A gathering place for Canton residents page
Geneva’s Hideaway sweetening Peterson
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Heritage Grove celebrates ten years page
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The milestones of Lanesboro
2011-2012 Community Progress Edition
Organizational process for NTC page
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Root River Ag improves facility
Business Anniversaries
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Celebrating a history of service pages
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Buster’s Country Meats and Catering has new owner By Jade Wangen jwangen@fillmorecountyjournal.com
of time doing paperwork for permits and inspections. They
also put on a new addition to the building this fall.
“The state made it mandatory to put on a smokehouse for the
Cody Koebke started working at Buster’s Country Meats outside of Spring Valley when he was in high school. He grew up in Spring Valley and graduated from Kingsland High School. Koebke knew he wanted to own his own business, but he wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do. While working one day, owner Buster Johnson asked if he would be interested in taking over his business one day when he retired. “I got a two-year degree in business administration at RCTC,” said Koebke. “I worked into it slowly.” Johnson and Koebke made the transition over the summer. Koebke didn’t only buy the business from Johnson; he bought the house, the land, and the buildings that came with it. It took a lot of work for Koebke to make the transition from employee to owner of his Cody Koebke took over as owner of Buster’s Country Meats and Catering in July 2011. own business. He spent a lot Photo by Jade Wangen
Mabel working on new community center By Jade Wangen jwangen@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Jim Westby was the Mayor of Mabel for several years. Over the last few years, there has been a lot of controversy in town over the construction of a brand new Community Center. After Westby lost the last election, the council and the Mabel Economic Development Authority asked him to continue on as project manager for the Community Center project. The issue of spending $1.2 million on a new building has at times divided the town. “Some people feel it’s going to be a big tax burden on the residents,” said Westby. The city worked for a long time to raise money to offset the amount they would have to bond for the project. As it
turned out, they only had to borrow $400,000. And people are still donating money. Westby recently received a check for $5,000 from someone in California. Proponents of the project feel that the building will benefit the town tremendously. Not only is it a place for people to have gatherings like wedding receptions, reunions, and meetings, but it will house the council chambers and the city offices as well. Westby’s job as the Project Manager is to make sure all of the requirements are being met and things are moving along as planned. Construction is currently well under way. “The last day of construction is supposed to be January 26,” said Westby. He added that they will be finishing the landscaping and other outdoor
things in the spring. There are already four wedding receptions booked for the new building, one or two possible class reunions, and Winn Coop’s annual board meeting. According to Westby, the Lions may hold their Cancer Telethon there next year. The building was designed by Vantage Architects out of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, but Westby explained a lot of ideas came from the group on the original committee. They looked around at community centers in other towns to see what they liked and didn’t like. The reception hall can hold 300 people comfortably. See MABEL Page 2
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sausages and stuff,” explained Koebke. “I thought it would be good to put the catering in there, too.” It is comforting to Koebke that they can do everything on site now, and save time and money, as they used to send things to Grand Meadow for smoking. Monday through Thursday they do their own slaughtering on site, and Koebke said they have anywhere from seven to eight beef cows and 10-12 hogs a week come through there. Right now Koebke is putting in 70-80 hours a week, but he has no problem with that. He is enjoying his new life, and is very glad he took over the business. “Things have calmed down a little now,” he said. He added that things were very busy during hunting season when people brought their deer in to be processed. Buster’s Country Meats has been around since 1979, and See BUSTER’S Page 12
Trailside Campground debuts in Rushford Village By K irsten Zoellner kzoellner@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Rushford Village is one step and a few months closer to getting a hold of more of those often elusive tourism dollars. Newly developed Trailside Campground will make its debut along the Root River Trail this spring, as seasonal tourists begin pouring into the area. Located on former farmland, just north of the state trail and scenic highway 16 and south of Highway 30, the 48-site campground is the product of more than two years work of toil by developer Harold Naber, owner and operator of Eagle Cliff campground in Lanesboro. “We’d been looking for an additional location to take advantage of the state bike trail,” notes Nabor. “In 2009, we had a waiting list of 72 at our Lanesboro location. There
was definitely a demand for more seasonal camping sites in the area.” Nabor had previously owned a used auto dealership in the community and knew it was a prime location. “The Rushford area supported us so well and we met so many good people. Still, Nabor didn’t see anyone trying to take advantage of the community’s tourism business. “The demand is still there,” he adds. While the drive and commitment was there from the developer, several hurdles attempted to push the project back. The 15 acres on which Trailside Campground sits was initially purchased in February 2010 from Val and Mary Gudmundsen. However, when Nabor tried to secure a clear deed, it turned out that more than 50 years ago, as See CAMPGROUND Page 8