Crazy Quilters to Show Off Their Work
St. Thomas Visits St. John Page 2
Baseball Tigers Get Hot in the Cold
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, APRIL 13, 2016
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 15
Former Belle Plaine Woman, Shakopee Man Murdered
The cast and crew of Belle Plaine Junior High School’s presentation of “Seusical, the Musical” includes (starting with back row, from left) Ellen Kreeger, Anneka Sterk, Vivan Herrmann, Lydia Struffert, Aidan Heidecker, Jen Nagel, Ari Tolrud, Meghan Sheets, Taylan Kramer-Braun, Calvin Hartman, Emma Reed, Teddy Sellnow, Hunter Meyer, Dylan May, Natalie Covington, Aiden Fogarty, Andrew Ludwig, Paul Hillstrom, Colton Kerkow, Joe Kirchner, Bryan Steen, Hanna Tharald-
A 68-year-old man and 67year-old woman were found beaten and dead in a Shakopee home midnight Tuesday (April 12). The man was identified as Terry Weimer and the woman was Renee (Hillstrom) Ahrens, formerly of Belle Plaine. According to the Shakopee Police Department, Shakopee officers, at the request of a family member, checked their welfare at a residence in the 1100 block of Dakota Street. In the residence, officers found Weimer and Ahrens dead. They had suffered apparent blunt force trauma injuries. The suspect was the deceased man’s 40-year-old son, who son, Brynne Meyer, Cece Giesen, (bottom row, from left) Kali was from Waseca. Gorman, Gabi Malecha, Bri Velzke, Kenzie Rosin, Piper Van Zummeren, Mike Ritsch, Kimberly Teal, Tucker Schultz, Katie Piampiano, Hannah Bristow, Jaelyn Borresen, Kadence Bran de Leon, (not pictured) Elliot Barnes and Kylee Santovi. The play will be presented Friday (April 15) at 7 p.m. and Saturday (April 16) at 1 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.
B.P. Junior High Play Friday-Saturday Belle Plaine seventh- and eighth-graders will present their spring play – “Seussical the Musical” -- Friday and Saturday at the Performing Arts Center in the Belle Plaine Dis-
trict Center. The play will be presented Friday (April 15) at 7 p.m. and Saturday (April 16) at 1 p.m. Tickets are $3 and are on sale from Belle Plaine Community
Education at the junior-senior high school. “Seussical the Musical” is based on Dr. Seuss characters. The Cat in the Hat tells the story of Horton, an elephant,
who discovers a speck of dust containing “Whos.” Among the Whos is Jojo, a child who gets in trouble for thinking too many thinks. Horton faces a double challenge -- not only must he protect the “Whos” from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping, and a trial, lated to Apex’s presentation. the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz The overall proposal calls for never loses faith in him. the district to issue bonds to Ultimately, the powers of prepay energy costs for a lower friendship, loyalty, family, and community are challenged and School Board emerge triumphant. (continued on page 6)
B.P. School Board Considers Energy Improvements for Savings would take about 120 days. The school board will consider committing to the study at its April 25 meeting. Board members did not discuss the proposal during the workshop. Imagine the roofs of Belle They only asked questions rePlaine public school buildings covered with solar panels or the lights in every classroom, cafeteria, office and gymnasium switched from traditional fluorescent tubes to brighter, highefficiency LEDs. The Belle Plaine School Board is considFolks looking for a little ropering a plan to bring one or both ing and riding can check out the of those two ideas to reality. rodeo at the High Island Arena At Monday’s (April 11) workFriday and Saturday, April 15 shop, the school board considand 16. ered a proposal from Apex. It The rodeo features bareback includes the potential of installriding, steer wrestling, breaking solar panels on building away roping, calf roping, roofs and light-emitting diode saddle broncs, team roping, (LED) lights in every building. barrel racing, bull riding, calf The final numbers and costs to scramble and mutton bustin.’ the district will be identified if High Island Rodeo is part of the board commits to a study the Minnesota Rodeo AssoApex says will cost between ciation tour. $8,000 and $9,000. The study
Solar Panels, LED Lights Proposed
During the investigation, police said it was determined that a vehicle registered to Ahrens was missing. The vehicle was located later Tuesday morning unoccupied in the city of Waseca. When authorities went to the suspect’s residence, he barricaded himself into a room with a firearm. For several hours, negotiators tried to talk him into coming out of the residence and turning himself in. At approximately noon Tuesday, the suspect was found deceased at the scene by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His name had not yet been released prior to Tuesday’s press time. At this time, authorities are not looking for anyone else associated with the murders.
Man Bids $142,200 for Former BP Gas Station Property The former BP gas station property along Highway 169 in Belle Plaine (521 East South Street) was among a list of tax-forfeited properties Scott County put on the selling block at an auction Tuesday morning (April 12) at the Scott County Government Center. According to Ellen Paulsen, Scott County taxation supervisor, the 1.7-acre site had a successful bidder – Merle Volk of Carver. His bid was for $142,200. Paulsen said the sale is pending as the necessary information/forms still have to be reviewed by the state and fees received. Volk could not be reached for comment as to what his plans
are for the property prior to Tuesday’s press time. The minimum bid for the 1.7acre site was $70,000. Belle Plaine Community Development Director Cynthia SmithStrack had said the most recent (2015) market value for the property was $350,000. The site, which for many years also operated under Skluzacek Oil Company and decades ago as Southtown Shell, went out of business in 2010 shortly after a couple of major highway crossings in Belle Plaine closed. The site was cleaned up several years ago, including the removal of the underground fuel tanks in order to make it more marketable. The building itself is still standing.
High Island Arena Rodeo Friday-Saturday Belle Plaine Girl Wins State Free Throw Title The indoor events begin at 7 p.m., with after-parties planned at the Henderson RoadHaus. In advance, tickets cost $15 and can be obtained at EJ’s Bar and Grill in Gaylord, Berger Interiors in Belle Plaine, True Value Hardware in Henderson, United Farmers Co-op in Le Sueur, the Henderson RoadHaus, and Haggenmiller Lumber in Arlington. Tickets cost $20 at the door. High Island Arena is located at 26245 371st Ave., Henderson.
Four of Five Seats on City Council Up for Election This Year Filing Period Begins May 17
Four of the five seats on the Belle Plaine City Council, including that of Mayor Mike Pingalore, are up for election in 2016. The other three seats are those of council members Cary Coop, Gary Trost and Henry Pressley Jr. The mayoral term is for two years, while Coop’s and Trost’s terms are for four years. Pressley’s term is for two years. Pressley was appointed to the council this past December to
replace Scott Schneider, who resigned after he announced he was moving to Shakopee. Schneider had three years left on his term at the time of his resignation, and the council, as required by state statute and the city code, conducted interviews for the vacant position. Pressley, who was previously chair for the city’s planning and zoning commission, was selected from the pool of candidates to fill the vacancy until the next city election. The two-week filing period for the mayoral and three city council seats will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 17 and end
at 5 p.m., Tuesday May 31. You can file at Belle Plaine City Hall, 218 north Meridian Street downtown. Offices will be closed Monday, May 30 in observance of Memorial Day. If more than two people file for either Mayor Pingalore or Council Member Pressley’s seats, a primary will be held Aug. 9 to reduce the number of candidates to no more than two for each seat. A primary will also be held Aug. 9 for Coop’s and Trost’s seats if more than four people file for those jobs. The General Election will take place Nov. 8.
Countless hours of shooting this past winter and is showing “I think she’d play basketball hoops on her driveway at home no signs of losing her love for 24/7 if she could,” said Jodi Faand the basket hanging over her the game. hey. bedroom door has paid off for Ciara Fahey of Belle Plaine. On April 2, she won the girls’ 10-year-old division at the 42nd annual Knights of Columbus State Free Throw Championships at Cathedral High School in St. Cloud. Ciara, the daughter of Jodi and Jon Fahey, earned the state championship after making 24 of 25 free throws. She was the first to shoot in her age bracket, thus setting the bar high from the outset. To qualify for state, Ciara won the local contest in Belle Plaine, the district contest in Montgomery and the regional contest in Norwood Young America, competing against other 10 year olds from the area. Each year, about 2,500 girls and boys compete in over 100 local contests. The state contestants must win local, district and regional competitions to earn their spot at the state contest. Ciara may be a basketball name in this community for quite some time. She was a member of the Belle Plaine girls’ fifth grade traveling team