PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #861
Boys basketball page 7
Brooke Walters page 9
New Look. Same Local Coverage since 1854. Vol. 163, No. 44
Making the call
11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, Benton County, MN 56379
Residents to take lead over Rice fire contract negotiation BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE — The City of Rice will have a different team of representatives at the table when negotiating their Àre contract with Watab Township this year. The current contract is set to expire Dec. 31. Mike Burton, a spokesperson for the township, approached the Rice City Council at the regularly-scheduled meeting Feb. 5 informing them that the township would like to begin negotiations – this time with a team of unelected ofÀcials. According to Watab Township Supervisor Todd Waytashek, township board members consented at an emergency services committee meeting last month to allow a group of about Àve people to take the lead on the upcoming contract negotiations. No formal action has yet been taken. The negotiators will be tasked with Ànding a reasonable contract agreement between the city and township and recommending that said contract to the board. The township residents will be given direction from the board and the board will still be responsible for authorizing the agreement. The township continues to research alternatives for Àre services at this time. Rice council member Chris Scheel was absent from this meeting. The city council has canceled their Feb. 19 meeting. City ofÀces are closed that Monday due to President’s Day. In other council news: • Authorized the utilities department to begin tracking hours spent on storm sewer versus city water and other maintenance in order to determine where labor is spent. This will allow the city to allocate funds accordingly and assess where fees need to be collected when creating a utility improvement. • Approved a large gathering permit for the Heritage Day Parade to take place Saturday, March 17. • Approved posting the positions of compost site attendants for the 2018 season. • Tabled a quote from Prairie Restorations for removal of buckthorn on city property for the period of Àve years. Council members would like to see other quotes.
BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
SAUK RAPIDS — Bryce Seguin never dreamed of growing up and becoming a ÀreÀghter. Like many young children, he took the department and the service it provides for granted; it never crossed his mind. That outlook changed as Seguin became an adult and family man. The St. Cloud native now lives in Sauk Rapids with his wife, Nikki, and sons – Sylus, 3, and Austin, 1. “It was time for me to give back,” said Seguin, 30. Now, with only two years on the Sauk Rapids Fire Department after beginning in January 2016, Seguin is ranked amongst veterans. He was honored with the Sauk Rapids 2017 FireÀghter of the Year Award at the department’s annual banquet in January. “It’s pretty cool. I’m not going to lie; I was very excited,” Seguin said. “It doesn’t put me above anyone, but it is a cool accomplishment. If you’re going to be involved in something, you might as well do it to the best of your ability.” Sauk Rapids FireÀghter of the Year is awarded to the member who has responded to the most calls over the calendar year. For Sequin that number was 145. He missed 24 of the 169 total calls. Seguin’s numbers were surpassed by veterans such as Allen Olson, Neil Bueckers, Dale Abraham, Robert Calhoun and Jeff Jahnke, who have each earned the award over the last Àve years making them ineligible for the title at this time. Seguin said the experienced personnel in the department have paved the way for people like him. That list includes ÀreÀghter Jared Gapinski, the president of Seguin’s employer, All State Communications. Gapinski recommended Seguin join SRFD. “It’s a very welcoming group,” Seguin said. “Everyone’s been great. It’s a little overwhelming when you Àrst come in here because you’re walking into another family
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Seguin named Firefighter of the Year
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Sauk Rapids 2017 Firefighter of the Year Bryce Seguin sits with his family – Sylus, 3, Nikki and Austin, 1 – at the Sauk Rapids Fire Fall. Seguin was honored with the award this past January.
essentially. … It’s a great group of guys. No one will scold you for doing something wrong; they’ll give you pointers on how to do things more efÀciently or correctly. I wouldn’t be scared to ask any of the guys for help. They are all open-minded. If you have a question, throw it out there and they’ll answer it.” Even though Seguin and his family had prepared for the time commitment it takes to become a ÀreÀghter, he was still surprised at the demand. Seguin was educated in the required Fire I and Fire II, as well as hazardous materials and Àrst responder training. He is required to attend at least three training sessions each month for approximately three hours each, spends time at the
“You don’t want to live by the pager, but you’re waiting.” – Bryce Seguin
community events and responds to calls whenever needed. Seguin said the time commitment is offset by the department’s intent to include each member’s immediate family as one of their own. “Prior to being involved in this, I didn’t realize how much the families truly are involved,” Seguin said. “We do a lot of things with the families. We have a family night for the kids to come down, and we have meals here. It is literally like an extension of your family to a bigger family.” But what has surprised Seguin the most was the number of calls the department receives. Finding balance has taken time. “You don’t want to live by the pager, but you’re waiting,” he said. “It is hard to balance my actual job with this. I can’t leave on every call because I have work to do. If I am in the middle of something I can’t
up and leave if I have timelines that my stuff has to be done. It’s tough because [the Àre department] is your commitment. You’re signing up to do this. But then again, it is my second job to my Àrst job. If my Àrst job fails, then this one will.” Despite the time commitment, Seguin manages to wear the helmet of the SRFD along with the hats of being a husband and father. He attributes his success to his supportive family. “Without my wife, my in laws and even my parents, there would be less calls made because I have them on hand. If I have a call, I can drop my kids off and go,” Seguin said. Seguin may have not dreamed of taking on the role of a ÀreÀghter as a child, but he answered the call as an adult and is not looking back. “It’s been fun; it’s been exciting,” he said. “I wish I could do this full time.”
Caucuses reveal voter thoughts on upcoming gubernatorial race SAUK RAPIDS — Community members gathered across Benton County Feb. 6 to take part in democracy and cast their preference ballots for the state’s gubernatorial candidates. According to the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, 2,375 people voted at democratic caucuses in congressional district 5, which covers Benton, Carver,
Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, Anoka and Washington counties. Tim Walz claimed the majority of the state’s preference at 8,982 votes of 29,924 or 30.55 percent. Likewise Walz led in district 5 with 590 votes, but was favored similarly to Rebecca Otto who tallied 587 votes. Otto was also second amongst DFLers in Minnesota with 5,886 votes and 20.02 percent. SpeciÀc county statistics were not available through the DFL website. On the other side of the aisle
love audiobooks. There is such a convenience about them.” When it comes to travel, for Thomas at least, an e-book makes for a great companion. “I think there are a variety of different types of readers out there,” she said. “Some people really enjoy the digital or audio books, and some prefer the print.” The trend towards digital is something GRRL Associate Director of Collection Development Jami Trenam has noticed since e-books became more mainstream in the late 2000s. “The e-book market has really changed since they Àrst started offering them in 2009,” Trenam said. “And in 2011 when we Àrst started offering the service, we used OverDrive.” OverDrive is a digital media distributor GRRL uses to allow patrons the option of borrowing an e-book or an e-audiobook. “But as technologies have evolved, different vendors have joined the market,” she said. Vendors like the library’s newest digital media distributor Axis 360. “We always want to get the best bang for our buck,” Trenam said. “Especially with the cost of annual subscription fees (to access
e-materials from digital media distributors), we want to make sure we focus on smaller fees and more variety for our patrons.” Axis 360 works similar to OverDrive. Users can browse the selection of available e-materials, check them out and use them for about three weeks. If the e-book is not renewed in time, access to the e-book is removed and it is available for the next patron to access. However, there are some newer, more convenient features available. “Axis 360 is very intuitive,” Trenam said. “It takes about three clicks and you can access content.” In addition to its ease of use on desktop, Axis 360 is also available on mobile devices through a free app. “You can go onto the app, plug in your library card information, and get access to e-books through there,” Thomas said. “Plus, the service is ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] accessible since it was developed in conjunction with the National Federation for the Blind.” Trenam said Axis 360 does cost the library less in subscription fees compared to OverDrive. The exact dollar amount was not provided. Axis 360, unlike OverDrive, does not require users to create a special log-in to access e-materials.
BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
after 100 percent of the basic political operating units reported, Republicans in Minnesota favored Jeff Johnson as their candidate for governor. Of the 10,909 votes, Johnson received 4,955 or 45.42 percent. Many [1,706] members were undecided. In Benton County, GOP members chose Keith Downey by one votes over Jeff Johnson. Downey attended and spoke at the county caucus at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. Downey and Johnson tallied 27 and 26 votes, respectively, of the 88 people who attended. Downey
claimed 1,590 votes or 14.59 percent from the state. Of those reporting, 13 percent of DFL members and 16 percent of GOP members were undecided as of the caucuses Tuesday. Candidates will ofÀcially Àle to run for ofÀce between May 22 and June 5. Both political parties will gather June 1-3 to endorse a candidate who in turn will receive the Ànancial backing of their respective party. Primary elections will narrow the race Aug. 14; general elections take place Nov. 6.
Area libraries embrace new electronic services BY VICKI IKEOGU CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ST. CLOUD – Rachel Thomas has a hard time passing up a good book, no matter its form. As the patron services supervisor for Great River Regional Library, Thomas can browse through millions of titles throughout the shelves of the systems 32 libraries. But sometimes, she admits, a print copy does not always Àt her reading needs. “I’m still very much a print book user,” Thomas said. “But I
PUBLIC
NOTICES • Mortgage Foreclosure - Sulier - pg. 6 • City of Sauk Rapids/Minden Joint Public Hearing - pg. 6 • Assumed Name - Nature Soils - pg. 6 • Assumed Name - Southview Heights pg. 6 • Assumed Name - ANS Fence - pg. 6 • Watab Township Ad for Bids - pg. 6 • City of Rice Public Notice - pg. 6 • Summons - Lahr - pg. 5 • Benton Co. Minutes Jan. 16, 2018 - pg. 5 • Mortgage Foreclosure - Lieser - pg. 6 • Benton Co. Hwy Dept. Ad for Bids - pg. 3 • Watab Township Notice - pg. 3
PHOTO BY VICKI IKEOGU
Authors Lisa Wingate (left) and Raghavan Iyer talk about the books “Before We Were Yours” and “Smashed, Mashed, Broiled and Baked – and Fried, Too!: A Celebration of Potatoes in 75 Irresistible Recipes” at the Axis 360 Feb. 3 launch party at the St. Cloud Public Library.
It is a feature Trenam said that compatible with all e-readers. maintains the library’s commitment “Axis 360 is not supported with to protect the privacy of its patrons. Àrst and second-generation Kindle While there are more options Fires and on the Kindle Paperwhites and more current titles on Axis 360, Axis 360 page 2 the digital media distributor is not