Profiles 2025

profiles 2025

OUR YEARLY LOOK AT SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES UNIQUE

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Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 2

content 3 Faribault’s John St. Clair gives

artisans a place to sell their goods

5 Owatonna’s Sandra Boss is a

pioneer for local girls sports

lessons 8 Global inspire Vicki Dilley’s

decades of service in Northfield

12 Nicollet’s Ryan and Lonita

Schmidt carry on meat market family legacy

profiles SEPTEMBER 2025

PUBLISHER: KEVIN TRUE REGIONAL MANAGING EDITOR: JEFF FORWARD SALES DIRECTORS: TOM KELLING

15 Waseca’s Tom Sexton

driven by service to country and community

18 Faribault’s Keith Radel helping restore bluebird population in Rice County

and Deb 20 Matt Gillard strive to

make everyone a home in Owatonna

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Page 3 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

John “Spanky” St. Clair standing in front of his Makers Market sign. He helped create it for makers in town who wanted to showcase their work for people to buy. (Lauren Viska - Faribault.com)

Faribault’s

John St. Clair

T

gives artisans a place to sell their goods

hree summers ago, John “Spanky” St. Clair arrived at the Faribault Farmers Market, ready to set up his woodworking booth as he had for years. But the welcome he expected didn’t come. The organizers told him makers were no longer welcome.

Most people might have walked away. Not St. Clair. Instead, he decided to create his own market, giving Faribault artisans a space to sell their handmade goods and keep local commerce in town.

“I was sick and tired of everybody from this town going to Northfield or Owatonna for their crafts,” he said, reflecting on the moment that sparked the Makers Market. “They’d spend their money outside, and it never came back here. There wasn’t a real outlet for crafters in Faribault, so I went to Parks and Rec and

By LAUREN VISKA lauren.viska@apgsomn.com got it started.”

The result was the Faribault Makers Market, now in its third year, held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday running from the weekend after Heritage Days until the end of October, weather permitting. Seventeen vendors participate, selling everything from carved wooden flags and jewelry boxes to reclaimed barnwood wall art.

“I make it easy for them,” St. Clair said. “I only charge $60 for the whole season, and they don’t have to come every week if life gets busy.

I know it’s summer and there’s family obligations and whatnot, so if they’re only here for half the season, I’m happy, and they’re happy.”

Even with years of experience at the farmers market, St. Clair felt the town’s crafters were missing a proper spotlight.

“I just started this because I wanted people to have a venue to come to for crafts that are local instead of leaving town,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I think the farmers market is great, I just think the crafters and makers in town need a place to showcase their work.”

St. Clair’s approach to the market is for makers only — he wants people who make their own items to come and sell their crafts.

“I don’t want them to do [multi-level marketing]”, and I don’t want a garage sale because I’ve had people come saying they have stuff to sell, but they didn’t make it themselves,” he said. “I know it may sound strict, but this isn’t a garage sale, it’s a makers market — I want people like me who make their own items to have an outlet to sell their work.”

Customers have noticed the difference.

Shoppers often spend 30 to 45 minutes wandering the park, stopping at each vendor, talking with artisans, and leaving with something unique. Vendors report sales are often triple compared to other events, a testament to St. Clair’s thoughtful design and communityminded approach.

“It’s rewarding to see the vendors thrive,” he said. “They tell me all the time how much they appreciate this space. I’m doing it for the community, not for fame or fortune.”

St. Clair credits others for helping launch

the market, including Kari Caspter, who assisted in finding vendors and organizing the first year.

“I wouldn’t have been able to have a successful first year without her help,” he said.

“She doesn’t help out anymore as she’s doing a million other things, but she helped get it kickstarted.”

While the Makers Market showcases local artisans, St. Clair himself is a talented woodworker. He began learning the craft in 2020, immersing himself in YouTube tutorials for months before buying tools and opening his business.

“I’ve always been interested in wood,” he says. “I wanted to make something with my hands, something that people could enjoy.” — Spanky’s Woodshed.

His creations range from American flags — both traditional and Punisher-skull designs — to cutting boards, jewelry boxes and large wall art made from reclaimed barnwood.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 4 John “Spanky” St. Clair standing next to the Central Park sign. He hopes to have the Makers Market added to the sign with the Farmers Market. (Lauren Viska Faribault.com)

“

I would like to fill the park every Saturday with as many vendors as possible. I want to see it grow. This town has a lot of talented people and I want them to have their chance to shine.”

- John “Spanky” St. Clair

with as many vendors as possible,” he said.

“I want to see it grow. This town has a lot of talented people and I want them to have their great story to tell people.” chance to shine.”

At first, St. Clair didn’t like the nickname, St. Clair said one thing he hopes to accombut it’s grown on him. A tattoo on his leg complish in the future for the Makers Market is memorates the story, a permanent reminder better signage. of the humor, camaraderie and adventure that “During the pet parade this year, the one motorcycles brought into his life.

I had out there, somebody ripped it off,” he Though St. Clair didn’t grow up in Faribault said.

“Like, why would you do that? People can — he was a military brat who lived in various be mean sometimes and not have respect for places — he has built a strong connection to things that are somebody else’s property, but the community since moving here in 1997. He eventually I’d like fondly recalls to have the Makvisits with his ers Market added mother to the Lavender Inn, to the same sign a now-closed as the Farmers restaurant.

Market.”

“We had to Despite occastop there every sional challenges time we visited — weather, city my grandparregulations or ents in Iowa,” even the rare he said. “I loved theft of a sign— John “Spanky” St. Clair’s booth at the Makers Market, something he helped create for the hamburgers St. Clair remains and meatloaf — makers in town. (Photo courtesy of John St. Clair) steadfast. He isn’t they were the seeking fame best. I’m sad or fortune. His southern Minnesota and even to Iowa’s Amana they have since CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 reward comes Colonies and the Grotto. torn it down, in the smiles “I love working with barnwood,” he said. “It’s “There’s more power with the Harley,” he however many of vendors and reclaimed material and I’d rather save it from said. “I could actually pull a trailer with it. The years ago.” shoppers alike, being burned and turn it into something mean- Suzuki was a fun bike, but it wasn’t for travel — These small the sense of pride ingful.” the Harleys are for travel.” memories feed While woodworking and community buildSt. Clair no longer rides motorcycles due to in his work and into the pride ing fill much of his time today, motorcycles his age, but he does miss it. he feels for the knowlhave always been a passion. St. Clair started “I really miss riding, but with arthritis and Faribault today. edge that he’s riding in 2000, fulfilling a lifelong dream that back problems, I can’t do it safely anymore,” he Whether it’s strengthened his had been tempered by caution in his younger said. “If you can’t make an emergency stop, you reclaiming wood community — years. His father, a motorcycle racer, had always shouldn’t be on a bike.” for a wall hang- Lorie and John “Spanky” St. Clair standing next to one handmade warned him about the risks.

St. Clair received the nickname “Spanky” ing or creating a each other behind one of their motorcycles. (Photo creation at a courtesy of John St. Clair) “I knew if I did it too young I wouldn’t be during a motorcycle rally chili contest in 1999, thriving Saturtime. here, so I waited and I am so glad I did,” he when a fellow rider playfully smacking him day market, St. Walking said. “I think another reason I waited is because with a cutting board due to the fact that he Clair’s work is rooted in connection, nostalgia through Central Park on a Saturday morning, my father was 100,000% against motorcycles, brought all the ingredients to make the chili, and community. it’s clear that St. Clair has done more than crebut he raced motorcycles since he was a kid. but forgot one important tool — the cutting As the Makers Market continues to grow, ate a market. He’s built a hub for craft, comHe’d been on a bike and he was a wild man, so board.

St. Clair dreams of one day filling Central munity and creativity— a place where Faribault he thought that the apple wouldn’t fall far from “Wacky Jackie had a cutting board with a Park with vendors every Saturday, potentially can come together, celebrate local talent and the tree.” handle on it, and smacked me on the butt with reaching 88 booths. He hopes this expansion enjoy the simple pleasure of a Saturday in He’s owned a Suzuki Intruder and a Harley- it,” he said with a laugh. “The chapter president will give more local artisans a platform and the park. n attract more residents to shop and socialize in Davidson Street Bob, the latter being his favor- and one of the other guys looked at me and Faribault. ite for long-distance travel and power. Together said, ‘Well, it’s Spanky,’ and I said, ‘No, it’s not Reach Reporter Lauren Viska at 507-333-3128. © Copyright “I would like to fill the park every Saturday with fellow riders, he’s traveled throughout happening,’ but the nickname stuck, and it’s a 2025 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota.

Page 5 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

Sandra Boss showcases the gymnastics gym she’d spent 55 years advocating for. (Lizzie Cooper - Owatonna.com)

Owatonna’s

Sandra Boss,

G

rowing up in an age where girls were taught to save their bodies for future motherhood, one woman moved to Owatonna to begin her career as a teacher and coach. She didn’t know it at the time, but she would eventually pioneer multiple girls sports teams and advocate for equality between girls and boys sports in the Owatonna school district.

After 55 years of advocacy, Sandra Boss went from coaching the very first gymnastics team at Owatonna to getting a gym exclusively for gymnasts.

In 2013, Boss was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame for her efforts. She said she was the second or third woman to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the association had

is a pioneer for local girls sports

By LIZZIE COOPER elizibeth.cooper@apgsomn.com just started to recognize women’ s involvement in coaching.

The youth of a future trailblazer

About a 20 minutes drive south of Park Rapids lies Sebeka, Minnesota, Boss’ hometown. Throughout her childhood, she loved playing outside with her neighborhood friends.

“I loved to play. I liked to play outside, I liked to swim, I liked to bike, I loved to play any kind of game that I could play and I tried it all. If we could find an old tennis racket somewhere, then we would go and try to play tennis, and if a basketball was somewhere, we would go and shoot baskets. In the neighborhood, we played a lot of softball and just played on the playground,” Boss explained.

In junior high school, she began to teach swimming lessons at a lake in the neighboring town. She would go there on a bus with the other swim instructor and a group of children,

trying to teach them how to get off the dock.

This was one of her first stepping stones to what would eventually become her teaching career.

Boss had a high school physical education teacher and plenty of college professors who were aware girls sports were going to happen in the near future. She said she had a lot of mentors who helped her realize she wanted to pursue teaching and coaching.

Being a coach was something Boss always knew she wanted to do. However, when she started attending the University of Minnesota, she majored in chemical engineering. After a year she realized she couldn’t see herself in the field, and that being around people and being active was something she prioritized in her life.

Boss moved to Owatonna in the fall of 1969, shortly after she’d graduated from the University of Minnesota. At the time, schools were hiring lots of teachers and she was able to get hired to be a gymnastics coach — a title alone that made history. She was the first

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

“

I waited 55 years for the girls to have their own gym, and they have it. And then they won the state championship, which was just frosting on the cake. To win that trophy was pretty darn special.”

- Sandra Boss

Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 6 Girls sports slowly developed over the years to add more programs. When girls basketball started, the school had it in two seasons – fall and winter. During the fall, the boys were outside playing basketball so the girls had access to the gym. Boss said people at the time couldn’t fathom having girls and boys share a gym in the wintertime for basketball practice.

Overcoming hurdles

Girls sports did exist in the ‘30s and even before then, but they weren’t recognized as official teams. Owatonna was once a state basketball champion in girls sports, and Boss said she thought the year was about 1902.

When Boss first came to Owatonna, a lady called her and said she was on the aforementioned basketball team. Boss wasn’t able to stay in contact with her, but the woman she spoke with had a scrapbook with all the information about the Owatonna girl’s basketball team from the early 1900s.

“I think the administration at the Owatonna High School really was pretty proactive. They wanted to be in with the leaders, and they knew it was coming,” Boss said. “They knew that women weren’t being silent anymore, that they wanted to have those opportunities. I always felt that the principal, the athletic director, the superintendent were all behind girls sports.”

Despite how proactive Owatonna was in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, there was one central issue — they didn’t want to sacrifice anything Located second from the left in the back row, Sandra Boss smiles with her teammates at Faribault’s granny basketball team. (Photo the boys had. This led to some struggles with getting girls’ sports started up. courtesy of Sandra Boss.)

Boss first advocated for girls to have their own uniforms. When the school finally approved these uniforms, the girls would keep them for the entire school year, using them for several sports. Eventually, girls were able to get their own sport-specific uniforms, but this took many years of advocacy.

“We accepted it because it was better than anything we ever had before,” Boss said.

Another challenge was the hassle of setting up and tearing down all the gymnastics equipment before and after each practice, which was left for Boss and the student athletes she coached.

“In 1992, we went into an agreement with the Owatonna Gymnastics Club and we went out there to practice, which was great because it gave us the opportunity to not have to put back the equipment,” Boss said.

After being at the gymnastics club for nearly 30 years, Owatonna was building a new high school and Boss heavily advocated to let the gymnastics team have their own gym. She invited the superintendent and the School Board chair to come and see what the team had to deal with for meets, which included uneven seating surfaces and a lack of room for spectators. She said it was time for the girls to have their own gym, not sharing it with any other sports.

The old high school gym was finally given to the gymnastics team, and the space was transformed. A pit was dug and plenty of mats were permanently set up for the team. Now, the gymnastics gym has proper bleachers and Sandra Boss on the left helps out at an Owatonna Huskies basketball game. After 17 years of retirement, she still has a passion for equipment. During the first practice of this assisting in sports throughout the district. (Photo courtesy of Sandra Boss.) year, the bleachers were full of people watching.

“I waited 55 years for the girls to have their own gym, and they have it. And then they won and be competitive, with many participating in “When I came to town, the school had deCONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 the state championship, which was just frosting cided that they were going to offer gymnastics,” three to four sports throughout the year. woman coach and the first salaried coach in the on the cake, ” Boss said, nodding to the historic “Everybody was so enthusiastic and just Boss said. “When I interviewed, I said, ‘Well, I’ll Owatonna district.

2025 title win. so anxious to prove that girls could compete, coach a gymnastics team, but can I start a swim During Boss’ early years in the Owatonna “To win that trophy was pretty darn special,” too, that girls could be in sports and have fun,” team too?’ and they said, ‘Sure.’” school district, schools had a Girls Athletic she later said.

Boss said. “Until that time, in the ‘40s, ‘50s and Through the GAA and GRA program, girls Association (GAA) and a Girls Recreation As‘60s, they were telling girls that we had to save sports got more and more organized.

Boss was sociation (GRA). These organizations had girls Track and field our bodies for being mothers. We didn’t want able to help organize girls teams for volleyball, participating in sports, but they weren’t recogto harm any body parts that might hinder you nized or organized enough to be considered as basketball, gymnastics and track. The girls About the time Boss started working at responded with an eagerness to try new things from having babies. Isn’t that crazy?”

Owatonna, Burnsville and Bloomington had “teams.”

Page 7 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

(Photo courtesy of Sandra Boss.) big meets for boys, and girls were allowed to participate in a few races. Eventually, an official track meet was formed. The first Owatonna girls state tournament was in track in 1972, the year the local team was started.

“We had really good luck and some really good athletes,” Boss said.

The girls track team was in the top four in the state within its first five meets. Then, in 1976 the girls won the track and field state meet, but Boss wasn’t coaching at the time as she was at home caring for her newborn child.

After her children got older, Boss went back to coaching track at a junior high level until she retired in 2008. In 2022, the high school team celebrated 50 years of state track meets. Boss

and her husband have fun following the teams and seeing how they’re doing.

Community engagement “I keep involved with athletics in Owatonna,” Boss said.

To this day, she works for volleyball, cross country, basketball, gymnastics and track and field as a scorekeeper, meet manager, or whatever else the teams need. She also volunteers at the high school for the lifetime activities class, helping students learn how to ride bikes.

“I can’t walk away. Every year, you see something good start to happen. You just have to go the next year and see what happens next,” Boss said.

Sandra Boss speaks at the Owatonna High School. (Photo courtesy of Sandra Boss.)

Boss currently plays in Faribault’s granny basketball team, playing together once a week through the fall and winter. Every spring, they have tournaments with Wanamingo’s team once a month because they’re the only other granny basketball team in Minnesota.

Sports aren’t the only thing Boss stays involved in. She is active in her church, playing in the bell choir and is an eucharist minister. She is also one of the superintendents in the textile department at the Steele County Free Fair and

has stayed involved in the fair for 38 years.

She volunteers with the local historical society, which involves sitting in the houses during the yearly Extravaganza. She and her husband clean out the cottage in the springtime often, and sell root beer floats during the fair.

In the rest of her free time, Boss enjoys staying active, be it through swimming, biking, hiking, kayaking and other outdoor activities.

“I try to stay busy,” she said with a smile. n Reach Reporter Lauren Viska at 507-333-3128. © Copyright

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Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 8

Vicki and Lee Dilley stand in their dining room in early September, their walls covered in artifacts and photography from their many formative adventures overseas. Vicki holds up the flag of Tuvalu, a small island nation where she lived for years in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Her time in Tuvalu taught her values of community and service, which are still guiding her life of service to this day. (Colton Kemp — NorthfieldNews.com)

Global lessons inspire

Vicki Dilley’s

decades of service in Northfield

T

During the Dilley family’s time with the Peace Corps in Tuvalu, Vicki Dilley is pictured here holding her host sister’s daughter, who was named Viki foliki, or “little Vicki,” after Dilley.

(Photo courtesy of Vicki Dilley)

By COLTON KEMP colton.kemp@apgsomn.com

he fourthsmallest nation in the world, Tuvalu, consists of a series of islands about halfway between Hawaii and Australia.

Despite living in the nation with smallest total GDP in the world, Vicki Dilley said the people of Tuvalu “live in abundance.” Her years on the island are what inspire her service in Northfield and beyond to this day.

“I think who I am today is because of living on the island, the sense of community,” she said. “Community means so much more to me after living there. Nobody goes without on the island.”

Today, she’s proudly a past president of Northfield Rotary Club, chairs

the Rotary Bike Tour Committee, has been involved with Women in Northfield Giving Support for 25 years, helped lead the Taste of Summer and is the chair of the Justice Initiative Committee at Emmaus Church — just to name a few of her service roles.

Vicki grew up in Wyoming before moving to Montana at the age of 16. She graduated high school in Laurel, just outside of Billings.

In the summer of ‘74, she was working a summer job at Red Lodge Pea Cannery alongside a man named Lee Dilley, who was a student at the University of Montana. They became romantically involved, eventually marrying in ‘78.

Shortly after Lee’s graduation, the Dilleys were accepted into the Peace Corps, eventually finding themselves in Tuvalu to do “community development.”

Lee worked on fish ponds, water catchment and storage, as well as making soap out of coconuts. Vicki worked in well baby clinics and started a nursery school there, as well as helping develop technology for a cookless stove.

They lived on the 3-mile-by-2-mile Tuvaluan island for 3.5 years with a host family she called her “adopted family.” She still refers to them as family, and even Skypes regularly with her “sister.”

The community dynamics on the island were different than in Western culture. To describe what she meant, she offered a story about her “father,” which begins with her gifting him a new shirt.

She waited and waited for him to wear the new shirt, but the day never came. Finally, she asked if something was wrong with it.

“No, I just can’t wear it when my neighbor doesn’t have a new shirt too,” he told her.

She said people brought them fish and coconuts every day, just because they knew the Dilleys couldn’t get them themselves. Vicki said a widowed woman with children would have an entire community helping her along the way.

“That sense of equity, equality in the village was — it just took deep roots within me,” she said. “To understand what it is to live together,

Page 9 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025 and how some are able to contribute more, and some, you know, they’re under your care as well. So I think I approach so much of what I do in service and life that way.”

She said when it came time to leave the island and lead some Peace Corps training in Fiji, her “father” petitioned the government to transfer land to the Dilleys. He said if they owned a piece of land, they “would certainly come back.”

To him, she explained, richness and abundance weren’t concepts related to wealth and fortune.

“I don’t think many of us feel like we live in abundance,” she said. “We always long for the next thing. But they lived in abundance. They thought they — they knew, not just thought.

They knew they were rich. They knew they had abundance. Because they had safety. They had fellowship with their neighbors.”

She gave the example of two neighbors fighting over a fence that’s slightly over a property line, or arguing over one neighbor’s leaves falling into the other’s yard.

“It’s just totally foreign to them,” she said.

“Sometimes, as time goes by, I have to shake myself and go, ‘Vicki, go back to your origins there. Remember that what you have is to be shared, and to be living in that abundance.’ It just changed us in such profound ways.”

While not quite fluent, Vicki is one of just 13,000 people globally who can speak the Tuvaluan language.

Changing tides

After the Peace Corps, Vicki and Lee went to live near the farm where Lee grew up in Castle Rock, just north of Northfield. Lee returned shortly after coming back to Minnesota to finish a project they’d started in the Peace Corps.

He was only there a few months.

Vicki returned once in 2002, bringing her daughter along this time. But things have changed in Tuvalu — and it’s only getting worse.

After seaplane service ended there in 1983, the only way to the outer islands is to travel by cargo ship. The trip, if made in a straight shot, takes about eight hours.

Climate change has caused increasingly violent storms — which she said have largely become unpredictable — and have made it so

Northfield Rotary members Vicki Dilley and Jean Wakely help out at the group’s booth at Northfield Pride in 2022. (File photo/southernminn.com)

cargo ships can only travel at certain times.

Once they were there, it could be weeks before the boat could return.

Rising sea levels, also due to climate change, are an extreme vulnerability for Tuvalu. Vicki said climate refugees have already begun to leave by the thousands. In 2023, Australia agreed to open citizenship pathways for climate-related refugees from Tuvalu.

Scientists have predicted the entire country will be underwater by 2050, she said.

“Anyway, so this is a whole culture, a whole language,” she said. “All these people that get displaced need to find new homes. It’s the beginning of the end for them. So, I have come to understand the value of their culture and how much it taught me, and now that gets dispersed into the rest of the world. How much they take with them, I don’t know. But I know that they’re trying.”

Bringing Tuvalu home

Vicki and Lee had two children of their own, and have hosted many international students through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

Their biological daughter is named Riana, a Tuvaluan name. Their son, Evan, has the middle name Tavita, which is also Tuvaluan. Her host sister also named her daughter after Vicki.

“We’ve always just tried to continue to, if we’re not traveling, bring the world to us in here,” she said. “So over the years, we’ve probably hosted well over 30 people from different countries.”

Lee worked at Malt-o-Meal for a little over

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Vicki Dilley sits outside her host family’s home with some local women and children of Tuvalu.

(Photo courtesy of Vicki Dilley)

Northfield Rotary Defeat of Jesse James Bike Tour committee gathered for a meeting on the patio of Chapel Brewing in 2023, the year Vicki Dilley took over the tour. Back row L to R: Joe Hargis, John Stull, Richard DeBeau, Tracie Vranich (Co Owner of Chapel Brewing), Jesse Steed, Mike Provancha, Neil Kennedy, David Wolf. Front row L to R: Jill Fisher, Zack Zastrow, Brad Frago, Vicki Dilley, Jack Hoschouer. Missing from the photo: Jean Wakely, Jayne Hager Dee, Jennifer Tonka, Mike Ludwig (Dundas Dukes). (File photo/ southernminn.com)

Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 10 doesn’t feel so hard.”

She said the committee isn’t the only group in Northfield “pulling their own weight.”

“Northfield is just one of those unique places,” she said. “I call it a little piece of magic, the way that this community does come together.

Harking back on Tuvalu and living there, I feel like we’re not perfect, but I think we do care about each other. You know, if somebody is suffering over at Viking Terrace, the community comes together. And that has been demonstrated.”

While Vicki’s passion and drive for service to others might seem unique to many, it doesn’t feel that way for her.

“I’m not unique in this community,” she said.

“This community gives and gives a lot. I just like being a part of it. If I can offer some leadership now and again, I’ll do that.”

She said she’s less confident about the rest of the world, adding that she wishes “people would see each other, really see each other as human beings, see each other as valued, that nobody’s greater than the other.”

“I think, [my life advice would be to] approach life with relational curiosity,” she said.

Vicki Dilley, who helped organize the “There’s so much to gain from knowing other Taste of Summer Fest earlier this year, people, hearing their story and understandshows off the fresh margarita pizza she ing where they come from. Sometimes I make ordered during the event. (File photo — quick judgments on somebody, and then I hear their story and go, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s so NorthfieldNews.com) much more depth to you than I ever imagevery single one of them that’s on the commit- ined.’” n tee, because they each pull their own weight in Reach Reporter Colton Kemp at 507-645-1115. © Copyright an equal way. When you’re a chair of some2025 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved. thing, and everybody’s pulling their weight, it

TOP: Vicki and Lee Dilley stand with their host family in the small island nation of Tuvalu. (Photo courtesy of Vicki Dilley) ABOVE: Vicki and Lee Dilley, a pair of philanthropic Northfielders, have a large collection of tools, instruments and more from their travels across the globe, seen here in their dining room in early September. (Colton Kemp — NorthfieldNews.com) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 30 years, and Vicki wound up working for a nonprofit called Project Zawadi. The group leads safaris in Tanzania and works to form replicable educational programs that are sustainable for the communities.

One of the exchange students, a boy from Brazil who she still is in contact with today, asked Vicki why she wasn’t in Rotary. She wasn’t sure what the group really was, but soon thereafter joined in 2005. Vicki quickly took over the exchange program.

She continued to help or chair various committees, organizing events or coordinating partners. In 2023, she took over the Bike Tour.

“It’s really suffered because we couldn’t do it through COVID,” she said. “It was, I think, two years off, and then for two years they tried to do it on a different date than Jesse James weekend. It felt like it barely had a heartbeat.”

She moved the tour back to Defeat Days weekend. She formed a partnership with the Dundas Dukes ball field, which serves food for participants after the tour. At the suggestion of Imminent Brewery owners, she also partnered with Chapel Brewing, which donates hundreds of free beers — one for every rider of drinking age.

Despite all this, she said not to give her the credit of saving the bike tour.

“The committee, we stick together,” she said.

“We like working with each other. I appreciate

“

There’s so much to gain from knowing other people, hearing their story and understanding where they come from.

Sometimes I make quick judgments on somebody, and then I hear their story and go, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s so much more depth to you than I ever imagined.’

- Vicki Dilley

Vicki and Lee Dilley are pictured here in Tanzania with several locals, during one of their trips with Project Zawadi. (Photo courtesy of Vicki Dilley)

Page 11 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

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Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 12

Ryan Schmidt, the third generation of Schmidts to own and operate Schmidt’s Meat Market stands in front of the business’ signature summer sausage. (Carson Hughes - StPeterHerald.com)

Nicollet’s

I

Ryan and Lonita Schmidt

n the heart of Nicollet, just 12 miles west of St. Peter, customers come from far and wide to be greeted by the “Wilkommen” sign on the half-timbered, German-styled exterior of Schmidt’s Meat Market.

The savory aroma of the market’s signature summer sausage being cooked in their traditional wood-fired smokehouse brings in visitors from all across the state eager to try what has been consistently rated one of the best processed meats in all of Minnesota.

Behind that summer sausage — which recently took the grand champion and best in show ribbons in the Minnesota State Fair’s processed meats championship — and the hundreds of different kinds of meats and cheeses stocked on the market’s shelves are husband-and-wife team Ryan and Lonita Schmidt.

Seven days a week, customers will find at least one of the Schmidts behind the counter with their 55-plus employees, managing the

carry on meat market family legacy

By CARSON HUGHES carson.hughes@apgsomn.com 78-year-old business. The store is not only the largest meat market in southern Minnesota, it’s a family legacy passed down through the generations.

Ryan is the third generation of Schmidts to run the market, founded in 1947 by his grandparents Gerhardt and Esther Schmidt, who had bought an existing one-room butcher shop from Anthony Woodley. The store was their literal livelihood, hosting not only the smokehouse, production area and the retail space where the Schmidt’s made their income, but an apartment space as well where they raised their two boys Gary and Bruce.

Ryan’s father, Gary, and uncle, Bruce, lived and breathed Schmidt’s Meat Market, living at the store building with their parents and regularly assisting them at the shop when they came home from school. It wasn’t much of a surprise then when the two would come to take over the business in 1975.

Under Bruce’s lead as the the day-to-day manager and Gary’s oversight as the store’s accountant and marketing manager, Schmidt’s Meat Market underwent numerous changes —

seeing a 3,000-square foot expansion in 1984 after the store’s acquisition of the neighboring Nicollet Oil Company property, the addition of new wood-fired and electric smokehouses in 1995 and the doubling of the retail space in 2003 to incorporate the deli.

The renovation came just two years prior to Ryan Schmidt buying out his father’s portion of the business in 2005. He and his wife, Lonita, would become the sole heads of the

“

operation in 2008 when he bought the remaining shares from his uncle Bruce.

Like his father before him, Ryan grew up helping around the shop, starting around the age of 14, though he hadn’t always intended to take over. After graduating from Minnesota State University with a degree in finance, he would go on to spend a decade in California before moving to the Twin Cities. It was in the metro area where Ryan met his wife, Lonita.

My grandpa used to have a very simple saying and it resonates true. ‘If you put good stuff in, you get good stuff out.’ It’s all about, what are the meats that you put in - pork beef, whatever it might be, the seasoning you use.”

- Ryan Schmidt

Page 13 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025 She was working in United Healthcare’s finance department where Ryan had recently come on board as a consultant.

“I had no idea,” Lonita laughed, when asked if she ever imagined she would one day be working at a meat market. “It’s all been fun that’s for sure, but yeah I definitely didn’t imagine that I would be in the spot that I am.”

Ryan said he became interested in taking over the business due to wanting a change in his life away from the finance world he had been occupying.

“It just kind of goes back to the upbringing and discussions around the table about the business. I guess I ultimately wanted to be in control of my own destiny. Being your own boss versus working for somebody was intriguing,” said Ryan. “I knew they had a good solid business and I was ready for a change from what I had been doing.”

Building on tradition

Ryan said what sets Schmidt’s apart is its commitment to old-world craftsmanship. Unlike many markets that have switched to modern electric smokehouses in the past 25 years with liquid smoke or gas generators, Schmidt’s still uses traditional wood-fired smokehouses to process meats. That and the market’s selection of ingredients are what helps bring its meats to another level.

“My grandpa used to have a very simple saying and it resonates true. ‘If you put good stuff in, you get good stuff out.’ It’s all about, what are the meats that you put in — pork beef, whatever it might be, the seasoning you use,” said Ryan.

The market now makes nine different varieties of its signature summer sausage and carries more than 100 varieties of sausage in total, with flavors ranging from classic bratwurst to bolder, trend-driven offerings like jalapeño-cheddar and blueberry wild rice sausage. The shop also has a deep supply of jerkies, chicken breast, fresh cuts of beef and pork, blocks of cheeses, sauces and more.

Ryan said he’s regularly looking for new products to attract new customers and keep existing patrons coming back. Over the 20 years he’s operated the store, Ryan said he’s seen tastes change with younger crowds seeking bolder and hotter meat products. Meat snack sticks like teriyaki and honey BBQ beef jerkies are also on the rise, encompassing a growing part of the business.

“Snack sticks in general, that part of our business has grown quite a bit, along with jerky,” said Ryan. “It’s good for traveling and doesn’t need to be refrigerated because it’s shelfstable.“

Ryan Schmidt operates the meat slicer behind the counter. (Carson Hughes - StPeterHerald.com) Part of operating a meat market is regularly seeing suppliers come in pitching products and experimental flavors, which can sometimes come with unexpected results.

One of Schmidt’s most popular products came about when they had been using raspberry chipotle seasoning as the basis for a chicken marinade. A supplier came in one day and suggested they try combining it with a pork product, like bacon. It was right in time for the state meat convention, so the Schmidts decided to test their experiment there. The bacon would go on to win grand champion and best in show.

The results encouraged them to try making a small batch for sale.

“I think within about three hours we had to put a second post out there that said ‘We are out. We will be making more,’” laughed Ryan.

“That product today still sells fantastic.”

It’s moments like these that Ryan said are the best part of the job. From watching his staff be creative with new products, to working the deli counters and interacting with customers, hearing stories of where they’re from.

Schmidt’s Meat Market takes in pork, beef and wild game shot by area hunters into

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

their butcher shop.The market receives a new batch of fresh meat every week. (Carson Hughes - StPeterHerald.com)

Schmidt’s Meat Market uses traditional, wood-fired smokehouses to cook their summer Schmidt’s Meat Market receives customers from all across the state of Minnesota. sausage. (Carson Hughes - StPeterHerald.com) (Carson Hughes - StPeterHerald.com)

Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 14 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 “How far our name and products are known, it’s fun to listen to customers and hear some of those stories,” said Ryan. “Especially when you get into the holidays, people will be doing holiday gatherings and bringing families together from near and far.”

The holidays hold a special place at Schmidt’s. Every December, the store is decorated with holly and pine to celebrate one of the store’s busiest seasons as customers line up for specialty cuts that have become part of family Christmas feasts for generations.

“A lot of our customers have been coming to the store for quite a while. My favorite part is being part of the family traditions,” said Lonita.

“We hear that so much, especially around the holidays, where they have a certain special meal they get from Schmidt’s or the summer sausage or getting jerky as stocking-stuffers.”

Challenges and change Like many small businesses, Schmidt’s has faced its share of challenges. Labor shortages have hit the meat industry particularly hard, a trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Where once there were plenty of teens willing to help pack and slice meats, those numbers have started to dwindle in the new millennium.

“The education system seems to be shifting where kids are now all heading off to college

and looking for more white-collar jobs, rather than meat-cutting and sausage production and stuff like that. We saw that coming and knew we had to get efficient,” said Ryan.

While labor challenges affect all sides of the business, the production side has been hit the hardest as an increasing number of candidates come with little to no meat experience. Where there used to be many technical colleges that would train these skills, Ryan said many of those programs have since disappeared in the last 20 years.

To keep things running, the Schmidts have been dedicated to operating the business. Ryan is in-store all week long while Lonita spends three days a week working there during the regular season, and all week long during the busiest times of the year in the fall and holiday seasons.

On those days where they can get away from the business, the Schmidts will often go vacationing, enjoying the outdoors and activities like hunting, snow skiing and spending time at Ryan’s parents’ lake house.

As Ryan reflects on nearly two decades at the helm, he acknowledges he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Nothing is for certain, but he sees a future where his now college-aged sons might carry on the family tradition.

“At that point they seem to have plans to get into the business after college, so we’ll see where that goes,” said Ryan. n Reach Reporter Carson Hughes at 507-931-8575. © Copyright 2025 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota. All Rights Reserved.

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Page 15 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

Waseca’s

L

Tom Sexton

driven by service to country and community

By ANDREW DEZIEL andrew.deziel@apgsomn.com

ong before stepping onto Sacred Heart High School in 1951 and enthe floor of the Minnerolled in the U.S. Army Reserves the following sota House of Repreyear. sentatives as In 1953, he one of 21 first was called up to year legislaactive duty and tors, Rep. dispatched to Tom Sexton’s Germany, where passion for he helped the public service Germans rebuild and love for Waseca were instilled their country from an early age by his parents and following the grandparents. destruction of Born in Omaha, Sexton has been WWII and, his on the move ever since, spending son proudly just a few years in one place at a notes, built a railtime in the U.S. Air Force and in road that remains his subsequent career as a project in the area to this manager and executive working to day. bring large scale pipeline projects to Sexton wrapped up his 26 year Following fruition. an honorable career in the U.S. Air Force at U.S. The oldest of three, Sexton is discharge, Dick Army War College, as a student returned home, the son of Dick and Mary Sexton for one year and an instructor for earned a degree and the grandson of Leon Sexton, who served as Waseca’s postmaster the next four. from the Univerin the 1950s and was active in the sity of Minnesota community as a Municipal Judge, member of and joined the U.S. Department of Housing the Waseca County Fair Board and in other and Urban Development as an inspector and roles. architect, ensuring federally funded housing After a childhood that took place amid the projects met federal requirements. backdrop of the Great Depression and World When he was a little kid, Tom Sexton War II Dick Sexton graduated from Waseca’s recalled going with his father to the annual air

shows at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha.

By that time, the United States was deeply involved in the Vietnam War and the military was eager to flex its muscles.

While he was only about 5 or 6 years old at his first air show, it made quite an impression on the young Sexton and stuck with him. Years later, he would join the ROTC program at the University of Minnesota, paving the way for a 26-year career in the Air Force.

The Sexton family’s time in Nebraska was relatively short, as Leon was able to get a job with HUD in the Twin Cities. After a few years of commuting from Waseca to the metro for work, the Sextons moved to an outer ring development of the Twin Cities, in an area that

is now Lakeville.

Still, Waseca played a special role in the heart of Tom Sexton throughout his life. Even when they weren’t living in Waseca, he was in town often to see his grandparents, and it was in Waseca’s own Clear Lake Park — so near to his grandmother’s house — that he learned to swim.

That skill would later come in handy when Sexton enlisted in the Air Force after graduation from the University of Minnesota, where he initially aspired for an engineering degree but switched to business due to not having quite enough background in calculus.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

In Iceland, Sexton commanded the 56th Rescue Squadron, providing search and rescue support for boats in trouble on the harsh Icelandic waters.

Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 16 ter’s Degree in National Securities Studies. He Pipeline expanded capacity on a route connectwas then assigned to Joint Special Operations ing two of Enbridge’s most important hubs.

Command at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

From Cushing, oil continues down the Seaway While Sexton was at Fort Bragg, the U.S. Pipeline to and from ports along the Texas gulf coast. became involved in Afghanistan following the The project was powered by seven massive 9/11 terrorist attacks, and subsequently Iraq. In a non-flying assignment role, Sexton helped to pump stations, each of which uses about half as much power as would be required to power negotiate with various countries to secure air Superior, Wisconsin. While he didn’t come space for U.S. and coalition air operations.

Sexton’s next two stops took him to Iceland’s into the job with a ton of direct experience Naval Air Station Keflavik, a hub for NATO Air in the construction industry, Sexton said that Policing in the region, and U.S. Army Garrison Enbridge appreciated the project management Stuttgart in Germany. At the latter stop, Sexton’s expertise he brought with his background in the military. work focused heavily on Operation Enduring Sexton left Enbridge in 2017 to accept a Freedom-Transahara. position as Vice President of Field Services Redesignated as Operation Juniper Shield at UniversalPegasus International in Housin 2013, the operation focused on helping 10 ton, surveying proposed pipeline routes and African nations to better secure their borders, working with landowners along those routes to cognizant that al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist secure the needed permissions. groups were attempting to move their operaTom and Jeanne Sexton at the Continental Divide in Iceland. Naval Air Station Keflavik, tions to Africa after the fall of Taliban-conSubsequently promoted to Vice President of Construction Management, Sexton was worklocated near the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, was among a number of overseas bases trolled Afghanistan. ing nearly six to seven days a week to help bring Sexton was deployed to during his 26 year military career Sexton attended U.S. Army War College in projects to fruition. At the time, under the first Pennsylvania from 2007 to 2008 and was then Trump Administration, he said that demand expected to deploy to Afghanistan to help coAfter completing his pilot training, Sexton CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 was incredibly high for new pipeline projects. ordinate the NATO Alliance’s operations there. was assigned to Alabama’s Fort Rucker and When President Joe Biden took office and However, the Dutch military instead requested Determined to avoid taking on the burden of then transferred to Kirtland Air Force Base in to fill the position and their offer was accepted. canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline, Sexton said student loans, Sexton worked his way through Albuquerque. At first, Sexton flew the famous that the pipeline industry immediately entered Instead, Sexton stayed on at U.S. Army War Vietnam Era “Jolly Green Giants” (Sikorsky college, simultaneously working as a security a tailspin. Spooked investors feared that even College but as an instructor before retiring HH-3E helicopters). guard in St. Paul, as a caretaker at the Minnefrom the Air Force as Colonel in 2012. He said projects well along in the permitting and conIn 1987, Sexton was deployed on his first sota Zoo (located near the family home) and as struction process could get wiped out with the overseas assignment at Clark Air Force Base in the decision to retire was driven by a desire to manager at a Twin Cities apartment complex. the Philippines. He served there until 1990, just settle back down in Minnesota with his young- stroke of a pen.

One summer day in 1985, one tenant in the est son, Mark, set to graduate from high school. one year before the eruption of a local volcano apartment complex left Sexton a note saying Raised across the both country and the forced the base’s closure. that her faucet was dripping and she wanted it A return home, and start of Sexton then returned stateside for training as world as Sexton was moved from one assignfixed. Though he was tired after working a full political career ment to the next, both Sexton sons have since the Air Force transitioned over to the HH-60, day at the zoo, Sexton came over to the apartAfter taking several months to close down its version of the Army Black Hawk helicopters. entered the Air Force as Officers. Sexton’s eldest ment to tear apart and fix the faucets. son Matthew has a pending promotion to Lieu- the books on some $400 million in cancelled While he was still training in Albuquerque, Over a pizza, Sexton struck up a conversaprojects, Sexton finally moved back to Waseca.

Operation Desert Storm abruptly launched and tenant Colonel. tion with his future wife Jeanne, who he had Jeanne’s mom would move to Waseca too, movthen concluded in a matter of weeks. only met briefly before when he first got the ing into the house Dick and Mary Sexton once Sexton said the change in aircraft was like job. The two would keep talking as friends, and Post-military life called home, keeping her nice and close to the going from a “VW bus to a Ferrari,” so much it might have stayed that way had Sexton gone Given his broad experience in leadership family. more powerful and also more sensitive the to pilot training in 1985 as initially planned. and operations management, Sexton didn’t Rebuffing offers to return to the pipeline Black Hawk helicopters were compared to the As chance would have it, Sexton’s orders have much trouble finding a civilian job. Taking construction industry, Sexton settled into a reliable and relatively large but underpowered came in just a few weeks too soon as classes at advantage of more than three months of leave comfortable semi-retirement in Waseca, but HH-3E helicopters. the University wouldn’t wrap up until the first he had accumulated during his quarter century found himself getting pulled into more and The HH-60s were also well built for special week of June. During the 10 month delay that in the military, he returned to Minnesota early more commitments. When a position opened operations, but Sexton noted the Army at the followed the rescinding of the order, Sexton to begin work as a facilities construction manup on the Waseca County Planning Commistime had a somewhat more robust capacity for courted and proposed to Jeanne. ager for Enbridge. sion, an old friend from his time at Sacred special operations than the Air Force. After he While based in Duluth, Sexton’s work with Heart — County Commissioner Brian Harguth was fully retrained for the new aircraft, he was Off to the armed forces — invited him to fill the role. selected to serve at Fort Campbell, a U.S. Army Enbridge was largely focused on the Flanagan South Pipeline. Constructed in 2013 and In the spring of 1986, Sexton began his mili- base on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, as Soon, Sexton was a member of both the Waseca County and city of Waseca Planning tary journey with a three-week flight screening part of an exchange between the Army and Air 2014, the roughly 600-mile pipeline ran from Enbridge’s Flanagan Terminal in central Illinois Commissions. In those roles, Sexton became program in San Antonio, Texas. Sexton came Force. to Cushing, Oklahoma. increasingly determined to help Waseca find into the program with some experience flying The specific aircraft Sexton flew while servRunning largely parallel to the already exist- ways to encourage housing development to close in the Twin Cities through the University of ing at Fort Campbell was the “MH-60 Kilo,” a ing Spearhead Pipeline, the Flanagan South a shortage of roughly 300 units of housing.

Minnesota’s ROTC program. variant of the Black Hawk helicopter that was Here, Sexton’s experience of swimming in somewhat larger and heavier with additional Clear Lake would come in handy as he pursued equipment specifically designed to assist in the his goal of flying helicopters right off the bat. completion of special operations.

While swimming wasn’t part of the Air Force It was in 1993 that Sexton was involved in ROTC program, you’d need such skills in order what would become the most famous mission to be able to pass the dunker portion of the across his 26 years in the Air Force, participattraining. ing in “Operation Serpent Gothic” which was Among the more nerve wracking portions of launched by President Bill Clinton against pilot training, the “dunker” training is designed Somali National Alliance fighters and other to ensure that pilots are prepared to safely insurgents. handle a situation in which their helicopter The operation culminated in the Battle of crashes into the water, potentially during night- Mogadishu against insurgents in the south of time conditions.

Somali capital Mogadishu, which ook place on In order to pass dunker training, pilots need Oct. 3 and 4 of 1994 and was profiled in the to demonstrate strong enough swimming skills 1999 book Black Hawk Down, with an eponyto hold up safely even in a terrifying scenario mous film based on the book released in 2001. in which they might be submerged and battling After his time as an exchange pilot in the against disorientation and darkness and needArmy ended, Sexton was assigned to United States Special Operations Command, which ing to swim some 75 yards. oversees special operations across the whole of While another pilot had been expected to fill the helicopter slot, he lacked the swimming the U.S. Military. There, Sexton worked on various joint aviation operations. experience necessary and also had an interest From 1998 to 1999, Sexton attended the in going to fixed wing training and learning to As State Representative, Sexton welcomes a 6th grade class of Owatonna students to Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College in fly F-16s. So, he and Sexton convinced their Montgomery, Alabama, graduating with a Mas- the Minnesota State Capitol. superiors to allow them to switch spots.

Page 17 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025 and had been urging Sexton to throw his hat in ing reductions to cover a projected $6 billion the ring. shortfall.

Long before coming to Waseca, RostislavovSexton came to the Capitol expecting plenty ich built a career in Minnesota Republican poliof gamesmanship and he wasn’t disappointed. tics, working for high He said that it profile Minnesota reminded him of the Republicans like Rep. jockeying between Vin Weber and Sen. Rod Grams. While Ambassadors, the he’d been retired since Pentagon and the last working for Gov. State Department Tim Pawlenty, he to get their way on offered to come out military operations. of retirement to serve Still, he said as Sexton’s campaign he’s really enjoyed manager.

While Sexton may and appreciated the have been a politihonor of representState Rep. Tom Sexton discusses a variety of topics with the public during regular cal newcomer, local ing local constituents events where he meets with constituents throughout his district. (File photo - South- Republicans quickly in St. Paul and trying warmed to his busiernMinn.com) to find solutions to ness and military exchallenges they face, Sexton was also living near Clear Lake as he did career and how much family time he’d missed. perience. He crossed from the large to during his childhood,and was quick to join the Now a grandpa, he was determined to be there the 60% threshold as much as he could for her and for his kids and to secure the GOP Waseca Lakes Association. Upon hearing that the small. Amid the Waseca Lakefest could fall by the wayside after grandkids. endorsement on the polarization, Sexton After saying no initially twice, Sexton talked second ballot, then no one stepped up to replace Joan Mooney, he also said he has tried it over with Jeanne on an 18-hour road trip to decided to step up again to take on the task of easily dispatched Sexton talking with a St. Paul Police Offi- hard to hear the organizing the beloved Fourth of July festival.

Albuquerque to see their kids and grandkids. challengers in the cer following his election to the Minnesota opinions of all, inWhen State Rep. John Petersburg announced With Jeanne’s full support and encouragement, Republican primary Legislature. cluding through his he wouldn’t seek a seventh term in 2024, local he finally decided to say yes. and general election.

While the Sextons knew little about how Republicans began looking for a strong candiAt the State “Coffee with Tom” date to succeed Petersburg in what has become to secure the Republican endorsement, they Capitol, Sexton walked into a uniquely fraught roundtable events. a a safely red district in the Trump era. got help from local hypervolunteer Mikhail situation. Not only was polarization between “I want to make sure I’m available for Several local Republicans urged Sexton to Rostislavovich, who currently serves as PresiRepublicans and Democrats deeper than ever, everybody,” Sexton said. “As a representative, I step forward, but he was very hesitant to throw dent of the Waseca Chamber of Commerce and both along ideological and regional lines, voters represent everybody regardless of their affiliathe Waseca Arts Center, among many other his hat into the ring. He’d never previously had sent an exactly equal number of Republition partywise.” n commitments. given the idea of being politically involved cans and Democrats to the House.

Active in the Waseca County Republican much thought, having been conditioned to be After much political maneuvering and Andrew Deziel is a reporter for the APG Southern Minnesota Party along with his brother Dwight Tostenson, tension, the two parties did manage to pass a strictly apolitical while in the military.

Newspaper Group. Reach him at 507-333-3133. © Copyright Sexton was also fully cognizant of how much Rostislavovich came to know Jeanne through compromise budget as required under state law, 2025 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota. All rights their involvement in the Waseca Exchange Club despite the challenges of having to find spendJeanne had sacrificed to support his military reserved.

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Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 18

Keith Radel has spent four decades caring for bluebirds in Rice County, helping them to thrive by building them houses and checking on them weekly while they nest. (Chloe Kucera — Faribault.com)

Faribault’s

Keith Radel

helping restore bluebird population in Rice County

“ I I just think the world would be a better place if there’s bluebirds when I’m dead and gone because they’re just a gorgeous bird.”

- Keith Radel

By CHLOE KUCERA chloe.kucera@apgsomn.com

t’s not often that someone would be willing to dedicate 40 years of their life to bring back a species of bird from near eradication to their local area, but that is precisely what Keith Radel has done.

He has spent four decades caring for bluebirds in Rice County, helping them to thrive with a touch of human intervention.

At age 76, he shows no signs of slowing down with his conservation efforts.

Radel’s interest in bluebirds can be traced back to his childhood when he made a kite in grade school that had a picture of that bird on it.

“I’d never seen [a bluebird], and I never did try to fly the thing,” he said. “I don’t think it would have flown, but I really was fascinated with bluebirds. It might be God given, I think.”

As Radel got older, he learned that the blue-

bird population was in trouble. In the 1970s, the price of fuel oil rose, causing the heating bills of many households to increase. People began cutting down dead trees and burning them as an alternative. This destroyed bluebird habitats as they are secondary cavity nesters that use holes created by woodpeckers.

“A bluebird can’t make its own hole,” he said. “Well, when all the dead trees got cut down, there went their nest places.”

The state of the bluebird population was dismal in Rice County, according to reports at the time.

“In 1979, nobody saw a bluebird in Rice County, not one adult,” Radel said. “And nobody had seen any nests either. So they were just about gone.”

This lack of presence was felt around the state. Dick Peterson, founder of the Bluebird Program of Minnesota, began to implement efforts to save the birds. He built bird boxes for

the bluebirds to nest and would check in on them every week to see if he could help them reproduce. His work was successful, inspiring people like Radel to join in and help out.

Radel and his wife came to the Faribault area in 1982, after selling his 80-acre farm in southwest Minnesota. With a passion for spending time outside, he started a landscaping business.

As Radel became connected with local birders, he learned about bird boxes and how to build them. He recalled a special moment when he went with a friend to check some boxes on land where the Minnesota Correctional Facility now stands.

“That was where I saw my first bluebird ever,” he said. “One up above the boxes in a tree on a dead tree branch. Now I couldn’t believe how blue they were. Henry Thoreau, the writer, said, ‘It’s the bird that flies with the sky on his back.’”

“

Page 19 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

Rice County is the number one county in the state for Bluebird production and has been for over 30 years. We fledge 3,000 plus a year here. No other county has ever fledged 2,000.”

- Keith Radel

In 1986, Radel began building his own bird houses using a plan from a book by the DNR called “Woodworking for Wildlife,” but he was not satisfied with the model.

“After using it for two years, I decided it was a piece of junk because the nest got wet,” he said.

“Then, I started looking for a different style.”

He moved on to a Peterson house model patented by the founder of the Bluebird Program of Minnesota. Now he uses a lightweight, cylindrical-style house that can be removed from the post to look in on. Radel enjoys this feature because it makes it easy to show others what is happening in the nest.

Throughout his years of bird box building, Radel has learned through a lot of trial and error. He was using wood posts that animals could climb up and eat the eggs. Then, he used steel poles, but found that woodland creatures

Keith Radel stands next to one of his bluebird boxes in 2018. (File photo — Faribault.com) could still get inside the house. He has resorted to skinny metal tubing, which works the best.

His birding friends helped him learn as well.

He had put up bird boxes on his property and didn’t have any luck getting bluebirds in his first year. One of his friends came out to visit and

pointed out all the things he was doing wrong.

There were too many boxes for the area they were arranged in. Some were mounted to trees, allowing animals to access the boxes, and the holes were too small for the birds to get in.

The following year, he made some changes and was able to raise eight birds successfully.

Then, he became involved in the Bluebird Program of Minnesota after attending the Bluebird Conference. Gaining lots of knowledge from fellow bluebird enthusiasts, he returned home and began his great bluebird house endeavor. With permission from property owners around Rice County, he established various sites to raise bluebirds throughout the area.

Currently, Radel monitors 186 different sites, with two houses at each spot. Every week, from April to August, Radel visits each site to check on the nests, ensuring they are dry and free from any pests.

This year, the bluebirds laid 11,163 eggs, with 931 hatched and 798 fledged from the nests. This season, the county experienced an unusually heavy rain in May, resulting in a loss of 150 baby birds. However, Radel cleaned and dried those boxes, and 22 of the 24 were nested again successfully. Though the experience was disheartening, Radel was happy that ultimately, his intervention made a difference.

With the work Radel and other bluebird enthusiasts have done in the community, Rice County now has an impressive population.

“Rice County is the number one county in the state for bluebird production and has been for over 30 years. We fledge 3,000 plus a year here,” he said. “No other county has ever fledged 2,000.”

Having done work with bluebirds for decades, Radel is affectionately known as “The Bluebird Guy” in the community. He said it has been pretty neat to get recognized in public.

If he is at the grocery store or driving into a driveway to check on his sites, people will ask Keith Radel conservation efforts are widely recognized by the community as he was how the bluebirds are doing. He mentioned that given the 2018 Wildlife Enhancement Award at the Best of the Best Agriculture Awards many of the properties he owns have resiprogram at the Rice County Fair. (File photo — Faribault.com) dents who have never seen a bluebird until he

installed a site.

By sharing knowledge and helping others set up their own bluebird boxes, Radel loves sharing in enthusiasm about birds.

“It’s more exciting for me when new people get them than me,” he said. “I’ll never forget that first bluebird I ever found in mine. Well, if you want to have that great feeling again, just help somebody have it, too.”

Bluebirds hold a special place in Radel’s heart, and he believes others could be inspired by the way they live.

“I just think the world would be a better place if there’s bluebirds when I’m dead and gone because they’re just a gorgeous bird,” he said. “If you watch a pair of bluebirds, you could do worse than to pattern your family life after them. Mom and Dad stick together. She builds a nest. He protects her while she builds so another bird doesn’t come in and get her, and he brings her food when she’s sitting on the eggs.”

Radel hopes that the Bluebird Program of Minnesota can gain more volunteers to share in their mission of sustaining bluebirds for the future. With volunteers on the decline, Radel wants people to understand the benefits of helping out for a cause.

“I hope the younger people pick up on the volunteering, because it doesn’t seem like they are,” he said. “Most organizations that rely on volunteers are having real troubles, and we’re hoping that changes, because you can make such a difference. I mean, I like landscaping, and it was fun, but for a business, it was great. But the satisfaction that I get from being around nature, you don’t get that sitting in the house.”

While on his bluebird checks, Radel expressed that he feels fortunate for the unique nature experiences he has had. From seeing a fawn nurse from its mother to watching a pheasant mom with eight chicks behind her, Radel has no shortage of stories to tell. n Reach Reporter Chloe Kucera at 507-333-3129. © Copyright 2025 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota.

Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 20

Deeply invested in Owatonna, business owners Matt and Deb Gillard are determined to continue to built their community as a true home for all. (Annie Harman - Owatonna.com)

Matt and Deb Gillard strive to make everyone a home in Owatonna

A

By ANNIE HARMAN annie.harman@apgsomn.com

fter 20-plus years of finding people the perfect home, it has never been the actual structures that moves Matt and Deb Gillard, owners of Owatonna’s RE/MAX Venture.

Instead, the Gillards have a bigger goal: making Owatonna a dream home for all.

The Gillards could easily be known for their business acumen alone. But for those who truly know them, their legacy lies not in the properties they sell, but in the lives they touch.

Deb Gillard, the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism’s board chair for 2025, presents at the annual chamber dinner, highlighting key agenda items and positive economic developments to look forward to this year. (File photo — Owatonna.com)

Second chances and a shared beginning The Gillards know a thing or two about second chances. Their own marriage is one. Both had previously been married and were navigating the messy, vulnerable space of starting over when fate — and a

very determined friend, Lisa Havelka — intervened.

“I had just gone through a divorce,” Deb recalled.

“Lisa was trying to set me up, and I wasn’t interested.”

But when Matt walked into that happy hour, something clicked. “He gave me a hug and said, ‘No one wants to get divorced. It feels like a failure.’” That empathy struck a chord.

They married two years later, blending their families and their lives. For Matt, who had a son just starting school, and Deb, whose kids were teenagers, it was less about merging than it was about expanding.

“It was never ‘step kids’ — they’re ‘our’ kids,” Matt said. “I genuinely love them.”

Now, with grown children and grandchildren, the Gillards look back on that leap of faith with gratitude.

“If I had lived my life afraid to start over, I would’ve missed out on all of this,” Deb said. “Sometimes the scariest decisions are the ones that lead you home.”

A passion for community

Matt considers Owatonna his hometown, even

Page 21 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

LEFT: Downtown business owners, including Deb and Matt Gillard of RE/MAX Venture (second and third from the left), throw dirt in solidarity at the groundbreaking ceremony for three major downtown Owatonna projects that began in June. (File photo - Owatonna.com) RIGHT: RE/MAX Venture owners Matt and Deb Gillard have participated in the downtown spring cleaning event since 2016, providing lunch for ALC students after the service day. (File photo - Owatonna.com) though he grew up in West Concord.

“All our friends are here, our family is here,” he said. “We have no plans on moving.”

Deb, originally from Columbia Heights, found herself unexpectedly drawn to Owatonna’s charm. She moved for a job in broadcasting, and legendary local radio host Todd Hale helped her settle in.

“Todd invited me to everything — plays, fireworks, holidays,” Deb said. “It felt more like home right from the get-go.”

Her love for theater and community blossomed from those early invitations. She acted, worked backstage and eventually became deeply embedded in local causes.

“That’s what we tell people who come to work with us,” she says. “Find your thing. Get involved. That’s how you really become a part of this town.”

Champions for the overlooked

One of the Gillards’ deepest passions is supporting Owatonna’s Area Learning Center students — kids who are too often dismissed or misunderstood.

“They’re not bad kids,” Matt said. “They’re kids who’ve been dealt tough hands.”

He recalls one student standing up during an OCLA session and explaining her daily routine: getting siblings ready, feeding them, going to school, then working late.

“She was just doing what she had to do,” Matt said.

That moment cemented their commitment.

“We realized, if no one is telling these kids they matter, how can they believe it?” Deb said.

“Everyone deserves to feel seen, appreciated and given a chance.”

“It just takes one adult believing in them,” ‘Rent for living here’ Matt said. “One ‘I see you’ to change the Matt and Deb’s shared love for giving back course.” became the foundation of their relationship and That belief is the driving force behind the business philosophy.

Gillards’ support of Owatonna’s ALC students “Giving is our way of paying rent for the — not just in word, but in deep, consistent place we live,” Matt said. “Whether it’s your action. And one of the biggest ways they show time or your money, it’s important.” up for these students is during the Downtown That mindset was front and center nearly Cleanup — a cornerstone community event ev20 years ago when devastating floods hit the ery spring where the ALC students come out in area. Together with friends and neighbors — full force to help beautify the entire downtown including many graduates from the Owatonna district.

Community Leadership Academy — organized As a “thank you” to these kids, the Gillards fundraisers to support those affected. go out of their way to ensure every student “We just jumped into it,” Matt said. “And it involved feels seen and appreciated. That means changed our lives.” collecting donated giveaway items from other downtown business owners so every kid walks

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Matt Gillard accepts the Small Business Live United Award on behalf of he and his wife, Deb, along with the RE/MAX Venture Agency. (File photo - Owatonna.com) away with something — from earbuds and snacks to gift cards and gear.

But the real prize isn’t something they can carry home. It’s the smell of burgers on the grill, the laughter echoing through Central Park, and the quiet joy of being recognized and appreciated.

One of the event’s most beloved traditions is the post-cleanup cookout, where Matt joins longtime beloved volunteer Vern White behind the grill.

“Grilling with Vern is one of the highlights of my year,” Matt said with a grin. “The kids work hard — they deserve to be celebrated.”

For the students, it’s more than a “thank you.” It’s a chance to be part of something bigger, to feel a sense of pride and ownership in their town.

“We want to acknowledge them and say “thank you,’ because that increases the chances

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Southern Minn Profiles 2025 | Page 22 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 of them going forward in their life and continue to do good things,” Deb said. “Who doesn’t like to feel someone appreciated what you did there?”

“If you’ve been beat down, why have confidence?” Matt added. “It just takes someone to give a little bit to these kids to give them that confidence they need and they deserve.”

The Downtown Cleanup has become a powerful way to deliver that message. It’s not just about picking up litter, it’s about students reclaiming ownership of their community and seeing firsthand that they matter. That their hands, their effort, their presence, makes a difference.

The heart of downtown

The Downtown Cleanup isn’t the only way the Gillards have been deeply invested — literally and emotionally — in Owatonna’s downtown. Matt served over a decade on the Owatonna Planning Commission, while Deb currently serves as the Board Chair for the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. And both of them have been strong advocates for progress-driven projects such as the streetscape project and the riverfront development.

“It takes people like us to care for our 22-feet of downtown,” Matt said, referring to the frontage of their real estate office. “We plant flowers, we keep it clean. It matters.”

They believe downtown is more than just a place — it’s a symbol of a community’s values.

“It’s the beating heart,” Deb said. “If you take care of that, everything else can grow from there.”

Deb Gillard of RE/MAX Venture chats with contestants in the annual Crazy Hair Contest during Gem Days.The Gillards say investing in youth — whether it be supporting the new high school to hosting fun events — is one of the most important ways to ensure a community thrives. (File photo - Owatonna.com)

Leading by example

Of course, their commitment to Owatonna stretches well beyond downtown. For Matt and Deb, leadership is quiet, consistent and rooted in action. They don’t seek the spotlight — but it often finds them.

From co-founding Alzheimer’s caregiver support groups — after Deb lost her dad to the disease — to mentoring young professionals, they lead by showing up, listening and building bridges.

Deb is quick to admit she’s learned to say no when needed.

“I used to say yes to everything. Now I ask myself: Can I give this the time it deserves? If not, maybe I know someone who can.”

Their real estate business has given them a front-row seat to Owatonna’s growth — and its growing pains.

“When clients come looking for a home, they ask about schools,” Matt said. “Not just because of kids, but because it’s a sign of a healthy, cared-for community.”

That’s why they supported the new high school referendum, even when it was somewhat controversial.

“It’s the only ‘political’ stance we’ve taken,” Matt said, noting if a community doesn’t invest in their youth then the future will be uncertain.

“We are big believers and supporters in the whole city growing.”

The Gillards’ commitment to Owatonna doesn’t end at business hours — it’s woven into nearly every corner of the community.

Matt, a longtime real estate professional, has brought his industry expertise to the Minnesota Real Estate Professional Standards Board, the Southeast Minnesota Realtors MLS Board, and served as a Children’s Miracle Network Miracle Agent, donating a portion of every sale to support children’s hospitals. His civic service also includes time on the Steele County Planning Commission, and early involvement

Matt and Deb Gillard with their RE/MAX venture team at Spare Time Entertainment for Bowl For Kids’ Sake. (Photo courtesy of Big Brother Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota) in the Owatonna MainStreet Committee and Save the State Theater Taskforce. His passion for local business and community collaboration also led him to serve on the Foremost Brewing Cooperative Board.

Deb, equally invested in the town’s future, has led with heart and strategy. In addition to her other volunteer work, she also serves as a trustee for the Owatonna Foundation and brings her marketing expertise to the Steele County Historical Society. Like Matt, she is a Miracle Agent and alum of the Owatonna Community Leadership Academy, an experience they both credit as transformational.

Together, they’ve become pillars in programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters as a Big Couple,

the Owatonna Business Partnership and the Owatonna Foundation Legacy Society. They regularly participate in Community Pathways of Steele County donation drives and supporting events like the Give Hope Concert.

RE/MAX Venture was also honored as the 2022 United Way Small Business of the Year — a reflection of how deeply their business philosophy is tied to community impact.

Looking ahead With grandchildren in town, a thriving downtown just blocks from home and deep ties to local boards and causes, the Gillards aren’t going anywhere.

“There’s something special happening in Owatonna,” Matt said. “We’re growing in a way that includes everyone. That’s the kind of place we want to live.”

They dream of more restaurants, more riverfront housing, more families walking down beautifully maintained streets. But more than that, they want to keep showing others that community isn’t something you consume — it’s something you build.

“Most of us can’t save the world, but we can do good right here,” Deb said. “One person at a time.” n Reach Associate Editor Annie Harman at 507-444-2378. © Copyright 2025 Adams MultiMedia of Southern Minnesota.

Page 23 | Southern Minn Profiles 2025

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