WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019
Serving Polk County’s St. Croix Valley since 1897
VOL. 121 NO. 46 www.osceolasun.com $1.00
SPORTS: All-Conference winners. PAGE 11
Thirty-six years leading the district BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Schools looked a little different when Timm Johnson was first elected to the Osceola school board. It was 1983, the year Microsoft launched Word. The internet? That wouldn’t come to classrooms for a decade. Between classes, students might’ve been talking about movies like “Flashdance,” or “Return of the Jedi,” or a hit new video game called Mario Brothers. Thirty-six years later, having seen the district through changes technological, economic and educational, Johnson is in his first months away from Timm Johnson the school board. He opted not run for reelection last spring, saying it was time
SUBMITTED
Inclusive playground built at Osceola Medical Center
Two nice, sunny days and some 175 people with wonderful enthusiasm showed up to help assemble the bulk of the new inclusive playground being built on the Osceola Medical Center Campus. After a few details to finish and installation of the playing surface, this community playground will be complete. Watch for its opening in a couple weeks. Spearheaded by Osceola Community Health Foundation, the playground is coming together with the help of grants, and business and
SEE JOHNSON, PAGE 10
Horse Creek Store changes, keeps history close BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Before Joel Danovsky and his wife, Jen, bought the Horse Creek Store, he visited regularly as the store’s beer sales rep. “I always liked the way it looked,” he said. “I liked the wood floors. I liked the feel — it had that throwback feel.” Chatting with then-owner Dale Koosman one day Joel learned Koosman was thinking of selling. “One thing led to another,” he said. “We weren’t looking for it but we decided to give it a shot anyway.” On June 15, the Danovskys will have owned the store for a year, having moved from the Connersville area, near Boyceville, to run it. “Our kids grew up going camping and to the lake in Birchwood,” said Jen. “We always enjoyed going to their local general store and that’s what we want to do here. On a rainy day families can come here and grab a puzzle or some snacks. I want kids to have memories here like our kids have from when we went to our cabin. “There’s a lot of history
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Former and current owners of the Horse Creek Store gathered May 17 for a photo and to reflect on the store’s history. From left: Dale Koosman, Maggie Koosman, Gordy Nelson, Audrey Nelson, Jen Danovsky, Joel Danovsky.
here,” she added. “That’s what makes this store different than a regular convenience store.” In May, Jen organized a photo with as many of the store’s former owners as she could gather. That included Dale and Maggie Koosman, the store’s owners from 2003-2018, and Gordy and Audrey Nelson, who owned the store from 1963-1997. The former owners shared a history of
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the store’s continuous evolution, changing through time to ensure customers have reason to keep walking through the door. The Koosmans put in walk-in coolers, an ATM and lottery tickets. “We took a look around at how many mom and pop stores were left,” Dale Koosman said. “There weren’t too many, so we decided we had to come into the conve-
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nience store age.” They also petitioned Alden Township to allow the store to sell alcohol. “When we bought the store Alden Township was a dry township,” Maggie Koosman explained. “We were trying to make the store appealing to people now in the community.” “The big story is how the store has evolved over the years,” said Dale Koosman. “It’s just kept
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changing to fit the community’s needs.” “The store has always kept up,” agreed Gordy Nelson. “And that’s good.” In Gordy and Audrey Nelson’s day, it was a general store in the original sense of the word, stocked with farm machinery, seed, hardware, kitchen staples and sporting goods.
HORSE CREEK STORE PROPRIETORS • A.E. Knudsen: 1871-1904 • A.E. Nelson: 1904-1928 • Fred Nelson and Luella Nelson: 1928-1963 • Gordy and Audrey Nelson: 1963-1997 • Gene Nelson and Barb Ryan: 1997-2003 • Dale and Maggie Koosman: 2003-2018 • Joel and Jen Danovsky
SEE STORE, PAGE 11
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