2010 Year in Review: January

Talk about it

Jan. 2: It didn’t take long for the first baby of the new year to make an appearance at Sanford Regional Hospital Worthington.

Blake John Joseph Nyberg entered the world at 4:01 a.m. Friday, his actual due date. He weighed in at 6 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. Decked out in a blue hat, he lay quietly in his mother’s arms, oblivious to the hustle and bustle of visitors anxious to make his acquaintance.

Jan. 4: A decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals disappointed city leaders last week when appellate judges affirmed the decision made by Judge Jeffrey Flynn to grant summary judgment to New Vision Cooperative, dismissing the city’s claim regarding the grain elevator on 10th Street.

Jan. 5: Worthington hit a new low — a bitterly cold, stay-in-yourhome, don’t-start-your-car kind of low.

Saturday morning’s minus 31 degree temperature shattered the community’s previous record low of minus 25, set in 1974. The forecast for this Saturday has the potential to break another record, according to Kyle Weisser, a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Jan. 6: It didn’t take long for the script-toting, sweatshirt-wearing Worthington area youngsters to transform themselves into regal Knights of the Round Table.

In fact, it will take less than a week.

As participants in the Missoula Children’s Theatre’s weeklong residency, the 60 local youths were preparing a whirlwind production of “King Arthur’s Quest”: auditions were Monday, and performances started Friday.

Jan. 7: The devil is in the details, but the grant money was not.

During a special city council meeting Wednesday, council members committed themselves to a public use for the former Worthington Area YMCA facility, a stipulation of the grant for which they wanted to apply. But after grappling for more than an hour with the preliminary layout of the building set to became a permanent community center, members agreed the details weren’t necessary to apply for a Department of Employment and Economic Development grant that could provide up to $150,000 toward total project costs.

Jan. 8: At one point Thursday, it took three dispatchers to keep up with calls coming into the Nobles County dispatch center. A majority of the calls were asking about road closings and conditions, according to Worthington Police Captain Chris Dybevick. “Is it OK for me to drive?” “Can I make it to Adrian/Slayton/Sioux Falls?” “Is this route open?” All callers were advised not to travel, Dybevick said. “I think people wanted me to give them permission to drive in poor weather,” he said.

No one was given that permission, of course. The roads across southwest Minnesota had been closed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) Thursday morning.

Jan. 9: Area residents woke up to bright sunshine Friday, but also another round of school and business closings in the wake of the latest winter storm.

Prompted by bitterly cold temperatures and continued road closings, schools kept their doors shut for a second day and many industries cancelled at least the early shift to enable their workers to get there safely.

Jan. 12: Monday night’s District 518 public forum on the proposed flexible learning year drew more concerns than support, but lacked the concern about the short timeline for implementation expressed at last year’s meetings on the same subject.

District 518 was pursuing a flexible learning year (FLY) application that would move the start of the school year earlier, likely establishing a calendar that would begin Aug. 23 and end May 24, 2011.

Jan. 12: The Worthington City Council voted Monday night to take the first step in examining the feasibility of selling the city’s industrial wastewater treatment facility. JBS has expressed interest in owning the plant, and is the facility’s primary user.

Jan. 13: Marvell “Marv” Tripp was a lifelong local businessman and former county commissioner, but his biggest legacy was likely the countless young people with whom he shared his knowledge of firearms and love of the outdoors. Tripp, 78, died suddenly Monday at his Worthington home.

Jan. 16: Nearly 175 employees of Farley’s & Sathers in Round Lake walked out the doors of the production facility for the last time on Friday, the last day of product packaging at the site.

The overnight shift at the plant finished work at 7 a.m. Friday, with subsequent shifts wrapped up their last day of work at 3 p.m. and 11 o’clock Friday night.

Jan. 16: Six school districts in southwest Minnesota had entered the race.

The Race to the Top, that is.

Worthington, Ellsworth, Fulda, Heron Lake-Okabena, Pipestone Area and Red Rock Central are among more than 250 districts in the state that have submitted a Race to the Top memorandum of agreement to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Jan. 19: Students at Brewster Elementary, along with students in Adrian, Fulda and Ellsworth, spent part of their day Monday working on The Color Project, an initiative of diversity education program Tolerance Minnesota.

Jan. 20: After struggling to keep their heads above water for several years, the members of Worthington’s Calvin Knuth Post 5 American Legion voted to close the post home and the lounge that operates there at the end of January.

That decision was made during a monthly meeting in December, and was prompted simply because the group is out of money.

Jan. 20: In a 4-2 decision Tuesday, the District 518 Board of Education voted to submit its flexible learning year application to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Jan. 21: The existence of local housing, commercial and industrial projects were closely related to population increases in the area, according to a report released earlier this month by Worthington city staff.

“I think it shows that we’re a growing community,” explained Brad Chapulis, director of community and economic development.

Jan. 22: It appeared as though Lisa Shane was out of options when it came to the Minnesota courts.

The Minnesota Supreme Court denied a petition for further review, which exhausts Shane’s direct appeal remedy. Any further recourse will have to be through the federal court system.

Shane was convicted of second-degree murder through child neglect in April 2006 and sentenced to 15 years in prison, an upward departure based on the victim’s age and vulnerability. The victim was her 3-month-old daughter, who died due to head trauma.

Jan. 22: After only a few months of preparation, the Round Lake-Brewster Community Fitness Center was opened for business, providing the tiny community with a more local wellness option.

Jan. 23: He had been saving for a trip, but when Alex Altman learned about the tragedy that struck Haiti, he decided there were people who needed the money more than he did.

He sent a money order the next day. Alex is 6 years old.

Jan. 23: The accumulated weight of snow and ice caused problems in Worthington Friday when an awning collapsed downtown and a roof collapsed at the old Flower Lane greenhouse.

Jan. 25: The gasps and exclamations that arose from the depths of Lake Okabena along with the participants were indicative of just how cold the water was Saturday for the Deep Freeze Dip in Worthington.

“WOW!” “Yikes!” “Whew!” “Holy cow!” “Sweet mother of all that’s cold!”

Other dippers were silent — the powers of speech literally knocked right out of them by the shocking chill.

What would compel more than 40 individuals to take a flying leap into water that as of 2 p.m. on Saturday was measured at just above freezing — a “balmy” 34 degrees in the 8- by 10-foot hole cut in the ice? At the heart of most of the participants’ motives was the cause — Southwest Minnesota Honor Flight, which aims to send area World War II veterans to see the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 25: While the Deep Freeze Dip was the main event Saturday, there were a few other festivities scheduled in conjunction with Worthington’s first Winter Fest.

The Southwest Minnesota Fishing Club’s ice fishing contest drew 105 anglers, despite Saturday morning’s unusually rainy conditions. During its three-hour duration, 39 fish were hooked — predominantly walleye and perch. The biggest fish — a 3.2-pound walleye, was turned in by Virgil Reed of Worthington.

Jan. 26: A little bit of snow can go a long way when the wind blows in southwest Minnesota.

Light, fluffy, new-fallen snow combined with winds in the 30 to 40 mph range created dangerous conditions Monday in southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Visibility was reported to be almost zero in outlying areas, and even in town it was difficult for drivers to see more than a few feet in front of their vehicles at times.

Jan. 26: According to a news release from the United States Department of Agriculture, the City of Adrian was one of 44 recipients that received a grant for the purpose of creating jobs by starting or expanding businesses in rural communities. Through funding provided by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, businesses will be able to access critical capital to help with start-up loans, renovations and improvements.

Jan. 27: Worthington High School Seniors Sameera Nalla and Dayton Williamson were honored with the school’s Triple ‘A’ Award for their excellence in academics, arts and athletics — and both say the activities they “took a chance on” later become rewarding experiences.

Jan. 27: Luverne Public School District and its local teachers union, Luverne Education Association, were still negotiating after failing to meet the state’s Jan. 15 deadline for contract settlement.

Jan. 28: Delayed aid payments to schools affected most districts in southwest Minnesota, with many seeing the postponement of their entire March and April payments until late May.

The amount delayed was largely determined by the size of financial reserves the district has on hand. Districts with the least money in the bank will receive normal payments, while some districts will get only partial payments and some will get no money at all.

Tags: year in review, news, january