WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 121 NO. 32 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Two Osceola powerlifters win State titles. PAGE 10
Kicking off Big Read with the Traveling Symphony Hosting its fifth annual NEA Big Read in the St. Croix Valley, ArtReach St. Croix is one of 75 organizations nationwide awarded a prestigious grant to host NEA Big Read, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. “Station Eleven” is the chosen book for 2019, exploring life before and after a global flu pandemic leads to the collapse of modern society. Weaving together several different stories, the book primarily centers on a crew of resilient performers in a traveling symphony, who perform Shakespeare plays and pre-collapse music for the small, isolated communities of a dystopian future. With the structures of modern civilization stripped away, the book celebrates the strength of people determined to preserve what was best about the world. To kick off a month of guest speakers, book discussions and related programs, ArtReach is excited to present the St. Croix Valley’s Traveling Symphony! On Sunday, March 31st, the symphony will feature a trio from
St. Croix Jazz Orchestra, and on Monday, April 1st, artists from the Festival Theatre will perform Shakespearean scenes. These performers will visit grocery stores, coffee shops, libraries and more to bring random acts of art into the Valley! “This is an opportunity to bring art into unexpected places,” shares Larry Neumann, Clarinetist from the St. Croix Valley Jazz Orchestra. “I’m excited to see how people respond to live music in a grocery store or on the street!” Jason Richards of Festival Theatre says, “The actors are excited to bring Shakespeare off the stage and into people’s daily lives for this mini-tour, and to show audiences how these classic theatre pieces continue to be so relevant in our modern world!” More details about the stops on the symphony’s two-day tour will be posted on the ArtReach St. Croix Facebook page and on stcroixsplash.org soon. Don’t miss these “moments of transcendent beauty and joy!” Copies of “Station SEE BIG READ, PAGE 19
SUBMITTED
The first of Cedar Bend Church’s launch parties, a series of informational events, drew about 65 people, according to organizers Matt and Terra Hayton.
New church, decades in the making BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
It’s been more than 20 years since that Matt Hayton first felt the spark of an idea now taking shape as Cedar Bend Church. His parents had moved to Osceola in 1997. The following year, he and the woman who would become his wife, Terra, were driving through the intersection of Cascade Street and Highway 243. “I just felt God say to me, we should plant a church in this
community someday,” he said. “And then it’s been a really winding road to get from start to finish.” The couple got married, went to college and spent five years helping establish a church in Seattle. “We considered it kind of like a master’s degree,” Terra explained. “It felt like if we were going to plant a church, we should be part of a church-planting team,” said Matt. As they journeyed the winding
road, life happened: the births of the couple’s four children, a housing bubble crash, the Great Recession, a decade of repaying debt, and in the midst of it all the couple’s 2010 return to Osceola. “We still always had the goal of planting a church,” Matt said. “So it’s been a long time in the making.” In establishing the nondenominational church, the Haytons are partnering with Eagle Brook Church based in CenSEE CHURCH, PAGE 20
Fuge given fond farewell Outgoing county administrator honored BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
SUBMITTED
“Station Eleven” explores life before and after a global flu pandemic leads to the collapse of modern society.
NEWS 715-294-2314 editor@osceolasun.com
Colleagues and board members honored Jeffrey Fuge, longtime corporation counsel and current interim administrator, at the Feb. 19 meeting of the Polk County Board. Set to step away from his post March 8, the meeting was Fuge’s last. Twenty-one years Fuge started work with Polk County in 1998 as assistant corporation counsel. He was promoted to corporation counsel in 2004. In March 2018 he took on the county administrator position in an interim role. Fuge announced his departure last October, saying he planned to return to private law
ADVERTISING 715-294-2314 ads@osceolasun.com
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
County Clerk Sharon Jorgenson presented Fuge with a rock painted by Keighley James of the county treasurer’s office, explaining that Fuge’s ethics and integrity had been “rock solid throughout his tenure.”
practice. Feb. 19, Sharon Jorgenson thanked Fuge on behalf of the county clerk’s office for his work attending to the county’s legal and
PUBLIC NOTICES 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com
administrative matters. “His tireless efforts and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to serve the county well are very appreciated and have
SUBSCRIPTIONS 715-294-2314 office@osceolasun.com
not gone unnoticed,” she said. Noting that Fuge’s ethics and integrity were “rock solid SEE FUGE, PAGE 2
BREAKING NEWS, UPDATES Whenever, wherever you are! Scan me with your smartphone