Reaching Everybody!
Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid St. Joseph Newsleader St. Joseph, MN 56374 Permit No. 21 ECRWSS Postal Customer
Newsleader St. Joseph
Friday, June 13, 2014 Volume 25, Issue 24 Est. 1989
Town Crier
Lunch and learn starts June 16
Central Minnesota Worker is still accepting registrations for the Joe Town Summer Lunch and Learn. The program helps kids and teens ages 18 and younger have access to a free lunch from mid-June through mid-August. People can pick up and return a registration form at the Minnesota Street Market Co-op. Meals will begin on Monday, June 16 and be served at Centennial Park on Mondays and Thursday and Klinefelter Park on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. For more information or to volunteer, contact centralmncw@gmail.com or call 363-7505 ext. 350.
Autism group to hold picnic June 18
Carson’s Kindness, an autism awareness nonprofit group developed to give back to the Central Minnesota community, will hold a free picnic for families affected by autism from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, June 18 at the Waite Park Community Park.
Project ASTRIDE sets training June 14
Project ASTRIDE is looking for new volunteers for its summer session and will hold its basic training at 9 .m. Saturday, June 14 at their barn near Avon. Project Adapted Specialized Training and Recreation Involving Disabled Equestrians is an all volunteer, nonprofit therapeutic horseriding program serving children and adults with developmental, physical or sensory challenges. Check out their website www. astride.org for more details. Contact Marti, Project ASTRIDE, at martiastride@yahoo.com.
Celebrate 100 Days of Summer, 100 Days of Hope for Red Cross
The American Red Cross is celebrating the start of summer with its 100 Days of Summer, 100 Days of Hope campaign. This summer, choose your own way to spread hope as follows: help save up to three lives by donating blood; make a financial donation so Red Cross is ready to help those in need; take a class (first aid, CPR and more); be prepared with our mobile apps; become one of 400,000 volunteers making our work possible; or invite others to support the 100 Days Campaign using #ChooseYourDay. For more information, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on June 13 Criers. For additional criers, visit www.thenewsleaders.com and click on Criers.
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State Rep. Tim O’Driscoll
Postal Patron
Second-grade students build a recess football field by Cori Hilsgen news@thenewsleaders.com
Cody Adams, a second-grade student at Kennedy Community School, used skills he learned in his classroom to help build a recess football field at his school. Students in Kevin Beneke’s classroom had been studying how to write a persuasive letter. Adams, the son of Sean and Wendy Adams of St. Joseph, thought he and other students would benefit from a place to play football during recess. He wrote a letter to the school’s activities director Dan Schaefer. The letter stated Adams and his friends would like to play football at recess and would like a small field with lines and a goal post. It also stated when the field would be built it would need a fence around it. Adams asked Schaefer to consider the idea and the possibility of naming it Little Colts
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Cody Adams (holding the football) and other second-grade students at Kennedy Community School recently helped build a recess football field. Football Field. “As the activities director at Kennedy Community School, I decided to see if Cody’s feelings about a recess football field were shared by any of his
classmates,” Schaefer said. “I quickly discovered the majority of students, not just secondgraders, were in favor of having a place to play two-hand touch football.”
Schaefer invited any and all second-grade students to brainstorm ideas of where the field should go, the dimensions of the field, and the design logo Football • page 5
Lady Slipper Nature Ride set June 21 by Cori Hilsgen news@thenewsleaders.com
The third annual Lady Slipper Nature Ride held in conjunction with Avon’s Spunktacular Days will take place on the Lake Wobegon Regional Trail on Saturday, June 21. Check in and registration is from 8-10 a.m. at the Wobegon Park in Avon. Helmets are required. When they are in full bloom,
the Minnesota State Flower – the Pink and White Lady’s Slipper – can be seen along the trail. The plant develops slowly, often taking
up to 16 years before producing its first flower. Some can live up to 50 years. It’s illegal to pick or dig up this protected wildflower. Riders can also enjoy St. John’s Outdoor University, which includes the Stickwork Sculpture completed by artist Patrick Dougherty, students and volunteers from the area. Minnesota Master Naturalists will be at the outdoor university and along the trail answering questions about the biological and natural beauty
found in the Avon Hills Area. This ride is a leisurely ride, between 6 to 20 miles round trip. Rest stops are located at the Avon Trailhead, St. John’s Outdoor University and near the Stickwork Sculpture. Avon Spunktacular Days events include many activities, such as a craft fair, food vendors, 5K run/ walk, a parade, fireworks and more. To register, visit www.LakeWobegonTrails.com.
Kennedy celebrates Minnesota Native Americans by Cori Hilsgen news@thenewsleaders.com
Kennedy Community School sixth-grade students recently completed a Minnesota Native American Cultures and Traditions artist-in-residency program. Teacher Michaelene Lucia said sixth-grade social studies standards focus on Minnesota. “This project was a great resource to teach those standards, especially the standards that look at the Dakota and Ojibwe people and their customs and way of life in Minnesota,” Lucia said. The grant focused on developing students’ understanding that Native people are still living.
“Native people were here long before European settlers, and students will understand the environment is central to native culture and their art,” Lucia said. Local artist Anne Meyer taught the students about the Native Americans’ use of clay from the earth. Students worked on three art projects with Meyer. They learned about the uses and construction of indigenous pottery of Minnesota tribes and tried out the techniques by hand-building a pot of their choice. They used clay Meyer had dug and processed on her family’s farm, which is located close to Kennedy. St. Cloud State University asKennedy • page 5
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Local artist Anne Meyer works with sixth-grade students during an artist-in-residency program at Kennedy Community School. The program focused on Minnesota Native American cultures and traditions.
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