Welsand officiating at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church Welsand page 2
Herald ld Sauk Centre
NUMBER 45 • VOLUME 156
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023 | WWW.STAR-PUB.COM
The right fit
PHOTOS BY CAROL MOORMAN
Nicole Burgardt (left) gathers with her mother, Laurie Quistorff March 29 at Laurie’s cabin north of Sauk Centre. They talked about life since Quistorff was diagnosed with brain cancer three years ago and are thankful she is cancer free.
Oetterer to work full-time with SCPD BY BEN SONNEK | STAFF WRITER
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O et terer
The Sauk Centre Police Department has a new full-time officer joining their ranks: Preston Oetterer, who has been working part-time for the SCPD for about a year and whose experience covers Osakis, Long Prairie and other areas of Todd County. As he prepares to transition his focus to Sauk e Centre, he is looking forPr ward to working with area schools and making connections with students and their families. Oetterer was raised in Finlayson in eastern Minnesota and graduated from East Central High School in Finlayson in 2018. When he was still in high school, he was inspired to pursue a career in law enforcement through a ride-along with a local deputy, during which they saw some action. “It was exciting, and I knew afterward that was what I wanted to do,” Oetterer said. “I wanted to do something different and make a name for myself.” Oetterer’s father also works in corrections as a lieutenant, so Oetterer had family connections to the profession. By earning college credits in high school, Oetterer was able to receive his associate’s degree in law enforcement from the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet in 2019, a year after his high school graduation. He was first hired by the Todd County Sheriff’s Office in April 2020; after four months, he started working part-time for the Long Prairie Police Department and then the Osakis Police Department. By March 2021, he had a full-time position on the OPD, and in July 2022, he resigned so he could work full-time with the LPPD. Oetterer will continue to be working full-time with the LPPD until May 1; then, he will be part-time with the LPPD and full-time with the SCPD. Oetterer’s first few months in law enforcement was a time where the public opinion of police took a hit. However, Oetterer stayed positive in the line of duty. “It was more about bringing a positive outlook to the table,” Oetterer said. “I was still appreciated around here for the most part.” Oetterer’s career arc has taken him to larger towns along its course – from Finlayson with its approximate population of 300 to Osakis with 1,800 and Long Prairie with 3,500, and now Sauk Centre with 4,500. “The more I’ve been doing the job, I want bigger and better,” Oetterer said. “I think (Sauk Centre) is the fit for me. It’s got a small-town feel, but it’s a bigger town, which is a nice opportunity.” Serving in Sauk Centre, one of Oetterer’s main roles will be working as a School Resource Officer.
Humor a constant during Quistorff ’s quest to defeat brain cancer
Loving life
cancer free
BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER
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aurie Quistorff has touched the lives of many people during 42 years in her nursing career, as an aide, followed by a LPN, RN and in homecare. She has a special fondness for helping the elderly. “Listening to their stories,” is her answer March 29 sitting next to daughter Nicole Burgardt in Laurie’s Sauk Lake cabin north of Sauk Centre, recalling years spent working at care facilities in Albany, Sauk Centre, Melrose and St. Cloud. “Homecare and geriatrics’ were her bread and butter,” Nicole said. Today, Laurie’s role has been reversed, and she is the one being cared for. Nicole is her mom’s caregiver, after brain cancer side effects have left her unable to care for herself. Laurie and husband Wayne, who passed away in 1998 from cancer, raised Randy and Laurie Quistorff (front, center) is surrounded by former Pine Villa Nursing Nicole, who is married to Brent, and Laurie Home co-workers Mary Tschida (front, left) and Diane Hellermann; and has two grandchildren, Brayden and Lincoln. (back, from left) Rosie Wiechmann, Kathy Lemm, Geri Boecker and Nancy Kemper March 30 at True North Marketplace in Melrose. They reminisced about old times and caught up with life in retirement.
Oetterer page 4
Quistorff page 3
Easter Bunny
DElayED
Board discusses building project, staffing, year-end events
BY BEN SONNEK | STAFF WRITER
With winter storms closing out the month of March and more coming in the forecast, Eagle’s Healing Nest in Sauk Centre has postponed their annual Easter Egg Hunt by two weeks, planning it for 10 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 22. Cancellation was definitely not an option – not when the Nest has 100,000 eggs ready for the free event, making it once again the largest Easter egg hunt in Minnesota. The postponement decision was made March 30 by Eagle’s Healing
Eagle’s Healings Nest postpone 100,000-egg hunt until April 22
Nest, Faith Baptist Church in Sauk Centre, Sauk Centre Community Connection and American Legion Auxiliary 428. “Hopefully, we will have a much happier spring,” said Eagle’s Healing Nest Director Melony Butler. “A lot of kids and families come to enjoy the day, and we want them to be able to enjoy it.” The Nest ordered 75,000 plastic eggs for this year’s hunt. Some mothers from the Twin Cities metropolitan area stuffed more eggs, and the Elks Lodge in Alexandria and the American Legion ordered more shipments, bringing the total up to 100,000. “This is a new high,” Butler said.
Egg hunt page 4 PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK
Eagle’s Healing Nest Director Melony Butler finds a golden egg and an oversized egg out of the 100,000 eggs stored in the auditorium March 31 at the Eagle’s Healing Nest in Sauk Centre. The Nest postponed their egg hunt to April 22 with the hope that the snow will melt.
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Elementary school last day moved to May 19 BY BEN SONNEK | STAFF WRITER
The Sauk Centre Public Schools Board convened a special meeting the evening of April 3 in the media center in Sauk Centre to approve an adjustment to the elementary school calendar. The proposal was to move back the 202223 school year’s last student contact day for kindergarten through fourth grade to Friday, May 19. Staff would then use May 22-26 to pack their things and prepare the classrooms for the start of the school renovation project. The resolution passed by a unanimous vote with the exception of councilmember John Drevlow, who was absent. During a committee meeting preceding the special meeting, Superintendent Don Peschel updated the council on the building project.
School board page 3
PUBLIC NOTICES
OBITUARIES
• Mortgage Foreclosures (4) - pg. 7 • Summons - pg. 7 • Probate Notice - Klein - pg. 7 • City of Sauk Centre Advertisement for Quote - pg. 8 • Melrose Township Property Assessments Notice - pg. 8 • Assumed Name - pg. 8
Valeria J. Braun Mildred M. Poepping Raymond G. Sunderman Bernice M. Uhlenkamp $
1.50