For our complete lineup SCAN HERE
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Number 08 • Volume 134
Melrose school referendum fails by 285 votes
Lucky
to be alive
School board to consider next steps
ATKINSON TO TALK ABOUT SPACE MISSIONS BOOK AT MELROSE LIBRARY
Melrose researching policing options ... pg. 3 Hiltner happy to carry on legacy ... pg. 7 ‘A Team’ has first baby boy in 2017 ... pg. 16 PieperGymnasts encourages scoring withheart the besthealth ... pg. 10
BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER
pg. 6
A steady stream of Melrose Area Public Schools district resiBY CAROL MOORMAN | STAFF WRITER dents walked into the Melrose City Center in Melrose from 7 a.m. to very morning Arlene Pieper looks at the crucifi cifix 8 p.m., Feb. 14, voting on whether above her bed and says, “Thank you, God, for or to approve a $34,805,000 building another day.” bond referendum. Never in her wildest dreams did this Melrose womAfter in-person and absentee ballots were tallied, the referendum an, who loves walking around town, think she would have heart issues. Yet, there she was on Oct. 27, 2022, failed by 285 votes, with the unofficial vote count of 1,616 no votes and in the St. Cloud Hospital operating room with a surgeon performing heart surgery to repair five blocked 1,331 yes votes. The results will become official after the school board arteries to her heart. She shared her story Feb. 15, during February canvasses votes Thursday, Nov. 23, American Heart Month, to bring awareness to the fact at Melrose Area Public Schools in that cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women, n, Melrose. eri“I think it’s important to let causing one in three deaths yearly, according to the American Heart Association. people know that whether a bond On Oct. 20, 2022, she walked seven miles on the Lake ke Wobereferendum fails or passes, we have a proven track record that our staff gon Trail from Melrose to Freeport to have lunch with friends will continue to provide a high Nancy Kemper, Ann Schwieters and MaryAnn Middendorf at quality education for all students,” Pooch’s Corner Pub. “I was fine all the way there, and then I got sick after I ate Winter said during a Feb. 16 interview. “The issue with the failure is and felt awful,” she said. Not wanting to alarm anyone she went into the restroom our staff will not have the updated facilities to offer more opportunities and started vomiting. Kemper took her blood pressure, which to our students for that high quality was low, and insisted she drive a reluctant Pieper to CentraCare-Melrose Hospital. Emergency room physician Dr. Kurt education.” The three main components Schwieters told her tests indicated there might be an issue with included in this referendum were her heart. “My troponin numbers were high and getting higher,” she $3,205,000 to address Amerisaid. cans with Disabilities Act issues, A troponin test measures the levels of troponin T or troponin $18,435,000 for aging community facilities and $8,185,000 for ca- I proteins in the blood. These proteins are released when the heart reer and technical education, with muscle has been damaged, such as occurs with a heart attack. As the sun for wassite starting to rise Monday, Commercial $2,175,000 improvements Contractors Company workers and $1,705,000 for interest rates, is-from Melrose were in- Pieper page 3 side thecosts Lisa’s Main interest. building working on securing suance andOn capitalize the west wall. PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN
E
COMMUNITY COVERAGE 127 YEARS
400 Block update
Referendum page 3
The
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Arlene Pieper works on a 1,000-piece puzzle Feb. 15 in her Melrose home, with a photo of her parents, Bonie and Aggie Hinnenkamp, and a crucifix behind her. Four months after a surgeon performed quintuple heart surgery, she is thankful for continued support from family and friends.
DEATH OF A
beat goes on wrestling legend
Season BEAT series ticket holders love returning for encores BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER
The beat goes on for the BEAT Performing Arts Series. Jan Klug sat in the second row at the Blattner Energy Arts Theatre in Albany Feb. 11 listening to Deuces Wild. Sure as heck, one of the entertainers picked on her. “That’s what happens when you sit so close, the comedian likes to pick on you,” Klug said Feb. 14. But this good-natured lady, known for the hat she always wears, was just fine with the kidding. She is thankful, as a season ticket holder, she could choose her seats close to the stage back in 2018 when she purchased tickets for the first series. Judy Hoppe said, while Deuces Wild was a “wonderful experience,” she really enjoyed Artrageous, a unique performing arts show, which she took her granddaughters to see last season. “They were high energy and did art projects right in front of you,” Hoppe said. “You didn’t know what they
PHOTO SUBMITTED
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Raleigh Miller (front, from left) and Jan Klug, David Eichholz from Deuces Wild, Judy Hoppe and Renee and Joey Thelen; (back, from left) Ted Manderfeld from Deuces Wild and Diane and Mike Noll gather on the Blattner Energy Arts Theatre stage at Albany Area Public School in Albany after the Deuces Wild Feb. 11 performance. Deuces Wild was one of the six groups showcased during the 2022-23 BEAT Performing Arts Series that Klug, Hoppe, the Nolls and the Thelens are season ticket holders for.
were going to come up with and ended up with the Statue of Liberty and John Lennon.” This year ticket holders have been treated to three of six performances, with three remaining. “I’ve enjoyed all the performances I was able to attend,” said Renee Thelen, who, along with husband Joey,
have been season ticket holders from the get-go. “I am a bit biased since our son, Grant, is a part of the Devon Worley Band, and they performed during the first season, 201819. A highlight that evening was Tim Wege (former high school principal) performing with the band. Mr. Wege was Grant’s band teacher and the
two, as trumpet players and their love of music, have always had a special connection.” For season ticket holders Mike and Diane Noll, piano and brass bands are their favorites.
BEAT page 3
Holdingford native and longtime American Wrestling Association wrestler Kenny “Sodbuster” Jay (left) spends time with former opponent and friend Paul Ellering, of Melrose, at a 2019 charity event in Shakopee. Kenny Jay, born Kenneth John Benkowski, died Feb. 2 at 85.
Former opponent remembers Kenny ‘Sodbuster’ Jay BY TOM FENTON | STAFF WRITER
Paul Ellering is not likely to forget Christmas night 1977. No, he was not roasting chestnuts or enjoying a fireside family dinner. Instead, Ellering was delivering and absorbing forearm smashes from the top turnbuckle in a wrestling ring at the Minneapolis Armory. Santa himself could not have delivered a better gift for the 1971 Melrose High School graduate.
Kenny page 2
ST R
Publications The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
Scan me to START or RENEW your subscription!
PUBLIC NOTICES • Mortgage Foreclosure - pg. 4B • Avon Township Notice - pg. 5B • City of Albany Notice of Drainage and Utility Easement Vacation - pg. 4B • Melrose Township Notice of Annual Meeting and Election- pg. 5B • Notice of Juvenile Hearing - pg. 5B • Albany Area Schools Agenda, Feb. 22 - pg. 5B • Albany Area School Minutes, Feb. 8 - pg. 4B
• St. Wendel Township Notice - pg. 5B • Albany Township Notice of Annual Meeting, Election and Testing - pg. 4B • City of Melrose Notice of Public Hearing on Municipal Development District No. 13 - pg. 5B • Holding Township Notice - pg. 4B • Grove Township Notice - pg. 3B • Grove Township Notice of Annual Election and Meeting - pg. 3B
BIRTHS page 3 Tristan Gene Host Aurora Anne Meyer
OBITUARIES page 4 Jeanette D. Barth David Martin James E. Prodinsky Thomas Schlicht Mary Woitalla
$1.50