604 E. Germain St., St. Cloud, MN
2 Second Ave. S., Suite 135, Sauk Rapids, MN 56379 R17_1B_WS
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Walz delivers State of the State address
Same Local Coverage Since 1854.
Johnson is 2022
Sauk Rapids Citizen of the Year Volunteer efforts solidify BBBS director as one of city’s best
Focuses on historic budget surplus, unity
BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER Jackie Johnson has served as the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota for more than a decade. Now, Johnson is being honored for her work in the Sauk Rapids community, as she has been named the 2022 Sauk Rapids Citizen of the Year. Johnson not only leads the BBBS program that serves more than 400 area children, but she is also the president of the St. Cloud Rotary Club, a founding member of the Sauk Rapids-Rice Education Foundation, a volunteer in the youth group at Salem Lutheran Church and a past president of the Forum of Executive Women and for Kamp Kimchee. Prior to BBBS, Johnson spent more than 12 years at Catholic Charities of St. Cloud as the program director for the Foster Grandparent Program.
BY JAKOB KOUNKEL STAFF WRITER Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz delivered his fourth and nal State of the State address of his rst term April 24. He focused on bipartisanship and unity while addressing what he called the elephant in the room: the state’s historic $9.2 billion budget surplus. With decisions yet to be made on how to spend the surplus and with a full slate of plans for the year ahead, Walz detailed the current condition of the state of Minnesota. “The state of our state is strong and moving forward,” Walz said. Walz, who will run for reelection in November, highlighted how Minnesotans came together during the coronavirus pandemic through the triumphs and challenges, and urged lawmakers to use that bipartisan spirit to compromise on a spending plan to address the state’s immediate challenges. First and foremost among Walz’s budget is to give some of the surplus back to where it came from: Minnesota’s taxpayers.
State address page 3
Vol. 168, No. 4
Johnson page 3 PHOTO BY TOM FENTON
Jackie Johnson and her husband, Kevin, stand in city council chambers April 25 in Sauk Rapids after Johnson is announced the 2022 Sauk Rapids Citizen of the Year. Johnson was chosen for the award in part for her mentorship to the area youth.
Life
Walk for Annual cancer research fundraiser set for May 6
BY MAURA WENNER | STAFF WRITER Rice Elementary School will be hosting its annual Walk for Life event Friday, May 6. The foundation of the event started 10 years ago. Two teachers at the school lost a son and daughter to cancer. To keep their memory alive in the community, Walk for Life began as a way to raise money for cancer research. The event has attracted attention and grown through the years. Fundraising remains the rst goal for the event each spring. “This has been our biggest outreach service PHOTO SUBMITTED
Walk for Life page 2
OBITUARIES The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
• Donald F. Gapinski
Rice Elementary School teachers Kelsey Bean (from left), Nancy Davis and Tara Vadnais ready themselves for the upcoming Walk for Life event at the school. The outreach service began 10 years ago and raises money for the American Cancer Society.
PUBLIC NOTICES
• Mortgage Foreclosures (2) - pg. 15 and 16 • Assumed Name - Yo-Toss Junk Removal - pg. 16 • Benton County Cemetery Meeting Notice - pg. 16 • Watab Township Treasurer Position Notice - pg. 16 • City of Sauk Rapids Notice of Filing - pg. 16 • Sauk Rapids-Rice School Special Board Minutes, April 13 - pg. 11
• Sauk Rapids-Rice Work Session Minutes, April 11 - pg. 16 • Sauk Rapids-Rice Special Board Minutes, March 31 - pg. 16 • Sauk Rapids-Rice Reg. Minutes, March 28 -pg. 15 • City of Sauk Rapids Reg. Minutes, April 11 - pg. 11 • City of Rice Financial Reports - pg. 14 • City of Sauk Rapids Advertisement for Bids - pg. 18
