Proposal to move fairgrounds introduced to commissioners

June 11, 1964 – Two Glenwood residents were elected as district American Legion offices. Ardis Stone was chosen as the new second vice president of the district’s auxiliary, and Jerry Leedahl was elected to service as second vice commander on the district level. 

The Pope County area had received a welcome rainfall, ending a heat wave with temperatures as high as 91 degrees and a drought that was threatening serious crop damage. A tornado or two moved through the Long Prairie area, causing considerable damage and serious injuries. 

Fishing was good on area lakes with many fisherman, locals and visitors reporting limits of bass. 

The Ben Wade Blazers took up honors in the annual Field Day. Among individuals participating in the kittenball throw were Eugene Hanson, Charles Erickson, Gordon Espelien, Dave Bardal, Butch Judkins, Lament Jeitz, Orona Forbord, Donna Swenson, Eloise Amundson, Janet Olson, Rosemary Barsness and Bonnie Anderson. 

June 13, 1974 – Ten cars of a Soo Line freight train derailed a mile and a half west of Farwell. An ore car being hauled as freight came off its car and took the others with it. It took railroad workers three days to clean up the mess. 

Bob Robards submitted his resignation from the board of education of District No. 612. He was moving to Cyrus and thus out of the district. He had been on the board since 1972. 

Glenwood failed in its bid to repeat as state Class A track champions, but the Lakers did manage a first and two seconds. They were from Dale Kramer, who set a new state record in the two-mile run and sprint medley team, and Greg McIver, who did not reclaim his title as the 180-yard low hurdles champion but came in second. 

Local crop reports said that the small grains looked “excellent,” but that haying in the area was behind schedule due to heavy spring rains.

June 14, 1984 – Pope County farmers were grateful for rain that feel as the  small grain crops needed it. But the rain didn’t know when to quit, as there were reports of 3-1/2 to 7 inches that fell over the weekend. While the initial rainfall of about an inch was considered a multimillion dollar event, some area farmers were beginning to worry about soil erosion and their downed hay. Corn cultivating was also delayed. 

The Pope County Board of Commissioners voted to establish a ditch fund since the number of petitions for ditch work in the county was up. 

Midsommernattsfest, sponsored by the Mjøsen Lodge of the Sons of Norway, was scheduled to be held at Glenwood. Members of the county committee organizing the event were Astrid Forde, Joe Gandrud, Harold Skilbred and Bob Belgum. 

June 13, 1994 – Mother Nature was slowly consuming the 91-year-old keystone arch bridge at the Terrace Mill. Through the years, the fieldstones had fallen into the Chippewa River, which flowed directly through the arch. Members of the Terrace Mill Foundation, who were interested in resorting and preserving the Terrace Mill site, were pleased to hear that the Minnesota Historical Society had awarded the foundation a $7,500 matching grant to begin the first phase of the project, which was estimated to cost close to $165,000.

A proposal to move the Pope County fairgrounds out of Glenwood in order to make room for more business development had been introduced to the Pope County Board of Commissioners. Three businesses – Pamida, Hardees and Tom’s Save Rite – were interested in building in that location. 

High school students from around the state had taken part in the high school rodeo competition at the Pope County Fairgrounds. The finals of the state competition were to be held later in June in Fergus Falls. 

Thanks to a donation for a flag pole by the late Alice Cook, Villard had a flag pole and a bell tower. The bell was from the old fire hall and was over 100 years old. 

June 7, 2004 – Would you believe that Russian companies were closer to American companies in form and function than European companies? That was an observation of Anatoiy Chistyakov, one of the 11 Russians who spent a day learning about small business at R/C Machining in Glenwood. Christyavok was general director of Fobos, a manufacturer in Rybinsk, Russia, a firm with 143 employees. The Russians were business owners or managers and were in Minnesota for three weeks as part of a program by Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI). This particular group was here as part of the organization’s productivity enhancement program. 

Pope County engineer Brian Noetselman presented the Pope County Board of Commissioners with two options for a road design of County Road 28 near Villard. The county planned to rework the road into a safer speed design, and the new adjustments would impact the Wildman family’s property. The county and the Wildman family had been working together to determine a compromise for several months. The two sides had come to an agreements that wouldn’t interfere with the Wildmans’ farmland and would still allow the county to build safer curves into the county road. 

June 9, 2014 – The Starbuck Stars snapped a six-game losing skid on Saturday with a 4-3 win over Paynesville. Mike Andreas got the rare opportunity to both get the win and save. Andreas pitched in the sixth and seventh innings. In the top of the eighth the Stars broke a 2-2 tie by scoring a pair of runs. Paynesville rallied in the ninth to load the bases and Andreas came back to record the final three outs, preserving the victory. Andreas, Andy Toop, Taylor Kollman and Tyler Nielsen all singled in the inning with Andreas and Tyler Toop scoring the two runs. Starbuck opened the season with a 5-2 win over Paynesville and were 2-6 on the season. 

Demolition was completed last week of the final building on Klick Family properties, making way for new construction of a housing facility. The property, located across from Lake Minnewaska along Lakeshore Drive near Lakeside, will be the location of the project that features condominiums with views of Lake Minnewaska. Construction of the new housing facility could begin this summer. 

Jack Schultenover qualified for the state track & field meet finals in the 100 meter dash, running third in his heat in the preliminary qualifying race on Friday. Schultenover’s 11.23 was the sixth-best time of the three heats. The top nine times advanced to the finals on Saturday.