Belle Plaine Family Supporting Polar Plunge
MRC Announces All-Conference Dance Team
Winter Sports Teams Nearing Home Stretch
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOURTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, FEBRUARY 4, 2015
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 6
City Council Gets Update on Proposed Overpass Project by Dan Ruud City Engineer Joe Duncan was absent from the Belle Plaine City Council meeting Monday night but included in his report was an update in which he stated that the preliminary plans for the proposed overpass near the intersection of Highway 169 and County Road 3/Meridian Street have been submitted to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). Duncan added that a meeting to discuss the layout and preliminary plans with Mn/DOT and Scott County officials is expected to take place early
Matt Saxe of Matt Saxe Chevrolet-Buick, second from left, was presented the Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award during last Tuesday night’s (Jan. 27) Belle Plaine Dinner and Awards Night. At left is Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kelly Melo. At right are outgoing Chamber of Commerce President Josh Selbrade and new Chamber of Commerce President Lynzi Kleist.
Lynzi Kleist of Genesis Town and County/Hardware Hank took over the position of president of the Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce for 2015 at last Tuesday night’s (Jan. 27) annual Belle Plaine Dinner and Awards Ceremony at Borough Bowl Banquet Room. The event is sponsored by the Belle
and Economic Development Authority. Kleist succeeds Josh Selbrade of Coborn’s. During the awards ceremony, Selbrade presented Matt Saxe of Matt Saxe Chevrolet-Buick as the Belle Plaine Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year for 2014. According to Kelly Melo, executive director of the chamber of commerce, the criteria used in selecting Matt Saxe Chev-
the Year included its continuous contributions to chamber programs and activities, and participation in civic, community and other groups dedicated to improving the quality of life in the greater Belle Plaine community. Matt Saxe Chevrolet-Buick continued to make a number of contributions to the community
Lynzi Kleist
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of which would be paid for through the issuance of a Municipal State Aid bond. The council and city staff are expected to meet soon with a representative of the city financial advisor, Ehlers and Associates, to discuss the bond in more detail. The current plan, called Alternative 2B, involves the construction of a bridge over Highway 169. However, rather than build it at the point where County Road 3 directly intersects
City Council
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B.P. Couple Endured Anxious Moments on Flight to Las Vegas
‘You Might Lynzi Kleist is New Chamber President Want to Wake Up for This …’ Plaine Chamber of Commerce rolet-Buick as its Business of Matt Saxe Chevrolet-Buick is Business of the Year
this month. “We have submitted a schedule that includes advertising the project for bids in June, a letting date in mid-July, award in August and a potential construction start date of early September,” Duncan reported. Duncan also reported that an application for state funds that could potentially bring an additional $750,000 in outside funding was submitted on Dec. 23 and that award notifications are expected on or about March 1. Mn/DOT has already pledged $702,000 for the estimated $5 to $7 million project, the bulk
The marketing gurus promoting vacation travel to Las Vegas would have you believe what happens in Las Vegas stays there. But when the trip involves an airplane pilot locked out of the cockpit during the flight, unable to get back to the controls of the airplane, word just might well get back to Belle Plaine. It did. And by the time Bonnie and Marc Vinkemeier’s flight reached the terminal at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, their friends and family members back here had already heard the flight didn’t exactly go off as planned. “We were getting text messages asking us if that was our flight,” Bonnie Vinkemeier said. But don’t worry. This isn’t a story about a grizzly airline crash. The Vinkemeiers are safely back in Belle Plaine after an utterly routine flight home from Las Vegas.
The Story Goes Like This
The Vinkemeiers left Minnespolis-St.Paul International Airport Thursday (Jan. 30) around 11:20 a.m. They were bound for Las Vegas to meet some friends from Minnesota and hold a surprise birthday party for Jill
Ellig, a dear friend from Howard Lake, Minn. Their friends took a different flight to Las Vegas. About 30 minutes before Delta flight 1651 was to land in Las Vegas, passengers were notified the pilot was, well, unable to get to the place where the pilot of an airplane carrying 160 passengers and crew ought to be. Apparently, after he stepped out of the cockpit and closed the door, it jammed and could not be reopened. Published reports say about 20 minutes before the plane touched down, its first officer notified McCarran International Airport of an “air emergency,” according to an airport spokesperson. With the pilot unable to re-
gain access to the cockpit, the co-pilot was going to land the aircraft. “I was asleep when the announcement was made,” Vinkemeier recalled. “Mark said, ‘you might want to wake up for this. There’s some news’.” The pilot walked down the aisle talking with passengers, reassuring them the co-pilot, an experienced pilot, was more than capable of safely landing the aircraft and that they are trained to handle situations like these. The Vinkemeiers and other passengers were informed the controls the co-pilot was stationed at unfortunately did not have the ability to maneuver the airplane from the runway to the terminal after landing so, regrettably, there was a possibility the aircraft might leave
B.P. Couple
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Belle Plaine Rural Fire Protection Association Increases Tax Levy The Belle Plaine Rural Fire Protection Association (RFPA) held its 69th annual meeting Jan. 26 at the Belle Plaine Fire Hall. Board member John Murphy said among the items up for discussion was the proposed purchase (with the city of Belle Plaine) of a new $600,000 tanker fire truck, which he expects will become reality soon.
He added that the RFPA will likely have to pay at least half the cost. Murphy said the association has increased its annual tax levy by $17,500 to a total of approximately $142,500. During the election of officers, reelected were Jim Koonst, Brian Schmidt and Murphy, the latter of whom has been on the board for some 30 years .
Pictured during a scene from Thursday night’s public performance of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” are, from left, Kate Schmit (standing/Nurse Flinn), Hannah Burmeister (Nurse Ratched), Anthony Lovejoy (Dale Harding), Nick Johnson (McMurphy) and Max Hughes (Dr. Spivey). Another free public performance will be held 7 p.m. this Thursday at the Belle Plaine Performing Arts Center.
Belle Plaine Wins Subsection One-Act Play Championship
Will Compete for Section Title Saturday by Dan Ruud The Belle Plaine High School one-act play group claimed another subsection crown with its performance of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in Saturday’s competition at Le Sueur-Henderson High School. As was the case last year with Belle Plaine’s “The Drowsy Professor,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” received the
first-place vote from all three judges. Tri-City United, with its performance of “Selfie,” came in second and will join Belle Plaine at this Saturday’s eightschool Section 2A One-Act Play Festival at Jordan High School. Also competing will be Annandale, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Mankato Loyola, Maple River, St. James and St. Peter. Only the top act from the section will advance to the Minnesota State High School Class 1A One-Act Play Festival at O’Shaughnessy Auditorium on the campus of St. Catherine University in St. Paul, which is scheduled for Thursday, Feb.
12. Doors Saturday will open at 8:30 a.m. with the first play scheduled for 9 a.m. and the last 4:15 p.m. The times for each individual play were not yet known by Tuesday’s press time (check the Herald’s Facebook page for Belle Plaine’s scheduled time). The cost is $6 for adults and $4 for students, Belle Plaine firefighters and those from four other departments were busy Saturday mornregardless of how many of the ing combatting a blaze at the Elmer and Liela Buszmann home at 8201 240th Street West in Belle Plaine Township. According to Belle Plaine Fire Chief Matt Stier, the fire was mostly Belle Plaine Wins contained to the home’s attached garage. He added that the house itself will require “some (continued on page 14) cleaning but is definitely repairable.” Stier did not want to comment on how the fire started, only that it’s still being investigated by the state fire marshal’s office. The fire was reported shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday and the scene was cleared by around noon. Other departments at the scene included Jordan, New Prague, Le Sueur and Henderson. The Buszmanns could not be reached for comment.
Saturday Morning Blaze