother, Brandan Carlson, and friend, Sam Vogt, were with him at the Pine Ridge Golf Course. Brandan and Sam have both been playing golf for the past two years while Logan started playing last year.

The murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., has rightfully raised howls of outrage far and wide.

His senseless death, hopefully, will not be forgotten. Maybe, just maybe, we can all learn something from it and start facing head-on the problems caused by this gun-crazed culture.

Monday was the beginning of what might prove to be one of the most momentous Supreme Court decisions in the past half century.

At issue is whether the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (sometimes called ObamaCare) is or is not constitutional. The nine Supreme Court justices began hearing testimony, pro and con, Monday. After testimony, the justices will hunker down and begin their long, technical legal discussion. A decision is expected in early June.

Lewis Neuman, Sartell

Some of the run-of-the-mill political talk surrounding the Keystone pipeline is a bit misleading and a downright lie. Political candidates use the pipeline as favorable sound bites opposing President Obama.

Julie Gillen, St. Stephen

This in response to your column in the March 9 Newsleader (Editor’s response to those who call us negative), I am very saddened by the anger on both the right and the left. I identify myself as a conservative, Catholic Christian. This is how I would describe the people I know in my conservative circles: They are kind and loving.

Jim Christensen, owner of Array Services Group in Sartell, is the 2012 Entrepreneurial Success Award Recipient. The award is presented annually by the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce and honors a business that starts out small and becomes large under the same leadership.

SECTION 00 11 13 - ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS  PART 1 - GENERAL 1.1 PROJECT A. ISD 748 Athletic Track, Field Events, & Tennis Court Reconstruction Sartell Middle School 627 3rd Ave. N.

SECTION 00 11 13 - ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS  PART 1 - GENERAL 1.1 PROJECT A. ISD 748 Early Childhood / District Service Center Remodeling 212 3rd Ave. N.

CITY OF SARTELL STEARNS COUNTY PARCELS Important Information Regarding Assessment and Classification of Property This may affect your 2013 property taxes. Notice is hereby given that the Board of Appeal and Equalization for the City of Sartell, Stearns County, shall meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at Sartell City Hall.

SECTION 00 11 13 - ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS PART 1 - GENERAL 1.1 PROJECT A. ISD 748 Athletic Track, Field Events, & Tennis Court Reconstruction Sartell Middle School 627 3rd Ave. N.

SECTION 00 11 13 - ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS  PART 1 - GENERAL 1.1 PROJECT A. ISD 748 Early Childhood / District Service Center Remodeling 212 3rd Ave. N.

REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748 FEBRUARY 27, 2012 DISTRICT CENTER BOARD ROOM The regular school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 6:30 pm by Acting Chair, Patrick Jacobson-Schulte. Members present: Patrick Jacobson-Schulte, Acting Chair; Greg Asfeld, Clerk; Julie Zupfer Anderson, Treasurer; Dan Riordan, Director; Mary E.

SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748 MARCH 6, 2012 DISTRICT CENTER BOARD ROOM  The special school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by acting chair, Patrick Jacobson-Schulte.

CITY OF SARTELL BENTON COUNTY PARCELS ASSESSMENT NOTICE  Notice is hereby given that the Board of Appeal and Equalization for the City of Sartell in Benton County, Minn., will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at Sartell City Hall for the purpose of reviewing and correcting the assessment of said city for the assessment year 2012. All persons considering themselves aggrieved by said assessment, or who wish to complain that the property of another is assessed too low are hereby noti...

Why is the United States so afraid of learning good things from other countries?

Take health care, for example. Many Americans have been bamboozled into thinking the United States has the best health-care system in the world while the rest of the countries have horrible socialistic systems where people – if they’re not waiting in line – are dying in droves because of vicious death panels.

It never ceases to amaze people when they learn how the Salvation Army manages to offer such a vast array of services.

During a recent open house at the St. Cloud-based Salvation Army facility, visitors heard the following statistics:

1. The Salvation Army serves close to 18,000 people who have emergency needs – both individuals and families in crisis situations. Those needs can include short-time assistance for rent, help in paying utilities, housing, transportation and medications.

Ron Scarbro, Newsleader reader

I have no intention of trying to defend Rush Limbaugh. He has fared pretty well so far without my help and he will probably do OK without me now. That having been said, I thought his recent comments were stupid. His choice of words was ridiculous. If you didn’t hear, he basically referred to a young law school co-ed in very unfavorable terms. In her testimony before Congress the girl tried to point out young law students just couldn’t afford to pay tuition and be expected to pay for their birth control too, and that is why the government should.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar

During the past year I’ve visited dozens of Minnesota’s businesses and farms. All over our state you see “Made in America” isn’t just a timeworn cliche – it’s happening here and it’s happening now.

Wherever I go, I’m always reminded of how important farming is to our state’s economy.

The Sartell-St. Stephen Speech Team, fresh from three first-place wins, is unique this season for a number of reasons: At 21 members, it’s the largest team in the past 10 years, and it happens to be quite the “family affair” with three siblings from each of two families.

Sewer break causes closure of CR 1 - County Road 1 has been restored and reopened to traffic. The roadway had been closed since late Monday evening following the discovery of a break in a sanitary sewage forcemain pipe located under CR 1 between WalMart and Heim Mill.

A bill concerning school-trust lands authored by Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) has generated both strong support and opposition among many state residents.

The bill, which has some bipartisan support, would take away management of school-trust lands from the Department of Natural Resources and transfer that management to a 12-member, bipartisan legislative commission.

At first they were a bit shy and hesitant, but within a few short minutes the fourth-graders were using their bodies, facial expressions and voices to make their own poems come alive in spoken-word performances.

Their “pied-piper” who coaxed the children out of their shy cocoons was Frank Sentwali, a spoken-word performer, teacher, tutor and mentor from St. Paul. Sentwali spent a busy week with all of the grades, pre-K through 6, at St. Francis Xavier Elementary School in Sartell – a total of 182 students.

Cold Spring to hold mental-health event - Let the Sun Shine Run/Walk is gearing up for its second annual event at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 28 at St. Boniface Church in Cold Spring.

Sartell resident Mark Boe, in partnership with Guardian Pharmacy LLC, has opened Guardian Pharmacy of Minnesota in St. Cloud.

The pharmacy will serve residents of group homes, as well as assisted-living and skilled-nursing facilities in St. Cloud and surrounding areas in the central Minnesota area.

The public is invited to share ideas and opinions about the growing importance of bicycling throughout Minnesota.

The open meeting took place March 14 at the Whitney Senior Center in St. Cloud. It was hosted by officials from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The meeting, which is one of eight in the state, it was intended to gather ideas from residents about ways to make bicycling safer as a usable transportation option; ways to make improvements on trails; ideas for future bicycling accommodations; and barriers to making improvements.

Joe Linneman, who is a highland bagpiper from Sartell, will join Ring of Kerry and the St. Paul Irish Dancers for a rousing St. Patrick’s Day celebration concert at the Paramount Theatre in St. Cloud.

The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day). In what has become an annual St. Cloud area tradition, the concert will be the seventh consecutive year Ring of Kerry and its musical guests have entertained large audiences at the Paramount. It will also be the 50th-plus time in the past eight years the band has performed a show with the St. Paul Irish Dancers.

One of two Sartell-St. Stephen High School Knowledge Bowl teams will compete in regional competition after winning the sub-regional tournament March 13 at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell.

Team 1 beat out 10 other schools in a series of written and oral rounds to be named the champion in Tier III, the category for the largest schools in the area. They will compete in the regionals Tuesday, March 20, also at Celebration Lutheran Church.

A Sartell High School graduate recently broke a 22-year-old high-jump record at the University of Minnesota, Morris.

Shortly after that feat, Ryan DeRoeck was named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference men’s track-and-field Athlete of the Week. DeRoeck, a 2009 graduate of Sartell High School, cleared the high jump at 6 feet, 4 inches, besting the previous record of 6 feet, 2 inches set by Cougar Eric Lent in the 1990 season.

Please beware of the intersection of Hwy. 52 and County Road 9, which is 30 miles north of Rochester and nine miles south of Cannon Falls.

“Why?” you may ask. “Why worry about an intersection in faraway Goodhue County?”

The answer is because, especially at my age, I am aware of numerous friends and acquaintances in the central Minnesota area who take medical trips to and from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Most of them take Hwy. 52 out of the Twin Cities to get there, and they cross CR 9.

This latest bloody lone rampage in Afghanistan must not be allowed to cast a shadow on American soldiers or American successes in that country.For more than 10 years, millions of expert, hard-working and courageous military personnel have served overseas – mainly in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.And now, once again, the actions of an obviously demented soldier have caused worldwide outrage, far worse than another recent outrage – a few soldiers urinating on dead Taliban soldiers. Last week, a 38-...

Paul E. Peterson, Abounding Joy Lutheran Church president, Sartell

Our congregation, Abounding Joy Lutheran Church of Sartell, feels a need to point out some inaccuracies in your editorial of March 9, 2012. First, you printed Pastor Tom Wright’s “personal e-mail” addressed to your Publisher Janelle and an ad person, Tara, as a letter to the editor.

Joe Blonski, Sartell

Freedom of speech is a right that all Americans have to express their ideas (within certain defined limitations).
Although I don’t agree with much of what Dennis Dalman places in his columns in the Newsleader, he certainly has a right to express his opinion. Interestingly Pastor Wright’s well-written commentary also doesn’t appear to have any problems with Dalman’s right to free speech.

Kay Steiner, Sartell resident

A good fight is when the constitution, the conscience and justice prevail. To give the conceived child no voice in the matter of life or death hanging over the baby's head is "murder." "Thou shalt not kill," incidentally, is also found in our constitution; no matter what the activist judge was on that produced Roe v. Wade, he will take the matter up with his maker, whether or not he believes in Him.

Sartell “Blue” recently won the Silver Division Championship at Sartell Pride Winter Classic held at Sartell High School. Sartell Blue went 1-2 in pool play and 3-0 in the Silver Division Tournament defeating Foley in the championship.

David Jacobs, Sartell, of Jacobs Financial of St. Cloud, recently joined the Million Dollar Round Table, which consists of one percent of financial professionals from around the world.

CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON VACATION OF CERTAIN DRAINAGE & UTILITY EASEMENTS STONEBROOK ESTATES II  NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN upon motion of the city council of Sartell, Minn. a public hearing will be held before the city council of Sartell, Minn., at 7 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard on Monday, March 12 in the council chambers at the Sartell City Hall, to hear all persons present upon the proposed vacation of a 12-foot drainage and utility easement lo...

SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748 FEB. 21, 2012 DISTRICT CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM  The special school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 5:09 p.m.

The Sartell 9th-grade girls basketball team recently took first place in the conference with a record of 15-1. The team won the year end conference tournament finishing the season with a 24-3 record. Tiana Wood and Casey Becker, Hailey Winter, Jordan Nelson, Angelica Hagen and Makayla Wittmer-George, Katie Zoeller, Tayler Quaal, Mikayla Gessell, Abby Imholte, Samantha Venables, Abby Gessell and Coach Ryan Voss.

360 Chiropractic, Sartell, recently generated almost $10,000 in free services to clients in exchange for donations to the Anna Marie Alliance totaling almost $1,600.

Sometimes Sartell swimmer and diving champ Tanner Nordlund can’t help but feel as if circumstances are conspiring against him.

Last year, at the very peak of competition for Class A state diving championships, Nordlund’s foot hit the diving board, and his coach – against Nordlund’s wishes – forced him to withdraw with his foot in a brace and a trip to the hospital. He was just five points away from a likely first-place finish.

Commissioner to host open meeting- Mark Bromenschenkel, Stearns County commissioner from Sartell, will host an open meeting for his constituents in St. Joseph from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, March 10.

The meeting will take place at The Local Blend, a coffee shop on main street.

Bromenschenkel’s Commissioner District 2 includes Sartell, St. Joseph, Waite Park; and the townships of LeSauk, St. Joseph, St. Wendel and part of Collegeville Township.

Citing “irreconcilable differences,” Sartell-St. Stephen School Board member Julie Zupfer Anderson has resigned.

In her letter of resignation, Zupfer Anderson stated she was resigning because of “irreconcilable differences between board members and a lack of common vision with regards to the direction of board leadership.”

The Sartell man accused of robbing the BP gas station in Sartell has been charged in Stearns County District Court with one count of second-degree aggravated robbery.

Douglas Wayne Gravelle, 32, is charged with the robbery he allegedly perpetrated at 9:11 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at the gas station, located at the intersection of Pinecone Road and 2nd Street S. According to the complaint report, Gravelle walked up to the counter and told the clerk, “I know you’re really busy, but this is a robbery.

After 22 years, it was a thrill for the Sartell Sabre Wrestling Team to send three of its best to the state tournament.
It was the first time since 1990 three wrestling Sabres made the state cut.

In other years, one or two went to state from time to time, but not three.

Plans to close the Waite Park-based mail-distribution center cannot proceed until the U.S. Postal Service decides to change its service standards covering first-class mail.

Currently, the service standard for a first-class letter to and from a city in Minnesota – say, Sartell to St. Joseph – is expected to be next-day delivery. A letter from Sartell to – say, Dallas – is expected to take three days.

Like a good omen of spring, Minnesota has two harbingers of good news – another budget surplus and a greatly improved unemployment rate.

Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) announced the good news in an email letter to his constituents earlier this week.

Some Sartell residents – and visitors to the city – are confused about a new traffic light, according to Sartell Mayor Joe Perske, who has heard from the concerned citizens.

I understand a few of you are – once again – upset by my columns and editorials.

So I am too negative, you say? Too vitriolic? What about the negative, vitriolic slash-and-burn tactics of the extreme right-wingers and Tea Party wackos who have been attacking our president and virtually every Democrat in this country? Do you also take issue with their vitriol?

If there was ever a time of need and a time to be generous, that time is now. Even in the best of times, there are many Americans who face hunger through no fault of their own – such as people who have been laid off, people who’ve had medical or other tragedies in the family and others struggling against the forces of inflation, paycheck to paycheck.

Pastor Tom Wright

Abounding Joy Lutheran Church

After reading the “Our View” editorial in the Sartell Newsleader today (Feb. 24, 2012) I’ve decided to put on hold any further advertising by our church in the Newsleaders.

I am a champion of our constitutional right of free speech. I believe all opinions must be heard in a healthy society.

Benedict Supan, St. Stephen

I don’t want this trashy editorial anywhere in my house – not even in the recycle bin. Women are not objecting!

Christina Majaski, Royalton

I find it interesting that you would publish a hate-filled letter by Anna Robinson (Newsleader, March 2) but yet you say "inappropriate comments will be deleted."

Barb Nelson, Sartell Minn

It bothered me to read the comments from the Sartell "ticked off housewife." The anger and hate she declared for those who don't believe or think like her was appalling. Since I have moved about in this world, I know people with various beliefs.

Frank Klein, Sartell resident

I rarely comment on people’s opinions published in ANY paper. However, after reading Anna Robinson’s comment in your March 2, 2012 edition, I felt compelled to not only send a big hat’s off to her but also your paper.

Elizabeth Morgan, Sartell

I am a patriot and a Christian.

My father proudly served in the U.S. Navy. My grandfather was a major general in the U.S. Air Force. My uncle is a retired Air Force veteran. And on Sept. 11, 2001 that same uncle – my godfather – was in the Pentagon. For several torturous hours we had no idea if he had been injured or even killed.

CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON VACATION OF CERTAIN DRAINAGE & UTILITY EASEMENTS STONEBROOK ESTATES II  NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN upon motion of the city council of Sartell, Minn. a public hearing will be held before the city council of Sartell, Minn., at 7 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard on Monday, March 12 in the council chambers at the Sartell City Hall, to hear all persons present upon the proposed vacation of a 12-foot drainage and utility easement lo...

CITY OF SARTELL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Grant Application for DNR Funds  NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: That the Sartell City Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard on Monday, March 12 in the Council Chambers of the Sartell City Hall to receive input prior to submitting a grant application to the Department of Natural Resources for Outdoor Recreation Grant funds. Patti Gartland City administrator Publish: March 2, 2012

Wacosa seniors donated about 1,399 hours of their time during 2011. Wacosa is a non-profit organization serving adults with disabilities. They operate a senior program where they are able to volunteer located at the Whitney Senior Center in St. Cloud.

The Sartell 16s Blue volleyball team played in the Mid-Winter Classic Feb. 5. They played Central Lakes, Big Lake, Rockford, Dig It and Royalton Black to advance to the gold division. In the championship game, they defeated C-I Spikers, 17-1, to take first place in the gold division. Pictured are (front, left to right) Joey Martin, Abby Gessell and Andrea Ramler; (second row) Brooke Grasswick, Hailey Winter and Tiana Wood; (back row) Emily Bekkersu, Mikayla Gessell, Kia Grindland and Coach Jacque Olson.

Dozens of booths and lots of family activities attracted many hundreds of people to the annual event. The Sartell Community Showcase took place Feb. 25 at Sartell Middle School. The annual event was a big success as visitors enjoyed meeting business people and representatives of city services, groups and agencies. There was plenty of family-fun entertainment.

Fundraising campaign gives local incentive - The Great River Regional Library will retain a local element in its March High $5 fundraising campaign following the program’s success last year.

Although she has lived in St. Cloud for most of her life, Evie Dingmann considers Sartell her second home – a home she learned to know door-to-door, mailbox by mailbox.

After 30 years as a mail carrier for Sartell, Dingmann retired recently at age 72.

“It was a great job,” she said. “I really loved it – well, that is, except when the snow was flying. That wasn’t so nice.”

The Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for the 2012 Sartell Citizen of the Year.

Nominees should be active community volunteers who are dedicated to and foster a positive image of Sartell or someone who serves to make his/her employer an asset to Sartell. Anyone who lives, works or volunteers in Sartell and has provided outstanding service to the Sartell community is eligible for this award.

Because of a sudden heart attack, Bruce Theisen of Sartell lost two days of his life to an oblivion close to death, but he’s happy to be back from that brink.

Most of all, he is thankful for the two Sartell police officers who coaxed his stopped heart back to life by using a defibrillator. If it were not for them, he would surely be a goner. Those two officers – John Lester and Jarod Cooper – were honored with “Life Saver Awards” at a recent Sartell City Council meeting. The officers and Theisen were also honored by “Take Heart,” a program of the Central Minnesota Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivors’ Network.

Although they didn’t kick their way to top glory, the Sartell Sabre Dance Team was ecstatic when they won second place in the Class 2A “high kick” division in state competition last week at Minneapolis Target Center.

The coaches and dancers all agreed it was their best performance through an award-winning year. They were there to defend their “high kick” title from last year. In 2005, they took fifth-place at state for high kick.

Alyssa Frank of Sartell feels like one of the luckiest young women in Minnesota, having just won the “Mike Warter Scholarship” from the State High School Soccer Coaches’ Association.

It’s a rare honor. Only one female and one male in the state receive the $1,000 scholarship each year.

Jennifer Thompson just can’t seem to stop winning.

Not long after being part of the Sartell Sabre Swim Team’s state championship, she went on to win two of three individual swimming events in the YMCA competition last week at the University of Minnesota.

Thompson, a ninth-grader at Sartell High School, placed first in the 50-yard freestyle race with a time of 25:24, first place in the 100-yard freestyle race with a time of 55:52 and a squeaky-close second place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, which she lost by a sliver of a second – seven-tenths of a second, to be exact.

Even during his interview for the job, Pastor Jeff Sackett said he felt he and the people of Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell “just clicked.”
When he landed the job, he was very happy.

“It’s a lovely place,” he said. “I’m just getting my feet wet, but I feel so warmly welcomed by these great people.

Simmering dissatisfaction with the elimination of school spring break has boiled over into a virtual protest movement among many Sartell residents.

More than 150 of those concerned citizens – students and parents – attended the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board meeting last Monday and presented signed petitions with more than 300 signatures.

Now I know what the phrase “herding cats” means. Literally.

“Herding cats” is defined as “something virtually impossible to do.”

Yes. Like catching the homeless cats in my backyard.

Last summer, a little girl, selling stuff for school, knocked on my door and saw cats in the window.

It’s unfortunate the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board and the school district’s superintendent seem to have unplugged the lines of communication regarding the ongoing spring-break controversy.

On Jan. 23, the board voted 4-2 to discontinue week-long spring break for the 2012-13 school calendar year and, instead, place on the calendar five days-off here and there, creating – in effect – three-day weekends and in one case a four-day weekend.

Anna Robinson, Sartell resident

“Are we fighting a war on terror or aren’t we? Was it not, started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on Sept. 11, 2001 and have continually threatened to do so since?

Were people from all over the world, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from the capital of this great country and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Kent Nelson, Sartell resident

Walt Kelly’s Pogo said it best, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Minnesota Republicans have adapted this saying as their guiding or standard bearer in governing the state. As Republicans view their fellow Minnesotans they see the following: bad teachers, eliminate seniority; bad workers and bad unions, pass RTW; bad local governments and municipalities, eliminate LGA;

Three of five top skiers from the Cathedral/Sartell Nordic Ski Team placed in the top 100 finishers in the State Nordic Ski Racing Meet held Feb. 17 at Giants Ridge Resort near Bibwabik in northern Minnesota.

There were three events at the meet: a pursuit race, a freestyle race and a classic race. Greta Danielson of Cathedral High School finished in 70th place, Anna Lindstrom of Sartell High School placed 84th, Andrea Franz, also of Sartell High School, finished 95th and Kyle Sovada of Cathedral High School finished 92nd.

St. Joseph Farmers' Market at the Minnesota Street Market - Vendors from the St. Joseph Farmers' Market will once again be selling at the Minnesota Street Market (formerly Loso’s Store) from 3-6 p.m. Friday, March 2. Local and organic foods in downtown St. Joseph! www.mnstreetmarket.com.

Jazz Extravaganza set Monday - The Sartell Middle School and Sartell High School Jazz Extravaganza concert will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27 in the Sartell High School Auditorium. The concert will also feature guest artist/clinician Dr. Steve Wright and the Gustavus Adolphus Lab Jazz Band.

Connie Froehle is one of the lucky people who has spent a lifetime in a career she loved.

She began providing licensed in-home daycare services in 1971 after the birth of her first child.

Since then she has spent 34 years opening her heart and home to many families of the Sartell community.

At the regional Spelling Bee, champion speller Alyssa Franzmeier of Sartell was nervous, but after she spelled “endemic” correctly, she felt a burst of confidence.

“I wasn’t really familiar with that word, so when I happened to spell it correctly, I was happy and felt very confident,” she said.

The Sartell Police Department is investigating a robbery that occurred the night of Friday, Feb. 17 at the BP gas station in the city. At 9:11 p.m., a man walked into the station and demanded money from a clerk. He implied he had a weapon on him but did not display the weapon.

REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SARTELL-ST. STEPHEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 748 JANUARY 23, 2012 DISTRICT CENTER BOARD ROOM The regular school board meeting of Independent School District 748 was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chair, Lesa Kramer. Members present: Lesa Kramer, Chair; Patrick Jacobson-Schulte, Vice-Chair; Greg Asfeld, Clerk; Julie Zupfer Anderson, Treasurer; Dan Riordan, Director; Mary E.

Tammy Butler, Sartell office manager, St. Cloud Federal Credit Union (left) and Sandy Lehnen, vice president of lending (right), St. Cloud Federal Credit Union present a check for $2,250 to Kathryn Stolpman, Catholic Charities.

Wacosa seniors donated about 1,399 hours of their time during 2011. Wacosa is a non-profit organization serving adults with disabilities. They operate a senior program where they are able to volunteer located at the Whitney Senior Center in St. Cloud.

They say you get what you pay for.

Not these days you don’t.

Nowadays you can spend an arm and a leg and still end up with a piece of junk.

Recent examples: one telephone, three phone batteries, two coffee makers, a CD player, a baker’s dozen of kitchen utensils – to name just some.

The right-wing extremists are at it again. Like termites, they are determined to unravel and then destroy all the rights the people in this country have secured through so many struggles.

In the past year, they have tried to whittle away access to voting by creating all sorts of registration barriers, including the need for photo IDs to prevent election fraud – the most dubious need ever to come down the pike.

Katie Winkelman, Sartell, MN - Considering adding a pet to your family? Here are a few reasons to adopt your new best friend from a shelter or rescue group.

Five Nordic skiers – three of them from Sartell – are now in Biwabik, competing at the state level after winning individual placements at the Section 8 meet Feb. 7 at Callaway.

All five are members of the male and female joint St. Cloud Cathedral/ Sartell Nordic ski teams.

The Sartell High School skiers who qualified for state are Josh Hill, Andrea Franz and Anna Lindstrom. The Cathedral High School qualifiers are Greta Danielson and Kyle Sovada.

Injured woman still in critical condition- a Sartell woman remains in critical condition in the St. Cloud Hospital after being struck by a vehicle while walking her dog Feb. 9. Karla Pallansch, 38, was injured at 6:36 a.m. on that morning while walking along the 400 block of 1st Street NE in Sartell.

This May, 14-year-old Michael Heim will be feted in the nation’s capital and just may come home as a $5,000 winner.

The son of Daniel and Sue Heim of Sartell, Heim – a Sartell Middle School student -– was recently named one of 102 winners of the “Prudential Spirit of Community” award. There are two winners chosen from each state (one from junior or middle school, one from senior high school), plus two from the District of Columbia.

On April 28, 2010, Kurt and Kathy Robbins brought their daughter, Arianna, to confirmation practice at St. Boniface Church in Cold Spring.When they returned home – Kurt driving the car – they stopped at the garage. Opening the garage door with the remote opener, Kathy saw son Jonathon standing inside the garage, but in a split second she thought it was odd because he was standing in such a strange posture. Within another split second Kathy heard her husband cry out: “Jonathon! No!!”

Adam Kourajian, Sartell, was recently named to the dean’s list at the University of Notre Dame, Ind.

Six Sartell students were recently named to the fall dean’s list at the University of Minnesota-Mankato.
They are as follows: Spencer Ahrendt, sophomore; Nicole Carlson, junior; Elizabeth Gerads, senior; Krista Heim, junior; Joshua Kremer, junior; and Briana Peterson, senior.

Sartell-St. Stephen Education Foundation has three new board members...

If you’ve ever had a bout with cancer, as I have, you know how virtually impossible it is to find an insurance plan that is even remotely affordable, unless you’re rolling in dough. And who is these days?

About a year ago, I had a cancerous growth removed from one of my vocal cords. I was lucky. It was early-stage. After surgery, I was home the same day with a slightly sore throat. No chemo, no radiation required. Very lucky.

The Minnesota Legislature is now considering an important bill that would crack down on cruel and unscrupulous cat and dog breeders.

Such a bill is long overdue.

Cindy and Aaron Miller, Sartell

I am writing to voice my opinion and concern over the recent decision from the Sartell-St. Stephen school board to eliminate spring break. The groups involved in this decision did not reach a consensus and there was no input from the community as a whole.

Buzz Snyder, Sauk Rapids - I live in Sauk Rapids so do not regularly get to read the Sartell Newsleader. But a friend showed me a copy of last week’s issue, particularly the bizarre and intemperate rant criticizing your past editorials.

In just a week’s time, the Sartell Sabre Dance Team scored a triple-whammy win.

On Jan. 28, the team danced and kicked its way to the top when it placed first in the Central Lakes Conference dance meet at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. Then, on Feb. 4, the team scored a rare double-combo when it took first place in both the jazz and high-kick categories at the Section 4AA meet at Sartell High School.

Early Childhood Registration - the Sartell- St. Stephen Early Childhood Programs will host an Open House from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13 at the current District Office building which will become the future Early Childhood Center. Registration for next year will take place at the Open House.

Come and meet our teachers and see our plans for remodeling the building.

Sartell Police Chief Jim Hughes was not the least bit surprised at the many hundreds of people who paid their respects to Jerry O’Driscoll at his funeral last Saturday at St. Francis Xavier Church.

Jeramiah “Jerry” O’Driscoll, Sartell’s long-time former police chief, died Jan. 30 at the age of 75 after a 10-week battle with cancer.

Drunk-driving patrols in Stearns and Sherburne counties will be beefed-up through September under a new initiative ordered by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

That is because those two counties are among the highest in Minnesota for alcohol-related deaths and serious alcohol-related accident injuries. The other 11 counties are Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, St. Louis, Washington and Wright.

Once again, for the third time, the Sartell Post Office was honored for selling the most “Breast Cancer” stamps in its postal district, which includes such larger cities as Rosemount and White Bear Lake.

With winters like this, can palm trees be far behind?

With a sense of astonishment, people throughout central Minnesota have been asking similar questions. Some are calling it the “winter that wasn’t.” Others are grumpy because they don’t have a cold, snowy winter to grumble about this season.

In the Feb. 3 edition of the Sartell Newsleader in the Salvation Army article the past campaign was $29,000 more than last year and $45,000 more than two years ago rather.

How many married couples do you know who fight over who GETS to do the housework? Yes, that’s the answer I expected: “None.” Well, do I have news for you. My next-door neighbors, Richard and Marty Dubbin, actually argue about who gets to do dishes, scrub floors, dust and wash windows.

The good news keeps getting better. The national jobless rate, little by little, is decreasing. It is now at 8.3 percent.

According to the Department of Labor, 243,000 jobs were created in January, following a good December. The rate is now the lowest in three years.

Tammy Ferns, Sartell

On Jan. 27, the Sartell Newsleader ran a brief story stating the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board passed a new two-year calendar eliminating spring break. It indicated the school district had contacted parents for their opinions before they voted on the topic.

Despite an ailing economy, the local Salvation Army raised an impressive $218,000 last year, an increase of $29 over 2010 and $45 more than in 2009.

That’s the good news.

The not-so-good news is that – because of an ailing economy – the need for Salvation Army help is also on the increase.

Ice fishing derby set for Feb. 11 - The annual Granite City Ice Fishing Derby will be held Saturday, Feb. 11, on Pleasant Lake, between St Cloud and Rockville. Registration starts at 10 am, with fishing from noon to 3 pm. More than $7,500 in prizes will be awarded, including portable fish houses, augers, fish locaters, and much more.

Not a day goes by that Jessica Winkels-Hagerl doesn’t feel deeply grateful for the 19-year-old girl who saved her life. She does not know the girls’ name. She only knows the girl, who lived somewhere in the Twin Cities, was an organ donor who died about nine months ago. Doctors transplanted the girl’s liver and one of her kidneys into Winkels-Hagerl on May 1, 2011 at the Mayo Clinic.

Family members of loved ones suffering from mental illness are invited to attend a free educational course to help gain a better understanding of mental illness, to build a resource and to develop communication skills.

PFLAG of St. Cloud/Central Minnesota will meet from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12 at the Unity Spiritual Center in Sartell.

The non-profit organization stands for “Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.”

CONDEMNATION STATE OF MINNESOTA IN DISTRICT COURT COUNTY OF STEARNS SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT Court File No. 73-CV-11-10861 State of Minnesota, by its Commissioner of Transportation, Petitioner, vs. John P.

OWNER – Sartell-St. Stephen Schools 212 3rd Ave. N.

Joy Plamann, Sartell, recently graduated with a master’s degree in health care from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul.

Few words in all of literature are as moving as these from Charles Dickens: “Please, sir, I want some more.”
That line, of course, is spoken by Oliver Twist, the hungry orphan who, holding up his empty bowl, dares to ask for “seconds” in a vicious workhouse, only to be sarcastically rebuffed by the fat, over-fed goons who run the place.

If the recent Florida Republican primary is any indication, we Americans are in for a very vicious, extended season of political mudslinging.Candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney acted like rampant gunslingers, firing explosive accusations at each other. Their behavior was as reprehensible, as immature and as embarrassing as the nastiness of neighborhood bullies. Unfortunately, that behavior is almost certainly an indication of what is to come once candidates all through the nation square off...

Luke Yurczyk, Sartell, Chairman, Senate District 14 Republicans

“Vox populi est vox Dei” is an ancient proverb that often comes up in discussions of politics and government. It means, “The voice of the people is the voice of God.” As we prepare to head to our precinct caucuses it’s important to remember you have a voice in the political process.

Laura Freese, Sartell

February is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The month of February is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and increasing knowledge and prevention. I would like to raise some awareness about a specific type of heart disease: congenital heart disease.

The Sartell High School Hockey team created the number “13” in honor of Jack Jablonski, the recently injured high school hockey player from Benilde St. Margaret’s.

Sartell Community Showcase planned for Feb. 25

Bring your family and friends to the 7th annual Sartell Area Chamber’s Community Showcase from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Sartell Middle School, 627 Third Ave. N.

Kelly Haws, a legendary Sartell teacher and coach, will be honored at halftime during “National Girls and Women in Sports Day” Wednesday, Feb. 1. All women wearing a sports jersey will get into the game and the event free at the Claire Lynch Stadium on the College of St. Benedict’s campus in St. Joseph when the CSB Blazers play St. Thomas. The game will start at 7:30 p.m.

A man who drove daily to work in Fargo couldn’t remember one day how to get from West Fargo to East Fargo.

The poor man had a sudden panic attack, thinking he had suddenly developed a bad case of Alzheimer’s disease. Much to his relief, doctors determined he was suffering from a severe shortage of vitamin B-12. After taking supplement shots, the man was just fine.