Visitors Guide wins best magazine

Jan. 30, 1964 – Over 2,000 Boy Scouts were expected to attend the first-ever Scout Fishing Derby on Lake Minnewaska. Organizers anticipated the gathering to be one of the largest groups of scouts in one place in Minnesota and North and South Dakota. Over 400 advance registrations had already been received. 

Salary increases averaging $355 were to be offered to the teachers in the Glenwood school district by the board of education. Fifty-nine faculty members worked from a salary schedule first approved in 1954. Since that time, the average salary of a Glenwood teacher had moved from $3,553 to $6,242. 

L.E. Finstad, longtime Pope County commissioner, died at the Minnewaska District Hospital. He had been in failing health for a time but had served on the county board for 16-1/2 years. 

Jan. 31, 1974 – One of the worst fires in the history of the city of Glenwood was over, and business on Minnesota Avenue was beginning to return to some semblance of normalcy. The fire destroyed the Rogers Café and Hotel and Greene’s Shoe Store as well as doing serious damage to Dovel’s Furniture, Rippe’s Plumbing and Heating and Haima’s Build-a-Rama. The fire was discovered by Glenwood police officer, Bill Ingebritson as he made rounds about 4 a.m. All businesses were up and running again and had generally announced plans to rebuild.

When the Rogers burned, it took with it the last building in Glenwood to bear the name “hotel.” The structure was built in 1910 by Dr. Carl Fjelstad, who used some space in the hotel for his office. It had hot and cold running water in each of its guest rooms. In 1914 C.A. Swanson bought a half-interest in the business and opened his bakery in the lower level. The Swansons shipped bread as far as Outlook, Mont., and by boat to Starbuck. 

Colder weather was expected to move into the Glenwood area following almost spring-like temperatures. Even nighttime lows had been above zero for two weeks. 

Jan. 26, 1984 – The Glacial Ridge Hospital announced that it was studying plans to open a clinic in Brooten which would serve that part of the hospital district. The idea had been presented to the Brooten City Council. 

A special election was set for March when Pope County voters, in conjunction with Douglas County voters, would make the choice about whether or not to construct a solid-waste incinerator. Plans approved by the state for the project anticipated a cost of $3.3 million for the joint county effort.

Though both girls’ and boys’ basketball teams at Villard were having a tough year, the girls beat the Cyrus Panthers at Cyrus. Scoring for the victory were Kim Novak, Jennifer Thurk, Ginene Reichmann, Pat Rode and Sheila Jenson. 

Jan. 31, 1994 – Medical supplies from aspirin to antibiotics were needed in Russia. Five Pope County residents were going to help fulfill the needs of that country in March. The three-week mission to Russia was sponsored by the House of Prayer Ministries in Alexandria. Church members from Villard, Kathy Adolphsen, Jean Zitzmann and Orville and Janet Schnetzer, and Wilma Lien from Starbuck were busy preparing for the March 2 departure by seeking donations of medical supplies or money to purchase supplies. 

Pictured in the Tribune was Don Faust, of Sheldon, Iowa, who had caught the third largest fish in the Minnewaska ice fishing contest on Saturday, Jan. 29. He caught a .28 pound perch and thus won the 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck. The largest fish was a .71 pound walleye caught by Steve Simmerman of Minneapolis. He won a BPS 12-gauge shotgun. Second place went to Joe Zemen of Franklin for his .26 pound perch, for which he won a StrikeMaster gas powered auger. 

Michal Hustad and Joey Alexander were reigning over the annual Snow Week at Minnewaska Area High School. The two seniors were crowned during coronation ceremonies held the previous Saturday evening in the school auditorium.

Jan. 26, 2004 – Minnewaska Area Schools officials drew within $4,462 of a balanced budget for 2004-05, but some proposed cuts approved too difficult for the MAS Board of Education. MAS was seeking to reduce its expenses and increase revenue by $693,215. The Minnewaska Area Schools budget needed to be cut because of reductions in state aids and declining enrollment.

During the previous week, E.N. Nordgaard teachers Steve Hoffmann and Jeff Mensing made a bet they did not want to lose. They told students that if the school could raise $500 for the upcoming Polar Plunge fundraiser for Waterama, they would spend one night camping out on the roof of the school. Hoffmann and Mensing had already signed up to take the plunge into Lake Minnewaska as part of the upcoming Winterama festivities. 

Jan. 27, 2014 – The ASAP (Against Substance Abuse in Pope) coalition, with support from the sheriff’s department, is looking to pass an ordinance that will establish penalties for any adult who knowingly hosts an underage party and unlawfully serves alcohol to minors. 

The Glenwood City Commission approved a resolution on Jan. 22 allowing the city, along with Pope County, to apply for Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding. Scott Formo, executive director of the Glenwood Lakes Area Chamber, was at the meeting and stated that the grant funding from TAP will be used to supplement the 2018 downtown complete street project in Glenwood. 

The Pope County Tribune took home three statewide awards last week at the annual Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA). The Minnewaska Visitors Guide, produced by the Pope County Tribune staff and designed by the Tribune’s graphic designer Angie Cole-Olson, won first place in competition among all weekly newspapers in the “Best Magazine” category.