Profile 2017

profile

A glimpse into the lives and activities that make our community unique.

CitizenS of the Year, Unsung Heroes & LifeTime

Achievement Award

M AY 2 0 1 7 | t w e n t y- s i x t h A n n u a l E d i t i o n

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content

profile

A glimpse into the lives and activities that make our community unique.

Citizens of the YeAr, unsung heroes & LifeTime

AchievemenT AwArd

Faribault Daily News

M AY 2 0 1 7 | t w e n t Y- s i x t h A n n u A l e d i t i o n

F

or 26 years, the Faribault Daily News has been highlighting the people and places that make Faribault such a vibrant community.

We’re proud to announce this year will be no different.

Inside these 48 pages, we dive into the commonly discussed Interstate 35 interchange at County Road 9, provide a glimpse into the life of a Muslim, feature a Faribault family that has come together and formed a swimming alliance, and much, much more.

We’ll also profile our Citizens of the Year – Peter and Virginia van Sluis – who brought the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall to Faribault, providing closure for many in the community.

And of course, we’ll feature a handful of Unsung Heroes. Unique this year is the Lifetime Achievement award – given to Gordy Kosfeld – which hasn’t been included in this section since 2003.

This publication is a direct result of the teamwork by the staff of the Faribault Daily News and you − the story ideas and experiences you provide us, the nominations of residents who do good community work and the support through advertising in our publications.

We hope you enjoy our 26th edition of Profile. It’s a keepsake for you that offers a glimpse of just a few of the many reasons why we love Faribault.

May 2017 | A special section of the Faribault Daily News 514 Central Avenue | Faribault, MN 55021 PUBLISHER Sam Gett EDITOR Brad Phenow RICE COUNTY ADVERTISING MANAGER Mark Nelson COVER DESIGN & LAYOUT Kate Townsend-Noet Profile 2017 is distributed to subscribers and readers of the Faribault Daily News at no additional charge. It is available for individual sale at the front counter of the Faribault Daily News for $1. All rights reserved. ©2017.

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Citizens of the Year

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Unsung Heroes

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Lifetime Achievement

16 10 Faribault native has made significant strides in helping reduce Minnesota’s greatest nuisances; mosquitoes.

26 22

In the war on garbage, three family-owned garbage businesses are hardly a crowd in Faribault.

Lifelong resident Tom Brazil is awarded for 39 years of volunteer service on the Rice County Water Patrol.

I-35: The region’s greatest asset could see changes that alter Rice County’s future development.

41 32 Faribault minorities develop political ambitions as officials seek staff to reflect community.

37 Faribault Muslims hope with time and education, negative perception will continue to fade.

45 Ultra-marathon man Nick Stoneman experiencing life 100 miles at a time.

Longtime Faribault swim coach Charlie Fuller enjoyed winter with children Isaiah, Bethany joining him on staff.

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A visitor of the Wall traces a name on a piece of paper. Organizers estimate that between 20 and 25,000 people visited the Wall during its time in Faribault. (Submitted photo) Peter van Sluis, and his wife, Virginia, pose for a photo during an Elks Lodge event. The two were selected as Citizens of Year by former winners.

(Submitted photo)

By BRAD PHENOW bphenow@faribault.com

Citizens of the Year:

Peter, Virginia van Sluis providing closure to Vietnam veterans, community

W

hat started as an idea, nearly two years prior, moved an entire community the day it arrived.

Virginia and Peter van Sluis, two of the three chairs who brought the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall to Faribault in late August, were the driving forces behind the 1 1/2-year endeavor, which brought in some-20,000 people, and provided a welcome home for those who never received it.

When it arrived, first resting at the Steele County Fairgrounds, before coming north through Medford, it was met with lined street, flag-waving residents and a community looking to learn, to heal.

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Past Citizens of the Year 1993 - Irene Purdie 1994 - Helen Hoffman 1995 - Charlie Champlin 1996 - Fran and JoAnn Miller 1997 - Bill Korff 1998 - Keith Shaffer 1999 - Lynn Erickson 2000 - Donn Johnson 2001 - Barb Handahl and Donna Crowl 2002 - Gerry Heyer 2003 - Gary Kindseth Richard Carlander, Lifetime Achievement Award 2004 - James Wolf 2005 - Dan Burns 2006 - Todd Markman 2007 - Milo Larson A Wall organizer attentively listens to a speaker during the opening ceremony. (Brad Phenow/Daily News)

2008 - Matt Drevlow 2009 - Dr. George Wagner

The impact was evident immediately – by the support on side streets and those honored during various ceremonies.

“A special thank you to the organizers and volunteers and all in attendance that made this event a welcome home we never had,” said Steve Bauer, a United States Marine Corp veteran who served in Vietnam, as he took the stand during the Wall’s opening ceremony with combat boots in his hand. “These boots here carried me through two tours of duty in Vietnam. So if they look like they have been to hell and back − they have.”

The amount of work that went into bringing the Wall was substantial, and started as a small suggestion that, when given the time and funds, flourished.

It also led to Peter and Virginia van Sluis being selected as Citizens of the Year by previous winners.

“They definitely brought their A-game and it made everyone else better,” said Kirk Mansfield, fellow co-chair of the Traveling Wall committee. “When you have two individuals of their caliber, it makes you want to do that much better. It’s pretty amazing to see them work.”

do?”

She’d soon have an answer to that. Once she and Peter moved to Faribault, they got involved with the Faribault Elks Lodge 1166. Virginia, still looking for ways to help veterans, took on the Veterans Committee, Peter taking on the public relations.

Through that work, and while organizing an Elks Medal of Valor ceremony, where How it started families of soldiers who gave their life Virginia van Sluis comes from a military serving their country are honored, Virginia family, her father serving during World War mentioned something she’d wanted to do, II. Peter, who is from Holland, on the other but hadn’t had an avenue to carry it out: hand, didn’t necessarily have that direct bring in the Vietnam Traveling Memorial connection. He found it, though, in meeting Wall.

Virginia’s father.

As it turned out, she wasn’t the only one “He only had two daughters, and he mulling it over. During the discussion, memdidn’t really talk about it,” said Peter of bers of the American Legion Post 43 Honor Virginia’s father. “But to me, he talked.”

Guard had expressed a similar desire.

Virginia also had several friends who “[We knew] if we’re going to do this, it joined the service during the Vietnam era. has to be done with dignity and make sure Two of them – a neighbor and a classmate – that we honor those that served during that never returned home. time – whether they were in combat or not,” The tragedy, the heartache, the helplessshe said.

“It was more to bring a pride to do ness never escaped Virginia. it for Faribault.”

“I always wanted to do something,” she Throughout the next year and a half, she said of finding a way to pay respect to those  who never returned. “But what can you While the recognition a nice gesture, the van Sluises, almost simultaneously, said without the volunteers and the community response, it would’ve remained what it always had - a dream.

Instead, it united a community and everyone in it.

2010 - Ron Goettsch 2011 - Nick Stoneman 2012 - Chuck and Paul Mooty 2013 - Chad Wolff 2014 - Henry Doyle 2015 - Tami Schluter 2016 - Dee Bjork

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A group of volunteers and Wall committee members gather for a photo in front of “The Wall” The Wall committee raised $85,000 in donations, and had some left over. The remaining truck. Peter van Sluis is second from right, and his wife, Virginia, is third from right. (Submitted funds were donated to various veterans’ organizations. Pictured here, from left to right, are: photo) Faribault Police Chief Andy Bohlen, Wall co-chair Kirk Mansfield, Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn, Wall co-chair Peter van Sluis and Faribault Fire Chief Dustin Dienst. (Submitted photo)

made sure her vision of the Wall held.

Virginia and Peter, along with Mansfield, started the planning phase early, and looked to present it to a larger audience of players they felt instrumental in working together. The $10,000 price tag of simply getting the Wall to a destination was not expected to be an issue. And it wasn’t.

“They said, ‘no problem with the money, but where are you going to find the volunteers,’” said Peter of the response during that first proposal.

As they soon found out, like raising the necessary funds, finding volunteers would be simple. Nearly 200 in fact.

It all started with the Rice County Fair Board deciding to donate the location at the Rice County Fairgrounds, free of charge.

“We just felt it was the right thing to do,” said Rice County Fair Manager John Dvorak. “We just felt it was something we needed to support.”

No one knew how contagious the giving would be.

“People would readily ask what can I do, where can I help,” Mansfield said. ” I always knew it was going on, but when you see it firsthand with a project like this, it just reassures your faith.”

When the truck and trailer carrying the Wall arrived, the engine was plagued with mechanical problems. It didn’t take long, though, for companies and organizations to find a way to fix it – free of charge.

When food was needed in the veterans’ lounge, restaurants donated, just like the meals for the driver of the Wall fleet. The equipment spread throughout the Fairgrounds – donated. For essentially all aspects of the event, the storyline is the same – the community responded.

“Everyone gave,” Peter said. “Everyone pulled together.”

“Everyone in the community really got around it,” Virginia added. “We had hoped they would – we didn’t know they would to this degree.”

The impact

he needed some time to take it in,” Staab said of the man who was slumped over his steering wheel. “That The 80 percent-scale Wall, mirroring that of the was really touching to see.”

Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., arNo matter who you ask, the stories of the impact rived in Faribault on Aug. 31, and remained at the are similar in nature. And there are plenty to be told.

Fairgrounds until Sept. 5. Throughout that time, But few are shared without mention of those who organizers estimate they had between 20 and 25,000 made it happen. visitors, coming from throughout Minnesota and Without the van Sluises, the Wall wouldn’t have arbeyond. They had raised roughly $85,000. With volrived; the veterans wouldn’t have felt the support; the unteer hours factored in, the figure jumps to nearly emotions would’ve remained bottled; the experience $100,000. nonexistent.

The Wall remained opened 24 hours a day, and The work of two individuals, surrounded by the provided an opportunity for veterans to honor those community, made on the Wall, while allowing the community to give sure that didn’t Vietnam veterans a warm welcome home. happen. After “In the middle of the night, there were people dedicating much there,” Peter said. “All through the night.”

During those five days, there was a common theme of their lives over the course of 1 the van Sluises heard.

Traveling Wall Faribault 2016 is a 1/2 years to a “You don’t know how much this means to us.” nonprofit organization devoted to single initiative, making a difference in the community.

“It was over and over again,” Virginia said of similar sentiments from veterans. “It was a humbling it transformed an The Faribault Elks Lodge 1166, entire community. American Legion Post 43, 40-8, Sons of experience.”

Wayne Staab, a Vietnam veteran who was wounded But if you ask the the American Legion, VFW Post 1562 van Sluises about and the Marine Corps League joined in combat, has had the chance to see the Wall in forces to provide generously for the that dedication, Washington and similar, smaller traveling walls. His deposit to bring the replica of the they’ll point back previous visits didn’t affect his most recent experiVietnam Memorial Wall to Faribault. to the sole purpose ence, however.

“It was very uplifting,” he said. “It was incredible.” of finding a way to Staab considers himself one of the lucky ones, hav- honor those who gave their lives for the United States of America. ing the opportunity to live a life after Vietnam. But “Did they want to re-live it again? Maybe not, seeing those names on the Wall, it wasn’t easy. but [we] wanted to give them the dignity that [they] “It was really tough to go home at night,” he said of leaving the Wall. “It was like leaving your buddies needed,” Virginia said. “That is really what this was all about – to give them the welcome home and the behind, just like leaving Vietnam.” dignity that they deserve.”

Staab, who gave a speech at the closing ceremony, Prior to this past Labor Day weekend, many hadn’t spent many days at the Wall volunteering. There, he received that. watched the presence of the Wall move individuals, Now they have. including a Vietnam veteran who remained in his vehicle after seeing the names.

Reach Regional Editor Brad Phenow at 507-333-3134, or follow him “He said he had finally come and see the Wall, and on Twitter @FDNBradPhenow.

Traveling Wall Faribault 2016

HEROS

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What is it about the kindness of strangers that warms our hearts so much?

It’s not rare in Faribault, that’s for sure. Each year, the Faribault Daily News solicits nominees for its annual Unsung Hero awards, and we wait with anticipation to see how many nominations we will receive.

It never fails that every time we end up getting more than enough names of individuals who do much for the community, but don’t get recognized as they should.

Here, then, with gratitude on behalf of the community, we present the 2017 Unsung Heroes.

Samuel Temple

Jay Gustafson

Jeff Jarvis

Samuel Temple is the driving force behind “1855,” a Faribault Community Television (FCTV) history series devoted to inspiring community pride by telling the history of Faribault, said fellow co-creator and nominator Logan Ledman.

In all aspects of life, Temple, 16, is dedicated to making Faribault better. Not only does he bring energy, charisma and wisdom to his show, he’s committed himself to the community by learning American Sign Language in order to relate to the hard of hearing community, he attends as many community events as he can, and he even transferred schools, in part, to better understand the town he loves so much.

Today, “1855” has almost 500 Facebook followers and the series has received thousands of views online.

Those viewers have undoubtedly been inspired by Samuel’s enthusiasm for his town. His passion for his city is easily identifiable in his persistence building “1855” and his total commitment to understanding and further improving Faribault.

Not only did Jay Gustafson save a young girl’s life last summer, explained nominator Kathleen Cap, he’s an everyday hero for many, serving as an American Sign Language interpreter in Faribault schools for the hard of hearing.

Joined by Cap in nominating Gustafson was someone the Daily News intends to keep anonymous for reasons you’ll soon understand.

“Jay Gustafson deserves this award because [he] is a real life hero who saved my daughter’s life,” the person wrote. Last summer, after running around the house to open the garage door, the mother returned to the backyard, but her daughter was nowhere in sight. Gustafson, during a jog, encountered the mother, and joined her in the frantic search. He found the daughter, “floating in our neighbor’s landscaping pond, unconscious.”

CPR was immediately administered by Gustafson, prior to first responders arriving. Despite spending seven days at the Children’s Hospital, “we left the hospital with a clean bill of health and no long-term effects. This is all thanks to Jay,” the mother wrote.

Incredible in itself, Cap wrote, he’s also a hero each and every day.

Unique about Gustafson is that his passion for helping others started early – at 10 years old. When other kids were riding bikes, he was learning an important lesson. That lesson now allows Gustafson to give those hard of hearing a voice, “through the wonder of the language he learned in his hands, his head and heart.”

A product of Faribault schools and the community, Jeff often gives back to the community by sharing his time and talents in many ways, said nominator Roy Anderson.

From a rough start in life, Jeff has overcome many obstacles over the years to make contributions to society. He continues his recovery and does so, in part, by helping others in need, finding opportunities to write and speak to others about long-term recovery.

During nearly 18 years of employment with the city of Faribault, Jeff used creativity as a tool to accomplish many tasks, including the award-winning Buckham Bulletin, organizing for 17 years the Concerts in the Park, and providing for hundreds of kids and parents enjoyment and leisure time while participating in Fish Camp.

While on the job, dozens of nonprofits made use of Jeff’s talents, at no cost to them. Whether on the digital billboard, in brochures, or as advertisements in the Buckham Bulletin, these groups benefitted by his designs. Often behind the scenes, Jeff developed programs that helped many find encouragement, inspiration and improved health through initiatives like the community SlimDown weight loss program and RecoveryFest, which celebrates recovery from chemical dependency.

For over 10 years he has been researching and writing a book on flour milling in the entire Cannon Valley region, which will show how important the milling industry was to the growth and development of Faribault and the Cannon Valley.

Lisa Karsten “I’m calling this meeting to order,” said the president of the Morristown Historical Society. “The first order of business is finding a volunteer for our historical display at the Rice County Fair next week. It’s a tough job with long hours. Lisa’s been doing it the past few years and would like a break. Do I hear any volunteers?”

The room fell silent, wrote nominator Larry Ahlman.

“Please, can we get a volunteer?”

The room remained silent.

“Um … ah … Lisa. Could we get you to do it just one more year?”

Her reply, “Yes, I can.”

It seems that, “Yes, I can,” are the only words in Lisa Karsten’s vocabulary. A tireless worker with a single goal of helping make the village of Morristown a better place to live, her long list of volunteer projects include:

Harvey and Donna Schuldt Retirement has not slowed this couple down, wrote nominator Marian Bahl. In fact, it has only allowed them to give more of themselves to numerous organizations.

Both Donna and Harvey sing in the Voce Luminae and Paradisium choirs at Divine Mercy Catholic Church, and Harvey loves singing and playing his accordion for nursing homes, the Paradise Center for the Arts (PCA), the Northfield Retirement Center and other “gigs,” upon request.

Following Harv’s retirement after teaching math at Faribault High School for 35 years, he now volunteers as a tutor for math students of all grade levels in a 50-mile radius. This, wrote Bahl, allowed him to “give back” what the community and teaching had given him.

He also enjoys helping and offering words of encouragement and sometimes even solving math problems for former students and friends, blowing snow all down the block for his neighbors, and sharing the joy of fishing and hunting with young folks.

Since her retirement from the High School Media Center and The Window Box, Donna can be found working at the hospital gift shop, or fulfilling duties as a P.E.O. member.

She has decorated tables for the Tour of Tables fundraiser, with Harv helping transport dishware. They both can be found serving as greeter, doorman, usher or bartender at the PCA, where Donna is also involved in the Gallery and Gift Shop committees, and Harv helps load and unload art works.

With all these retirement activities, one can only wonder, “how did they ever find time to work?”

City Council: Nine years and beginning her third term. Serves as assistant mayor, serves on community education and recreation board and oversees water and wastewater.

Commercial Club: Six years assisting Halloween, Easter and holiday drawing functions.

4H: Assistant leader for the Warsaw Willing Workers 4H Club.

Annual Dam Days: Member of Dam Days planning committee. In charge of bringing Jonathon Morris’ descendants to the event.

Boy Scouts: Scoutmaster WEM troop 231. Active in scouting for last nine years.

Peace United Methodist Church: Youth leader, former council co-chair. Teaches Sunday School and assists fundraisers. She even bakes the bread used in communion.

Morristown Farmers Market: Founded this nonprofit group five years ago. Works with vendors and operates it most Saturday mornings during the summer.

Morristown Historical Society: Long-standing member, current secretary, organizes museum and school tours of Morristown’s historic mill.

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Giving Back Gordy Kosfeld is involved in many organizations, and makes a point to serve others. Below are a handful of his involvements in the community:

Award/Involvement – Organization Book of Golden Deeds – Faribault Noon Exchange Club Presidential Award for Community Service – Faribault Elks Club Key to the City award – Kenyon Top Walker – March of Dimes (1990,1991, 1992) Co-chair – Rice County Relay for Life Volunteer – Community Thanksgiving Dinner Co-chair (fundraising) – United Way Church Council member – Christ Lutheran Church Grand Marshall − Kenyon Carriage and Cutter Parade (2001)

Lifetime Achievement:

GORDY KOSFELD

serving a community that opened its heart

Announcer – • Faribault Heritage Days • Dam Days parade in Morristown • Kolacky Days parade in Montgomery • Lonsdale Community Days parade • Dennison Days parade • Rose Fest parade in Kenyon Play-by-play announcer − • Carleton Knights • Area sports Emcee − • Faribault Memorial Day Program • Rice County Fair Queen Coronation

Gordy Kosfeld calls a Faribault High School baseball game at U.S. Bank Stadium Saturday, April 22. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

By BRAD PHENOW bphenow@faribault.com

“A

life not lived for others is not a life.”

For many, the 10-word quote is an inspiration to the life they hope to live one day. But for others, like Faribault’s Gordy Kosfeld, it speaks to his everyday duties – professionally and personally. It’s also a quote he holds close to his heart.

“It’s a philosophy we should all have,” the 58-yearold said about giving back to the community. “It feels right.”

Kosfeld, who has dedicated much of his life to serving others, has become a constant in Faribault,

from sporting events, to board meetings, to celebrations. In one form or another, whether it be through his work at KDHL or volunteering, Kosfeld is there to serve the people of the area.

Perhaps it’s his way of saying thank you to a community that welcomed him.

When Kosfeld arrived in Faribault in June 1987, following a recent divorce, emotionally, he needed a distraction, and he found it by diving into his work at KDHL. Through that work, he uncovered Faribault’s identity, by learning more about the community and the individuals that make it up. He found a single word to describe it: heart.

“That’s what this town’s about,” he said. “It’s all about heart.”

Nearly 30 years later, if you ask him now, Kosfeld will tell you the community, and perhaps its heart, has rubbed off on him.

As someone who knows him well, Pastor Craig

Breimhorst, who recently retired from Christ Lutheran Church and has traveled alongside Kosfeld on mission trips, described Kosfeld as “deeply committed.”

“He is a great engaging personality that kind of lights up a room.”

In that room, if he doesn’t have a recorder in his hand – or even if he does – you can nearly guarantee he’s serving others.

It’s that passion that resulted in a committee of former Citizens of the Year selecting him for the Lifetime Achievement award.

From the Relay to Life, to the March of Dimes, the Lions Club, Church Council and the Thanksgiving Community Dinner, among many, many others in between, Kosfeld always seems to find time to give back.

As the voice of the Carleton Knights and the play-byplay voice for regional sports, Kosfeld is known to many across the region.

“He’s just all over the place,” Breimhorst said. “He

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If you ask those close to Kosfeld, his energy and personality are two characteristics that set him apart. Here, in his KDHL studio, Kosfeld looks at the camera during a newscast. (Brad Phenow/Daily News)

ner. “He loves the community and loves to give back to it.”

It was something Breimhorst, who moved to Faribault just the year before Mission Kosfeld, noticed right away. Since meetWhether he’s out calling games, his ing, they’ve served countless individuals, voice reverberating over the field, or is both locally, and as far as Tanzania. seen behind the counter – peeler in hand For Kosfeld, it’s second nature.

– stripping potatoes for the Thanksgiving “I firmly believe we need to help othCommunity Dinner, his presence is felt. ers,” he said. “It’s the reason I do some And like the response he once received community service.” from the community many years ago, it’s Over the last 20-plus years, Kosfeld appreciated. has been involved with Relay for Life.

Fellow onetime co-chair Kerry Vigesaa “Gordy really cares about his comsaid no matter the time, no matter the munity,” said Julie Fox, an organizer with the Community Thanksgiving Din- weather, “he never stops.” just gives himself so fully to different things.”

“I’ve never seen Gordy slow down,” she said with a laugh. “He’s very energetic and very entertaining.”

But Kosfeld gives more than time.

For Relay for Life, he donates hot dogs, the stage for part of the event, all the while playing the role of emcee. And as of late, he’s also started to share his personal memories, through poems.

“He’s quite an amazing person,” Vigesaa said. “We’re very lucky in Faribault to have him for all he does.”

Yet, he shies away from the recognition. Some awards he’s received remain in envelopes. Others, displayed in the

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KDHL studio, serve as a reminder of the event.

For Kosfeld, his involvement isn’t about the limelight.

“I’m a big believer in mission,” he said. “[And] there is a lot of mission right here at home.”

As a devoted Christian, he attributes his community-focused mentality to his parents growing up, along with his faith and simply returning the favor to the community.

It’s a community he felt connected to early. As a boy, growing up in Spring Valley, he remembers listening to the station now known as KDHL. Little did the boy know, following stops at many other stations across many states, Kosfeld would find himself calling games on those same airwaves.

“I’m envisioning some kid now going to bed at night, listening to me do games,” he said with a smile.

Little would that kid know just how much more Kosfeld stands for than a voice on the radio.

Having spent 30 years in Faribault, he’s discovered a way of life.

“He’s at his best when he’s doing things for others,” Pastor Breimhorst said.

Serving others is what keeps the heart of Faribault beating. And with Kosfeld a part of it, it’s beating quicker than ever – and that’s not expected to change.

“This is home now,” he said. “I have lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere in my life. This is my home.”

And Faribault’s better because of it.

Reach Regional Editor Brad Phenow at 507-3333134, or follow him on Twitter @FDNBradPhenow.

LEFT: Gordy Kosfeld emphatically high-fives Cindy Gilbertson of the P.E.O. Stately Striders which earned $18,520 for the American Cancer Society. (Gunnar Olson/Faribault Daily News) MIDDLE: From left, Gordy Kosfeld, Chuck Oliver and Ray Sanders salute the flag as Bethlehem Academy’s band plays the national anthem to open a previous Memorial Day Ceremony in Central Park. (Daily News file photo) RIGHT: Gordy Kosfeld holds his Presidential Award for Community Service from the Faribault Elks Club. (Brad Phenow/Daily News)

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In his own words:

“Basically, we’ve discovered this gene that can be inserted into an insect and sterilize it. Mosquitoes spread diseases and cause massive economic damage to farmers. If we can find a way to sterilize them, we can reduce their populations in the field.”

- John Beckmann, a postdoctoral associate in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University.

Pictured here in the lab at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, John Beckmann, of Faribault, is studying ways to control mosquito populations through sterilization. (Submitted photo)

‘Fearless experimentalist:’

Faribault native on the forefront of mosquito science at Yale

By GUNNAR OLSON golson@faribault.com

A

Faribault man has made significant strides in helping reduce Minnesota’s greatest nuisances: mosquitoes.

John Beckmann, a postdoctoral associate in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at the prestigious Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, is studying the biochemistry and genetics of Wolbachiainduced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility.

While Beckmann and his mentor, Dr. Mark Hochstrasser, may be of the few

scientists in the world to understand what that means, in effect, he hopes to utilize his findings as a tool for insect population control.

“Basically, we’ve discovered this gene that can be inserted into an insect and sterilize it,” said Beckmann in an interview with the Daily News.

“Mosquitoes spread diseases and cause massive economic damage to farmers.

If we can find a way to sterilize them, we can reduce their populations in the field.”

Beckmann is used to the process uuu

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John Beckmann’s yearbook photo as a Bethlehem Academy student in 2005. (Submitted Photo/Bethlehem Academy)

of scientific research. This project started in 2009 at the University of Minnesota and is now in its eighth year. His journey, however, started long before that. And it started in Faribault.

Faribault/Bethlehem Academy Melinda O’Connor is a Bethlehem Academy teacher who taught Beckmann in chemistry, physics, anatomy and physiology from 2003 to his graduation in 2005. To Beckmann, she is still Ms. Bedford, her maiden name.

“I think John was incredibly inquisitive about gaining knowledge, but science in particular kind of piqued that,” she said of her observations of high school-aged Beckmann. “The idea that all the answers aren’t available. In math class, you do a problem and there is an agreed upon answer, but in science, it’s a little less concrete. We have hypothesis, we have guesses, we do our best to recognize the world around us, but there is a lot out there to learn and that piqued John’s curiosity.”

John Beckmann and his friends at Bethlehem Academy perform at a pep fest with one of Beckmann’s performance art routines. (Submitted photo)

Beckmann spoke glowingly of the woman who perhaps sparked his interest in becoming a scientist, saying, “She taught me so many things that became useful in my future.”

O’Connor, however, pointed to Beckmann’s own family as what could have started it all.

“I think his family background played a little bit into it,” said O’Connor. “He has parents in the science field. Kids look at parents and sort of emulate what they do. They are also just very bright people.”

O’Connor guessed that Beckmann’s “natural curiosity,” combined with his parents’ expertise, likely helped him figure things out along the way.

His parents, Sarah and David Beckmann are both Mayo Clinic doctors.

“In the sense that we value education, are always striving to learn and value books and reading, yes,” said Sarah Beckmann about she and her husband’s careers factoring into Beckmann’s eventual career path.

A young John Beckmann draws a self-portrait at his childhood home. Beckmann’s parents attribute some of his scientific success to his creative side. (Submitted photo)

Still, Sarah Beckmann pointed out some differences.

“John’s a bench scientist and that requires a lot of patience, creativity and dogged determination,” she said. “Experiments fail time and time again. Some of those skills he learned on the job because the hours he’s put in are

immeasurable.”

For some of those skills, Sarah Beckmann pointed right back at BA, citing the school’s creative but disciplined approach to learning.

Besides Beckmann’s faith, which his parents partially attributed to BA, she shared a story about the creative uuu

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Beyond the painful itching of their bites, mosquitoes, like the one pictured, also carry disease which can spread to humans. Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue and malaria are the different diseases that can be spread to humans via mosquitoes. (Metro Creative photo)

Mosquito-borne diseases Dr. John Beckmann’s efforts in the field of mosquitoes are largely to protect humans from their harmful effects.

Beyond the painful itching of their bites, mosquitoes also carry disease which can spread to humans.

Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue and malaria are the different diseases that can be spread to humans via mosquitoes.

Although most people do not become sick after being bitten, some of these diseases can have short-term or long-term effects, with some potentially resulting in death.

Avoiding mosquito bites Use insect repellent with one of the following active ingredients: • DEET • Picaridin, also known as KBR 3023, Bayrepel

and icaridin • Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or

para-methane-diol (PMD) • IR3535 • 2-undecanone It is recommended that people cover up their exposed skin with long-sleeved shirts and pants when in mosquito-prone areas.

Otherwise, using window and door screens to keep insects out of your home is recommended.

If you aren’t able to keep mosquitoes out of your sleeping or living area, use mosquito netting.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Beckmann is used to the process of scientific research. This project started in 2009 at the University of Minnesota and is now in its eighth year. His journey, however, started long before that. And it started in Faribault. (Metro Creative photo)

freedom the school allowed him.

“For BA pep fests, John choreographed what you might call performance art routines for him and his buddies,” she said. “They consisted of simple synchronous steps arranged in patterns that left some scratching their heads and others saying, ‘that boy will go far; I can’t wait to see what he does with is life.’”

Besides the lasting academic and creative effects from BA, Beckmann also found his wife, Shawna, within the walls of the school when they were both 13.

“He’s a hard worker, he lives life fully and joyfully,” said O’Connor of Beckmann’s personal life. “He’s married to his high school sweetheart.

Not only is he hardworking, intelligent and driven, but he comes home and has a life balance.”

University of Minnesota Beckmann graduated from BA in 2005 and enrolled at the University of Minnesota the following fall. He double majored in art and physiology and wanted to continue his work in science.

He did some undergraduate research on diabetes, before Dr. Ann Fallon discovered him.

“John started in my lab when he was a senior at the U of M, thinking of applying to medical school,” said Fallon in an interview with the Daily News. “John had a strong background in physiology, and I’m always on the lookout for

potentially good undergrads to join my lab and gain experience in molecular biology.”

It was then that Beckmann started working on mosquitoes, completing his thesis work on bacteria in mosquitoes native to Minnesota.

“When I started working with Ann [Fallon], there wasn’t like a eureka moment when I said I wanted to work with mosquitoes, you learn under an apprenticeship,” explained Beckmann of how mosquitoes became his focal point. “My adviser specialized in mosquitoes and then I became an expert in mosquitoes.”

The work he began with Fallon, which spanned eight years, consisted of testing for the presence of a bacterium, Wolbachia, in a mosquito colony.

It’s done by using a molecular technique called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. The mosquitoes were naturally infected with Wolbachia, which functions as a reproductive parasite that grows in the ovaries and testes of mosquitoes, according to Fallon. If females are not infected with Wolbachia, but their male mate is, the female’s eggs won’t hatch.

However, infected females can mate with any male and her eggs will hatch.

“I had created uninfected mosquitoes by treating larvae with tetracycline, which kills the Wolbachia,” said Fallon. “John’s project was to use the PCR assay to verify the presence of Wolbachia in control mosquitoes, and its absence in the tetracycline-treated colonies.”

Eventually, John discovered a PCR inhibitor

faribault.com

in mosquito heads, so he began decapitating mosquitoes to correctly identify the infected and the uninfected mosquitoes.

“John became hooked on Wolbachia and decided to continue his work as a Ph.D. student,” said Fallon.

Beckmann sought to find the unknown genes responsible for cytoplasmic incompatibility, or CI, which he achieved.

“Many labs were looking for these genes, so John’s results were an important breakthrough,” said Fallon.

Yale University After Beckmann’s breakthrough, scientists took notice, including Hochstrasser, a professor at Yale University and Beckmann’s current mentor.

“As a postdoctoral student in my lab, John set out to determine if the putative enzyme he had found did indeed have the catalytic activity we suspected,” said Hochstrasser of his pupil’s work. “It did not. It turned out, however, to have a related activity, which another postdoctoral associate carefully characterized.”

Continuing his work with sterility and mosquitoes using flies, Beckmann and Hochstrasser’s

How he did it:

experiments demonstrated that Beckmann’s previously identified proteins could cause CI, which Hochstrasser called a “milestone discovery for the Wolbachia field.”

“The ‘transgenic’ male flies that John created with the genes from mosquito-infecting Wolbachia are completely sterile but not otherwise sick in any detectable way,” said Hochstrasser. “This creates an opportunity to control insect populations in the wild.”

In large numbers, these sterile males could be released in areas where diseases like Zika are most prevalent and they would compete with wild males and reduce the mosquito populations due to nonproductive mating from the sterile males.

This work has spanned eight years and was released in January.

“People don’t understand how slow science is,” said Beckmann.

“This is something that I started in 2009 at the U of M. Then, I continued all the way until now.

It’s been an extensive, long process and we’ve finally nailed everything down.”

Professor Beckmann With his postdoctoral work finished, Beckmann is now working

Beckmann began testing for the presence of a bacterium, Wolbachia, in a mosquito colony. This is done by using a molecular technique called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. Beckmann infected the insects with Wolbachia, which is a reproductive parasite that grows in the ovaries and testes of mosquitoes. If females are not

infected with Wolbachia, but their male mate is, the female’s eggs won’t hatch. However, infected females can mate with any male and her eggs will hatch.

Beckmann sought to verify the presence of Wolbachia in uninfected mosquitoes, where he eventually discovered an inhibitor in mosquito’s heads. So, he began decapitating them to try to identify which ones were infected and uninfected.

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on applications for professorships at research institutions.

He is casting a wide net and considering a number of places, including the University of Minnesota.

While Beckmann was cautious not to point to a particular institution that he would favor over another, he did say, “I would love to come back to Minnesota.”

Still, the professors at institutions across the country will have the final say, so Beckmann will wait and see.

What is even clearer than his future is the respect and adoration he has earned from everyone who has witnessed his journey from BA to Yale.

“When I think of John, it makes me smile because he has a great smile,” said BA’s O’Connor. “He’s a person that wants to live life in a very full way. He exudes a lot of ability to move beyond criticism and I think you need to in his line of work where you are constantly trying to prove what you do.”

His presence, no matter where he’s studying, seemed to leave a mark.

“John is very bright and he has an excellent sense of which aspects of a problem are of key importance,” said Fallon. “John works hard and

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is very creative. I believe John’s undergraduate major in art informs his approach to science, enhancing a native creativity and readiness to try new approaches.”

And at each stop, his talents seem to multiply.

“He is very passionate about his research and a fearless experimentalist,” said Hochstrasser.

“He will try whatever experiment is needed to test a hypothesis even if he has no prior expertise in the method.

John also thinks deeply about his subject and finds out everything he can about prior work. It is a powerful combination of talents.”

While those in the fields of science are now praising his discoveries, those back in Faribault are praising his character and representation of the community.

Since graduating from BA, his passion has grown, and his determination has remained steady. Yet, when he talks about his successes, he’s quick to point back to the community where it all started.

Gunnar Olson covers city government, public safety and business for the Faribault Daily News. Reach him at (507) 333-3128, at golson@faribault.com, or follow him on Twitter @fdnGunnar.

He searched for the unknown genes that were responsible for cytoplasmic incompatibility, or CI, which he eventually identified. His Yale mentor, Dr. Mark Hochstrasser, called the discovery a “milestone” for the field of Wolbachia science.

Beckmann was able to create a transgenic fly that is completely sterile, but not sick in any detectable way, which creates the opportunity to control insect populations, like mosquitoes, in the wild.

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Randy Archambault, right, Kathy Archambault, middle, and their son, Paul Archambault, left, pose in the Archambault Brothers Disposal garage. Randy’s father, Robert Archambault, started the garbage business in 1947. (Philip Weyhe/Daily News)

Family-owned garbage businesses make a living off customer service

By PHILIP WEYHE pweyhe@faribault.com

I

n the war on garbage, three’s hardly a crowd in Faribault.

The city, and its surrounding area, is served, for the most part, by three familyowned waste disposal companies: Archambault Brothers Disposal, City and Lakes Disposal, and Flom Disposal. The companies are similarly sized, ranging from nine-

11 employees and 12-14 trucks, they each have a history of at least 45 years, and they all believe in serving the customer.

While many industries are and have been taken over by major companies, garbage in Faribault has managed to remain local. And with multiple generations already in place, each of these businesses is betting their services will be needed for a long time to come.

“People want to get down to zero waste,” noted

City and Lakes owner Douglas Blow. “Well even if you do, the materials still have to go somewhere.”

Archambault Brothers Disposal Archambault Brothers is actually owned today by father and son.

Randy Archambault, 61, and wife, Kathy Archambault, 61, run the business with their son, Paul Archambault, 39. While Randy and Paul

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run routes on a daily basis, Kathy takes care of the paperwork. Randy and Kathy’s other child, Sara, works outside the family business.

Sandy Archambault, Randy’s sister-in-law, provides clerical support, and her son, Jerry, drives routes.

The company was originally started 70 years ago in 1947 by Robert Archambault. He and his wife, Florence, operated the business from out of their house. They had one truck.

“It was pretty much buy a truck and start hauling,” Randy explained.

Randy and his older brother, Dick, effectively grew up in garbage. They helped their dad run the routes, and they did it by choice.

While other kids may not have seen their childhood as glamorous, Randy and Dick loved it.

“We got teased for being haulers, but you do any job with integrity, with pride, and there’s nothing wrong with it,” Randy said. “We got to spend time with my dad, working for him. What a special gift. A lot of good memories.”

In 1965, elder brother Dick returned from service and started running the family business with his father. In 1973, at age 18, Randy joined on full-time, and the three ran things together.

Then in 1981, Randy and another brother, Keith, formed a partnership and bought the business from their dad. The business grew substantially in the coming decades, moving from hundreds of customers to thousands.

Randy’s son, Paul, joined the team in 1996, and Randy bought Keith out in 2001. He eventually allowed Paul to join on as co-owner, and the two have been running the business since.

The childhood Randy enjoyed, Paul did, too.

“When I was a kid, there was nowhere I’d rather be than on the truck,” Paul said.

As mom, and the person getting things done behind the scenes, Kathy had plenty on her shoulders. But she performed her duties without complaint, happy that her family

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In 1947, Robert Archambault founded Archambault Brothers Disposal with a pickup truck. Here, Robert’s son, Dick, takes the wheel of a small dumper. (Photo courtesy of Archambault Brothers)

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City and Lakes Disposal owner Douglas Blow, right, and his son, Ben Blow, left, pose in front of one of their trucks.

Douglas invested and became a partner in the business in 1979 before taking over as sole owner in 2002.

(Philip Weyhe/Daily News)

was never too far apart.

“I think it was a unique [family experience],” she said. “I think we were pretty tight knit, because of the business we ran.”

The business has grown today to include 11 employees and 14 trucks, providing residential, commercial, industrial, roll-off and more services.

The Archambaults credit their values for their successes.

The owners believe deeply in putting the customers before all else, and they try to instill that into their employees.

“We do special services for elderly and disabled,” Kathy noted. “We don’t charge extra. It’s our niche. We pride ourselves in that.”

“I tell my drivers, if [customers] want to visit

then visit,” Randy added. “These people might not get to see anyone else during the day.”

Paul will eventually take the reins completely from his father. At 70 years old, the company has thrived under the Archambault name. Paul knows that and he intends to keep it going.

Perhaps one or more of his three young sons will take it even further.

“I would like to get our company to that 100year mark and pass it to my boys,” he said.

City and Lakes Disposal City and Lakes Disposal is owned solely by Douglas Blow, 65. However, he shares operations with Jeanne Blow, 65, and their son, Ben Blow, 37.

Their daughter, Renee Cate, 42, works part-time, assisting in the office.

City and Lakes actually started as Hulet Sanitation in 1962, founded by Jim Hulet. In 1979, Douglas invested in the company, which was then run out of Hulet’s home, and he became partner.

“I was working in a factory at that time,” Douglas said. “I wanted to get into something on my own. Not work in a factory. I guess I was more of an outdoors person. I didn’t want to work on an assembly line anymore.”

By that time, his daughter was already born and his son was born the following year. Ben recalls growing up within a garbage business.

“It was work. That was the way it was,” Ben said. “It was cool being around big trucks all the time. I wanted to do it. I’d come home after school and go right to work.”

“He used to bail cardboard for quite a long time,” Douglas added.

After high school, Ben branched out and went into concrete and construction for about four or five years. He had always known that he wanted to continue the family business, but he’s grateful for his time away.

“It was good to just get out there and see what else was out there,” he said.

Eventually, Douglas needed some new drivers.

Ben came back and hasn’t left since.

In 1990, the owners sought out a larger, more modern facility. They found it at their current location on Hullett Avenue in Faribault. In 2002, Douglas bought out his partner and took sole ownership of City and Lakes.

“Gradually, we grew. Everybody did,” Douglas said. “There were six garbage haulers back then.

There was more competition and less commercial business.”

The family today operates from the same facility it purchased in 1990. It’s up to nine employees and 13 trucks, providing all the core services.

Like the Archambaults, customer service is key to the Blows.

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Family-owned Three family-owned garbage companies make up the majority of service in Faribault and the surrounding area.

Archambault Brothers Disposal Started in 1947.

Owned and operated by Randy, Kathy and Paul Archambault.

Currently 11 employees, 14 trucks for residential, commercial and industrial.

City and Lakes Disposal Started in 1962 (as Hulet Sanitation).

Owned and operated by Douglas Blow.

Currently nine employees, 13 trucks for residential, commercial and industrial.

Flom Disposal Started in 1972.

Owned and operated by Kyle Flom.

The family-owned and-operated City and Lakes Disposal was established in 1962, and at that time operated as Hulet Sanitation.

In 1978, Douglas Blow came on board, and the name was changed to “better suit our Faribault surroundings.” (Daily News file photo)

“It’s really nice to get notes from our customers, saying they appreciate our business or that they appreciate the work our employees are doing, that we left the area clean and neat,” Douglas said. “They’re paying for good service, and that’s what I expect to give them.”

Relationships with customers are important, Ben added.

“It’s personable,” he said. “It’s not just a number on a timecard stick.”

Ben has every intention of continuing his parents’ business. He knows the routes, he knows the customers, he knows the values. He grew up with

it all.

“To be able to keep something going that’s been going so long is pretty personal. I take pride in it,” he said.

“I don’t think I feel responsible for the business. The business taught me to be responsible, though.”

Ben has a 12-year-old son of his own, who is already expressing interest in the business, at least “for now.”

His grandfather, Douglas, can tell him firsthand the benefits of working in garbage.

“I was thinking as I drove down the road and saw some of our bins 

Several trucks and trailers make their way to the Rice County Landfill daily, including three family-owned garbage and recycling disposal businesses — Archambault Brothers Disposal, City and Lakes Disposal and Flom Disposal. (Daily News file photo)

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out the other day ‘I’ve been doing this for 38 years,’” he said. “These customers have been with me since the beginning.”

Flom Disposal Kyle Flom, 47, owns and operates Flom Disposal with his wife, Sara, 47. He took over from his father, Robert, 74, who technically retired but still lends a hand regularly. Robert previously ran the business with his wife and Kyle’s mom, Louise, 71.

Robert and Louise started Flom disposal in 1972, after the landfill in their hometown of Nerstrand closed. They purchased a 1956 International Truck with a Garwood packer and started work from their home.

“Everyone used to take their garbage out to the city dump,” Kyle explained. “They closed that down in 1972, and someone told dad to buy a garbage truck. So he did.”

Robert was a carpenter at the time, and doing garbage duty for one small town wasn’t enough to make him quit that job. But he and Louise took to the city each weekend, armed with a little dumper and the Flom Disposal logo.

“Mom would drive and he’d ride on the back, picking up garbage around Nerstrand one day a week,” Kyle said.

Kyle was 3 when his parents started the business. He enjoyed growing up among the trash.

“It probably taught me a work ethic. If we went on vacation, it was a big deal. From a young age, I remember riding on the back of that truck. I stuck my tongue to it one day. I still remember that pothole we ran over,” he laughed.

In 1980, after Rice County disbanded its garbage container program, creating an increased need in the rural communities for dependable disposal service, Flom Disposal expanded, increasing its routes and purchasing a second truck. They headed into Cannon City and Warsaw.

Robert started working for the business full-time, but there were still only about three days per week worth of routes.

Kyle Flom, owner of Flom Disposal, poses at his business off of Hwy. 60 just east of Faribault. Flom inherited the business from his father, Robert Flom, who started it in 1972. (Philip Weyhe/Daily News)

“We just kind of got by in those days,” Kyle remembered.

Around 1990, the business was forced to take on another truck with the implementation of recycling.

Kyle had just graduated with an agricultural education degree from the University of Minnesota.

With his father needing some help, he joined on in 1993. The company has gradually and steadily grown since. It now stands at 11 employees and 12 trucks, providing the same core services as mentioned above.

“When I came on, I had thoughts of taking over, and to make that work, we needed to expand,” Kyle said. “We were in a position to take some opportunities.”

A contract for recycling became available in Kenyon, and Flom Disposal took it. The family had already started taking subscriptions in Faribault years prior, and they eventually entered Medford and Dennison.

Like his colleagues, Kyle sees customer service as the key to success.

“We’re so fortunate in the loyal customers we have,” he said. “We’ve many customers that have been here for 45 years.”

Bob and Louise Flom started Flom Disposal in 1972 after the landfill in Nerstrand closed.Their first truck was a 1956 International Truck with a Garwood packer. (Photo courtesy of Flom Disposal)

Kyle has taken the business to a full-scale location off of Hwy. 60, just east of Faribault. His parents remain near Nerstrand about 5 miles farther down the road.

In his downtime, Kyle raises lambs and farms about 47 acres he owns on the same property as his business. He said it gave him relief from the headaches of the business.

He likes his job, though, and he’s grateful to have inherited a business his father started. His own children, Kyra, a high school senior, Nick, a ninth-grader, and Karly, a sixth-

grader, have expressed some interest in the business but have made no commitments.

Kyle isn’t too concerned if they take over or not, willing to support them in whatever they choose. But he’ll be the first to tell them that a career in garbage is no waste.

“If they have other paths, that’s fine, but I think it’s an honest business, and it’s been very good to our family,” he said. “At the end of the day, I enjoy it.”

Reach Reporter Philip Weyhe at 507-333-3132 or follow him on Twitter @nfnphilweyhe.

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Tom Brazil faces the water of Cannon Lake, where he has lived for the past few decades. He is wearing a Rice County Water Patrol uniform, which he sported as a volunteer on the water patrol for 39 years. (Philip Weyhe/Northfield News)

Brazil awarded for 39 years on Rice County Water Patrol

By PHILIP WEYHE pweyhe@faribault.com

Tom Brazil in his water patrol uniform. He retired from the patrol in 2016 at the age of 79. (Philip Weyhe/ Northfield News)

Y

ou can’t measure the importance of volunteers.

All sorts of advocacy groups know that. Event organizers here, there and everywhere know that.

The Rice County Sheriff’s Office knows that.

The local sheriff’s department knows, because of the work of people like Tom Brazil. The 79-year-old lifelong area resident retired last year from the Rice County Water Patrol after 39

years of volunteer service.

Brazil proudly sported his uniform, manned his boat and patrolled the waters of Cedar Lake for nearly four decades.

“Cedar Lake has been his lake,” Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn said. “That’s the thing about Tom — he’s always been in the community here and he’s always been able to get out there and help.”

As a token of appreciation for his long-time efforts, the sheriff’s department awarded Brazil with a plaque. It’s not the type of prize that serves as the sole motivation for 39 years of weekend hours, performing a sometimes thank-

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less task.

To devote as much time as Brazil has, you better like what you’re doing.

“You know, I liked it. I rather enjoyed it,” he said. “I was proud of my uniform and I still am.”

Life on the water Brazil has never been too far from the water for too long of a period.

Born in 1937, his childhood was spent on Kelly Dudley Lake, northwest of Faribault, where his parents homesteaded.

The family owned a small resort on the lake, which included 24 small wooden boats. They rented them out, and according to Brazil, every boat was used just about every Saturday and Sunday each summer.

It wasn’t a rich life — the family also farmed and both parents worked other jobs — but Brazil said he never went lacking.

At that time, the lakes were rural.

Much of the kids’ time was spent working, but when openings did appear, it was the lake that beckoned.

Brazil learned to water ski at 6 years old. He became comfortable off the land.

“I loved the water,” he said.

After graduating high school, he worked a few jobs before entering barber school. He had considered becoming a barber during his time at Bethlehem Academy, where he recalled providing a haircut for another student against the permission of the nuns at the school.

“So then they started calling me

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the barber, and I thought maybe I should be,” he said.

He started at Lee’s School of Barbers in St. Paul in 1958, graduating later and finding a job at Clay’s Barber Shop in Faribault. There, he took an apprenticeship for two years, passed his barber’s license test and decided to buy the shop in 1961.

He changed the name to Brazil’s Barber Shop, and for the next 40-some years, he provided haircuts to residents of Rice County and beyond (he still works now and then at the shop).

He lived inside the city, as his kids attended school. When they graduated, he headed back to the water — this time to Cedar Lake. He started out in a mobile home on his current property before building his house there.

He hasn’t left the water since.

Joining the team One summer day in 1977, Brazil was on the lake. Someone he knew drove by with their speedboat, and whipped the tail, splashing Brazil.

The person was fooling around, but it didn’t quite sit well with the subject of the joke.

“I didn’t think that was too cute,” Brazil said. “So I went to [former Sheriff David Schweisthal], and he said I need a new volunteer water patrol and you’re the guy.”

At this time, Brazil was living alone, his kids out of the house. He knew Cedar Lake was one of the busiest in the county, and he thought the sheriff’s department could use

“Care you can trust from people you know”

Growing up on a resort on Kelly Dudley Lake west of Faribault, Tom Brazil started water skiing early in his life. Sixty-seven years later, on Aug. 10, Brazil celebrated his 79th birthday by water skiing near his home on Cedar Lake, where he has lived for 44 years. (Submitted photo)

some help.

“So I thought, ‘ah, I’ll give it a try,’” he said.

He jumped excitedly into the role.

He ran the barbershop during the week, but his weekends were mostly free, specifically during the summer, and the water is where he wanted to

be anyhow.

The water patrol gig is not paid, it’s volunteer. Brazil received reimbursements for gas and some other expenses, but beyond that, he was working for free. And he worked a lot. uuu

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“Tom was willing to go out and work,” Sheriff Dunn said. “I’d say at least three out of every four weekends he’d be out there at least once during the summer months. I’d say it wasn’t uncommon to hear him every weekend more times than not.”

Brazil often spent Thursday/Friday nights and/ or Saturday/Sunday patrolling the waters. He and other water patrol volunteers have the job of ensuring safety on Rice County waters, helping in emergency situations and simply keeping a sense of order in what are sometimes difficult-to-manage areas.

“By having a schedule where we ask [volunteer patrols] to just provide assistance where they’re available, you just don’t know the difference they might be making,” Dunn said. “People see the uniform or the star on the boat, and that by itself is going to be a deterrent to possible poor behavior, or it can create a feeling of security.”

Decades patrolling A big reason Brazil enjoyed the water patrol job was the chance to socialize. Living alone, it’s been nice for him to get on the lake, see people, converse with them and remain engaged.

According to Dunn, the social aspect is a big part of the job.

“A good volunteer has great people skills and is able to interact with the public and represent the Sheriff’s Office well,” he said.

After decades on Rice County lakes, Brazil knew many of the people he watched over. He said on any given weekend, he’d know most of the people on the lake.

However, it’s often those that don’t regularly use the lake that cause the most trouble, according to Brazil. Whether coming for a holiday and partying a little too hard or simply choosing to ignore the rules and regulations, there were plenty of ways for lake inhabitants to make the volunteer’s job stressful.

“The part I didn’t like was writing tickets out,” Brazil said. “Everybody pleads not guilty, so I had to be there (in court). One guy retained a lawyer for $650 to beat his ticket. I said ‘we didn’t win’ and the sheriff said, ‘yes we did, he paid $650 to get out of a ticket.’”

Brazil and other volunteers had limits to their powers, but they developed some creative ways to handle the most troublesome encounters.

“One day, this guy lays into us, calls us all the names in the book,” Brazil recalled. “He was raising so much hell, we pulled him to the side and did a full inventory of the boat. Those inventory checks take a long time.”

He also worked in some more serious circumstances. He helped locate bodies, missing from drowning, on a few occasions. Some didn’t have

Members of the Rice County Water Patrol launch a boat at the Cannon Lake boat launch in 2015. (Daily News file photo)

Rice County Lakes

Lake... Acres... Max Depth (feet) Cannon Lake... 1,591... 15 Cedar Lake... 804... 42 Circle Lake... 837... 14 Cody Lake... 257... 14 Dudley Lake... 61... 60 Fox Lake... 311... 47 French Lake... 875... 56 Hunt Lake... 176... 27 Lower Sakatah Lake... 310... 7 Lyman Lake... 8... 7 Mazaska Lake... 681... 50 Phelps Lake... 299... 8 Rice Lake... 323... 6 Roberds Lake... 625... 43 Shields Lake... 940... 42 Union Lake... 403... 10 Wells Lake... 634... 4

Members of the Rice County Water Patrol team scan one of the lakes.

(Daily News file photo)

Source: www.lake-link.com/minnesotalakes/rice-county/500

Tom Brazil’s home overlooks Cannon Lake, just outside of Faribault.

(Philip Weyhe/Northfield News)

the stomach for finding the dead, according to Brazil, but it never fazed him.

“Somebody’s got to do it,” he said. “The family needs closure.”

Overall, though, Brazil’s volunteer job was mostly a sunny one. He may have been working,

but it didn’t usually feel like it to him. He was out in the water. Out where he belonged.

“I’d be lost without the lake,” he said.

Reach Reporter Philip Weyhe at 507-333-3132 or follow him on Twitter @nfnphilweyhe.

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Trucks make up a significant amount of I-35’s traffic, which plays well into the industrial focus of a city like Faribault. (Gunnar Olson/Daily News)

I-35: E

By GUNNAR OLSON golson@faribault.com

The region’s greatest asset could see changes that alter Rice County’s future development

ach day, nearly 70,000 vehicles drive by five exits spanning 25 miles along Interstate 35 in Rice County.

But to some, one more would make a big difference.

I-35, which started being constructed in 1956, connects Duluth to the Texas-Mexico border, spanning six states and 1,569 miles along the way. Besides Texas’ 503 miles, Minnesota is the next in line with 259 total miles.

While Rice County’s 25 miles are just a blip, the stretch is a powerful lifeline.

From the northern border of Rice County to the Hwy. 19 exit that connects the cities of Northfield and Lonsdale, the road proved

essential for 37,000 vehicles each day on average in 2015.

From the southern border of Rice County to Exit 55 on the south end of Faribault, 32,000 cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles used I-35.

In total, the average annual daily traffic volume entering Rice County is 69,000. In 2013, census data showed Rice County’s total population was just over 65,000.

The traffic and subsequent exposure gained by the individual cities, however, is immeasurable.

“They really connect communities and commerce,” said Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Dougherty, who runs public affairs for District 6, which encompasses all of southeastern Minnesota.

“They help bring goods in, people in. They are major transportation routes.”

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Underneath the bridge in the distance runs I-35. A plan put forth by Rice County officials and lawmakers could see that bridge turn into an interchange in the future. (Gunnar Olson/Daily News)

Dougherty and his District 6 team are in charge of the large amount of interstate in Minnesota, as I-90 also runs parallel to the southern border of Minnesota from the Mississippi River to west of Albert Lea. Still, he said, I-35 sees by far the most traffic. As a result, he sees Rice County’s cities growing.

“All of those communities are seeing growth. Not explosive, but manageable growth. It’s because of what the cities can offer as far as quality of life or work,” he said. “From time to time, it might seem like a busy highway, but it serves a good purpose.”

From near and far, Americans drive

by Rice County’s cities, and the cities understand the opportunity.

“For us, I-35 serves as a direct route to Faribault,” said Nort Johnson, Faribault’s community marketing director who is involved in promoting tourism for the city. “More than that, it’s a direct route between major activities and population centers. The ability to glean as much commerce from those folks passing by is dependent on how much we pay attention to that.”

Last year, Johnson and his colleagues erected a billboard just north of Faribault’s three exits, which displays a tall glass of beer and Faribault’s city logo and name. It is no coincidence, said Johnson, that 2016 saw the largest lodging tax increase in a one-year period for the city.

In addition to the billboard advertise-

ment, his team also crafted a keyword search strategy.

When motorists drive near Faribault, keyword searches for “dinner near me” or “music near me” will bring them to Faribault’s tourism page.

“We are very adamant about the mobile strategy,” said Johnson. “If they are already in their car and they are already heading this direction, that’s the time to get them thinking about it. People’s decision-making process is pretty condensed. Now, it’s not unusual for folks to get in the car and then look for activities on the move. The consumer habit plays into our location by the interstate really well.”

Getting on and getting off Paramount to Johnson’s strategy and the strategies of Northfield, Dundas, Morristown, Lonsdale and the other municipalities that make up Rice County, are the access points to I-35.

Those access points are critical for Rice County residents to get on the interstate and for potential tourists and visitors to reach Rice County’s cities.

Currently, motorists have five options: in northern Rice County, Hwy. 19, allowing access to Northfield and Lonsdale; County Road 1, which provides a straight shot to the city of Dundas; on the north end of Faribault at Hwy. 21; Faribault’s middle exit at Hwy. 60; and on the south end of Faribault, Exit 55 provides the last chance to exit

into Faribault, but only if you’re traveling north.

The second busiest exit in the county, according to data, is Hwy. 19. A total of 9,500 drivers take Hwy. 19 from I-35 to the city of Northfield daily, with another 6,900 heading west on Hwy. 19 toward Lonsdale.

Among the five Rice County exits, the Hwy. 21 exit in Faribault sees the most traffic headed toward a single city, with 14,000 vehicles using the interchange daily to access Faribault. But, the county’s highest volume exit is the Hwy. 60 interchange, which services 9,100 motorists daily, not including the more than 7,500 that head toward Morristown.

Exits up and down I-35 in Rice County connect the passersby with the cities they hope to visit, or in which they live. Besides the commuters and visitors, though, the exits are also used by industry and commercial businesses.

“The I-35 corridor is by far our busiest corridor in southeast Minnesota and one of the biggest pieces is the freight truck traffic,” said Dougherty.

In Faribault, creating a good working climate for industry is a focal point, as the city developed an industrial park on the north end of the city along the interstate. With companies like Faribault Foods and SageGlass, among many others, the basis for an industrial park is already formed. And the traffic shows as much.

The high traffic levels at the Hwy. 21 exit are due, in part, to that heavy industry.

Could there be a better route? It depends on who you ask, and how much each entity is willing to pay.

A new access point In 2008 and 2009, county and city officials convened to discuss pursuing development of a new interchange at County Road 9, just north of Faribault, as part of its Strategic Development Priorities for the county.

State officials, an engineering consultant and a representative from the Federal Highway Administration, the interstate’s governing body, all attended the meetings.

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Traffic volume data for I-35 The numbers below represent the average annual daily traffic volume on and around I-35. Data ranges from 2012-2015.

I-35 105,000 - Burnsville, just after I-35W and I-35E meet 66,000 - Lakeville 37,000 - Between Rice County border and Hwy. 19 37,000 - Between Hwy. 19 and County Road 1 30,000 - Between County Road 1 and Hwy. 21 30,500 - Between Hwy. 21 and Hwy. 60 26,500 - Between Hwy. 60 and Exit 55 (southern Faribault) 32,000 - Between Exit 55 and Rice County border 30,000 - Between Medford and Rice County border 23,700 - Before Owatonna’s first southern exit 19,900 - Just after the Iowa border before Albert Lea

Northfield/Dundas/ Lonsdale 9,500 - Between I-35 and the city of Northfield 6,900 - Between I-35 and the city of Lonsdale 2,650 - Between I-35 and the city of Dundas on County Road 1 7,200 - Between Dundas and Faribault on Hwy. 3

Faribault

800 - Between County Road 9 and the city of Faribault (without interchange) 14,000 - Between I-35 and Hwy. 60 on Hwy. 21 9,100 - Between I-35 and Hwy. 21 on Hwy. 60 6,700 - Between I-35 and Hwy. 60 on Hwy. 21 off of exit 55 7,600 - Between I-35 and Morristown on Hwy. 60 Source: MnDOT

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Alongside southern Minnesota’s busiest roadway sits the Faribault Industrial Park, where hundreds of trucks come and go daily. (Gunnar Olson/Daily News)

“We learned that it is a long journey,” said Rice County Highway Engineer Dennis Luebbe about the process of creating a new interstate access point, which could cost close to $20 million with funds coming from many entities. “It can be ex-

pensive with the number of studies, analyses and alternatives that all have to be explored to show to the feds that our problems or anticipated problems with traffic cannot be met without a new interchange.”

Luebbe said in order to under-

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take the costly and time-consuming construction endeavor, the Federal Transportation Administration must make sure a county has exhausted all of its other feasible options. In the end, he said, the decision is a subjective one.

“You may not ever satisfy the Federal Highway Administration,” he said. “We aren’t sure we want to gamble hundreds of thousands of dollars over a number of years just to be told ‘no.’”

After the initial talks in the late 2000s, the economic recession waned enthusiasm for the project, but Luebbe noted that talks have picked up in the past year. One of the main reasons the topic has resurfaced is Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault, who held the mayoral seat at Faribault City Hall for years.

“The talks started back in my very first year of being mayor in 2008,” he said. “Now, I’m in a position where I can use my influence to take action.”

After receiving a resolution from Rice County and the city of Faribault, Jasinski, whose campaign and early term in the State Senate has centered on a number of transportation issues in his district, put forth a bill for a feasibility study for the County Road 9 interchange, which he believes is a crucial first step to make the interchange a reality.

“I think Faribault has a very good manufacturing base and will continue to have that, so it’s important to have access to the freeway,” said Jasinski of why moving forward with the interchange will be necessary for the city. “We will continue to grow and see a resurgence. We will continue to have people relocate there, so it’s important to have access to the freeway there.”

Truck traffic being the primary catalyst, Jasinski noted that much of Faribault’s truck traffic services the Twin Cities, which requires drivers to drive south to Faribault.

Jasinski feels that having these truckers bypassing their eventual location by 5 miles, only to get off the interstate and Hwy. 21 and travel 5 miles north again is inefficient.

If an interchange were to be put in at County Road 9, those trucks could exit just north of the industrial park and be there in less time, while driving fewer miles than they would using the Hwy. 21 interchange. That would also reduce congestion at Hwy. 21, he argued.

However, Dougherty said that MnDOT is currently in more of a “maintenance mode” than an “expansion mode” as it relates to I-35.

He said that could change if Rice County and the city of Faribault uuu

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Seen from County Road 9 is the sign for County Road 76. Rice County officials and lawmakers see this rural intersection as a pivotal access point for Faribault’s Industrial Park on the north side of the city. (Gunnar Olson/Daily News)

endure the “rigorous process” to complete the interchange at County Road 9.

MnDOT would be the administering body for any construction related to the new interchange, including the construction bidding process, inspections and testing the materials.

For Luebbe and Rice County, however, they have begun thinking long-term about the interchange, working to check off the necessary

boxes for the interchange to come to fruition.

Laying the groundwork In recent years, Rice County worked to rebuild I-35’s west side frontage road, Bagley Avenue, or County Road 46. It was designed to accommodate increased truck traffic in the interest of manufacturing and industry at the park.

On the east side, Luebbe and his

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Motorists have three chances to exit to Faribault from I-35, but a fourth may be on the way in the coming years. (Gunnar Olson/Daily News)

team were able to accelerate their work, after getting approval from the Rice County Board of Commissioners to schedule County Road 76 in 2019, five years before it was originally scheduled.

“The action is accelerating some of the work in county transportation projects that parallel the interstate,” said Luebbe.

County roads 76 and 46 both link with County Road 9 to the north, providing dueling frontage roads on either side of the interstate, which Luebbe predicts will make the area ripe for development in the future.

Luebbe also described plans to take the township road that extends north of County Road 9, Base Line Road, and develop that to become frontage road that would link with County Road 1 and its interchange to the north. On the west side of the

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Gunnar Olson covers city government, public safety and business for the Faribault Daily News. Reach him at (507) 333-3128, at golson@faribault.com, or follow him on Twitter @fdnGunnar.

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interstate, on County Road 46, that link has already been secured.

“There will be frontage road from County Road 1 that will lead south to Faribault,” said Luebbe. “That provides direct access to all of those properties along the interstate.”

Of course, land use, right of way and other hurdles remain in the way.

Everyone agreed that the project is at least five years from completion.

But when it’s finally reached, which they believe it will, they all think that the new interchange could serve as an economic boon for the middle part of the county.

Only time will tell.

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Members of the Somali American Faribault Education from the right: Salaad Shardi, Mohamed Hussein, Isse Hussein and Ayni Shardi. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

Faribault minorities

develop political ambitions as officials seek staff to reflect community

By IDA MOJADAD imojadad@faribault.com imojadad@northfieldnews.com

G

alvanized by the 2016 election, the Latino and Somali community in Faribault have begun intentional discussions to get one of their own on a board representing the greater community.

For some, it was better understanding the system after paying attention to the election, when no diverse candidates were seen running on the local level, and realizing they could be a voice to

their community when it mattered. For others, it was the impact on immigrant and refugee populations that showed them the need to be part of the system.

Community members like Cynthia Gonzalez and Cecilio Palacios have become close with Somali residents who they say are more organized.

Mohamed Hussein, of the Somali American Faribault Education, said he has also been in dayto-day discussions with others to pick their own leaders they can turn into candidates.

“We contribute a lot to the city, we don’t know what’s going on [and] in the end, we get affected,” Gonzalez said. “You just work and work and you’re not aware.”

Now, they want to prepare people so they can run for office themselves. And it comes at a time when Faribault Public Schools, which also has a voter-elected board, and the Faribault Police Department work to bring on more diverse teachers and officers.

“Now it’s time for Hispanic representation,” Palacios said. “We are here.”

City government As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Faribault is 82.6 percent white, with 13 percent Latino. AfricanAmericans make up 7.6 percent while, broadly, Asians make up 2.1 percent.

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Twenty-nine people are City Hall staffers, according to city of Faribault Human Resources Manager Kevin Bushard, but there is no official data on their ethnic breakdowns, though they are split nearly 50-50 along gender lines.

Though Hussein said he feels like the Somali voice is heard, the Faribault City Council consists of all white members and he believes it would make a difference to have someone of the same background and culture help make decisions.

“It’s important because they know our struggle,” Hussein said. “They know the needs of the Somali community.”

For Somali-Americans, housing is an issue that drives some to neighboring towns like Northfield. Some families of six are crammed into a one-bedroom unit, Hussein said.

In addition, many must walk everywhere or coordinate rides with others in the community due to a lack of transportation options.

Housing is also an issue for the Latino community, Gonzalez said, with reported incidents of landlords who increase rent and drive out tenants without replacing them, or declining to make repairs.

Gonzalez said they are in the research phase of civic engagement and want to establish an office or a meeting place to call their own.

First, they want to get people in the loop so they can be part of the system and have several meetings in the works.

“We are starting from scratch,” Gonzalez said. “We are getting stronger and more brave.”

Police force For other entities, the political climate and will of the voters, along with lack of options for diverse candidates, doesn’t play into the dayto-day of making city staff representative of its population. Sometimes, it’s a matter of public safety.

Having bilingual officers like Somali-born and Owatonna-raised Said Hilowle since 2012, Faribault Police Chief Andy Bohlen said, helps the department connect better to the people they serve. Many

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Faribault boards and commissions

The Faribault City Council meets for a regular meeting Tuesday, April 25. The voterelected counicl consists of white members, though city officials and members of the community are looking to make city staff and the council more representative of the community at large. (Gunnar Olson/Daily News)

The Faribault School Board meets for a regular board meeting Monday, April 24.

The voter-elected board consists of white members, though school officials and members of the community are looking to make staff and the board more representative of the community at large. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

newcomers who don’t speak English well or don’t know how the system works can be hesitant to talk to the police, until they see a Somali officer and calm down, Hilowle said.

“We used to have a hard time with people coming forward in the Somali community,” Hilowle said.

“In certain cultures, you don’t want to be seen talking to a police officer.”

Hilowle−the department’s first Somali officer−said he can translate within minutes rather than relying on an interpreter hotline, connect better with victims or witnesses and relate the cultural norms of the

community. Sometimes they might think that a standard procedure, such as getting a name and date of birth, means that they’re in trouble or their citizenship will be affected even if they’re just a passenger in a car crash.

“When I explain that to them, they normally understand,” Hilowle said.

“I know [the department] appreciates having me around.”

Hilowle, along with Officer Sarah Tollefson, who’s from India and joined the force at the end of uuu

• Airport Advisory Board: for construction, improvement, maintenance and operation of the municipal airport, and general aviation activities affecting the community • Airport Zoning Board: for zoning issues surrounding the airport • Charitable Gambling Advisory Board: holders of gambling licenses • Charter Commission: to review and propose changes to the city code • Children’s Fund Board: for the Aquatic Center Scholarship fund • City Council: to determine all matters of policy • Civil Service Commission: for hiring and promotion issues for police and fire personnel • Economic Development Authority: to take action on economic development programs for business and industry • Heritage Preservation Commission: for the preservation of the community’s cultural, historical and architectural heritage; educational efforts that highlight Faribault’s past • Housing and Redevelopment Authority: to handle different housing programs • Ice Arena Board: to make decisions regarding the Ice Arena maintenance and operation, which is jointly owned by the city of Faribault and Faribault School District • Library Advisory Board: for the maintenance, operations, and policies of Buckham Memorial Library • Mill Towns Trail Board: to make decisions on the Mill Towns Trail, which will connect Faribault and Northfield to the Sakatah State Trail • Parks & Recreation Advisory Board: for park development and recreation program opportunities • Peter Smith Advisory Board: for expenditures of the Peter Smith Trust Fund for youth recreation programs • Planning Commission: to hear requests and make recommendations for land use, planning and zoning issues • Soccer Board: to make decisions on the Soccer Complex maintenance and operation, which is jointly owned by the city of Faribault and Faribault School District • Tommy Allen Youth Endowment Fund: to advises City Council and staff on the fund • Tourism Commission: for attractions, dining and hospitality • Tree Board: to advise the Parks and Recreation Board on trees in city parks Open slots are advertised on the city website or through local media. For more information, contact the city Administration Department for further information at 507-334-2222.

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By the numbers • In 2010, Faribault had a population of 23,352 • Of that, 82 percent were white • 13 percent were Latino, with 11 percent being Mexican • African-Americans make up 7.6 percent of the city • 2.1 percent were Asian (or less than 500) • 2.3 percent checked “two or more races” Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Officer Sarah Tollefson receives her badge at the Faribault Police Department swearing-in ceremony at the end of March.

(Photo courtesy of Faribault Police Department)

March, make up two of 35 sworn officers who are non-Caucasian, at least until July. The department has another three officers of diverse backgrounds−Latino, Somali and Sudanese males−in the top five of its approved hiring list, according to Bohlen.

“It is always a goal of a department to strive to be more reflective of the community we serve, but it is also very difficult to draw in certain segments of the population in the law enforcement so our candidate pool is sometimes limited,” Bohlen said in an email. “We’re always open to looking at more ideas to be more reflective.”

The department’s Explorer program helps recruit kids with a sincere interest in law enforcement, exposes them to the complexity of police work while providing community service and helps determine if they’re a good match for the job.

Still, Bohlen said, there’s a statewide issue of not receiving enough minority candidates, and that departments in the Twin Cities area often snap up the best ones.

“The reality is, oftentimes a really good candidate, no matter the ethnicity, they’re on several eligibility lists,” Bohlen said. “Everyone’s

competing for the best of the best.”

Education Of the 329 teachers in the district this school year, all but five are Caucasian, according to Human Resources Director Nicole Yochum.

Two are African-American, two are Asian or Pacific Islander and one is Hispanic.

Compared to the city demographics, Superintendent Todd Sesker said he knows the district has a long way to go. The voter-elected Faribault School Board is also comprised of white members.

“Obviously we have a diverse community and we want to make sure that we’re a reflection of our community,” Sesker said. “We have been very purposeful in trying to seek out candidates that have a diverse background.”

The challenge, Sesker said, is a shortage of diverse students pursuing education as well as prioritizing the best candidate over the diverse candidate. The district has been working with Minnesota State University, Mankato to recruit students both in the area and of diverse backgrounds.

A 2016 report by the U.S. Depart-

ment of Education stated that “a large majority of education majors and, more specifically, students enrolled in teacher preparation programs, are white.” Black and Hispanic students majoring in education have lower completion rates, as do black and Hispanic teachers with teacher retention rates, the report said.

The study, titled “The State of Racial Diversity in the Educator Workforce,” also pointed to research which shows that racial diversity of teachers can help close the achievement gap. They are more likely to have higher expectations of students of color, confront issues of racism, serve as advocates and cultural brokers as well as develop more trusting relationships particularly with students who share a cultural background with themselves.

Gonzalez said she felt that her son got more encouragement from his teachers at Bethlehem Academy, and that having teachers of the same background would have helped her daughter in public school.

“They didn’t feel comfortable,” Gonzalez said of her kids going through public school. “Everybody learns differently.”

While district English Language

Coordinator and Faribault Diversity Coalition board member Sam Ouk would like to see more representation as well, he finds it more important for people who don’t look like each other to help and advocate for one another.

Looking back on growing up in poverty as a Cambodian refugee in Rochester, Ouk said his role models were white teachers who showed they believed in him.

“These people truly guided me. I hope I can be just as impactful for our Somali community and Hispanic community,” Ouk said. “I hope my teachers who are predominantly white can be just as impactful.”

Sophomore Ilyas Adan said that he feels comfortable with his Faribault High School teachers, who are all white, even more so than his Somali tutors. He added they always remind him to do his homework and they all pay attention to his progress, nodding when asked if he feels supported by his teachers.

“They just want you to do the best that you can,” Adan said.

The idea is to have minority youth see Faribault as their home and to foster a feeling of belonging that some Cambodian youth didn’t have and subsequently made poor

faribault.com

Faribault native Tasha Breyer, left, and St. Olaf College student Clare Collins, right, practice a folk dance for the Cambodian New Year celebration at the Knights of Columbus on Saturday, April 22. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

choices, Ouk said. Having a nonAsian mayor, Ouk added, shouldn’t stop someone like him from feeling like he could be the mayor.

“I think it’s more important for those that don’t share that experience [to] make connections with us and therefore we make connections with them,” Ouk said. “It has to be reciprocal.”

While Ouk said the Faribault Diversity Coalition has enjoyed the support of City Council members, the outreach and discussions with community members are just beginning.

In March, they partnered with the School District and Chamber of Commerce to hold an educational immigration conference built on the consensus that residents need more opportunities to discuss, in person, the impact of political developments.

Cultural connection Part of why members from the FDC host cultural celebrations like an international festival is to share a part of themselves with the community that can bring people closer together. Events like a killing field simulation with Cambodian elders and the corresponding questions that were raised display a desire to learn more about the Faribault refugee and immigrant population, Ouk

said.

“You get to learn more about each other and find you’re more similar than different,” Ouk said. “That cross-cultural connection is what’s going to move us forward.”

As the FDC prepared for its Cambodian New Year event at the end of April, some residents with Cambodian roots said the celebration shows a renewed effort to preserve their heritage.

“It’s a struggle to try to keep the Cambodian culture alive here,” Ouk said.

Tasha Breyer and her Cambodianborn mother, Sakun Breyer, enlisted as event performers of a traditional coconut dance after growing up in Faribault and wanting to connect with the culture on her mother’s side.

For years, Sakun didn’t think there would be a Cambodian community to celebrate with.

“It’s kind of brings me back to where I grew up and where I was born,” Sakun said. “It’s good to see that.”

Breyer said it seems that people are starting to become more interested in the specific cultures of the Asian diaspora, rather than generally grouping the varying descents and stories into one broad racial category. Publicly celebrating Cambodian New Year is a start.

“It helps preserve that and show our diverse members of the commu-

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Faribault Diversity Coalition board member Sam Ouk, middle, guides Lincoln Elementary School students Faith Wright, left, and Lily Arizpe, right, through a dance practice for the Cambodian New Year celebration at the Knights of Columbus Saturday, April 22. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

St. Olaf College students Sya Nkosi, left, and Clare Collins, right, practice a performance for the Cambodian New Year celebration at Knights of Columbus Saturday, April 22. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

nity that those aspects of our culture matter,” Breyer said. “There wasn’t a whole of Cambodian kids in school so as far as recognizing Cambodian culture, most people just look at you and say you’re Asian.”

Understanding those differences in language and culture, Breyer added, is especially helpful to help connect people to the right resources.

“I think it’s really important specifically for kids in the school,” Breyer said.

In their newfound goals for representation, Gonzalez and Palacios emphasized finding role models for

Latino youth to get them to college.

After all, they will be the ones to continue the work making the community part of the system.

Building the relationships through basketball with police officers or tutoring with community members are immensely helpful in their own right, Ouk said. Helping immigrant and refugee youth access mainstream resources, like the library, further connects them to the community.

“They get to feel like Faribault is their home,” Ouk said.

Reach Reporter Ida Mojadad at 507-333-3135 or follow her on Twitter @APGidamojadad.

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Growing Since 1895

Faribault Foods invests in its people and new technologies to fuel growth into the future.

Faribault Foods has been a pillar in the Faribault community since the late 1800’s. Started by a small group of local farmers as a sweet corn canner, the company was later acquired and managed by the Vandever/McDonald family for four generations. In 2014, the company was purchased by La Costeña, which has been family owned and operated by the Lopez family for three generations. This long legacy as a family owned company lives on today in the company’s culture, values and vision for the future.

The new ownership has ushered in a new era of growth and expansion.

Their optimistic plans for the future are embodied by the new manufacturing facility now under construction. When the new facility opens this Fall, it promises to be the most modern canner in the country with greatly improved work conditions. For example, the internal environment will include better temperature and humidity controls, along with a modern, spacious breakroom and outdoor patio. Additionally, employees will be cross-trained on multiple functions to increase variety, responsibility and allow for greater career advancement. With these and other improvements, the company plans to train, retain and promote qualified individuals looking to grow with the expanding company.

Today, Faribault Foods is spread out across four separate locations within Faribault, and one location in Cokato, Minn. The new facility will allow the company to unite all of its Faribault-based employees under one

The new facility, located adjacent to the current facility at 3200 Industrial Drive, Faribault, Minn. will be over 1,000,000 sq ft, including can manufacturing, canning, labeling, storage and distribution all under one roof.

roof, which is seen as essential to promoting the family-like culture that remains a fundamental cornerstone of what makes Faribault Foods a great company, and will allow it to grow and thrive for many years to come.

Faribault Foods has a strong reputation as a trusted supplier of branded, store brand and co-manufactured products. Branded products include S&W® Beans, Sun Vista®, Luck’s®, Kuner’s®, KC Masterpiece® Baked Beans, Mrs. Grimes®, Butter Kernel®, Chilli Man®, Kern’s®, Pride, Finest and Pasta Select.

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Faribault Muslims read from the Quran around prayer time at the local mosque Monday, April 17. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

Faribault Muslims

hope with time and education, negative perception will continue to fade

By IDA MOJADAD imojadad@faribault.com

F

aribault Muslims are feeling more integrated in the community, but still find that general negative perceptions can be remedied by the public getting to know the faith.

So, here’s a start.

WorkForce Center instructor Faysel Ali, teacher Abdi Abdullahi, Abubakar Islamic Center Executive Director Bashir Omar and Amina Aden wanted people to know a few things about what Islam teaches them: to be kind and honest, give to charity, welcome

strangers, value friendship, exercise manners and refrain from cursing or ridicule.

It is these teachings that have Aden and others brimming with pride for their religion of choice.

“Islam has impacted me in such a good way,” Aden said. “Being Muslim is the most amazing thing for me.”

They wanted Faribault to know a few more things:

Praying Muslims pray five times each day at dawn, midday, late afternoon, sunset uuu

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Faysel Ali, left, and Bashir Abdi, right, pray at the local mosque Monday, April 17.

(Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

Faysel Ali, 36, washes up before prayer time at the local mosque Monday, April 17. Washing their hands, arms, feet and head, Muslims cleanse themselves of the day’s sins. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

and before midnight. Sometimes, school or work may interfere, but Ali said they may pray anywhere that is sanitary and that he personally preferred not to in a place that felt secluded, to not feel like he was hiding.

Aden disagreed, reminding him that women can’t pray in front of men who aren’t their husbands.

Since praying involves bowing while standing and then kneeling and touching the ground or prayer mat with their foreheads, Ali said you simply need enough physical space to do so.

While Aden said she’s been pushed to the lockers for what she felt was because she’s Somali or Muslim, she added that Faribault High School administration was nice to give Muslim students a prayer place while she was a student there.

When she worked at a market, she only had 15-minute breaks that interfered with the ritual, but now she has no issue at her current place of employment.

For Shia Muslims, washing before prayer to cleanse sins means washing the face once, both arms once, wiping a quarter of the head and wiping both feet, including the ankles, once each.

Somali Muslims are predominantly Sunni, which means they wash their faces and arms three

the opposite sex if they’re not family members, which Abdullahi said is not meant to cause offense.

“It is the teaching of our religion to keep your chastity and to keep your desires at manageable levels,” Ali said. “There is always that attraction, no matter how much people disregard that.”

Aden pointed out other instances when women cover up for religious reasons, like married Orthodox Jewish women and Catholic nuns.

“When [Virgin Mary] wears garments over her head it’s OK−when we do it, it’s not OK?” Aden said.

“Why should that be different from what other people wear?”

She’s saddened to hear of Muslim women around the country targeted for wearing a hijab like herself, but hasn’t felt that threat here.

“Our town is a safe place,” Aden said. “There’s nothing that I’m afraid of.”

times while washing both feet, including the ankles, once. To wash their heads, they stroke wet hands downward from the top, clean their ears with their index fingers while thumbs go behind the earlobes before swiping the back of their hands over their neck, all in one continuous motion.

People who aren’t familiar with the practice often eye Aden doing so in a public bathroom, she said.

“It’s kind of awkward, I would say,” Aden said. “Now I’m just kind of used to it. It’s who I am and I don’t think I should hide it from anybody.”

Aden recounted when her and some friends needed to step away to pray while at a Minnesota Twins game, but the spot they found had many people passing by. She said she was scared at first, but became calm with time.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Aden said of praying in loud places.

Covering up “I choose to wear this−I’m not oppressed,” Aden said of her hijab.

“Islam really protects us [women] a lot.”

Having women cover up is to protect them from being objectified, Aden said, and they’re viewed “like a queen,” Omar added. Men and women lower gazes and don’t touch

Violent image A white friend of Abdullahi’s told him that when they first became neighbors in town, they kept all their belongings inside, thinking they were thieves and drug dealers. “Now we like you guys,” Abdullahi said he was told.

And three years ago at a store in Faribault, someone told Abdullahi he couldn’t speak “that language,” or

Somali, and that he had to go back to his country. Abdullahi said he thinks the sudden change of population had an effect.

“People really believe what they see in the media,” Abdullahi said.

“Now people are learning to get that Muslims are not hostile people.”

Abdullahi and Ali expressed frustration with Islam’s image as the face of terrorism, as the scapegoat for violence in the world.

“Islam has become a talking point,” Ali said. “You don’t even have to know anything about it.”

When non-Muslims commit a crime, they may be portrayed as a lone actor with mental illness, while the same benefit of the doubt isn’t afforded to Muslims, who are called on to apologize for terror committed by people who share the same faith, Ali said.

“We have to take responsibility for someone else’s actions,” Ali said.

“We are simply tired of being accused of something we have nothing to do with.”

The good virtues get swept away as those in the West believe Islam is all about war, Abdullahi said, while not letting women get divorces or own land.

“The truth is that Islam is all about peace,” Abdullahi said. “My entire community should not be subjected to what I did.”

faribault.com

Faysel Ali, right, helps a regular client with computer skills and resume building at the WorkForce Development Center Thursday, April 20. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

“Every community has bad people,” Omar added.

Ali said it’s a challenge they face to know there are smart people across the country that have not had negative encounters with Muslims,

and yet they’re terrified by them.

“It’s OK to be afraid of someone you don’t know, but at least have an open heart to understand why that is,” Ali said. “When you’re ignorant about certain things, you tend to

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Faysel Ali checks out a toy his 8-year-old daughter, Suleika Ahmed, picked up at Wal-Mart in Faribault Monday, April 24. (Ida Mojadad/Daily News)

believe your own instincts.”

The local mosque holds an interfaith conference once or twice a year, Omar said, which helps people get to know their beliefs. All are invited to the Abubakar Islamic Center to

learn more.

“I hope with time we will overcome,” Abdullahi said. “We try to open the gates.”

Reach Reporter Ida Mojadad at 507-333-3135 or follow her on Twitter @APGidamojadad.

Five Pillars of Islam 1. Declaration of Faith - or, simply, that “there is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet” 2. Daily prayers - Muslims pray five times a day, which can be in any location in the direction of Mecca. As a symbol of their respect and submission to Allah (God), praying involves bowing while standing and then kneeling and touching the ground or prayer mat with their foreheads 3. Alms-Giving - sharing of wealth with those less fortunate 4. Fasting - during the holy month of Ramadan, this year beginning May 27, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Exceptions are made for the sick, elderly and pregnant 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca - Muslims who are able visit Mecca and its surrounding holy sites at least once in their lives. Pilgrimage occurs in the 12th month of the Islamic calendar and focuses around visiting the Kaaba, walking around it seven times Source: Khan Academy

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Have faith

in your child’s future.

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Shattuck-St. Mary’S School A Proud Part of

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Faribault Lutheran School provides the community with high-quality, values-based education in a loving, Christian environment.

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If you would like to set up a tour of the school and meet the Principal and prospective teacher of your child, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 334-7982. We would love to visit with you!

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Ultra-marathon An ultra-marathon is defined as any footrace longer than a marathon (26.2 miles).

More information on ultras can be found at ultrarunning.com/

LEFT: Nick Stoneman’s taken part in a lot of ultra-marathons. In 2012, he created something of his own ultra-marathon called the rim-to-rimto-rim, an ultra based in the Grand Canyon benefitting the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization. (Daily News File Photo) RIGHT: Nick Stoneman, seen after completing the 50-mile ultra-marathon “Surf the Murph,” has been running in ultra-marathons for more than a decade. (Daily News File Photo) BOTTOM: Nick Stoneman has run ultra-marathons for more than a decade. (Submitted photo)

Ultra-marathon man

Nick Stoneman experiencing life 100 miles at a time

By MATT BIGELOW mbigelow@faribault.com

B

y day he’s the president of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School.

When he’s not running the esteemed prep school, he’s physically running … a lot.

Nick Stoneman never ran track. He never ran cross country. He’s never run a marathon. Yet, if there’s a person who lives by the motto “go big or go home,” it’s Stoneman. For the last decade, his idea of exercise has been competing in ultra-marathons.

What’s an ultra-marathon? Technically it’s any footrace longer than the uuu

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By day he’s the president of Shattuck-St. Mary’s. When he’s not running the esteemed prep school, he’s physically running ... a lot. (Daily News File Photo)

traditional marathon (26.219 miles).

In most cases, they span absurd distances ranging in the hundreds of miles. Stoneman began competing in

ultras in 2006, more out of curiosity than anything. In the decade that’s followed, they’ve become part of who he is.

“I started off discovering ultramarathons visiting a friend in Vermont,” said the 56-year-old. “We’re hanging out at his farm and these people drove up, set up a tent, table and chairs and I asked what it was about. He said, ‘that’s the aid station for the Vermont 100’ ... an ultramarathon where people ran 100 miles.

His farm was at the 52-mile mark.

People came out of the woods and to the aid station. They kept coming up all day. I was fascinated. All kinds of ages and body types; petite women and large burly men and everything in between. It drew me in.

I had to be a part of that.”

Stoneman had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he learned pretty quickly.

“I started training, found a pair of shoes in my garage and I just started running a lot,” said Stoneman. “I’d

never run more than maybe 5 miles.

My first time out I ran 8 miles and I was all excited. Then I collapsed and my wife had to come get me.”

For a lot of people, that might’ve been the end of it. Eight miles is enough exercise for a week or a month. Not for Stoneman. It was a step in the process, and over the years, he’s become immersed in that process.

The Vermont 100 is one of the bigger ultra-marathons in terms of popularity. To compete in it, Stoneman had to first complete a race of at least 50 miles.

So for his first one, he picked the Edmund Fitzgerald 100K in Duluth.

It didn’t go well. Forty-some miles into the race, Stoneman was running on fumes. He was alone, in the cold and on the verge of dropping out due to exhaustion. The next se-

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quence of events, however seemingly small, changed Stoneman’s entire outlook on ultras. He realized a new sense of purpose.

“As I’m hobbling along, across the road there was a collection of men and women running together from West Point who had come over for the race,” said Stoneman. “One of them peeled off from the group, came over to me, put his arm around me, started talking to me and just kind of pulled me along. Basically said ‘you got this, you can do this’ − all the kind of encouraging stuff.

He just kind of pushed me down the road. He had no idea who I was. I never saw him again. Just complete support. That’s the thing about ultras. In our lives, unbridled support doesn’t appear as much as you want.

With ultras, it’s all the time. It’s unbelievable. It’s an opportunity for humanity to come out in ways you don’t ordinarily see.”

It’s that sense of community that drew Stoneman back in. He’s competed in ultras all over the country.

Different terrain, different lengths and different people. The camaraderie even among complete strangers has been a constant.

“Everybody is in this thing together,” said Stoneman. “I was in an ultra a few years ago and I’ll never forget, before the race started we’re all meeting together, [and] one of the racers stood up and said ‘hey all of us who are out in front of this, let’s not try to use the water [at the aid stations]. Let’s make sure the backof-the-packers have it. They need it more than us.’

“And everybody was just kind of like ‘yeah OK.’ What’s that tell you? It was a race where you run in a loop. So the guys who did this thing seriously were so much faster than some to the point that they are lapping people. And when they [lap] you, the first thing out of their mouth is ‘how you doing?’ and there was a genuineness to it. I mean these guys are studs. That’s the cool thing. In modern-day society where community for most is really lacking, there is a community to ultrarunners. I can go to a race and not know anybody, but feel like we’re all

part of this thing.”

Of course that community isn’t always complete strangers. When taking part in a race — though Stoneman characterized it more as an adventure or journey — that last days at a time, one can experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows − sometimes within 15 miles of each other. There’s a lot of time, sometimes too much time, and in that time, it’s only natural for doubt or despair to creep in. It’d be easy to simply ask ‘why?’ or ‘what for?’

That’s when support is paramount. And Stoneman’s seen a lot of it.

“I ask that all the time in the training process and certainly throughout the course of a race,” said Stoneman. “Along the way there have been some key people. My wife, [Vicky], she’s been really kind of a blend of a big fan, a coach and an advocate.

She’s come to find me on various runs to get me. She’s been with me on races and she’s at aid stations all the time. When you are 65 miles into a run in the middle of the night, seeing your wife at an aid station is pretty special. She’s done it so much that she knows what to look for and how to figure out what to say.

She knows when to say ‘you’ve had enough’ or ‘get your butt up and keep going.’ She’s been amazing.”

His wife may not understand the drive, but she does all she can to support it.

“He loves it. It’s hard to watch as they go through huge ups and downs and you are trying to figure out how much to say ‘keep going, suck it up’ or when they are at the breaking point and it’s ‘hey maybe you should pull back here,’” said Vicky Stoneman. “It can be wrenching emotionally to figure out with him, but it’s something he loves to do, and when he finishes, it’s an awesome feeling.”

Vicky has been with him throughout the entire ride and she’s seen just how impactful it can be on someone’s life.

“It breeds that camaraderie,” she said. “They are all trying to get to the finish line together. It creates that bond and feeling of accomplishment. It’s like a life lesson. We

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Shattuck-St. Mary’s President Nick Stoneman uses this game board to teach school headmasters and presidents around the country about running their facilities with long-term goals and ideas. In his free time, Stoneman takes part in ultra-marathons. (Daily News file photo)

As pictured in 2012, Nick Stoneman, an avid runner and president at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, looks at a magazine clipping of the famous “rim-to-rim-to-rim” Grand Canyon outside his office door. (Daily News file photo)

experience things in life that present challenges and you just have to keep running and get over the highs and lows. It’s incredible.”

Stoneman’s had his fair share of unique experiences and in just about every individual ultra, he has a story of an individual who he helped, or an individual who helped him, through a low moment. There are

even instances where both scenarios played out with the same person.

That can happen when the adventure spans some-100 miles.

The seemingly random encounters are certainly special. But Stoneman’s also developed lasting friendships.

Marc Davis and Bill Clements are two individuals Stoneman credits uuu

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in helping him evolve as an ultramarathoner. Clements was an ultramarathon champion in the 1980s and Davis was a SSM alum who Stoneman met early in his ultra-marathon life.

The three have remained friends for years now and ran together in an ultra-marathon called the “rim-torim-to-rim,” a 41-mile ultra in the Grand Canyon supporting military families through Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.

“What amazed me about Nick was that he had no shorter distance experience,” said Davis. “He’d never run track or cross country. He just jumped into running ultra-marathons. I’ve run all my life personally and I didn’t know what to say. It’s a unique thing to see someone who has never run start running 100-mile races.”

“It’s a team effort,” said Stoneman.

“The support from my team, if you will, is a difference-maker. As much

as it is a lonely sport, the support is huge.”

What Stoneman is doing is rare.

How he got to this point is even rarer.

But the thing about the ultra-marathon world is that it’s built on rare.

It might not make sense to anyone outside of it. No part of it makes a lot of sense.

But to Stoneman, it makes perfect sense.

It’s challenging. It’s enlightening.

It’s even addicting. It’s anything but easy. But that’s the draw for him.

“When I first started there was sort of the novelty of it all and achieving what seemed unachievable,” said Stoneman. “My motivation now is more the function of the role it plays in providing a sense of purpose and an opportunity to explore further the extent of my capacity. It’s stressful to try to do on top of one’s life. And yet there’s a draw to it that is hard to set aside. They are very humbling. They are very, in a sense, soul-searching.

You figure out what you are made of.”

“It’s not for everybody,” added Davis. “Most of this stuff, the competition isn’t against other people. It’s against yourself. It’s an experience.

You have to do a lot of introspection and review of yourself. With Nick’s job, he’s got so many things going on all the time and sometimes you just need to hang back and reflect on things. You get a perspective on life in general.”

For Stoneman, it’s an odd sort of therapy. His job can be demanding and time-consuming. And it can be stressful. Training for ultras and partaking in ultras is a whole different kind of stress, but it’s become ingrained in his existence.

“I think it’s reinforced how determined he can be,” said Vicky Stoneman. “He’s been determined in a lot of avenues in his life. He’s always been athletic but it shows just how ultimately strong he is mentally. I think

that’s been reaffirmed seeing him do this.”

What’s next for Stoneman? He recently completed a 55-mile ultra called “Surf the Murph” in Minnesota, and on his list of agendas regarding future ultras is a 380-mile “gravelroad race,” which is biking rather than running. He also has completing a 200-mile ultra-marathon on his list of goals.

Whatever the future holds for Stoneman, don’t expect him to stop pushing his limits.

“He was so excited at the end [of his first ultra],” said Vicky Stoneman.

“And that feeling I think just got him hooked. It was a whole new world.

You are pushing your limits. It can be tough at times, but it can be really rewarding. He keeps going back so something has him hooked.”

Matt Bigelow covers sports for the Daily News. You can reach him at 507-333-3129 or online via Twitter @FDNMattBigelow

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Faribault swim coaches Isaiah Fuller, left, Charlie Fuller and Bethany Fuller completed their first season together, coaching the FHS boys. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

Longtime Faribault swim coach

Charlie Fuller

enjoyed winter with children Isaiah, Bethany joining him on staff

By ADAM J.S. HOLT aholt@faribault.com

I

t’s a funny thing how chance and dumb luck can lead to big things.

More than 30 years ago, a game of Trivial Pursuit at a church event introduced Ken Hubert and Charlie Fuller. When the two saw they were both answering all the swimming questions, they got to talking. That led to a coaching partnership at Faribault High School that’s produced conference titles, all-state swimmers and divers, and plenty of state champions. It’s

also led to making coaching Falcons swim and dive a family affair.

This past year was special for Fuller. He hasn’t been the only Fuller on the coaching staff, as his middle child, Isaiah, has helped him coach the FHS boys swim and dive team for years. But 20162017 saw Charlie’s daughter, Bethany, join him and Isaiah in coaching the Falcons.

Father-son coaching duos aren’t anything new.

There are plenty of father-daughter coaching connections as well. To have a trio all coaching the same team and sport? That’s a little more unique.

“But to have son and daughter there, and Char-

lie, that’s kind of a unique situation,” Hubert, who coaches the FHS girls swim and dive team, said.

“And it’s a good one. Isaiah has a great, fun-loving attitude. I’ll be honest, Bethany coached with us this girls season. She was fantastic. Just putting her into the boys situation will only help them as well, especially with those kids who are just starting out, because she’s got such a great background in teaching the strokes. That will only be beneficial to that program.”

All five of Charlie and wife Joy’s kids swam at uuu

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Faribault graduate and assistant swim coach Bethany Fuller, center in green, helped with both the FHS girls and boys swim teams this past year. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

FHS — Noah, Nathan, Isaiah, Bethany and Andrew. Isaiah, a 2004 Faribault graduate, and Bethany (’06) both swam at St. Cloud State.

Now Charlie has two of them helping him run the show, and effectively — the Falcons finished ninth at the Class A state meet this season and saw senior Paul Sadergaski win the 50-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly.

“For me, it was great to have both of my kids working with me, because that’s always been something that’s been in the back of my mind, that they’ll love sports like I do and actually get into the sport that I’m into, and be able to coach with them at the same time, that’s cool,” Charlie said. “That’s something that just kind of worked out right to have Beth join us this year.

With Isaiah and me by ourselves, that would have been a tough season.”

A healthy background When Charlie Fuller came to Faribault and met Hubert, the

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former wasn’t doing anything with his background in swimming. The two have coached together since the 1980s, with Fuller coaching diving for both the FHS girls and boys, and taking over as head boys coach in 2008 when Hubert needed more time to attend to his duties as activities director at the time.

The Fuller kids saw plenty of both Charlie and Hubert coaching them in the pool growing up.

In the Fuller household, Sundays were swim days. Charlie is very detail-oriented and nuanced about planning out practices at least a week in advance. His kids would help indulge his obsession. Charlie says it drove his wife crazy — all the while, he himself felt crazy needing to be so meticulous.

“It drives me nuts. I’ve gotta look it up, I’ve gotta check it out, I’ve gotta get practices done, I’ve gotta do all this stuff,” Charlie said.

“Thank God she put up with me.

I’m serious, you can put that in there, too.”

Joy Fuller is not an idle bystand-

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er, though. She helps out at meets and puts data together, serving as a de facto statistician for the swim team.

So growing up, the Fuller children were well-exposed to everything that goes into coaching swim and dive. Bethany helped out with summer swim lessons starting in high school, teaching young kids the basics. Once there were some openings on the staffs at FHS this past year, she climbed aboard.

“It worked out really well for me this year,” she said. “Everything just lined up for it to work. I guess in years past, I didn’t know, with being in college or whatnot, where I was going to be. I guess I’ve always felt like I’ve been part of it, in a way.”

Isaiah knew in college he wanted to get into coaching.

“My fifth year up there, I decided, I was a senior and senior captain up there, that I wanted to volunteer coach,” he said. “So I was the volunteer assistant coach up there, I coached the distance swimmers up there. That’s when we really got going into, ‘Oh God, I swam, but how do I train them?’ So that’s when we really started having those conversations.”

Between his father and Hubert, he had a pair of great resources.

Since then, he’s not only assistant coached at FHS, but he took over as head girls swim and dive coach at Owatonna High School in 2012.

And this year marked eight years since he started assisting the FHS boys with Charlie.

Even now, there’s not often a problem Charlie can’t help Isaiah solve. Especially with diving − often

HUNTER

Isaiah can describe something over the phone to his father, who can correct it without even seeing the problem.

“Being so meticulous, it challenges you to be a better coach when you run into problems,” Isaiah said.

“We can bounce ideas off each other. I’ve been a head coach now, this was my fifth year in Owatonna as a head coach, and there’s nobody else I’d rather go to. Whenever I have a problem, I know he’s just a phone call away.”

Isaiah and Bethany not only followed in their father’s footsteps, they started walking beside him.

“It’s always fun to see some of our former swimmers coaching,” Hubert said. “We’ve had a number in a number of different places. To have two of them come back and give back so much to the programs that they came out of, that means an awful lot. It’s — I said neat before, and that’s as good a thing as I can say. It’s neat to see, it’s fun to see.

Hopefully it means that they enjoyed their experiences here, and want to provide that kind of experience to kids going forward.”

A good balance Any time a coaching staff makes an addition, there’s an adjustment period. Who does what? How long until everyone’s comfortable with each other? It doesn’t take long for people to learn to agree with each other; it can take much longer for them to feel safe in disagreeing.

That was one issue the Fullers didn’t really have to deal with. And it didn’t take long for each of the

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Faribault swim coaches Isaiah Fuller, left, and Charlie Fuller talk at the Section 1A meet earlier this year. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

three to find their role. Charlie is in charge, for one, and he’s also the one to work with the divers. Bethany, with her background in lessons, was

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was able to run stroke drills and help the beginners. That allowed Isaiah to work with some of the Falcon veterans more.

“I really like the dynamic that we have going,” Isaiah said. “I’m the head coach for the girls in Owatonna, and it’s a completely different dynamic over there because I can’t be the assistant coach; I have to be the head coach. I have to treat different situations a different way. Being the dynamic we have — assistant, assistant and head — he’s the serious one. And he’s more of a serious guy anyway. I think we balance each other out really well with that.”

And there was no butting of heads. The three get along, maybe more so than a lot of coaching staffs.

“I think every different sports program, swimming program, you look at the growth of times and personal growth of people,” FHS senior swim captain Chris Lane said.

“I think adding that third Fuller, you didn’t have any headbutting with the coaches. Everybody was all on the same page. They grew up, Charlie taught them arguably one of the best coaching methods, and so when you have all three coaches on the same page, it definitely helps the improvement. You don’t have anybody arguing with the coaches because if you argue with one, you’ll be arguing with all three.”

Isaiah often presents a dissenting viewpoint to challenge Charlie, not as insubordination, but to make sure everyone can talk through and arrive at the same conclusion. Charlie jokes that they’ll talk until everyone sees it his way. But even decisions like what swim suits Sadergaski would wear for sections and state get discussed. “[Charlie] would walk away, Isaiah would turn to me, he was like, ‘I love playing devil’s advocate with Dad. I love it,’” Bethany said.

Each Fuller had a stereotypical role to play in discipline, too. Isaiah’s the joker. Bethany found a good way to keep the boys in line, rewarding them with Lifesavers wintergreen mints for tasks like getting in or out of the pool on time — proving teenagers aren’t immune to classical conditioning. While helping out at

The Fuller family stands and watches at the Section 1A finals back in February in Rochester. (Adam J.S. Holt/Daily News)

track meets in the spring, Bethany sees swim kids approach, hands held out expecting a treat — a request she always obliges.

Asked what happens if she runs out of mints, she says she doesn’t know; it hasn’t happened yet.

Charlie has the final say, and he’s the one the kids will avoid upsetting. Two of the kids on the team this year spent a little too much time horsing around at practice. When Isaiah and Bethany’s typical intervention didn’t work, they came back with an acronym, “HWRC,” for the two — How Would Charlie React?

It worked.

“It’s fun. We play the good cop, the bad cop and the bad cop,” Charlie said with a laugh. “I should say, good cop, bad cop, worse cop.”

“It was like Isaiah was the fun enforcer, Charlie was the big dog, big man on campus, still fun,” Lane said. “Bethany was there, she was joking around with us, she’d keep us on track. It was a lot of fun to have her. She developed relationships immediately with all of us.”

That’s not to say Charlie is dour.

For the section prelim meet, he had matching garb for himself, Isaiah and Bethany — Dr. Seuss-inspired “Fuller 1, Fuller 2 and Fuller 3” shirts in neon green. The coaches

wear Zubaz pants at some meets, too. An especially goofy crew of Falcons swimmers fed off that this year.

“That, and Dad brings the fun — he always tells us when it’s Zubaz pants, or Fuller 1, Fuller 2, Fuller 3 day,” Bethany said. “Just to set the mood. It’s a lot of fun.” “‘I’m wearing my Zubaz today, you better bring your Zubaz, too,’” Isaiah added. “All right, I’ll bring my Zubaz.”

It’s just tradition. While Charlie gets results, he stresses the fun of it. That was something that helped junior Adam Rechtzigel have his best season ever — once he stopped worrying and made sure to have fun, his times plummeted, all the way to appearances at state in the 50 free and breaststroke consolation finals.

“We do this stuff because the swimmers feed off of it really well,” Fuller said. “We’re as goofy as they are, or they’re as goofy as we are, whatever. It works.”

The results have been there, in a number of ways. In 2015, FHS finished third in the state at the Class A meet, the highest placing in school history. Charlie’s up for state coach of the year for the fifth time; he’s been conference and section coach of the year for swimming and diving,

and Isaiah was assistant coach of the year in the section — not the first time he’s earned that honor.

Charlie Fuller learned how to coach diving on the job, and has produced 29 different state-meet divers for a total of 54 berths on April 28, at the All-State banquet, he was honored with the Assistant Coach, Dedicated Service Award for his work with both FHS teams — he also received it in 2004 and is the only person to win twice.

But it really all boils down to enjoying it. Charlie’s often said he’s been coaching long enough that if it stops being fun, he’ll quit. This past year, well, it was still fun. So he’ll be back. Isaiah will keep coaching, too.

Bethany has her spots coaching both the boys and girls teams waiting for her next year.

The past few decades have been fun for Charlie Fuller. This last winter will hold a special place, though.

“So to have Beth join us, then it’s just a Fuller trio,” he said. “It’s good. It’s fun. It keeps you going.

I hope it keeps it going for a while.

We’ll see. Hopefully they feel the same way.”

Reach Sports Editor Adam Holt at aholt@faribault.com. Find him on Twitter @FDNAdamJSHolt.

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