Football Tigers Can’t Hold Off Crusaders
All-Conference Cross Country and Volleyball Teams
Four BPHS Seniors Sign College Letters of Intent
Page 11
Page 11
Page 11
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, NOVEMBER 16, 2016
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 46
Three of Five Council Seats to be Filled by New Members Mayor-Elect Meyer: ‘I tip my hat to Mayor Pingalore for his past work and also for the challenging campaign’
Veterans Day in Belle Plaine
Belle Plaine honored veterans during a ceremony Friday (Nov. 11) at Oak Crest Elementary School. It included music, patriotic student essays, and a recognition of the community’s veterans. More photos on page 2.
Belle Plaine, Scott County, Area Voters Trump Clinton’s Hope Dahle, Vogel Agree: People Wanted ‘Change’
Joining the tidal wave of GOP support for Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence that washed across the Midwest and Minnesota, Belle Plaine and the neighboring communities backed Republicans across the board in Tuesday’s election. Turning out in huge numbers, a volume likely fueled by new
opportunities to cast ballots before election day, over 89 percent of the 3,757 voters eligible to vote in Belle Plaine cast ballots. Over 91½ percent of the 82,457 eligible voters throughout Scott County cast ballots in the 2016 election. Voters in Belle Plaine and the surrounding area backed Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in large numbers. He beat Clinton in Belle Plaine by more than a 2-to-1 margin, 2,034 to 1,005. Across Scott County, voters
Albert’s longtime girlfriend, Rosie Alvarez (Hannah Burmeister), persuades Albert to write a farewell song for the star to sing to one lucky fan chosen at random. When Albert, Rose, and Conrad travel to Sweet Apple, Ohio to bid farewell to fan club member Kim MacAfee (Rachel Fahey) and the rest of America, chaos ensues. They didn’t count on a jealous boyfriend, Kim’s crazy family, or Albert’s overbearing mother to get in their way. About 60 students tried out for
President
City Trump Clinton Belle Plaine 2,034 1,005 Shakopee 8,910 8,382 Jordan 1,684 890 New Prague 2,329 1,346 Cologne 584 302 Scott Co. 39,948 28,502 Carver Co. 29,057 21,058 Le Sueur Co. 9,182 4,623 Sibley Co. 5,193 1,954
favored Trump over Clinton, 39,948 to 28,502. Rep. Bob Vogel, Elko-New Market, admitted he was “a little bit surprised” by Trump’s overwhelming victory. He theorized GOP candidates might have enjoyed some “coattail effect” from Trump’s success in Congress the area. Vogel said the huge increases Lewis Craig many people are facing in the Belle Plaine 1,800 1,135 cost of their health insurance Scott Co. 39,455 27,788 Total 174,240 167,428 Area Election (continued on page 4)
BPHS Presents ‘Bye Bye Birdie’
The Belle Plaine High School drama department will present its fall musical next week, “Bye Bye Birdie,” Nov. 17-20 in the Performing Arts Center in the District Center building on Willow Street. The musical is set in 1958, the year after Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army. Famous rock and roll star Conrad Birdie (played by Zak Hughes) is called to serve. His devoted fans are heartbroken. Even more devastated is Albert Peterson (Mikkel Schmidt), Conrad’s manager.
How They Voted
the cast of approximately 35, said Allison Burmeister, one of the play’s directors. “I just think it fits their personalities,” she said. “For the kids we have and their talents, I think it’s a very good show.” The shows are Thursday (Nov. 17, 7 p.m.); Friday (Nov. 18, 7 p.m.), Saturday (Nov. 19, 7 p.m.) and Sunday (Nov. 20, 2 p.m.). Tickets go on sale today (Nov. 9) and cost $4 for students, $6 for adults. Tickets are available in the junior-senior high school office.
Minn. House 20A
Vogel Connelly Belle Plaine 1,857 1,346 Total 13,128 8,434
Minn. Senate 20
Draheim Dahle Belle Plaine 1,829 1,387 Total 22,274 20,577
Constitutional Amendment Yes
No Belle Plaine 2,569 688 Scott Co. 58,325 13,532 Carver Co. 43,709 9,721 Le Sueur 11,728 2,825 Sibley Co. 5,623 1,951
by Dan Ruud Three of the five seats on the Belle Plaine City Council will have different people sitting in them when the first regular meeting of 2017 takes place on Monday, Jan. 2. Four years after being elected mayor over incumbent Tim Lies, Mike Pingalore’s bid for a third two-year term was blocked last Tuesday by a large contingent of Chris Meyer supporters in what was a near record election turnout for Belle Plaine. According to Belle Plaine Finance Director and head election official Dawn Meyer, 2,992 voted at Belle Plaine City Hall last Tuesday, which was 79 percent of the city’s registered voters as of 7 a.m. that day. The voter turnout at city hall did not take into account absentee and other early voters from Belle Plaine in the weeks leading up to election day, which combined with election day, totalled 3,371 votes cast by Belle Plaine (city) voters, which is an impressive 89 percent of those registered. Meyer said there were 403 new registrations at city hall last Tuesday. The record for votes cast “in Belle Plaine” was set in the 2012 presidential election when 3,313 voted at city hall. Nearly 64 percent of Belle Plaine voters marked in Meyer to be the next mayor (2,053 votes to 1,148 for Pingalore). There were 17 write-ins. “I was amazed at the voter turnout,” said Meyer, whose father, Gerry Meyer, served several terms as Belle Plaine’s mayor in the 1990s. “It was great to see all the people take the time to make their voices
City Election
(continued on page 8)
Chris Meyer
Ben Stier
Theresa McDaniel
Source: Minn. Secretary of State
Community Thanksgiving Service Next Tuesday Night at Our Lady of Prairie Belle Plaine’s annual Ecumenical Community Thanksgiving Service will be held at Our Lady of the Prairie Church 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22. The service is sponsored by the congregations of Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic, St. John Lutheran, First Presbyterian, Redeemer Lutheran, St. John’s Assumption, River Rock Chris-
tian and West Union Lutheran. The community is welcome to attend. The Thanksgiving worship is also intended to remember the needs of others. A monetary offering will be accepted during the service to support the local Good Samaritan Fund, which provides help for transient people in the area. This fund
is supported by participating churches and the Thanksgiving offering is the main source of annual income for this fund. In addition, worshipers are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to be donated to the Belle Plaine Food Shelf. Monetary donations are also welcome. Checks can be made out to the Belle Plaine Food Shelf.
Belle Plaine Police Sponsoring Annual Holiday Toy Drive The Belle Plaine Police Department and the Girl Scouts are sponsoring the third annual toy drive for needy local families and children. The drive runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 19, 5 p.m. Last year, the Belle Plaine community donated over 300 toys. All toys should be new and unwrapped. Gifts are accepted for children up 16 years of age. Realistic looking toy weapons
and gifts with food, if donated, will not be distributed. Families in need of toys can come to the police department between Dec. 13th through Dec. 23 to pick out toys. Recommended gifts for preteens and teens include sporting equipment, board games, books, hand-held electronics and similar items. The drop-off locations will be at Belle Plaine City Government Center (during business hours), Coborn’s
grocery store (during business hours), Oak Crest and Chatfield elementary schools, Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School and the Belle Plaine Police Department (24 hours). For more information, call the police department, 8734307.
Members of the Belle Plaine Rotary Club and Boy Scouts assembled the community Nativity Scene at its new location Saturday morning.
Nativity Scene Has New Home by Dan Ruud As they have done for decades, members of the Belle Plaine Rotary Club and Boy Scouts were out in force Saturday morning putting up the community Nativity Scene for the 2016 holiday period. But you won’t find it at its usual location for the past sev-
eral decades – on the police department property just off East Main Street. Instead, it’s situated a couple of blocks further east on the street on the grounds of JD’s Auto Service, adjacent to the fire department. According to Rotary Club member Fred Keup, who has helped oversee the Nativity
Scene project for many years (it started in 1951), the decision to relocate the scene from city-owned property to private ground stems from the objections that were voiced last holiday season by members of the
Nativity Scene (continued on page 8)