Herb Streitz is known as Mr. Music in Waseca, did you know he came to Waseca as a big time Baseball player? That is correct, the manager of the Braves baseball team Emil Scheid teamed up with Waseca Schools to find a player and a music department all in one person.
Herb Streitz was born in 1913 went to St. Cloud Tech and excelled in Music, baseball, and tennis. Music was the obvious meal ticket for a young man with talent but the love of sport was big with Herb. Music took Herb to the St. Cloud boys band with travels throughout the Midwest as far away as Chicago. Herb was recruited to play baseball at St. Cloud State ( as it is known today) and he pitched his way through College and played tennis as well. Graduate work and refinement of the music talent with an advanced degree from The McPhail College of Music in Chicago.
Baseball in the Southern Minny for the Waseca Braves continued to 1947 when Herb and Arleigh Kraupa pitched the Braves to a 3-2 win over the Southern Minny all-stars! Herb had a stint in the Navy during his early Waseca days and really built the Waseca music program to a high level in the late 40s and early 50s. Before Herbs retirement in 1970 he helped establish bands at Morristown, Waseca Ag School, and at Sacred Heart. When Sacred Heart closed the talent and numbers helped establish the Marching band program. Herb also had sons Billy, Bob, and Benny on the fields ,courts, and track for the Bluejays! That story will be told another time.
Herb Streitz was Mr.Music with a flare for sport in Waseca from 1940 to 1970 and really up to his death at age 94 in 2008. Music and sport, nice mixture from a unique and interesting man!
I grew up about a mile north of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. As a teenager I got to the Fair several times each summer, and when it ended, it always meant that school started all too soon. That’s my association with Fairs.
As an adult I’ve come to realize that they really are the “great get-togethers” that they are promoted as! We see so many people, our friends, neighbors, and families all enjoying the “harvest” so to speak. Seeing what everyone is doing whether they are sitting at the booth of their favorite organization, church or political party; or showing a farm animal, displaying their 4H project, watching a race, playing bingo, riding the ferris wheel, promoting a business. Then there’s the eating. Last year my favorite food was the “mini-donuts”; but this year it was the “walleye fingers with garlic sauce”!What was your favorite fair food?
We (WCHS) want to thank all of our 5,000 visitors to Hodgson Hall and the “Goin’ to the Lake” exhibit. We will be moving the exhibit back to our Museum (315 2nd Avenue N.E., Waseca) this week, so come see it again, or come see it for the first time. We’re open Tuesdays-Fridays, 9-5. FREE to the public.
We’ll still be collecting those memories, stories and pictures all through the month of August, maybe September if you’d like. Let us know! A few of you have asked if we are doing a book about Clear Lake. What would you think of that?
Look Forward to Our Past!
Waseca County Historical Society Museum & Research Library
Well, the storytelling and reminiscing has started! Waseca, you definitely love your Clear Lake. I’ve heard about how there were over 200 rowboats for rent at many “boat liveries” all around the lake; and every weekend they were all rented, and out on the lake!” I’ve heard that during the 1940s and 1950s, there were around seven bars around the lake. Everyone seemed to want to enjoy a beer after work and sit by Clear Lake. Most of these places had dancing—the favorite pastime ofreturning WWII soldiers and their girlfriends. I’ve heard that you could start with a beer at Thompson Boat House, and “drink your way around the lake!”
Fifteen and twenty years later, kids were heading to Clear Lake beach as soon as school was out—on their bikes. They spent the whole day at the beach, maybe home for lunch, but back for more playing and swimming. Cannonballs off the float! Running into the lake and splashing the girls! Building sandcastles or burying your little sister or brother up to his neck in the sand! Picnics by the swings and “jungle jims”!
The Waseca County Free Fair starts today—July 14 through 18th, 12 noon-9 p.m. Come out to Hodgson Hall and see the big map of Clear Lake, and so many photographs starting from the 1880s to the present! When did Lakeside Golf Club get built? Who stroked the first golf in Waseca? Why did the Chautauquas come to Waseca? What is so special about Maplewood Park? Were there really steamboat rides on Clear Lake? Were there really waterslides on the beaches around Clear Lake?Where was “Lovers’ Lane”? Where did someone raise minks? And chickens? --On Clear Lake!!
The Waseca County Historical Society invites you to visit Hodgson Hall—see the big map of Clear Lake historic sites, buy some Used Books, or posters, or t-shirts; see the Log Cabin and the District #41 School Room, play some 1960s LPs (What are those?), see the 1920s Sock Knitter “crank out a sock,” and enjoy the cheapest pop, ice cream and popcorn at the Fair!
Look Forward to Our Past!Support WCHS with membership or a donation!
Todd Ellis was a Waseca kid back in the 1970s. Todd love the action of a small town, everyday ball games in backyards, at the park, constant action! The real highlight of his playing days was taking runner-up in Minnesota High School Class AA baseball in 1981. (In those days, there was only 2 classes, A and AA).
In Todd's words, "Leading up to the playoffs that year, we we're only an average team. Something clickedin the playoffs when we played nearly flawless defense and had timely hitting. We just kept winning and found ourselves in the State Championship game against Cretin Derham Hall; I think we were all a little shocked that we made it that far but it just goes to show you that when you play together you can go along way. I don't want to leave out the fact that we had great Coach's in Tink Larson and Roger Nelson to lead us."
Todd pitched on that team, great bunch of guys who finished 2nd but will never forget the journey to the top spot! Oh so close but yet far away! Todd and his wife Shelly live in Marshall Mn: Todd has 20 plus years in law enforcement, the last 21 in Marshall. Three kids: the two boys Clay + Nate are baseball players and the youngest Meg is a big time dancer! Todd led the team to the brink of a title, the memories of the hunt are still alive and really that is what sport is all about! Nice job Todd Ellis and enjoy the family!
I found the following article on the Hot Dish Politics page of StarTribune.com
"Rep. Tim Walz, the Republicans’ No. 1 congressional target in Minnesota, took yesterday’s Supreme Court decision as an opportunity to remind rural Minnesota voters his strong support of gun rights.
The high court Monday ruled in McDonald v. City of Chicago that the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms applies to state and local laws as well as federal statutes, two years after stripping strict Washington, D.C., gun control laws.
“This decision upholds Americans’ rights under the Second Amendment no matter where they live,” Walz said in a statement today. “I was proud to stand in defense of those Constitutional rights with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.”
Walz, who has long supported gun rights, was part of a 300-member friend-of-the court brief submitted by Congress in 2009 in favor of the Second Amendment upholding gun rights."
Good for Walz. Any objective read of the Constitution's Second Amendment would conclude that American citizens retain the right to "keep and bear arms." Through the years, the court has allowed some limitations on gun ownership - just as they have ruled that there can be some limitation on other rights, such as free speech. But the Court is rightly cautious about approving any enactments that begin to infringe on our constitutional rights. An outright ban on gun ownership - as sought by Chicago and Washington, DC - needed to be struck down - both loudly and clearly. That is why it is disappointing that this ruling was secured by a narrow five to four Court majority. What Constitution were those other four justices reading? What other constitutional right would they allow a state or locality to repeal or ban?
The Lloyd+Agnes Kelly family had 11 children , the four girls were talented but this was before organized girl HS sports. The boys were Waseca area fixtures starting with Ron as part of the undefeated Sacred Heart Football squad 1944 (John Conway, Lawrence Gallagher, Bernie Haag, Bill Wheelock, Bob and Tom Deef, James McLoone, Donald Webber,Tom Bower, Richard Murphy, Rich Thieves, and Joe Stenson).
Ron according to many was a real the real deal on the fields and courts of Waseca. Jerry a State Farm agent for 40 years in Hastings graduated from SH in 1950 was a all-conference FB athlete and still loves to play golf.
Mike was a star Basketball player at SH, scored about 1400 pts in his career and played for Gonzaga University with Janesville native Gene Volz in the late 50's. They played against Elgin Baylor: later Mpls./LA Laker fame. Mike died in a car accident in his 20's.
Don was the next SH star on the FB, basketball and baseball fields was blessed with great ability and a great supporting class of fine athletes. State tourneys and success followed Don.
Tom and Dan brought up the rear, their Waseca life was suspended with the loss of family in a car accident. Tom and Dan spent a few years on Sacred Heart varsity teams and each ended with teams at Benilde in St. Louis Park! A Basketball state tourney was a bonus for Dan! Tom is a great guy: loves to play golf and is a retired teacher in the Twin Cities. Dan is in Insurance in Colorado with a very athletic family of his own, loves to coach youth and watch his kids grow !
Ray, the seventh brother, passed away in the mid 90's. Lots of ball, many memories for Wasecans with the Kelly's in the Waseca area sports scene, there was a Kelly playing in the 1940's thru the mid 60's!
The Kelly Boys were a huge part of Waseca area sports, many team mates remain in this area. Thanks for the memories!
Chautauqua 2010 (say, “Shuh-taw-kwa”) is Saturday, July 3, 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. “Just 5 cents for adults, children and servants FREE!” It’s a music festival at Maplewood Park, on east Hwy 14, across from Kieslers Campground!
Look who’s performing--Baptism River Ramblers, Farm Arts Puppets, Shirley & Elvin Groskreutz, Johnny Appleseed, Sacred Harp Singing, Fiddles & Flat Tops, Big Scott’s Lumber Camp, Amy Roemhildt, Al Batt & the Woods, Magic Zack, Fiddlin’ Al Miller, Family Arts & CraftsTent, The Eco-Tent & Derek Anderson, Hot Dogs, Popcorn, Ice Cream & Pop!
Why Chautauqua? Because we believe in this community, this historic Maplewood Park, this beautiful Clear Lake, and we want you to learn about it, and be entertained at the same time. Chautauqua is our gift to the Waseca area community. When was the last time you could buy a wonderful afternoon for one nickel? Ride the tram up the hill. Listen to great music, go for a walk in the woods, have a treat, make something with the kids, enjoy the day!
Former Republican Governor Arne Carlson is outraged by the failure of the current Governor and legislative leaders to honestly resolve our state’s budget shortfall. I share his outrage.
Due to short term fixes and payment shifts, the next Governor and legislature will face a deficit totaling $6 billion (that means a roughly fifteen percent gap between our spending commitments and our anticipated revenue). To draw attention to this budget crisis, Carlson has announced that he will conduct a Paul Revere style tour of Minnesota to essentially “sound the alarm” about the budget and to call for an honest discussion of the tough choices that lie ahead.
I applaud Carlson’s idea to tour the state and humbly offer him these suggestions.
Try to schedule half a dozen regional events — hopefully hosted by a local Chamber of Commerce (and potentially co-hosted by groups such as the Assoc. of Minnesota Counties, the League of Cities, and the School Boards Association). Duluth, St. Cloud, Moorhead, Worthington, Mankato and Rochester would cover Minnesota’s rural geography pretty well — and these are all media centers. I would expect that the North Metro Chamber and the West Metro Chamber would also have an interest in sponsoring an event, as they both frequently schedule political and public policy programs.
Hold off on these events until after the August 10 primary (allowing time to organize and also to build anticipation) and then challenge all three gubernatorial candidates to participate (as well as inviting area legislative candidates to attend). With or without gubernatorial candidates, the event must begin with you (and/or others of your choosing) laying the groundwork for the discussion on Minnesota’s fiscal future. This would set forth the size of the problem, the long term nature of the challenge (including demographic factors), the degree to which the state’s budget woes are tied to local government services (cities, counties and schools), and the need for fundamental reform in many areas (including health care and education). This might also include a critique of the many short term fixes recently adopted and the danger of continuing down this path.
Questions to be posed to the candidates would cover topics such as: Which (if any) part of the budget is off-limits to cuts — and why? For what purpose should LGA be continued — and what, after all, is the state’s responsibility to cities? Which mandates on counties should be eliminated — and what budgetary savings would that secure? Is the state’s school aid formula delivering the results we seek in education? Can we achieve desired education results without more money? Should counties, cities and schools be given revenue options (other than the property tax) in order to fund local services? If state taxes are not to be increased, can you specifically identify savings — by means of spending cuts — that would total $6 billion? If you propose state tax increases as a means of addressing the budget shortfall, which taxes would you raise and what amount of revenue would that generate? Which (if any) of your proposed budget solutions would attract support from members of the opposing party — and how and why do you believe that you could secure that support?
Actually, these are the kinds of questions that every voter should be asking — so as to hold every candidate accountable by demanding serious answers to serious questions about Minnesota’s budget.
I strongly endorse Carlson’s Paul Revere tour (whether or not he takes my advice on how to do it) because it could change the landscape for candidates in the coming election — and change for the better the nature of our budget debate in the next legislative session.
That's my two cents
Tim Penny is a Waseca resident and former U.S. Congressman. He is a regular Community Perspective contributor. His blog, “Our Two Cents” appears on wasecacountynews.com.
The Lloyd+Agnes Kelly family had 11 children , the four girls were talented but this was before organized girl HS sports. The boys were Waseca area fixtures starting with Ron as part of the undefeated Sacred Heart Football squad 1944 (John Conway, Lawrence Gallagher, Bernie Haag, Bill Wheelock, Bob and Tom Deef, James McLoone, Donald Webber,Tom Bower, Richard Murphy, Rich Thieves, and Joe Stenson) Ron according to many was a real the real deal on the fields and courts of Waseca. Jerry a State Farm agent for 40 years in Hastings graduated from SH in 1950 was a all-conference FB athlete and still loves to play golf. Mike was a star Basketball player at SH, scored about 1400 pts in his career and played for Gonzaga University with Janesville native Gene Volz in the late 50's. They played against Elgin Baylor: later Mpls./LA Laker fame. Mike died in a car accident in his 20's. Don was the next SH star on the FB, basketball and baseball fields was blessed with great ability and a great supporting class of fine athletes. State tourneys and success followed Don. Tom and Dan brought up the rear, their Waseca life was suspended with the loss of family in a car accident. Tom and Dan spent a few years on Sacred Heart varsity teams and each ended with teams at Benilde in St. Louis Park! A Basketball state tourney was a bonus for Dan! Tom is a great guy: loves to play golf and is a retired teacher in the Twin Cities. Dan is in Insurance in Colorado with a very athletic family of his own, loves to coach youth and watch his kids grow ! Ray the seventh brother passed away in the mid 90's. Lots of ball, many memories for Wasecans with the Kelly's in the Waseca area sports scene, there was a Kelly playing in the 1940's thru the mid 60's! The Kelly Boys were a huge part of Waseca area sports, many team mates remain in this area. Thanks for the memories!
Last evening I took my first walk this summer on the Clear Lake Bike Trail. It had been a long day—work didn’t end until 8 p.m., and it was cooling, but pleasant; so I invited my husband for that brisk walk. What a treasure is Clear Lake! It made me remember my very first drive into Waseca many years ago, heading west on Hwy 14 from 35W, seeing the city sign post and then being so pleasantly surprised as the highway curved in front of Kiesler’s—there was a huge, beautiful, blue clear lake in Waseca, Minnesota. The drive past the ball field and Barney’s Drive-In introduced me to stately East Elm Avenue and all the beautiful turn-of-the century homes that reflected a rich history. I didn’t know it on that first trip to Waseca, but I had come home.
I still love to watch the lake, to see the weather reflected in its waters, to see who’s fishing or water-skiing, or who’s just enjoying a pontoon cruise with friends. What do you remember about visiting Clear Lake? Did you grow up in Waseca and go out to Clear Lake Beach all summer? Did you live on the lake or work at one of the restaurants, clubs, boat rentals or liveries? Did you camp up at Maplewood Park? Do you remember the waterslides?
We’re presenting a new exhibit at Hodgson Hall during the Waseca County Fair, July 14-18, “Goin’ to the Lake: The History of Clear Lake”
Share YOUR memories, YOUR stories, YOUR pictures!
Please reply here, or call 507-835-7700, or visit us at Hodgson Hall during the fair.
Look Forward to Our Past—Waseca County Historical Society
Dan Forrest was your typical HS athlete, played different sports each season to experience the competition. Won a team title in golf! Ran a little track, played FB and Basketball: went to college and played with the Johnnies and grew into a nose guard with great results. Wow! Then took that experience and cultivated a teaching and coaching career which made a difference in his life and the kids Dan mentored! Nice job Dan!
Dan started on defense two years for St. Johns at Collegeville,
played for legendary John Gagliardi: Gags is college football's career coaching victories leader.
Dan's Coaching career:
Coached football for 25 years. Coached at Henry Sibley High School, Burnsville High School, and Macalester College. Dan was the head coach at Henry Sibley for 5 years, record there was 26-19. During the five years the Henry Sibley team did win the first conference championship in the history of the school.
Dan Forrest says; "I think the thing I am most proud of in my coaching career is that I helped take two program that had dismal records (Henry Sibley and Macalester) and helped turn them into winning programs. You might remember that Macalester had lost 50 games in a row before we arrived. Henry Sibley had never had a winning season and we had four during my tenure as head coach."
In 35 years of teaching Dan impacted the lives of over 9,000 kids served as an advisor to many clubs and activities, and coached three sports. A Waseca kid who made a difference using sport as a tool to encourage and mentor! Dan Forrest, Sacred Heart class of 1965.
Ron Clayton is an interesting dude, he has lived his dream and passion by working in the golf industry! Waseca native and 3 year letterman in wrestling and golf as a Bluejay, Ron ventured out to Kato State ( now Minnesota State, Mankato) and dominated the golf scene there for four years. After college the list of accomplishment is long and varied.
Minnesota:
3 time MGA Masters Champion (65 and over) and 2007 Minnesota State Senior Amateur Champion. At age 68 was oldest to ever win this 55 and over tournament.
2005 Minnesota Golf Assoc. Senior Tour Overall Gross Champion
Florida:
4 time State Life at 40 Champion
6 time Low Amateur in Florida SR Open
Miscellaneous:
20 Club Championships including 8 at Waseca Lakeside
Ron has shot his age 18 times and counting. Ron mentioned that earning a living in the golf world in sales and visiting the great golf courses of the USA was lots of fun and rewarding: Ron said it best with the following statement:
"Golf has taught me how to handle the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Golf has been a wonderful way of life and presented the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and make many life long friends. Golf is a wonderful environment for families and you rarely hear of a kid who plays golf, getting in trouble."
Ron and his family of: Wife Kathy and sons John & Michael live in Florida but still bleeds Waseca! Michael recently obtained his PHD at the Univ. of Fla. and is a Professor In Virginia.
"Down the middle," with Ron Clayton is good advice in any sport! Another Waseca area athlete to remember from the old days!
The Glynn Boys - Waseca thinks the Glynn's are from town, not true! Gene + Mary Glynn set up camp a few mile SE of Janesville and raised the family on the farm. Mike now in Grand Junction, CO was the first ball player: Don, Dennis, John, Clete, Ray, Joe, and Gene all followed.
Mike, Don, Dennis, John, and Clete played their sport as a Golden Bear for Janesville. All were solid on and off the court/playing field/mat and were on some great teams and played with great athletes themselves! In fact John is known in some circles as that tough nut in the middle with the big grin as he knock you on your backside! Ask the Bluejay and SH players from the late 50's about John Glynn!
Ray, Joe, and Gene went to SH and played until the "new school" was built: Joe and Gene graduated as Bluejays! The Glynn's played lots of ball, played hard, and fair: not only great players and team mates, but good guys! You still see them around the Waseca sports scene as fans of local athletes: still a few nephews/nieces (soon grandkids) dot the rosters of Waseca area teams. (I haven't mentioned the Glynn girls: Colleen, Mary, Helen, Audrey, Maigread, and Erin) The Gene + Mary Glynn family: part of Waseca area sports history!
On Saturday Morning the New York Times ran an Opinion segment on Libertarianism, Rand Paul and Civil Rights. The basic premise was that Rand Paul’s statements were proof that the Libertarian model does not work to protect civil rights (and by extension fails at everything) – but is this true?
The most central argument of the piece is this:
“It was only government power that ended slavery and abolished Jim Crow, neither of which would have been eliminated by a purely free market”
Failure #1 and most blatant is that government power created slavery and Jim Crow. Even if you ignore the direct impacts of what the government did, you are still left with the promotion of racism created by having the laws.
Failure #2 is that government did not end slavery and Jim Crow based on reasoned men in Washington coming to its senses – it was the rising up of individuals against the failures of the state that finally stirred them to action (not unlike the Tea Party on a different governmental failure). The individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr. were indeed free market actors. There should be no pomp and circumstance surrounding the passage of the Civil Rights Act – only shame for waiting so long.
Failure #3 is the notion that they could not have been eliminated by a free market – which fails simply because a market cannot make laws only a government can, as such the market cannot eliminate laws. While this is a bit nuanced it is important. Libertarianism is not limited to free-market-fanatics, Federal-reserve-haters and anti-regulation zealots. Libertarianism stems from a simple belief in a few fundamental rights, the chief of which are property rights. Stemming from natural right philosophy it is asserted that property rights apply not only to our physical possessions but our bodies as well. The main aim of libertarianism is to prevent the unjust use of force against property.
Slavery is theft of property. It cannot be allowed to exist in a libertarian society. Similarly, Jim Crow laws would not exist in libertarian society either. Certainly, actions outlawed by the Civil Rights Act could occur in a libertarian society but this deserves closer attention as well as it points to the fundamental flaw in the NYTimes editorial boards thinking.
First, racism was codified into our society by government. By specifically demoting classes of people to subhuman categories government created the hatred, disdain and intolerance that leads to racist behavior. 45 years beyond the passage of the Civil Rights Act we see the tide of racism subsuming as the institutions that supported it are unknown to a grown generation. The New York Times picked up on this in the immigration debate (the parallel being that immigration laws are the systematic denial of a right for one class that is perfectly legal for another class and criteria for denial – place of birth – is arbitrary). Were the government sponsorship of oppression absent the level of racism, and racist activity, would be greatly reduced.
Second, race based discrimination consistent with Jim Crow laws would be faced with the same social stigma that they face today with or without the Civil Rights Act. Augusta National Golf Course, home of the Masters, cannot be compelled to admit women under the CRA but public pressure has at least moved women on to the waiting list. It was not the CRA that demoted Tom Delay from the Speaker of the House all the way down to Dancing with the Stars (no offense to Dancing with the Stars intended) but rather public outcry over his support of Strom Thurmond. Indeed it is the mass market (free market if you will) appeal of Oprah, Tiger Woods, Elton John, Justin Timberlake and, oh yeah that Obama guy – that have moved acceptance of “others” far more than Washinton v. Davis or Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg ever did.
Lastly, the NYTimes position leads us to believe that government sponsored oppression of select groups ended with the passage of the CRA. While I could point out the direct cases, such as immigration laws, drug laws, Patriot Act and others it is far more insightful to look at the indirect cases. No Child Left Behind, TARP, and the new health care legislation all direct government resources (tax dollars taken from you and I as well as minority groups) to maintain the current class structure that leaves African Americans and others on the outside looking in. This is not to say that government should reverse the policies and promote the needs of minority groups it is just necessary to point out that Jim Crow laws are just more nuanced in 2010 than they were in the early 1960’s.
Quite simply the New York Times argument is no different than thanking an arsonist for helping to put out the fire he started while the arsonist continues to fan the flames.
Looking back on the history of mankind the threat to any discriminated group did not come from shopkeepers or even employers it has always been the coercive state (a few might argue that organized religion has played this role but it is only when they have been granted power by the state or indeed was the state). For the New York Times to pronounce government to be a champion of the oppressed is naïve at best and complicit in the continuance of oppression at worst. I tend to believe the latter.
Beckel - Now Guse! Waseca has had a string of athletes excel in the high jump event in girls track! A few years ago Tressa Beckel was the star, now it is Katie Guse: Guse is in action this week at the SCC meet and Saturday at the State True Team event.
Most HS girls jump around 4'6" to 5" to win in high school meets , not Waseca girls! Waseca girls are usually in the 5'6" plus area: Katie Guse's best this year is 5'9": a little nice weather might bring another few inches and another State Title to the Waseca senior! Beckel and Guse have one person in common: Jumps Coach Larry Jacobson has done a fabulous job as mentor to these two young ladies! Great job Coach!
Ladies/girls high jump in College and High School is competitive but look how good the Waseca girl has been! Guse's 5'9" this year compares with: Big Ten women outdoor finals held May14,2010, winner jumped 5'10 3/4" : The Northern Sun Division Two College meet winner jump 5'6" outdoors: MIAC indoor was won at 5'6", outdoor won at 5'5" : Miss Katie Guse is a great athlete and according to the facts will do well at Augustana College next year. Good luck to all area tracksters this spring!
So the study states that it our reliance on LGA and Federal aid will leave us wanting and instead we should look to local sales taxes and extensive "planning" (Mr. Commers of course owns a firm that specializes in "planning for communities"). I do agree with one of his points on building up and in to use the most of existing infrastructure. But the LGA payments are much closer to a credit card that allow us to make bigger purchases. Had we never started receiving LGA would we have subsidized the new Wal-Mart, paid for the waterpark, downtown streetscaping or other projects? None of these are community needs and in many cases benefited specific landowners at the expense of others.
We can see the Taco Johns and the Verizon Wireless building were rehabilitated and improved without a vast program (they may have received some aid funding but I am not aware of it). It appears that the former Happy Chef and the car wash nearby are being developed (last I heard this was going to be new building site for a bank…don’t know if that is accurate anymore). We can also look at the community education funding as well – should we believe that if the City of Waseca does not fund youth basketball leagues that our youth will degenerate into chubby little blobs incapable of hitting a jumper? If adult softball and volleyball can exist without city funding why can’t youth basketball?
There are countless examples of the city doing what the private sector can do for itself, usually to the gain of select groups or at the behest of benevolent citizens looking to save the barbarians from themselves. When we build a community pool we steal business from pool builders, pull members from the Country Club, siphon business from hotels and allow us to not feel so bad about pollution in Clear Lake. When we subsidize Wal-Mart we disadvantage Econofoods and the downtown dollar store. When we provide for “community education” we compete with for-profit and non-profit entities that would gladly enter that field. Even if we are immune to the favoritism and injustice of these decisions we must be at least somewhat outraged at the wasteful costs involved in the government running these programs.
No different at the school and county levels either. All of this hubbub over Styrofoam lunch trays and the quality of the food and my former hometown even extending school lunches into the summer? The maintenance and construction of County ditches to aid farmers? Let us not forget the kind leaders using our tax dollars to tell us not to eat junk food and quit smoking.
So we are left with the taking of tax dollars, either overtly in our property taxes or covertly through government transfers of income and sales taxes, for our local government to lay blessings on those they favor and advance what “community ideals” they see best. Attacks on the funding of these endeavors are portrayed as attacks on the services itself or others unrelated but more inflammatory – anyone who would cut LGA must want less police protection. Anyone opposing the never ending costs of education must favor our children devolving into mouth breathing Neanderthals. If you oppose economic development you are against jobs and growth.
I offer you a snippet from Bastiat’s essay on Law penned some 150+ years ago in France but still relevant today:
“Modern political theorists, particularly those of the socialist school, base their diverse doctrines on a common hypothesis, certainly the strangest, the most arrogant that could ever have entered a human brain.
They divide mankind into two parts. The commonality of men, with one exception, forms the first; the political theorist, all by himself, forms the second, and by far the most important.
In fact, they begin by supposing that men are endowed with neither motivation nor discernment; that they are devoid of initiative; that they are constituted of inert matter, of passive particles, of atoms without spontaneity, at the most a form of vegetation indifferent to its own mode of existence, susceptible of receiving from an external will and hand an infinite number of more or less symmetrical, artistic, and perfected forms.
Next, each of them supposes forthwith that he himself—under the title of organizer, discoverer, lawgiver, or founder—is that will and that hand, that universal mover, that creative power whose sublime mission it is to reunite into society those scattered materials which are men.
Starting from this assumption, just as every topiarist, according to his fancy, trims trees into pyramids, parasols, cubes, cones, vases, espaliers, distaffs, and fans, so every socialist, according to his caprice, prunes poor mankind into groups, series, centers, subcenters, cells, social workshops, harmonized, contrasted, etc., etc.
And just as the gardener needs axes, saws, pruning hooks, and shears to shape his trees, so the proponent of an artificially planned social order needs the forces that he can find only in the laws in order to organize his society: tariff laws, tax laws, relief laws, and education laws.”
What then should we do? If Waseca were to reject LGA we would find ourselves at a disadvantage to our neighboring communities. If the state rejects Federal funds we would see an exodus to Wisconsin and Iowa as the subsidized states grow and we wither. But if this is true why doesn’t every company that is not subsidized wither and die? How does Federal Express perform the same task as the USPS and still produce profits? How does rail with its privately owned and constructed railways compete with trucking that benefits from taxpayer funded roads (of course railroads are still subsidized but the impact is not as significant as it is with trucking)? How has the internet carried by privately owned wires and cables compete with radio and broadcast television and their government provided monopoly status? How has lightly subsidized Phoenix University grown to its current size against heavily publicly subsidized state colleges? For that matter how did the professional Red Army team fall to the ragtag bunch of US kids in 1980 at Lake Placid? Clearly being on the dole does not mean you are competitive.
Maybe more importantly is the very human ability to use moral judgment. We attend churches, donate to charities, help strangers in need. We refuse to extort others when permissible by law, we don’t drink until our blood alcohol is .079 and drive and rarely test the boundaries of other laws for our own personal gain. This weekend, even though I love the beautiful yellow flowers, I will spray my yard to kill the dandelions. Not for my own good but so they do not infest my neighbor’s yard. Yes we are humans that have pledged ourselves to being Baptists, Mormons, Anti-War protestors and countless other ideologies, penchants and hobbies that subordinate our personal interests for what we feel is best. Is it then not logical that even though removing ourselves from the forced redistribution of wealth is indeed consistent with who we are as humanity?
Of course it does not stop with saying no to the governmental bribes it also requires voting for those who stop the plunder. Those people do exist, they want to serve you and in many cases they are in office but our message to them gets distorted and they perceive we approve of what they do. They are Democrats and Republicans, they are on our City Council, School Board, County Commissioners. They serve in St. Paul and in Washington but we fail to speak to them and they only here the voices of the special interest. They have their minds shaped against what they deep down know to be true.
What do you think? Too many different sports for a school the size of Waseca? Where to start cutting, which sports? Which ones cost the most, or which ones should be saved because of tradition? Waseca no longer has swimming but added boys/girls soccer just a few years ago. Many of the schools in the South Central Conference have fewer sport choices than Waseca but are smaller schools: New Ulm and Fairmont offer about the same sport choices! I think extra-curricular/sports are as important to our community as the regular class schedules, what do you think?
In the Twin Cities a few schools are adding a all-weather turf football fields in tough economics times: they feel sports are that important and look to save on maintenance costs! When is the last time you took a look at the facilities of local school districts: are we up to date?
YES!!!! Another month has passed! I recently wrote on my Facebook that I wish I could fast forward time to get me home then turn on the slow motion so that I could spend a ton of time with my wife and kids. These deployments sure make me think about how lucky I am to have great wife and kids. I sure would not be the person I am today without them.
Happy Mother’s Day by the way to my wife and mothers!
We have been working hard this previous month. As SSG Savre wrote we are looking forward to getting out of here and back home. It sure has been a growing experience and this deployment will remind me of all of the great things I have at home. Warm clean showers, big soft beds, carpet, sinks, soap, flushing toilets, grass, trees, and on and on… I think it is ok to say that I will see most of you next month.
May started out with a memorial run/walk for our fallen brother SPC Cauley. SSG Savre and another Soldier came up with the idea a few months back and all of us jumped on board. We had a T-shirt designed, ordered, and shipped from Minnesota. Banners were made to commemorate the event. Our battalion came in and made it a bigger event than we dreamed of. They built a building for all of the Soldiers that has TVs, PlayStations, Wiis, phones, computers, and a theater. All of the equipment was donated by the USO. The building dedication was the same day as the run. Our battalion decided to call this new building Cauley’s Corner. It was and is such a fitting tribute to SPC Cauley. We started our run early in the morning, with about 500 Soldiers participating! We ran 4.03 miles, significant because that was Cauley’s truck number, 403. After the run we dedicated Cauley’s Corner and then had a talent show. It was a great way to start our last full month in Afghanistan.
Another surprise delivered by the USO was an acoustic concert by Toby Keith. He came to FOB Leatherneck and put on a great show for all of us on the FOB. This was another great way to finish out or deployment.
Now we are focusing on getting home safe and sound. Many of us have looked back at the last year and have some sense of pride to take with us. We have been a great group of Soldiers and we have definitely shown our Active Duty family that the Minnesota Guard is pretty awesome!
This will probably be my last blog until I return to the states. I thank all of you for reading this far. Please continue to check back. See you soon!!
Tennis in Waseca is a big deal! Don't think so? Most successful spring program in Waseca Schools! I know you baseball guys cringe whenever tweaked a bit, but New Ulm is a baseball town and Waseca is a Tennis town! Boys tennis has been great: but girls and boys Tennis own Waseca in terms of success!
Denny Anderson, Benny Streitz, Joel Wessman,Shaun Bochman, Brian Robran, Sam Conway, Tyler Kolpin, and Kevin Bauleke all had stellar careers in playing singles for Waseca Boys tennis! 2010 number one singles guy is Patrick Flor: this season will determine if he joins the list of the great Waseca tennis players!
Waseca tennis is closing out the regular season soon, get out and see a match, so far the doubles teams have produced big time. Tennis in Waseca a great sport and great fun!
It seems as though we in the US seem bent on fighting symptoms rather than the underlying condition lately.
In health care we passed the “Affordable Health Care Act” so that we could reduce insurance costs…it didn’t really do anything to fix health care it just attempted to reduce insurance costs – a symptom of a broken health care system. Of course we are now finding out that the great bill didn’t even do that so the brain trust in DC is planning a new bill to fix what they just broke.
The State of Arizona is following the crazy train as well with it’s new immigration law that allows police to stop anyone who looks like they might be an illegal immigrant and demand papers. Guess I will have to cancel my visit to the Grand Canyon since my sons are Hispanic. Have the good folks in Arizona thought through the problem at all? Why do we have illegal immigration? The easy answer is “We don’t protect our border” but the complete answer is that there is a demand for labor in the US that exceeds the government determined legal supply. Big labor on the left and xenophobes on the right have dictated immigration quotas to restrict the flow of labor that our economy needs. The impact for us? Labor rates are held higher – not so bad right? Well it is fine until a manufacturer is faced with a decision to expand or contract manufacturing in the US. Off-shoring and out-sourcing are decisions based primarily on labor rates. Eventually, following the current policy, we will end illegal immigration by moving all manufacturing jobs to China. Just remember that when that happens we lose supervisor positions, management positions, and cripple businesses that are supported by local manufacturers (office supply stores, hardware stores). Your 3 step Widespread Panic solution:
Remove the quotas – allow for millions of 9 month work visas.
Stop spending on illusory border enforcement (12-20 million illegal immigrants are here in the US already – we are just pouring money down a drain). Move those funds into speeding up the visa process.
Flat tax of 15% on work visa payroll. Covers the cost of the program and benefits received by workers.
No more illegal immigration, no more identity theft, no more wasting money on porous borders, detention and deportation and you bring jobs back to the US.
…And for the “they are taking our jobs” crowd I offer two thoughts. First you are going to lose your job to China, India or some country if the trend continues at least under this scenario you have a chance to compete for your job. Second, if you get beat out for “your job” by someone who is faced with a 3000 mile journey, doesn’t speak the language and can only stay for 9 months at a time it wasn’t “your job”.
Then we have the folly of financial reform. The simple response from the Washington echo chamber is that all we need to do is regulate banks and we will never have another boom-bust cycle or have to offer up a bailout. The truth is that booms and busts are a natural economic phenomena that isn’t going away, and if you are against bailouts…ummm don’t bailout companies! Financial regulation creates the game that the Masters of the Universe enjoy playing. Government regulation leads to innovation designed to get around and through regulations as the primary goal rather than innovation that serves customers and markets better. We have seen this with our tax code – the home equity loan is great because you get a tax preference on the interest so people over sell their homes to the banks to finance cars, vacations and cute little garden gnomes. The same is done within the confines of Goldman and their ilk. The second failure of regulation is the cost of compliance cements the big banks at the top. The mom and pop financial institution is unable to take the next steps in growth because of regulatory costs. To a Goldman the regulation costs are offset by less competition from below. Look at what Sarbanes-Oxley did to competition in the Accounting industry - small CPA’s can run from audits quick enough. For the flip side look at the largely unregulated electronics industry where quality, innovation, and safety are accompanied by great affordability.
Is there a thread in our misguided battles above? As Ronald Reagan once stated (but never really followed…) “Government is not the solution to our problems, government is our problem.”
(This is not an original piece by us, the author is unknown. It speaks to the people we hope will donate stories, artifacts and information about their childhoods here in Waseca County. Does any of this sound familiar to you?
Tell us!)
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down
the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Play Stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cellphones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms--WE HAD FRIENDS, and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids, so they will know how brave their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?
Went to the Drake Relays once again Saturday April 24th. Over 7200 athletes compete with over 14,000 fans in attendance on Saturday as the many current/former Olympians strut their stuff for the fans! The weather was great until the very end, great times and distance early in the track/field season world wide! A few highlights were:
Saw Kalie Meurer from Waseca run for UW River Falls, they made finals in 4x400.. Watched the mile with Bernard Lagat the Olympic champ in 5000m get beat but 6 of the runners ran under 4 minutes! Saw Christian Cantwell grunt a 71 ft.plus shot ! Enjoyed a Woman's High Jump of 6'5": Chaunte Lowe set a new Drake record and best in the world so far this year! Saw a HS girl from Iowa run the fastest time in the USA so far this year in 1500 meters 4:28.30 Saw Olympian LoLo Jones get beat in 100m hurdles, in a bang -bang finish! The mens HJ started at 7'1" winner went 7'3". Watched Shane and Cole Streich high five Bernard Lagat - Priceless! Watched a 45.08 400meters! Watched Wallace Spearman - Olympian run 20.20 and win a special 200m! The top 20 milers for HS boys ALL ran under 4:30: Woman's 100m special race was won in 11.06! HS girls 800m was won in 2;09! HS girls HJ 6"1"!
A unique highlight was with 2 races to go in the 4x400 they cleared the stadium because of a lightning storm, had never experienced that before! Drake Relays, you need to put this event on your bucket list!
Ben Janike is a nice guy, always smiling, he is in the people business at Snap Fitness in Waseca. FITNESS a problem for all, is the life of Ben! You may need a tune - up or a complete rebuilding job: Ben has the tools and the know how to help you get back that figure or muscle tone that faded away!
Seven athletic letters in HS: football, wrestling, and track.
Three letters in wrestling at Minnesota State, Mankato.
Best Coaches ever Gary Meurer and Kent Harris at Waseca High School! The coaches did something right since Ben Janike is the only HS wrestling champ in Bluejay history! 2002 Hwy champ Waseca HS for the State of Minnesota!
Lesson Learned -----NEVER EVER FOR ANY REASON QUIT!
Ben says: "Staying in shape in post college athlete seasons, is not as hard as one might think but it also helps that I work in a Fitness Club".
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Ben's bride Elizabeth, was an athlete: she was an amazing HS softball player at Prior Lake ! Athletics has been good to Ben, his background and people skills could help you lose a few pounds! Stop into Snap Fitness and shake hands with the Champ, Ben Janike!
Is anybody else wondering, with all the state legacy funds available, why do Waseca’s arts and history organizations still need “community enhancement” grants from the City of Waseca?That was the question posed by Waseca City Councilman Larry Johnson at the City’s work session last evening (April 6).
The Answer: Because by state legislative guidelines, the legacy funds cannot be used for operating funds (rent, utilities, insurance, staff salaries) OR to supplant current funding by other sources. Legacy funds must be used for NEW programs and projects. In short, legacy funds were intended to GROW these organizations. However, in this economy, it’s getting more difficult to grow programs without the organization itself surviving. THIS IS WHY WE NEED LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL AND MEMBER SUPPORT FOR THE OPERATIONS OF ESSENTIAL NON-PROFITS! Simple, minimal support leverages so much more! With staff in place they can apply for Legacy funding for new programs and projects that benefit Waseca and the whole county! Take it away, and all energies of staff and volunteers go into just trying to survive, i.e., keep the doors open.
It seems that’s the direction we’re heading—survival mode for arts and history in Waseca County. As Governor Pawlenty has cut LGA, so it seems our City and County governments may have to cut local agencies, departments, etc. And the Waseca City Council indicated that next year will be worse, and the year after that . . . until this recession is over.
For us, as non-profits, it’s a “squeeze play.”
All that Legacy money coming into state coffers, but not to be used for operating funds. At the same time, the governor cuts LGA, and our local governments have less to support local non-profits.
The City is not uncaring. The April 6 work session revealed how staff and departments have offered up cuts that will save a lot of money. We are “all in this mess together.” It is extremely important that all citizens and boards understand HOW non-profits are funded. It’s a balancing act, and we need local government to support its share of our OPERATING FUNDS. It’s what saves government from supporting them in total.
You know, the more I look at the recently passed health reform law, the more alarmed I become. My concern relates primarily to the phony financing of this new program – which offers health coverage for 30 million uninsured Americans (either by adding them to the Medicaid program or by offering them government subsidies to buy insurance).
First, there appears to be a double count of savings achieved in the federal Student Loan program. Budget savings are accomplished by eliminating banks from offering student loans and these cost savings – totally perhaps $70 billion over ten years - are then used to help pay for costs associated with the new health law. But legislators know full well that these same dollars are intended for expanded Pell grants for college students. You can’t spend the $70 billion both ways.
Second, the health reform law creates a new Long Term Care insurance program. Like Social Security and Medicare, a dedicated tax is supposed to set-aside money to be used to pay for long-term care in the future. However, these dollars are being spent as fast as they are collected to pay for other health programs (just as the Social Security Trust Fund has been raided to pay for non-Social Security programs over the years). It is deceptive accounting to pretend that we are pre-funding the Long-Term Care program when this money is not being honestly saved for that purpose.
Third, the health reform bill also raises new HI (Medicare) tax revenue and uses these dollars for new health programs - while at the same time crediting these dollars to the Medicare Trust Fund. Again, you can not simultaneously spend these dollars now and save them for Medicare later.
Fourth, extra tax dollars are anticipated in coming years due to increased income that will be subjected to the Social Security payroll tax. Not surprisingly, these new revenues are double counted to cover part of the cost of new health programs while also being credited to the Social Security Trust Fund. Like the Medicare double count – you can not spend these same dollars twice.
Fifth, nearly fifty percent of the new health programs costs are paid for by savings in the Medicare program. The simple fact is that Medicare is already becoming a drain on the general fund budget – a problem that will only grow worse as babyboomers retire. Trimming Medicare costs and then spending those savings on new programs does not help us get out of our fiscal hole.
Finally, Congress is now pursuing - with separate legislation - a Medicare "Doctor's fix." This legislation – which is certain to pass - is designed to restore physician payment levels under the Medicare program. This “fix” will cost about $200 billion over the next ten years - which alone exceeds (and therefore wipes out) the projected $138 billion surplus over ten years that CBO projects for the health bill.
As you can see, none of this helps us to address the federal government’s long term fiscal imbalance - and - alarmingly - will very likely make matters worse.
That is my two cents.
Tim Penny
Jack Williams is an interesting guy! I do not always agree with the politics but I like the man! Debbi, Ed, Mark, Krissy and Jim are the kids and of course Mary is the glue! Why am I writing about Jack? A few ballplayers in the family, has attended many different cultural events, is a fixture at the plays put on by the school district, but the reason is FOOTBALL! Jack has been the voice of Waseca FB for 39 years and some 160 games: WOW!
When you attend a FB game in Waseca, Jack is the voice of welcome, the voice of First and Ten, the voice of who made the tackle or who scored a TD! Jack has been there so long that the few times he was MIA people got concerned! Where's Jack? Did he retire?
The truth is: Jack is retired from the day to day school routine after 33 year in 2002. I knew there was something special about Jack's background other than Band, Band Festival, Parades, plays, concerts, teacher of the Year award, etc. He coached 7th grade track one year, I had a feeling of a sprinters speed inside Jack! Congrats Jack and thanks for being a Bluejay!
Contact Steve Conway at steveconway47@yahoo.com
I thought it would be a good idea to have my co-worker write a blog for the readers. SSG Heidi Savre is from Moorhead and works in the Administrative section with me. She wrote the below for one of our monthly newsletters. I don’t think I could have summed up the last month any better. Thanks for reading!
We may not be experiencing the first big snow melt, looking for the first robin, or for the green grass to grow but Spring is in the air here for the Soldiers of the 114th Transportation Company!!! The switch has been flipped from cold to hot and from heat to air conditioning. However just like being at home, spirits are rising with the temperatures and longer days spring cleaning is being done and everyone is enjoying being outside working and partaking in extracurricular activities (when time permits).
As missions continue, Soldiers are also starting the preparation for our departure. Inventories, inspections, prepping and packing of equipment, paperwork and even mailing personal items home. We are also finalizing plans for our first Specialist Cauley Memorial Run being held here at FOB Leather-neck. T-Shirts and banners are in and Soldiers are training for the 4.03 mile run/walk. Our fellows Soldiers in the 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion have shown the touching gesture of naming the first MWR center “Cauley’s Corner.” We are hoping to have the dedication ceremony the day of the run to make it that much more memorable.
Soldiers of the 114th have received an amazing amount of support and have recently “paid it forward” so to speak. With a new unit arriving, we have shared the support with providing some of the basic hygiene items and snacks. The Soldiers, from Rocky Mount N.C., received a dose of “Minnesota Nice” we have all been so fortunate to receive the last 10 plus months.
We are all focused to finish off our mission and looking forward to our return to Minnesota and respective States.
The Howard Boys were Jim 1958, Chuck 1961, Butch 1964, and Bruce 1969. The Howards roamed the parks, fields, and courts of Waseca for over 10 years. In that time frame many a baseball game saw a Howard in Center Field or behind the plate and usually a difference maker offensively! Chuck a catcher and the free spirit of the group, is now retired living in Wabasha, Mn. Bruce was a outdoors lover and passed away just a few years ago. Butch was a Bluejay QB in Football, played a number of years on the baseball and softball fields of Waseca. Butch's sons Kyle and Andy were Bluejay athletes and great guys! Butch loved to golf and passed away on the course enjoying the game.
Jim is the oldest and the baseball center-fielder most remembered by area fans. Jim played HS sports with Mike Gray, Wayne Johnson, and others. It is so long ago that a young first year coach named Manny Beckmann roamed the sidelines! In 1957 as a Senior in HS Jim played center-field for the State Champ Class A Waseca Braves with Vern Edmunds on the mound! Jim says that experience was a highlight in his athletic career dotted with results and great teammates! Jim and bride Sally live in Plainview, Mn: raised a family of girls and now spoils 4 grand kids. Jim has worked for years with CO Brown Insurance in Rochester, Mn. Jimmy Howard: one of the good guys, a class act, and a heck of a ball player!
Tommy James played basketball in Waseca in the mid 1950s. QB in football but the real deal was basketball for Sacred Heart and Coach's Arnie Giebel and Jim Korth. Jim Murphy, Mike Gerdts, Bob Hayes, Jim Hagerty, Mike Kelly and others played with James: Outstanding Player in the 1956 State Catholic Basketball tourney as the SH team finished 5th place! James also was named to the 1956 All-State team along with former SH coach in the mid 60's : Pat Sullivan of Marshall! Tommy James was a scorer, smooth and relentless on the court, even to this day credits his teammates for his success. Tom and his wife Donna live in New Prague, Mn and still attends area sporting events as a fan of kids! Basketball tourney time and Tommy James brings back pleasant memories for many Waseca fans! Nice job Tom!
Mauer is not worth the money! I think the Kool Aid sold by the Twins must be pretty strong and tastes really good! I have yet to here anyone say this Joe Mauer deal smells like rotten eggs! I must admit I was against the stadium and I thought the Pohlad family could build their own monument! I do move on in life, stadium is done, all you people hungry for out door baseball are fighting for tickets, I will go someday but not the first year. I disliked the Dome but you knew when the game was scheduled it would be played and it was warm................ Back to Mauer: 23 million would buy the three players the Twins need to win the pennant! I hope he has a huge year, seems like a great guy and we know he is a great player but we won with Laudner catching and hitting .196 didn't we? I feel a third baseman, another starting pitcher, and a reliever to replace Nathan were thrown away! Like Al Davis from the Oakland Raiders says: "Just win baby, just win!" Go Twins!
School and sports have always gone hand in hand, it is a part of our subculture! Guess what? It is changing before our very eyes. Home schooling, open enrollment, private schools, and money are the vehicles of change in sports. Should a kid play ball for the local school district even though he/she does not attend during the day? Mom and Dads throughout Minnesota home school the kid and drive them to practice for the extras. How about the kids who play for an area school to play for a certain coach or to play for a better team than their home district? Open enrollment has changed many a conference or state title into pain for some and joy for others! How about the private school competing with different rules than a public school? Money! The lack of it causes you the fan to pay more in taxes and tickets, is it less painful with a winning team? Times are changing, what do you think? It is tournament time for winter sports, pay attention to the teams, see a game in person or on TV. The NCAA tourney isn't the only game on the set!
The name says it all Szyszka! Dale class of 1958, Vern 59, Don and Dick 61, and Bob class of 62: brothers who raised havoc on the fields and courts of Sacred Heart in Waseca. Vern was the real deal! Many a veteran football fan in this area still remembers the fear in the opponents eyes caused by the image of Vern Szyszka! The words imposing, mean, nasty, tough, dominating, unbelievable, and just down right scary come with the memory of Vern! These are assessments by players who were great in their own careers and people from the other towns licking their wounds! Vern lettered 5 years at SH in FB, also ran the basketball court on some pretty good teams and did a little track in the spring. Coaches for SH in those days were Billy Marton, Jim Korth, and Arnie Giebel.
Vern went to St. Thomas College for a year, married the beautiful JudyJohnson from Waseca and embarked on a long career in Meat Inspection for the State. Vern and Judy live in Lake City,Mn still loves to fish and spends time with son Brian's family: daughter Ann's family and the 8 grand children. Vern is one of the good guys you get to meet in your life time! I am sure the fear he instilled in the SH opponents 50 years ago isn't felt by those grand kids!
The rest of the Szyszka boys? Dale is in Grand Rapids, Mn: Don is in Falls Church, Virgina: Dick is in California: and Bob has passed away! What a crew! The Szyszka Boys part of the Waseca sports scene!
Larry and Mary Halverson moved to Waseca just in time to watch the Bluejays go to the State basketball tourney back in the 70s. Fun time to come to our city, the love affair for sports started back in the Canby, Mn HS days and has continued.
Most people have seen Larry drive for Clemons Bus Lines: he is the guy who drives to the games/events and is always happy to see the kids and parents win or lose! Safety is important but to have a real fan drive and watch your kid perform is really the story with Larry! Not only a fan of the Bluejays, Larry is the main driver for many of the Shattuck hockey and soccer teams as well!
Clemons Coaches with Larry behind the wheel travel all over the country with the elite Shattuck programs, Larry the fan sees some pretty good hockey as well! The next time your son/daughter goes to an event, ask them if they had Larry as the driver, if they did they were safe and had a fan of kids in the drivers seat!
Thanks to Marla Rohl for recommending "The Shack <http://theshackbook.com/> " bought it, read it and handed it off to my wife in about 12 hours - great book, a moist eye or two in the process. Best book I have read in at least 10 years.
Went to Center for the American Experiment "WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT CUTTING BUDGETS <http://www.americanexperiment.org/events/2010/2010-03-02.php> " Featuring Tim Penny and Rudy Boschwitz. Tim's key statements were (paraphrasing here) "The legislative body will never approve a budget lower than what is offered by the Executive" and "Control the process and you can control the budget". Does the new Superintendent count as the equivalent as the executive in a School district? If so a key question in interviewing might be "are you fiscally conservative?". Rudy also stressed process when it comes to budget and wants a two year budget in Washington. Not to pat myself on the back too much but I offered the idea of a two year capital improvement budget for the city of Waseca and I feel we were much more effective. The event was interesting, I sat with Joe Repya who recently suspended his candidacy for Governor in the Independence Party - there seems to be a little infighting there. He is especially unhappy with Barkley courting the Tea-Party movement.
I hate to see Teresa Walters leave - she was a great Finance Director and helped the council stretch budgets more than seemed possible.
Now I get my weekend update from the Waseca County News and they tease that Crystal is a top contender for a position in Arizona? Say it ain't so Crystal!!!
I am working on an LGA piece that I hope will show the effects of LGA changes on total budgets and staffing levels.
Sport fans, we all know someone who sticks out as a FAN! Jim Goetz was at most basketball and baseball games I attended, he enjoyed watching the Bluejays! Vic Swensons, Gordy Larsons, Bob Kiselbachs, Don Wobshalls, and Gene Glynns: couples who attend together and seemed to be fixtures for years at Waseca sporting events!
My friend Dwain Nelson just passed away! Dwain and Marilyn raised 3 Bluejays: in-turn the grand-kids are Bluejays. The main event was baseball with wrestling a second choice: but soon softball, tennis, and basketball became must see on the social calender. County fairs with the lemonade stand fit in there someplace! Sports and family, work and family, leisure and family, Dwain and Marilyn always included family and friends in their activities. Dwain suffered the past few years, in case you did not know him, he was the guy in the wheel chair across the gym or field with family nearby watching the game. The Conway kids were blessed to have the Nelsons as friends and fans as well, thanks Dwain and Marilyn for treating my kids like family! Dwain will be put to rest his week, nice guys finish first!
Well fans, it is tournament time! Hockey, Raslin, Gymnastics,Swim/diving, and Basketball. This is what you practice for and work for, now it counts! The regular season is to prepare for the run to make the State tourney!
Remember when Janesville beat Waseca for the District Four Title? Yes, at one time there were sub-districts, districts, and regional tourneys! That was when there was one class in all sports and they eventually added the second class: and in some sports as many as 5 classes. The result to me is confusion! Once again we provide opportunity which in reality waters-down the success as we want everyone to win and be happy? I follow sports and I can't remember all the state participants from last year and I really can't remember the State champs either! Can you?
Remember tourney upsets? Sometimes teams with great record fall in the first contest! Sometimes the finals provide great drama with joy and sadness for others! Get out an enjoy a tourney contest, HS sports at its finest will be yours for the next couple weeks! Good Luck to the athletes and to the FANS!
I have written of political hypocrisy in the past. But it seems our elected leaders keep providing us with more examples. Here are a few of the most recent.
In Washington, a bi-partisan group of Senators proposed creating a commission tasked with crafting a deficit reduction plan. Yet, nine Republican legislators who co-authored this legislation ended up voting against it. It is hard to understand how someone could sponsor a bill – but then vote against it.
In Saint Paul, in bi-partisan fashion legislators passed a law to restructure the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program designed to cover the indigent. The initial vote was an overwhelming 125 to 9. Yet, after a gubernatorial veto, the override vote was 86 to 47 (three votes shy of the required two-thirds needed for an override). How could so many legislators switch their vote on this bill?
On ethics, hypocrisy is also evident. A few years ago, Democrats railed against the ethical transgressions of several Republican congressmen and derided what they termed to be a “culture of corruption” in Washington. On several occasions they called for unethical Republican legislators to step down from leadership positions. Now, as they are in control of Congress, Democrats are singing a different tune. Democrat Charlie Rangel of New York, the powerful chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, has been found to have violated ethics rules by taking trips funded by private corporations. It also appears that he did not properly disclose all of his sources of income – as required by ethics rules- and that he failed to pay taxes on $125,000 of income from rental property. At the least, Rangel should be asked to step away from his chairmanship until these issues are resolved. But Democratic leaders are defending instead of denouncing Rangel. When it comes to ethics both parties express outrage only when the transgressor is from the other party. But when they have a miscreant in their own midst they seem to take the attitude that “he may be a crook – but at least he’s our crook.”
The Chinese New Year’s celebration started on Valentines Day this year. It’s the Year of the Tiger, still being celebrated. Were there Chinese immigrants in Waseca County’s history? We found one Chinese immigrant who had a laundry business in Janesville, and according to newspaper accounts, moved his business to Waseca in 1903 because of harassment by local boys.
In Waseca his laundry was located on South State Street just north of the old city hall where Quality Print is located today. He likely washed, starched and ironed most of Waseca’s businessmen’s white shirts of the time. Then he was drafted into the army to serve in World War I. On June 27, 1918, he was photographed with the other young men posed front and center against the south exterior of the Waseca County Courthouse. They left that day for training camp. He was a member of the 22nd Company 161st Depot Brigade, Camp Grant, IL.
His stint in the army lasted less than one year. Did he survive World War I? Yes, he did. He
came back to Waseca, but in 1920 he sold his laundry to Mr. Brownson of the Waseca Steam Laundry, and moved to Minneapolis.We recently found his name in the 1930 San Francisco census. This photograph is his service portrait from the World War I book in our Bailey-Lewer Research Library. To see other photographs, join WCHS online, and search “Yep Lun.”
I have been inspired to write you all once again! This morning we were finally allowed to run our half marathon! The Hesco Half Marathon started at eight this morning and it was a perfect day to run. Well for what we have here it was. I thought I would describe what it was like. First off it was put on our friends on the United Kingdom base next to our base. They raised money for two charities and raised almost $6,000! It was great to know that my small donation went to a greater cause!
I do not claim to be a “runner” but do claim to love running. It was something that took me some time to like and eventually love. I have also found that I am a runner that needs to constantly train. I am not a natural and I still have a long way to go. So on to my story for the day.
We started our run as I said at eight this morning. I have written that the temperatures here were cold, well that has changed again, now it is warming up. It feels good to have some heat, as I am sure you are all waiting for! I am also sure that in a few more weeks from now I will be writing about how HOT it is here! I would guess the temp for the run was in the 70’s, perfect!
As we started our run I noticed that it felt much hotter. The first thing I noticed was that the wind was going to be a challenge. It was against us most of the way but it seemed to cool me down. I mentioned to the person running with me that it was funny that the wind was at our faces most of the way and kept us somewhat cool, but when at our backs, it seemed to disappear!
Another thing about our location is that there are helicopters flying all of the time. I could sit and listen to them all day. I love the sound of them above me. Today we had a few fly over us, it was awesome!
The roads we run on are just like the gravel roads in our rural areas. They are pretty beat up most of the time and the dust is crazy. Not as bad as my last blog, but after mile nine, it gets to be a lot! After a few miles, you can feel every rock that you hit, not a great feeling. Traffic here was not stopped for our little run so we had to make sure we were aware of our surroundings.
This course had a lot of turns, which was nice for the changes of scenery but it messed with you a bit, the longer stretches seemed really long! I kept a pretty good pace. I usually run my heart out and then get tired at the end. My new strategy is to get a good pace and stick to it, until the end, and then run my heart out.
The finish is always the best part. Most runners stick around and cheer on the people coming in, it is great to have people out there cheering for you and motivation helps me keep moving. I am always happy with my performance and that I even finished the thing. It was a great morning. Now time to relax for the rest of the day and take care of my legs!
Tonight I have a good story to tell. I have been trying to run as much as possible on our base, training for a half marathon on Sunday. It has been warming up and the time to run is either in the morning or at night. The afternoons are getting warm and the traffic is pretty bad. I am not a morning person, so the night time is the right time for me.
Tonight I was running with a guy from my unit. We noticed the wind was picking up and that some storm clouds were moving in. It seemed to be an ok time to run, my father-in-law runs when it is subzero temperatures, I felt that I could do this little run. We were heading out for our first mile, the wind was pretty strong so we decided to turn around and head back to our tents. It was the second mile that things seemed to change.
As we were running, we saw what looked like a huge cloud of thick black smoke. We knew it was sand, and thought that maybe we should stop to let it blow by. My previous Iraq experiences told me that most sand storms do not just “blow by”. We decided to run head first into it, hoping that it would not be that far until we were out of it. I could feel the sand starting to hit my face, not hard but I could feel it. Soon I felt like I was in the middle of a good old Minnesota fog. I could not see any lights in front of me, or my running partner behind me. I stopped a couple of times to flash my light on him, he flashed his light back. As we ran, trash was blowing all around us. I felt like I was in a horror movie, waiting to hear him or myself being sucked up by the huge storm cloud.
It only took us about five minutes, but felt longer, to make it through the cloud and back to the lighted streets. We laughed about how we saw it and decided to take it on. I took a picture of myself; it does not do justice to the amount of dust that is blowing around or what is in my lungs, but it makes my hair look almost white. I am sure I will be coughing it up for the next year.
1. Restructure teacher positions. There should be 2-3 Master Teachers for each grade K-8, a Master Teacher would an exempt position that would be responsible for providing teaching, coordinating teachers, curriculum development and leadership. A master teacher would a track record of leadership, dedication and performance, accordingly they would be paid a premium salary. Each student in a grade would have a Master Teacher meaning that a Master Teacher would have 50-70 children in their stable. There would still be additional teachers that would be primary educators but they would be positioned under the Master Teacher. At this point an example might be helpful...
According the Hartley website there are currently 5 Third Grade teachers and about 120 students (again I do not have specific numbers and this serves as an example), this would change to 2 Master Teachers and two standard teachers. The Master Teachers would develop tracks for students based on educational needs and assign them to proper teacher (Master or Standard). So instead of a teacher teaching a broad cross-section of 24 kids the same material that regardless of the students ability (Sally may learn the concept in 12 minutes while Dave needs 32 minutes) a teacher would teach 30 kids that are bunched a little more closely together. The end result is more efficient and individualized education for the children and the net saving of 1 teacher per grade. (Another alternative would be making teachers more vertical you would still have Master Teachers at the grade level but standard teachers might become Math teachers for grades K-3).
This change could net a reduction of 10-12 positions, the Master Teachers would absorb a portion of that savings in increased pay but would be worth the additional salary. The expectation is that these positions would be filled by superior teachers, because they are exempt employees they would not be bound by tenure or seniority. These Master Teachers would be tasked with, and supported in their efforts to, raise the overall level of Core subjects (math, reading and communication).
2. Special Education instructors will be stretched - Special education instructors perform a vital service and by no means do they have an easy job but as the budget is tightened they would be asked to help with mainline student education. This may mean grading papers, helping with curriculum development or other activities to ensure that quality is increasing.
3. Reduce athletic programs - Waseca School District does not have the resources to offer the full slate of sports, even moreso it cannot offer the depth and quality in the full slate as each sport fights each other for scarce resources. The District needs to make a conscious choice to specialize and excel in 3-5 sports. More resources would be available to those sports so that they could accommodate the level of interest and be fully supported. Students wanting to participate in other sports would be allowed the opportunity but they would have to bear the expense.
4. Reduce elective programs - Again the idea here would be to select a small number of programs and do them very well and move out of other areas. As with sports there is value in each of the activities but quantity is the enemy of quality given limited resources.
5. Use Community Education to support the core subjects as well as #3 and #4. Offer courses in Vedic Math, number puzzles, Harry Potter reading workshops, pen pal clubs, etc - take the commitment to excel as far as it can be taken. If the District decides Tennis is one of the sports that they will support Community Education can increase their tennis offerings at younger ages to build skills and interest. If French is the foreign language option that is chosen by the district this can be augmented with French Literature courses, French cooking, etc.
6. Actively recruit involvement and volunteerism - give people the opportunity to help in the school, but more importantly let them know that they are welcomed there and critical to the success of education. Talk with area employers about establishing Blue Jay Booster programs that would allow for flexible scheduling to accommodate for volunteering at the school (for parents and non parents!!!). Commercial property owners pay an amazing amount of any levy that is passed, allowing for flex time that reduces district costs is good for the bottom line.
7. Stretch the non-teaching staff - set aggressive goals for administration and support. There is no doubt that the workload is hard and has gotten tougher over the past few years but that is true in every position out there. We are all running lean but we must be leaner. Reduce non-teaching head count by 3 positions district wide.
8. Resist mandates - if you are not being funded start sending communication to St. Paul and Washington stating that you will no longer be able to comply with specific requirements. Tell them what the costs of those requirements are and a deadline by which you will stop complying. Let them respond with waivers or potential sources for additional funding. Squeak loud and often, copy all elected officials.
If, after considering these cuts and others identified elsewhere, there is a need for an additional levy I offer up the following:
1. Do not ask me to support a levy on election day. I do not know if the levy will pass and I do not know who will be spending it. My vote for school board is dependent on the levy, my vote for the levy is dependent on the school board. I realize that there is an additional cost to running the levy referendum separate from the general election but unknowns lead to conservative votes.
2. Talk with the City and County about their plans for tax increases. If you are asking for $400 per student levy, the City is boosting the tax rate by 3% and the County by 4% guess what the vote will be. Figure out what you need, speak with the City and County and all three entities present their needs together. I would offer this to the Council and County Commissioners - shaving your budgets to offset a levy increase would be a great investment in this community.
3. Do not promise cuts if the referendum fails - deliver cuts and allow taxpayers to invest in additions. To put it another way, plan for the referendum to fail. There should be no reacting after the fact, the voters are not taking money away they are just choosing not to add more. Having a business model that can exist without the levy shows that you are doing what is required.
4. Marketing the levy - make they levy short (3 years max), let the public know that if it fails you are committed to the working without it, let others do the talking for you. The economic climate is too uncertain for long term levy, State and Federal priorities and abilities (both on funding and policy) are in flux, committing to a 6 year levy is unreasonable. Let the voters know that you respect their decision on the referendum and that if they vote no that you will not be coming back in 6 months or a year. Most importantly keep the School Board members out of the marketing. If the taxpayers of this community see value in the referendum they will step forward and market the plan, they have the passion and commitment to sell the levy and the School Board doesn't get mired in the politics.
So there it is, my humble solution. It is not offered lightly, advocating for cutting teachers, staff and programming is not something I just toss out there. I have never met a
teacher that wasn't worth more than what they are paid. Sports do so much to build character, leadership and teach life lessons. I am an administrative person and work with administrative people all day - I understand what they do to provide for the success of an organization. I have 5 children that will be in the Waseca School district, one is hearing impaired and requires additional resources. But at the same time there are printers, waitresses, mechanics, machinists and every other occupation that are being squeezed during this time. That doesn't make it right, or make it better, it is just the times we live in.
I do look at these options as providing a step towards leaner more efficient education, there is a lot of technology that can and should be applied to take it from efficient to robust and first class.
And of course something shiny. And a bonus historical shiny .
“The Ice Harvest of 2010 was a glorious day on Clear Lake, cutting 20-inch blocks of ice, playing in the snow, breathing fresh air, and getting a sleigh ride to boot! Thanks to Waseca Central Intermediate School sixth graders and the TEAM Academy sixth graders for attending. Don’t forget to come to Chautauqua next July 3 and see if the ice in the little Ice House survives!
Now, here is a photograph c.1925 of an unidentified man cutting ice on Clear Lake with a rotary ice harvester! If anyone can identify the gentleman, please leave that comment; OR, if anyone knows where we could locate one of these rotary ice harvesters, please let WCHS know!
Thanks to all the volunteers, you’re great!”
The best word I can use to describe Owatonna native Mark Cameron's album "Life of Illusion" is this:
Solid.
First of all, let me address the vocals. As the lead vocalist, Cameron's voice is clear and spot on. Though he may reach towards the top, he never goes over it, which I appreciate. The back-up vocals that support his voice mingle nicely, creating a nice choral effect without over harmonizing.
Musically, the instruments are all played well, with mastery on the harmonica and organ/piano. The guitars are perfect, and the drumming never falters. This album is also not "over produced," meaning it stands on its own feet without the life being mixed and compressed out of it. There is a nice feeling of live recording, particularly on the song "Boxcar Blues."
The style of music is not one that I particularly care for, however, I am sure that it has commercial appeal to people who enjoy a nice bluesy-mixed-with-80's-kitch sort of sound. It reminds me a bit of "Texas Flood" mixed with "Money for Nothing." Does that make any sense?
Anyhow, my biggest issue is the songwriting itself. There is nothing particularly interesting about the arrangements, and perhaps that can be forgiven because of the blues 12 bar aspect, but even the guitar solos feel a little too familiar. I can only listen to three chords over and over again without getting bored for so long. While listening to the album I kept expecting a song to hook me in, but it never really happened. None of the songs made me want to move around, and none of them made me want to learn the lyrics and sing along.
The lyrics are also problematic. I know that music and poetry are not exactly the same, but there is too much "telling" and not enough "showing." The words take themselves a bit too seriously, and they feel forced, like they're trying too hard to be relevant. For example, from the song "Sometimes":
Love is a light that shines in a place you'll never be/ love is a picture in colors you know you cannot see/ love is a wandering soul that knows it will never find a home/ love is a crowd of people, every one of them is all alone.
Apart from the fact that none of these sentiments are very original, I am incredibly tired of being told what "Love" is.
But despite my qualms, I could never call "Life of Illusion" a bad album. It is a bit too down beat for my taste, but I can see how the relaxed or brooding individual would appreciate adding this to their collection. I get the impression that Mark Cameron is best served on the live stage, and you can see him at Katie O'Leary's on Saturday, February 27th, according to my information.
If you see the live show and like what you hear, then definitely pick up "Life of Illusion" to relive the experience.
Turnovers! I like them with fruit , Apple may be the best! Turnovers and basketball give you a bad taste in your mouth, YUK! I enjoy HS basketball, but I am weary of the lack of respect for the game by the locals. You better be able to count past your toes and fingers at a Waseca HS game, the girls are well into the 20s if not the 30s each game, the boys lost to Waterville with 28 TOs.
Think about it: that would be the number of times your favorite team did not get to shoot the ball! PLUS, the frustration , it can't add to the enjoyment of the player or the fan! Please take care of the ball, throw good passes, catch the ball, slow down just a bit and learn to make your team better by playing the game correctly! Basketball is the ultimate team game, you need the other players , it even takes two to throw the ball in play! Leave the turnovers in the bakery, start respecting the game! It is almost tournament time, now is the time to play your best.
The Mcloone boys were part of the Waseca athletic scene in the late 50s, 60s and early 70s. Like many other Waseca kids they honed their skills in the parks and athletic fields, their main field was across the street in Trowbridge park!
Johnny McLoone graduated in 1957; lettered in three sports at Sacred Heart. Excelled in football and track (state champ in 100 yd dash): After law school, resided in Waseca and practiced law the entire time. IV has six children is retired.
Jerry: class of 1959 was the QB on a SH undefeated in football team in 1958 under coach Bill Marton. Jerry was the undefeated state champion in the mile his junior and senior years.. He was a college psychology teacher, and practiced as a psychotherapis. He is married, with two daughters.
Mike, another Sacred Heart grad, lives in Mankato is married to Nancy: (thank God she said yes!) they have six children. Many of you know Mike as a softball player and baseball ump years ago: just a great guy!
Steve has 4 kids he lives in cities and is in sales and of course still in rock and roll! Steve is a member of MN R&R Hall of Fame with the band: Judd! Steve was a runner, football, and basketball player: a 1971 grad of Sacred Heart. Currently CEO of ULTIMASONGS Records.
The McLoone boys made an imprint on the Waseca sports scene, who do you remember in your HS days?
I am happy to be writing this blog for one reason, another month has gone by! I was hoping to write about watching the Vikings win the Super Bowl and how great it was to celebrate with the fan over here. I was also hoping to write you about running a half marathon in Afghanistan, neither of which happened. I do however want to send an update about what has been going on.
First is about the Super Bowl party we did have. It was a dreary day here, about the second day of off and on rain. We did manage to get some horseshoe pits installed, two sets of ladder golf, and a set of bean bag boards up. There were mini competitions going and grills burning. We had a great social hour or two and then most of us headed to our rooms, some stayed up and watched the Super Bowl at 4 am our time.
I would also like to tell you about the crazy weather we have. Many think that in the desert it is always HOT, not the case here. We have been having cold, not Minnesota cold, but cold weather here. I would guess it gets into lows of 30 and highs of 50. One day we had hail and the next sun the day after that is rain. In the mornings, the water puddles are frozen solid and many wear fleece hats and jackets with their long johns underneath. It may be a good thing that we are from Minnesota and we are kind of used to the extreme weather changes. I also find it funny that the one thing that most Minnesota’s can talk about is the weather, no matter what the conversation may be; it begins or ends about the weather.
We will be hitting another critical point in our deployment, double digits. It is a great feeling and many of us have some sort of countdown. It is great to see that the time here is coming to an end and that all of our hard work will start to wind down. It is a great feeling to know that soon we will be back in the USA, where the grass, we hope is green, the water is good enough to drink out of the sink, and we will not have to take a shower with flip flops. I know that my wife and kids are VERY excited to have me home, I am just as excited.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for all of the troops. Thank you to the ones that have served and especially the ones that gave their lives.
Below, herein and forthwith is the Widespread Panic solution to the Waseca School District financial woes.
A couple of caveats as I go through my recommendations:
I am not a school board member, I do not have a source in the district offices so I am piecing this together with the information that I am able to gather on the web.
These recommendations may offend teachers, taxpayers, elected officials, and small children but they do reflect what I see as the best solution from my current perspective. I am very willing to debate and extremely willing to adjust my position based on additional information. I am going with what I know.
This is a recommended solution based on getting through the current financial situation and does not equal long term reform - I do plan to address that in the future, if you would like a sense of my long term feelings try here.
It may be painful to some but this will be a two part series with the structure being outlined here and specific steps being laid out in the next post, if you just want that part you will have to wait. I do recommend reading both posts and considering the steps and the structure together to get the most out of the discussion.
My approach on this is to position the Waseca School District to restructure operations and financial position to provide for stability, a value proposition for all stakeholders (District, Teachers, Students, Taxpayers), and provide the best education possible. This is multiple step approach to fixing the problem, while any of the steps can be taken by themselves in my view this does a disservice to the stakeholders. Making a tactical cut today that is not consistent with a longer term strategy inevitably leads to that cut being replaced in the future. Nobody needs those headaches...if the District is not confident that they will have Styrofoam trays for at least 5-7 years the cut is simply a poorly executed accounting shift that undermines their credibility.
So now we start getting into the good stuff - the core principles that will allow the Waseca Public Schools to deliver quality education at a reasonable price while being viewed as a premium choice for teachers and asset to that enhances the City and County of Waseca.
Quality Education - there is a reason we choose Campbell's Soup over the Hy-Vee store brand - it is consistently higher quality. Quality does not always equate to higher costs - "bed and breakfasts" in many cases provide a higher quality sleep/stay experience than the 5 star hotel. Quality is also subjective and depends on which attributes you are looking at - core curriculum, college prep, athletics, school atmosphere etc. My proposal requires that the district focus on the core educational components of Reading, Communication and Math. Everything else is subordinated to those three disciplines. Everything.
Reasonable Price - another gray term, reasonable to me, you, and the State of Minnesota are all very different things. So as I define it here reasonable price is: state funding = per pupil education costs + facilities and administration + cushion. Additionally there is: transition costs = additional levy. So while I do see a need for an additional levy to get the district from where it is to where it needs to be that number should be well defined and of limited duration. While the levy request will be the center of conversation the crux of the strategy lies in getting the per pupil education and facilities and administrative costs low enough that state funding covers them without a need for a levy - this will have an up front cost.
Premium Choice for Teachers - If you are committed to #1 and want to accomplish #2 you must create a district where teachers are viewed as talent. Not coddled, not handed the keys to the kingdom but recognize they are to education what Brett Favre and Joe Mauer are to their respective sports. If the district shows a commitment to quality education we will attract talented teachers. The flip side of that coin is that teachers of lesser quality will be passed by. This is a critical point and none too simple to manage.
Be an asset to the City and County of Waseca - the Waseca School District is not only responsible for educating our children but it also Waseca's second largest employer and in many cases the Waseca Blue Jay stands as our community's ambassador. The district needs to leverage and enhance these qualities. Improving our schools improves economic development and attracts new families. While there is no doubt that the City and County already realize this there is a need for the three to come together on common purpose.
So that is the vision I see for the Waseca School District, you may see a different vision that will lead you to other recommendations for dealing with the budget - I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. In the end however the School District needs to decide what it wants to be and communicate that to its students, teachers, taxpayers and the community. While the district excels in many ways it has failed in this respect and the end result is failed referendums, fiscal distress and a diminished reputation.
I know a gentleman that was opposed to the last referendum (he also doesn't care for my Converse sneakers - so his judgment may be suspect) that seems to be more open to a referendum this fall. What is the district's sales pitch? What is their plan? I would wager that if you can offer him the right value proposition his vote can be won, along with many more.
Non education related notes:
Coming into Waseca Saturday afternoon I spotted Council Member Clemons digging a stuck motorist out - thanks for being a good person John. I enjoyed serving with you.
Steve Conway - it was nice to meet you on Sunday, I enjoy your blog and your passion for local sports!!
Made the final table of an online poker tourney last night and exited in 5th when my pocket Aces fell to an improbable flush.
Gene is the Dad: all 6'8'' of him, nice guy who had a great 12' shot which served him through HS and Mankato State (Now Minnesota State- Mankato).; Geno has the Waseca HS record of 26 rebounds in one game vs. St. Peter in 1969.
Eric is the son: Eric played for Waseca HS 1997-2000 and is the all time leading scorer in Waseca basketball with 1467 total! I watched Eric a lot ; I still think he could have scored a bunch more if he posted up more often, he was a talent!
The Wood boys: Gene and Eric: played on teams which never made it to the State tourney: Genes 1969 team was upset in the sections and Eric's teams never quite put it together to beat the teams from Marshall HS. What is the measurement of a great team is your eyes? Winning State, making the tourney, or a great regular season? What do you think?
Contact Steve Conway at steveconway47@yahoo.com
Somebody stole my shiny from my last post...actually it was prudently censored by the editor, it probably crossed the line of good taste, but if you are really interested search for Dayjoborchestra on youtube.
All right - I got this in the mail yesterday - Waseca's own, and fellow WCN blogger is going to be at Center for the American Experiment luncheon in St. Paul to discuss trimming the budget. I definitely will be going and am wondering if anybody else would like to carpool/caravan. I am thinking it would be even better if we could maybe swing by the Capitol and visit our new Senator and Representative Kath to get their thoughts on trimming the budget as well. Shoot me an email at matthew.johansen@gmail.com if you are interested.
The best band to ever come out of Minnesota is playing at Busters in Mankato tomorrow night (sorry Schmojoes).
Thoughts on the Greek monetary crisis from Mises.org:
"For the member states in the eurozone, the costs of reckless fiscal behavior can also, to some extent, be externalized. Any government whose bonds are accepted as collateral by the ECB can use this printing press to finance its expenditures.[2] money bids up prices throughout the monetary union.
Each government has an incentive to accumulate higher deficits than the rest of the eurozone, because its costs can be externalized. Consequently, in the Eurosystem there is an inbuilt tendency toward continual losses in purchasing power. This overexploitation may finally result in the collapse of the euro.
Any tragedy of the commons can be solved by privatizing the specific resource. But instead of privatization, governments generally prefer regulation.
Such a regulation was installed for the European Monetary Union. It is called the Stability and Growth Pact, and it requires that each country's annual budget deficit is below 3% and its gross public debt not higher than 60% of its GDP. Sanctions were defined to enforce these rules.
Yet the sanctions have never been enacted and the pact is generally ignored. For 2010, all but one member state is expected to have a budget deficit higher than 3%; the general European debt ratio is 88%. Germany, the main country that urged these requirements, was among the first to refuse to fulfill them."
Now consider the US fiscal situation - deficit and debt - along with two failed US Treasury auctions in the last week and there is plenty of reason to get worried. Bernanke will surely inflate his way out of any large scale mess (a tool not available to Greece). In the end the common pays the price for inflation. There is a reason that you are seeing so many commercials for people who want to buy your gold...
Greetings all! I am glad to be back after a brief hiatus and hope to offer a number of posts over the next couple of weeks on all thats going on in Waseca and the nation. We live in exciting times!
To ease us back into the battle of common sense vs conventional wisdom I offer a few random bullets:
President Obama's 2011 budget calls for a deficit equal to 8.3% of GDP. Think about that for a second. The president is proposing that we borrow 8.3% of the nations total economy. Total spending is $3.8 Trillion while income is a $2.5 trillion...now the US has not had its financial house in order for quite sometime so I am not expecting modesty but this is absurd. How can Obama confront the evil risk taking banks for financial skullduggery from this position?
Highway 14 pothole repairs lasted all of 2 weeks. I somewhat understand the dynamics of deteriorating roadbeds and the impact of weather but this is Minnesota we must have something better than that.
Senate 26 campaign was definitely interesting and well contested by all three. I will devote a post in the next couple of weeks based on my view as the treasurer for Mike.
I did attend Mike's swearing in ceremony in St. Paul a very wonderful time, plenty of wonderful Waseca folks there supporting Mike.
I look forward to a new birth at the Old Town Eatery. I have enjoyed that restaraunt for many years - was easily my favorite lunch spot - I am going there on Friday for lunch and you should too - pass it on.
I love the snow this year- city and county have done great jobs on keeping up with snowplowing.
The Letterman, Oprah & Leno was by far the highlight of the Superbowl - other than knowing that the Vikings would have won by at least 3 touchdowns is that idiot Chlildress just would have went for 2 on the last Viking touchdown in the NFC Championship game.
The Citizens United case will unleash a ton of money into politics and will push the American electorate to that amazing point where politicians are elected/relected/unelected based on performance rather than soundbites, party affiliation and incumbency.
I have much more coming in the next few weeks, we shall tackle enviornmentalism as religon, my previously promised education solution, campaign finance and sharpen our focus on local politics.
As a final note I would like to say thank you to the city of Waseca. A little over a year ago my three adopted boys arrived here from Texas, they have been made to feel welcome by so many of you and it is greatly appreciated. The boys have become Wasecans and they love it.
Do you remember the ice harvests? Do you remember the Johnston Ice Co.? Do you remember having a block of ice delivered once a week to your “ice box” to keep your butter and milk cold? Waseca was lucky to have a large lake here in town as a source for ice! How did they keep the ice into the warm months of spring and summer? What do you remember!
I was a little girl in the late 1940s on the east side of St. Paul. And I remember when the iceman came. He was a burly man with a swatch of black rubber caped across his shoulders to protect him from the block of ice he hoisted there with a pair of large tongs. He’d bring it right into our kitchen and dropped it in our ice box. The ice box was insulated and was kept cold with that one block of ice! Very gradually the ice melted and water filled a tray below. Sometimes my brother and I would help mom empty that tray when it got full. And every week we received another ice delivery. By the 1950s most people had an electric refrigerator, and we did, too. But for years, many people held onto their icebox until ice was no longer delivered.
The Waseca County Museum will be presenting the Annual Ice Harvest on WED, FEBRUARY 17, 10-3 at Clear Lake Park. Come and learn about the Ice Harvest! Watch then score, cut and haul the ice to the little Ice House. Then come to Chautauqua at Maplewood Park next July 3 and look in the little Ice House and see if the ice is still there! What do you think?
In Waseca it is known as WBA or Waseca Basketball Association! Boys tourney was held last Saturday and I am sure provided a lot of great action and thrills for the kids and families without going out of town for a change!
You haven't lived till you experienced the thrill of seeing your kid step on the court and soon be transformed into a superstar! We all want the best for our kid, some want it without the work/effort of time and practice: others spend lots of time and money to provide the best in court time and coaching for THE KID! We lived the season and had fun with it! Sure there were times of anguish but....... We also enjoyed the weekly open gym times and it became a unwritten rule that that 2-3 hours on Saturday was a must for all the kids! We had fun!
I did coach one year but my main job was to holler at the refs and befriend other parents from towns which Waseca played against. I mastered each job! I had fun and still see the friends I made those WBA years! Many of the refs are still friends of mine, not all but many! WBA a great experience, how about you? Is it or was it a positive for your family?
I am a sucker for themes, especially those where I get to dress up, so let me just say that I am incredibly excited over 80's Night at PJ's Tavern on Friday, January 29th. Anything that involves a costume contest is worth attending, in my opinion. Here are some things that I know about the 80's:
Madonna. Enough said.
On the day I was born, Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" was number 1 on the music charts. I neither take that as a good thing or a bad thing.
Some of the best movies were made in the 80's, such as Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, and The Goonies.
Fashion was big hair, gigantic shirts with shoulder pads, and leggings for the girls, zubaz for the boys. (Ok, zubaz didn't hit big until the 90's, but they were created in 1988 by two Minnesotans named Dan Stock and Bob Truax as a comfortable clothing item to wear while weight lifting. I also realize they were popular with both genders. My zubaz were pink, black, and gold.) And since fashion was so ridiculous, it makes for a good costume contest.
Speaking of hair, sideways ponytails and "crimping" were pretty popular.
Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari rocked wigs and dresses in Bosom Buddies.
In 1985 The Nintendo Entertainment System was introduces to the US, along with Super Mario Brothers, which launched a home video game revolution.
Since the 80's ended when I was six years old, I don't remember all that much. What 80's trivia do you know?
Occasionally WCHS needs help identifying a photograph, and members of the community have been able to do that.
Recently we received an artifact representing part of the history of the Waseca Water &Light Board. It is a handsaw used to trim tree branches that interfere with telephone wires. The saw teeth are slanted in one direction so as not to let the workman lose his balance and footing as he used the saw! And this artifact reminded me of this photograph in our collection--Does someone know who is standing atop this telephone pole? The year is likely sometime between 1910 and 1925. We’re not even sure this is Waseca, but wouldn’t it be great if it is?
Sometimes, Waseca County history . . .is unexpected!
There is good news and bad in the special election to fill the state senate seat of retiring legislator, Dick Day. The good is that we have three candidates who present very different styles and (with some exceptions) competing views on the pertinent issues of the day.
For example, on the budget, the Republican candidate, Mike Parry, hews pretty close to Republican orthodoxy - and will clearly be a feisty advocate for spending cuts (fifteen percent across the board) though he wavers when asked whether that applies to education or any other specific budget category. The Democrat, Jason Engbrecht, refuses to identify any area of current government spending he feels we can do without - despite a huge whole in the state's budget - and advocates "revenue" increases as part of the budget solution. The Independent, Roy Srp, stresses his record as Mayor in keeping the city's budget in the black (without property tax increases) despite state imposed cuts in Local Government Aid - and pledges to bring the same approach to state budgeting. This is just a sample of what we are learning as these three candidates share their views with area voters. Fortunately, because of seven debate forums (all of which have been covered by the local media), we are being given ample opportunity to compare and contrast the candidates.
Here is the bad news. Area voters are also being inundated with robo-calls and mass mailings (some of them negative) all financed with outside money. The two major parties (Republican and Democrat) and their associated interest groups are determined to win this election to advance their own agendas (which in many respects do not align at all with the concerns and needs of area residents). And they are obviously willing to spend whatever it takes to "buy" their candidate a victory. Do your best to ignore this outside influence - and instead make your decision next Tuesday based on what you know about each of these candidates. Here in Waseca, we already know a lot about two of the three contenders, Mayor Srp and former councilman Parry. We have learned more about them and Mr. Engbrecht through the frequent debates. So, vote what you know – not what these outside groups want you to believe.
Hello everyone! I apologize for not writing for such a long time. I have had a bit of writers block! I would compare our time here like the movie, “Groundhogs Day”. I did have a different type of day on Sunday and would like to share it with you.
I was able to sleep in a little on Sunday; it was a nice break from the demanding days in my office. My coworker is on her 2 week leave and it has been crazy without her help! I woke up and took a shower in our shower tents, which have a water heater! (I may have mentioned that in a previous blog). It was great to have a hot shower. Anyways I got to work and started my day off by reviewing a stack or two of paperwork. I review and submit paperwork for things like pay, awards, promotions, evaluations, and other things that are important in the career of a Soldier. Well I did this for most of my morning. I went to eat lunch at our chow hall. I usually eat a microwave meal that was sent to me, but this day I felt it would be good to get out of the office. Well to my surprise they had Chicken Cordon Blue! I love the stuff so much I ate two. I had a nice conversation with my buddies, I am sure it was about our countdown until we leave or something else Military.
After lunch I went back to my office and heard some singing outside. I remembered it was the first “Afghan Idol” competition. I went out to enjoy the sounds of 6 groups of Soldiers battle out their karaoke skills. A Staff Sergeant from our company got second place! It was good to see some enjoyment happening. It was a bit different not seeing karaoke being sung in a bar, but we make due. It takes a lot of courage to get up in front of people and sing a song without some help!
After these festivities I went over to our Maintenance section and joined a group of faithful Vikings fans gathering for a grill and conversation. One of the guys downloaded a recent episode from KFAN and we all listened to the people on the show having a great time. A couple of our extremely talented grill chefs cooked up some delicious chicken and steak. It was a great escape from our daily life here.
A dedicated group of 40 or so of us stayed up until 10:30 pm our time to watch the Vikings stomp the Cowboys! It was well worth it to stay up until 2:00 am to see how amazing the Vikings have become. I told a guy recently that as much as I did not want to admit it, Bret Favre made me a football fan.
My next day started again at 6:00 am, but with the pride of our state flowing through many of us, it was a great day. Happy New Year everyone! Be sure to welcome home the men and women who are returning home, remember the ones who are still here or are leaving their families soon, and never forget the ones who have given their lives.
Jim Kozan has a great smile which can be found at Waseca Music Store or on stage at many of the local watering holes and wedding/celebrations. Kozy is a performer! One week in 1967 while at Waseca Sacred Heart HS, Jim scored 47 points in one varsity game and 41 points the next game in the same week! Kozy was a left handed scoring machine! Jim enjoyed his playing time and was a great teammate on and off the court! The smile you see today was on the court back then as well The next time you need entertainment for your family celebration call Kozy, but then ask him about scoring 47 points in one HS basketball game his senior year! Wow!
High School sports are great aren't they? I watch HS athletes work their tails off on the mat, court, field, rink etc. They are enjoying one of the great times in their lives, the fellowship, the goal setting and achievement, the training and the results are life long memories.
The Waseca area has had great HS players, not many have made it to the big stage but the action has been memorable. Remember the the Edwards boys? Eustice boys? The Kelly's, the McLoone's, the Glynn's, the Dufault's, and others? What family has made the biggest impression on HS sports around Waseca for you? Records books for all Waseca area sports are dotted with names, who in your mind stands out?
Hey everyone, how was your New Year's Eve? I had an awesome time and caught the first set of The Schmoejoes over at Barden's Bar. More about that later. I just hope everyone stayed safe and had a great time. How many of you used the free taxi service? I actually did not, because alcohol is expensive, but the entertainment was free, so I just caught the show and moved on.
This Saturday, January 9th, Arrows at Dawn are playing at Club 57 at 9:30p.m. They've been working on an album that should be out any day now, so keep your eye on them! They're a rocking local act that perform original music, and they've been quickly establishing themselves in the southern Minnesota music scene. Check them out if you can!
Also, has anyone been over to PJ's Tavern lately? I saw that they've got their new sign up, and the renovations seem to be coming along nicely. I'll have to get over there sometime soon and see what other changes have been made. They're going to have DJs on Friday, January 8th and Saturday, January 9th. Apparently they also have a new wine selection, and if they have Mamertino, I may have to investigate that as well.
Up at Gilligan's Bar and Grill in Waterville, Kozy Lil' Duo is playing on Friday, January 8th from 6-10p.m. They play mostly covers from the 60's onward, but they do also offer up some originals.
I'm sure something's going on this weekend at Katie O'Leary's, but I have not had time this week to check out their posters to see who's playing. Did anyone catch The Blue Ringers when they played out at Katie's last month?
Well, that's all I've got for this weekend. Be sure to check out wasecaentertainmentreview.blogspot.com where you can find my New Year's Eve review of Barden's Bar, as well as a little bit of audio from The Schmoejoes (which isn't the best quality, so it's best to listen to at a lower volume).
Just had a family wedding! What does that have to do with sports? Well, the majority of invites were made to sport friends and relatives. Choir was a main stay but most relatives and friends were established or nurtured within the confines of an athletic field! Great people in sport, most are fans of their own children as well and appreciate the good times and success in the past. Many sport contacts last because we find that the instant gratification leads to a true friendship down the road, we care for the person who ONCE was an athlete! Pretty neat actually! In hindsight there are many great sport friends who could have been invited but......... Sports are great but family is the best and to have the kids home was special! My daughter Stephie married Joe and he loves sports! Life is good! See you at a ball game, become a fan again if you have not been.
We found this phrase on another museum website recently. It’s simplicity and directness impressed me, and because of our current success with our doll house exhibit, the fun part rang true.
Sometimes museums spend so much time gathering the facts, and the whole story, that we forget to just have a good time. We, on the staff of WCHS are passionate about Waseca County history and family and community relationships inherent in our work; but this fun exhibit has brought a lot of people together at YOUR museum for the pure pleasure of remembering our childhoods and our opportunities to just play.
It's a "feel good" experience at a time in which it is sorely needed. So many of our visitors, young and old, continue to appreciate the artistry, craftsmanship and great care these doll houses exhibit. And we are all grateful for the sharing . . . Happy New Year!
My 14 year old invited me to play SIMS with her the other night. OK, I thought, computer games are not my thing, but she loves it.
She told me we would first create our family in SIMS. Fascinating stuff, really. First you pick the age and gender, then the facial features, then things like glasses, hairstyles and clothing (although the part where you pick their style of underwear was a bit creepy).
So we are creating her sister Annie and she says "should she have glasses?" I felt she should as she wears them in real life. Meagan reminded me this was NOT real (as if I might have forgotten). Now I was confused, she told me we were creating our family in SIMS and yet they need not look like us? Who should they look like?
Things went fine for a while, we created Jeff, myself (thinner version with a fabulous hairstyle) and several of the children. Then she told me we could not create the last four children. I asked her why, she told me SIMS considered anything more than six children irresponsible. I started laughing as I realized SIMS had probably figured out something I had not. Technology is scary.
So the game goes on with just the eight of us. Meagan then informs me that we now will have serious problems affording a house that will fit the family. I am feeling smart now as I figured THAT one out YEARS before the SIMS. Not very often do I get to feel superior to technology.
Then something happened. Meagan informed me this would not be a problem after all as she had a "code" that would give the family and endless budget. I was speechless, incredulous. Sure enough, she swiftly enters a few keystrokes, and there it is, MILLIONS of dollars in our bank account!
I demanded to know why she had never told me this before. She looked confused, at best. I had lots of questions, who do I bring this code to? Shall I bring it to Roundbank? The IRS? Who shall I bring this marvelous code to and WHY would she keep it a secret?
That girl rolled her eyes at me.
Meagan tells me we must choose and furnish a home as well as a location for the house. I liked the idea of a small plot of land just outside of town, perhaps we could do some organic gardening? Meagan allowed my selection and we began furnishing the house. Things were peaceful for a bit, but Meagan quickly became frustrated with me again. I wanted a center island in the kitchen, Meagan felt that request was unreasonable, but granted it, reminding me that this was NOT real. I know it's not real, that's why I get a nice kitchen, DUH! She became very frustrated when I told her a kitchen sink had been forgotten. I felt that a sink was rather rudimentary to a kitchen, but she disagreed. I DID get the sink, but quickly realized I had better be less brazen with my requests.
So the game goes on and we are planning the yard. She chooses a swingset, nice idea. She then informs me we will need a fence the entire perimeter of the property with a locking gate. She seems frustrated when I ask her why on earth we would do this, we live on beautiful property at the edge of town, with a large yard for her siblings to play in . I will never forget what she told me next....."if you do not secure your property the neighbors will come in". And that would be bad because............? "Because they don't just stop over, they come in whenever they want, eating all of your food, using your shower and stealing your children'. Now I thought she was pulling my leg. So she demonstrated. Sure enough, here come the neighbors, and they DID! They just wandered in any time, day or night eating our food, using our shower and taking the children, much like when your grown children stop by the house. I demanded to move to a better neighborhood. That girl rolled her eyes at me again.
I am not sure when we will play SIMS again, while I enjoyed the time with my daughter I found the parameters of the game frustrating at best. Meagan found my requests frustrating, at best.
I will however be contacting my personal banker, Pam, on Monday morning. I am sure she can help me set my new code on the checking account. She is always so helpful, and never rolls her eyes at me.
Congress does not pass “landmark” legislation very often – and it remains to be seen as to whether the health care reform bill (now moving to a conference committee and ultimate passage) will meet that standard.
However, I can say that when compared against other celebrated pieces of landmark legislation, it appears to fall short. The main reason is the lack of bipartisan support.
The Civil Rights Act and the Medicare program are two landmark laws that immediately come to mind. Both programs were enacted in the mid-1960s and both had bi-partisan backing. Why does support from both major parties matter? The answer: Because bipartisan support in Congress better reflects “common ground” within the American electorate. In addition, on an issue as important as health reform, good ideas are not the sole domain of either party. Without broad-based support from the voters – support that is clearly lacking for this health bill according to recent opinion polls – major reform is subject to reversal due to voter backlash. In short, major changes in social policy are typically not sustainable when enacted on a party line vote.
Second, there is the question of cost control. This health reform bill is heavy on provisions that will expand access to health care – a noble goal (but an expensive one). However, it is entirely too weak on controlling costs within the health care system. Most voters want to see government health care costs brought down before programs like Medicare and Medicaid bust the budget. This bill does little to address that concern (despite the much debated “cuts” in Medicare). Most voters also want to see reform that stops the annual double digit increase in private sector health insurance plans. Sadly, this bill does nothing to stop those increases from occurring – and, in fact, worsens the inflationary factor for those trying to purchase insurance on the open market.
Finally, this bill was processed in the worst possible manner. Forcing a vote under the pressure of a Christmas deadline meant that an inordinate number of deals had to be cut to garner the needed votes. For example, we saw Senators literally being bought off with promises of federal dollars for Medicaid to their states well in excess of the payments that would be made to other states. This kind of horse-trading is patently wrong, unfair and inequitable. Worse, it adds greatly to the future cost of this health reform bill (and will likely lead to many other states demanding the same sweet – and expensive - deal). In all, it was an ugly scene as these last minute deals were being cut. I do not think it bodes well for the Democrats who used these tactics to pass a bill that is opposed by a majority of the American electorate. That is my two cents.
I'm sure by now everyone has probably already planned out where they're going and who they're going with as far as New Year's Eve celebrations go, but just in case you haven't, here's some of the entertainment you can catch in town on Thursday, December 31st.
At Barden's Bar, the Schmoejoes will be playing their annual New Year's Eve Bash, beginning at 9:00p.m. In case you're wondering who they are and what they're about, please reference my past blogs, particularly the Jon Lucca interviews.
PJ's Tavern is having their own New Year's Bash with DJ Screammin' Productions from 9:00p.m. - close. If you're just looking to move around and have a good time, this may be the event for you.
Over at Club 57, they'll be kicking off the festivities at 9:30p.m. with the band Unhinged. This is a cover band that leans toward the heavy metal/hard rock persuasion. They cover a lot of Metallica, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and TOOL.
The local band Frankie's Boys will be playing over at Katie O'Leary's from 9:00p.m. until close. This band is a local favorite and a standby, so if you have time to check them out, I'd recommend popping in to see them.
Please remember that the taxi service is free in Waseca that night, so if you have a few drinks, don't feel pressured to drive yourself home. If you can, though, I'd recommend getting a designated driver. There are only two taxis, and they can only do so much at a time. Should you choose to utilize their service, be a good sport and tip generously, because they're contributing to your good time.
I also wanted to take this time to announce Waseca Entertainment Review's additional website, which you can visit at wasecaentertainmentreview.blogspot.com . Here you will find archived blogs, read added content, and listen to streamed audio of my podcast. Podcasts will include full, uncut interviews with local musicians and business owners, so you'll want to check back often!
Bruce Smith was from Faribault Mn, he played halfback for the back to back national champion Gophers in 1940-1941, and won the Heisman in 1941! That's right, Faribault kid won the Heisman Trophy, was a big time athlete and a big time person before his death from Cancer in 1967! The trophy is presented to the best College FB player of the year per vote of Sportcasters, writers and former Heisman winners. I visited the New York Athletic club near Central Park in NY, pretty impressive place and of course very historic! Smith is still the only Gopher to win the award in school history! Smith and the Heisman are a long time ago but so is the last Gophers title in the Big Ten! 1967 the year Smith past away, the Gophers tied with Indiana but Hoosiers went to the Rose Bowl! This New Years day Ohio State will play Oregon in the Rose Bowl, as you watch the action remember it has been over 40 years since the Gophers qualified and almost 50 years since they played in the Grand Daddy of them all: Rose Bowl! Go Gophers!
Christmas season is in the air for the majority of us here at FOB Leatherneck. We have some small trees up with little decorations and some battery powered lights and a few wrapped presents to give it that extra Christmas feeling. We also have some stockings hung up and my office has a candy cane countdown.
We have also received an unbelievable incredible amount of support from so many people from our homes, to the entire State, and even other states! All of us here are so grateful and cannot say thank you enough for all of your efforts and support. We also know that thoughts and prayers flood us daily and we certainly appreciate all of them.
Next week is already Christmas! It is hard to believe where the time has gone and we are also grateful for that. It is definitely a time what we can sit back and reflect on all that has happened in the last year and look very happily to the next year. It is a time that we wish that we were at home enjoying the snow and all the great things we can do with the season. I personally miss the snowmobiling and plowing the many driveways my brother has me help with. I also miss building snowmen and sledding with my kids. I wish I was home to go shopping for gifts and to see my children's eyes when they open their presents. The smell of cookies and turkey filling the air! Many of us will miss all of these things but it is also a great feeling to know that our families are safe at home.
I would also like to take this time to thank the veterans before me, serving with me, and the future ones that will help protect my family and friends. It is a great feeling knowing there are so many that fight for our freedoms and safety. With that I would also like to thank the families of these Veterans. I was thinking to day that without my family I could not do this. I have said it before and will say it again that my wife and kids have served just as much as me and to them and all military families, Thank you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!! Thank you again for all of your love and support!
Today I have on me an interview conducted electronically with Tom Little of the Waterville band, The Blue Ringers. I've seen his band in action, and they put on a fun show. Apart from playing gigs in different venues, they often have a big bash up at their house in the boonies/farmland of Waterville, which I am told is one of the best events of the year.
First of all, I asked Tom to describe The Blue Ringers, so people who are interested in seeing them would know what they're about.
"We play a variety of rock, mostly the 80s through today," he answered, "but we also do a few older rock tunes and a few country tunes.
We put on an energetic show with the focus on getting the crowd dancing and partying."
Tom felt pretty early on that he wanted to be a musician."I think I was 17, and my friends and I were all into 80s hard rock. As I would sit in class all day I would dream about being a rock star and performing in front of lots of fans. My best friend, John Peach, The Blue Ringers' drummer, told me I should play bass since he was a drummer and we had friends that played guitar. So I got myself a bass guitar. It wasn't until I was 19 that I got serious with it though."
And about Tom's big dream? "My dream to be a rock star did not exactly come true, but The Blue Ringers is close enough to that dream for me," he explains. "It allows me to pretend to be a rock star on some weekends and still have my normal life, which I love."
I asked Tom if there were any interesting stories that he could tell, and at first he was elusive.
"You do see some crazy things over the years, some that are better not to publish," he started, but then followed with a few print-friendly tidbits. "This one has probably happened to lots of bands. We had a gig in New Ulm and when we showed up there was another band there setting up. The gig had been double booked and we were not too happy about it. We called around and found someone that would pay us a little to play at a barn party so we went and did that. We did have two people meet at one of our shows and eventually they got married. That was cool, we still stay in touch with them."
When I asked Tom which venue in Waseca he loves to play, his direct answer was, "Katie O'Leary's. The atmosphere is perfect for us (we love the owner, bartenders and all the patrons there) and the building itself has great acoustical properties."
A lot of the other bands from Waseca that Tom likes tend to play at Katie's as well. I asked him who some of his favorite local bands are, and he answered, "For classic rock and blues, you have to love The Murphy Brothers. For a cool acoustic group there is a band called The Rain Kings who are simply great. If you like to rock a little harder than The Blue Ringers, then it is hard to beat IV Play." Just to clarify, that is a roman numeral, and the band's name is pronounced four-play.
The Blue Ringers will be playing at Katie O'Leary's on Friday, December 18th from 9pm - 1am. I highly recommend checking them out if you can, their covers are good and they like to work with the crowd.
That's all I have for this weekend. Next weekend will be blog-less, because I am taking the time to enjoy the holidays. I hope you all have a great weekend and happy holidays to you all!
Obviously an interesting week in local/state politics. First things first I am the Treasurer for Mike Parry's State Senate Campaign so expect a little bias in my commentary.
I wish both Roy and Mike the best of luck in their campaigns. Roy has shown that he can be a leader and rally the troops when needed. Mike's strong suit lies in communication/sales (whether it be radio spots, pizza or ideas). Roy has the patience of Job and that is needed at the state level. Mike is never a shrinking violet, you know he is in the room, you know what he wants and why he wants it. They both have other great qualities that will serve them well but I think it is Mike's confident take no prisoners approach that will serve the Waseca district the best. The non metro contingency is often beaten back by the polish and cohesion of the metro legislators. Mike will be a vocal proponent for outstate needs. Good luck gentlemen!
On to other things (but I am sure we will visit on this again before the election Jan 26)
The Waseca School Boards (more precisely Keith Hiller's) proposal to bring TEAM back into the district is interesting. There are redundant costs that create wasteful spending, neither party is being wasteful - just paying for identical resources that could easily be shared is not efficient. To me the interesting question is if you are a TEAM supporter wouldn't you want that approach shared with other students as well? Stated differently what if the merger were seen as TEAM absorbing the district? On a related note I have been working on my "Widespread Panic Education Solution" for a couple of weeks now and hope to have that posted prior to the New Year - yep, I have all the answers.
I read a great article about banking - the jist was that banks have moved from lending primarily to businesses to devoting more of their assets to consumers. Business debt is more productive in that is rolled over several times a year as a business cylces - loan proceeds are used to by inventory, finished goods are sold, debt is paid down begin again. The purchases are capital purchases that add to productivity. Consumer debt is used for finished goods and the cycle ends, the debt stays on the books longer. Banks are able to hold the debt for longer terms because the FDIC program protects banks from bank runs. No bank runs = less need for liquidity = higher fractional reserve lending = higher leverage= too big to fail. Total bank assets have more than doubled in the past decade while business loan totals have only gone up 25%. No we find President Obama calling all the "Fat Cats" on to the carpet for following the road that the Keynesian road (see excessive saving at the link) that has been advocated by the Democratic party (brief rant - if anyone tells you that colleges do not have an agenda when they teach students please see the late Paul Samuelson's quote "I don’t care who writes a nation’s laws — or crafts its advanced treatises — if I can write its economics textbooks". Paul had an agenda to advance Keynsian economics and was very successful as his text is the text of choice at most public colleges. This leads to a whole generation that was taught a slanted perspective that has led to our current economic straits. Admittedly there are other texts that offer their own take but Samuelson's quote is a warning for us all) for decades.
I have to admit the whole health care debate has dampened my spirits lately. So many bright folks in Washington and they seem to be racing for the mediocre (and wrong). It would be like going out for dinner with Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay and they say "lets go to Old Country Buffet". This is America give us a little spice!
That is all for now - don't worry I have something shiny for you.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference
I had the opportunity to attend a dinner honoring Coach Steve Wilkinson of Gustavus
College Saturday evening. The above prayer is condensed but is the model for The Coach in 40 years of coaching men tennis at Gustavus.
Yes, a simple prayer which shaped and molded young men into adulthood, also influenced their families in a way which I have never seen. Judy and I sat with 350 other fans and enjoyed 5 hours of the same story over and over on how the Coach made them a better tennis player but more importantly a better person! The smile, the listening, the guiding hand, the consistent love, the knowledge of tennis and life, and always available to advise are the hallmarks of The Coach!
The Coaches faith was put into action every day with young men searching for answers to questions we all ask each day no matter our age. I am a better person for knowing Coach Steve Wilkinson! By the way record for Coach Wilkinson 1971 - 2009 was 929 wins and 279 losses.
I know it has been a while since I wrote one of these, and I sincerely apologize to my avid readers (if I have any), but with Thanksgiving and finals at college, I haven't had a whole lot of free time on my hands.
One thing I managed to do before Thanksgiving was to take a trip over to Club 57. My husband and I went over there Wednesday, November 25th to check out the AC/DC cover band, TNT.
The thing that always strikes me as odd about Club 57 is their total lack of flow. I don't know if this comes from remodeling an already set building, but anyhow, it just doesn't work. Two steps behind the bar is a wall, presumably to separate the "bar" crowd from the "sit-down" crowd. This wall causes amazing problems, however, should there be more than five people in the area. The people standing at the bar to order end up blocking the path to the bathrooms, forcing patrons to go around the wall and past the jukebox. Therein lies another problem, when regulars fill up the area on the other side of the wall. Now there is absolutely no way to reach the bathrooms, unless you feel like pushing your way through an established group, which is never comfortable.
The service is also incredibly lacking. You may get attention shortly after you walk in, but the people at the bar get absolute precedence. If you are at a table, forget getting served any time soon. You're better off stalking up to the bar, getting your drink, and bringing it back to your seat, to try to remember where the conversation left off with your friend(s).
In their favor I will say, I love the vintage poster decor. This gives it a classy feel that some of our other Waseca venues are lacking. This does not, however, make up for the lack of decent flow or service.
As for the stage, it is an okay size, but there is not much room for people who want to watch the show. Again you have an oddly shaped room, where if you get pushed into the wrong spot, you have no chance of seeing the performance.
And here I must say: What performance?
My husband and I got to Club 57 at 7:30, and waited (and drank rum and Coke) until 9:00, when TNT would presumably take the stage. They did, shortly after, and played a song. After being informed that the first song was a sound check, the band promptly disappeared.
We waited.
And waited.
Then we looked at each other and asked "Time to go home?" With a mutual nod, we left.
From the little bit I heard of TNT, they are a decent tribute band, and I would have liked to have heard more. But generally if a band says they are playing at 9:00, they should play within 15 minutes of that time. Unless they were having serious gear/sound issues, I felt like we were getting the brush-off. People visiting venues in the cities wouldn't have put up with that, and neither should we.
So needless to say, the night was a bit of a disappointment. I hope to get out again in the near future, however, and check out some bands. Maybe I can corner Marcus Penny for an interview.
Anyhow, onto the weekend, and into the week a bit.
Since I checked out Club 57, I'll start there. On Saturday, December 12th the band 69 Cents will be playing. Then at 10:00p.m. on Thursday, December 17th they'll have the a'capella band Heatbox. I browsed their myspace page and was at first repulsed by their droning, repetitive song about needing a Jack and Coke, but I was pulled back in by Pizza Funk. If you've been looking for something new and original, this would be a good act to see. They're like Rockapella, but more funky.
Next up is PJ's Tavern, the easiest to report since they are having a DJ on both Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th.
Finally there will be DJ Matt the Ratt at Katie O'Leary's on Friday night, and the band Urban Myth will be playing Katie's on Saturday. Urban Myth is a fun band, but the lead singer didn't thrill me, and their keyboard setting bordered on irksome. This is just the impression I got from one song, however, so there is potential that this band has more to offer. Their pictures led me to believe that they have an easy-going stage presence, and they look like they enjoy what they do.
That's it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and enjoy the snow!
Christmas is coming!
A little snow (maybe a lot of snow), a little chill, and a lot of decorations and lights helping to make the season bright. Last weekend Waseca was alive with visitors for all the activities that were planned to coincide with the Waseca Arts Council’s “Sights and Sounds of Christmas” House Walk! The Waseca County Museum’s "Christmas Night at the Museum, A Doll House Walk" was very well attended and we thank all those visitors from all over for stopping. You came from 45 different Minnesota communities, six states and two foreign countries!
This is a "feel good" exhibit because everyone who strolled amongst the 21 doll houses were having such a good time remembering childhood and sharing with their friends and families. Grandparents were pointing out little furnishings and details to their grandchildren, grown women were commenting, "I feel like a little girl again!" or "I had a doll house like that one!" The best part was the sharing of experiences, and the meaning of those experiences. Many friends came together, many Wasecans were hosting friends and relatives who traveled to Waseca and view this exhibit together.
There is great variety of styles, decorating, and sizes--from a tiny matchbox doll house in the WCHS Collection to the three-story townhouse.
The Doll House Walk is the good thing that is still going on through January 16, during regular museum hours, Tues-Fri, 9-5 and Saturdays, 10-2. Hey, Waseca County community, this is your museum, come see us over the holidays!
What did you enjoy most about the Doll House Walk?
Coaching HS football is a big job: low pay long hours etc. We all know that big money follows Division 1 FB coaches but notice the coaches listed on the all time wins list below, not all worked for big money! The hype with coaches changing jobs, Colleges looking for the next savior is the big TV money talking no doubt! The HS jobs are going to be more difficult with budget cuts, the hours will still be long, the lack of money will hinder kids going out and fans will think twice about paying 8-10 dollars to see game! Or will it get better with quality kids only on the field? What do you think? Maybe more one sport athletes? Maybe better choices made by the parents and the athlete? Maybe less choice of activity? What do you think?
1. John Gagliardi, Carroll College/St. John's University (1949-2009): 471-126-11
2. Eddie Robinson, Grambling State (1941-1997): 408-168-15
3. Joe Paterno, Penn State (1966-2009): 393-129-3
4. Bobby Bowden, Samford/West Virginia/Florida State (1959-2009): 388-129-4
5. Amos Alonzo Stagg, Springfield College/Chicago/Pacific (1892-1946): 329-190-35
6. Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, Maryland/Kentucky/Texas A&M/Alabama (1945-1982): 323-85-17
7. Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner, Georgia/Cornell/Carlisle/Pitt/Stanford/Temple (1895-1938): 318-106-32
8. Roy Kidd, Eastern Kentucky (1964-2002): 314-124-8
9. Forrest "Frosty" Westering, Parsons College/Lea College/Pacific Lutheran (1962-2003): 302-96-7
10 Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond, Delaware (1966-2001): 300-119-3
I thought I would write this time about the advances of communication since past wars. Every day I am amazed and grateful for what I am able to accomplish while I am here. My job is mainly spent staring at a computer and doing research. I honestly love my job in the Army and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping out my fellow Soldiers.
With that, I think of wars past and all that the people in my MOS (military job) had to do to accomplish their missions. It is hard to imagine not having a computer, a printer, and a scanner. It is even harder to imagine not having the internet. Though it is not the best connections and a lot of sites are blocked it still enables me to do some pretty amazing things.
In my job, I do many things that include typing memos and making spreadsheets. I look up regulations and information for just about everyone that has a question. I take the information that I accumulate and put it on a centrally located storage space and at times I am required to send information back to our armory at home. It usually only takes about 12 hours or less, because of time change, to get a reply or to have someone update records. This in itself is sometimes hard to believe. Like I said, I cannot imagine what the guys had to go through in previous wars.
In my family life I can and take full advantage of text messaging. I can instantly send my wife and daughters a text to tell them that I love them or to see how their day is going. I can send my wife an email with a lengthy letter and she can check it right on her Blackberry. This is amazing! I have set up email accounts for my daughters so that I can send them instant picture updates and letters of my “adventure” as I call it. They all have a phone with a camera on it, they can send me pictures of those moments that I would otherwise miss or they would have missed because of bulky cameras.
We are starting to get wireless internet access in some points. I can get on most pages like Facebook and the Waseca County News website. I can also get on Skype. Skype has allowed us to talk for many minutes without costing us a dime. It has enabled me to see my family and see how they are growing and changing. I also love access to the other sites because it makes me feel closer to home. It is great to see what is going on around town and to see what my friends and family are up to. I have reconnected with most of my High School classmates, friends from Basic Training, and even relatives that I have not talked to in years. All of this is from a war zone.
It is hard to be away from home. It is hard to see your family grow up through photos and emails. It does make it easier though with the great technology that we have in front of us. Sometimes we can get irritated with a cell phone ring or even take it for granted. I do however appreciate that we have these things to stay connected with home.
How about a trophy for the winner of the Blue Earth vs. Waseca Football game! The Little Brown Jug, The Old Oaken Bucket, Floyd of Rosedale, The Axe, are just a few legendary names of rivalry trophies, Waseca doesn't have any? Isn't it time? How about a Monster Bratwurst to the winner of the New Ulm vs Waseca wrestling match? Rivals are made not born, the most unique trophies just happen, but........
Waseca needs some passion: remember when you would never miss the basketball game at Fairmont? Remember the refs at Wells, you always went because it was fun and you knew that the game would be close! The South Central Conference has not lived up to the passion of many, teams are not dominating any more! The Waseca home crowds are friendly now not competitive, we want a win if it is ok with everyone, no passion! It shows on the floor, the mat, the field! The fun of competition is the reward of the fans, we need to compete hard but fair and gain the home court advantage BACK! Get out and be a fan again! A fan not only cheers for the home team but also appreciates the efforts of the competition, BUT we want a win! The reason the score is kept is not to see how close it ends, we need wins with hard play and excitement! The fun is in the hunt, teams use to want to beat Waseca on its home turf, lets make that difficult again! Good Luck in the Winter sport season athletes, give us a reason to cheer hard again!
Do you remember your doll house?
Were you given one for Christmas? Did you make one yourself out of a cardboard box? How creative you were! What stories did you make up and play? Was it about growing up? What did you dream about for your future? Did your dreams come true? How did your play-acting influence what you wanted for your life? Important questions not easily answered, but all fostered out of memories of childhood play with a doll house. What did your doll house mean to you?
Come and visit the Waseca County Museum (315 2nd Avenue N.E., Waseca) next weekend, December 5 and 6, 12 noon to 7 p.m. for “Christmas Night at the Museum, A Doll House Walk!” Wander through our 21 different, beautiful doll house exhibits of different architectural styles, representing different historical eras, with memories and stories to share. Share your memories, too!
We have hit a critical time in our deployment calculator. Thanksgiving!! It is known that many of us countdown to deployment, countdown to the time we get into our base, and the time we are leaving for home. The latter being the most important.
I try not to countdown the entire deployment, but take it in chunks. The first being my Rest & Recuperation (R&R) or vacation from here, the second Thanksgiving, third is Christmas and New Years, and last getting out of here. Another trick I learned was to count the weeks before the exact days, once we get into the single digit weeks I will switch to days. All of this is a key to staying positive.
Thanksgiving at FOB Leatherneck was way better than I expected. It is always tough being away from family, especially for significant events like Thanksgiving but the bond I have formed with people here made it a bit easier.
Our noon meal was like being at your favorite buffet. I could not say no to all of the food that was being handed to me. We had roast beef cut straight from the bone, roast turkey, ham, shrimp cocktail, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, egg nog, ice cream, and much more!
After our meal we had a Battalion flag football tournament. Our company took second. It was a great way to end the afternoon and to end a pretty good Thanksgiving.
It’s Thanksgiving Day already, and though it’s a year that might seem that there was little to be thankful for, with the recession and all, I am very thankful for my life in Waseca County, Minnesota.
When I was a little girl living in the corner house on Wells and Weide Streets in St. Paul, I played dolls with my two friends, Sharon and Karen. We spent one whole summer making houses and businesses for our storybook dolls—out of discarded cardboard boxes, snippets of cloth, string, masking tape (Karen’s father worked for 3M), and any little junk from around our houses! We were not only playing house, we were playing town. Karen ran our general store. Sharon had a beauty parlor, and I made a little church. These were our essentials. I never dreamed then that I would grow up to live in a small town. But I wouldn’t trade my life in Waseca for anything. Now I live on Main Street (N. State Street) in a house that also has a flower shop, and I help manage the local history museum! This is what I realized this week as Thanksgiving was approaching, and this is just some of what I am grateful.
And while most of us will eat more than we need to on Thanksgiving Day, let us be grateful that we have enough to eat. I am always surprised when I hear about how many do not, and they are among us right here in our community. But then our community always come forward for the fundraisers--the generosity in our community is wonderful. So let us be thankful, let us be together, let us pray for peace, safety and wellness. Let us be positive and have hope. What are you grateful for?
Notice the name of Waseca School Board member Mike Gehloff and current Waseca Varsity Wrestling Coach Brad Lechner in this article from 25 years ago!
As a rule, a high school wrestling team that loses eight athletes to graduation faces a rebuilding year.
Time will tell for sure, but the 1984-85 Waseca Bluejays just might be an exception to the rule. The Bluejays, who went 9-3-1 last year while winning the South Central Conference dual-meet title, saw eight seniors graduate last spring -- or two thirds of the starting lineup.
The returning cast, however, gives reason for optimism.
The returning letter winners include senior Brad Lechner, who last year went 26-4 while placing fourth in the Class AA State Tournament. Mike Gehloff, 20-4 as a freshman, also returns, as do seniors James Hayes and Jon Reger. Last year's B-Squad, by the way, compiled a 16-2-2 record.
- 25 years ago, November 22, 1984, Waseca County News
Winter sports are here: Hockey, Wrestling, Basketball, and Gymnastics: get a schedule and get out and see the kids perform! Minnesota State, Mankato: Bethany Lutheran: Gustavus: St. Olaf: and Carlton College have great local kids as well!
I went to the Notre Dame vs. Navy game this past November 7th, fun stuff! I thought of the traditions, the legends, the enthusiasm, the crowds, the swagger of success, etc. I am impressed but the facts are ND doesn't win like the old days! A major problem when you have the swagger of Number One!
I have always been aware of the lore of the Four Horseman and the Seven Mules at Notre Dame! What I did not know is the famous Four Horseman were not large people, in fact none of the four were taller than 6' and no one weighed more than 162 pounds! Small in stature but larger in results and legend! The record for Notre Dame with the four Horseman in the back field was 28-2, two losses came at the hands of Nebraska! So, if you are normal, get out and participate, winners come in all sizes and shapes! Go Irish
Hello again from Afghanistan. Since the last time I wrote I have been home for a few weeks and am now back to my base. It was great to be home and see all of the changes that have happened with my family. It was sure great to be with my wife and kids for that time.
My wife is sure an awesome person and is doing an amazing job of keeping the family together and moving smoothly while I am gone. She is an inspiration and one of my heroes.
They often say that our families back home have it much harder than we do here and I believe that. She is doing the duty of both parents and is responsible for the two of us. She is going to school full time while getting three of our kids off to school. She is getting the kids to their after school activities as well as doing her homework. I am a lucky guy to have her. We recently celebrated our 5th Anniversary, this being the third one that I have missed due to deployments.
As I said I am back here in Afghanistan and trying to now get used to another climate change, this time the COLD! I know it is hard to believe that in the middle of a desert a person can be cold but it is. The nightly temp reaches around 45 degrees. I am the first to admit that just because I am from Minnesota I still think it is cold.
The Army has done a good job of issuing us some good cold weather gear, which I use with a big smile on my face. I was trying to think the other day whether I liked the cold more than the heat and after asking some of my buddies we agreed the cold was better.
As my mother taught me it is better to have on layers and take them off than not have enough and get sick. One improvement is that they hooked a hot water heater up to our showers! It is now a pleasure to take a shower.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
We can identify the men in this photograph, but what was “Auto Day” about 100 years ago?
Identified are Dr. Hagen, in his Buick; Dr. Batchelder driving a Ford; C.O. Gilbertson driving a Packard; Harold Sunde,a Rambler; Frank Kiesler in a Maxwell; A. N. Tyrholm driving his Ford; Dr. Batchelder's old high wheeler, blacksmith Adams driving; and A. J. Tyrholm, in an International.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and welcome to Widespread Panic,
While it seems rather counterintuitive I would have to say that we are should be remembered as one of the greatest periods in Waseca's history. While the sports scene had been phenomenal and the musicscene is great it is much bigger than that. What makes this time so great is that there is a groundswell of change that has overtaken our community. Some of it is normal constructive change, much more is the result of reacting to outside forces that have reshaped our world.
As I look around I see the institutions that have made this city our choice to live, work and play - the place we chose above all others, those core institutions are changing. Our employers, our schools, our churches, community organizations are remaking themselves to deal with the reality of 2009, but much more importantly they are preparing themselves to deal with the realities of 2010-2019.
I am excited most by those that are going additive changes - those institutions that are asking what is our mission, how do we accomplish it, what do we need to make it happen. Others are going about reductive change, what do I need to cut to get to my number. Both ways can be successful - but only one method moves the ball down the field. The truth is when you are at the bottom or at least a low point the cost of change goes down dramatically. There is no better time for a new hairdo then when your boyfriend just dumped you, no better time to start your own business than when you lose your job, no better time to learn how to swim than when you fall over the side of the boat. It would be great to take a snapshot of where we are today, a copy of the roadmap that folks are putting together to move themselves and us down the road and throw them in a time capsule for 20 years, I suspect they will clearly show this positive pivot in action.
Roy had a great column in last weeks paper about dealing with the tough issues facing us and he was right when he said that some will do the heavy lifting and others will stay home. My nominations for this weeks heavy lifters are Larry Thompson, Brooke Halla and Father Marty even if he did sing Iron Man when I asked for Freebird (...sorry for the inside joke). There are also many unsung heroes who are rebuilding there family budget at a fraction of what it used to be, there are those who are taking on a bigger load at work, and those who let another car out in front of them simply because they realize we are all in this together. Do what you can and take pride in the collaborative work that is being accomplished.
We all know that this Thanksgiving will be a little more introspective than most as we struggle with where we are or appreciate what we have just a little more because we understand that it is much more fleeting than we ever suspected. But I challenge you all to spend 5 minutes considering those long standing institutions in our community - our churches, our schools, our employers, our government our families. Remember how they have stood through much worse trials than this before and take solace in the fact that they are what have held us humans together, enriched our lives, shown us the path through the ages. Give them a plug as you bow your head before the turkey starts flying.
Well, I wish I had an awesome subject to interest everyone this time around, but my time's been drained for the most part, and I haven't had a chance to get out and do anything. This Wednesday I actually have some free time, so I am hoping to do a proper band review. I will also do more interviews in the future, because I got such a positive reaction with my piece on Jon Lucca. Is there any local act you'd like to hear more about? Feel free to comment or shoot me an e-mail.
This weekend at PJs Tavern, there isn't a whole lot of diversity, unfortunately. I'm not sure what is going on with them. Anyhow, they are having DJs mix up some dance favorites on Friday, November 20th, Saturday the 21st, and Wednesday the 25th.
If you're looking for some live entertainment, Katie O'Leary's is having the band Rush Hour on Friday night, and I Got Issues (IGI) on Saturday. I couldn't find any information on Rush Hour. I hear that IGI is pretty decent, but beyond that I still don't know much about them either.
Then at Club 57 they'll be showing UFC 106, the big fight between Oritz and Griffin. This event starts at 8:00p.m., not the usual 9:00, so if you want to go see a couple of guys beat each other up in glorious high definition, here's your opportunity. On Wednesday the 25th, TNT will be playing at Club 57. TNT is an AC/DC tribute band. I gave them a listen and I must admit that I appreciate the lead singer's effort. He does a better job than a lot of tribute vocalists I've heard, and they are not easy vocals to replicate.
And I know this may sound cheesy, but I am looking forward to the Christmas Train. I hear they'll have some live music and theatrics for the public to enjoy.
Waseca Girls Cross Country made waves this past season with the State Title! Wow! The pessimist would point out that the change in class made a big difference in the result: True in winning the team title but false in the fact that Waseca girls had a great team! 2008 team was close to making the AA state meet, this 2009 team was as good if not better and would have been close if not a AA State participant! Great team no matter the class! Congrats to the members /coaches/fans!
Did you know? Area individuals have made a name for themselves at the State C/C meet in the past. In 1970 Dan Lyndgaard won the title with a time of 15:11, he followed up the next season in 1971 with another victory in 15:34: Dan ran for New Richland and the titles came when all schools were in the same class! WOW! In 1974 Dave Tappe from New Richland finished second by less than 2 seconds in 15:23! The venue was 3 miles held at The U of M Golf Course! 1980 same location but now 5000 meters but Class AA, Wasecan Todd Moxley finished second in a time of 15:47! 1990 Shawn Schmidknecht of Waseca was second at 5000 meters in 16:40 Class A at U of M. Great sport with great coaches and individuals!
I was amused by Republican Governor Pawlenty’s recent suggestion that we amend the state constitution to prohibit any expenditure greater than the revenue collected in the previous year.
Like so many of his ideas, it sounds on the surface to be a reasonable idea – hold the line of spending. But on closer examination, you have to wonder how serious the Governor is about enacting this proposal – since it requires a vote of the legislature (now controlled by the Democrats) and then a vote of the electorate in the coming general election. Even if both of those obstacles are overcome, this policy would not take effect until after Pawlenty leaves office. Accordingly, I have a few questions for the Governor.
- If this is such a great idea, why didn’t you think of it eight years ago when you first took office?
- If this proposal is – as you stated – “consistent with your philosophy and results”- why is the projected budget deficit twice as large as the one you started with eight years ago?
- In your eight years in office, have you ever presented the legislature with a budget that held to the previous year’s tax revenue?
- Are you prepared to submit such a budget to the legislature this coming January?
- During your eight year tenure, when the legislature sent you spending measures that exceeded the previous year’s revenue, why didn’t you use your veto pen to cut those bills down to size?
- When you had a chance to “unallot” earlier this year, why did you shift roughly $2 billion in spending into the next budget year making it the next Governor’s problem?
Shouldn’t you instead have honestly cut spending by $2 billion?
- Because our tax revenues are closely tied to the economy, couldn’t this proposed policy actually lead to excessive revenue and higher spending in times of economic growth (as they say, beware of unintended consequences)?
- And, finally, this gimmicky idea – designed to make you “look” like a fiscal conservative – wouldn’t have anything to do with your presidential ambitions, would it?
While I have not been on Facebook in many months, I can't help but notice people habitually posting photos of me that are less than flattering. I would like to lay down a few ground rules....please only post pictures of me that meet the following criteria (note my profile photo)
1. I should look thin, therefore, utilize photos more than three years old (or) utilize photoshop, if you do not have Photoshop, find someone who does (or) do not post photo.
2. I should be dressed in a reasonably attractive outfit that does not make me appear to be expecting our 11th child. Notice that while camping, I wear anything that does not smell foul, therefore refer back to (1) where we discussed Photoshop.
3. I should not be making strange faces due to (a) eating something sour (b) talking to someone while you took my picture (c) concentrating on something. Strange faces typically are not easily remedied by Photoshop, therefore, ignore number (1) on this one.
4. I should be wearing make-up, I do not typically wear makeup while camping, which seems to be the only time anyone wants to take my picture, therefore refer back to (1) Photoshop.
5. The ideal photo of me (note profile photo) would be taken just after leaving the Juan Juan Eber (sp?) salon in Beverly Hills and posing with my friend Oscar. Notice the cute outfit (thanks mom) the cute sunglasses, the fabulous hair, and that I am wearing makeup.
I do realize it may be unfair that this is the only picture of me taken in the last five years that is acceptable to post (without Photoshop) and that it may be an unrealistic portrait of a woman with 10 kids, but aren't we all allowed our fantasies? Blessings! -DeAnna
The Internet is full of info if you really want to do research. Granted correct info in allows correct answers out! I have watched Waseca play many foes in years past, I liked playing Rochester, Mankato, Faribault, etc in all sports. Former Bluejay Coach Roger Stippel wanted Waseca to move to the Big Nine Conference so we could play the best in all sports on a consistent level. I admit I thought it to be a stretch but worth consideration.
Size of school determines which Class a school is in, therefore who your competition to go to State is based on numbers. Waseca Football played in Class 3A with 566 students according to the Minnesota State High School League website: Kasson Mantorville has 561: Blue Earth 355: Washburn 726: Belle Plaine 442: St. Peter 519: Fairmont 535: etc.
Waseca use to play 4A Football against Albert Lea 911: Austin 1044: Faribault 1064: Winona 1090: Northfield 1199: Red Wing 833!
I was impressed with KM Saturday night! Their speed and confidence was admirable and their execution was great! My brain says why are we playing KM and not the big schools? The numbers and my eyes show the answer, we belong in Class 3A and we need to get better to compete with the good ones! Fun season boys and Coaches: hit the weight room, start running, get better, and make it back to the FB State again next season, please!
From Waseca County Minnesota in the World War published by the “Waseca Radical,” May 1919
“German envoys signed the allied armistice terms at Senlis at 5 a.m., Paris time, which took effect at 11 a.m., Paris time (6 a.m. New York time). . . . President Wilson reads the terms of the German armistice to congress in joint session, and announces the end of the war. . . .
Thousands of American heavy guns fired the parting shot at the Germans at exactly 11 a.m. At many batteries the artillerists joined hands, forming a long line, as the lanyard of the final shot. There were a few seconds of silence as the shells shot thought the heavy mist. Then the gunners cheered. American flags were raised by the soldiers over their dugouts and guns and at the various headquarters. Individual groups unfurled the Stars and Stripes, shook hands and cheered.”
Welcome back to my second-hand interview with Jon Lucca from The Schmoejoes! The remainder of the interview has to do mostly with Waseca’s music scene. Since this was all recorded during the end of the interview, and a few drinks had been consumed, I had to sift from a lot of half-thoughts to get some full answers. I think you’ll enjoy what I have here, and I’ll follow it up with what’s going on this weekend, including a book exchange on Sunday at the request of the constant Waseca County News website commenter, onevoice. You’re welcome, onevoice!
So, to continue. My next question to Jon Lucca was to describe the fan base of The Schmoejoes, and their ideal fan base.
“The people who apparently best connect with us are teenage girls, and over 50 year old guys. That's kind of, really odd,” he laughed. He attributed their successful appeal to a variety of people by the fact that they don’t write songs that fit a single genre, but span their songs in a variety of styles. “The ideal fan base would be anyone who is tired of hearing the same old stuff all of the time,” Jon replied.
I asked him (my husband actually asked on my behalf, as I was sick, if you’ll recall) about what sort of feedback or criticism The Schmoejoes have gotten.
“People have not really criticized us that much. Oddly enough, it is my old band mates from The Lovejoys that are the first to dive on me about anything. That is actually why that band broke up, because we were three songwriters, three guys that could support a single band. My friend Pat is probably the most honest music-wise,” explained Jon intently. He continued, “I listen to every criticism. My wife — there are a few songs that she doesn’t like. I take her opinion very seriously. I always listen to her, but do I do what she tells me to do? No, not all the time.”
Then the topic turned to Southern Minnesota, and Waseca specifically. I wanted to know the difficulties that are presented to local acts, particularly those that write and play original music. My next question was about how local bands can go about promoting their music, and what The Schmoejoes do for promotion.
“As far as promo goes, I'm pretty lazy. I do as much internet promotion as possible. Twitter actually is probably the most useful one as far as the far-reaching promo,” he admitted. He went into how difficult band promotion is, with, “I’m not going to poster the town. There’s not that many places to put posters. Putting up fliers is exhausting, and there’s ordinances that prevent you from legally doing it. Doing promotion in Southern Minnesota is pretty terrible. There’s the Buzz, and they put the ads in, but as far as finding out what to do around town, there’s nothing.”
I wasn’t sure if I should resent that statement, but since my blog is rarely complete as far as covering everything that is going on, I decided that I couldn’t really take it as an insult.
The interview finally wrapped up with a question on how Waseca can help its local musicians.
“I feel like I’m part of the Waseca underground, and the Waseca overground are a bunch of people from out of town,” Jon lamented. “There’s a ton of music down here, but it’s so under appreciated.”
He described a powerful, musical bonding experience, saying, “I went over to Jerome Braten's house and payed an impromptu family jam, and it was the most beautiful thing that I've done musically in my life. I wanted to share it with everybody. There should be an outlet for that. But bar owners know that bands are not going to sell alcohol. Sometimes bar owners need to just look at what's in front of them and see what's here in town. Not all of it’s good, but some of it’s awesome.”
Jon finished with a moment of pride for his band, and their inherent originality and appeal.
“I’d put The Schmoejoes up against any cover band. I believe in the power of the ‘joes!”
So that’s it for Jon Lucca and our third-party interview. I hope you enjoyed it! Now, on to the weekend.
PJ’s Tavern is having a DJ both Friday, November 13th and Saturday the 14th. There will also be a dart tournament at PJ’s on Saturday, with sign-up at noon. The cost is $10 to join. At Club 57, Arrows at Dawn will be playing Friday night. Arrows at Dawn is an all-original band from Blooming Prairie. A quick listen brought me to the conclusion that they have a nice late 90’s sound, but little diversity in their chord progressions. Also at Club 57, Billy and the Bangers will play on Saturday. The most information I could find about them is that they play “classic blues with an edge.” Finally, on Saturday, The Fabulous Love Handles are going to play at Katie O’Leary’s. This band is gigantic (guitar, keyboard, saxophone, several harmony vocals, plus more) and they play covers from the 60’s onward. On their songlist there were not a whole lot of songs that I recognized, but I’d be interested to hear their version of “Whiter Shade of Pale.”
And to conclude, I am hosting a book exchange in the meeting room at Crossings Inn and Suites on Sunday, November 15th from 1:00p.m. - 3:00p.m. If you’ve never been to one before, they are a lot of fun. All you have to do is bring in books that you no longer want to keep, and trade them for books that interest you. I have a big box that I’ll be contributing personally, so you’ll be sure to find something. As I had to cover the ad in the Buzz on my own, I am not able to provide refreshments this time around, beyond the already-available coffee. Still, this is a great opportunity to get to know other book lovers in town and to recycle books, because if you’re like me, you can’t bring yourself to throw them away. All ages are welcome, and I’ll be bringing in a few children’s books. Tell your friends! I look forward to seeing you!
Sports and the venue it creates is a big deal in many small towns in our country! A good football team is about as good as it gets, I am of the old school who believes that a football team winning is the the real deal for a community: the fun, excitement, the pride is the best it can be! Everyone gets a chance to be part of it! The band, cheerleaders, individuals from the other fall sports teams, parents, alumni, even the bus driver is excited about playoffs and the potential trip to the big show! Great stuff isn't it?
This weekend get out and watch the Bucs and the Bluejays strut their stuff on the big stage! Waterville has been this level before, I know they have high expectations! Waseca is in new territory and I think hungry for recognition as one of the best ever in Waseca football! Good luck Coach Jon Bakken and Coach Brad Wendland! Enjoy the day with your squad and fans!
First off, I have to give a little insight into how I got this story. I
have been sick for the last week - so sick that I'm now taking vampire
antibiotics (as in, stay out of prolonged sunlight while taking these
pills). This, in turn, put a lot of pressure on my husband to take care of
the family. To relieve some of that pressure, he wanted to go out and
spend some time with his friend, and leader of The Schmoejoes, Jon Lucca.
So, in order to have something interesting for my blog, I sent some
questions with my husband so he could interview Lucca, which he did, and
recorded with his amazing iPhone. He brought me back approximately two
hours of conversation.
So what you're reading today is an incredibly stripped down, weeded
out version of that conversation, with the expletives either changed or
deleted. I wish I could sell copies of this on CD or something, because it
was a lot of fun to listen to. I actually have so much material, that I've
decided to cut this blog into two parts. So this is part one of the Jon
Lucca/Schmoejoes interview.
My initial area of interest was in the creation of the band name.
"I did not come up with the band name," Lucca clarified. "My friend
kind of has this weird dyslexia thing where he mixes up two different
phrases, and, he was like, "Why don‚t we call ourselves Joe Schmoe and the
Schmoejoes?‚ and we were like, That‚s it!‚ That was eighteen years ago.
Years later I moved down here and was like 'What should I call my band
now?' I always liked Joe Schmoe and the Schmoejoes, except that was way
too long, so, it was The Schmoejoes."
Next I asked him what he likes about playing shows in Waseca.
"I love playing Waseca. I do. It's odd, because I don't think I'd feel
as comfortable playing some random bar in some random town, but because I
live here I can feel the ownership of it. This is my town. Driving home
five blocks from here, that just rocks," Lucca illuminated.
I asked Jon where he liked to play in Waseca, and why.
"Barden's is the bar that reminds me of Northeast Minneapolis where I
spent my normative years. Barden's is so low key compared to other places
in town. You come here to drink, or you come here to talk. Everybody here
knows everybody else, but if you're the new guy, it doesn't matter. It's
totally loose." declared Lucca admiringly.
When asked to describe their sound, he replied, "I used to describe us
as getting drunk with Tiny Tim at Jimmy Page's neighbor's house. We're
sort of tongue-in-cheek pop. We're kind of like a cover band that plays
originals. If you appeal to someone's sense of familiarity, that's half
the battle right there. If you can give them something familiar, but
something new, that's the best of both worlds."
As a wife of a local band member, I know that bands like to network
and check out other local musicians. I asked him to name a few local acts
that he likes or dislikes.
"There is of course Paraphasia, which I love," he began, partially as
a shout out to my husband's band, since he was the one presenting the
questions. "There's the Arrows at Dawn guys, they're almost like Green
Day, or Foo Fighters meets Green Day. There was a band from Owatonna that
I dug called The Movies. I really liked the Gin Daddy's when they were
still together. Jason Madson did a few songs live with us at Lakefest.
Marcus Penny's band - I love them! Marcus is a good, down to earth guy. I
think he's phenomenally talented." And as for bands he doesn't like, he
continued, "I actually heard one song by the White Iron Band, which is a
terrible band name. It's kind of like a Toby Keith song, but it's about
Minnesota. It sounds like somebody singing about Tennessee, but it was
about Minnesota." He also described the song as "red-necky."
I should note (and Luca does in the interview) that all of the bands
he mentioned are mainly original artists. Stop by next week to see what
Jon Lucca of the Schmoejoes had to say about cover bands, other local
venues, and the lack of promotional opportunities. I may have to do a part
3, just to showcase the really bittersweet story behind their song
"Firefly."
With that, I'll continue on to the weekend. PJs Tavern is taking it
easy with a DJ both Friday, November 6th and Saturday, November 7th.
At Club 57, The Mason Dixons will be playing Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. The
Mason Dixons describe themselves as "country-rock that shakes the rafters
and then lets the dust settle with moving dancehall numbers." They play
"high energy country favorites and amazing originals."
Then at Katie O' Leary's, they're having 70's night on Friday. I'm told this is a fun theme
night, and since your only other option is a DJ, this looks like the event
to participate in. On Saturday they'll host The Murphy Brothers Band who will provide high energy rock. They're influenced by classic rock artists like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and if their videos are an indicator, they put on an awesome live show.
Thanks for reading, and look in next week as I continue with more
input from Jon Lucca of the Schmoejoes!
First off it is clear that my prognostication skills are sub-par at best, but anyone in my fantasy football league can attest to that. I did not see that level of turnout coming - I offer a huge round of applause to the citizens of the district for turning out in such huge numbers!
The huge buzz in the WCN comments section continued through the day - the level of involvement from both sides is another testament to citizenry of Waseca. Great thoughts, a few needles and already efforts being launched to deal with the new reality (or is it the same reality - just confirmed via vote?).
A couple of my thoughts:
I had a nice conversation with Cathy Hoy, while not excited about the outcome she is ready to go to work to make the schools function at the funding level we have. Her continued enthusiasm and drive will be crucial - I suspect that is true of the other board members as well. I shared my thought of the board teaming up with Waseca's finest community group to brainstorm and implement changes in the school system, I later had a chance to speak with the president of that group and he was enthusiastic to help and was going to take it to the board - I suspect that this will be HUGE for Waseca!
One asset that the district has that will be crucial is John Huttemier. I had a chance to talk with him for about an hour at a referendum meeting and was so impressed. He spent 90% of the time listening and processing - when he did speak his knowledge of education was very deep. He has innovative ideas, is a critical thinker and tremendous enthusiastic passion. I see him as having the ability to build the consensus necessary to implement the changes needed to deliver the same high level of education and services. So I lobby the board to place him in a position to lead this effort.
My Libertarian rant - While I support teachers unions and credentials I do not support unions being afforded greater rights than other employees to dictate how an operation works and am definitely against state mandated credentials. Given the groundswell of support from online commentors to donate money to the district I suspect that there is equal or greater willingness to donate time in the classroom, coaching and whatever else it takes to maintain the high level of excellence in Waseca schools. What prevents them? Union contracts, and credentialing malarky. So much talent turned away at the door because state and national legislators have bowed to special interests in the name of protecting the public. A fie on all of them. This town is filled with engineers and accountants that would love to teach a section of math. Lots of folks that would love to teach an art or shop class and might even be more qualified than the teachers on staff but are stymied by silly bureaucrats.
My Libertarian ray of hope - a few years ago I was seriously considering a Math Monkey franchise. I suspect that as the gap between the level of education demanded by parents and what is offered by the state grows the private education market will flourish. Hopefully to the point where the state gets out of the business all together. The private market is not just businesses it includes home schoolers, foreign language clubs, boy scouts, soccer leagues, as well as places like Creative Hands and so much more.
Back to the funding issue - had the state kept funding at same level or even increased it through increased property taxes (or other spending cuts) I wonder if Waseca residents would have been concerned with the level of funding to our district. It would still be our tax dollars, the increase would have just been disguised a little better. That is the nefarious nature of government the farther away they are the bolder they act and the less we scrutinize. Give us back the 9th and 10th amendment damn it.
The flip side of the coin if the referendum had passed and then Pawlenty's replacement restored funding in 2011 the district would have been in the catbird seat. My understanding is that while the referendum would allow the district to levy at $1300 per student that can levy below that amount. Perhaps that topic should have been explored addressed a little further - along the lines of "we may need $1300 in years 4-6 but we will cap the levy at $850 in years 1-3". I don't know that it would have swayed enough voters but it may have come across a little more in tune with the economy.
One more thought - the school district owns Trowbridge park. Clearly it is not essential the districts mission of educating students. What would be the community response to the district offering the park for sale? I see this as being very different from Maplewood, and even in line with the vote on the referendum. I doubt that the city is in the position to purchase it - and using tax dollars to purchase it would be an end run.
Well if you bothered to read all of this I thank you. I encourage you to share some feedback in the comments, let me know if I am a quack or if there is a topic you would like to start here. We are not bound by news worthiness, or subject - so if you want to talk poker, music, family, religon, swap Iowa jokes or just about anything else I am always up for it.
In advance of tomorrows vote I present the first (and last) non-annual Referendum Awards
Strategic Planning Award – goes to the school board for holding the big enchilada (6 years $1300 student) referendum in an off election year.
Best Sign Award – Joel Groebner
Best Advocate – Todd Zimmerman narrowly beats out Randy based on quantity.
Best Opponent – Dan Cunningham – He is also a lock for my citizen of the year award, nobody in Waseca has worked harder at bringing about change than Dan has.
Best online comment in favor of: neversaynever 10/28/09 “After reading and listening to many people express concerns on how to vote, I had to add my feelings. I worked in the construction idustry for over 17 years. When the economy crashed so did my job. After appx. 80 applications and resumes sent, I have realized without a good education even the smallest of employers wouldn't consider me. Strong school systems are the foundations for our children. Good education=good decissionssports=challenges=goals=successsame goes for all that is offered in our schools. Lets give our kids a chance. I will vote yes for great teachers to help guide my children to a better future. As far as my taxes, I guess my kids won't get a cell phone or go to the mall. I think if we all(most of us) look deep that 25 to 50 dollars can be found by just staying home and having a little family time once or twice a month.”
Best Online Comment against: leafturner 10/26/09
“Inflation around the corner or is it already here?”
“Our students will get a good education with or without the
referendum. IT'S THE LAW.”
“I am trying to close the zipper on my purse, but to many hands in the way taking my money out.
Thanks for making us spread the wealth that we never had.”
Levy Prediction: Passes by less than 8% - 2300 votes cast
Where will we be in 6 years prediction: State funding will be up 15% and levy request on the referendum will be $900 for 4 years
What categories did I miss? Was onevoice sunubbed? Your predictions?
Until 1973, senior citizens on Social Security received no automatic cost of living (COLA) increase. Prior to the creation of a COLA, Congress would decide whether (or not) to increase Social Security payments. Because Congress tended to get overly generous with increases (especially during election years), double-digit percentage increases were not uncommon. So, in some respects, offering an annual COLA – pegged to the inflation rate – was deemed to be better, fairer and cheaper.
Last year, due to the recession, the cost of living went down by 4 percent. Accordingly, seniors are slated to get no COLA increase this coming year. And, in fairness, they should not get one. Yet, President Obama and members of Congress seem intent on giving retired seniors a pay raise anyway. Congress is currently considering a flat $250 payment to every retiree (rich or poor). That payment will cost the federal government $13 billion (money the government does not have given our huge deficit).
Bear in mind that seniors did get a 5.8 percent increase last year – one of the largest COLAs ever paid. Social Security beneficiaries also received a tax rebate under the stimulus bill passed before President Bush left office. And, they were recipients of extra payments under the stimulus plan passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last February.
Compared to most workers in America, seniors are faring pretty well in this recession. Ten percent of working age Americans are presently unemployed with another roughly ten percent are underemployed. Few, if any, workers received a pay raise last year and prospects for pay raises this year are doubtful. Yet, these workers will be required to foot the $13 billion bill for this payment to retirees – through taxes in the future to repay today’s deficit spending.
This should not be a complicated decision for Congress. First, American workers are getting no pay raise. In fairness, neither should retirees. Second, the budget is already heavily in the red. We should not unnecessarily add to that debt. Third, the COLA was created to protect seniors from inflationary costs and this year the cost of living decreased. As a result, no Social Security increase is warranted.
Still, I predict Congress will heed President Obama’s call for a $250 payment to seniors – with money we do not have – because it is the popular thing to do.
I'm actually rather envious of a lot of you this upcoming Halloween. There
is so much going on in town, so many reasons to dress up and go have fun,
and instead of being able to enjoy this time with all of you, I'll be at a
friend's wedding. Still fun, but I'll miss being able to wear a proper
costume.
Katie O'Leary's is going to start the party early, and will have the band
Side F/X playing on Friday, October 30th. There will be a costume party
with prizes, so be sure to wear your most creative costume! They're the
only place in town that will be having costume contests on Friday and
Saturday, so if you're going trick-or-treating with the kids on Halloween,
you still have an opportunity to go out with your friends. Also on Friday,
PJs Tavern is going to have their "DJ at PJs" night, and the band Dr.
Salty will be playing at Club 57. Dr. Salty touts themselves as an
"American Rock & Roll Band" and they actually play (mostly) original
songs. The vocalist is clear and pleasant, and the music has a good beat.
They have a classic, maybe Aerosmith-esque sound.
On to Saturday, October 31st, which we all affectionately know as
Halloween. Frankie's Boys will be playing at Katie O'Leary's, and they
will be having another costume contest, with prizes! I hear that Frankie's
Boys play bluegrass/blues, and are a local favorite. I have yet to hear
them, but I'm interested. Also on Saturday is PJs Halloween Bash at PJs
Tavern with DJ Screammin' Productions and a costume contest with CASH
PRIZES, their website declares. Finally Club 57 will be hosting their
Halloween party (Costumes? Prizes? Their website doesn't say, but I'd
assume as much) and the band 6 Wheel Drive will be playing. They describe
themselves as "modern country rock," which to me does not sound all that
promising. Then seeing that they cover artists like Keith Urban and Little
Big Town made me lose interest completely. Still, I thought I would take a
listen to some of their tunes, and clicked on their myspace link.
Unfortunately, there were no tracks uploaded. So you'll have to use your
best judgment and imagination on that one.
Also on Saturday, the Schmoejoes will be playing at Barden's Bar. Their
website claims that they will be having "Spooky Shot specials, and
Terrifying Tap beer." Barden's has a costume contest as well, and they say
that their prizes are the best in town, but without knowing what those
are, how can we tell? I guess we just have to take their word for it.
Still, it's good to support the Schmoejoe's as they are an exciting,
local, original band. They have a great stage presence, and their banter
with the crowd is witty and original.
Thanks to everyone who has given me feedback and kept in contact with me,
so I can keep my updates as info-filled and accurate as possible!
One last question for you: What costume will you be wearing this weekend?
If I were able to, I'd be dressed as Alice from the game Shadow Hearts. If
you don't know what that is, feel free to do a google "image" search and
you'll see what I mean. So what/who will you be for Halloween?
Remember when Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer lyric said, “You’ll go down in his-tor-y!” Didn’t that sound strange to us as children, what did it mean? Well, in the history business it means you only have to live here to be part of the history of a place. You don’t have to be famous, or infamous, or have accomplished great feats to be part of Waseca County’s history. But what is the evidence of your existence? Think about your photographs, stories, objects and documents. How do we remember what happens in this place called Waseca County, if the stories aren’t written down or recorded, the facts aren’t verified, the photographs not taken, the information isn’t made available to our children’s children, and their grandchildren’s grandchildren? My point is--care about the history of your place in time, here in Waseca County, and all the parts of it—the towns, the farms, the townships, the businesses, the organizations, the objects, the stories, and especially the people. It’s all information and it’s all going to be history . . . some day. Care about it now.
Are you paying too much for ............. This is a question asked about everything these days! When it is tourney time , cost go out the window when you continue to win!
Teams are excited to get to the playoffs and each win bring more excitement for the coaches, fans and families! I notice over the years that success takes the sting out of the dollars spent in the off season for lessons or clinics, the extra gas and meals as we follow our team, the extra pasta party, the extra racquet stringing, the warmer jacket and gloves, the hotel room at STATE!
We all love a winner! The coach gets smarter, the cheerleaders are prettier, the team has more unity, and the parents actually start to like each other! Playoffs and winning are great, Good Luck to all this fall 2009 season! I hope we all go to State and win!
I normally avoid being a cut and paste type contributor but sometimes the words of another are so spot on that they bear repeating – in this case I feel this article is worth repeating in its entirety.
The reason this article seems important to me is that healthcare and education are both on the same treacherous path – in so many places you can replace the term healthcare with education and the statement rings just as true. So do I advocate privatization of education? 100%! You should never be forced via taxation to pay to educate my children. I choose to have children and thereby accept the responsibility to pay for them. While that is an easy academic conclusion to come to we are stuck with our decidedly non-academic real world where you do pay for my children’s education (not really, they attend Sacred Heart…but they will graduate into the Public School System), and I pay for yours. So until we break free from socialized education we still have a responsibility to make it the best that we can. To that end I support the referendum and the opportunity it brings for reform
STEWART W. PETERSON, what a great guy! Stew was an original! A lineman in college, Stew had the idea that life was fun and should be lived to the fullest!
My first experience with Stew was in summer baseball: the Sacred Heart guys were always told by the Public school guys that we were not good enough to play sports with them! We knew better and Stew knew better! Stew made sure the SH guys were on the VFW baseball squad, he knew we would make the team better and also we deserved the opportunity!
I never forgot Stew for that, he had remained a friend of mine for the 40 plus years since those baseball days!
God Bless Joe Lynch , Stew Peterson, Lee Storby, Manny Beckmann, John Bendix, Dean Means , Paul Andrejewski, Roger Nelson, Tony Sybilrud, and Jack Murphy: these were Public School guys or summer baseball guys who treated the big kid from Sacred Heart with class! Thanks!
I wonder if there are any venues in Waseca, or in Waseca County for that
matter, that would be willing to have an open mic night. Would you attend?
Would you have something to offer? What if it started, say, 7:00p.m. and
went to 10:00p.m., with a half-hour time limit for each person who signs
up. That's a limit of six people per night, doing what they love to do,
with plenty of time afterward for drinks and chatter. Just an idea - feel
free to post your ideas in the handy comment box below.
Now, on to the weekend. On the night of Friday, October 23rd there's a DJ
playing at PJs Tavern, and Club 57 will be hosting the band Good for Gary.
A peek at their myspace page revealed another Twin Cities cover band. They
are pretty well organized, with a nice variety of tunes. One thing made me
particularly happy - the fact that they specifically posted "We don't do
Nickelback." But then, I was saddened again by the appearance of All
American Rejects in their song list. Oh well, you can't win them all. They
have an entertaining cover of "Pinball Number Count" on their myspace
page. You remember that song, don't you? From Sesame Street? Sing with me,
"One-two-three-FOUR FIVE, six-seven-eight-NINE TEN, ELEVEN TWELVE!" That
may just be enough reason for me to see this band, All American Rejects
covers aside.
Then on Saturday, October 24th, PJs and Club 57 switch off again. A DJ
will be mixing up some tunes at Club 57, and at PJ's Tavern you can go
listen to more live covers from The Foolish Mortals. They are not, as one
would assume from their band name, a strictly metal cover band. Their song
list includes a plethora of singles from the 50's onward, songs that we
all know the lyrics to, but I have to question some of the choices again.
My Sharona? Really? I listened to the sampler available on their myspace
page and wasn't too impressed with what they had to offer, but it could
just be that the recording quality wasn't very good. The lead vocalist
grated on me, I'm sorry to say.
That is all that I was able to find for this weekend. There is a live band
playing at Katie O'Leary's on Friday night, but their name is not posted
on the Katie's website, and I don't have time to run by and look at the
poster on the door before I submit this blog. I'll put it up in the
comments as soon as I can.
Cheers everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has to offer
Halloween weekend! It should be a nice mix of music, contests, prizes, and
specials!
Shane Streich won the SCC Cross Country title this past week as a 7th grader, Micci O'Grady did the same in 1984 as a 8th grader and the Coach is the same guy? 25 years ago the area was amazed at a young Waseca runner, many have the same feeling today! Good luck to all athletes this week, no matter the sport!
1984/ O'Grady becomes youngest-ever SCC champ
On a scale of one to 10, Mici O'Grady has been a 10.
O'Grady, Waseca's eighth-grade running wonder, won her 10th race without a loss on Thursday, becoming the youngest Wasecan ever to win the South Central Conference cross country championship [or any SCC conference title].
"Mici was certainly the heavy favorite going into the race," coach Gary Meurer said. "And she went out and showed everyone they were right."
O'Grady, running with a bothersome back on a hazy Fairmont Country Club course, battled early with runner-up Beth Hoffman of St. James before opening a big lead and winning going away. O'Grady clocked 11:30, Hoffman 11:48.
- 25 years ago, October 16, 1984, Waseca County News
Well, it’s October and we’re watching baseball play-offs without the Twins—there’s always next year; but here’s a little Waseca baseball history about a winning team:
EACO’S 1901 winning baseball team
Waseca's famous baseball team of 1900 and 1901 was sponsored by the EACO Flour Mill (Everett & Aughenbaugh Mill). W. J. Armstrong (who built and operated the Southern Minnesota Grocery warehouse, now the Miller-Armstrong building) was their manager, R.P. Ward, president and L.W. Sterling, treasurer. They won the state amateur championship!
Fifty-seven games were played that season and they lost only fifteen. They players were Bob Foote (catcher), Theodore Snyder (right field), Bill Joiner (short stop), C.R. Wattles (first base), S. Foster (left field), Bob Mackey (third base), William Foster (center field), W. J. Armstrong (manager), William Vernon (second base), William Brisbane (pitcher) and Ed Woods (pitcher). They played the best clubs in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, and even journeyed to Chicago to play the Flandreau Indians and the Chicago Marquettes. In 1901 the team reached the peak of its fame, winning the amateur titles in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.
Rivalry between Waseca and Litchfield that year made the State Championship Series the greatest attraction before or since. The owner of the Lexington Park in St.Paul was offered a percentage to host the game there. He refused because he said he couldn't afford to pay the ushers out of what the gate would bring. So Waseca and Litchfield rented the grounds for a flat $50 to the everlasting sorrow of the St. Paul management. Special trains were run and the game drew over 10,000 people! And best of all, Waseca won the game by a score of 9-2!
I know the St. Louis Rams of the NFL are struggling this season: did you know they have 4 Minnesota guys on their roster? Minnesota FB is soft huh? James Laurinaitis from Wayzata, Adam Goldberg from Edina, Mark Setterstrom from Northfield, and Craig Dahl from Mankato East are the Minnesota born players! Just think Waseca played against Setterstrom and Dahl in the sporting season, they made it big so can you!
College rosters are sprinkled with Waseca area athletes in all sports! I know the Northern Sun and MIAC conferences have people on their rosters in many of the sports whether fall ,winter or spring seasons. How about Rick Jeddeloh coaching basketball at Bethany College, Mike Wobshall writing for Vikings .com, Phil Driscoll Jr. works for the Gophers in management of the FB stadium, Williams arena, and Hockey facilities, Eric Overland is one of the strength coaches for Notre Dame, there are many more people dreaming big in athletics!
So HS athletes in Waseca Area, DREAM BIG and work hard to excel! You will have fun and enjoyment beyond your wildest dreams! Good Luck!
This last week in Afghanistan has been one of sadness and time of reflection. We started out our week with news that we lost one of our fellow brothers. I say brother because after experiences like this you all form a special bond. It amazes me that a group of people from all over the state and some from other states, can come together and become so close. That is one of the main reasons I love the military.
We all joined together and have been looking out for each other. We have all reflected on what is important to us and all seem to have a different outlook on what it is we are doing here. Our memorial service for SPC George Cauley was a great tribute to his service and to the spirit of what kind of person he was. It was a time to remember what he did to defend freedom for his country and people from other countries. I thought about what he did for me and my family and how I will teach my kids that he is a true American hero.
After the service we had a grill out. I brought the ladder golf game that my mom had sent and few guys brought their bean bag board game. Other activities included cribbage, Frisbee, touch football, and some good old socializing. It was a great time to decompress and be with people.
We started our day today by being presented with our “combat patch”. This is a tradition that has been around since the Revolutionary War, started by General George Washington. The Army is the only branch that is authorized to wear a patch on their right sleeve and our unit is the first ones to be authorized to wear our particular patch. (I like history) We were also able to promote some well deserving Soldiers. Again it was nice to be together, to go through an experience with a group of people.
Deployments are hard on a Soldier, their family, their friends, and even the community especially when there is a loss. After the events of this last week I understand a little more about what it means to be in the military. Although many of our experiences are different and we have had different things happen, I know that when I meet someone that has served I always have a friend and something to talk about. There are so many interesting stories out there, I encourage anyone to sit and listen to a Veteran tell them.
After all of this reflection a great thing did happen today. The people from the Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grill came to our camp and cooked us one of the most delicious meals that I have eaten since I left the States. It is amazing what one event can do to change the morale of the troops. Everyone in the chow hall was full of smiles and talking about how awesome it was that they did that for us.
This morning, I got up at 4 AM. This afternoon, I decided to take a nap with my children. It was wonderful. Except the part where my four year old got up before me. I know, you are thinking he made some terrible mess. Nope. But he was kind enough to answer the door for a salesperson, since mommy was in bed, he was thoughtful enough to bring the business representative right upstairs into my bedroom. I thought that might be the strangest thing I have woken up to (a stranger in my bedroom with me and my son) a bit awkward as well.
This got me thinking, for all the times my children say I have embarrassed them, I have never been so embarrassed in my life as I have since becoming a mom. Thought it might be fun to cover some of these, and I would love to hear your red-faced stories as well. I will do my best to protect my children's identity, (or those of their friends) but for those of you who know some of my children, identification could come easily......
When one of my children was 3, we were visiting Grandma, who lived quite a ways away. She alway gave the children a juice box or soda as we left "for the road" as my daughter was given her sugary beverage by her grandmother, my daughter said "can Daddy have a beer for the road, Grandma?"
Same daughter, fast forward six years. She fell of her bike. Her wrist hurt, but not terribly, not a lot of swelling. I explained to her since it was late afternoon, we would keep an eye on it and see if she should see the Dr in the morning. She did go in the morning, and had a broken wrist. Of course, everyone wanted to know when she broke it. She politely informed them "I broke it on Wednesday, but Mom didn't take me to the doctor until Thursday."
One of my older daughters continued to hear me tell the little ones that the crab apples from the tree in the back yard would make them sick. This older daughter was babysitting her then two-year-old brother. She found he had consumed a crab apple. Apparently not realizing by "sick" I meant tummy ache, she proceeded to do what any responsible babysitter would do, she dialed 9-1-1.
My children say the way I dress embarrasses them. Apparently they have short term memory problems. One of my older sons went one entire year of preschool wearing nothing but Superman pajamas, day and night, complete with velcro-on cape.
Some of my daughters (when they were small) insisted that dance costumes left over from recitals DID count as clothing, and wore them everywhere.
One of my younger daughters used to chronically answer the door naked, this was how I met one of our neighbors for the first time when we moved in, as well as how she once greeted the pastor when he stopped by. Need I say more? Another daughter TODAY left the house in a denim skirt, petticoat and striped tights, and she is NOT five. I embarrass them? I just don't think I can compete with this!
While I could go on for days on this topic regarding my own children, there have been some fun ones lately with my children's friends as well.....
One of my favorites, one of my older daughters called from a freinds house. They were cooking and her friend had cut her hand. They wanted to know what to do. I walked them through some basic first aid and asked when the friend's parents would be home. The girls sweetly informed me they wouldn't be home for a while as they were "at the bar". (Turns out they are in a card group that MEETS at a bar.)
Last week I was watching a friend's children. As pre-teens will, they eat a lot. They did make sure I understood though, that it was due to the fact that all of the food in their house is expired. (I knew this not to be true, of course, one of my children had babysat them the night before, and they had found ONE expired food item.)
I certainly have learned over the years that children take things out of context. I do now get to giggle when my children's friends say such things, but I DO worry about what my kids say when they are at their friends houses!
Please do send me your finest "Mommy Moments" I would love to hear them!
While this seems like a fundamentally simple concept, apparently very few places in our little town are able to offer it. Apparently El Molino is a favorite, and I have to agree. It is nice to walk in, sit down, and immediately have complimentary chips and salsa placed on the table in front of you. Orders are filled quickly, the food is good, and drinks are refilled before you even have the chance to ask for it. The staff is friendly and efficient, and the mood is relaxed. So why do other venues seem to struggle in meeting these same standards?
My guess would be the economy. These difficult economic times have forced places to cut back on staff, on how long they're open and on what days, on paid training. The uneasiness of business owners have also cultivated an uneasiness in the staff, which is then passed on to the customer. The customers leave, the business owners panic and raise prices, and sometimes even charge staff for things that were once free (like coffee and doughnuts), and as a result, the talented staff leave, and the customers either have to deal with raised prices and poor staff, or, like so many of us do, go elsewhere. This is mostly speculation, but some of it I have seen first hand. It seems like Waseca businesses, particularly those that deal in entertainment, are spiraling downward.
There are things that I would like to see here in town, and I think they would be easy enough to pull off. I believe what we are lacking entertainment-wise is variety. I would like to see poetry readings, live musicians with something new to offer, and most of all, live theater. The
problem becomes finding a venue where different artists can perform. The community auditorium is too full of school activities for the odd community theater troop to compete, and the outdoor stages are only useful in the summer months. Waseca could really use its own specific place for members of the community t
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