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Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Number 16 • Volume 134
Incredible come-from-behind
‘He was the best of all of us’
victory
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 Gymnasts scoring with the best ... pg. 10
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PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN
Melrose firefighters Joe Woeste (left) and Carl Worms salute as the hearse carrying the body of Pope County Deputy Josh Owen is escorted mid-morning April 17 by law enforcement down Interstate 94 near the Melrose exit. The flashing light motorcade was met by Pope County Sheriff ’s Office vehicles in Sauk Centre, which provided an escort the remainder of the route to Glenwood. PHOTO SUBMITTED
Melrose Area knowledge bowl team members Tanner Sand (front, from left), Cole Chellgren, Grant Hellermann, Austin Kelzer and Natalie Enright; and (back) coach Bill Leraas wear their first-place medals and display their trophy after winning the 2023 Class AA knowledge bowl state title April 14 at Cragun’s Resort in Brainerd. This is the first state championship for a Melrose knowledge bowl team.
400 Block update
Melrose knowledge bowl team claims first state title BY HERMAN LENSING | STAFF WRITER
Melrose Area knowledge bowl co-captain Grant Hellermann had no problem April 14 recalling the stunned feeling following their winning the 2023 Class AA knowledge bowl state title at Cragun’s Resort it Brainerd. As the sun was starting to rise Monday, Commercial “It was an incredible come-from-behind Contractors Company workers from Melrosevictory,” were inHellermann said. “In the fi nal round, we needed to outside the Lisa’s On Main building working on securing score the leading team by eight points.” the west wall. PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN Other members, co-captain Austin Kelzer, Natalie Enright, Cole Chellgren and Tanner Sand, had similar feelings. The tournament was an uphill battle. The official start was a 60-question written round among the 15 teams in Class AA. Prior to the written round, Melrose had drawn the No. 10 seed from a lottery, used to break ties after a round. Based on written round scores, teams are assigned to one of five rooms for competition. Teams want to be assigned to one of the first three rooms. “There is strength of scoring for bonus points,” Hellermann said. “The three teams in room one get 1.5 points per round. Those in room two get one point, those in room three get a half a point just for showing up there. It is more difficult in room one than in room two or room three.”
Knowledge bowl page 4
Showcasing the city of Melrose
PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN
Melrose water and wastewater supervisor Tim Vogel asks resident Regine Muellner to guess what percent was solids and what percent was water in the sample during the April 13 open house at the Melrose City Center in Melrose. He told her the city tested for nitrates in several different brands of bottled water and the results were interesting, as many people believe bottled water is pure with no nitrates in them.
Melrose open house page 2
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Carbajal remembers COMMUNITY COVERAGE 127 YEARS military bond, law enforcement brotherhood with slain Deputy Owen BY CAROL MOORMAN | STAFF WRITER
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lbany Police Chief Ozzie Carbajal was among law enforcement officers in vehicles escorting the body of Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua “Josh” Owen, in a flagged-draped casket in a black hearse, to Glenwood mid-morning April 17. Owen not only was Carbajal’s law enforcement brother, but a person with whom he had a military bond. Carbajal has known Owen since 2002 when they both served with the Sauk Centre National Guard unit during a deployment in Bosnia. On April 16, Carbajal visited with fellow soldiers about their friend who passed away April 15 following injuries received during an exchange of gunfire with a domestic assault suspect in Cyrus. “He was the best of all of us,” Carbajal said. “Josh was never angry. Always smiling. He had this infectious laugh that was unmistakable. You could hear him everywhere. ... You know how you say he was a really nice guy, he was a really nice guy.”
Deputy Owen page 2
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Pope County Deputy Josh Owen served with the sheriff ’s office close to 12 years and built a bond with his K-9 officer, Karma. He was also a military veteran.
Bzdok swings and sways
the Starlite way LaVerne and the Starlites featured band at April 23 Holdingford Heartland event
BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER
LaVerne Bzdok started performing when she was 14 with the Jolly Fisherman. Four years later she started her own band, The Starlites Orchestra, later changing the name to LaVerne and the Starlites, and they performed at ballrooms around the upper Midwest. “It was wonderful back then and talk about experiences, glory and fame, it was all happening,” Bzdok said March 16, during a phone interview. LaVerne and the Starlites is the featured band from 1-5 p.m., Sunday, April 23, during the Music of Our Heartland Old Time Celebration at the Holdingford American Legion, 560 Main St., in Holdingford. Fellow musicians are encouraged to bring their polka instruments for a jam session at 3 p.m.
Starlites page 3
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Starlites Orchestra – Steve Molle (from left), of Little Falls, on guitar; Wayne Determan, of St. Cloud, on saxophone; Ron Schmidt, of Burtrum, on concertina; Ron Schley, of Sauk Centre, on drums; Jim Lampert, of Little Falls, on saxophone and accordion; and LaVerne Bzdok on guitar, piano and vocals – pose for a photo in the 1960s. The orchestra was formed in 1962 by Bzdok, who later changed the name to LaVerne and the Starlites.
PUBLIC NOTICES
BIRTHS page 3
Melrose Township Annual Road Tour ...................................... pg. 7 Summons............................................................................... pg. 7 Holdingford School Minutes, April 5 ....................................... pg. 7 Probate Notice - Kroll ............................................................. pg. 7 Mortgage Foreclosure Postponement .....................................pt. 7
Makayla Kay Lubben
OBITUARIES page 4 Asha P. Gregory Donald P. Hemmesch Marilyn (Moening) Swenson
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