Daily Journal Progress 2019 by Daily Journal

Progress 2019

The Daily Journal

PRIMARY & PEDIATRIC CARE

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Lake Region Healthcare’s medical staff of family, pediatric and women’s health professionals are dedicated to providing the best possible medical care to you and your family. Along with our many specialists, we provide comprehensive care for all ages, including disease prevention, acute illnesses, and overall wellness based on a personal relationship with you. Let’s take a step toward better health, together.

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Thank you to the community over the past year! We have been working to make all of our neighborhoods great! Here are just some of the ways we are helping to bring people together! Downtown Chowdown • Trail Fest • Mayor to Mayor Strong Towns • Art on Lincoln • Shop, Move ‘n Groove Summerfest Over S ummerffest • O ver the River Holiday Festival

City of Fergus Falls

Greater Fergus Falls Corp.

The City of Fergus Falls is pleased to partner and collaborate with Greater Fergus Falls and the Downtown Riverfront Council to advance and improve the economic climate of the Community. Building on our heritage and planning for the future of our citizens, our mission is to provide resources, opportunities, and to foster a business-friendly environment. Fergus Falls “Yes”.

Greater Fergus Falls is a newly formed private, non-profit organization that is committed to growing and revitalizing our business community. Made up of a diverse group of community members, Greater Fergus Falls will focus on economic development with a goal of attracting 20 new businesses to our area or expanding our existing businesses by the year 2020.

Fergus Falls Downtown Riverfront Council The FFDRC is a non-profit organization that focuses on vision, planning and development, with an emphasis on doing, and a clear focus on the downtown and riverfront.

FERGUS FALLS

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PAGE 2 | PROGRESS 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The theme of Progress 2019 is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Would You Be My Neighbor?â&#x20AC;? There are several â&#x20AC;&#x153;neighborsâ&#x20AC;? in each community that have a story to tell. Some have interesting jobs or hobbies, others are integral to businesses in the community, while others lend a helping hand. We look to meet our â&#x20AC;&#x153;neighborsâ&#x20AC;? in our biggest publication of the year. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Zach Stich, managing editor

ON THE COVER (Back, from left to right) Blacksmith Jerry Hobbs, artist Michael Weatherly, Elbow Lake mayor Deb Hengel, Henning Landmark Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dan Broten, Optometrist Mark Olmstead (front), Milt Smedsrud with a visiting exchange farmer, and Namaste Hotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jenna Johnson.

4........... A TREEHOUSE OF WONDER: JOHNSON FAMILY SHOWCASES TREEHOUSE 6........... STANDING OUT IN A SEA OF TREES: ARTIST MICHAEL WEATHERLY PUSHES CREATIVITY 10......... THIMGANS FOCUS ON ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS 12......... ELBOW LAKEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MAYOR HENGEL PROVIDES A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE 14......... INTO THE FIRE: BLACKSMITH HOBBS SHARES STORY 16......... GROUP HELPS FERGUS FALLS PEDAL INTO THE FUTURE 18......... THE DAILY JOURNAL: COMMUNITY INVOLVED NEWSPAPER 20......... ALL ABOARD THE AFRICA MERCY SHIP: LOCAL TAKES TO THE SEAS 24......... SAILING ON ICE: ISAR HOLDS COMPETITIONS IN BATTLE LAKE

Meet the Team behind our Communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thriving businesses The Bremer Bank business banking team is proud to support the businesses that keep our community vibrant and growing. Over the years weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve earned a reputation for providing personalized banking services that meet the unique needs of our business clients. As trusted advisors to many area businesses, the members of our business banking team value the opportunity to provide a ďŹ nancial foundation that fosters business success and keeps our community thriving. Thad Olsen Business Banker

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28..........REWRITING THE RURAL NARRATIVE: OTTER TAIL COUNTY DOCUMENTS GOOD

62......... OVERCOMING THE ODDS: ROBERTSON RUNS WINDING ROADS OF FERGUS FALLS

31......... BEYOND GLASSES: LOCAL OPTOMETRIC CENTER REFLECTS ON 30 YEARS 64...........COMMUNICATING FOR AG CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG FARMERS 36......... DODDS KEEPS FREIGHT MOVING DOWN THE LINE

68......... NESS RETIRES AFTER 40 YEARS AS AN EDUCATOR

38......... HINTGEN KEEPING BUSY IN HIS ‘SEMI-RETIRED’ YEARS

70......... PRODUCTIVE ALTERNATIVES: CREATING STRONG BONDS THROUGH WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

40......... COMMUNITY HEALTH-CARE: LAKE REGION HEALTHCARE CONTINUES TO PROVIDE LOCAL MEDICAL CARE 72......... NAMASTE: YOGA STUDIO TURNS UP THE HEAT 43......... A CUT ABOVE: THE PARLOUR CONTINUES TRADITION OF NEIGHBORHOOD SALONS

74......... COMMUNITY STAPLE: WILKIN DRINK & EATERY STILL GOING STRONG OVER A CENTURY

44......... OLSON FAMILY CONTINUING FUNERAL HOME BUSINESS INTO FIFTH GENERATION

76......... PELICAN RAPIDS SHOWS POSITIVITY OF DIVERSITY

46......... COLE: DIRECTING EDUCATION FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD 50......... LEADING M STATE’S LEGACY: BRIMHALL GOES FROM STUDENT TO PRESIDENT

78......... GOLTZ LIVING RETIREMENT LIKE A GENTLEMAN SPORTSMAN 82......... HENNING LANDMARK CENTER LOOKS BACK AT 10 YEARS 86......... AMERICAN LEGION POST 30 GIVES BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

52......... FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE PRAIRIES: LOCAL PASTOR FINDS A HOME IN MINNESOTA

90......... PERHAM’S SITTING PRETTY COMPLIMENTS OTHER STORES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

54......... PRAY BRINGS TOGETHER FAITH COMMUNITY

92...........LAYING A FOUNDATION: UNDERWOOD HIGH SCHOOL HELPS BUILD HOMES

60......... OUTSTATE BREWING: CRAFT BEERS AND COMMUNITY

94......... INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

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PAGE 4 | PROGRESS 2019

MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

FROM THE CANOPY: Dan Johnson (pictured), owner of Dan Johnson Construction and architect of the Johnson family’s treehouse, —a two-level 350-square-foot project — completed its construction December of 2014.

A treehouse of wonder By Mathew Holding Eagle The Daily Journal

he city’s most enigmatic treehouse has enjoyed a lofty reception from the community since its completion. When “Fergus Falls the Magazine” published an article titled “House in the Sky” in the summer 2014 edition, its architect Dan Johnson, owner of Dan Johnson Construction, had yet to put the finishing touches on the final phase of his two-level, 350-square-foot project.

Fittingly, the treehouse wouldn’t see completion until about Christmastime later that year. Since then the Johnson family’s treehouse has taken on a kind of urban mythos as it awes customers of the nearby Holiday gas station on Union Avenue, from high atop its overlooking perch, or as Dan refers to it, his backyard. With a forced perspective not unlike the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, which makes the 77-foot castle appear much more imposing than it is, from the bottom of the gas station parking lot up to the top of the treehouse is a steep

INTERIOR DESIGN: A view from the inside the Johnson family’s treehouse.

MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 5

embankment about 25-feet from the ground to the structure. This forced perspective exaggerates the origins of the treehouse in the summer months as the surrounding vegetation give it the illusion of springing up out of nowhere, almost Robinson Crusoesque. Now four years later the final product includes: 11 windows, LED lighting, plank bridge, spiral staircase and a heating system. As the treehouse has transformed, so too has the Johnson family. When Dan first took up construction on the project it was he, wife Emily, and their four biological children, as well as their adopted son. Having done steady foster-care work up until then, the Johnsons had taken time off as a foster family to situate into their new residence and begin work on the first stages of the treehouse inception. Nowadays the Johnson’s ranks have continued to grow as Emily is expecting, and they’ve resumed fostering children in times of need, to include one son they’re going through the adoption process for and three foster children. “We always knew that we wanted to have more children and to also be involved with fostering, adoption, all that stuff. So that’s been a big part for them to have a place to play and enjoy it; even neigh-

bor kids, cousins or whoever,” Dan said. “It’s been neat to see it utilized so much.” Dan attributes the family’s interest in fostering children to Emily, who wanted to get involved “since she was a little girl.” Dan on the other hand never really thought about fostering until the couple married but says he’s always had a fondness for children instilled by his upbringing in Barrett, forged by community programs the city offered like babysitting skills and first aid. He also taught Sunday School as a teenager to second- and third-graders. Dan’s faith is an integral part of who he is. As a member of Life Church for the past six years, he’s acted as camp coordinator for the church’s summer camp. Coupled with foster care, Dan has empowered the resolve in his belief system. “I think it does strengthen my faith to recognize that in reality, all humanity has value but kids are more vulnerable, they need love.” As the matriarch of a large family Emily enjoys the added comfort their treehouse has afforded them. “I think one of the things we’ve really enjoyed about the treehouse, especially in winter or summer, is it’s nice to have additional space. So if they want to go play board games in the winter it’s insulated and there’s a heater out

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there,” she said, pausing for a moment from helping one of her little ones with a jacket. “In the summertime, the girls are out there a lot more and in the winter it’s the boys.” So what will happen to the treehouse if the Johnsons eventually move? “Our kids tell us all the time, we’re not allowed to move unless we bring the treehouse with us,” Emily said with a chuckle.

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MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

FOSTERING HAPPINESS: The treehouse is heated and has electricity, it also provides extra space for the Johnson family, who also act as a foster family.

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PAGE 6 | PROGRESS 2019

Standing out in a sea of trees By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

eing an artist in rural Minnesota isn’t always easy. For Michael Weatherly, finding success has meant pushing himself creatively, becoming involved in the local art scene and working hard between his other commitments. Through these actions, Weatherly has become well known both nationally and in his own neighborhood. Weatherly is a contemporary printmaker based in Elbow Lake. Born in Holland, Minnesota, Weatherly attended the University of Minnesota-Morris to receive a EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL Bachelor of Arts in art history, with a miWEATHERLY: Elbow Lake artist, Mike Weatherly continually works to develop his own skills in printmaking. nor in studio art and an emphasis in printActively involved in the art community, Weatherly balances creating art with a full-time job and a family. making. Weatherly’s works consists of lino

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cuts, wood cuts, mixed-media monoprints, polyplate lithographs and digital prints. Weatherly works fulltime as a technical writer in Alexandria for Douglas Machine. He lives with his fiancée and their children in Elbow Lake. What inspires Weatherly? “Being mainly a figurative artist. I would say I really like Picasso’s work,” Weatherly said. “If I could go to a time as an artist, I would plop myself in Paris in the early ’20s where Picasso, Modigliani and those guys were running around Paris bouncing off each other.” In addition to these great artists, Weatherly also said that he finds inspiration in everyday life and hopes that people will think, “I’ve felt that,” or “I know somebody that looks like that” when viewing his art. Though he is located in small-town

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Minnesota, Weatherly has shown his artwork around the world. “The nice thing about being a printmaker is I can have a print in a show in New York, a show in Arizona, a show in Washington, D.C. — that same print,” Weatherly said. Some highlights over the span of Weatherly’s career include receiving the McKnight Foundation Grant in 1996, the Lake Regions Arts Council Small Artist Grant in 2011, the LRAC Quick Start Artist Grant in 2014, and the Art and Cultural Heritage Legacy Grant in 2014 and 2016. Weatherly is currently on the LRAC Board, representing Grant County. “I felt like it was time that I gave back because I’ve received a lot of grants,” he said. Executive director of the LRAC in Fergus Falls, Maxine Adams said, “LRAC enjoys having Mike on our board as a representative of Grant County. As a practicing artist, Mike brings his experience as a printmaker, community leader and arts advocate to our

discussions.” She added she is impressed by his ability to manage his schedule. “I also appreciate that Mike proves the old adage, 95 percent of the work is done by 5 percent of the people,” Adams said. “I don’t know how he is able to work a job full time, raise a family, serve on several nonprofit boards and still have time to do his artwork.” Additionally, Weatherly is on the board of the Kaddatz Galleries in Fergus Falls. “[Weatherly] is currently our acting board vice president and is a thoughtful, supportive leader with great insights to offer as a working artist. He’s a really nice guy with a good sense of humor,” Klara Beck, executive director of the Kaddatz Galleries said. She further said Weatherly is an asset to the community’s art scene. Weatherly takes an “incredibly active role in the area art scene, attending meetings, teaching classes, and doing shows all SEE WEATHERLY PAGE 8

EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL

PRINTMAKING: Working in his own home studio in Elbow Lake, Mike Weatherly is able to use a 36-by-48 Griffin etching press that he purchased for himself to create prints in the comfort of his own home.

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PAGE 8 | PROGRESS 2019

WEATHERLY Continued from Page 7

over the area,” Beck said. Weatherly is aware of the differences between being an artist in a rural community versus an urban area. “The artists out here that are more contemporary and trying to make a living at it, it’s tough,” Weatherly said. “If I was there to only make the sale, I wouldn’t be in this area.” He said certain prints of his are more popular depending on the area he is displaying art. In the rural areas, his prints of trees tend to be more popular and he now refers to them as his “token trees.” One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in rural areas is access to resources as an artist. For example, Weatherly needed his own press to create his prints.

The artist was able to purchase a 36-by-48-inch Griffin etching press recently, which has allowed him to create more at his own home studio. In addition to his ability to work from home, Weatherly is grateful for the resources available to him through local organizations such as Springboard for the Arts and the LRAC. “Fergus Falls is making a commitment to the arts,” Weatherly said. “If you look at the art scene in Fergus Falls, it is very progressive.” In addition, he said just being an artist in Minnesota provides many opportunities. “There’s not another state that supports artists as well as Minnesota,” Weatherly said. Weatherly’s success has come later in life compared EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL to others. “I feel like I’m kind of a late bloomer in my ca- PROCESS: Mike Weatherly practices a variety of techniques in his artwork including lino cuts, wood cuts, mixed-media monoprints and polyreer. I’m probably 20 years plate lithographs. He is able to develop his skills at home in his home studio.

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behind where I should be.” He added this is primarily because of the time he took off from art while he was raising his family and working. “I really got back into it seriously five, six years ago,” Weatherly said. How has Weatherly found his own path of success as a rural artist even entering the game later than others? “I think Mike is as successful as he is because he puts so much of himself into his work both inside and outside his studio. He knows what’s going on in the art scene and what opportunities are available to artists because he is deeply embedded in the arts community as a leader, teacher, and participant,” Beck said. “Frameworks for artistic success don’t always exist is rural areas, so taking initiative to pursue and even create opportunities is necessary.”

“Mike is successful because of his dedication to becoming a better artist and also paying attention to the business side of his art,” Adams said. “Mike is constantly working on finding new places to exhibit his art, and applying for grants, teaching workshops, networking. He is very determined and doesn’t give up easily.” Weatherly said that although he had to take time away from creating art, the ideas have always been there. “It’s almost like you cut yourself, the blood is going to come out,” Weatherly said. “The ideas are there, they’ve always been there. It’s having the resources, the press, the ideas and the ability to continue to work.” What’s next for the printmaker? Weatherly is looking forward to the future of

living near Fergus Falls. “I like the direction that Fergus Falls is going because in the next five to 10 years I have a better chance of selling more,” Weatherly said. “The thought process of what is art in the area is starting to change because of the art organizations in the area.” He also is planning to apply for more grants in the future. Weatherly will continue push himself creatively in his work. “I’m still struggling to find my voice,” Weatherly said. “I’m not big into political statements, but part of me as an artist feels that I have to address those things sometimes.” He added that it is difficult to get those messages across through printmaking. “I’m working my way EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL up to the point where technique and talent are going PUSHING BOUNDARIES: While color does not always come naturally to his work, Mike Weatherly is working on incorporating more color into his prints to add dimension and develop new techniques. to be my voice.”

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PAGE 10 | PROGRESS 2019

Thimgans focus on artistic endeavors

By Frances Stevenson The Daily Journal

an and Sandy Thimgan have a lot in common. They both were career teachers and both had similar responses to their retirement — to focus on their artistic endeavors. Sandy creates jewelry and paper art, while Dan works with glass and metal. Both the Thimgans were creating their art long before their retirement, but only got involved with Art of the Lakes about eight years ago when Sandy joined the board. Today Sandy and Dan display and sell their art in the Art of the Lakes store. Sandy still serves on the board, hav-

ing served as the board chair, and Dan creates their newsletter. Dan takes different pieces of glass and uses those with metal to create small lighted structures, often recreations of structures he’s seen like churches, pianos, cabins, and his biggest seller, the outhouse. Dan isn’t sure why the outhouse sells so well but he has a theory. “Because of where we live, there are people who grew up on farms and people who went to lake cabins before they had all these rather more sophisticated systems. People have a history with them and peoFRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL ple remember. People have ARTISTIC COUPLE: Dan and Sandy Thimgan at Art of the Lakes in Battle Lake where they sell much of their art. a connection, they have a

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farm or lake connection.” Dan has a very simple idea of what his artwork is, although it ends with a very complex product. “I like taking pieces of glass, breaking them into small pieces and then reassembling them,” he said. Sandy likens his art to a quilter’s work, “He’s sort of like a quilter in glass, cause that’s what quilters do — buy a big piece of material, cut it into smaller pieces and sew it back together.” Sandy creates jewelry through the process of precious metal clay. She has been creating jewelry for years but just started using this particular process last summer after she took a class from Art of the Lakes. “I had personally avoided precious metal clay for years because it was one more thing and I’d have to buy a kiln,” Sandy said. “So we offered a class at Art of the Lakes and I thought ‘well, it is our workshop’ so I’ll just take it and then it was so cool.” Sandy’s jewelry sells in four other galleries across Minnesota that are open year-round as Art of the Lakes

closes on Dec. 15 for winter. Sandy also creates origami structures for ornaments and cards. Art of the Lakes has 130 member artists and 85 displaying artists. According to the Thimgans, Art of the Lakes grew rapidly about 10 years ago. One of the biggest events for Art of the Lakes is their studio tour that takes place every year. The studio tour participants stop into artists’ studios all over the lakes area to see where they work and some of what they produce. Sandy has participated in the studio tour for the last two years, sharing a studio space with two other artists. Dan and Sandy also participate in many other artistic ventures, namely their work for the Daily Journal’s Fergus Falls the Magazine and The Otter Tail magazine. Sandy writes a column for each magazine with recipes she recommends. Dan has taken Sandy’s column writing as a chance to work on his photography, taking photos of the recipes FRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL

SEE THIMGAN PAGE 22

MUSIC AND ART: Dan Thimgan uses broken glass and metal to create lighted sculptures based off real-life structures.

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PAGE 12 | PROGRESS 2019

Elbow Lake’s Mayor Hengel provides different perspective

By Frances Stevenson The Daily Journal

he county seat of a no-stoplight county, Elbow Lake is thriving, according to its first female mayor Deb Hengel. Hengel’s journey to mayor started about six years ago when a former mayor of the town suggested she think about running for the post. At the time Hengel was not ready to run for mayor. But in 2016, another former mayor suggested that Hengel run and she decided she was ready and won the mayoral seat that year. “In 2016 again I was asked to consider it and I said ‘Yes, I think that would be a good thing for me to do at this time,’” Hengel said. “I think it's important

for people to take turns at leadership, whether that’s at the city, district or county level.” Hengel is not only the first female mayor of Elbow Lake, she is the only female mayor in the region. Hengel noted there are quite a few female mayors across Minnesota. She believes having female perspectives in office is very important. Hengel views the mayoral position as the leading member of the city council. The mayor must work with the city council to pass legislation and solve any problems the city faces. She also does not see the mayor's position as a political one. “I don’t consider mayoral as political,” Hengel said. “It’s nonpartisan. I know it

FRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL

TAKING THE LEAD: Mayor of Elbow Lake Deb Hengel is the town’s first female mayor after being encouraged to run from two former mayors of the town.

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has the elements of politics where you are going to see two different sides on things and you are going to be working with taxpayer money.” Hengel’s other job is with the Grant County Child and Youth Council, which is not a political position but has provided her with a lot of leadership experience. “We’re a family services collaborative, which means my job as the administrator is to provide opportunities for all the agencies and schools,” Hengel said. Elbow Lake has a population of 1,151 people, a small enough town that the mayoral position is a volunteer one. “Small town mayors are part-time; well, it is not a job,” Hengel said. “I think

a lot of people think [it is] like a job and you get an office but it's just something you do as community service. There are a lot of meetings and a lot of opportunities that I need to be at, aware of and participating in.” Hengel sees the struggles that Elbow Lake and similarly sized towns are going through as similar to struggles that larger cities face as well, but scaled very differently. She participates in a Minnesota mayoral group that allows her to connect to many of the other mayors across Minnesota from cities of different sizes and demographics. “The things that we have to do and the issues that we have are the same as larger cities,” Hengel said. “It’s just that we have a

FRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL

LOCAL PRIDE: Elbow Lake mayor Deb Hengel stands in front of Grant County’s newly remodeled court house. different scale. Whether you are talking to someone from White Bear Lake

or someone from Fergus Falls or Alexandria or Moorhead, our issues are

the same, it’s just the scale that becomes different.” As part of the Minnesota mayoral group, Hengel has met mayors from across the state. The regional mayors meet frequently to discuss issues in the area. Hengel noted it was uncomfortable at first but they have all been welcoming. “I really think it’s important that we have all perspectives when we’re talking about making policy,” Hengel said. “I think the perspective of gender is important.” She said while among mayors across the state there are quite a few women, when the regional mayors get together, it’s very different. Like most of the lakes county area, farmers primarily inhabit the City of Elbow Lake, its large co-

op grain elevator towering over the town. Hengel expects to see several city and county employees retire in the next few years creating a hiring crisis. “What services do we need to make sure that we maintain that will make this a place that people choose to live,” Hengel said. “How are we going to make our city most attractive to those people who are going to fill those positions?” At this point Hengel is unsure if she will run for re-election when her term is up in 2020. She said she hasn’t given it much thought. Having never had political aspirations, she is fairly sure her career as an elected official will end at a city level but she isn’t ruling anything out.

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BLACKSMITH: Jerry Hobbs has a passion for being a blacksmith. His interest in the craft has developed over the years to a successful business.

tanding in a cold garage, Jerry Hobbs takes a glowing piece of steel out from his small forge. After pounding the piece, he sticks it into his little power-hammer machine to pound the 19 layers of steel together into a singular piece. This little rectangle will become multiple knives one day after many hours of work. Hobbs has been interested in blacksmithing since a young age. “Back when I was a kid I would be in the shop with my dad and he would have a wood stove in there and I’d creep in the door and be sneaking metal in the fire,” Hobbs said, “until he yelled at me and I disappeared.” His first experience making a knife was with a high school friend’s father who was

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 15

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DAMASCUS: Jerry Hobbs uses a variety of blacksmith techniques in his work including Damascus, which creates a wave pattern after repeated heating and forging of steel. a blacksmith. Years passed and Hobbs met someone at work in New York Mills who was attempting to get rid of a forge. After a fair trade, Hobbs got an anvil, blower, forge and two pairs of tongs all for five cords of wood. From there, his blacksmithing craft took off. Hobbs has taught himself the trade of blacksmithing over the last four years and created a business. He said he learns mainly by “a lot of tinkering around on and getting frustrated.” To gain more connections in the industry, Hobbs is now a part of the Northern Minnesota Metalsmiths. He described the moment when he brought his first knife to the group.

Feeling proud of his creation, Hobbs said the group did not hold the same sentiment and told him the knife was “a pile of junk.” After lots of practice and experimentation, Hobbs has fine-tuned his craft. He now creates many products including fire pokers, steak forks, steak turners, bottle openers, horseshoes in the shape of crosses, cancer ribbons out of horseshoes, hairpins, crosses and of course, knives. When asked what his favorite items are, Hobbs said, “The sharp pointy things.” One of the primary techniques Hobbs features in his work is Damascus. According to Wikipedia, Damascus

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SPIRAL: Jerry Hobbs has taught himself many blacksmithing techniques that he perfects in his studio in his garage. is “steel made with a wavy surface pattern produced by hammer-welding strips of steel and iron followed by re-

peated heating and forging, used chiefly for knife and SEE HOBBS PAGE 23

PAGE 16 | PROGRESS 2019

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Group helps Fergus Falls pedal into the future By Frances Stevenson The Daily Journal

edal Fergus Falls has been working to make the community safer for cyclists since 2013 when a group of avid bikers came together to apply to become a bike-friendly community through the League of American Bicyclists. “Patrick Hollister works on a lot of bicycle and pedestrian issues in the four-county area. He actually helped pull a group together to apply for Bicycle Friendly status back

in 2013,” co-leader of the group Wayne Hurley said. “He pulled this group together and it was called the Bicycle Friendly Community Application Committee, which didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and that’s kind of how the group got started.” The community did not achieve the status in 2013, but the group got feedback on how to improve the city to create a safer space for cyclists and in 2014, Pedal Fergus Falls was created to achieve this goal. An official chapter of the

Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, Pedal Fergus Falls is a bicycle and pedestrian education and advocacy group led primarily by Wayne Hurley and Dave Sanderson, who have been a part of the organization since its inception. The decision to call the group Pedal Fergus Falls was meant to include the prefix “ped” in the name as a nod to the group’s pedestrian work along with their bicycle advocacy. Pedal Fergus Falls has focused on the three “Es” of bicycle advocacy while work-

ing to create a safe bicycle environment in Fergus Falls; engineering, education and enforcement. Some of the most tangible changes made to the city fall under the engineering umbrella. The group helped implement sharrows or arrows designating that the road is to be shared with cyclists, on Lincoln Avenue and around Lake Alice, and bike lanes on Cascade Street. In terms of education, the group worked with the city to implement the pedestrian and bike planning

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 17

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commission and encourages several large annual events within the city. These events include 30 days of biking, a month-long event in April created out of the Twin Cities, the Lake Alice 100 created by Dave Jensen and Nick Mariotti and adopted by Pedal Fergus Falls. The group also participates in the mayor’s ride, Ride for Mental Health, National Bike Month, and have tried to implement monthly bike rides. Pedal Fergus Falls has worked with the city to implement bike patrols in past years in which police officers patrol via bicycles. The group also worked with the city to bring the bike ordinances up to date with the state legislature. This fits in with the final “E” of bicycle advocacy — enforcement. “They had bike patrols for about three years,” Sanderson said. “I would work with them to train these folks. They've got three of them with the police department. They patrol on bikes. This year they weren’t able to do it, but hopefully, we’ll be able to visit that again.” In October of 2015, Fergus Falls was awarded the title of Bike Friendly Community, after the city implemented a pedestrian and bicycle planning commission and began to implement more bicycle infrastructure. “A year later we applied for walk-friendly community status and we were kind of anticipating that we wouldn’t get that but we’d get that feedback report and then we’d know what to do. But we got it, so we are one of only three communities in the state of Minnesota that is both bike-friendly and walk-friendly,” Hurley said. The other two cities that have been given both status-

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30 DAYS: Participates of a Twin Cities based 30 Days of Biking gather around the Fergus Falls Otter in Grotto Park. es are Minneapolis and St. Paul. More recently Hurley, Sanderson and Pedal Fergus Falls have been working with local businesses to become bike-friendly businesses through the League for American Bicyclists. There are now nine businesses in town that are bike-friendly including the Fergus Falls Police Department, which tied for being the first bike-friendly police department. “One of the things that we do through Pedal Fergus Falls is help businesses in town that want to become bicycle-friendly businesses get that designation through the league,” Hurley said. “We help them if they need help with their application. The police department tied with the city of Boise, ID, as one of the first two bike-friendly police departments in the country.” Currently, the group worked with the city to do a bike lane demonstration project. The bike lane ran along the right side of portions of Sheridan Street, Washington Avenue and

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AMERICAN TOWN: Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer rides his bike on Fourth of July. Burlington Avenue leading into Adams Park, and was protected by plastic bollards. The bike lane was two-way and followed the path of the Glacial Edge Trail Demonstration Project. Hurley and Sanderson said they learned a lot from the demonstration, such as where the best places for protected bike lanes might be in Fergus Falls. They found the width of the demonstration bike

lane was not wide enough for two bikes and that many people felt uncomfortable biking against traffic, even with the plastic bollard between them and the cars. This year Pedal Fergus Falls will focus on reapplying for Bicycle Friendly Community status, as every city has to reapply every few years. Hurley and Sanderson hope to get Silver-level status instead of Bronze.

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The Daily Journal: Community involved newspaper By Zach Stich

The Daily Journal

any businesses have been a part of the community of Fergus Falls for the past 140 years, providing goods and services to residents. But while technology and business trends have caused many of those businesses to close, the Fergus Falls Daily Journal has been there to provide news, tell the community’s

stories and offer advertising opportunities since it pressed its first paper in 1873. “A local newspaper, like any other business in town, is important to the community because of the economic impact we have,” publisher Mitzi Moe said. “We are also important because we record the history of the town. We have people all the time using the commu-

nity newspaper as a way to look up their history. It may be a story that happened years ago or it could be an obit of a loved one.” Connie Knapp, audience development manager, has been with the paper since 1993 and shares many of the same sentiments. “We are often the mainstay in a community,” Knapp said. “As other businesses come and go,

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ZACH STICH | DAILY JOURNAL

COMMUNITY PARTNERS: Fergus Falls Daily Journal publisher Mitzi Moe speaks at the 50th anniversary of the Fergus Falls Area Family YMCA (above) with Deb Erickson (center) and Mary Sieling (left) displaying the YMCA’s Partnership Award that the Daily Journal received. The Fergus Falls Daily Journal hosted its first teacher’s breakfast for new teachers in schools in Fergus Falls (below). the newspaper remains to record the history of a community, from the birth of children to the end of life. Newspapers serve as the guardians of government, not afraid to ask questions and dig for stories that make the community strong and aware. They connect readers to businesses and readers to each other.” Emily Carlson, a reporter at the newspaper, knew a little about The Daily Journal before working

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there but discovered that it did so much more than put out an edition five days a week. “Once I was hired I realized that The Daily Journal publishes way more than I ever knew before,” Carlson said. Working on publications like Fergus Falls The Magazine, Innovation, Progress and Your Health, Carlson began to appreciate the amount of work that goes into being a member of The Daily Journal. With so much going on in the newsroom, Carlson realized that there are several skills that are important to a reporter’s position. “Being a reporter at The Daily Journal has made me realize that adaptability and quick learning are keys to this job. One moment I can be going to interview a local artist and

then next I may be covering an election. Each day is different and I know that I will never be bored at work,” Carlson said. Many see the newspaper as just writers and photographers that cover events, news stories and sporting events, but there is also the business side to the company — advertising. Assistant advertising manager Mary Sieling enjoys working with area businesses, churches and nonprofits but also understands their wants and needs. “I have great customers, and because I am familiar with the day-to-day workings of our community, I can relate to many of them,” Sieling said. “I feel a part of the community, SEE PAPER PAGE 57

MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

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ALL ABOARD THE AFRICA MERCY SHIP Fergus Falls local takes to the seas By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

alled to serve those in need, Kathy Shearon has found herself across the world on a floating hospital. Though the lifestyle is unique, Shearon believes in the mission of Mercy Ships and has dedicated her life to serving on board for two years. Shearon, a Fergus Falls resident, has taken her talents across the ocean to the shores for Conakry, Guinea as a senior medical laboratory scientist aboard the Africa Mercy. Shearon graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 2006. Her parents are Ross and Loyce Shearon. After graduating from the University of North Dakota, Shearon knew that she wanted to work for a humanitarian cause. She just needed to find

a way to do so. A friend suggested looking into Mercy Ships and after a quick search on Google, Shearon was convinced. Founded in 1978 by Don Stephens, Mercy Ships, “follow the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus, bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor,” according to their mission statement. Their vision says, “Mercy Ships use hospital ships to transform lives and serve nations, one at a time.” “I was just hooked by some of the transformations that the patients have,” Shearon said. “I got hold of the vision.” She began serving with Mercy Ships for short-term time periods for a few months in 2013. Shearon is now currently in the second year of her twoyear term with the group. For Shearon, mission work was always something in which she had

SAUL LOUBASSA | FOR THE JOURNAL

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Kathy Shearon, Fergus Falls resident, is currently working on board the Africa Mercy as a senior medical laboratory scientist. Shearon graduated from Fergus Falls High School in 2006. The Africa Mercy is currently serving populations as it is stationed on the shores of Conakry, Guinea. been interested. “I am a big advocate for development work,” Shearon said. According to Pauline Rick, the U.S. public rela-

tions coordinator, as the senior laboratory scientist, Shearon oversees the laboratory and two other staff, “which performs crit-

ical blood and pathology tests on patients and also draws blood from crew volunteers when needed.” The Africa Mercy is the

only ship in service currently through Mercy Ships but is the largest civilian hospital ship in the world weighing 16,572 tons. The

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ship was donated through the Balcraig Foundation in 1999 and was a former Danish rail ferry. The ship’s name was changed from Dronning Ingrid to Africa Mercy in 2000. When asked if she had a favorite country that she has visited, Shearon said, “Each country is so different. Guinea was my first taste of West African culture. It has a soft spot in my heart. They each bring something different for what m a k e s t h e m u n i q u e .” Every organization has its challenges. Shearon a d d e d that one of the main challenges they face onboard is simply making sure that they have the supplies they need. “We rely on shipping containers to bring our food and medical supplies,” Shearon said. However, she said that even when problems do arise, they always seem to work out in the end.

Shearon has been able to meet people from all over the globe during her time with Mercy Ships. “We are all here for one vision,” Shearon said. “No job is more important than anyone elses.” Though her hometown is thousands of miles away, Shearon sees many commonalities between her home aboard the ship and Fergus Falls. “You just realize how different norms are,” Shearon said. Through her bonds with the rest of the crew and patients, Shearon feels a great sense of belonging. “That sense of community is very similar to what I experienced growing up in Fergus Falls,” Shearon said. She did say that during the fall is when she feels the most homesick because she misses the changing leaves and nice weather. With an average crew of 450, the Africa Mercy includes state of the art

We are all here for one vision. No job is more important than anyone elses.

Kathy Shearon on working with others on the ship

ONBOARD MEDICAL TREATMENT: Lab tech Kathy Shearon drawing blood from a patient on the Africa Mercy. facilities. With five operating theatres, intensive care units, recovery units, and low dependency wards, there are a total of 80 patient beds. The ship has an onboard surgical capacity of 7,000 interventions.

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SAUL LOUBASSA | FOR THE JOURNAL

services include dental there until June 2019. Priand medical clinics, con- or to that, the ship was in struction and agricultural Cameroon when Shearon training, and communi- began her two-year term. Shearon described her ty health education. The Africa Mercy docked in work life as similar to what Guinea, West Africa in August 2018 and will be SEE SHIP PAGE 56

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that Sandy features in her column. Photographing food isn’t easy, according to the Thimgans. “Try to photograph a cheesecake under bright lights. It’s melting,” Sandy said. “Or try to photograph a soup that you don’t want to be hot and steaming up the camera. Sometimes it’s a comedy of errors. That’s an article I’ve always wanted to write: so you want to write a food column.” For the Thimgans, artwork has been their way of keeping active during their retirement and putting energy into something day-to-day. “It makes life exciting, it’s something new all the time and if it isn’t then you should try something else,” Sandy said. “Creating is just rewarding in itself. It keeps you sharp

FRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL

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PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 23

HOBBS Continued from Page 15

sword blades.” Hobbs said there are four major Damascus patterns — fireball, twist, ladder and raindrop. Hobbs also enjoys experimenting with different techniques to create new patterns in his work. When asked if he thinks the blacksmithing industry is declining, Hobbs said, “It’s declined quite a bit. It started picking back up a bit once the ‘Forged in Fire’ and all those ‘Forged’ shows came on. Everything went up from there.” For those interested in learning about blacksmithing or creating their own pieces, Hobbs suggests making as much of your own tools as possible. “It’s a lot harder finding an anvil and materials that are affordable,” Hobbs said. “You don't need an anvil. You just need a hard piece of steel. Something hard and a hammer and a way to heat it up. If you’re going to start out blacksmithing,

learn the basics. Basics are the key to everything.” Hobbs lives in New York Mills with his wife, Susan and two children, Ruth and Arthur. Working at BTD Manufacturing in Detroit Lakes as a full-time welder, Hobbs’ blacksmithing work has to be done on his off-hours. His business has become a bit of a family affair as Susan makes epoxy handles for some of his knives. “I tried some different mixtures of stuff from pine cones and flowers, experimenting to try some different stuff,” Susan said. “He works so hard that I wanted to help in some way.” Even his young son Arthur has his eye on the flames. “He’ll turn the blower and grab a hammer and say ‘now it’s my turn’” Jerry said. At the end of the day, blacksmithing really comes down to two steps. As Jerry said, “A lot of people ask me ‘Oh what do you do for this? What do you do for that?’” His response? “Get it hot and hit it.”

EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL

HAIR PINS: Blacksmith Jerry Hobbs creates a variety of different items including heart-shaped hair pins (above).

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Sailing on ice

ISAR holds competitions in Battle Lake

MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

ICING AROUND: The International Skeeter Association Regatta (ISAR) held competitions on Battle Lake the first two weekends of December in 2018.

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 25

By Mathew Holding Eagle The Daily Journal

dventurers come in many forms so when the International Skeeter Association Regatta (ISAR) descended on Battle Lake the first two weekends of December 2018, the close knit-community illustrated to regatta captains the epitome of neighborly hospitality. That wasn’t lost on members of the competition as they congregated at the Shoreline Restaurant Bar and Bowl for an after-race gathering to eat, drink and to share a laugh over stories about the day’s earlier highlights racing on Battle Lake. Our guide into the world of ice boating is Joe Norton, 72, from Green Lake, WI, an ISAR judge, iceboating enthusiast, and owner of Norton Boat Works. Norton has been involved in some form of iceboating officially for 68 years of his life. Unofficially Norton’s iceboat-

ing career started much earlier when he was two-months-old and his father sneaked him out onto the ice for a ride, unbeknownst to his mother, who he maintains would not have approved. As an ISAR judge Nelson is responsible for making sure everything is safe, which includes ensuring there are no obstacles iceboaters could fall into, like an open patch of water, or sail into, including ice heaves, which cause ridging, or something on an iceboat runner that could potentially catch, resulting in a crash. Judges are also responsible for how efficient the races run and in what order as well as recording race times. They’re also responsible for making sure no one moves the markers on the racetrack, which could result in an automatic disqualification from the event. “I cannot believe how incredibly friendly everybody is. It doesn’t

MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT: Iceboats travel on a small film of water melted by the boat’s runners. Speeds can reach into the 90 mph range.

SEE ICEBOAT PAGE 26

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ICEBOAT Continued from Page 25

matter if they’re a waitress, it doesn’t matter if they’re those crazy guys out there with those $50,000 ice-fishing shanties, they’re all interested in what we’re doing, and of course we’re interested in what they’re doing, but this area is very friendly,” Norton said about the group’s reception since arriving in town. “Some places we go the ice fishermen are very competitive with each other and they aren’t particularly happy if anybody’s out on ‘their’ ice, and that’s not the case here. Every time we come to Minnesota there’s always an incredibly crazy group that just accepts us.” The overwhelming camaraderie ISAR members felt from the Battle Lake community also extended to the racers themselves. Jim McDonagh, a 15-year veteran of iceboating, placed first in the Class B series earlier in the day. “I think that’s a little bit of a climber’s type of mentality, where you’re all out here suffering or enjoying the day and so the second family happens,” McDonagh said. “You know, you see them at certain events

MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

EARLY RISERS: The ISAR chose Battle Lake to hold its regatta because Minnesota gets some of the earliest ice in the country. or times of the year every year, so after eight or 10 years you start to know them in a different way than you do your daily friends.” Iceboating can be traced as far back as the 17th century. According to Nelson, modern iceboating started in Europe, specifically in Holland on the canals by farm-

ers who didn’t have anything to do other than grind wheat and corn through winter. The first iceboaters actually took their canal boats and fashioned runners resembling skates to them. Around the 1850s iceboating found its way to the U.S. and grew from there. To this day “ice sailing” ,

as it’s known in Europe is still a popular sport, with many Europeans participating in and owning several world titles. The mechanics behind iceboating are the same as sailing on water; the boat and sail harness the energy of the wind building incrementally on speed. The three runners on the bottom of the iceboat — one in front and one on each side — are about a quarter inch thick and range from 30 inches long to 5 feet. Once the iceboat gains enough speed pressure and its runners melt the ice and the boat sails along on a bead of water. Pat Heppert, four-time ISA Class C champion from south of the Twin Cities said that on good ice, iceboats can potentially go as fast as “seven times the speed of the wind.” “Once you get speed into your head it’s hard to get it out,” Nelson said about what motivates a large majority of racers. Top speeds for the boats depend on the size of the vessel with the cockpit-enclosed, bubble-style boats able to push 90 mph consistently. Four classes of ice boats were represented during the Battle Lake regatta: • A (single seat, mast heights in excess of 26 feet). • B (two seat boats, side by side).

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ON THIN ICE: Iceboaters rely on their small community for ice reports to determine where they’ll compete next and will tentatively race on 3 inches. • C (single seat, limited to a mast height of 20 feet, 3 inches or less). • Nite (combines a twoseat, side-by-side fiberglass hull with a 67-square-foot rig). “There are the most sophisticated ice boats on the planet here this weekend, they’re worth seeing,” said Dave Farmer an ice boater who has experience land sailing dry lake beds and hard clay-like surfaces. Like a lot of regatta members Farmer also has experience sailing on water. “It’s very similar. You’ve got this ability to pick it up whenever you’ve got enough power and if you’re good you can keep it there. And that’s quite a rush. It’s so much faster that water boats feel really slow now.” Every regatta begins with an ice report. If there’s no ice report boaters don’t compete. On the day of the Battle Lake races — the second weekend of De-

cember 2018 — the ice was about 10 inches thick but iceboaters said that they would tentatively sail on 3 inches. “We chase the ice,” Norton said. “It’d be like a duck hunter going where the ducks are, we go where the ice is.” Farmer agreed. “We live for good ice, we search for good ice, we drive long distances for good ice.” But according to Norton, driving long distances for ice is the norm these days. “I’m not trying to be political at all, but places that we used to go and iceboat that were the ice (boat) capitals, especially out East, don’t get ice anymore,” he said. However, in Minnesota, some of the country’s first bodies of ice form and that’s why the ISAR chose Battle Lake to hold the regatta. After deciding on a location, it’s up to the judges to stakeout a track but because of the size

of the area required, the wind shifts, and the need to constantly move markers, prepping the course before racing is impossible. When race time approaches, the actual racing is done in a diamond shape with 1-mile legs instead of a traditional oval in heats of three iceboats. The course record for the Battle Lake competitions was 2:55. As the after-race gathering wound to a close and most of the skippers ambled through the exit, leaving only a handful of the racers in the restaurant somebody asked, “What time are we starting tomorrow?” Before another racer answered, “I think someone said 9 a.m. but I heard there’s not supposed to be too much wind tomorrow.” Without missing a beat Heppert finished his drink and while standing to leave quipped, “Ah yes my second favorite sport, iceboat pushing.”

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Rewriting the rural narrative: Otter Tail County recruits residents By Frances Stevenson The Daily Journal

University of Minnesota Extension researcher, Ben Winchester, published his study, “Rural Migration: The Brain Gain of the Newcomers” in 2009 hoping to change the way people saw rural areas and how they might be able to gain new residents. The study sent Otter Tail County Director of Tourism and Economic Development Nick Leonard down a new path of how to market Otter Tail County and lead to the Rural Rebound Initiative and its successes.

“Without question, one of their top challenges is a ready workforce,” Leonard said. “The Rural Rebound Initiative is about disrupting and reversing that trend. It is about promoting our wonderful regional assets and quality of life. Furthermore, it is about promoting inclusiveness, a vital quality for communities that want to attract (and keep) new residents.” Leonard decided to capitalize on what Winchester called the “brain gain” in his study, the influx of 30- to 49-year-olds moving to rural Minnesota areas. Leonard hired Erik Osberg to be Otter

Tail County’s Rebound Initiative Coordinator, a position funded by grants to implement strategies to attract the workforce to Otter Tail County. “Ben Winchester has data that says rural areas have had a net gain of 30- to 49-year-olds. It’s an average. There are some counties that have more and some with less,” Osberg said. “It’s a natural phenomenon that he’s identified. When you look at population, you lose your 18-year-olds, you lose your 20-year-olds but when you look at your 30- to 49-yearolds there is a net gain.” When Osberg started the

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 29

position, one of the biggest challenges was that the Rural Rebound Initiative was the first of its kind and there wasn’t an outline for how to capitalize on those from the 30-49 age group who were looking to move to rural areas. “There wasn’t really a blueprint, there wasn’t really a training manual,” Osberg said. Osberg’s main focus was to change the narrative that rural was dead and write the narrative for Otter Tail County by documenting the good things going on in the area. “When I’ve heard Ben Winchester talk, what he talks about is rewriting the rural narrative,” Osberg said. “There is a narrative that rural is dying, rural is dead. Our approach has been ‘let’s write our own narrative.’ At the end of the day, what we’re doing, if we’re doing our job, is we’re documenting all the good stuff that is happening in Otter Tail County from border to border.” To do this the Rural Rebound Initiative has focused on using

digital media, social media and its website to show video and photography. In 2018 the Otter Tail County Lakes Country facebook page reached 3.5 million impressions, which is one of the ways Osberg has measured the success of the Rural Rebound Initiative. “We’ve already got this ‘Find Your Inner Otter’ thing. We’ve already got this tourism brand,” Osberg said. “So what we decided to do was just integrate the recruiting message into the tourism message.” In 2020, Osberg hopes to measure the success of the campaign in another way by comparing 2020 census data with 2016 census data to see if the Otter Tail County area has gained residents within that time frame, particularly those within the “brain gain” age group. The goal of the social and digital media campaigns is to target those aged 30- to 49 years-olds who might have kids and live in a SEE RURAL PAGE 30

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PAGE 30 | PROGRESS 2019

RURAL Continued from Page 29

city such as Minneapolis, St. Paul or the Fargo-Moorhead area and are looking for a slower pace of life. According to Osberg, the Rural Rebound Initiative will most likely continue to focus on the same age group, but that doesn’t mean their work isn’t affecting other age groups. “I think some of our efforts do reach those fringe age groups,” Osberg said. “I don’t know if it’s been

intentional. Going back to the ‘Find Your Inner Otter’ brand, we’re trying to check as many demographics in that brand as we can, whether it’s younger people, or retirees. We want people to retire here too, we want y o u n g people to feel like they can stay here.” In 2019, Osberg became an official county employee, meaning the funding for his job is no longer grant-reliant but part of the county budget. Osberg is happy with how the initiative has

We want young people to feel like they can stay here. Erik Osberg Otter Tail County Rebound Initiative Coordinator

been operating for the past two years but has one main improvement he’d like to make by focusing more on the schools in Otter Tail County. The initiative has looked at some of the exciting things school districts within Otter Tail County have been doing, but Osberg hopes to focus more heavily on documenting all the schools and the good things they are doing. He hopes showing the great things local schools are doing might encourage parents thinking of moving that Otter Tail County is the right place to go. The Rural Rebound Initiative received an award from the Economic Development Association of Minnesota for innovative programming PROVIDED this past January. For Osberg, this means they must YOUTH: The initiative has focused on those in the age group 30-49 when attempting to market the area to be doing something right. prospective residents, but they are hoping to draw all ages.

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Beyond glasses: Local optometric center reflects on 30 years By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

went practice shopping a couple weekends,” Mark said. “There were a bunch of offices, a bunch of other doctors that were retiring. And this was the one we liked the best.” The two have two sons together, Dylan and Vinnie. According to a history of the practice, the Olmsteds compiled for their 27th anniversary, Theodore N. Kittelson, M.D. owned the practice as an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor in 1902. The practice was located at 101½ W. Lincoln Ave. at the time. Through the years the practice was moved and purchased by a number of different owners. Mark and Christine purchased the practice from Dr. James J. Buckley, who had purchased the practice from Leon Combacher, M.D. In the summer of 1989 Mark

or many of us, going to our optometrist is just another appointment that we have to do once a year. We answer which is better — one or two - read some letters on the wall and do a series of random tests. At the end of the appointment, either we need glasses or we don’t. But for our optometrists, they are thinking far beyond just glasses. Dr. Mark Olmsted, OD, and Dr. Christine Olmsted, OD, have lived, worked and raised their family in Fergus Falls for nearly 30 years. The husband and wife duo will be celebrating their 30th year in business in Fergus Falls in the summer of 2019. After completing their optometry degrees from the EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL Illinois College of OptomeOPTOMETRISTS: Opening the Fergus Falls Opometric Center, Ltd. in 1989, Drs. Mark and Christine Olmsted are focused on providing quality try, they went on the search eye-care with the use of modern technology. for a practice to open. “We SEE EYES PAGE 32

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EYES Continued from Page 31

and Christine opened Fergus Falls Optometric Center Ltd. Fergus Falls was not exactly familiar territory for the Olmsteds when they began looking for a practice. “Mark is from North Dakota and I’m from Wisconsin so it was kind of in the middle,” Christine said. Though Fergus Falls is not quite in the middle — Mark is from Bismarck and Christine is from Reedsburg — the two had a good feeling about the area.“We could see it was a nice little town,” Mark said. “This was the best fit for us.” Being in the industry for 30 years means having to keep up with the times. Modern technology and improvements are areas on

which the Olmsteds strive to keep updated for the patients. “Within 30 years, things have changed a lot,” Christine said. “When we first got here there were still people coming back that didn’t have implants. They still had thick glasses after cataract surgery.” Implants or intraocular lenses, are used to replace the eye’s natural lens after it is removed from catracts surgery, according to allaboutvision.com. Without these implants, people needed to wear special contact lenses or very thick glasses. Bringing in modern equipment, such as the OCT or ocular computed tomographer, which, “gives you the layers so you can see where there are problems,” Christine said, rather than just looking at one side. Over the years, both Mark and Christine have had to

handle some difficult cases. Each has found symptoms of a brain tumor in patients. Christine said, “The worst part is always when you find something and you have to tell them ‘Okay, you need to get this checked.’” Other cases have revealed high blood pressure and diabetes. The two optometrists noted that many people think visiting them only entails getting glasses or contacts. “They’re thinking ‘better one or two.’ Get your glasses. And that’s all you're thinking about,” Mark said. “But that’s not all we’re thinking about.” While some days are harder than others, there are still good moments. Christine said her favorite part of the job, “is always those little kids that they get their glasses for the first SEE EYES PAGE 34

EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL

OPTOMETRISTS: Dr. Mark Olmsted and Dr. Christine Olmsted have owned the Fergus Falls Optometric Center, Ltd. for nearly 30 years. The husband and wife duo met as they both attended the Illinois College of Optometry.

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time. That’s always a good thing.” Mark added, “They don’t know what they’re missing.” On the other end of the spectrum, Mark said, “Everyone who has cataract surgery is just amazed at how bright the colors are, how vivid everything looks after surgery. So that’s kind of fun to have a hand in that pie.” How does this husband and wife duo navigate

working together for 30 years in the same building? “We have separate offices,” Christine said, laughing. Mark clarified, “I get to work with my wife. She has to work with her husband.” The Olmsteds work to create a friendly experience for all of their patients. “We’re very hands-on, the two of us. We kind of do it like a ma and pa business except we keep up with the modern stuff. We sort do more hands-on like the old ways of optometry but

we have all of the modern equipment,” Mark said. “But we’ll run down to make a pair of glasses between exams or put a nose pad on for somebody. That kind of thing. You’re not going to see a lot of eye doctors that still do that.” There are no plans set for the 30th anniversary of Olmsted's practice, but Mark and Christine look forward to working with the Fergus Falls and surrounding communities for many years to come.

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PAGE 36 | PROGRESS 2019

Dodds keeps freight moving down the line

By Brian Hansel The Daily Journal

ou could say Troy Dodds has been in transportation most of his working life. Keeping things moving is what he does. The assistant manager of the Otter Tail Valley Railroad did not cut his teeth on an engine throttle but he has been working on the railroad since 2003 and has held all the jobs associated with the business. Switchman, conductor, engineer — Dodds has worn all the hats. Perhaps the strangest for Dodds is the one he wears now as a manager. “I started as a conductor, then engineer, then went to operations and then to management,” Dodds said. He says he is one of those guys who is a “jack of all trades, a master of none.” So what is he doing in the big office? “Sometimes I wonder myself,” Dodds quipped from behind his paper-littered desk inside the Otter Tail Valley Railroad Depot in downtown Fergus Falls.

The OTVR is what railroad insiders call a shortline. The OTVR runs on a 70-mile stretch of track between Fergus Falls and Moorhead and an eight-mile stretch between Fergus and French. OTVR only handles freight. The main commodities it hauls for its customers are coal, ethanol and grain. Otter Tail Power has long depended on OTVR to bring coal to its Hoot Lake Power Plant in Fergus Falls, but Dodds acknowledges that times are changing. Otter Tail Power will be retiring the Hoot Lake Plant in May 2021. “We’re becoming more of an agricultural-based railroad,” Dodds said. When President Ronald Reagan deregulated the rail industry in the 1980s it created opportunities for investors who saw the potential of short stretches of track. The big railway carriers wanted to abandon less profitable stretches. Otter Tail Valley Railroad has operated one of those short stretches since 1986. In the beginning, OTVR served customers along 151 miles of track between Avon and Moorhead, but in 1991 the line abandoned 96 miles

BRIAN HANSEL | DAILY JOURNAL

TEAMWORK: Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company Assistant Manager Troy Dodds was flanked by two of his men, Rick Wicklund, left, and Pat Hoeper as preparations were being made to take a load of empty coal cars from Fergus Falls to Moorhead. east of Fergus. Now owned by Genesee & Wyoming, the railroad interchanges with Burlington Northern-Santa Fe in Dilworth.

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one on the freeway. By 1990, you couldn’t move. I was fed up with that rat race.” Living and working in outstate Minnesota has a great appeal for Dodds, who loves being in the outdoors. You can find him in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) of Minnesota's Arrowhead a couple times a year while hunting is one of his pursuits in the fall. “That's the way I grew up,” Dodds said. “I like doing things outdoors.” After leaving the metro area, Dodds took up farming and ran a dairy outside Parkers Prairie until 2002. “I tell people that I made so much money milking cows that I

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 37

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AT THE STATION: Otter Tail Valley Railroad, located at 200 N. Mill St. in Fergus Falls, is the home base for assistant manager Troy Dodds. Dodds has worked for OTVR since 2003. had to get out of it,” Dodds laughed. Dodds went after a switchman job with Canadian Pacific Railroad in May of 2003 and landed it. In August of that year, he signed on with OTVR. Beginning in 2010 a revolving door of assistant managers at OTVR pushed Dodds off the tracks and into the office. Dodds' 10 full-timers know that while trains run on schedules they do not always arrive between the hours of nine and five. Whenever a trainload of cars has to be moved they have to be ready. “You never know when they're coming,” Dodds said. “We're at the mercy of Burlington Northern-Santa Fe but we have a good working relationship.” Moving cars in the city limits of Fergus Falls is also a challenge. Both the city and OTVR benefit from rail service so they have a plan that enables traffic to move along. “It can be an asset and a liability but we have worked

out a compromise,” Dodds said. The railroad’s policy is to notify the dispatcher when they are bringing a train into the city. OTVR tries to avoid blocking city streets between the hours of 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning and 4:30 and 5:30 in the evening when street traffic is heavy. Dodds will tell you that running a railroad can be a 24/7 job. “Sometimes it turns into a real long day but that comes with the territory,” Dodds said.

Safety is uppermost in his mind. Railroad work can be unforgiving to those who work around the big cars and engines. The railroad has not had a reportable injury since Sept. 24, 2011, and the OTVR crew receives a lot of training to keep it that way. “Safety is 100 percent of my job,” Dodds said. He is proud of OTVR’s safety record and he prizes the men working for him. “They understand why we're here,” Dodds said. “They are the reason why this railroad runs.”

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BRIAN HANSEL | DAILY JOURNAL

TAKING NOTES: Reporter Tom Hintgen sat at the press table covering an Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners meeting Jan. 8 in Fergus Falls. At 71, Hintgen is still very much a part of city and area news. M FAR

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om Hintgen has had a soft spot in his heart for journalism his entire working life. Through it, he finds ways of expressing his very real concern for the welfare of people who call Otter Tail County their home. At the tender age of 71, Hintgen is still pounding out copy for the The Daily Journal and six area newspapers. Hintgen is officially “semi-retired” but he is

having too much fun to quit. Hintgen, the newsman, goes after stories he believes his readers need. “I enjoy it,” he said. “I think it’s important sharing news and events with readers.” Hintgen, the columnist, goes after different material. “I think it’s important that people know that Dwight Eisenhower once visited Otter Tail County,” he said. Hintgen is a true native

of Fergus Falls. He graduated from Fergus Falls High School with the Class of 1966. He interned for two summers with The Daily Journal and went to work fulltime for the Daily Journal in 1972. After five years, he moved over to Otter Tail Power where he put in 25 years in public relations. He kept his writing skills sharp and returned to newspaper work in 2003 with the Pelican Rapids Press. In 2005, Hintgen started his second fulltime stint with The Daily

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 39

Journal and seven years later he retired. But Hintgen is the type of man who was never meant for a rocking chair. Quick of speech and loaded with energy, Hintgen is still pursuing what he enjoys the most — swimming in the waters of community and area activities. Hintgen is working on a book about his special memories of Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. His main source of information has come from his weekly columns in the Daily Journal, which have been running for 16 years. As a lifelong resident of the city and the county, Hintgen can recall events, names, dates and places that would baffle others. The book’s topics will include events from the 1940s through the 1970s. Hintgen was only three years old when the Fergus Falls Red Sox won the Class AA state baseball championship in 1950 behind the pitching of Harley Oyloe. “I don’t remember the game because I was only three years old,” Hintgen laughed. “The only thing I remember is my dad talking about getting stuck in the parking lot after the

game because of all the cars.” Hintgen’s book will include many other memories from sports as well because he has always been an avid fan. One of the sports memories was of NBA superstar Elgin Baylor and the Minneapolis Lakers playing at the old Fergus Falls High School gym in 1960 when local athlete Roland Harlow held Baylor to “only” 40 points over three quarters. As a child of the baby boom, he grew up in a city that also included corner grocery stores, the old Washington Junior High that burned down, a downtown theater, a drive-in theater, Old Smokey Ski Hill and passenger trains that made stops. Some of the county highlights of his book will include a visit by President Eisenhower to Glendalough near Battle Lake in 1952, liquor runs to Foxhome by people because Fergus Falls was a “dry” community and one of the 1960’s biggest rock groups - Paul Revere and the Raiders - performing at the Balmoral Dance Hall on Otter Tail Lake.

Hintgen’s interest in the past is shared by his wife, Sharon, who taught math at M State-Fergus Falls before her retirement. The couple spends time researching family history through ancestry and genealogy links. The Hintgens are currently planning a spring reunion with relatives of Tom’s great-grandparents, who were Irish immigrants and farmed south of Mapleton, ND in the 1880s. While Fergus Falls and Otter Tail counties are home ground it has not kept Hintgen from crossing an item off his bucket list last May. The Hintgens took their son, Mark, to Seattle and back for a visit with relatives aboard an Amtrak train. The trip included a drive along the Oregon coast. Hintgen is an avid reader in addition to his writing work. Some of the biographies he has perused include the lives of presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, basketball’s Elgin Baylor, comedian Bob Hope and television newsman Bob Schieffer. Tom is not the only member of the family still putting in working hours.

Mark works at Meadow Farms Foods in Fergus Falls, Tom and Sharon’s other son, Paul, has worked in Japan for several years in human resources and is bilingual. While the name “Hintgen” is one of the most recognizable in Fergus Falls, it is not all Tom’s doing. His father, Roy, was a co-owner of Hintgen-Karst Electric, a downtown Fergus business from 1926 to 1984. Hintgen also serves on two boards in retirement. He is a member of the Productive Alternatives board and the Preservation Commission for the City of Fergus Falls. With such strong ties to a Fergus Falls that no longer exists, some may suspect Hintgen is out of touch with his hometown today but Hintgen has kept a foot in both the past and the present. “In the old days, the rap on Fergus Falls was that they really didn’t want to change but that has changed,” Hintgen said. “I think at one time they lacked the economic leadership. I think it’s a progressive town today. I think the town has changed for the better.”

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LAKE REGION HEALTHCARE: Providing medical care to the area for more than 100 years, Lake Region Heathcare has a rich history of service in Fergus Falls and the surrounding communities.

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Lake Region Healthcare continues to provide local medical care By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

ake Region Healthcare, one of the largest organizations in Fergus Falls, has been in the community since the early 1900s and has seen many changes over more than 100 years. From its humble beginnings, LRH has grown to be one of Minnesota’s top healthcare organizations.

Early history

LRH’s history starts at St. Luke’s Hospital in Fergus Falls. According to LRH’s website, the building of St. Luke’s Hospital began in 1902 and was dedicated in 1903. Over the years, the original building saw additions and in 1923, St. Luke’s Hospital was approved by the American College of Surgeons having met their the requirements of safety set by the organization. The facility

became a 75-bed hospital in 1939 and was free of all debt by 1947. The second part of LRH’s early history was the Wright Memorial Hospital, also in Fergus Falls, which formed in 1903 after the Wright family offered to build the facility as a gift to the city of Fergus Falls. The hospital opened on January 1, 1906 and was able to expand in 1928.The hospital closed in 1953 when the property was sold to the Otter Tail Power Company. St. Luke Hospital and Memorial Wright Hospital merged in 1951 which marked the genesis of LRH. By 1953, patients from Wright Memorial Hospital had moved into

St. Luke’s Hospital and the two became one organization. Over the years, additions included a tumor clinic and a convalescent ward for children. By 1957, Wright Memorial Hospital was demolished and in 1968, a long-term care unit was added and nurse Nona Hellen began her nearly 50-year long career with LRH, retiring in the fall of 2018. She worked in a variety of units within the hospital, including as the emergency room, medical floor and PACU.

Recent history

By 1975, LRH employed 32 doctors and served 5,000 patients. Between 1973 and

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 41

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1989 many units were added to the hospital including a detox unit, ultrasound diagnostic unit, emergency room, two additional floors, computed tomography mobile unit, new sports medicine clinic, emergency response center, CT unit scanner, mammogram unit, birthing suites, psychiatric unit, and a new operating room. LRH continued to expand its services with the addition of an assisted living facility, the Mill Street Residence, in 1996. LRH’s biggest project began in 2002 with a $7.5 million renovation. With this renovation came a new Center for Rehabilitation 14-bed unit, an updated birthing suite, and an interventional radiology suite in 2004. Internet access became available in 2005. August of 2005 marked the start of

construction for a helipad. December saw the beginning of a $5.2 million renovation and expansion of the radiology and emergency departments. LRH also continued to expand outside of Fergus Falls with the purchase of property for a new clinic building in Ashby for $672,000. In 2007, the construction of LRH’s helipad was completed, as well as the Center for Rehabilitation and SameDay Surgery areas. Many projects were completed in 2008 including, the expansion project for the emergency and radiology department and the remodeling of the pharmacy. One of LRH’s biggest efforts was the launch of the capital campaign to raise $9.6 million to build a comprehensive cancer care center. SEE HEALTH PAGE 42

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HEALTH Continued from Page 41

The Cancer Care & Research Center was completed in 2010.

Last 10 years

Phatty Nattie’s, a group fitness facility, opened a workout studio in the Cancer Care & Research Center in 2012. In addition, a new walk-in clinic was opened on the west side of Fergus Falls. LRH continued expanding in 2014 with the merger of the Barnesville Area Clinic, becoming the fourth outreach LRH clinic in the area, joining those in Ashby, Battle Lake and Elbow Lake. Through LRH’s many years of service, the organization has been recognized for its quality healthcare service. CEO Larry Schulz received the Stephen Rogness Distinguished Service Award by the Minnesota Hospital Association in 2015. In that same year, Schulz joined 11 other appointees to a task force selected by Gov. Mark Dayton to, “tackle questions about financing and operating the state’s healthcare programs, including MNsure and MinnesotaCare,” according to the LRH website. The National Rural Health Association’s Rural Health Policy Institute, iVantage Health Analytics and The Chartis Center for Rural Health named LRH as one of the top 100 Rural & Community Hospital in the United States in 2017. The 2017 edition of the Becker’s Hospital Review ranked LRH as one of the top 100 Great Community Hospitals. Current CEO Kyle Richards, acknowledged the staff of LRH as the organi-

zation’s key to success. “The physicians and medical professionals along with administration share the same common vision and mission which helps keep LRH moving in the right direction as well, which has allowed LRH to recruit so many exceptional physicians and medical professionals,” Richards said. One of these is Dr. Joshua Overgaard. Joining the LRH team in 2014, Overgaard has already seen how LRH stands out. “There are many pieces that have been necessary in our success, of course, but I think what stands out in our commitment to the community. I have witnessed the navigation of several important decisions at LRH in my few years here and I am proud to say that the service of our patients and community is always our first priority,” Overgaard said. “With this focus, we are able to navigate a rapidly changing health policy and medical science climate in a way that shows our commitment to quality care and personal well being.” This commitment is what will drive LRH’s mission into the future. “We are continually looking to the future to ensure we are taking steps to provide what our communities are seeking for their medical needs,” Richards said. “We have and will always be committed to a health care model that puts patients and families first with our staff being the very best at what they do.”

Future plans

Richards said the organization will continue to pursue new technology to provide the best care for their patients. “We are looking at

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LOOKING BACK: It’s hard to imagine what Lake Region Healthcare looked like before it became the large facility it is today. Photos of construction in the 1980s (above) and lobby areas from 1958 (below) help illustrate the history of the hospital. implementing a highly person-centered care model to LRH for patient and families so they can experience the very best from LRH during their most vulnerable times when seeking healthcare,” Richards said. “LRH will also be adding to its highly acclaimed medical staff with several new physicians and new services.” Overgaard said LRH will always be looking ahead. “We are continually looking to add additional specialty care and procedural options that will allow our patients to get the things they need in their hometown,” Overgaard said. He added that LRH also is focused on the wellness of its own employees. “Most importantly, we want all of our patients and employees to enjoy the greatest sense of wellness and vitality,” Overgaard

said. “At LRH I am proud to say we have unusually high levels of provider satisfaction and low levels of burnout for exactly this reason.” As LRH continues to

serve its community, the vision of the future is best summarized by someone who has been there through the growth of one of the nation’s top-rated hospitals. “I

can only see LRH growing and getting better,” Hellen said. “When you have a core of people that are really good, which we do, you can’t go anywhere but up.”

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 43

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A cut above The Parlour on Lincoln continues tradition of neighborhood salon By Mathew Holding Eagle The Daily Journal

neighborhood salon makes people feel good about themselves as well as presentable, from a toddler’s first cut, to a prom or a wedding, and even to a form of palliative care for a longtime customer. Stylists are also privy to a library’s worth of per-

sonal stories shared by clients in good times and bad, celebration and mourning. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly one million people employed in the primary service segments of the beauty market, including stylists, barbers, cosmetologists, manicurists, pedicurists, skin-care specialists and massage therapists.

The popularity of the beauty market is reflected in Fergus Falls with over 20 salons in the city alone. The Parlour on Lincoln, which overlooks parts of the historic riverwalk in downtown Fergus Falls, is a step away from traditional hair salons. Located inside the Riverfront Square in a quaint and cozy suite, The Parlour specializes in giving clients a unique and intimate experience with only two working booths. Andrea Pond, a 13-year veteran in the hair industry, and Brianna Johnson, who’s been doing hair for seven years, both got their

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GENERATIONS: Robbie Olson (left) and his father, Guy Olson II, represent two of the five generations of Olsons which have managed operations at the Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls for more than a century. Pictured on the office wall behind the two men are, clockwise, from top: Guy Olson I, Robert Olson, Guy Olson II and Lars Olson, who started the business more than a century ago.

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done. The fourth-generation mortician and owner of Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls can be sitting down to dinner, hunting, snowmobiling, trapshooting or even sound asleep when his services are required. With his 63rd birthday

approaching in May, Olson is proud to have the fifth generation of his family working with him — his 33-year-old son, Robbie. Guy’s great-grandfather, Lars Olson, emigrated to Minnesota from Denmark where he sold furniture. Once he reached Otter Tail

County he opened a mortuary business in Underwood with the help of his son-inlaw, Conrad Skallman. The business moved to Pelican Rapids and finally to Fergus Falls. Lars was joined by his son, Guy, in 1918. In 1950, Guy Olson I was joined in business

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a Piper Cherokee 180 and they have taken area youth with them on flying trips. “I love to fly,” said Robbie, who earned a B.S. in Natural Resources and secured a commercial pilot’s license at the University of Minnesota-Crookston. He did some work in the natural resources field before going to a career as a mortician, by attending the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. “I always worked for my parents in the summer,” Robbie said. “I definitely wanted to be part of this great community and be DAILY JOURNAL part of another 50 years of FUNERAL HOME: Olson Funeral Home, located at 711 Pebble Lake Road in Fergus Falls, has seen five gener- funeral service.” ations of Olson morticians provide funeral and cremation services. The 1990s were a time of change for the Olsons, who by his son, Robert. Twen- relationship, Robbie has thing every day,” Robbie owned a furniture business ty-eight years later, Guy a deep appreciation of his said. along with their funeral Robbie sets up the schedOlson II came aboard. The qualities and abilities. home business. Bob and his “He’s a caring person,” ules that govern which staff current Robbie has been wife, Elaine, separated the on the Olson Funeral Home Robbie said. “There is a lot members are taking night two businesses with Guy staff since 2014. Like his fa- of knowledge he has that I calls or weekend calls. In buying the funeral home ther, Robbie is a licensed won’t have until I have been most cases, the deceased and his brother, Keith, buyin the funeral home busi- can be removed from the mortician. ing the furniture business. home without a death cerThe two Olsons serve as ness for 30-plus years.” In January of 1995, OlKeeping up with the fu- tificate signed by a coroner. morticians along with Nicki son Funeral Home moved When Robbie is not on Gale-Youngberg, Al Kremei- neral home business is a from the location on Junius er and Lowell Brenna. challenge in itself according duty he likes spending his Avenue near the Otter Tail Elaine Olson, Guy’s moth- to Robbie. He is very aware time outdoors. “My pastime County courthouse to a er, is also on staff as one of of the fact that while many is being outside with my dog brand-new facility on Pebthe state’s longest licensed consider his name synon- hunting and occasionally ble Lake Road. funeral directors with more ymous with funeral home fishing. It’s definitely fun to service, he works with peo- be outside,” Robbie said. than 60 years of service. The Olsons both enjoy While Robbie and Guy ple who have been in the flying as well. They belong have not always seen eye- business much longer. “You’re learning some- to a flying club which owns to-eye in their father-son

“What we have here in Fergus Falls is probably one of the finest facilities between St. Cloud and Winnipeg,” Guy said. “We’re very proud that we’re locally owned.” There are many facets to the funeral home business. Morticians have to know how to deal with the contagious and communicable diseases a body can carry into death. “The human body is an ideal medium for the growth of all sorts of things,” Guy said. But the Olsons also have a duty to the living. “Our primary objective is to help people through grief and death, along with careful consideration of the laws of the state.” When Guy Olson was a senior at Fergus Falls High School, a good friend lost his father. Because he was the son of a mortician, many of his classmates approached him looking for answers to their questions. “Everyone came to me and I found out I didn’t have the answers,” Guy said. That episode started Guy down the road his father had traveled.

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“I think you’re called to helping people,” said Guy. “It’s not something you learn. You just have compassion in your heart. Literally, you have it or you don’t.” Guy and Robbie are dual-licensed morticians in Minnesota and North Dakota. They concentrate on serving families living in a 30-mile circle around Fergus Falls. “All of our energies are spent in taking care of what we have here,” Guy said. Families in the midst of grief can find themselves dealing with funeral problems which are beyond their control. Guy has observed that one of the greatest challenges a family faces is writing a biography of the departed’s life. It is one of the reasons why the Olson Funeral Home staff pursues pre-planned funeral services. When the call comes from a family who has suffered a loss, a member the Olson staff can usually walk into the home and be regarded as an extension of the family. “It’s pretty neat to know that they trust you with their loved ones,” Robbie said.

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PAGE 46 | PROGRESS 2019

Cole: Directing education from the school board By Zach Stich

The Daily Journal

hen looking at a community, a few things stand out. First is the location and the scenery, followed by the employment opportunities. But for many, the most important aspect of a community is the quality of the local education. For over 15 years, Fergus Falls School Board member Melanie Cole has helped direct the school district on its current path. Before joining the school board, Cole was cutting her teeth as a member of the parent-teacher organization. With her children in elementary school, Cole decided to make the leap into elected office. “I wanted to understand better how the decisions for the district are made and felt I had a voice to contribute,” Cole said. “At the time,

I joked ‘I have a high opinion of my own opinions.’” Cole didn’t jump into the mix without some knowledge about what being a member of the school board entails. She met with outgoing board member John Lindholm to ask him about the commitment and experience of the board. When she was elected, Tom Kummrow provided some wisdom that aided her during her first term. Although she received help, much of the process was on the job training. “The terms and processes are unfamiliar and, in my experience, it took me at least two years to find my voice and a couple more after that to have confidence that I understood what I was talking about. It is my experience, both on my own and by observation, that it takes about four years to become an effective board member,” Cole said.

ZACH STICH | DAILY JOURNAL

LISTENING: Fergus Falls School Board member Melanie Cole listens to a report during a school board meeting. Cole has spent 15 years helping direct the Fergus Falls School District in a number of different roles.

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PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 47

Cole, who is the board’s chair, has several responsibilities as a member. Her main duty is running the board meetings, which includes meeting with the human resource director and superintendent a week prior to the meeting to discuss items for the work session and set up the agenda for the meeting. Those are just some of her basic duties, but there are also some special occasions that require different work. “The chair often gets to make comments on behalf of the board at the beginningof-the-year staff meetings and at the graduation ceremony. If there are unusual events, such as a building dedication or an expulsion hearing, the board chair often gets a role in those activities,” Cole said. As a member of the school board, Cole estimates that she spends 14 to 16 hours a month in meetings, studying materials and traveling. During contract negotiations between the district and staff, an additional four to 10 hours a month can be added to the schedule. Cole said other school board members spend different amounts of time on their responsibilities, pointing out that fellow board member Matt Lemke puts in a significant amount of time researching current topics and delving into data dashboards for more research. As a veteran member of the board, Cole pulls on her experience to help answer many of the questions presented to the district. She does admit she gets frustrated when the same topics — “asked and answered” — come up, and uses past experiences in her decision making. One of the main things Cole appreciates is that her

colleagues request her advice in answering some of the harder questions. “The more seasoned board members ask more frequently, as does the superintendent and some of the administration team. I am gratified by their inquiries,” Cole said. Cole’s commitment to the district hasn’t gone unnoticed. Current superintendent Jerry Ness commends the veteran member for keeping in mind what’s best for those who attend schools in the district. “Melanie Cole is a veteran school board member who truly has what's best for students in mind,” Ness said. “She especially has a soft spot in her heart for young children who are struggling. She has a no-nonsense approach that can ruffle some feathers but is very effective because you know where you stand at all times. Melanie is very knowledgeable and well-trained in her leadership roles on the school board, the Fergus Falls Area Special Education Cooperative service and Region 1 education services.” While it hasn’t been easy during her time on the board, Cole is proud of several accomplishments board members have made. They made their way out operating debt, hired current Superintendent Ness and remodeled the secondary school, all during her tenure on the board. “In my role on the board, I have not been afraid to say ‘no’ nor be pressured into the easy way of resolving financial, staffing, disciplinary or community concerns. I believe that has made a positive impact. I am proud that many times people in the community have brought forward issues that need to be resolved, stating they have confidence in me,” Cole said.

PROVIDED

STANDING OUT: Melanie Cole, center, stands with 2019 Fergus Falls School Board members Missy Hermes (left), Natalie Knutson (right), Steve Vigesaa (back, left to right), Kirby Anderson and Matt Lemke. Cole will serve as vice chair in the current makeup. “Melanie has been on the board through some very difficult times – budget cuts and difficult negotiations – and is now enjoying investing in our students and staff so they can thrive. In my opinion, she has been an outstanding school board member for the Fergus Falls Public Schools,” Ness said. Although Cole recently won her fifth term to school board, she feels that it may be her last. “I enjoy this work and feel I have contributions to make, so the thought of not getting re-elected this time sort of scared me. I will continue to be an advocate and be active in the community, but it may be time to adopt a different role for my contributions after this term. I don't know what I will do with those cute campaign signs which my family and friends helped me make in 2001, as I have gotten slightly sentimental about them.”

FERGUS FALLS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The mission of the Fergus Falls Public Schools is to prepare all students to be productive citizens through academic excellence in partnership with families and community in a safe learning environment.

CORE VALUES Integrity · Responsibility · Innovation · Accountability · Respect Enthusiasm · Perseverance - “Grit” 601 Randolph Ave · Fergus Falls, MN 56537 · 218-998-0544

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You Belong Here College is a time to become the person only you can become.

At M State, we believe every student deserves a success story. We strive to help every student see their potential so they can accomplish their dreams. We welcome students from all walks of life, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re confident that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel that you belong here. Every student who attends our college brings along their life experiences, identity and dreams. It would be our privilege to help guide and support you through this next chapter of your life.

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“As a first-generation college student and a 1997 graduate of M State, I know first-hand how grad college helped me shape my dreams into success. this coll As the President of M State, I want every student to rrealize their dreams and experience their success stories in becoming their best selves.” succ Dr. Carrie Brimhall President, M State 1997 Graduate

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PAGE 50 | PROGRESS 2019

LEADING M STATE’S LEGACY

Brimhall goes from student to president By Frances Stevenson The Daily Journal

arrie Brimhall likes to joke that she is the only M State president who can remember sleeping in the dormitories that she can now see from her Fergus Falls office windows. Brimhall is uniquely one of the only presidents of the college that actually attended the college when it was Fergus Falls Community College, from there she continued on to Concordia College in Moorhead. Brimhall was also on board as an employee when the college transitioned to M State. “When I was at Concordia, studying advertising and public relations, I had to do an internship so I came back here to do my internship in the public relations department and I’ve never left,” Brimhall said. “I’ve been here for 21 years in a variety of roles.” With four campuses across the state, Brimhall spends much of her time in her car, driving from campus to campus to supervise Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Wadena and Detroit Lakes. She and her husband live in Fergus Falls, where her kids will grow up. Not being able to be in all four communities at one

time is her biggest challenge as president, Brimhall feels. She estimates that she drives a couple thousand miles a month to give love to each campus, spending more time at the Moorhead site because of its size. “I really enjoy being in all four campuses and their communities,” Brimhall said. “I always say asking me to choose a favorite would be like asking a parent to choose a favorite child.” Only four months on the job, Brimhall is confident in her position because of her age and her history with the college. When attending Fergus Falls Community College, Brimhall never saw herself as president of the college someday, originally looking at being a police officer. She soon realized this was not what she wanted to do and switched to marketing and public relations. Brimhall ended up back at M State working in administration after finishing her degree at Concordia. She believes being young will allow her to be in the position for a long time and give a lot to the college. “Our students think it’s really fantastic because they think, ‘hey, I can be a president too,’ and so it’s a

FRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL

PRESIDENTIAL: M State President Carrie Brimhall, while only on the job for a few months, is confident in her future with the college because of her history as a long-time employee and even a student while the college was still Fergus Falls Community College.

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 51

cool tie-in for our students I went here and that I cared enough to come back and that I stayed,” Brimhall said. Brimhall’s favorite part of working at the college is working with students, mentoring them and learning from them herself. She wants to be able to help her students tell their stories. “I’ve never tired of our work, I’ve never lost sight of the impact that I can have for each day,” Brimhall said. “Graduation is my favorite time of year. I still won’t sleep the day before the first day of the semester.” Director of Student Development Services for M State Nancy South, has worked with Brimhall for much of her time at M State and has great respect for the work she has done in the community of Fergus

Falls and the community of M State. “She values accessible education and is committed to student success,” South said. “Dr. Brimhall believes every student has a story, and their stories have affected and inspired her. Their stories are woven into the M State’s mission.” Connecting the college to the community of Fergus Falls is a priority for Brimhall during her presidency. The problem as Brimhall sees it is transportation for students, who often cannot get off campus because they don’t own cars and primarily eat via their student meal accounts. She is working to get local residents onto campus when possible so students feel more connected. Despite its separation, the town is very supportive

of the campus and its economic effect on the city. “We don’t ever lack support from the community,” Brimhall said. “They know that I went here, they know that I’ve lived here, worked here and so we don’t have a lot of trouble getting excited about what we do.” The population of the local campus is also significantly more diverse than the population of Fergus Falls, 15 percent people of color based on 2017 demographics via M State versus 7.5 percent of residents, according to census data. There are also many non-traditional students at M State, with many PSEO students across the state participating online and in-person and other adults SEE BRIMHALL PAGE 66

Fergus Falls • Battle Lake • Underwood • Rothsay

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STUDENTS: Brimhall’s favorite part of her job is working with students and learning about their individual stories.

PAGE 52 | PROGRESS 2019

From the mountains to the prairies

Local pastor finds a home in Minnesota By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

he path to seminary is different for everyone. For Pastor Ali Haugerud, pastor of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, the help of some helpful people as well as trusting her instincts led this lover of the mountains to find her home in the prairie. Haugerud lives in Fergus Falls with her husband, Neil, and their two children, Aidan, 4 and Micah, 1. Neil is originally from Montevideo and is a stream ecologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in Fergus Falls. The mother of two enjoys being in the great outdoors wherever she is. “I attempt to be a long-distance runner,” Haugerud said. She grew up in Colorado and started making her way toward

the upper Midwest when she attended Wartburg College in Iowa for her undergraduate degree. She graduated with a major in history and religion with a concentration in youth and family ministry. It wasn’t until an unexpected push from a college professor that Haugerud found herself applying for seminary. “The first time somebody said to me, ‘You should think about being a pastor’ was in eighth grade,” Haugerud said. “And I thought that was pretty darn hilarious.” What she didn’t know was how this first mention would continue appearing in her life. “That was when the seed was planted in my brain and heart,” Haugerud said. One of the final pushes came on a Habitat for Humanity trip. “Unannounced to me, (the professor) had scheduled a seminary tour

EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL

HOPE LUTHERAN: Ali Haugerud is the new pastor at Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls. Originally from Colorado, Haugerud has found a love for the lakes and plains of Minnesota. out in Gettysburg (at) one of the Lutheran seminaries during our free afternoon, just for me.”

ST JAMES J EPISCOPAL CHURCH Exists to be the heart and hands of Christ in the community.

SUNDAY WORSHIP 10:30 AM You are welcome to join us

321 Lakeside Drive Fergus Falls, Minnesota 218-736-6736 info@stjamesff.org www.stjamesff.org Find Us On Facebook

• Parking for walkers & joggers, our restrooms are also open Tue-Fri, 10-2 year-round. • Home to “Lake Alice Neighborhood Association” in partnership with the Natural Resource Committee, working hard to improve water quality in Lake Alice. • “Lake Alice 100” activities, the world’s most compact century ride. • Celebrate May Day, delivering baskets & kindness to our neighbors. • “Lake Alice Block Party” - a feast of food, fun & fellowship! • Halloween Treats for all and a warm place to gather. • Servingg snacks for the Lake Alice Winter Karnival.

2019 Gathering Place for Several Cyclone Centennial Commemoration Events - June 19-23, 2019

Her professor’s secret plan paid off and Haugerud decided to pursue a career in ministry and at-

tend Wartburg Theological Seminary. “It just kept feeling more and more like this is where I’m supposed

Grace United Methodist Church 1100 Friberg Ave. • Fergus Falls, MN 218-739-2269

THE GATHERING 8:30 AM THE SANCTUARY 10:00 AM Communion First Sunday COFFEE FELLOWSHIP 9:30 AM GRACE KIDS 9:45 AM (September -May) Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Wesley Gabel www.facebook.com/gracechurchff | graceumc@prtel.com

to be,” Haugerud said. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.” “I think the thing that my story has shown me is how much I need to be in tune with other voices in my life,” Haugerud said. “Because I think it is easy to sell ourselves short and other people see us sometimes more clearly than we see ourselves.” After graduating from seminary, Haugerud first moved to Minnesota with her first assignment. “The way the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 53

works is when you graduate and looking for your first call, you get assigned to a region of the United States. So I was assigned to southwest Minnesota,” Haugerud explained. “My first call was in Morris. That was the first congregation I served. And then I just ended up staying here.” She also preached in Annandale before moving to central Minnesota, taking a position as pastor at Eagle Lake Lutheran Church in Battle Lake. She just recently started at Hope Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls on Dec. 16. After years of living in Minnesota, she has come to love and find a connection to the Minnesota landscape. “I have really come to love the lakes and the prairie. My spirituality before moving to Minnesota was really tied to the mountains,” she said. “Just being out in creation [standing] on a mountain peak is an amazing view that you just don’t get any other way.” Having served at churches of varying sizes, Haugerud has noticed differences between working with a team of pastors compared to a solo call. “A team minister, you end up being a little more specific in what your area is,” Haugerud said. “All of the youth and family stuff fell under my direction. And that way you end up really homing in on the things that you are really passionate about. Whereas a solo call, you end up being more of a generalist. So it’s not that you can’t focus on things that you are passionate about, but you have to make sure all the other stuff is still going be-

cause there is no one else there to cover it.” Haugerud sees her role now as more focused on getting the congregation to take action. “A solo call is really more about empowering the people in the congregation to do a lot of stuff and to take ownership in the church ministry,” she said. “The more staff you add to a church the easier it is to say, ‘Oh, there is staff to do that.’” Looking at her current congregation at Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church, she hopes to take the church forward to a place they all want to go. “I think this congregation is friendly and welcoming. They are at a place where they are ready to look at doing things differently than they have been done in the past. And what that means, we’ll figure out together,” Haugerud said. “I think overall there is an excitement about what that could be and what that could look like. How are we going to listen to God in the midst of this, and listen to each other and listen to the community of Fergus Falls? [We’ll] see where maybe that niche may be for us.” Haugerud also is looking to continue collaborating with other churches in the area. For example, Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church is a part of a combined confirmation program with other area churches. “I think there is an opportunity to do more,” Haugerud said. “We’ll see where the future goes with that. There are certainly a lot of conversations happening and what they may end up being or bring forward, who

knows? But if nothing else, we at least support one another.” What is Haugerud’s favorite part about being a pastor? “I love working with kids and it’s fun to hear their questions and curiosities. Kids ask things that adults would never think of asking,” she said. “The thing I am most passionate about is worship and making worship a time that is intentional and authentic to the community and really prepares us to go out into the world,” Haugerud said. “For the majority of people that go to church, worship is their primary inlet to it. I see part of my goal as a pastor as how can I ZACH STICH | DAILY JOURNAL empower people through FAITH: Pastor Ali Haugerud of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church (above) in Fergus Falls hopes to create worship to live their faith outside of Sunday morn- an authentic worship experience for the congregation that will empower people to live out their faith everyday of the week. ings.”

We are united in Jesus... Joyful in Spirit... Active in ministry. 8:30am traditional, 10:15am contemporary Pastor Tom Peterson

Bethlehem Lutheran Church 102 West Junius Ave. • Fergus Falls, MN (218) 736-5614 • www.bethlehemff.org

PAGE 54 | PROGRESS 2019

PRAY brings together faith community

By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

ooking to fulfill a need, the Pelican Rapids Area Youth — PRAY — was formed to bring together area youth in fellowship, worship and service. PRAY now works to provide activities for area church youth throughout the whole year. PRAY is run by Pastoral Assistant and Youth and Education Director Allen Westby, semi-retired pastor Jeff McCracken and Wayne Woolever. Gary Haugrud is also a recent addition to the team. “The whole concept probably started about 20 years ago and it kind of didn’t work,” McCracken said. “Then 10 years ago, we started getting churches together because of the large amount of (pastor) vacancies in parishes.” The past four or five years, the program has seen more growth and hopes to continue to bring the community together. According to the organization’s mission statement, “PRAY organizes activities and events for area interdenominational youth so as to create Christ-centered and positive peer-based experiences.” As they looked at these vacancies, the group said to themselves, “Maybe one thing we could do together is a youth group,” McCracken said. Haugrud added that it was necessary to go to a group setting because of the diminishing youth group programs at area churches. “With the kids having friends in a lot of other churches, it was natural to go to a group,” Haugrud said. Now there are many churches involved with PRAY and each congregation is asked to take a month and host one event for any student in grades 6-12 in the area. The churches involved include Tonseth Lutheran Church, Central Lutheran Church, Faith Lutheran, Trinity Lutheran Church in Pelican Rapids, Grove Lake Lutheran, Zion Lutheran in Pelican Rapids, North Emmanuel Lutheran, Grace Lutheran in Erhard, St. Leonard's Roman Catholic Church and Calvary Free Lutheran. While the base of the organization is area churches, PRAY welcomes anyone to participate. “Part of the mission is to involve all of the kids, not just the church kids,” McCracken said.

YOUTH GROUP: PRAY asks area churches to organize monthly events for youth groups. These events have included snow tubing, hay rides and lake days. There are a variety of events hosted throughout the year. Past activities have included snow skiing and tubing, hay rides, beach days and more. “We have an event. We usually have worship and devotion of some sort and singing. We always have food,” McCracken said. “We try to have some sort of philanthropic mission,” Woolever added. Various events have asked students to bring food items, hygiene items, coats and mittens, school supplies for high school students and others. “There’s a mission other than recreation,” Woolever said. PRAY events have hosted groups anywhere from 20-100 youth. Though PRAY provides a monthly activity for youth to attend, its purpose is not to replace individual church youth programs.

PROVIDED

COMMUNITY: The administrative board of PRAY works to provide events for area youth that are both fun and have an element of service. Students have collected food and hygiene items, school supplies and more.

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 55

The program encourages each church to maintain its own youth services but realizes that PRAY can bring together the community and provide opportunities for churches that might not have the resources. “That’s the underpinning of why it began. For events to happen like a trip down to Valley Fair,” Woolever said, “we’ll take 70 kids and you know, if we were trying to do this as a rural congregation it would probably fall flat. It would just not happen.” Additionally, PRAY aids in bringing the faith community together as a whole. “Years ago, congregations wanted to maintain their own identity,” Westby said. “So that’s been a little bit of a stigma that we’ve need to overcome. I’ve seen more of a collaborative attitude and atmosphere in the Christian community, in the faith community. I am really starting to see some of that thought process going into the greater church and the greater community.” Looking ahead, PRAY hopes to continue hosting these monthly events while also adding additional programming aimed at topics that would be beneficial for youth. For example, they are looking to put together a program about finances for juniors and seniors and a seminar on suicide and suicide prevention. “What PRAY will do, as decided by the administrative board, is that there would be two approaches to events,” Woolever said. These approaches include regular monthly PRAY events, as well as endorsing outside events through organizations such as the Pelican Rapids Christian Athletes.

PROVIDED

ADMINSTRATORS: PRAY coordinators Pastor Jeff McCracken (left to right), Lay Minister Allen Westby and Wayne Woolever are passionate about providing opportunities for area youth. They hope to offer additional programming to cover topics such as finances for juniors and seniors in school. In addition to adding programming, the administrators of PRAY want to continue laying down a foundation that will be able to last many years. Westby is looking to continue these goals and what they have already started. “I still think we need to slowly grow into it, meaning we can’t just sit inside our church building and expect to reach, not just young people, but anybody,” Westby said.

Westby also is looking to bring the members of the faith community out into the community of Pelican Rapids. Through this, he hopes that the students, “can see pastors or youth directors or congregational members out in the community,” Westby said. “That is a goal of mine; to make sure that we are a presence in the community, in the youth community, rather than grumbling about why aren’t they in church.”

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Zion

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Connected We’re proud to be part of the communities we serve. We value our customers and our relationships. And we’re dedicated to the growth and success of this region as we mindfully ensure a vital, connected future.

PAGE 56 | PROGRESS 2019

Medicare

Home Health Benefit WHAT IS MEDICARE?

Medicare is health insurance for those over the age of 65. Individuals have been contributing funds to Medicare over their lifetime through Federal taxes.

WHAT DOES MEDICARE $ COVER? Medicare can be used to cover home health services with no co-pays: • • • • • •

Physical Therapy Speech Therapy Occupational Therapy Medical Social Worker Skilled Nursing Home Health Aides

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR MEDICARE PART A HOME HEALTH BENEFIT If you meet the following three conditions Medicare will pay for home care services: 1. A person is homebound: • An individual does not have to be bedridden to be considered confined to his/her home. However, the condition should be such that there exists a normal inability to leave home and, consequently, leaving the home would require a considerable and taxing effort. 2. A person who needs continued medical care such as: • Skilled Nursing To understand more • Ongoing Occupational Therapy about your Medicare • Ongoing Physical Therapy Part A benefits, please • Ongoing Speech Therapy contact our office 3. A person is under the care of a physician who 1005 Pebble Lake Road #208 authorizes their home health care plan.

Fergus Falls, MN 56537

218-321-2100 Hours: 8 am-5 pm Monday-Friday

SERVICE: Onboard the Africa Mercy, Kathy Shearon will complete her latest term with Mercy Ships in June.

SHIP Continued from Page 21

At Synstelien Community Services we believe every person is valuable regardless of ability or resources and needs caring relationships. Living out our core values of caring, dignity, teamwork, responsibility, and knowledge we provide caring therapeutic treatment and daily living supports for people with disabilities in the community of Fergus Falls.

Sonja Billings is our

2018 Annual Values Champion Winner

Synstelien Community Services would like to congratulate Sonja Billings on receiving our 2018 SCS Values Champion Award. Sonja is recognized for going the extra mile with the dignity and care she provides. Sonja comes alongside each person in a special way helping them to ﬂourish and experience increased independence. Whether it is sharing a cup of coffee, going out to lunch, or going to church Sonja supports each individual with outstanding service and dedication. It is the excellence that Sonja displays that drives our success.

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any other job on land would be like. Working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with some on-call shifts when needed, Shearon is able to participate in other activities in her free time or go offboard to visit the communities they are serving. On board is an academy for families with children. Shearon also mentioned the ship even has a Starbucks. An important aspect for Shearon is giving more than just free healthcare. “I didn’t want to just give free surgeries,” Shearon said. She said many of the patients they treat have been shunned or ostracized from their com-

munities. “We are able to give them a seat at the table again,” Shearon said. She said the end goal of the organization is to help these countries raise their standards for healthcare, so that the ship and crew will no longer be needed. When asked what some of her most memorable moments on board have been, Shearon said, “I always go back to our really big surgery cases. You might be up all hours of the night. You always get a connection with the patient and their story. You have spent so much time with the recovery or their surgery. It’s just about remembering why you are there.” Though her time on the Africa Mercy will

PROVIDED

end this coming summer, Shearon knows that this will be an experience she will not forget. “The mission is always going to be a part of me,” Shearon said. “There’s always opportunities to come back and serve.” She doesn’t have any plans at this point for what she will do after her two-year term but says, “I am committed to being on the ship until the end of June. After that we will just have to see what happens.” Mercy Ships has volunteer opportunities for mariners, IT professionals, school teachers, dental assistants, PICU nurses and more. Please see www.mercyships. org/volunteer for a complete list of available volunteer opportunities.

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 57

PAPER Continued from Page 19

employees at The Journal. We are all vested in the success of our business and community.” The newspaper isn’t just a news source for the community, it’s also a part of it. Many employees are part of civic organizations, do-

nate to nonprofits and lend their time to improving the communities they’re in. “We give freely of the staff to organizations during work hours, such as Habitat for Humanity, The Fergus Falls Chamber, the YMCA as well as any other nonprofit that requests time,” Moe said. But while the employees of the newspaper look to

develop and improve communities, The Journal realizes that they wouldn’t be where they are today without the support of the community. “Our readers and advertisers are our stockholders. Without them investing in The Daily Journal, we would not exist. We have readers that have had

The Daily Journal in their homes for generations. We have advertisers that have used The Daily Journal to connect our readers to their business since they opened their doors. We are grateful that they trust in us to report the news and inform our readers of their products and services,” Knapp said.

Although there have been changes to the newspaper in recent years, The Daily Journal continues to evolve with the trends and needs of the community. Whether it’s providing content in print, online or by video, the media source strives to capture Fergus Falls and the surrounding area for many years to come.

1963 11997856 THROUGH THE YEARS 19978 200 Celebrating

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PAGE 58 | PROGRESS 2019

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Outstate Brewing: Craft beers and community By Zach Stich

The Daily Journal

rafting the perfect brew has been a passion of Patrick Lundberg for a number of years. As the two friends conceptualized a new venture — Outstate Brewing Company LLC.

A brewer’s journey

The idea was born from the duo’s passion for brewing craft beer of “the highest caliber,” and a strong sense of community support, and local and regional pride. Lundberg first discovered his passion for craft beer after drinking a pint of Otter Creek Brewing Company’s beer in the early 1990s. The Middlebury, Vermont, group’s brands were different from the commercial brews on the market and the focus was on good times with good friends and family in a responsible community atmosphere. After moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2001, Lundberg’s journey from connoisseur to creator hit a tipping point. Lundberg met his neighbor, Mike Cothran, head brewer for the New Belgium Brewing Company for over 16 years, and immediately struck up a friendship. Through this relationship, Lundberg recognized a desire to create his own craft beer. Returning to Fergus Falls in 2010, Lundberg began to brew his own craft beer in his basement. “His personality and skill set uniquely qualify him for success in the manufacturing of great beer through his work ethic, knowledge of the

brewing process, recipe creation, mechanical reasoning, and the ability to fix nearly anything that breaks or needs improvement,” partner Dan Mohagen said. As his passion continued to grow, Lundberg reached out to Cothran in 2015 to discuss how to take his home-brewing operation from basement to brew house. Cothran provided volumes of information that would need a few years to percolate before Lundberg dove head first into the craftbeer industry. In 2016, Lundberg started interacting more with Mohagen through a working relationship, as well as a nonprofit ministry that both were a part of. With Mohagen providing taste-testing and encouraging Lundberg, the duo set out in 2017 to turn this passion into a business. Creating a business plan, meeting investors and securing funds through lenders have turned this dream into a reality as they will open summer of 2019.

Location, location, location

With their business plan and financial structure in place, Lundberg and Mohagen set out to find a place that would help the brewery thrive. Both agree they wanted the brew house located in Fergus Falls and pursued options to have it downtown, near the Otter Tail River. “Fergus is our home and we love it! We have seen the decline of certain businesses in our area and feel strongly that we want to help spearhead change and a strong sense of community pride. Unfortunately, some atti-

KALEB ROTERING | PROVIDED

OUTSTATE BREWING: Members of the Outstate Brewing Company LLC team Kaleb Rotering (back left to right), Dan Mohagen, Peder Lundberg, Pat Lundberg, Solveig Lundberg and Maren Lundberg (front) pose for a photo during an event. Mohagen and Pat Lundberg partnered through their passion of craft beers to create the brewing company that will be based in Fergus Falls. tudes have become negative and defeatist. We desire to be a voice of positivity and progress,” Lundberg said. With location in mind, the partners found a spot of land located near the Red River Flour Mill at 309 S. Vine St. The plot of land was a perfect spot that allows for a scenic view but gives craft-beer aficionados a proper setting. “We didn’t want to get too set on a spot, because if we didn’t get it we still wanted to move forward,” Lundberg said. “But the more we worked at securing the site, the more important it was for

us to have the brewery built there.” The location, as Mohagen sees it, is also key to helping revitalize the downtown area of the city. “It was important to be a part of the downtown culture of Fergus Falls and we really had our hearts set on being a part of the local efforts to revitalize the Otter Tail riverfront,” Mohagen said.

The operation

With the plan getting off the ground this winter, Lundberg and Mohagen are putting their nose to the grindstone to make this a

destination for those interested in craft brewing. Outstate Brewing will have 12 beers in their taproom, with six of those brands being their “staples.” The taproom will also have three seasonal selections that will rotate every three months and three additional taps designated as experimental brews. “The idea is to have an opportunity to showcase potential up and coming new brands that use a variety of different ingredients,” Mohagen said. That won’t be the only thing offered in the taphouse

as the duo looks to create a family friendly atmosphere. Offerings of homemade sodas and craft coffees will also be available, while the partnership looks to work with local restaurants and food trucks to provide tasty wares to their guests. Mohagen and Lundberg will also engage live musicians and entertainers to frequent the establishment to create a unique vibe and atmosphere. They will also have yard games and a campfire to build fellowship between guests. Outside of the taphouse,

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 61

PICTURE OF THE FUTURE: A 3D rendering of the Outstate Brewing Company’s building and taphouse. Construction on the building’s foundation began in February. Outstate Brewing will be distributing its “core beers” in cans throughout the area. “Our goal is to have a fantastic, approachable India pale ale, a very quaffable and well-balanced pale ale with a light lager rounding out the core roster,” Mohagen added. The group will also be on tap in several local establishments. With several community members excited to see and be a part of the operation, the brewing company will begin slow. In their first year, Outstate Brewing looks to employee an eight-person staff. Mohagen and Lundberg each hope to employ more, roughly 25 people, as the business expands. “We are taking it one day at a time, of course. We are excited to continue investing in our local and regional community. Our conversations have spanned decades into the future. We are, after all, dreamers and our goal is to share the experience of greater Minnesota,” Lundberg said.

Ethos of the brew

“The ethos of Outstate Brewing Company is founded on relationships and a deep commitment and pride in our community. With that in mind, we plan

to spend marketing dollars advertising and promoting our local farmers of hops/ grains and malt houses, as well as sharing the story of the people and places that make lakes country and the “Outstate community” great. If you live here, it’s home and you love it. If you’re not from here, you want to be here … even if just for a long weekend,” Mohagen said. While it is a business, both Lundberg and Mohagen want to create something special in Fergus Falls. When asked what’s been the driving force behind the small upstart Lundberg said, “The joy of creating something special that we get to share with our community has kept us going. We love this place and can’t wait to host our whole regional community by providing them space to gather and enjoy our brand. Outstate is, after all, an experience and celebration of everything greater.” “Through the support of our community and partners, this dream has come true. In that spirit, we have decided to dedicate a 2.5 percent share of our business to invest annually to projects in Fergus Falls and Otter Tail County at large,” Mohagen.

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A PLACE WITH A VIEW: A view from across the river where Outstate Brewing Company’s building and taphouse will be. Mohagen and Lundberg both explained that it was important for the company to be near the river and downtown Fergus Falls.

PAGE 62 | PROGRESS 2019

Overcoming the odds: Robertson runs winding roads of Fergus Falls By Mathew Holding Eagle The Daily Journal

ny time an athlete with a disability competes for the purpose of destroying stereotypes, it has the power to inspire others while also changing the perceptions of what others like them are capable of. One such athlete is Arne Robertson, 42, who lives with a mild cognitive impairment, calls the winding roads and rolling landscape of Fergus Falls’ neighborhoods his training ground. “Being out there and running, just trying to do some things

that other people may not have the capability of,” said Robertson about what motivates him to run. “I’ve talked to one person and he’s like ‘Well, I could never imagine running 13.1 miles but Arne did it.’ And one of my teachers when I did a marathon she’s like ‘Ah, I didn’t think Arne can do a marathon. Well he proved me wrong.’ I’m not trying to prove people wrong. I’m just trying to influence people by saying ‘hey, people with disabilities, they can do it.’” Robertson, originally from PROVIDED Wheaton, became inspired to CONTINUED PURSUIT: Arne Robertson, right, stands with Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor at the 2015 Fargo Maratake up running in 2013 while thon. A Fergus Falls resident, Robertson continues his running pursuit, overcoming his disability.

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attending the Fergus Falls Lake Region Run. A few days later, after some careful reflecting, Arne committed to give running a try, although he admits it was a slow process. Today Robertson’s resume includes everything from 5Ks to three marathons, two of which he completed. He also credits running with being therapeutic for his mental health as well as strengthening his overall physical health. Since taking on running, Robertson has been documenting his journey through social media and on occasion he live streams Bible-verse readings while adding his personal insights through something he calls “Arnecam Devotions” on Facebook. One person Robertson credits with inspiring him to use social media as well as taking up running is M State’s student life director, Dave Jensen or just “Jensen” as Robertson affectionately

refers to him. Jensen has known Arne for about seven years, having first met in the parking lot of Arne’s former job at Walmart. After discovering they attended the same church, Jensen took Robertson under his wing during Roberton’s early running career. “As far as competitive running goes, some would say that Arne is a little late to the game, but he doesn’t let that phase him,” Jensen said. “He simply runs for the love of running and the joy of being a part of the running community. He loves representing what’s possible when someone grabs hold of a passion and runs with it _ no pun intended.” Jensen added that finishing times and medals are all secondary to Robertson: “From the fastest elite runners, to the casual joggers, the running community has embraced Arne for his passion and transparency.” Jensen, an accomplished

competitive endurance athlete in his own right, takes pride in the role he’s played in the evolution of Robertson’s running career. “It makes me feel really good to know that I played a small part in Arne’s transformation. I’ve raced at a pretty high level, but inspiring Arne means more to me than my own accomplishments,”Jensen said. As for Robertson’s future plans in running, he said there’s some bucket-list races that he’d like to do but those don’t come without challenges because he can’t drive himself to the events. He said he’s going to try to learn to take the bus. Robertson would also like to meet with his social media followers because it’s important to him. “Running’s not easy all the time. Sometimes I finish last and to me it’s like it’s not about the finish time, it’s the finish line. You’ve accomplished something many other people have not done.”

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STAYING HEALTHY: Robertson has competed in several different races including 5Ks and marathons. Robertson sees running as therapeutic for his mental health as well as strengthening his overall physical health.

PAGE 64 | PROGRESS 2019

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ommunicating for Agriculture’s Exchange Program may be the hidden gem of Fergus Falls. Sitting front and center on Lincoln Avenue, it is one the oldest organizations in Fergus Falls and least talked about. The exchange program has been sending young farmers, ranchers and horticulturists across the world for 20 years, building skills

and developing cultural experiences. Want to meet the new face of agriculture? Head to Ashby Appreciation Days in July and meet some of the young folks working for our future. The Communicating for Agriculture Exchange Program began in 1985 with Milt Smedsrud, a Norwegian-American farmer. Four CAEP exchange visitors came to America from Denmark in 1986 starting what is now the largest agricultural exchange program in

the world. Today, the closest exchange visitors live and work in Wilkin County. CAEP has exchange visitors from 69 countries across the world, placing these visitors in farms, vineyards, factories, and other agricultural facilities across the United States. The exchange program also sends young American farmers to countries all over the world to learn about agriculture, horticulture and other cultures. Coordinator for CAEP,

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 65

Maja Behrens, loves bring- the goal of the program.” Applicants are intering young adults from all over to the U.S. to viewed via Skype and after learn not only about ag- they are accepted, their riculture but about the applications are passed U.S. and our customs. on to hosts who review The exchange visitors them and create a plan for are all required to be col- their exchange visitors. “They have to fill out lege-educated, in college, an application online or in an apprenticeship and then we select peoprogram in the subjects ple and interview them in which they are going to via Skype and then once work in their CAEP internwe select a candidate we ship, and be between the go to one of our hosts and ages of 18 to 28. The visitors mostly live on their they review the applicaown and are connected to tion and see if that’s the hosts, the farmers, agricul- kind of person they would like to host,” Behrens said. ture plant or winery with According to Behrens, a whom they are working. lot of farmers and ranchers “We want them to come, come from Brazil, as well learn about the United as France, and the program States and then go back has recently started placing and tell the good stories volunteers from Africa. Preabout what the U.S. people viously, CAEP had difficulare truly about, not what ties getting visas for African you read or see in a movPROVIDED ie,” Behrens said. “That’s SEE AG PAGE 67 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIPS: Founder of CAEP, Milt Smedsrud, with one of the first exchange visitors with CAEP to visit the United States.

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BRIMHALL Continued from Page 51

taking classes as well. “Our students have a lot of stories to tell about their experiences in this community,” Brimhall said. “Our community desperately wants to connect with our students but there isn’t really a way to do that right now. So I think the college can take a leadership role in bringing the life experiences of our students as educational and also as welcoming. We will continue to become more diverse as a community and the college has a role in leading that in a way that’s positive.” Brimhall’s life still remains fairly hectic, teaching yoga at the YMCA at 5 a.m. and taking care of her

FRANCES STEVENSON| DAILY JOURNAL

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AG Continued from Page 65

exchange visitors but that has changed in the last several years. “We bring quite a lot of people from Africa now, to learn the skills they can take home and, we hope, better their community,” Behrens said. “When we have people from what we call economically-challenged countries, they need to prove that they will be returning home, (something) called hometie evidence. And that is sometimes hard to gather for someone who doesn’t have anything.” The Fergus Falls Communicating for Agriculture office is the headquarters for the exchange program with coordinators in Boston and Kentucky. Most visitors stay in the U.S. for three months to a year, the average being 10 months. “To get the full insight you want to see one cycle, whether its crops or livestock,” Behren said. “You want to see one year with live-

stock, you want to see one season with crops. You want to see a harvest of grapes. We like our participates to go for a season.” While the exchange program for foreigners visiting the U.S. is fairly popular, the program that sends American farmers abroad has been less popular, according to Behren. For young, educated farmers, this program offers an opportunity to go abroad and learn about a host of other cultures while continuing their agricultural education. Every year, 120 of the exchange visitors gather during Ashby Appreciation Day on the Smedsrud farm to camp and celebrate their experiences. The visitors also spend time in Ashby and with its residents. Getting to know rural Americans is how CAEP expands the amount of people who want to host a exchange visitor in the U.S. “It’s word of mouth. We don’t really do a whole lot of advertising,” Behren said about the local, U.S. hosts.

MULTICULTURAL LEARNING: Exchange visitors from all over the world in Ashby for Ashby Appreciation Days.

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Ness retires after 40 years as an educator By Frances Stevenson The Daily Journal

erry Ness entered the Fergus Falls School District at a critical point in 2005 as the new superintendent while Fergus Falls was coping with financial and enrollment issues. Today he sees his 13 years as superintendent as a success and prepares for his retirement. Before accepting his role at the Fergus Falls School District in 2006, Ness worked as the superintendent for West Central Area school district, previously working as a principal in the same school district. Before West Central Area, Ness worked as a teacher in Wisconsin and Herman. Ness started his educational career as a substitute teacher in Aitkin in 1979. When Ness started at the school district, the district was looking to put together a bond referendum to update several of the school buildings. “We were spending so much money out of our general fund to maintain the buildings, we needed a bond referendum to move the district forward to pay for the facilities,” Ness said.

When the bond referendum passed, the school district was able to prevent spending money from their general fund. While renovations took place at Kennedy Secondary School, students were shuffled to different buildings so day-to-day operations could continue while the new school was built. “And then the fun work comes and you have to do all the planning,” Ness said. “We had to move everyone out of Kennedy over to Roosevelt so we had all of our middle schoolers there and we had our sixth graders over at Eisenhower. So there was a lot of transitioning until we could come to Kennedy the fall of 2010.” Fergus Falls did not have much faith in its school system around this time according to Ness and many families were enrolling out of the Fergus Falls school district. “There wasn’t a lot of confidence and a lot of trust in the school district,” Ness said. “Our facilities weren’t good, we had monetary problems and enrollment was decreasing.” When the bond referendum finally went through

DAILY JOURNAL

INCREASED SUCCESS: Fergus Falls Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Ness explains the growth in enrollment the district has experienced to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar at a meeting in 2017. Ness will retire after the 2018-19 school year. and they were able to update several of the buildings, enrollment at Fergus Falls public schools increased. The students who are currently fifth-graders were the first class to have higher enrollment numbers according to Ness. “Every single class following that has increased or

Jennifer Fronning, Jackie Formo, Lisa Workman, Steve Guttormson, Jamie Wallace, Sean Sullivan, Dan Karst, Sandy King, Jean Bowman, Mike Van Voorhis, LeeAnn Barnett, Brenda Knutson. Not Pictured: Jeff Ackerson, Lynette Gaustad, Annabelle Lee, Dave Neese, Kris Wilke.

been at that level too. Right now our kindergarten class is 215,” Ness said. Ness is proud of his accomplishments at the school district and that he is leaving the district in a good place. When deciding to retire, he felt 40 years was a nice round number to complete his career in education.

When Ness took the position of superintendent in Fergus Falls he was surprised the town held the position in much higher esteem than he’d seen in other districts and he thus felt he had a large role to fill. Ness sees the position of the superintendent as a sort of business person for the school district

belong. connect. succeed.

and the person who removes barriers for teachers and educators who work directly with kids. Ness is particularly proud of his mentoring program for new teachers. One of the issues facing the school district and school districts across the country, is that many teachers are at retir-

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take a trip to Glacier National Park and Banff, Canada next fall when students are going back to school. Ness says, they’ll just “see what happens.” “I think things are going well in the district,” Ness said. “I feel comfortable that we as a district have been to move from where we were to where we are now. Now is a good time for someone new to come in and move the district forward.” The Fergus Falls school board will be in charge of finding a new superintendent before the beginning of the 2019-20 school year. Over the last few months before his retirement, Ness will be working to leave the district in the best condition, as well as reminiscing about his favorite moments of his career.

ing age and there is an influx of new, young teachers entering the school systems. As a way of integrating them into teaching at Fergus Falls, Ness gave them each a mentor. “It has really been very helpful with retaining teachers and getting them in sync with what we are doing,” he said. Ness said he will not be involved in hiring the next superintendent, but he is helping recruit folks he thinks may be good for the position. “Education is a people business,” Ness said. “Being able to work with students keeps you young. Ness doesn’t have plans for his retirement, a concept that he says, has confounded a few people. Ness and his wife plan to move to their family cabin as their retirement home and decompress. They also have plans to

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MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

GETTING THE WORK DONE: Floyd Christianson, along with job coach Natasha Wick, works his day job at Northern Contours through Productive Alternatives. Productive Alternatives works with 45 businesses in the area with 80 consumers receiving active and/or employment support in Fergus Falls.

Productive Alternatives: Creating strong bonds through working relationships By Mathew Holding Eagle The Daily Journal

reating your neighbor with dignity and respect is the moral fabric that binds a community together — the

strength of the bonds determined by a collection of relationships both working and personal. Nowhere is this ebb-and-flow illustrated more than at Productive Alternatives in Fergus Falls, a “nonprofit organization

that helps people with disabilities discover their gifts, earn supportive wages and live life to their full ability in the community.” Since 1959 Productive Alternatives has been providing services that in-

clude: employment preparation, job placement, community assessments (job tryouts), competitive employment and extended employment. “We provide services based on the needs of the

individual. It may include job coaching for the full shift, part of the shift, or just follow-up services to checkin and make sure everything is going OK. Transit Alternatives is part of Productive Alternatives and we

can help arrange for rides to and home from work,” said Kris Hovland, a Productive Alternatives case manager who's been with the organization for 21 years. “To be referred for services, individuals must contact

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 71

MATHEW HOLDING EAGLE | DAILY JOURNAL

MIXING IT UP: Christianson mixes glue while working for Productive Alternatives at Northern Contours in Fergus Falls. just such a positive person.” Wick isn’t the only one that’s felt the positive effect Christianson has had on others while working at Northern Contours. “He’s always in a good mood, he’s got a good personality, he’s friendly and says ‘Hi’ to us every morning. He’s a good guy,” Delayne Kugler, a supervisor at Northern Contours said. Productive Alternatives prides itself on giving everyone an equal chance at happiness by strengthening the bond amongst the community and the residents of Fergus Falls are lucky to have a neighbor like them. “The most rewarding part of what we do is to help the individuals we serve maintain their employment, to help them earn a paycheck and meet their long-term goals,” Hovland said.

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their dishwashing job. Now after a number of training courses, Wick is a job coach herself and says she likes how diverse the job can be. While Christianson is employed through Northern Contours, working exclusively there, Wick, on the other hand, is assigned her schedule based on where she’s needed as well as prior work experience. For example, if a customer needs assistance working in a kitchen setting, Wick’s prior experience is an invaluable asset. “I like working with my consumers, I also like the fact that I can go out in the community like Home Depot, Walmart, all these other places, MnDOT, Trinity and it’s not actually me employed there, I get to try out all these different places to work without actually being employed there,” Wick said. Another welcomed benefit of working as a job coach for Wick has been the strengthening of her interpersonal relationships as well as a newfound respect for the little differences that make everyone unique. “I think the benefits of getting our vulnerable adults out into the community and getting the people out in our community to know that they’re able to do things too, it’s not just them getting out to go work at one of the factories we have going on, they’re able to get out into the community and it shows that they’re just like everyone else,” Wick said. “I love Floyd, he’s such a good worker, he’s always ready to go, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with him, he’s

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the Minnesota Workforce Center — Rehabilitation Services Branch. There will be an orientation and paperwork to complete. If determined appropriate, a referral for services is made to PA.” According to Hovland, in Fergus Falls alone, Productive Alternatives is currently assisting around 80 consumers with active and/ or employment support services. The organization also offers a day training and habilitation program serving 66 consumers in the city along with branches in Perham, Parkers Prairie, Brainerd, Moorhead, Alexandria and Little Falls. In and around Fergus Falls, Productive Alternatives works with approximately 45 businesses including Northern Contours, a company that manufactures wood, veneer and thermofoil cabinet doors and components for commercial and residential industries. One customer Productive Alternatives assists with his job at Northern Contours is Floyd Christianson, who with the help of job coach Natasha Wick, mixes glue that sticks the veneer to the wood, an integral step in the company’s manufacturing process. Christianson added that “Chopping the veneer and visiting with co-workers,” is his favorite part about working at Northern Contours. Wick, who’s been with Productive Alternatives for four years, was first exposed to the idea of job coaching while working the kitchen at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy, where she saw a Productive Alternatives member assist a consumer with

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PAGE 72 | PROGRESS 2019

Namaste: Yoga studio turns up the heat

By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

n ancient practice yet gaining popularity recently, yoga is being practiced by people all over the world today. With many benefits — physical, emotional, spiritual — it’s not surprising that yoga has made its way to Fergus Falls. What is unique is that Fergus Falls holds a hot yoga studio, a commodity that often appears only in large cities. Jenna Johnson, a yoga instructor and owner of Namaste Hot in Fergus Falls, hopes she can provide everyone with the opportunity to take a hot yoga class and enjoy the benefits that it has to offer.

Johnson is from Grand Forks, North Dakota but has lived in many places around Minnesota. Johnson met her husband, Brooks, while the two were in high school. They have two daughters together and moved to Fergus Falls when they began thinking about where they wanted to raise their girls. With connections to people at Hillcrest Academy and Inspiration Point Camp and Retreat Center, the two “heard really good things about Fergus,” Johnson said. But before moving to Fergus Falls, Johnson was a stay at home mom who always had an interest in EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL fitness. However, her interHURDLER: Owner of Namaste Hot, Jenna Johnson, holds a Hurdler pose, in the hot yoga studio downtown Fergus Falls. est did not extend to yoga.

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“I’ve always been into fitness. Yoga was never my jam,” Johnson said. She decided to try an at-home yoga video by Jillian Michael and found that it wasn’t too bad. Johnson then attended a yoga class with a friend who approached her after to discuss with Johnson becoming an instructor herself. The rest is history. “It was amazing how I felt afterward. Just bringing that mind-body connection together for the first time,” Johnson said. “You don't realize how much stress you hold onto until you actually do a yoga class and give it a chance.” After that class, Johnson began working toward becoming an instructor. She is now certified as an instructor in sports yoga, vinyasa yoga, has 200 hours of experienced yoga training, and is a certified personal trainer. Johnson had been teaching yoga at Anytime Fitness and the Fergus Falls Area Family YMCA for awhile but felt like she needed to take a big step. She did some market research to see if

opening a hot yoga studio would work in this area by offering classes at the Bigwood Event Center for one month. She discovered that “there was a really big market for hot yoga in this community,” Johnson said. Seeing the potential for hot yoga, Johnson, “just took a leap of faith and everything really did fall into place. It was a blessing. I really think that God opened some doors for us. It was just way too easy of a transition from being a stay-athome mom to owning my own business.” She opened the doors to Namaste Hot in downtown Fergus Falls in June of 2016 and has seen several months of success and growth since then. Johnson was the only instructor at the beginning of her new business but she has since hired a few other instructors to split the workload. What is hot yoga exactly? It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Take a regular yoga class an EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL

SEE NAMASTE PAGE 89

NAMASTE HOT: Jenna Johnson, owner of Namaste Hot, opened the hot yoga studio in 2016 in downtown Fergus Falls.

PAGE 74 | PROGRESS 2019

Community staple Wilkin Drink & Eatery still going strong for over a century

ZACH STICH | DAILY JOURNAL

WHERE EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR NAME: The Wilkin Drink & Eatery creates a unique atmosphere for the community of Breckenridge. Providing regular pub fair, as well as calzones, steaks and other favorites, the restaurant has made its home in Breckenridge since 1896.

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hen searching for a place to get a delicious lunch, dinner or just a place to hang out with friends and family and have a few beverages, the Wilkin Drink & Eatery is one of the main stops for those in the Breckenridge community. Located at 508 Minnesota Ave., the local restaurant isn’t just a blip on the restaurant scene in the city, but a staple that has left a lasting impression. The Wilkin, originally began as a hotel,

store, restaurant and bar. Established by Anton Miksche, an Austrian emigrant, the Wilkin began to carve its niche in the community as a place to stop, trade and have a bite to eat. The road to restaurant relevance took Miksche a few years to establish as he emigrated from Austria to New York, then Chicago, Stearns County and finally to Wahpeton of the Dakota Territory. After getting settled, Miksche opened the Wilkin, creating what would be a long-standing business. The restaurant continued its success throughout the 1900s as it saw seven generations of the Miksche family guide the

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FAMILY-OWNED: Owners Tom and Peggy Materi purchased the Wilkin Drink & Eatery in 2002. The restaurant and bar had been in the hands of the Miksche family since its inception, and the Materis continue the tradition of a family-run business. business through several national historic events. The business survived Prohibition and the Great Depression, and even saw the closure of its hotel in the 1960s and an addition in 1989 that expanded the overall seating in the restaurant. But in 2002, the Miksche family handed over the keys to current owners Tom and Peggy Materi, who have continued to provide the service and delicious food and beverages that have become a standard in the community. Tom, who worked as the restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chef, wanted to bring back â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Old World charm and rekindle the memories of good times past.â&#x20AC;? When walking into the Wilkin, the atmosphere stands out. A comfortable feel emanates from both the dining room and bar area. Booths and seating made from wood create a warming aesthetic. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; really fun to work and serve our clientele,â&#x20AC;? Cuyler Materi, son and manager at the Wilkin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We also get a lot of people that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that are coming through town. Our clientele is what makes our business successful and the job fun.â&#x20AC;? Cuyler has been work-

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he 1990s brought an unusual challenge to the small town of Pelican Rapids. Several factors converged to bring to the city refugees and immigrants, unprecedented in the town of 2,500 Scandinavian descendants. In 1971, Howard Carlson, the manager of West Central Turkeys, decided the solution to his staffing problem was to take a bus down to Texas and bring up workers, primarily Mexican-Americans. For Carlson, this worked out well as the plant built a dormitory and the workers returned spring after spring, eventually bringing their families up to Pelican Rapids when the plant decided to run all year

long, constituting the first wave of immigrants. Carlson took a lot of criticism from the community of his choice to bring Mexican workers up to Pelican Rapids from Texas. Carlson died in 2018 but his words are immortalized in Joan Ellison’s book, “The Faces of Change.” “It isn’t any different today than it was 100 years ago. The only difference is today they aren’t the same color or the same size and don’t speak the same language. The needs are the same, and hey, we’re a lot better prepared to help them now than they were a 100 years ago.” In the 1990s, the turkey plant sponsored a Bosnian family of refugees at the behest of Denise Gubrud who saw the crisis in Bosnia at the Omarska Camp and felt

Pelican Rapids needed to do something to help. When the family arrived in Pelican Rapids, the community was asked for anyone who spoke Servo-Croatian and other Slavic languages to help out. That was when Ellison got involved and she now says it changed her life. “For a long, long time the (people at the) turkey plant said ‘this is our job,” Ellison said. “We train them how to work. We teach them that you have to come in on time, but it’s the community’s job to teach them how to live in the community.” Ellison’s children had been learning Russian and as a family, decided to volunteer with the Bosnian family. As it turned out the family did not speak any Russian, but the Ellison family started

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 77

getting to know the Bosnian family and continued to work with them as they settled into Pelican Rapids. Around the same time, Pelican Rapids Lutheran Social Services started placing refugee families in town, bringing more Bosnian, Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees into the area. Soon several languages were spoken all over the town and the Scandinavian descended residents started to feel impacted. Ellison, along with two other young mothers, Dianne Kimm and Johanne Christianson, decided to start working on the issues that arose with the refugees and immigrants in town. They met at one of two restaurants in town and people brought them issues the town was facing, the genesis of the town’s Multicultural Committee. “We knew enough people that we could just say ‘we’ll talk to so-and-so’ so we became a problem-solving group and then it just sort of built,” Ellison said. “How do we fix things? How do we change minds? What are the needs of this refugee population?” At first, the issues were more drastic, like getting people places to stay, beds to sleep on and transportation. The committee and

FRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL

TOWN: The small bustling town of Pelican Rapids is like most small Minnesota towns, with a few extra special businesses such as the Mexican and Somali grocery stores. town worked to get refugees who had little-to-nothing housing and clothing. Then, they worked toward getting English courses started at both the school and library. Today the issues the Multicultural Committee faces are much different, often more about perception, like how the town sees its now second- and third-generation immigrant families and also how the town is seen by others as a multicultural center in an area where ethnic diversity is lacking. Brent Frazier, mayor of Pelican Rapids for the last four years, grew up in Peli-

can Rapids and worked for the city for 37 years. Frazier remembers when the city started changing in the 1990s. “Over the years, diversity has truly increased here in Pelican Rapids. (The immigrants) have integrated into our community, particularly into our school district,” Frazier said. “What you see in Pelican Rapids now, although we are a small town, is what you see in the world. Diversity is spreading throughout the world. We don’t have our little pockets of nationalities throughout the United States like we

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His dark brown hair has turned gray and he sports a full mustache. At 69, Goltz has settled into the life of a gentleman sportsman. He still does his share of hunting in the fall and this winter has found him teaming with his younger son, Brandon, for ice fishing runs down to Ten Mile Lake. The 6-foot, 5-inch Rothsay native is actually living his second retirement. He retired from major league baseball in 1983 after playing 12 seasons with three major league clubs — the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels. A pitcher, Goltz put in eight seasons with the Twins and posted a 20-11

record in 1977. He was sixth in the American League Cy Young Award voting that year after pitching a whopping 303 innings. Goltz was a four-sport athlete for Rothsay High School competing in track and field, baseball, football and basketball. The Twins liked his potential and signed him to a contract when he was 17. Other teams interested in the big right-hander were the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. His trip to the majors and Metropolitan Stadium led through parks in Sarasota, Florida, St. Cloud, Charlotte, North Carolina, Tacoma,

Washington and Lynchburg, Virginia. When Goltz was not playing minor league baseball he was serving with a U.S. Army Reserve unit in St. Paul or attending Moorhead State University. Goltz struggled early in his minor league career with arm problems but pitching in southern climes chased those away. He was invited to spring training by the Twins for the first time in 1970 and joined the big club for good in 1972 after ace lefty Jim Kaat broke a bone in his hand while sliding into base. “Kaat’s break was my SEE GOLTZ PAGE 80

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 79

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GOLTZ Continued from Page 78

BRIAN HANSEL | DAILY JOURNAL

CELEBRATED: A recent thrill for the 69-year-old Goltz has been being included in a book celebrating the 50 biggest moments and players in Minnesota Twins baseball history.

break,” quipped Goltz. After going 3-3 for the Twins in 1972, Goltz found himself back in Tacoma when the 1973 season started. When the Twins broke camp that spring they decided to keep Dick Woodson on their roster instead of Goltz. A tough start caused Woodson to lose favor with the Twins and they brought Goltz back. He went 6-4 that year and pitched in 32 games. He never returned to the minor leagues. Goltz did not know a losing season in his eight years with the Twins from 1972 to 1979. He won 96 games and lost 79 and posted a 3.48 earned run average. Goltz tested the free agent waters in 1980 and landed in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. Tommy Lasorda’s club was loaded with pitching and Goltz found himself pitching in a five-man starting rotation. It was not a good fit. With the Twins, he had pitched in a four-man rotation and his arm had always been a little tired. That tiredness caused his pitches to sink and made him more effective. Pitching every fifth game with the Dodgers, a more-rested Goltz saw his record fall to 7-11. While his second season in the National League saw Goltz notching a 2-7 record, it also produced a World Series championship ring. Goltz pitched in two games for the Dodgers in their World Series showdown with the New York Yankees and found himself in the winning clubhouse after the Dodgers won four of six games from New York. Goltz played his last two seasons for the California Angels. One of the best things about the move back to the American League was how long it took him to drive to his home park in Anaheim. Driving to Dodger Stadium usually took him the better part of an hour. Anaheim was 10 minutes away.

Goltz went 8-5 for the Angels in 1982 and helped his new club with the American League West. Goltz earned the mound victory in California’s division-clinching win over Texas. By 1983 he knew his baseball career was over and he came back to Minnesota. “I came home and for a year I did nothing,” Goltz recalled. “I spent the whole summer at Otter Tail Lake.” Goltz was lured back to work by Doug Kingsriter, who had played tight end for the Minnesota Vikings before starting his own real estate company. Goltz sold real estate or insurance around the area until retiring in 2015. Goltz spent a couple of springs helping coach college baseball but his main contribution to athletics turned into following the busy athletic careers of his three children - Darren, Alonna and Brandon. Both Darren and Brandon played baseball like their father. Brandon suited up for the Fergus Falls Community College and the North Dakota State Bison. He played two years for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks and earned himself a championship ring that Goltz claims makes his World Series ring look small. Goltz still follows the Twins and the Vikings but he is not the “diehard” he used to be. Following his kids through their athletic careers satisfied his thirst. “We went through 44 seasons,” Goltz said. The sports bug has been passed to another generation of the Goltz family. Dave and Sheri have four grandsons in Brainerd and St. Cloud and they all compete. One of the recent thrills for Goltz was finding himself on the pages of a recent publication called “The Big 50” honoring the men and moments that have made up some of the biggest memories of the Minnesota Twins since they moved to Minnesota in 1961.

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 81

Goltz has rubbed shoulders with some of Minnesota’s greatest baseball players — Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva - and has pitched with and against some of the best hurlers, including Jim Palmer, Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Frank Tanana and No-

lan Ryan. Yet to Goltz these baseball stars are just as human as anyone else. “We bleed just like they do and put our pants on the same way,” Goltz said with a grin. Goltz sees baseball being played a lot differently than when he was in the majors. It’s not a game that appeals

that much to baseball purists. Goltz has noted that home runs seem to matter much more than the hitand-run and the bunt. Bearing down on 70, Goltz is looking forward to retirement years that demand the least of him. “I’ll probably do as little as possible,” he smiled.

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experience, not just for those who move here but for those who have lived here our entire lives. We learn about different cultures.” Frazier said he doesn’t see a lot of issues with the diversity of the town as it pertains to his position as mayor. He is also a member of the Friendship Festival committee and the Multicultural Committee, which are separate from the city and do much of the work to bring the different cultures in the community together. Today, the multicultural committee meets regularly for their diversity dinners where families from all over the county meet to create relationships within the community and share a potluck meal. Suleeqo Nuur came to America and Pelican Rapids with her family from Somalia in 2007 when she was a child by Nuur’s brother, already living in Pelican Rapids. Today, Nuur is a nursing student at the Fergus Falls M State campus. She was connected to Ellison last year when she was asked to join the Friendship Festival committee, a group attempting to bring back the old multicultural festival that ended several years prior. After joining the committee, Nuur took on the role of

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INCLUSIVE: Pelican Fest in Pelican Rapids continues to include all cultures in the city. connecting the Somali population in Pelican to the festival, often translating for businesses and residents, signing up groups and getting people excited for the festival. “I started last year,” Nuur said. “I mainly focus on spreading the word to the Somalis about decorations, getting the food for the Somali restaurants and translating. Last year, I translated the mayor’s speech.” She said she translates any document the city asks her to in order to spread it through the community. The Friendship Festival with dancing, food and more from multiple cultures represented in the town was successfully re-launched last year. The group meets regularly as it puts together the 2019 festival.

There are less Bosnian, Vietnamese and Cambodian families in Pelican Rapids today as many moved on to other places in the U.S. after their children grew up. Pelican Rapids still has a large Hispanic community, along with a large Somali community. Many of the families move to the city to work at the turkey plant or because they have family in town. According to Nuur, Somali families tend to come directly from Somalia or refugee camps in Kenya to Pelican Rapids. It is known that Pelican Rapids is a welcoming community for Somalian people. Today Pelican Rapids looks very different than the towns surrounding it and English is just one of the many languages spoken by residents.

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Henning Landmark Center looks back at 10 years By Frances Stevenson The Daily Journal

itting on the stately main street of Henning, the Henning Landmark Center opened its doors to the public in 2009 to serve as a cultural art center for the small town of Henning. In 2019, the center will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Daniel Broten is the director and sole employee of the Landmark Center and has been since 2015. “That’s part of what I’m trying to do is educate people about what we do here and that it is basically available for anyone,” Broten said. “So we try to make it welcoming FRANCES STEVENSON | DAILY JOURNAL and let them know what opSNOWY CENTER: The Henning Landmark Center sits on the main street in Henning, a cultural center for the town. tions they have for what can

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be done.” The ornate landmark center building, that sits on the main street that runs through Henning, was originally the home for the town’s doctors and was purchased and restored by the Espeland Family Foundation, formed by Art and Clarice Espeland, and gifted to the city. In 2009, the nonprofit opened as a dedicated arts and community center. “My job basically is managing the building, planning events and seeking grant funding. We’re only officially open three days a week,” Broten said. “A lot of the grants that we do get are through the Lake Region Arts Council out of Fergus.” One of the most unique

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PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 83

parts of the Landmark Center is its retreat center, a five-bedroom area on the top floor of the old home where those participating in retreats can stay overnight. The center is also open for community weddings or funerals where folks may need a bit more space or a homier feel. “We’re not a hotel, we’re not a B&B,” Broten said. “We're licensed through the health department to have up to 10 people here overnight. It’s mainly for a family in town that has a wedding or a funeral or a family reunion and they need some extra space.” Broten noted its use for overnight guests is in conjunction with the Landmark Center’s events or other community events. Throughout the year, the Landmark Center serves many purposes, primarily to bring arts programming to the Henning area for free or reduced pricing. Some of the programming includes painting classes, blacksmith demonstrations, glass blowing, reading and writing groups and more. This past summer, they were able to expand their arts workshops. “Outside the building, we have this two-car garage space that we have converted into this workshop area,” Broten said. “Last year, we got grant funding to buy a kiln. So, we have a ceramic kiln out there. Last summer, we had a ceramic artist out there do some ceramic workshops.” The Landmark Center also functions as sort of a makeshift second community center for Henning. One of the goals of the Espelands when they donated the building to the city was to create a space where people could come to SEE LANDMARK PAGE 84

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COMMUNITY: The Henning Landmark Center hosts a retreat center upstairs for important visitors to the town (above). Director of the Center Daniel Broten stands with artwork made by community members who have taken classes at the Landmark Center (below).

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PAGE 84 | PROGRESS 2019

LANDMARK Continued from Page 83

DANIEL BROTEN | FOR THE JOURNAL

ART CLASSES: Community members observe an instructor demonstrate clay working skills during a Henning Landmark Center course.

read and use the internet. The building has free WiFi and a small library. Coming up at the Landmark Center were two holiday community events, Santa Day and “A Magical Medora Christmas” show to be held at Henning school. Santa Day is held every year at the Landmark Center and is put on by the Henning Chamber of Commerce. Mr. and Mrs. Claus appear in Henning to chat with kids and families about Christmas and the Espeland Bank provides a lunch. This is the third year “A Magical Medora Christmas” show will be in Henning after some lobbying from a Landmark Center board member in 2016. The cast of the show stays in the Landmark Center’s retreat center,

and in 2017 and 2018 used the Landmark Center as their home base as they put on shows across the Lakes Country area. “They were a little skeptical at first. It’s a little town, they thought can we even get 300 people. We had 700 so they were very impressed,” Broten said. “They liked the little-town feel that we have and the warmth of the crowd and the fact that they could stay here, which was a nice break from a hotel.” Broten is excited for the 10th anniversary and has begun planning some celebratory programming. While nothing is yet set, the programming will most likely focus the special parts of Henning, its history and art exhibits that highlight those topics. “Everyone realizes what a unique facility to have in such a small town.”

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WILKIN Continued from Page 75

The sandwich selection also gives a plethora of choices as chicken, cod, beef and a veggie burger are available. When looking for something different, the Wilkin offers pizzas and calzones. Available in the evening, the restaurant provides plenty of options for both regular and flatbread pizza, as well as customization. The calzones are all customizable as they each start with a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheeses, red sauce and dough and offer customers 24 different additions to the delectable eat. Although the restaurant climate has changed, the Materis say the palates of its customers hasn’t. “Food tastes have not changed much in our area. They are still meat and potato-type customers,” Tom said. Something that has changed has been customers preferences toward alcohol. “Craft beers and ciders are more popular now. We have also noticed there are less latenight drinkers,” Tom concluded. The Materis present 10 different tap beers and an assortment of bottled beers for guests to wet their whistle. This is also accompanied by a stocked bar of liquor and a vast array of wines. Since taking over, the Materis have seen a lot of ups and a few downs. While the business has found success in the community, the owners have navigated the increase in labor costs since purchasing the business over 15 years

ZACH STICH | DAILY JOURNAL

FESTIVE: The Wilkin Drink & Eatery decorated for the holiday season in December with patrons enjoying conversation during their meal. The restaurant sees community members and travelers stop in for some food and beverages in any season. ago. Tom said the cost of labor has increased both for the front of the house and the back. But the Materis otherwise have found a strong staff and great community support. In being supported by the Breckenridge community, The Wilkin has also helped give back. “We serve the ones who support us by providing school support, hosting benefits, local club meetings and even emergency wedding receptions,” Tom joked. Cuyler stated

that they do several donations each year, usually benefiting the Breckenridge and Wahpeton Schools. “We try to keep things local. We sponsor and cater several events and we like giving back to those that support us,” Cuyler said. “Community is first. Without that, there would be no need to be in business.” So, what lies in the future for the business? “We would like to address the

need for outdoor seating someday,” Tom said. There has also been talk about expansion as the Materis hope to add to the Wilkin’s aura. Culyer mentioned that everyone has encouraged them to add a rooftop patio, but sees the potential of adding a patio on the side of the building. The Materis hope to continue building the family tradition set by the Miksches as their children have also been involved in the restau-

rant. Cuyler has aspirations of one day taking over the family business. “Being a family business is really awesome. Hopefully, we can keep it in the family as long as the Miksches’ did,” Culyer added. While many restaurants have come and gone in the Breckenridge area, one thing seems to be sure — the Wilkin will continue providing great local dining, delicious food and a place to meet those you care about in the future.

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PAGE 86 | PROGRESS 2019

American Legion Post 312 gives back to community By Zach Stich

The Daily Journal

ommunity involvement is paramount to being a strong and lasting organization. The hard work, volunteer work and donations benefit both the group and the city. At nearly 100 years of operation, the Fergus Falls American Legion Post 30 knows the importance of being there for its community and members. The American Legion national organization began after World War I in 1919 and ZACH STICH | DAILY JOURNAL held its first convention in COMMUNITY LEADERS: The Fergus Falls American Legion Post 30 provides flag service at the Fergus Falls High Minneapolis with over 35,000 members and 360 posts. Post School Veterans Day program. In just 2018, Post 30 has given over $16,000 to 30 different programs or events.

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30 was the second legion post to gain charter on May 10, 1919 and continues to thrive today as it has over 300 members. “We encourage all veterans to become a member of the American Legion,” commander Rick Wilson said. Much like the members’ service to the country, the American Legion continues to make a difference in their communities. According to Wilson, Post 30 is very active in its support of numerous organizations, causes and events. The American Legion provides donation support to a number of causes including boys’ and girls’ state - an ora-

torical competition — at the local district, state and national levels, as well as funding for youth activities like American Legion baseball, facility support to the Fergus Falls disc golf course, DeLagoon soccer complex and American Legion baseball field, Minnesota Veterans Home, the Salvation Army, the United Way and others. “We determine donation amounts based on what the request is for and who will benefit from the donation. We prioritize veterans programs, then youth programs for both boys and girls, then community requests,” Wilson said.

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The money that the Post 30 donates to the different causes comes from its charitable gambling program. Wilson stated that 100 percent of the money earned from games such as pull tabs and bingo go directly back into the community. The money isn’t just limited to groups and organizations but it has also created scholarship opportunities for area students. “When bingo and pull tab activity is strong, our giving power is better,” Wilson added. In 2018, Post 30 gave over $16,000 to more than 30 501(c)3 organizations who requested donations for their program or event. While donation is just one aspect of community service, Post 30 also provides flag and ceremonial services to honor veterans. The American Legion helps place flags along

PROVIDED

GIFT OF A BOOK: The Fergus Falls American Legion Post 30 donates and lends their time to several different causes in the Fergus Falls community including donating books to elementary school students. Lincoln Avenue during national holidays, “honoring the men and women who served this country,” and also provides the Color Guard in conjunction

with the VFW firing squad for funeral services of veterans, Memorial Day and Veterans Day program. The American Legion will also place flags on the graves of

veterans in several cemeteries for Memorial Day. “The Motto of the American Legion is: ‘Veterans Serving Veterans’ and by helping, we honor all veter-

ans through continued service to the community by providing opportunities for area veterans and youth,” Wilson said. While donations and military ceremonies are in other locations, several events take place at its base at 2010 Pebble Lake Road in Fergus Falls. Post 30 has a restaurant open for lunch and dinner with the group’s ribs being well known throughout the city. “Many community and business organizations in the area hold meeting and events at the Legion where/when space is available,” Wilson added. Although these are just a few of the ways that the American Legion Post 30 helps out the community, Wilson mentioned that they are always looking for new ideas that will help

veterans and the community. And they are open to having volunteers help out with events. “We are always open to members, their families and the community whether a veteran or not to volunteering at events when help is needed.” Community involvement is important to not only Wilson, but to the entire organization. These unselfish acts create the foundation that the American Legion was built on. “The four pillars of the American Legion are veterans affairs and rehabilitation; national security; Americanism; children and youth. By Post 30’s involvement in the community, we show that we support these pillars. Through giving to others we show our support for our community, state and nation.”

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local salon and forging a bond that resulted in their current partnership. “Our goal was never to have a big salon,” Pond said. “We actually went into this for quite the opposite and it’s kind of odd and rare because if you want to make more money behind the chair as an owner, you need a big salon with a bunch of booth renters. For us, it was always about having a place that was comfortable and where our clients felt comfortable.” For any stylist that’s worked in the industry long enough, at some point the work transcends being just another job as clients grow and go through different stages of their lives. For Pond and one female client in particular whose hair she’s done since high school, the job changed over the years, from doing her hair for prom, her wedding and eventually giving her client’s first child his first haircut. “It’s pretty incredible that we get to be involved in a lot of milestones, watch families and children grow, and we get to have a relationship with our clients,” Johnson said. “I love that people choose us to be a part of some of their most important days, like their wedding day.” It’s not to say the client-stylist relationship doesn’t come without challenges, especially when life happens. For Pond, it happened a few years ago when she had five clients, all women, diagnosed with some form of cancer in the same year. “I had cut hair off some-

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A LOOK INSIDE: The interior of The Parlour on Lincoln in Fergus Falls is welcoming to clients looking to build relationships and trust with their stylists. The owners expressed the need for comfort when planning their business model. body who knew she was going to lose her hair. She cried and I cried with her. It was tough, it was hard, you just kind of learn to be quiet and listen,” Pond said about the experience. Pond said she witnessed a lot of “triumph over tragedy” as all five women went on to survive their battles with cancer. Pond’s most poignant time behind the chair came by way of a 90-year-old client and mother of 10, as she came to terms with the end of her life. “She had known for a while as well as her family that she was going to pass, and what was unique about that was to be able to not just hear her, but to listen to her, because she was doing a lot of reflection at the end and she was giving me little nuggets of knowledge that you don’t actually think about until you’re at that stage where you’re reflecting on your life,” Pond said. “I told her

I would come to the funeral home and do her hair. She kind of looked at me in the mirror and I was like ‘Um?’ She wasn’t going to hold me to it but when that day came I thought ‘either I’ll be able to do it or I won’t,’ and I was pleasantly surprised when I did it. And did it easily because I think in that situation knowing her as well as I did, it was closure for me. It was the one gift I could give her that I know was important to her. I know she was probably looking down at me smiling when she saw me walking in there with my curling irons versus some stranger.” Pond said she refused pay for the job saying it didn’t even cross her mind in that situation, “That was just an act of love and because I cared about her.” Later after the funeral Pond went to pick up a to-go order and when she walked into the restaurant at her feet she noticed a

$20 on the ground in front of the counter. “I think if you knew me, you know I’m the type of person that loses $20. I never find $20 and if it wouldn’t have been exactly that day, I probably wouldn’t have thought about it. So in a roundabout way, I had a smile on my face. I motioned to the girl behind the desk and she said ‘Well, it’s not mine.’ She rang up the food, I paid with the $20 and walked out with a smile because in a way she (her client) did pay me after all, even if it was just buying a burrito.” If life is about the journey, it’s good to have neighbors who care and to share it with. “What’s great about doing hair in a small town is you’re part of people’s lives, that personal touch is what gives people security when you’re doing hair,” Pond said. “You watch people change and go through life … you really do.”

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 89

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ing that much, in the winter especially.” But more than anything, “It’s a great place to unwind and have time for yourself,” Johnson said. What does the future hold for Johnson and Namaste Hot? She is considering

turning the studio into a place to train yoga instructors, but no official plans have been made. For now, she hopes to continue seeing growth in her business with more people giving hot yoga a try.

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place it in a heated studio. Johnson explained the different ways to heat a hot yoga studio, comparing forced heat and infrared heat. While some studios utilize forced heat— which heats the air — Namaste Hot uses infrared heat from the ceiling panels. “We infrared heat everything in the room, so your muscles are targeted. You get an all-around even heat that is better for your body,” Johnson said. “It’s like a big, warm hug when you walk in.” In addition, the humidity of the room is controlled depending on each class. Johnson related hot yoga to traditional yoga with an analogy comparing one’s muscle with a rubber band. “If the rubber band is cold and you try to stretch it, it's going to not stretch and might just snap. With the infrared heat, it penetrates into your muscle. You’re able to stretch a bit further. It’s more comfortable,” Johnson said. Namaste Hot offers a variety of yoga classes, all with varying heats and intensities. Classes include Hot 1, a beginner-friendly class in a vinyasa style flow and Hot 2, another vinyasa class that works better for those with yoga experience. Other classes offered include Hot Stretch, Hot Sculpt, Scorch, Restorative Vinyasa Flow, Hot Series and Firelight Vinyasa Flow. What sets Johnson's classes apart from others? The emphasis on Finyasa Flow. “I will always flow you there. I try to get us into a good workout, too, and engage that core,” Johnson said. “It feels good to see what your body is capable of and once you finally hit those poses

PAGE 90 | PROGRESS 2019

Perham’s Sitting Pretty compliments other stores in the neighborhood By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

he stars all seemed to align when Leah Monson and Shawna Rose met. Combining their strengths, the two recently opened the boutique, Sitting Pretty, in Perham. The two women have a vision of maintaining a store that has something for everybody and every body. Rose and Monson met at Rose’s other store in Ottertail, Shawna Maries Boutique, but their connection

goes back long before that. They explained they were “raised in the same house but at separate times in our lives,” Monson said. “My parents purchased my family home (where they still live) from Shawna’s parents.” Both graduates of Perham High School, the two clicked right away. Monson began working for Rose one summer when she was home from college and needed a job. “We worked really well together and I loved getting Leah’s opinions on things,” Rose said.

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Always dreaming of bigger things, Rose and Monson had their eye on the current location of Sitting Pretty for a long time. After talking about the potential of opening a store there, they found out the space was available last fall and had to make a quick decision. “We could have easily said ‘it’s not the right time,’ but I think we would have kicked ourselves,” Monson said. They decided to trust their instincts and got the keys to the building on Dec. 1, 2018. Just two short weeks later, Sitting Pretty was open. Sitting Pretty offers a wide selection of contemporary women’s clothing in a wide range of sizes. “We very much want to be able to have something here for every body. Everybody and every body. We have small through 3XL,” Monson said. “That’s our number one goal; when someone comes in here, they can find a few solid pieces to try on if not bring home. “There is nothing more

EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL

PARTNERSHIP: Fate seemed to bring Leah Monson (left) and Shawna Rose together. These two friends are now co-owners of the newly opened boutique, Sitting Pretty, in Perham. rewarding to hear when you are standing at the counter,” Rose said, “than ‘I am so pleased to shop this store because it has a variety of sizes. It is so amazing to come to Perham and find a plus-size shirt that makes me look good and feel good because it is stylish and not just a basic T-shirt,’” She continued, “It makes me even more eager to go to market to find even more stylish pieces.” The market is where store owners can see the poten-

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almost everything in the store,” Monson said. “A lot of people, I didn’t realize, don’t know how to buy an outfit,” Rose said. “I guess that’s why we do what we’re doing because we have the vision.” Monson or Rose greet customers as they walk in the door. “Greeting your people when they first come in is really important,” Rose said. Many other items are available in the store as well. The “KLN Corner” has a selection of Kenny’s Candies and

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PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 91

dog food from Tuffyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pet Foods, both local businesses. The partnership between the businesses was established by the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former tenant, but Rose and Monson found it to be an easy choice to continue the partnership. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It really was a no-brainer,â&#x20AC;? Rose said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just one extra thing to come into our store for,â&#x20AC;? Monson added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun to partner with another company in Perham.â&#x20AC;? Additionally, Sitting Pretty also has a variety of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accessories and quirky gifts for many holidays and occasions. Rose said they really wanted to â&#x20AC;&#x153;find our own little niche that Perham doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have and I think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done that.â&#x20AC;? Another high-priority item for the two was to open a store that worked within the local residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; budgets. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We decided Perham has a lot of very nice stores here but we wanted to be budget-friendly,â&#x20AC;? Rose said. The two focused prices to create a shop that can last year around. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wanted to sell a whole outfit for under a $100 instead of just one

piece. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to compete with any other stores in town, we wanted to compliment.â&#x20AC;? While Rose has owned her own store in Ottertail for many years, Monson didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always plan on owning her own boutique. Graduating from University of North Dakota with a degree in social work, Monson found herself falling in love with the boutique business when she first started working with Rose. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just what I fell in love with,â&#x20AC;? Monson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A degree is something they never take away from you. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve definitely learned a lot of interpersonal lessons that I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t trade for anything.â&#x20AC;? Maintaining a store in an area that thrives on tourism can be difficult, but Monson and Rose have made it through arguably the hardest part of the yearâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the middle of a Minnesota winter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We did catch a good holiday season,â&#x20AC;? Rose said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The challenge now is to be more savvy with social media and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where Leah is so good. We say all the time that where Leah lacks, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m better. Where I lack, Leah is better.â&#x20AC;?

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PAGE 92 | PROGRESS 2019

Laying a foundation: Underwood High School helps build homes By Emily Carlson The Daily Journal

very high school offers standard classes such as math, science and history, while many others offer courses in specific trades like carpentry. But not all schools include a class where students can build a house with their own two hands. Underwood high school is one of those schools.

Carpentry class

Underwood High School has been offering a carpentry class in which students help build a house since the mid-1980s. Chad Gronner is the current instructor for the class and took the same class when he was a student at Underwood high school. The class runs for two semesters and is offered during two class periods, although students are not required to take both class times. Students in 10th-12th grade are eligible to take the class. Gronner said the class is capped at

EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL

CARPENTRY: Underwood High School’s carpentry class is busy working on the interior projects of the house they are building. Starting in the fall, the class has the school year to complete as much work as they can on the home. 20 students. For the 2018-19 it,” Gronner said. “We have a quickly as we can to build the putting up the interior walls, school year, there are 18 stu- short time frame before win- floor system, the wall and the insulation, sheetrocking, indents in the first class period ter hits to get it enclosed.” roof systems before winter stalling windows and doors, and 10 in the second. Starting from the foundation hits,” Gronner explained. and more. A plumber and “Basically, we have from and moving up, the carpentry Once students can move electrician are hired to comSeptember until May. So, class’s first goal is to get the onto interior projects, they plete appropriate tasks. “But the school year to work on house enclosed. “We move as will complete tasks such as the kids can help, help with

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the process, see how the process works and see all the details that go into it,” Gronner said. As soon as spring comes, the students will head back outside to put up siding on the exterior. Gronner, who has been teaching the carpentry class at Underwood for 16 years, has led his students to build 12 houses in that time. Other years, they have build sheds, playhouses, fish houses or whatever else was desired by the community. “But the house project covers so many more trades in such a much larger project,” Gronner said. “The curriculum kind of lays itself out for the whole year compared to doing smaller projects that take a month or two and then you’re back to square one.” The houses built by the class are typically pre-sold to home buyers in order to include the buyers on some of the design choices. “The last seven of the houses we have built have been pre-sold,” Gronner said. “All we regulate is the overall roof pitch

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 93

ner said. “A big challenge of mine is finding students who can do that.”

Future skills

Gronner encourages students to take the class for many reasons. One of these is to be able to use these skills in the future. “I always tell kids that this is a great class to take in high school,” Gronner said. “It’ll give you some experience in the field of carpentry or building trades. It’s not necessarily to make you money in the future, but to save you money.” Knowing what goes into each element of building a house gives these students EMILY CARLSON | DAILY JOURNAL the inside scoop on pricing. CONSTRUCTION: Starting from the foundation and working their way up, the carpentry class does nearly They will also be able to do all of the work on the house, minus the plumbing and electrical work. some home-related projects on their own in the future. and the overall size. It has to with it many challenges. his third year of taking the “You’re going to be able to be something we can work Weather is one of the biggest class and has had to work do a little bit of remodeling with and, again, get enclosed hurdles to overcome. “This through some of these diffi- yourself. You’re going to be by Thanksgiving.” Buyers can past year we had a terrible cult situations. “We’re roof- able to do some building help choose the floor plan, fall. Probably one of the top ing when it’s snowing out and some repair work yourlocations of windows, sid- two worst falls in the 14 years and that’s never fun,’ Bleess self instead of having to hire ing styles, colors and more. I’ve been doing this project,” said. Bleess brings his own a handyman or a contractor Gronner furthered that he Gronner said. A testament to experience of working in every time you need somedoes prefer to have the hous- this difficult winter, Gronner construction to the class thing done,” Gronner said. es pre-sold. “I’d much rather admitted that this year they along with his fellow class- With this also comes the build something for some- missed their deadline of en- mate, Dustin Leitch, who ability to know if a project is body and they get what they closing the house by Thanks- is taking the class for the being bid at a fair price. want than having to compro- giving. “We could literally see first time this year. Gronner Students take the carpenthe snow coming as we were praised the two students for try class for many reasons. mise,” Gronner said. shingling the roof this year,” their contributions to the Bleess and Leitch both said Gronner said. class. “Finding the self-start- they enjoy working on differChallenges Eli Bleess, a senior at Un- ers. These two guys are very ent tasks every day. “I don’t Tackling the daunting task of building a house can bring derwood High School, is in good at self-starting,” Gron- like working on the same

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thing over and over and over,” Bleess said. “I like something different every day.” Leitch added, “I like building hands on. You do something one day and you’re moving onto something the next.” Both students are planning to continue their education beyond high school to become diesel mechanics. Gonner is confident that they will be able to use the skills they have learned in his carpentry class into these fields. “These guys will find that a lot of those skills that are in carpentry will cross over to mechanics and vice versa,” Gronner said. “The mentality is very similar, what it takes to be good at one trade and good at the other as well.”Taking this class in high school also provides an opportunity for students to make mistakes. “Mistakes are some of the best ways

you learn. These guys are going to learn that,” Gronner said. “You can mistake without getting fired or without having to take the wrath of a boss. And hopefully, prepare them to do better in their own jobs and careers in the future." Building a house is no small feat and the carpentry class at Underwood High School is working hard to complete this year’s build. “There are over 400 high schools in Minnesota and as far as I know, only 50 or so build houses,” Gronner said. This unique class is providing students with a variety of skills that they can use for many years to come. Many of the houses that are built are still in the Underwood area giving students the chance to see all of the hard work they have contributed for years to come.

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PAGE 94 | PROGRESS 2019

ADVERTISER INDEX 1st National Bank- Henning................................... 83

Coldwell Banker-Linda Stoll.................................... 75

Flamingo Glass ...................................................... 59

A Center For The Arts............................................ 59

Compassioncare.................................................... 27

Frontier Powersports LLC ...................................... 35

A Place To Belong.................................................. 31

Cooper’s Technology Group............................. 18, 58

Gate City Bank ...................................................... 44

Accra Home Care-Service Management....Cover Page

Cora’s Closet ......................................................... 21

Gateway Building Systems.................................... 38

Advanced Storage.................................................. 10

Cornerstone Countertops ..................................... 65

Glende-Nilson Funeral Home ................................... 1

Ag Country Farm Credit Services............................ 37

Country Store ....................................................... 59

Grace United Methodist ........................................ 52

American Federal Bank.......................................... 19

Cullen’s Home Center ............................................. 3

Grant County Herald ............................................... 7

American Legion Post 30 ...................................... 86

Culligan Soft Water ................................................ 6

Grant County Lumber ........................................... 12

Americinn Motel.................................................... 15

Dairy Queen........................................................... 39

Great Clips ...................................................... 59, 91

AMP Insurance....................................................... 45

Dan Johnson Construction.................................... 68

Great Plains Natural Gas ................................. 58, 66

Anderson Land Surveying ...................................... 59

Design Intent Architects........................................ 11

Greater Fergus Falls ..................................Cover Page

Apple Tree Dental................................................. 28

Dorn & Co. ........................................................... 33

Guardian Crop Insurance ...................................... 37

Ashby Living Center............................................... 88

Double A Catering ................................................ 43

H & R Block ........................................................... 72

Bakken Insurance .................................................. 20

Ecowater Systems ................................................. 58

H.A. Thompson & Sons ......................................... 64

Ballard Sanitation .................................................. 81

Edward Jones .......................................................... 8

Lake Region Healthcare ............................Cover Page

Barker Insurance Agency ................................. 14, 58

Edward Jones—MacKenzie Barry .......................... 93

Habitat For Humanity Fergus Falls ......................... 21

Battle Lake Boathouse ........................................... 87

Ellis Insurance Agency ............................................. 7

Haley Oil ................................................................. 6

Battle Lake Good Samaritan................................... 82

Elks Point .............................................................. 92

Hastings Law Firm ................................................. 17

Battle Lake Liquor Store......................................... 85

Everts Lumber................................................. 57, 84

HD Boutique......................................................... 64

Bethel Lutheran Church......................................... 53

Farm & Home Oil .................................................... 7

Henning Landmark Center .................................... 83

Bethlehem Lutheran Church.................................. 53

Farmers Agency .................................................... 12

Henning Public School .......................................... 82

Beyer Body Shop.................................................... 58

Farmers Elevator Company Pelican Rapids ............. 37

Hilltop Lumber ................................................ 59, 76

Bill Ingebrigtsen..................................................... 18

Farmers Elevator ................................................... 57

Jayme Mace Family Dentistry.................................. 31

Bjorn’s Heating & Air Conditioning..................... 5, 58

Fergus Falls Chamber of Commerce ................ 57, 68

Jewel Motel .......................................................... 58

Bobcat of Otter Tail County.................................... 59

Fergus Falls Daily Journal........................................ 96

John’s Heating ...................................................... 14

Bremer .................................................................... 2

Fergus Falls Downtown Riverfront.............Cover Page

Keller Williams-Carlson/Pettit ................................ 90

Brian’s Repair................................................... 59, 92

Fergus Falls Lodging-Country Inn & Suite......... 58, 87

Kevyn Heck Insurance Agency............................... 41

Bud Nornes............................................................ 39

Fergus Falls Monument.......................................... 35

Knute Nelson Memorial Home .............................. 32

Business Service of Fergus Falls .............................. 14

Fergus Falls Public Library........................................ 5

Knutson Electric .................................................... 17

BW Integrated Systems ........................................... 9

Fergus Falls Schools ......................................... 47, 57

Knutson Lawn Service ..................................... 36, 59

Calla Lily Designs............................................. 59, 66

Fergus Fast Lane ................................................... 16

Kraning Jewelers ................................................... 58

Carlson SV............................................................. 20

Fergus Goodyear ................................................... 44

Krekelberg Skonseng & Miller ............................... 16

Century 21 Vista.............................................. 59, 62

Fergus Locker ........................................................ 41

Lake Region Electric Co-Op ............................. 58, 77

City of Ashby......................................................... 88

Fergus Falls Community Food Shelf ....................... 22

Lakeland Mental Health Center ............................. 34

City of Elbow Lake................................................. 13

Fergus Falls Optometric Center ............................. 34

Lakeside Lumber ................................................... 89

City of Fergus Falls...................................Cover Page

Fergus Falls School Of Dance ................................. 59

Lakeway Market ................................................... 16

City of Rothsay...................................................... 79

Fiesta Brava ........................................................... 71

Larry’s Super Market ............................................. 81

Cline Jensen PA...................................................... 51

First State Bank Of Ashby ........................................ 6

Larry’s Supermarket ............................................... 93

PROGRESS 2019 | PAGE 95

ADVERTISER INDEX LB Homes ............................................................. 35

Pardy Painting........................................................ 59

Sverdrup Mutual Insurance.................................... 57

Lifesmiles Dental ................................................... 59

Park Gardens of Fergus Falls................................... 30

Swenson, Saurer, Gerber, Anderson, Elbow Lake ..... 6

Lillegard Inc. ......................................................... 75

Park Region Telephone .......................................... 39

Swenson, Saurer, Gerber, Anderson, Fergus Falls ... 43

Loon’s Nest ........................................................... 88

Pebble Lake Auto/Exhaust Pros ........................ 59, 62

Synstelien Community Services ............................. 56

Luhnings Lawn Care LLC ......................................... 7

Pelican Drug ......................................................... 77

Tag Up - Rischard Marketing ................................. 23

Marco ................................................................... 39

Pemberton Law..................................................... 22

The Barn At Dunvilla ............................................. 77

Mark Zlotnick Construction ................................... 88

Perkins .................................................................. 89

The Market ..................................................... 14, 59

Mauk Jewelers...................................................... 58

Phil’s Plumbing ...................................................... 78

The Parlour ........................................................... 43

Midwest Agri-Insurance Inc................................... 38

Pioneercare ..................................................... 29, 58

The Welcome House.............................................. 41

Midwest Bank - Dalton ......................................... 89

Prairie Ridge Hospital ............................................ 12

The Wilkin ............................................................ 74

Midwest Insurance ................................................ 86

Premier Meats & Seafood ...................................... 35

Thrifty White Drug #734 & 735............................. 28

Midwest Pest Control ............................................ 87

Productive Alternatives.......................................... 63

Thrivent Financial .................................................. 44

Midwest Printing ................................................... 17

Quality Toyota ................................................. 19, 59

TNT Repair Inc ....................................................... 59

Mill Street Residence ............................................. 26

Recover Health ...................................................... 56

Transit Alternatives .................................................. 9

Minnesota Motor Company............................. 51, 58

Ripley’s Inc............................................................. 58

Ugstad Plumbing & Heating................................... 58

Morning Son Christian School ............................... 59

Robertson Well Drilling ......................................... 89

Underwood Insurance ........................................... 93

M-State .......................................................... 48, 49

Rothsay School District 850 ................................... 79

Underwood Liquor Store ....................................... 58

Nathan Seeger Law Office ..................................... 45

Rothsay Truck Stop And Café ................................ 81

Underwood Quik-Stop .................................... 59, 93

NDSCS .................................................................. 46

Salvation Army ................................................ 57, 83

Underwood School ............................................... 83

Nelson Auto Center .............................................. 71

Scott Buchholz Construction ................................. 84

Union Pizza & Brewing .......................................... 44

Nelson Brothers Printing ........................................ 68

Security Insurance ................................................. 64

United Way of Otter Tail and Wadena County ....... 58

New Dimensions Home Health Care ................ 28, 59

Security State Bank ............................................... 58

Unlimited Auto Glass ............................................ 16

Nootzi’s On Main .................................................. 78

Service Food.......................................Cover Page, 58

VFW ..................................................................... 41

Northern Aire Lanes .............................................. 19

Servicemaster ........................................................ 78

Victor Lundeen Co. ......................................... 23, 57

Northern Contours......................................... 59, 72

Shoreline Restaurant ............................................. 85

Viking Café ........................................................... 58

Northwestern Bank............................................... 73

Shoremaster ......................................Cover Page, 58

Vistad Chiropractic Clinic ...................................... 31

Oakland Boat Repair............................................. 81

Signworks ............................................................. 15

Wahpeton Economic Development........................ 57

Olson Funeral Home...........................Cover Page, 59

Sitting Pretty ......................................................... 90

Wash N Go...............................................Cover Page

Olson Oil ............................................................... 15

Smith & Sem, LTD ................................................. 19

Welander Jewelers................................................. 58

OSPTI.................................................................... 25

Solutions Behavioral Health Care ........................... 32

Wendell Pioneer Insurance Agency........................... 6

OTC Solid Waste/Recycling .................................... 10

Someplace Safe .................................................... 59

West Central Initiative ........................................... 67

Otter Electric ......................................................... 35

South Mill Service ................................................. 58

West Central Schools ............................................ 13

Otter Tail County.................................................... 68

Spangler Partners Inc. ..................................... 59, 86

West Tool & Design ................................................. 7

Otter Tail Credit Union........................................... 91

St James Episcopal Church .................................... 52

YMCA .................................................................. 34

Otter Tail Power Company............................... 55, 57

Stenerson Lumber Co...................................... 17, 57

Zion Lutheran Church ........................................... 55

Otter Tail Valley Railroad......................................... 36

StoneL - Metso ..................................................... 63

Ottertail Coaches............................................. 11, 58

Bell Bank ................................................................. 8

Outstate Brewing Company................................... 39

Svaren Insurance Services....................................... 15

PAGE 96 | PROGRESS 2019

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DONATE TO THE FERGUS FALLS FOOD SHELF. GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY. Did you know that just $1 in donations can provide $5 worth of food for local families.

ShoreMaster, LLC has been a part of the Fergus Falls community for over 30 years and we are proud to do our part to give back and help those in need. When we help our community we all benefit. This year our team donated 488 pounds of food and over $5,000 to the local food shelf to help local families during the holiday season. Thank you to all the employees who participated and the community for your support of this great cause.

This has been the key to our success since the very beginning. We are a team of great people proud to be doing great things and supporting our community. For information on employment opportunities and how to join the ShoreMaster team visit shoremaster.com/career-opportunities.

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