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Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Number 04 • Volume 134
Albany city leaders will consider proposed North Lake pedestrian trail Residents fill council chambers during joint meeting with park board
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Melrose researching policing options ... pg. 3 Hiltner happy to carry on legacy ... pg. 7 Albany city leaders have agreed to determine the has first baby boy in 2017 ... pg. 16 ‘A Team’ feasibility of developing a North Lake pedestrian trail. Gymnasts scoring with the best ... pg. 10 Nearly half of the 40 people who attended a Jan. 18 BY TIM HENNAGIR | STAFF WRITER
joint meeting provided input about the proposal. Park board members participated the hour-and-ahalf long meeting, which also reviewed recreational amenities. Consensus was reached regarding a possible trail alignment located on the west side of Highway 238. The joint meeting occurred at the request of Bryan Schiffler, Albany Chrysler Center dealer and owner. He has proposed the trail would be privately funded by donations or other in-kind services. City engineer Jeremy Mathiasen presented three concepts: East side of the lake, on Highway 238’s west side (Red Line); east side of the lake, on the highway’s east side (Green Line); and west side of the lake, via sidewalks and Forest Avenue (Blue Line). Mathiasen said his firm has not prepared a trail feasibility study and only had discussions with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Department of Transportation. “There’s so many things to consider here,” Mathiasen said. “We want to get public input tonight to make sure there’s interest in the project.” Resident Trent Blais favored the Red Line option. “I have school-age kids who ride and walk when the weather is nice,” he said. “Sixth Street, at times, is just as busy as Highway 238. I love the Red Line option. There’s not as many crossings.” Schiffler said the proposed lake trail would connect Albany Area Schools’ new Early Childhood Learning Center and North Park to the school campus. “We are trying to work with the city and privately fund a trail,” he said. “We don’t want to build something that no one uses. There are a lot of obstacles to this project.” Resident Donstarting Fischer to asked the parkCommercial board has As the sun was rise ifMonday, funds for maintenance the trail.from Melrose were inContractors Companyofworkers TomOn Kasner design working and construction of sideMayor the Lisa’s Mainsaid building on securing athe trail has not been approved. The city has not deterwest wall. PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN mined how much money should be set aside for maintenance. Resident Betty Marosek said she was not in favor of any proposed trail option where a sidewalk would abut private property. “That would be an invasion,” she said.
400 Block update
North Lake page 6
pg. 6
D’Lish
COMMUNITY COVERAGE 127 YEARS
delight
Ritter, Duclos thrilled to be serving food for Sacred Heart wine and dine, the community
BY CAROL MOORMAN | STAFF WRITER
L
ife is delightful for D’Lish Coffee and Catering owners Shannon Ritter and Katelyn Duclos. They are excited to be preparing chicken and dressing and roast beef entrees, plus a salad bar, for the Saturday, Jan. 28, Sacred Heart Catholic School Wine and Dine Dinner and Auction at the Freeport Community Center in Freeport. They are just plain happy to be serving a community they call home and love. “We kept the menu more of a Stearns County thing,” Duclos said about the Jan. 28 fundraiser for the Catholic school. This year’s school fundraiser has a new
name and new caterers, D’Lish Coffee and Catering, a Freeport business that opened July 9, 2022. Their silent and live auction features a variety of items made by students and donated by community members and businesses, including a fishing excursion with 1987 World Series champion Juan Berenguer and Timmy Linn, of Freeport. D’Lish may be new to the area, but the owners are familiar faces, who have experience working in the food industry. In fact, Duclos, 30, said they both worked at Charlie’s Café in Freeport, even together for a time.
D’Lish page 4
Accessibility attributes Referendum would allow for Melrose Public Schools campus ADA updates
PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN
Shannon Ritter holds a cup of coffee and Katelyn Duclos holds a scone Jan. 20 at D’Lish Coffee and Catering in Freeport. They opened this new business July 9, 2022, and will be catering for the Jan. 28 Sacred Heart School Wine and Dine Dinner and Auction at the Freeport Community Center in Freeport.
Melrose school district residents voice referendum concerns BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER
BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER
Editor’s note: The Star Post will feature each of the three components of the Feb. 14 $34,805,000 bond referendum in the Jan. 18, 25 and Feb. 1 issues – Restore and Rebuild Our Aging Community Spaces $18,435,000, Provide Safety and ADA Accessibility for All $4,305,000 and Invest in Career and Technical Education Classrooms $8,185,000. Other project pricing includes site improvements $2,175,000 and interest and issuance costs $1,705,000. On any given school day, there are eight to more than 15 students in the special education room in the portion of the Melrose Area Public Schools’ campus built in 1969, many who have learning and physical disabilities, including
ST R
Publications The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN
Student Troy Muellner and paraprofessional Karen Timp, on Jan. 19, situate themselves in a handicapped accessible restroom in the Marit Elliott Performing Arts Center dressing room at Melrose Area Public Schools in Melrose, one of the few Americans With Disability Act compliant bathrooms around the campus. It is 200 yards from the special education classroom, where Muellner is a student.
the use of wheelchairs. Currently, if a student with mobility limitations needs to utilize a restroom, they travel 200 yards to one of the few handicapped accessible restrooms at the Marit Elliott Performing Arts Center. As part of the proposed $34,805,000 bond referen-
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dum, which school district residents will vote on or before Feb. 14, areas would be made compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, a civil rights law enacted in 1990, that prohibits discrimination based on disability. The Safety & ADA Accessibility component of the building project includes
renovating existing locker rooms and the addition of an elevator, estimated to cost $3,845,000, and accessible bathrooms for close to $460,000. That includes an ADA bathroom in the special education classroom.
Close to 50 people attended a Jan. 18 community meeting at Extra Innings Bar & Grill in Spring Hill about the proposed Melrose Public Schools building bond referendum, some expressing concerns. The meeting was one of eight held around the school district between Jan. 10 and 19 to provide information on the proposed $34,805,000 bond referendum. Superintendent Greg Winter chaired the meeting, which was also attended by school board members Lee Uphoff and Melissa Poepping. If approved, the funds would be used for building and renovating CTE classrooms and labs; construction of and equipping a new swimming facility and converting the existing pool area into a multi-purpose activity space and storage; replacing the high school gym floor and tennis courts; updating locker rooms; Americans With Disabilities Act accessible improvements and site, grading and utility improvements. Generally, people were not opposed to all elements of the project. Stressed more than once was the need to focus on academics, with one person saying, “A little more education and a little less sports.” In response to that, Superintendent Greg Winter said the district enjoys a good reputation for college level classes, the entrepreneurial class offered and how the Career and Technical Education classroom improvements would aid in vocational options.
Referendum page 3
ADA page 3
PUBLIC NOTICES • Assumed Name - Dayta - pg. 8 • Melrose Area School Notice of Polling Place - pg. 8 • Melrose Area School Notice of Special Election - pg. 8 • Albany Area Schools Agenda, Jan. 25 - pg. 8 • Black Oak Lake Aeration Notice - pg. 8 • Holding Township Meeting Notice - pg. 8 • Melrose Schools Optical Scan Notice - pg. 8
BIRTHS page 3 Charlie Duane Moscho
OBITUARIES page 4 Walter H. Beuning Teckla M. Scegura James C. Thielman Linda M. Welz
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