Africans Benefit from BPHS Class of 1981 Donations
Bull Riding/Fighting On Tap in Arlington This Weekend Page 4
BPHS Fall Sports Teams Off to Good Starts Pages 12, 13
Page 2
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 37
Former BPHS Student Charged in Murder After Theft and Flight
A former Belle Plaine High School student is charged with second-degree murder after the alleged stabbing of a man at his home on South Bay Curve in Eden Prairie. Nathan Alan Foth of Le Sueur is charged with intentionally killing 74-year-old Allen Retzer, but without premeditation. Foth is scheduled to be back in Hennepin County District Court Sept. 30 at 9 a.m. for an omnibus hearing. Foth, 23, was a member of Belle Plaine High School’s Class of 2011. His family lives in Le Sueur. He remains in the Hennepin County Jail on $2 million bail. Foth was found hitchhiking along a highway in Utah and returned to Minnesota where police arrested him. Police recovered one of Retzer’s vans, a 2005 Chrysler, they believe Foth took from the house in Eden Prairie.
So Long Summer
It was a wet return to school for Belle Plaine Junior and Senior High School students Tuesday morning as they approached the doors for the start of the 2016-17 school year. Pictured above, from left, are Nathan Herman, Jackson Stauffacher, John Hilgers and Jake Mercado. At right is Elizabeth Johnson (giving a thumb up) and a bundled up friend during their rainy day return to school. Chatfield and Oak Crest elementary schools will begin classes this Thursday as students and parents are taking part in conferences Tuesday and Wednesday. The Belle Plaine School District was expecting up to 1,620 students in its buildings for the start of school, which would by a slight increase over last year. Our Lady of the Prairie and Trinity Lutheran Schools were both expecting approximately 50 students.
Pharmacy Chooses to Join New Ridgeview Medical Clinic
When Ridgeview and the Lutheran Home Association open their new joint senior housing and medical facility next spring, residents and patients won’t have to go far to fill their prescriptions. First Choice Pharmacy recently announced it’s opening a new pharmacy in the facility on the north side of the new overpass, just off the intersection of North Meridian Street and West
Commerce Drive. The pharmacy will offer its services to residents of The Lutheran Home senior housing project and anyone else in the community who chooses to drop off an order to have medication filled or some over-the-counter health care items. First Choice Pharmacy is leasing about 700-square feet from Ridgeview Medical, said Jill Reinhardt, First Choice’s pharmacist and co-owner with her husband, Rod. They have pharmacies in Jordan since 2014, Gaylord since 2005 and Henderson since 2008. The opportunity to work with Ridgeview
and The Lutheran Home presented an opportunity the Reinhardts quickly recognized. “It’s kind of in our region,” Jill Reinhardt said of the decision to open a pharmacy in Belle Plaine. “It’s a growing area and we’re hoping to be able to serve people.” First Choice Pharmacy is planning a drive-thru lane, Reinhardt said. It will also have a separate entrance, allowing it to be open when the Ridgeview clinic is closed. One person will staff the pharmacy initially. Staffing will increase as demand grows, Reinhardt said.
Scott County Weighing Property Tax Hike for 2017
from which you can also register online. You can also call 952-873-3006 for more information. The entry deadline is today (Wednesday). Judging will begin at noon Saturday and awards will be presented at 3 p.m. All judges are volunteers and are not employed by Emma Krumbee’s. There are three age categories for the contest – Youth (pre-
Carver County Closing Small Stretch of CR 40 A small section of Carver County Road 40 near Belle Plaine will be closed for about a week beginning Monday (Sept. 12). The road closure will allow the county’s public works staff to repair a failing culvert located about 3,000 feet east from County Road 40’s intersection with Highway 25. A sign along County Road 40 informs motorists the road will be closed through Sept. 20. The county hopes the closure is shorter than eight days. “That’s worst-case scenario,” said Dave Flannery, a county
the plates that belonged to the Chrysler, according to the charge against Foth. The stolen van was found abandoned in Draper, Utah. In it was a cigarette butt and water bottles with DNA that allegedly matched Foth’s DNA. Retzer’s relatives told police he did not smoke. Police also found bottles of water in the stolen van with Foth’s fingerprints on them, the complaint states. Foth was also found wearing a T-shirt police believes belonged to Retzer. The criminal complaint states Foth’s history includes a burglary arrest at a funeral home in Le Sueur from 2011, which was plead down to criminal damage. In 2014, his parents reported he and a friend were suspected of stealing approximately $18,000 in cash from a safe in their home. Foth was subsequently located in Blaine with $6,000 cash on his person. Foth’s parents declined to pursue those charges.
‘First Choice’ Headed to B.P.
Emma’s Scarecrow Festival Starts Saturday Over $6,900 in cash awards will be awarded when Emma Krumbee’s Restaurant and Orchard begins its 33rd annual Great Scarecrow Festival this Saturday. The festival will continue through Oct. 30. Many handcrafted scarecrows will be displayed again this year. Brochures and entry rules are available at the restaurant or at www.emmakrumbees.com,
Police found Foth’s mother’s cell phone had received a text message from a woman in Utah informing her Nathan had been found and was safe. According to the criminal complaint, Retzer was found July 26 in the bedroom of his house. He died, the coroner determined, from two stab wounds to the neck. Police also believe someone had cleaned themselves up in a separate bathroom. They found the bathroom to be “unusually clean,” according to the criminal complaint. Police found bloodstains on carpet outside the bathroom. It also appeared that whomever stole that vehicle had changed the license plates, as Retzer’s other van, a Dodge Ram, had
operations supervisor. “We should have it done before that.” The old culvert is a mixture of concrete and metal, Flannery said. “It’s ancient.” The new culvert is 66 inches wide. The county expects the new culvert alone will cost $32,000. Workers will replace about 140 feet of blacktop. The overall project is estimated to cost about $50,000, he said. A detour route has been established. It uses Sibley County Road 14 and Carver County Road 53 to Carver County Road 52 back to County Road 40.
school to grade 6), Teen (grades 7-12) and Family/Adult (18 years and older). Each of those age groups can select from three prize categories – Traditional Harvest Figures, Humorous Scarecrows and Celebrity Scarecrows. First-place winners in each age division and category will receive $400. All second-place contestants will receive $200, while third and fourth place entrants will get $100 and $75, respectively. All entrants are responsible for bringing their fully-assembled scarecrows to Emma Krumbee’s parking lot. You can do so from 1-6 p.m. this Friday or 9-11:30 a.m. Saturday. All entries must be on display by noon Saturday. Admission to the festival is $5.50 per person (children 2 and under are free). Daily admission includes entrance to the Scarecrow Display, Farm Animals, Giant Haystack Jump, Tombstone Forest, All-Terrain Farm Trikes, Emma’s Mountain Slide, Wagon Ride, HalfPeck Play Area With Monster Truck, Pirate Ship, Duck Race and more.
Scott County commissioners are considering a slight increase in property taxes for 2017, one that will cover some increases in operational costs and small increases in capital spending.
Commissioners will reportedly consider a 4.65 percent increase in its maximum preliminary 2017 property tax levy Sept. 20. The final decision has to be made before the end of December. If ultimately approved, a 4.65 percent increase in Scott County’s 2016’s property tax levy of $60.83 million would generate about $2.8 million in additional revenue for the county’s budget. It would increase the county’s share of property taxes by about $7 a year on the typical residential property in the county. The commissioners had considered increases ranging from 1.37 to over 5 percent during a lengthy workshop last Tuesday (Aug. 30). A proposed 4.65 percent in-
crease, if approved, will help fund increases in the cost of salaries, energy and other operational costs, and out-of-home placements. It will provide $500,000 for capital projects, and maintain funding for the county historical society. It will also fund a needed licensed practice nurse at the county jail. The proposed 4.65 percent increase, if approved, will also mean reductions in funding for the human services, $300,000 less for post employment retirement benefits, and less funding for CAP Agency. The proposed 4.65 percent budget does not provide new funding for the county’s share of costs associated with the expansion of the medical examiner’s office.
Our Lady of the Prairie Catholic Church will host its annual fall festival on the church grounds on Sunday, Sept. 11. The event begins with Mass at 10 a.m., followed by a chicken and ham dinner until 2 p.m. Dinner is $12 for adults, $6 for
children ages 3 to 12 and free for children under 3. All takeout orders are $10. The Ernie Stumpf Band will provide music much of the day. Other activities include a country store, bingo, crafts, raffle, children’s games, refreshments bake sale and food stand.
Harvest Coin Hunt Starts OLP Fall Festival Sunday Next Week Belle Plaine’s 2016 Harvest Coin Hunt will begin with the publishing of the first clue in the Herald next Wednesday. The finder of medallion, which will have “Belle Plaine Harvest Hunt 2016” inscribed on it, will receive $200. The hunt is a prelude to the annual Scenic Byway HalfMarathon and 5K races in Belle Plaine, which will take place Saturday, Oct. 1. Registration for the races can be made by visiting the Belle Plaine Festival and Events website. Race day registration will also be available.
Southern Valley Volunteer Training Southern Valley Alliance for Battered Women (SVABW) is offering volunteer training for crisis line advocates starting Sept. 10. SVABW, based in Belle Plaine, is seeking caring individuals
who are able to volunteer from their home two phone shifts per month and are able to make a one-year commitment. Weekly support group facilitators and child care volunteers are also needed.