Committee formed to help plan the new hospital

March 28, 1963 – A pair of Glenwood High School students was selected to participate in Boys’ and Girls’ State. Named for the honor were Daniel Gades, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Gilbertson. Named alternatives were Donald Larson and Kathryn Ann Cosgrove. 

The last traces of the previous week’s eight-inch snowfall were disappearing, and the temperatures were reported to be high as 66 and 67 degrees over the weekend. Pictured in the Tribune on their first trip of the year to the Minnewaska Golf Course were Gilman Gandrud and Al Fjoslien.

Phyllis Vinge, eighth-grader from Starbuck and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Vinge, of Blue Mounds Township, won the county’s spelling bee. Claiming second-place honors was Gregory Hegg, of Glenwood. David Samuelson, of Starbuck, had been the previous year’s winner. Vinge would go on to state competition.

March 29, 1973 – The Pope County Selective Service office, which had operated almost continuously since 1940, was about to shut down its operations. The closing of the local draft office had been ordered by the Department of Defense. Local officials included Mrs. H.M. Halverson, executive secretary and draft board members, Allan Halls, Clarence Buchholz, Mervin Felt, Adolph Carlson and Earl Ettesvold. Halverson reminded young men that they would still need to register for the draft.

A county-wide committee was formed to assist in the planning of a new hospital. Twenty-four of the county’s 30 voting precincts were presented at an organizational meeting in Glenwood. Officers elected be the group included Iver Aal, White Bear Lake Township, chair; Pete Bright, New Prairie Township; and James B. Olson, Glenwood Township.

Boys’ and Girls’ Staters were named at Villard High School. They were Jeff Walker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Walker Jr., and Agnes Bryce, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bryce. Selected alternates were Randy Searcy and Debbie Cowley. 

Shirley Anderson, art teacher in Starbuck, was named one of 30 Teachers of Excellence and was thus in the running for Teacher of the Year in Minnesota. 

March 31, 1983 – For the second time in four days the Glenwood area was doused with four inches of new, wet snow. Residents were expecting warmer, sunnier weather by the end of the week. 

Two Starbuck area men and two juveniles were charged in a rash of burglaries in the southwest part of the county. At least 10 homes had been struck by the thieves. 

A 73-year-old Starbuck man died in a fire at his home. The blaze may have occurred as the man worked on an oil stove which exploded. 

A Glenwood Township farmer survived a tractor accident in which the machine drove over his chest and face. The farmer urged farm safety and said, “I wouldn’t have thought it would have been possible to tell about it.” 

March 29, 1993 – Pope County Hospice was to celebrate 10 years of service to Pope County with a special program at Glenwood Lutheran Church. Over the past 10 years Pope County Hospice had served over 160 patients, but Sharon Larson, director of nursing at Glacial Ridge Hospital and one of the founders of the local organization, said that was just a small part of the people they had reached.

The Glenwood Fire Department responded to 61 emergency calls in 1992. According to Fire Chief Tim Torguson, 1,639 man hours were given in responding to the calls. The fire department also held 28 drills and 12 meetings. 

Three members of the conference champion Minnewaska Lakers boys’ basketball team were selected to the West Central South Division all-conference team. They were seniors Matt Olson, Ryan Shea and Brian Malyon. In addition, fellow senior Brad Randt was named to the honorable mention squad.

March 31, 2003 – On March 20, Debbie Roiko of Glenwood heard from her son for the first time since he was deployed to Iraq on Jan. 14, 2003. “He didn’t really know where he was going,” said Roiko. “He called me and told me that he was being deployed to Iraq and that he would contact me when he had a chance.”

“There’s going to be a lot of empty office space in St. Paul.” That’s what Sen. Dean Johnson predicted would be a result of compromises as the Minnesota Legislature worked to solve its $4.2 billion budget deficit.

April 1, 2013 – A scaled-down version of the marina proposal on Lake Minnewaska could become a reality in June of this year. Glenwood City Commissioners agreed to send to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) an amended permit request for a marina to be located near Lakeside Ballroom on Lake Minnewaska.

The Minnewaska Area School District offers options to students facing challenges or who are simply finding it difficult to succeed in a customary high school milieu. The Minnewaska Area Day Treatment (MADT) program and the Minnewaska Area Alternative Options High School (MAOHS) are the available choices, and both are coordinated by Principal Diane Cordes.