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Ed Foundation to honor four ‘Blossoms Forever’

Publisher — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:11:48 +0000

Ed Foundation to honor four ‘Blossoms Forever’ Publisher Wed, 09/23/2026 - 17:11

Kay Fate, Staff Writer

Around Blooming Prairie, people know: Once a Blossom, always a Blossom.

That is rarely more apparent than every fall, when high school students become royalty, elementary school students scramble for parade candy – and former students gather to honor their own.

This year’s annual BP Education Foundation alumni banquet will begin with a social hour at 5 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Servicemen’s Club.

Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., with the awards presentation to follow.

The winners will also be honored at other events – including the Blooming Prairie Homecoming parade at 4:15 p.m. and the BP/Hayfield football game at 7 p.m., both Oct. 2.

Tickets are $60, and are available in advance at Sportstitch & More, 623 Sixth St. SE in Blooming Prairie.

The honorees for the 2026 Blossoms Forever are:

Athletic Hall of Fame

Rod Koster, Class of 1975

Rod played football, basketball and baseball at Blooming Prairie High School, and was a standout in all three sports.

He played on both sides of the ball for the undefeated football team his senior year, when the Blossoms went 10-0, eventually falling to Bird Island in the state semifinals.

In the first game of the season, Rod was five yards deep in the Grand Meadow end zone when he stepped in front of a pass – then outran everyone on the field. He churned up 105 yards for one of the longest interception returns in Blossoms history.

In the sixth game of his senior season, Rod dislocated his shoulder. While most people believed his season was over, the team continued its winning ways as Rod continued to heal.

His comeback was that semifinal game, which ended the season.

Rod was just as impressive on the basketball court; the Blossoms won the Gopher Conference championship with an 11-3 record his senior year. Along with teammates Bruce Hatteberg and Jay Welch, he was named to the all-conference team and was on WCCO Radio’s Team of the Week, All State, along with Welch.

He finished the year with 283 points, shooting 43% from the field; grabbed 108 rebounds (third on the team); had 33 assists and 35 steals. Rod’s 18.9 ppg average led the team – even though he missed five games due to an injury.

He was named the Blossoms’ boys basketball MVP for the 1974-75 season.

His basketball career didn’t end after graduation; he played at Austin Community College during the 1975/76 season, leading the team in scoring and free throws.

Rod’s baseball highlights round out his athletic performance.

As a Blossoms’ pitcher his junior year, Rod had success on the mound – including a two-hit shutout against Ellendale – and was equally important at the plate, collecting multiple key hits throughout the season while consistently ranking among the team leaders in batting average.

The team finished third in the Gopher Conference that year with an overall record of 9-6.

Rod was named to the all-conference team, along with Welch and Kerry Harvey.

In the first game of his senior year, Rod pitched a complete game and drove in four runs, but continued to battle that shoulder injury from football as the season progressed.

That season, the Blossoms finished with an overall record of 11-6, and Rod was once again named to the all-conference team, along with Welch and Denny Trom.

Karen Inwards, Class of 1987

Karen (Pesch) Inwards was a junior when the Blossoms won their first Gopher Conference championship in girls’ basketball and just its second winning season.

As a senior, she was a team captain and broke several school records, including rebounds.

She was catcher for the BPHS softball team, making her an integral part of the team, her nominator said.

She called Karen “a player that always worked well with others and was excited to play; everyone enjoyed being on the team with her.”

Karen was a leader, especially as a member of a class that didn’t have many girls who participated in sports. That made her a good role model for the younger girls on the teams.

She is still an active member of the Blooming Prairie School District, working as a paraprofessional with special needs students.

Karen helps with the adaptive bowling team, has been a referee for volleyball games for the younger athletes, and helps with the clock during basketball games.

She loves her job, the nominator said, and loves the students she works with.

Distinctive Service

L. Dean Christianson, Class of 1954

When you’ve lived somewhere nearly 90 years, you’ve probably had the opportunity to help out a little.

Dean has more than taken that to heart, his nominator said, by consistently stepping forward to fill needs within the Blooming Prairie community for more than 70 years – as an entrepreneur, elected official and volunteer.

His history of community contribution began shortly after his 1954 BPHS graduation and his completion of a two-year mechanic program at Riverland Community College. From 1956-60, he ran a rural milk delivery route, going door-to-door for Red Oak Grove Creamery.

Dean has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit, owning and operating several local businesses.

He owned and operated the Emmons Standard gas station until 1962, when his brother, Douglas, was killed in a car/train crash. Dean returned home to help on the family farm, balancing those duties with his work as a mechanic at Stroschein Ford Garage.

He and his wife Sharon started their own business in 1965, owning and operating buses for the BP School District for 32 years before selling the business to their son. The couple drove countless routes; when weather conditions were poor, Dean would go out early in the morning to inspect the roads to determine if school would be delayed or canceled. Safety of the children and bus drivers was always paramount.

Dean and Sharon also bought the town laundromat and car wash; Dean found time to sell and repair snowmobiles at B&C Snowmobiles.

His strong work ethic continues today as he approaches his 90^th birthday. He shows up promptly every morning at Smooth Moves, the boat seat suspension business owned by his son and daughter. Dean assembled kits, performs warranty work and makes coffee for the crew that stops by. He rarely misses a day.

In addition to running businesses and farming, Dean served as a Steele County Commissioner for 12 years; was a volunteer firefighter for 20 years, including fire chief for six; he was on the local elevator board for about nine years.

Dean was a Boy Scout leader, a member of the Lions Club, was a snowmobile safety instructor and is a member of First Lutheran Church in Blooming Prairie.

His nominator said Dean “has truly exemplified what it means to be a ‘Blossom Forever’ by living in, working in and serving the Blooming Prairie community … At age 89, he has done his part to make Blooming Prairie a great place to call home, live and raise a family.”

Outstanding Educator

Ann Stephenson

Ann attended high school down the road in Austin, then graduated from Winona State in 1985.

That summer, she was hired by Blooming Prairie School District to teach special education at the elementary school, beginning in the fall.

She worked in that capacity for seven years, then moved to a third-grade classroom for the next five years – before returning to special ed.

It was then that she split her time between the elementary and high schools, which eventually became a full-time role in the BPHS special ed department. It’s where she finally settled in – and has been there since.

Ann retired in the spring after 39 years in education, all of it in Blooming Prairie.

She was a great teacher who cared about her students, not only in the classroom, but also in their personal lives, her nominator said. It was always her goal that all her students passed their classes and took something away from the material.

Though Ann worked mostly in the special ed world, “she always wanted her students to get as much of the regular education material as possible.”

She worked closely with the parents, communicating what was best for the student, and made sure every “i” was dotted and “t” was crossed.

Her nominator called her a great coworker: Blooming Prairie School District will miss her.

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Council members: Tuma’s A-okay

Publisher — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:21:41 +0000

Council members: Tuma’s A-okay

Owatonna gives top leader glowing review, raise

Publisher Wed, 09/23/2026 - 16:21

Kay Fate, Staff Writer

Jenna Tuma

Owatonna City Administrator Jenna Tuma received high praise for her “leadership and modeling of the city’s values” in the performance evaluation of her first year in the role.

Both the summary of her evaluation – held in closed meetings over two days – and her compensation recommendation were shared via statements read by Mayor Matt Jessop and City Council Vice President Doug Voss, respectively, at the Sept. 18 city council meeting.

Using ratings and written input of council members, department heads and staff, “the city council concludes that Tuma’s performance … consistently meets the council’s expectations and exceeds them in areas of leadership, vision, customer service and innovation,” Jessop read.

She met and exceeded expectations overall, he said, while citing Tuma’s “visibility and access throughout the organization, her orientation to long-range financial capital and strategic planning.”

Jessop’s statement also lauded Tuma’s “composure and decisiveness through a demanding first year of many changes and challenges.”

Nearly half of the city’s department heads – five of 11 in place last year – have left; Police Chief Jeff Mundale’s retirement on Sept. 18 makes it six.

The city continues to look for a new fire chief and finance director; last week, Patrick McDermott was hired to serve as the new fleet and facilities director.

“Areas of opportunity,” Jessop said, include “increasing delegation of operational work, continuing to manage the pace and capacity of the organization, and continuing to strive to enhance communications internally and externally.”

Voss read a motion to “provide the same general wage increase and movement within her pay range and same date as provided to all other nonunion employees for the 2027 salary structure.”

The motion did not include specific rates or amounts, and was passed unanimously.

Tuma’s contract provided her with a salary of $178,900 in her first year with benefits, including paid time off, insurance and a $500 monthly allowance for use of her personal vehicle.

There was no discussion following either statement.

The council drew heat late last month after agreeing to pay $12,000 to Employee Strategies, a “culture strategist” firm from the Twin Cities, to conduct Tuma’s review.

There was no mention of the firm at the Sept. 18 meeting.

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‘We’ve heard the people’

Publisher — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:13:13 +0000

‘We’ve heard the people’

Owat. Council switches police site

Publisher Wed, 09/23/2026 - 16:13

Kay Fate, Staff Writer

Owatonna city leaders spent about an hour explaining an unexpected change to a contentious public safety facility proposal before unanimously approving a different location for a new police station.

“Why now? It really just comes back to, we’ve heard the people,” said City Administrator Jenna Tuma.

“They said, ‘we support it, we just don’t want it at West Hills.’ This is our opportunity to show the people that we were listening,” she said.

The background

In March 2026, the Owatonna City Council unanimously approved issuing up to $65 million via Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) general obligation bonds for new public safety facilities.

The proposal involved moving the police department into temporary quarters at a former school district building on Bridge Street; the existing police station would be razed.

In its place, the city would build a 42,000-square-foot fire station, providing more bays for equipment, dedicated storage and decontamination areas, more room for training and potential future growth.

The original plan also included building a new 60,000-square-foot police station on the West Hills Campus, a city-owned 40-acre parcel of land that was once home to the State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children. The entire campus is on the National Register of Historic Places.

City residents voiced opposition to building anything on the grounds they consider not only historically significant, but sacred.

The cost was also a sticking point.

The response

Reaction to the tax impact and initial site plans prompted a group of residents to pursue a little-known state statute called the “reverse referendum” law.

It allows taxpayers to challenge large municipal borrowing projects and force a ballot vote if they gather enough signatures within 30 days of the project's public hearing.

The group collected more than 2,400 valid signatures, well above the required legal threshold. In April 2026, the city recognized the petition as legally sufficient, which halted the direct issuance of the bonds and sent the decision to the Nov. 3 ballot.

Still, residents continued to fill the public comment portion of city council meetings for weeks, asking for more input in the project.

The change

On Sept. 11, and after zero public discussion, the city issued a news release: Staff had a recommendation for a new site for the police station.

Tuma said leaders revisited three other locations that were originally rejected as options for the proposed police station: the former Owatonna High School site; the Pillsbury College campus; and the former Cemstone site on North Street.

The OHS site had two potential spots, neither with enough property to locate the new police station. It is landlocked, with no room to expand in the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Because of that, the conversations didn’t even reach the topic of cost.

The Pillsbury College campus is centrally located and large enough for a joint fire and police facility, with room left over for a potential community center. That all came at a price, though: $15 million for the entire campus, $6-7 million for a parcel, which “quickly put us out over our price point,” said Troy Klecker, community development director.

That left the former Cemstone site on North Street, just east of Cash Wise Foods. Though it isn’t centrally located enough for the fire department’s response time requirements, it ticked many of the boxes for a police station.

It is large enough, city-owned and might be a tough sell to a private buyer for redevelopment, Klecker said, because of “large elevation changes from the top of the railroad tracks, lots of concrete, and several older buildings” to be razed.

In July, the city bought adjoining property in the northwest corner of the site, which was privately owned. That purchase allows access to the site from North Street.

When soil borings returned results similar to the readings at West Hills, it was time to move, said Tuma.

Other concerns

The site was widely believed to be in a flood plain, which is technically true, Klecker said, but the flood maps created by FEMA “are not 100% accurate.”

While the maps may indicate flooding potential, it’s the elevation that is the determining factor, he said.

“If it’s in the flood plain, that doesn’t mean you absolutely cannot do anything with it,” Klecker explained. “It means there are more regulations when it comes to building there.”

A 100-year flood level is 1,133 feet above sea level; Cemstone sits at 1,136 feet above sea level, which “far exceeds any requirements any agency would require for that.”

Still, Klecker said, the city would follow 100-year flood level requirements.

The largest flood of record in Owatonna, which occurred in 2010, did not reach the property.

Railroad tracks run east and west on the south side of the property, as well as north and south on the east side. The railroad doesn’t prohibit building near the tracks, though it has an identified “hazard zone” for derailments.

Positioning the new station closer to North Street would remove it from that zone, Klecker said, and would also allow for the hill on the south side of the property to be graded down, improving site lines from the building.

“It can work,” he said.

Due diligence

Tuma said leaders heard through “several platforms of our engagement” that people were “concerned with the location … at West Hills. It just wasn’t right,” despite support for the project.

“As new properties would come (up), I made the commitment to continue to pursue a better location,” she said. “As part of the due diligence, we continue to engage the public … I just want to make sure that the public knows that we heard them.”

Making the location change via resolution, Tuma said, is the city’s attempt to regain the trust of the public.

“I think this shows that there’s more teeth in it – more credibility that this is the official site,” per a vote by the council. The other suggestions, she said, “were just staff recommendations.”

Council President Kevin Raney doubled down on the location.

“So long as I am on Council, I will not support coming back to West Hills,” he said. “We move forward tonight and I’m not looking back.”

Former Police Chief Jeff Mundale, who retired three days later, was asked to weigh in.

“I think there’s probably not one perfect, ideal site. We’re doing the best to try to stay centrally located, but we do believe that yes, this is a very viable, suitable site – and law enforcement supports it,” he said.

No other changes

The bond request remains at up to $65 million.

“It’ll be a little tighter, no doubt, but it’s still within that” bond amount request, Tuma said.

The resolution – amended by Councilor Brent Svenby to definitively rule out building at West Hills – also authorized staff to move forward with the design of a new station, “otherwise we’ll be substantially behind,” Tuma said.

“Everyone can still vote on this resolution,” said council member Dan Boeke. “My thought is, why not remove the contentious portion of this referendum, if the West Hills are so contentious? We’ve got 2,700-some people that said, ‘we don’t want it’ … so let’s bring the resolution down to one thing: Money and taxes.

“If it turns out that the resolution fails, at least we’ll know why it failed,” he said, “and then we can scramble from there.”

Boeke admitted he believed the measure would have failed without the location change.

“Whatever way the vote goes this fall, I hope it’s by a big margin,” he said. “Then we can all get together and get going.”

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‘Filled with gratitude’

Publisher — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:10:16 +0000

‘Filled with gratitude’

Heimgartner reflects on 25 years at Trinity Lutheran

Publisher Wed, 09/23/2026 - 16:10

Kay Fate, Staff Writer

The Rev. Heidi Heimgartner, left, baptizes Leo Busho, son of Stacey and Steven Busho, of Blooming Prairie. Heimgartner served at Trinity Lutheran Church for 25 years before her retirement this summer. Submitted photo

There is a time for everything, as the Good Book says, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

So, after 25 years of comforting the grieving, celebrating newborns and guiding generations through faith, the Rev. Heidi Heimgartner decided it was time for her to step down.

Her final Sunday at First Lutheran Church in Blooming Prairie was Aug. 16, and if you’re a numbers person, here’s about where Heimgartner landed:

529 baptisms

385 students confirmed

191 weddings

505 funerals

But ask Heimgartner questions about her career, and her answers are filled with the names of other people.

Landing in BP

“First Lutheran has LeMar Nelson and his brother, Randy, to thank for our original connection,” she said of her introduction to Blooming Prairie.

She sensed a call to ministry at age 17, declaring a religious studies major when she registered for classes at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The call continued to grow as she worked in campus ministry.

A Wisconsin native, her Minnesota residency became official when Heimgartner arrived at Luther Seminary in St. Paul for its Master of Divinity program.

Two years later, she was in Blooming Prairie to serve her required year of internship as part of her master’s program.

She and her husband Paul had married that summer; they moved into an apartment above the beauty salon, across from what is now MBT Bank and the former U.S. Bank.

“I loved that apartment,” Heimgartner said. “This was long before smartphones, and I could look out our living room window to read the time and temperature.”

The Rev. Dick Hegal “was a capable and kind supervisor,” she said, “and I was truly embraced on day one, with open arms and hearts – both in the congregation and in the community.”

Coming ‘home’

Heimgartner was ordained in July 2001; the couple returned to Blooming Prairie, where Heidi again served with Hegal, this time as associate pastor.

Again, she runs down a list of people: the Revs. Curtis Johnson, Karl Korbel, Diaconal Minister Barb Peterson, the Revs. Charlie Leonard, Chris Miller, Jeff Sandgren, Mike Walerius, “and the freshest edition to our staff, Pastor Laurel Meester.

“She’s a talented preacher, keen theologian and the best knitter I have ever seen,” Heimgartner said.

“I could write books about how special each staff member is,” she continued, naming music leaders, worship leaders, teachers, office staff and more.

“Just know the contributions of the church staff, past and present, is inspiring,” Heimgartner said.

“I embrace that we all need role models, especially as we begin – but also all the way through,” she said of her own role in being a mentor. “Ministry can be lonely, and the best way to solve dilemmas can be complex. My colleagues know I will always advocate for the promise and potential of rural communities, because stereotypes persist.”

She discovered what she calls “a newfound visibility when I was called as the first female lead pastor of First Lutheran in 2017, and I wanted to set a quiet intention to use any trust I had earned to lift up others with gifts to serve.

“Women, sure,” Heimgartner said, “but when given permission, leadership will emerge from lots of unexpected places, from lots of unexpected people… When you keep your ears open, you will find there is endless possibility, and people willing to commit to causes they care about, all over this community.”

Being “the first” can be a big responsibility, she said, “but it also brings a lot of opportunity to empower a congregation. I have prayed each day to be worthy of the trust of God’s people. That’s what any spiritual leader has to remember: The ministry is God’s, not ours.”

Covid congregation

The pandemic hit Heimgartner professionally and personally.

“When Covid began, I remember thinking, “OK, God, now I understand why I am here at this time and place,” she said.

Paul, a microbiologist by training, was moved to the new Covid lab at Mayo Clinic, where he spent the next six months on the front lines of gathering and disseminating information about the disease.

Heimgartner said her husband described his time Covid-testing thousands of samples daily as “building the airplane while we are flying it.”

The church, too, had priorities: Anything that was redesigned to accommodate restrictions had to be safe, simple and personal.

“People were suffering, and not just with illness,” Heimgartner said, “but with isolation, anxiety and disillusionment. We were blessed that we had the radio ministry, a website and online giving.”

Like many churches, Trinity Lutheran needed months – and plenty of money – to increase its video capacity to livestream.

Heimgartner wrote a weekly column for the church’s elders for more than a year; she set an individual goal of answering each letter the church received – and of calling five or more members every day.

“Each Sunday, we tied prayer ribbons to a cross form in the sanctuary,” she said. The ribbons were later sewed into several quilts.

“I remember tearing up many Mondays, knowing members’ work hours had been reduced, and still, the donations continued,” Heimgartner said. Because of that generosity and adaptability, “we persevered.”

She performed outdoor baptisms, outdoor graveside services for burials, micro-weddings and individual first communions.

“I stood outside Prairie Manor at residents’ windows and called their cell phones to visit,” Heimgartner said. “We spent Christmas Eve 2020 in the church parking lot singing ‘Silent Night’ when the windchill was -40.”

The education coordinator and church musicians were instrumental in creating online vacation Bible school and Sunday school. The stewardship team made red “We Have Hope” lawn signs.

The congregation didn’t gather in person for about 14 months, she said, “and it took more than another year for things to feel back to normal.”

Up next

Heimgartner will appeal to the Synod Council to seek a classification known as “on leave from call.”

“This will give me time to rest and discern what’s next, as well as give unpressured time to relocate,” she said. “Paul’s work remains the same, though we do hope to shorten his daily commute. We have never had a ‘regular’ weekend our entire marriage, or even the same day off, except for planned vacations.”

Things like parents’ weekend at college or catching a nephew’s soccer tournament bring a sense of excitement, she said.

Their son, Luke, is a junior at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; their son, Jon, has started his freshman year at UMD.

“I did offer that I would be available for emergency pulpit supply in our synod once per quarter,” Heimgartner said. “I hope leading worship is like riding a bike…”

A fulfilling life

“I was given a tremendous privilege to preach the gospel, administer the sacraments and care for the spiritual life of thousands,” she said, “and I am filled with gratitude.”

Once again, she shares the credit.

“Nothing ever gets accomplished in any organization by one person alone,” Heimgartner said. “In Lutheran churches, leadership is absolutely shared by volunteers, those elected to offices, and people who take a role on the church staff.

“From wedding coordinators to custodians, and communion servers to stewardship team members… every acolyte who lights a candle and every volunteer Sunday school teacher… and all who sit in a pew singing on Sunday, or is an ecumenical participant in Bible study,” have been an integral part of her own service.

“I truly believe First Lutheran is uniquely vital – and, I pray – welcoming, centered in grace and future-oriented,” Heimgartner said. “Even the thankless jobs like compliance reporting, chipping sidewalk ice, tying up filets for the lutefisk dinner, pulling courtyard weeds, or caulking a roof; there are people of good will and great faith who step forward.”

Because of that, she said, it would be too difficult to name any specific experiences that stand out, “and many of them are too tender to put in the newspaper.

“Though I like to laugh and have fun, most people who know me know I am not a casual person, and I don’t do things halfway, really, ever,” Heimgartner said.

“So if you’re reading this, and wondering if our connection meant something: Yes, it did, and yes, I was touched, and yes, it was holy time, and yes, God was near.”

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UNDER WATER

Publisher — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 14:06:54 +0000

UNDER WATER

Heavy rain floods area, residents rescued by pontoon

Publisher Wed, 09/23/2026 - 16:06

Kay Fate, Staff Writer

Residents at the New Richland Care Center had to be evacuated after the area received more than nine inches of rain in just a few hours late Friday night. The 36 residents were transported to area facilities within 45 miles, including six to Prairie Manor in Blooming Prairie. Photo courtesy of Jessie Nino

More than nine inches of rain fell in some spots of New Richland late Friday night, prompting emergency evacuations by pontoon of nearly 40 residents from the local care center.

Staff from the New Richland Care Center began moving residents out of the facility about 5:30 a.m. Saturday; water breached the doors about 6:30 a.m. and climbed more than two feet up the walls.

NRHEG students pushed a neighbor’s pontoon to the nursing home to help move supplies and evacuate the residents.

The residents were taken to NRHEG High School first, then transferred to facilities within about 50 miles – including Blooming Prairie. Still, many personal items remained in the building.

“We are incredibly grateful to have been in the position to open our doors and welcome six of these displaced residents into our care center, which will be their home for an undetermined amount of time,” Prairie Manor officials said in a Facebook post Saturday evening.

“Please join us in keeping them, their families and their staff in your thoughts and prayers. It has been a long day for them, but we are doing everything we can to make them feel safe, comfortable and loved,” the post continues.

“We also lift up all the residents who were sent to other locations, as well as all the wonderful facilities welcoming them in during this transition… It takes a village at every stage of life’s journey.”

The post also requested clothing (large and extra-large) for a younger female; and long-sleeve shirts and sweatpants (extra-large and 2XL) for the older displaced residents. Socks were also requested.

Back in New Richland, nearly 10 other people were rescued from the mobile home park; firefighters went door-to-door by boat.

Student-athletes, dozens of residents, a group of migrant workers who stay in town and other community members also filled sandbags and distributed them where needed throughout the day Saturday.

By Sunday morning, it was estimated that 80% of the structures in town had been affected as cleanup and recovery efforts began. Multiple homes and businesses were destroyed.

Ellendale saw upwards of seven inches of rain Friday night into Saturday, leading to sewer backups “and a lot of wet basements,” said Steve Engel, clerk/treasurer for the city.

The heavy rainfall made keeping up with the inflow and infiltration of the sanitary sewer system difficult, he said, without additional pumps.

The city has brought in two Dumpsters for Ellendale residents to use for flood cleanup. One is near the city maintenance building on Second Street; the other is at the recycling center on Eighth Avenue, near the railroad tracks.

The Steele County Emergency Management is providing Red Cross clean-up kits; they are available in Ellendale and Blooming Prairie.

If county residents experienced water in their homes or basements from the heavy rain Friday and Saturday, SCEM is requesting they fill out a disaster assessment survey.

Once completed, email scem@steelecountymn.gov to request a clean-up kit.

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Spatenka claims Fry silenced him in board meeting

Publisher — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:54:35 +0000

Spatenka claims Fry silenced him in board meeting Publisher Wed, 09/23/2026 - 15:54

Alex Malm, Staff Writer

Gary Spatenka

Gary Spatenka went to the Sept. 10 Steele County Board meeting, purportedly planning to address the commissioners about concerns he had that certain items weren't brought to the Planning Commission.

Spatenka is the chairman of the Planning Commission Board.

After the Sept. 10 work session ended, but before the formal meeting began, County Administrator Renea Fry approached Spatenka, who is also a candidate for county commissioner.

Fry said she was told Spatenka was there to speak about a matter that had already been in front of the planning commission and had already had a public hearing.

Fry did not identify who told her that.

She told the Times that once the planning board has a public hearing on a matter, there can't be any new evidence introduced, and she was concerned.

But as it would turn out, Spatenka wasn't there to talk about the planning board; instead, Fry said, "He was there to complain about another committee."

She said he disagreed with a decision made by the Board of Adjustment, and that he told her he had already contacted individual county board members.

Fry said she told him that he should talk to County Attorney Rob Jarrett about what rights and remedies were available before he talked to the full board, "because they're going to refer the matter back to the county attorney anyway."

Fry and Spatenka do not agree if he said he was there in his role as planning commission chairman.

Regardless, Fry said she suggested not to bring the matter up for public comment until he had the chance to talk to Jarrett, "to make sure (Spatenka) had his facts straight, and knew exactly what the remedy available to the landowner might be."

Fry sees her role as advisor to the elected and appointed officials who typically aren't experts on the inner workings of government ethics or meeting rules.

It is the county board chairman who typically manages the meeting in real-time, deciding when to cut off repetitive comments or enforce established limits. At no point during the Sept. 10 board meeting, however, did Board Chairman John Glynn or any other commissioners speak.

Fry said Spatenka knows once a decision of a body is made, "It's not appropriate for an individual member of that body to speak ill of the decision."

Concerned Spatenka was going to talk about a decision already made, she decided to confront him before he got the chance to speak.

"Gary indicated that he was upset about the decision from the board of adjustment and that the matter should have come to him and the planning commission," Fry wrote in an email. "He mentioned two or three other situations that he considered similar in nature that had come to the planning commission for a (conditional use permit). He did not indicate that he was planning to comment as a member of the community. He had indicated that he had already called board members on the topic.”

Spatenka denies saying he would be speaking as the planning commission chairman and said he was speaking as a resident of Steele County.

“I think this was a case where I thought that's what Gary was trying to do, and he's also running for office,” Fry said. “I don't want him to look bad. I don't want him to stand up and say something out of turn … This is about maintaining a professional approach to decision-making in the county. So that's why I thought he was talking about planning commission stuff.

“But then when I found out he was actually … coming forward as the planning commission chair critical of what another committee was doing about something that had never been to the planning commission, had never been decided by the planning commission, I was concerned that it wasn't going to serve the needs of the property owner until we knew exactly what the appeal rights were.”

She denies stopping him from speaking.

“If he wants to speak, he can, but I also wanted to make sure that … he at least had some advice and direction on a way that he could handle it,” Fry said.

Public comment over

Typical of most public meetings, public comment takes place at the beginning of county board meetings.

The incident took place just minutes before the meeting started; Fry asked Spatenka to step out into the hallway.

He then missed the opportunity to give public input.

Fry said she gave Spatenka the opportunity to speak following the first agenda item – which was the report of the county’s audit.

“I asked Mr. Spatenka to step out in the hall, which means he missed public comment,” Fry said, then turned to Spatenka, who was also in the board room, but out of camera view.

“No, I’ll talk to a lawyer,” Spatenka responded, and the meeting continued.

Spatenka told the Times the public comment portion was not re-opened officially by Glynn.

Fry, in a follow-up email, agreed that public comment was not reopened.

“Sorry, I did not specially ask to re-open; that was my characterization of my effort to give Gary the opportunity he missed out on,” Fry wrote. “I did invite Gary to make comments because he missed public comment.”

County attorney weighs in

Following the meeting, Spatenka reached out to County Attorney Jarrett, who responded via email, telling Spatenka he received a message that he had questions about a land issue, according to emails obtained by the Times.

Spatenka corrected Jarrett, saying, “It has nothing to do with a land meeting, it has to do with being pulled out of a public meeting, in front of the Commissioners and being told I better not be saying anything without first talking to you, and then she (Fry) took me out into the hallway and said things that I consider would be bullying me and threatening if I say things at the Public Comment at the Commissioner Meeting.

“You can’t take away a person’s First Amendment right of free speech, by taking me out of a public meeting and telling (me) I can't say things that aren’t on the agenda at the meeting,” Spatenka continued. “What she did (in) my eyes was totally illegal to do, and to do it in front of your assistant attorney, the County Commissioners, the media and all the people in the audience is really infringing on my rights as a citizen, and not only that it was totally embarrassing to walk back into the meeting and the public comment was over.”

Jarrett defended Fry, according to an email obtained by the Times.

“I appreciate your concerns and encourage you to speak with an attorney if you believe your rights were violated,” Jarrett wrote. “In my opinion, your First Amendment rights were not violated. I watched the recording. You could have spoken to the board of commissioners when the board reopened public comment.”

Jarrett did not respond to a request for comment for this story regarding whether or not public comment was formally reopened.

Spatenka also asked Jarrett to “email all the Board members and get their take at what took place on (Sept. 10) at the Commissioners meeting.”

Jarrett denied a request to contact each board member, saying, “We do not conduct business in violation of open meeting laws.”

“I cannot ask around and have a string of meetings,” Jarrett said in an email obtained by the Times.

“I believe your concerns are misplaced,” Jarrett continued in the email. “Renae is an excellent county administrator and is looking out for everyone's best interests. If you have issues with a specific item/issue, let us know, and we can look into it. The board doesn’t manage the day-to-day business of the county; the county administrator and department heads do.”

Different circumstances

Just a week before the incident at the commissioners meeting, Jarrett himself attended an Owatonna City Council meeting, where he spoke in defense of City Administrator Jenna Tuma.

In addition to Jarrett’s relationship with Tuma regarding various issues in their administrative roles, Jarrett’s wife also works for the city.

When asked what Jarrett has worked on with Tuma, he provided the following list to the Times:

- County attorney contract for city prosecution (updated the 1980s contract)

- Mayo Clinic Health System/Allina removal of OBGYN in 2025

- Data practices issues for the police department

- Rainbow Owatonna event

- East Side Corridor matters

- Cannabis Ordinance meetings

- Stormwater drainage issue

- Joint Powers Master BCA agreements

Those issues do not constitute representing the county in any way, Fry said.

“Rob spoke as a resident of the community in support of Jenna,” she wrote in an email. “He identified himself at the beginning of his comments by saying he was a resident of the city. He said he had worked with her but did not tie it to his position or the county. He did not claim to represent Steele County or the office of the Steele County Attorney in expressing his opinions. I believe he approached the matter in an appropriate manner.”

Text messages?

While giving public comment at the Owatonna City Council meeting, Jarrett displayed what he said were copies of jury instructions to help make his points in defense of Tuma.

How those materials were printed is unclear.

Multiple requests for comment went unreturned by Jarrett.

If Jarrett had printed out the jury instructions using any county resources, including accessing them from his work computer, would that mean he was in some way representing Steele County?

Fry says no.

“No, what he printed and how it was printed would not constitute a declaration that he was speaking as a representative of the county,” Fry wrote. “He used information as an exhibit. At best, it was indicative of his occupation – meaning being an attorney, since the average person would not generally use jury guides.”

The Times then asked Fry for a copy of the county policy on using work computers/resources for personal things.

This led to a new revelation: accusations of texting.

“I will need to check with IT for the official policy, but generally county property is used for county business which is why most of us carry a personal and a business cell phone,” Fry wrote in response.

“I suspect, however, you are referencing something that Gary is claiming – that I was texting during the meeting,” she said. “I do check my phone during meetings to make sure no one is trying to get ahold of the county after hours, but I certainly wasn’t texting someone because ‘I thought I had done something illegal.’”

As it would turn out, Spatenka did make these types of accusations, in an email obtained by the Times.

Fry told the Times a reporter’s questions “started sounding like a cross examination to me and Gary is making a variety of claims. Sorry if I assumed you were privy to them,” she wrote.

When asked what claims Spatenka had made, Fry declined to elaborate.

“As to your question, I would prefer not to share Gary’s claims out of concern the information will become an article based on his complaints,” she wrote.

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BREAKING NEWS: Two-car crash injures five, three critically

Publisher — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 23:24:10 +0000

BREAKING NEWS: Two-car crash injures five, three critically Publisher Wed, 09/23/2026 - 01:24

Kay Fate, Staff Writer

Five people, including two children, were seriously injured in a T-bone crash Tuesday morning in Dodge County.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a Jeep driven by Marissa Lynn Dugan, 39, of Owatonna, was traveling east on Dodge County Road 34 when it was struck on the passenger side by a pickup driven by Steven Leslie Delzer, 76, of Dodge Center.

Delzer was northbound on U.S. Highway 56; the vehicles collided in the intersection.

Also in Dugan’s vehicle were Levi Jae Kubista, 29; Louis James Niedzielski, 11; and Leo Kennedy Niedzielski, 7, all of Owatonna.

All five victims were taken by ambulances to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus in Rochester.

Dugan and both children sustained what the State Patrol report described as life-threatening injuries; Kubista and Delzer had non-life threatening injuries.

Everyone involved had their seat belt fastened, the report says.

Personnel from the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, West Concord Police Department, West Concord Ambulance, Dodge Center Ambulance, Hayfield Ambulance and Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service also responded to the crash, which was reported at 7:56 a.m.

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Report: Former gambling manager stole from Legion Post

Publisher — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:08:05 +0000

Report: Former gambling manager stole from Legion Post Publisher Thu, 09/17/2026 - 02:08

Kay Fate, Staff Writer

The former gambling manager at American Legion Post 77 in Owatonna has been charged with felony theft after authorities say he stole more than $80,000 from the organization.

Dakkota Cruz Moreno, 31, who provided a Minneapolis address, is scheduled to make his first appearance Dec. 7 in Steele County District Court.

The investigation began in May, when Owatonna police were contacted about a potential theft from the Legion’s charitable gambling account; it was also reported to the Minnesota Gambling Board.

According to the criminal complaint, Moreno was hired as the gambling manager in 2021; he and the organization parted ways in July 2025, presumably because Moreno had another job that was taking more of his time.

He helped the new gambling manager in the transition of roles; unbeknownst to Legion leadership, Moreno was reportedly still filling out all the paperwork and submitted documents to the Gambling Control Board.

During his time with the organization, the gambling account required four authorized signers, including Moreno. The alleged fraudulent charges came from the debit card attached to the account.

The alleged theft wasn’t discovered for nearly a year – when the new gambling manager noted “numerous personal transfers from the account” and multiple Amazon charges, including one from Tire Rack for about $3,300 in April 2026.

It stood out, the manager said, because Moreno had visited the Post in Owatonna a couple of weeks earlier and “showed him brand new rims and tires on his personal truck.”

Investigators from the Gambling Control Board and the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division became involved, and were provided with the organization’s laptop, with consent for a forensic examination of it.

Court documents say Moreno had used the Post’s banking account information and its debit card for his personal PayPal account in January 2026, and purchases began the day he added the debit card.

On May 18, 2026, Moreno’s access to the funds in the banking account and debit card were cut off, following the discovery.

That day, he called the affiliated bank to see why the card wasn’t working; he left a message, but the bank didn’t return his call. The next day, Moreno added his own card to the PayPal account.

The special agent reportedly found nearly $26,000 in unlawful transactions with PayPal from January to May, with purchases of those tires and rims; personal payments; tactical clothing and a lower parts kit for an AR-15.

Investigators also discovered Moreno had added the organization’s bank account to his personal Venmo account, the document continued; that accounted for nearly $7,500.

A warrant for Moreno’s personal credit union account indicated multiple transfers from the Post’s bank account to the personal account.

The complaint says Moreno sent himself $27,000 via transfers from May 2025 through March 2026, not including paychecks.

Another warrant allegedly showed Moreno made payments on his American Express card from the organization’s bank account, as well as 26 transactions on Amazon.

When the special agent spoke to Moreno in August, he first said he believed his “debit card got hacked or something,” and should have brought it up to the Post, but didn’t because he “was already on thin ice with them for having submitted payments to the Department of Revenue late.”

The agent asked Moreno directly if he had made personal purchases on the organization’s debit card, to which he allegedly replied, “If I did, I would’ve paid back the account right away.”

The investigator then brought up the details uncovered by the search warrants on the various accounts; Moreno repeatedly said he meant to pay back the organization “once I have the funds,” the complaint says.

“I do believe that there were a few that were potentially hacked,” Moreno allegedly said, “but the majority of those were just me being dumb and irresponsible and I do mean to reimburse the organization.”

Court documents say Moreno didn’t realize the amount was “that high,” that he believed it was about half that.

Based on the investigation, authorities claim Moreno made $82,252.51 worth of unlawful expenditures from about Feb. 1, 2025 to May 18, 2026.

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Chubbs Brew-BQ raises funds for community groups

Publisher — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:12:05 +0000

Chubbs Brew-BQ raises funds for community groups Publisher Wed, 09/16/2026 - 19:12

Karen M. Jorgensen, Staff Writer

John Hanson talked with Dom Korbel and Dan Korbel at the Korbel Bros. BBQ as he sampled their contest entry. Staff photo by Karen M. Jorgensen

Eleven brewers and nine BBQ teams gathered at the Beer Garden at the Steele County Free Fairgrounds last Saturday, for the ninth annual Chubb’s Brew-BQ, a fundraising event sponsored by the Juan Villarreal Jr. Memorial Fund.

Villarreal died in 2015, said Jessica Walerius, who was Villarreal’s siter-in-law.

Villarreal, she said, nicknamed Chubb, was active in the community and he was passionate about making the world a better place. Among the organizations he supported were the Crisis Resource Center of Steele County, Big Brothers Big Sisters and From the Heart Run.

After his death, Walerius said, the family and friends decided to start the memorial fund in his memory with the first event held in 2016. It has continued every year since then with the exception of two years during Covid.

Each year, she said, the funds raised by the event are given to a local organization.

In 2026, she said, the beneficiary is The Lighthouse of Southern MN, an organization that supports those experiencing homelessness.

Since the fundraising effort began, $150,000 has been given to local organizations, said Matt Walerius.

The money raised by a raffle conducted at the event will go to the Steele County Humane Society.

For the second year, Let’s Smile staff were on hand outside the Beer Garden Saturday with their Molar Roller vehicle accepting donations to help students get dental services.

The evening included BBQ tastings and sampling of the brews from local breweries along with the raffle and entertainment.

BBQ teams competing in the BBQ contest included Blue Collar BBQ, Diablo BBQ, Just a Tad BBQ, Korbel Bros. BBQ; OBW Spice Girls; Smokin J’s BBQ and Thermodynamics, all of Owatonna and DG Smoke, Blooming Prairie and Neighbor’s Meats, New Richland.

Brewers at the event included Backstory Brewing, Baker Street Irregular Brewing, Blind Eye Brewing, Bru Bois, Door #3 Brewing, Goon Docks Brewing, Ozone Brewing, Raze Brewing, Seven Sins Hard Ciders, Shadow Valley Brewery and Unruly Brewing.

Entertainment for the event included music by Bruce Lepert, The Leopards in the afternoon on the Beer Garden Patio and a concert by Jake Nelson in the evening.

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LIFE, LIBERTY AND PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Publisher — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:04:38 +0000

LIFE, LIBERTY AND PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

‘Thomas Jefferson’ gives keynote address at flag dedication

Publisher Wed, 09/16/2026 - 19:04

Karen M. Jorgensen, Staff Writer

President Thomas Jefferson, interpreted by Robert McComas-Wood of Owatonna, addressed the crowd last Saturday at the dedication of the America 250 Honor Field at the Degner Regional Airport. 1,000 American flags, as well as a number of historical flags, were on display at the airport. Staff photo by Rick Bussler

“Today you face the challenges of division, of cynicism and the dangerous belief that our best days are behind us. These doubts and divisions can be as deadly to this democracy as was the king’s hangman rope in 1776.”
-President Thomas Jefferson, AKA: Robert McComas-Wood

The United States third president, Thomas Jefferson, (AKA Robert McComas-Wood) stopped in Owatonna Saturday afternoon, to give the keynote note address at the Steele County America 250 Honor Field dedication at Owatonna Degner Regional Airport.

“As I stand here before you today, looking out at these hundreds of flags, my mind cannot help but to wander back across the vast sea of time—250 years to be exact,” he said.

He recalled thinking of another summer, July 1776 in Philadelphia and the contrast, he said, could not be more stark.

At Owatonna, he said, the group was gathered under the open infinite blue sky, surrounded by a peaceful green expanse and breathing the clean air of freedom. In 1776, he went on, they were “cooped up inside the sweltering, airless room of the Pennsylvania State House. The windows, he added were shut tightly to keep out the swarms of flies from the nearby horse stables.

They had no banners, he said, or national symbols, no military might to guarantee their survival and no certainty of the future.

The men gathered knew with certainty when they dipped their quill pens into the inkwells to sign their names to the document, they were quite possibly signing their own death warrants.

Looking at that document today, the Declaration of Independence, he said, he realized those treasonous and dangerous ideas have transformed.

The document put on paper “truths to be self-evident” and these truths “belong to every human being on earth by virtue of being born.”

He said he fought fiercely for the specific words “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The traditional political thinkers of his time argued that government existed to protect life, liberty and property. “I insisted on changing it.”

Pursuit of happiness meant something entirely different, he said. That it is a spiritual right. The United States, he said, was not founded on a shared ancestry, a single religion, a royal bloodline or the belief that any human being was by virtue of wealth, power or position inherently better than their neighbor.”

But, he said, words on a page do automatically create a perfect world. Looking back with the perspective of 250 years he could see the grand sweep of American history and the deep, painful contradictions of his own life and era.

They wrote all men were created equal, yet they lived in a society where millions of human beings were held in the cruel bonds of slavery. He admitted he was tangled in that deeply flawed and morally wrong system, unable to find a way out of a practice he knew to be a moral blight on the country.

“The America of 1776 did not extend its promises to women, to indigenous peoples, or to many who came to this land with hope and labored under the American sky,” he said.

He added it is easy to look back at the founding generation and see only the flaws, and just as easy to look back and see only the heroism.

“The true value of the Declaration of Independence is that it was never meant to be a picture of who Americans were in 1776,” he said. It was a blueprint and a promise made to the future, and it was a promise they knew they could not fulfill in their lifetime. But it was passed down to future generations and is the story of a flawed vessel carrying a perfect idea.

Every generation since has co-signed on the original document from the bloody battlefields of the Civil War to the women who marched demanding the right to vote, by the civil rights leaders who stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and by every family that came to this country with a hope and a dream of freedom and a better life for their children.

Moving to the present, he told the assembled crows that the challenges of today are different from the ones faced in 1776, but they require the exact same courage.

Today’s Americans are caretakers of these radical ideas, and it must be protected through free and open debates, civic action and voting, he said, encouraging citizens to look past the modern divisions and remember the core compact that binds them together as one people.

McComas-Wood said before his interpretation of Jefferson that the Owatonna event was the first time he had portrayed Thomas Jefferson. He moved to Owatonna from the Baltimore area and has taught history in both middle and high schools.

Jefferson, he said, was a deep thinker. He was very proper and conducted himself in that manner, McComas-Wood said, and was a very principled individual. He fought to eliminate slavery even though he owned slaves. He understood the contradictions in life. His ideas were radical for his time, McComas-Wood said. “He’s an interesting character.”

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