WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 120 NO. 41 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: Chieftain track and field team takes Amery invitational. PAGE 13
Osceola School Board president steps down after 34 years BY MARA MARTINSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
After 34 years as school board president, Timm Johnson passed the role to the vice president, Craig Brunclik, at the board’s May 2 meeting. Johnson, who will step in as vice president, plans to help Brunclik learn the ropes. Clerk Pete Kammerud took a moment to address Johnson. “We as a board and school district owe you a huge thank you for all you have done for this district,” he said. Johnson volunteered to act as the board’s delegate at the CESA meeting on the first Monday in June.
TORI BROWN | THE SUN
Empty Bowls
Justin Vorndran teaches how to throw a pot on the wheel. Osceola High School’s May 2 Empty Bowls event raised $7,500 for local and international hunger relief organizations.
Railway season delayed to June 30 BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Passenger trains running via the Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway will get a late start this season. The service is typically running by May, with an oft sold-out Mothers Day brunch ride. This year, the first passenger train will depart the station June 30. The change was prompted by some number crunching at the Minnesota Transportation Museum. “As much as we’ve loved working with Osceola … we had to cut the season back,” said Melissa Loftin, the museum’s director of development. “There’s less demand [in spring and early summer] and it was too much of an expense to keep personnel there or turn on the train.” Instead, the museum has added more rides to its fall schedule. “That’s really a popular time,” Loftin said,
noting passengers had already booked tickets for fall and enquired about reserving seats on the July fireworks train to Marine on St. Croix. “People are already excited,” Loftin said. “Some of this is about changes in what interests people. The pizza train is one of our more popular rides. It’s very family centric and small children are fascinated by trains … The brunch and dinner trains draw more of a nostalgic crowd.” Alongside evolving consumer trends, staff at the museum are re-evaluating spending decisions as they prepare to launch a $3 million capital campaign to replace the roof at the museum’s headquarters, the Jackson Street Roundhouse. “It goes back to really looking at what’s profitable,” Loftin said. “We need to do some repairs on the SEE RAILWAY, PAGE 11
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Timm Johnson Kids Klub thriving Director of the Kids Klub Program, Michelle McManamy, updated the board with how the program is growing and thriving. McManamy illustrated this growth SEE SCHOOL, PAGE 15
Second Avenue Crossing whiskey tasting earns statewide recognition The Osceola Area Chamber and Main Street Program was recognized for its outstanding downtown revitalization efforts at the 27th Wisconsin Main Street Awards ceremony on Friday, April 27, in Ripon. Second Avenue Crossing took top honors with the Best Cooperative Business Marketing Award for their whiskey tasting event last October. The tasting boasted samples and education from 45th Parallel Distillery in New Richmond, food from SirSmokeAlot BBQ, cigars from Sodie’s Cigars, music by Bob Brace of Red Bird Music Store, and spheres of ice for the whiskey tumblers by Whiskey Barrel Ice Baller. More than 200 attended the event and, according to the chamber, another is in the works. “WEDC congratulates Nancy Beck and Cindy Thorman for their outstanding efforts to revitalize and improve downtown,” said Mark R. Hogan, secretary ADVERTISING 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
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Cindy Thorman and Nancy Beck were recognized for their innovative whiskey tasting event with a Best Cooperative Business Marketing Award from the Wisconsin Main Street program.
and CEO of WEDC. “A vibrant downtown is critical to a community’s overall economic development as well as the quality of life for its residents, and we commend Nancy and Cindy for being among the best in the state when it comes to strengthening PUBLIC NOTICES 715-294-2314 sales@osceolasun.com
its downtown.” Wisconsin Main Street is a community development program administered by WEDC that targets Wisconsin’s historic commercial districts. WEDC provides technical support and training to the 33 Main Street communities to
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help them revitalize their business districts based on guidelines developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Osceola has been part of the Wisconsin Main Street Program since 1998.
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