WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015
Serving Polk County’s St. t Croix C i Valley V ll since i 1897
VOL. 127 NO. 42
www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Osceola track hot despite cold weather. P. 10
HUD hampers local loan fund BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
MARIANNE SHIRA | THE SUN
Osceola High School graduation Chieftain graduates Erin Brown and Ella Durand leave the Osceola High School Graduation Ceremony Friday night as members of the graduating class of 2015.
Acre-Kendall arrested STAFF REPORT NEWS@COUNTYSTAR.COM
Levi Acre-Kendall, charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the fatal stabbing of Peter “Pete” Kelly, was arrested on warrant for violating conditions of his bail release. Under terms of bail, Acre-Kendall was not to have contact with friends he was with during the fatal stabbing of Kelly. He was charged with two felony accounts of jumping bail on May 14 after sending messages on Twitter that were seen by those friends,
according to the criminal complaint. The complaint alleges that Acre-Kendall sent a tweet on May 7 that read: “If you are praying for me, please keep the Kelly family in mind as well, I never intended for this to happen and I wish it never did.” Another tweet read: “Going to Chipotle to gain back 15 pounds I lost.” On May 9 or 10, Acre-Kendall blocked those friends on the social media platform. The Twitter account has since been taken SEE ARRESTED, PAGE 8
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The building at the corner of Cascade Street and Second Avenue sat empty for more than a year before Cindy Thorman and Nancy Beck bought it. “Osceola was struggling,” says Thorman. “We both felt strongly that we had to do something.” “We desperately needed a family restaurant in town,” says Beck. “There was no place to get lemonade and cheese curds.” Since the pair finished restoring the building to its original 1904 design in early 2013, the space has been occupied and run successfully by a Mexican restaurant, Fiesta Loca. And although lemonade and cheese curds aren’t on the menu, anyone on the prowl for a quesadilla and horchata is likely pleased with what has become of the former Mainstreeter Restau-
rant. The renovation wouldn’t have been as successful, say Beck and Thorman, without money from the Regional Business Fund, a loan source for entrepreneurs in west central Wisconsin. If Beck and Thorman were to apply for a loan through the business fund today, they would be denied. On April 1 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] announced that money in the fund, under local control for several years, was now considered federal. Henceforth, any loans awarded would have to adhere to a tighter set of rules. Namely, business owners would have to show that the loans were used in a way that created jobs or directly benefitted people with low incomes. HUD’s ruling didn’t SEE HUD, PAGE 24
SCF schools hire new superintendent BY SAMANTHA FOUNTAIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Glenn Martin, retiring superintendent of the St. Croix Falls School District, will pass the superintendent torch to Mark Burandt this July 1. The new disttrict administrator says he’s excited for the opportunity e and looks forward to worka iing with the community to continue what is going well c and work on issues that a need improvement. n “I do not need to change tthings just to put my name on it.” Burandt commented. o “I will be doing a lot of lis“ ttening and will be paying close attention to what the c sstaff and community have tto say.” Mark Burandt Burandt hails from southern Wisconsin, in Brodhead, near Madison. He and his wife live in Menomonie, but Burandt says they’ll welcome the change brought by a move to St. Croix Valley. Burandt received his Masters in Education at Winona State University and started his career as a teacher. Eventually, teaching progressed to assistant principal and athletic director, to high school principal, then human resource director. Throughout, Burandt has coached football, baseball and softball. “I’ve been in education for 28 years,” he said, “and done a lot of different things, becoming a superintenADVERTISING 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
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dent was the next step.” A lot of thought went into what type of community he wanted to serve. He knew he wanted to stay in Wisconsin. “I was fairly selective in which district to apply for,” he said. “I knew I wanted small, but not too small and fairly close to the Cities.” Burandt jumped at the opportunity to apply in St. Croix. After his first interview, he and his wife took a day trip to the valley and fell in love with the community and natural beauty. They are now in the process of deciding whether to buy a house or land to build. “I firmly believe the superintendent should live in the community they work for to become involved and visible,” said Burandt. In the meantime his wife will continue to work as a teacher at Knapp. “I’m honored to have been chosen for this position.” Burandt said. “I want to play a role in promoting St. Croix Falls as a place to live, so we can see steady student enrollment. Being close to the Cities means longterm growth.” Burandt is ready to listen to the sensitive subjects in the district, such as the closing of the Cushing Elementary School. He said he’s been around a merged school district before and is aware of the need to get the feeling for the animosity felt towards the closing of Cushing. “I would never say ‘get over it,’” he stated. “I want to be sensitive to it. I can’t undo it, but I can listen to these folks. They need to be included as an integral part of
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