Looking Back: 1990 -- Warm and humid weather closes Worthington schools

One year ago

A cross-stitching project titled “Santa’s Best Friend Bear” earned Roger Zarn of Worthington the Sweepstakes Award at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair. It was Zarn’s first foray into the state-level cross- stitching competition, though he had been cross-stitching since 1987.

Members of District 518’s instructional committee met to discuss a potential grant from the Minnesota Department of Education that would enable families who might not otherwise be able to afford it to send students to an all-day preschool.

The 2014 King Turkey Day race team members were Jason Vote, Kevin Prins, Pete Suby and Dan Huls.

Nineteen members of the Worthington High School Class of 1944 met for their 70th class reunion this week at the local Pizza Ranch. Class secretary Vivian Flynn helped coordinate the gathering. The class originally numbered 100 members, and had its largest reunion on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, when 80 classmates attended.

Jim Wychor was the King Turkey Day Parade Marshal and Jerry Fiola was named Honorary Turkey.

The father-son team of Scott and Daniel Versluis located the King Turkey Day medallion in the early morning hours of Thursday and claimed the prize of Worthington Chamber Bucks.

Five years ago

Lance DeGroot, the son of Greg and Cindy DeGroot, Worthington, won a statewide essay contest sponsored by WCCO that asked people to write about people who inspired them. DeGroot’s subject was Kate Herzog, a native of Ghana and an instructor in the MBA program at St. Thomas University (where DeGroot was a student), who was working to aid disabled people in Ghana.

The C.K. Blandin Foundation was seeking four project proposals promoting the use of broadband technology in Nobles County, and had $100,000 in federal stimulus dollars to distribute among four or more eligible endeavors.

The Worthington City Council set its not-to-exceed tax levy increase at 4 percent, or $100,000. Taxes from new construction meant a 1.4 percent increase in the levy wouldn’t affect existing taxpayers’ property tax bills. The impact of the 4 percent raise translated to a 2.6 percent increase to taxpayers.

Nobles County Farm Bureau members and guest speakers met with students at Adrian Elementary School to discuss safety on the farm and at home.

Nicole Names recently began duties as the new director of Family Services in Pipestone and Nobles Counties.

10 years ago

Nobles County commissioners approved a $26,000 increase in their appropriation to the Southwest Mental Health Center, increasing the county’s share of the center’s block grant to $268,561 - the largest sum of the four counties served by the agencies. The dollars each supporting county (Nobles, Pipestone, Cottonwood and Rock) shared to support the mental health center were relative to each county’s population count.

After the Worthington High School football team’s season-opening game against Pipestone last week was canceled due to player rules violations, the team was slated to play its first game of the season Friday at Redwood Falls.

Andrew Stewart, the son of Ric and Mary Stewart, Worthington, was the 2005-2006 exchange student to Crailsheim, Germany.

The fourth annual Worthington Fire Department fundraiser took place at Worthington’s Centennial Park. The local volunteer fire department had 36 members on its force.

Showing this week at Worthington’s Northland Cinema were “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “Red Eye” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”

A Thursday morning storm caused severe damage to farm fields in the Reading vicinity. Hail damage in the area was estimated to have affected an area about 1.5 miles wide and six miles long. Sixty to 80 percent yield loss of soybeans was expected, though corn plants fared a little better.

An Autumn Boutique sponsored by the Slayton Women of Today took place at the Murray County Fairgrounds in Slayton.

25 years ago

Dan Zapf, Shoreview, won the men’s championship flight of the 1990 Labor Day Classic golf tournament at the Worthington Country Club. Jodi Krafka of Minneapolis, the reigning Minnesota State amateur champion, won the women’s championship flight with a three-day total of 234.

More than 100 visitors from Crailsheim, West Germany, were arriving in Worthington this week to join in the 50th anniversary King Turkey Day festivities. In May 1989, a group of Worthington residents had traveled there to participate in Crailsheim’s 700th anniversary celebration.

Warm (over 87 degrees) and humid weather caused District 518 schools to close their doors at 1 p.m. Thursday. With only two air-conditioned buildings (West Elementary and Worthington Area Junior High School) on its facilities list, officials were concerned about conditions in the school buildings. It had been six years since the schools were last closed due to heat considerations.

Bryan Hagen, son of Paul and Barb Hagen, Worthington, and a 1984 Worthington High School graduate, passed the Minnesota Pharmacy Board test and completed 1,500 hours of internship training to become a registered and licensed pharmacist. Hagen was on staff with Sterling Drug, Worthington.

50 years ago

The Lampert Lumber Co. at Luverne was broken into Friday night, but the would-be thieves were frustrated in their attempt to find money. A small amount of hidden cash was not discovered.

Farmers from 14 southwestern Minnesota counties gathered in Worthington Saturday night for the regional tractor-pulling contest. In four hours of intense competition highlighted by one tie, contestants were chosen to represent the region in the state contest, scheduled for next week at St. James. The tie came in the heavyweight class, between Kenneth Wiese of Comfrey and Bud McCarty of Bigelow. Both machines pulled for the entire course twice before a tie was declared. Lynn Vis of Rushmore took the Class B title.

75 years ago

Floyd Milton, a mechanic at the Tellander-Hagge garage, won a $10 prize in a car design contest sponsored by Popular Science monthly. Milton designed his own idea of what the car of tomorrow would be. Milton’s “car of tomorrow” would have “rear engine mounting, polaroid rubberized glass windows fitting the shape of the car, permanently closed windows with air conditioning inside the car, a tear-drop shape, no gears, a windshield with polaroid glass, one centrally located headlight, and a two-way radio to permit the drivers to communicate with traffic officers and other drivers without stopping,” among other features.

First-week enrollment figures for the 1940-41 term in Worthington schools neared the 1,700 mark. Outstanding in the high school was a freshman class of 145, 10 more than the record class of the opening days of 1939.

B.R. Bitney of 608 Humiston Ave., Worthington, caught a nine-pound northern pike in Lake Shetek.

E.O. Olson, president of the Worthington Creamery & Produce Company, announced the sale (for an unannounced amount) of all physical assets, customers and good will of Worthington Gas, Inc., to the Philgas division of the Phillips Petroleum Company.