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11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, MN 56379
“Minnesota’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper” Vol. 162, No. 26
A continuation of the Frontiersman, The Free Press, Sauk Rapids Sentinel and St. Cloud Sentinel.
How healthy is central Minnesota? Survey to give clear picture of regional health care needs FOLEY — Almost 9,000 randomly selected households in central Minnesota will receive a survey this October, which will assist public health agencies going forward. The Central Minnesota Community Health Survey has been distributed by mail to residents in Benton, Stearns and Sherburne Counties. This survey asks important questions about the respondents’ health and wellness in their community. The answers provide vital information to public health departments, area hospitals and others who will use the data to identify and prioritize community health needs and develop strategies and action to address those needs with hopes of developing healthier communities. Information provided from respondents will help organizations target resources more effectively and monitor trends, whether good or bad, over time. The survey asks questions about access to health care; nutrition; physical activity; Ànancial stress; tobacco and
drug use; driving behaviors; bullying; and other social, physical and mental healthrelated issues. Since a limited number of random people receive the mailing, it’s crucial all households that receive the survey complete it and mail it back; or, encourage others who get the survey to complete it. All information remains anonymous and is strictly conÀdential. “We did a similar survey in 2013,” said Nicole Ruhoff, Benton County’s Public Health Supervisor. “As an example, the last survey highlighted a higher rate of alcohol and other substance use in Benton County. We were able to do some prevention work with the formation of the Benton County Substance Abuse Coalition. We will be interested in watching for change as we work in partnership with the community to improve the health of our residents.” The survey is a collab-
Regional health continued on pg. 3
Kacures resigns from town board
by ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
WATAB TOWNSHIP – The Watab Town Board ended their meeting Oct. 4 following the immediate resignation of Board Chair Ed Kacures Jr. prior to the scheduled adjournment. Kacures resigned due to health issues after serving on the board for 8.5 years. The meeting ended before Clerk Pat Spence had the opportunity to request acceptance of the resignation from the board. “We will appoint a new chair,” Spence said. “We have too many big projects going on to not have a chair.” The special meeting is slated for Oct. 18 at 7 p.m., with plans to accept the res-
Sauk Rapids, Benton County, Minnesota 56379
ignation and appoint a new board chair to fulÀll the remaining six months of Kacures’ term. In other township news: • Jon Bogart presented updated drafts of the 95th Street road project. The plans include a slight adjustment of the road within the right of way between Lakewood Shores Road and 10th Avenue, as well as downgrading the two hills and minimizing the curve. The board approved Bogart’s drafts and authorized him to continue moving forward. Bogart’s next steps are locating the gas line on the north side of the road, dis-
Watab township continued on pg. 3
(USPS 482-240)
October 13, 2016
Community meals Tinville Lions host bouja fundraiser by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — Beef, cabbage, carrots, chicken, yellow and green beans, onions, pork, potatoes, tomatoes, pickling spice and voila!? No…bouja! At least according to the Sauk Rapids Tinville Lions. The Tinville club will hold its Second Annual Bouja Harvest Fest Sunday, Oct. 16 from 1-6 p.m. at Rollie’s Rednecks & Longnecks. In addition to bowls of the hearty Upper Midwestern tradition, the celebration will include kids’ games, a bean bag tournament, meat and prize rafÁes and live music by Kevin Lange and the Mississippi Drifters, as well as, Nate Sanner. But what is bouja? Well, it depends on who you ask. But a generic deÀnition de-
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Sauk Rapids Tinville Lions Club – (from left) President Nelson Lance, Historian Connie PÁipsen, Director Paul Nemeth, Membership Chair Pam Bauerly, Alice Coudrom and First Vice President Rich Wolter – is hosting a bouja fundraiser Oct. 16.
scribes the mixture as a thick is boiled for several hours. “It’s a German thing,” soup, with multiple meat and vegetable ingredients, which said Pam Bauerly, Tinville Lions Membership Chair. “The Áavor to me is distinctive, so we only allow what’s in the recipe — beef, chicken, pork, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, yellow and green beans, and cabbage. And in the last hour, we put in the pickling spices which gives the mixture its Áavor. Pickling spice is what makes it Áavorful. To me, that’s what makes it bouja.” Bouja’s origins (also spelled booyah, along with other variations) are as murky as the reddish-brown comfort food itself. Some attribute the food to the Wallonian immigrants of Belgium who settled near Door County, Wis., while some say it originated here in central Minnesota from the Polish Americans. And yet, there PHOTO SUBMITTED are others still, who claim Pam Bauerly’s brother Brian made a bouja cooker which mix- the soup as German. But one thing is for sure, each ethes the soup non-stop, similar to that of a ready-mix truck.
nicity has their own idea of bouja; some versions have beans and others even rice. “Theirs is totally different than ours,” Bauerly said of a Polish group who makes bouja near Palmer. “Their bouja has huge chunks and they add anything people bring for meats and vegetables. They’ll add turkey and ham, whatever is given. Plus they don’t use pickling spices.” Bauerly and her family have been making this version of the comfort food for years. It’s a recipe that originated before the 1950s from a St. Patrick’s Parish fundraiser in Duelm. “We never really had a written recipe. We just knew what went in it. My mother always made it at home,” Bauerly said. But in most parts of
Bouja continued on pg. 2
Horses, hogs, hens and heifers What is 4-H, really? by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
FOLEY — If your parents or you grew up without being involved in 4-H, the organization may be as intimidating as a foreign land. It’s possible, you think the clubs only revolve around crops and livestock. Perhaps your parents told you to be involved, you need to live or work on a farm. You might have no idea what the letters H stand for on the symbolic four-leaf clover, and, conceivably, PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Ann Olson is the interim 4-H program coordinator for Benton County. 4-H has evolved over the years to include more STEM activities, as well as other experiences such as shooting sports.
you could believe they stand for horses, hogs, hens and heifers. But the reality is, if you have conÀdence in any of these so-called “truths,” you are more than wrong. “I pledge my head to clearer thinking; my heart to greater loyalty; my hands to larger service; and my health to better living, for my family, my club, my community, my country and my world.” The four Hs — head, heart, hands and health — are the spirit of 4-H. “4-H encompasses everything. It isn’t just about farming,” said Ann Olson, interim 4-H program coordinator for Benton County. “You have farming, you have youth and you have people with a passion to volunteer their time. With the programs that are in place now, it doesn’t matter if you’ve ever touched an animal.” Last week Oct. 2-8 was National 4-H week. The 18 Benton County clubs, comprised of 430 youth members and nearly 185 adult volunteers, celebrated the beginning of a new year for the organization, which has offered ageappropriate hands-on proj-
Minnesota since 11902. During a Sund Sunday evening gathering at St. John’s Lutheran Church near Popple Creek, the group enjoyed an appreciation dinner, an awards banquet, a hayride, a bonÀre and more. To understand the everevolving direction of 4-H, one must know its past. The program, available to youth, kindergarten through one year past high school, is rooted in the open-mindedness of young people. It began as a way to help adults understand technological advances and practices in the agricultural world by allowing participation and experimentation by their youth. It was birthed through the United States Department of Agriculture and the land-grant university system. “The land-grant univerPHOTO SUBMITTED Benton County 4-H members Ella Reding and Logan Laud- sity vision, which came about erbaugh participate in shooting sports, a program which was in the 1860s, provided a forrecently revived. 4-H ects and activities to increase impact of community learncontinued on pg. 2 the quality, availability and ing opportunities throughout