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25
2 DAIRY ST 5R C E L E B R A T I N G
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Y E A R S
May 13, 2023
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 25, No. 6
Recovery comes one moment at a time
Reitsma improves daily through strength, community By Jan Lefebvre jan.l@star-pub.com
SAUK CENTRE, Minn. – Spring storms can bring strong, damaging winds, but Carolyn and Paul Reitsma have seen that faith, family, community and their daughter, Katie, are stronger. One year after Katie suffered a massive brain injury when she was hit by ying debris during a storm that swept through her family’s dairy farm near Sauk Centre, she nally came home to continue her recovery. Katie and her parents, along with brothers, Joe and Mitchell, milk 280 cows with four DeLaval robotic milking systems at Reit-Way Dairy. Katie also works as a paraprofessional at Holy Family El-
Minnewaska schools serve fresh milk
ementary School in Sauk Centre. She had been planning to begin taking evening courses to earn her teacher’s license. When Katie ew home on a medical ight April 29, with her was her childhood neighbor and boyfriend Eugene Marthaler. The two began dating over two years ago. Marthaler stayed with Katie in Chicago since her rst being transferred there in early March to receive therapy at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. “That poor guy slept on a couch that is not even comfortable to sit on, and it’s too short,” Paul said. “I think they (were) both ready to come home. It’s time.” Katie will continue her recovery at Marthaler’s home in Sauk Centre. His house is Turn to REITSMA | Page 6
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
The Reitsma family – Mitchell (front, from le�), Ka�e and Joe; (back, from le�) Paul and Carolyn, along with Eugene Marthaler – gathers in the Reitsmas’ barn May 7 near Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Ka�e returned home April 29, almost a year a�er suffering a trauma�c brain injury during a storm that came through the farm.
Smooth transi�on
By Jan Lefebvre jan.l@star-pub.com
GLENWOOD, Minn. – Although Gay Finn, head cook for Minnewaska Elementary School, was skeptical at rst, she said her school’s transition from milk cartons to a milk dispenser has been a success. “There’s so much less waste now, and the kids can help themselves whereas before there were gallons of milk being thrown away,” Finn said. “Yes, there are a few kids who take too much, but the majority take just what they will drink. If they are only going to drink half a glass, they take half a glass.” Now, only about half a gallon of milk is dumped during a complete lunch period at the
JAN LEFEBVRE/DAIRY STAR
Bridget Gallagher (le�) stands with students Gre�a Gremmels and Nash Rashmussen as they help themselves to milk May 2 at Minnewaska Elementary School in Glenwood, Minnesota. Gallagher, director of food and nutri�on services for the Minnewaska School District, oversaw the transi�on from cartons to bulk milk dispensers in the district. school compared to on average 4 bage has been greatly reduced The transition came at the or 5 gallons, Finn said. Plus, gar- due to no more cartons. beginning of the school year, not
only for the elementary school, but also for Minnewaska School District’s secondary school, which holds grades 4-12. Bridget Gallagher is the director of food and nutrition services for the district. When she heard about the grant available for milk dispensers through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered through Midwest Dairy, she said she was immediately on board. “Our superintendent had gotten an email about the grant available for the equipment and forwarded it on to me, and I thought, ‘Yep, we’re going to do this,’” Gallagher said. “I had just been in my position a couple of months.” That was in January 2022. Gallagher needed to convince lunch staff the change was doable. “Their big concerns were spills and swapping out the machine,” Gallagher said.
Turn to DISPENSER | Page 9