JULY • The Kimball Express team rounded out the regular season the weekend of July 7-8 with two more wins, finishing the season on top of the Central Valley League South Division and claiming home field advantage throughout CVL playoffs. • Kimball Community Playhouse’s musical version of “Grease” was presented July 19-22, setting records. The opening night performance was the largest in KCP history, with more than 300 patrons attending. By July 22’s matinee performance, approximately 950 peple attended the production. • Twenty young people from 15 countries gathered in Fair Haven the week of July 23. They were participants in Camp Spicer, a traveling camp sponsored by Lions Clubs International. The young men and women were hosted overnight by Fair Haven Lions and Leo members, after sharing a potluck dinner at Fair Haven Park. • Seventh-graders Ellen Rainer and Alison Baker of South Haven and Alissa Jones of South Haven attended an unusual summer camp at the University of St. Thomas. STEPS (Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Sumnmer camp for girls)is geared toward getting participants interested in science and engineering. The three girls had built and flown their own radio-controlled model airplanes. • More than 60 seniors, regular diners and friends gathered at the Kimball Senior Dining Site in St. Anne’s Catholic Church July 26 to celebrate the site’s annual “Bring a Friend to Apple Pie Day.” Local students from the Summer of Service Program served seniors at the dining center. • The annual Old Timers’ Picnic was held July 28 at Willow Creek Park in Kimball. • Gluek Brewing Company marked 150 years in business with a special concert by the award-winning country music group Lonestar July 28 at Gluek Brewing Company’s distribution center. The event was also held in connection with Cold Spring’s Hometown Pride celebration. Minnesota National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers home from “Operation Iraqi Freedom” were invited, along with their guests, to enjoy the outdoor concert event at no charge. • The Kimball Express captured the number one seed in the CVL north division, beating the Luxemburg Brewers 6-2 at Willow Creek Park and Veterans Memorial Field in Kimball July 29. With the win, the Express improved their overall record to 21-7, they captured the regular season CVL North title and the CVL North playoff title, gaining the number one seed heading into the Region 11C playoffs, • Brian Mies of Annandale was named North American Wildlife Enforcement Officer of the Year at the annual meeting of North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association at St. Paul in July. It marked the first time Minnesota hosted the event and was also the first time a Minnesota conservation officer received the prestigious award. • Kimball #3 Little League team finished the season with a 12-0 record. Strong pitching and solid hitting led the impressive record. AUGUST • On Aug. 1, Life Link III presented Kimball Fire and Rescue with the “Link to the Community” Award at their monthly meeting . Because of the quality care they provide their patients and their excellent work with air medical transport in their area, Life Link III medical crew members nominated Kimball Fire and Rescue for the award. The Link to the Community Award recognizes emergency medical services for outstanding patient care, teamwork and a commitment to the well being of their communities. As part of the Link to the Community Award, Kimball Fire and Rescue received a global positioning system (GPS) that can be used in to provide exact positioning information for helicopters when they are needed on a scene. • Watkins Fire Department held its annual Kraut N Wurst Days celebration Aug. 3-4 in Watkins. • On Aug. 4, a 110-year-old round barn near St. Michael was cut into seven pie-shaped pieces and scheduled to be transported 40 miles to a farm near Kingston and Kimball sometime in the fall. A developer had purchased the land and wanted the barn removed or destroyed. When Linda and Richard Stewart of Minnetonka read about the pending destruction of the barn, they decided to save and move it to their farm, where they raise organic vegetables and herbs for Twin Cities restaurants. • Aug. 7 was proclaimed by Kimball Mayor Tammy Konz at “National Night Out,” with activities designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness held at Kimball’s Willow Creek Park. • On Friday, Aug. 10, Hayley Schiefelbein was crowned Little Miss Kimball at queen coronation ceremonies held at Kimball Area High School. Princesses were Justine Miller and Bailey Berscheid. The 2007 Little Miss Kimball candidates for the annual Kimball Days celebration, which ran Aug. 10-12 were: Bailey Berscheid, 8-year-old daughter of Erick and Melinda Berscheid; Makayla Epple, 7-year-old daughter of Jody Orbeck and Paul Epple; Shania Garding, 6-year-old daughter of Gary and Jody Garding; Erika Gilpatrick, 9-year-old daughter of Jeff and Shirley Gilpatrick; Kiersten Johnson, 6-year-old daughter of Randy and Gwen Johnson; Justine Miller, 6-year-old daughter of Bernie and Barb Miller; Hayley Schiefelbein, 10-year-old daughter of Frank III and Cathy Schiefelbein; and Libby Yozamp, 7-year-old daughter of Steve and Sarah Yozamp. • On Aug. 12, Gene and Gloria Gohmann acted as the 2007 Grand Marshals of the Kimball Days parade. The Gohmanns, owners of Gohmann’s Foods in Kimball, have made Kimball their home since 1974. • Cousins Ted and Julia Zipoy participated in the International Kids Tractor Pull Aug. 12 in Fairfield, Iowa. Ted placed first at state competition and third at national competition. Julia placed second at the state competition held in Hutchinson. Ted is the son of Sue and Tim Zipoy and Julia is the daughter of Sarah and Tom Zipoy. • James Nicholas Dahlager, 26 of Sacred Heart, and his 19-year-old wife Kelsey Jeanne Schmidt of South Haven were arrested Aug. 15 in Plymouth South Haven in connection with 14 robberies across the state of Minnesota, including two in Meeker County. Dahlager is suspected of robbing Mike’s Standard in Eden Valley June 8 and Roger’s Grove City Liquor July 4. In both instances, the suspect showed store clerks a silver semi-automatic handgun, demanded cash and wore a bandana over his face. • A bike run was held Aug. 18 in memory of Linda Salmela. Although it was a rainy day and not ideal for a motorcycle ride, many people still participated in the 135-mile run that started at LaLa’s in South Haven and went to Cedar Mills, Mannannah, Pearl Lake, and ended at Shawn and Karri Stuve’s. After the run, there was a benefit held for Katy Stewart-James, who is fighting the battle against leukemia. Many local business and vendors donated to help make the fund raiser a success. They were able to raise more than $2,000 for Katy. • The Kimball Cubs football team defeated St. John’s Prep 55-0 in their first game of the season Aug. 31 at home. It was also “Fill the Stadium Night/Parent’s Night” with all admission $1. September • Students went back to school at Kimball area schools Tuesday, Sept. 4. This year’s 50 kindergarteners can expect to graduate in the spring of 2020. • A benefit bake sale was held Sept. 15 at Redeemer Lutheran Church in St. Cloud for Katy Stewart-James, 12, who is suffering from leukemia. Funds raised from the benefit went towards mounting medical bills. • A multi-agency disaster drill took place the morning of Sept. 15 along the railroad tracks just east of Hwy. 15 in Kimball. Smoke, emergency vehicles and “victims” played a part in the drill. The training exercise was sponsored by Canadian Pacific Railway (also known as CP Rail) which has freight lines that pass through Annandale, South Haven, Kimball, Watkins and Eden Valley. • Kayla Hinkemeyer of Kimball was crowned Bemidji State University Homecoming queen Sept. 24. Kayla is the daughter of Dennis and Patti Peterson and Sheila Hinkemeyer. Brian Olmanson, son of steve and bonnie Olmanson of St. Cloud, was
crowned Homecoming king at Bemidji State. • Amelia Hentges received a $3,000 scholarship check from Joyce Quast, LPN/manager of Heritage House of Kimball. Amelia is pursuing a career in community supports for people with disabilities. She is on the staff at heritage House of Kimball as a home health aide and must work a minimum of 20 hours per week on average and maintain a 2.5 GPA or better. • The St. Cloud Dioces Office put together an exchange for members of its Diocese with the Diocese in Homa Bay, Kenya, in East Africa. Last summer, Sue Heath and Lisa Stein were among a group that spent 15 days in Homa Bay. This year, a group of 12 came from homa Bay to St. Cloud. Thomas Kogolla and Peter Ogada, members of that group of 12, stopped in Kimball Sept. 27 as part of their Central Minnesota tour. • The Kimball Lions held its first annual 5K run/walk Sept. 29. All proceeds from the run are going to Sight First II, started in 1990 to help prevent blindness. October • Roger, Candy, Sammi and Katy Stewart-James took an unforgettable trip to Paris, complements of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Early in 2007, Katy was diagnosed with leukemia and the Make-A-Wish Foundation offered to grant one of 8-10 wishes she was asked to make on an application. From those, she had to pick out her top three and her wish for the family to visit Parish was granted. • Kimball Area High School Homecoming festivities were held the week of Oct. 8-12. Coronation was Oct. 8 – Anthony Laabs was crowned Homecoming king and Laura Arnold was crowned Homecoming queen. • The Kimball Cubs football team won its homecoming game against the Rockford Rockets Oct. 12. The final score was 20-17. • Between rain storms, crews milled off the top of pavement on Highway 15 through town the week of Oct. 15, as part of the resurfacing of Highway 15 between Kimball and St. Cloud. They laid down 3 inches of hot asphalt cement (more than 300 degrees) and compressed it down to 2 1/2 inches. This stretch of road is part of a $2.1 million Mn/DOT project that was scheduled to be completed in October. • Kimball Fire Department responded to a house fire on Hwy. 15 between Kimball and Kingston shortly after noon Oct. 19. Watkins was also called and responded with five trucks. The home of Matt and Mary Lindberg sustained some structural damage in one corner and smoke damage throughout. There were no injuries. • Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call Oct. 20 reporting a structure fire at the Jennie-O Turkey Farm at Grove City. One 400-foot by 72-foot building was destroyed by the fire and about 20,000 four- to five-week-old turkey perished in the fire. There were no injuries to responding emergency personnel or any Jennie-O employees. November • The Eden Valley-Watkins-Kimball girls’ cross country team was named the section 6A All Academic Team, proving the girls are doing a great job in the classroom as well as on the course running. • On Nov. 6, Schiefelbein Farms of Kimball was precented a check for $275,000, a Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is actually a matching grant and comes with plenty of strings and limits. It cannot be spent, for instance, on buildings or facilities. And it is a dollar-for-dollar matching grant: for every dollar the farms spend on VAPG program-approved expenditures, the grant matches with one dollar. In writing the grant, Schiefelbein Farms had to specify how each dollar would be spent and how each dollar would add value to the Schiefelbein cattle. • Independent School District 739 of Kimball held school board elections. Robin Dockery (222 votes), Kurt Helgeson (201 votes), and Tim Zipoy (191 votes) were elected to replace retiring board members Jerome Kuechle, Dorothy Kersten, and Dave VanVleet in January 2008. Candy Stewart-James, who also ran, received 105 votes. A total 259 votes were cast. • Kimball Elementary School was among eight schools in the state named “Minnesota Schools of Excellence” this year. The Schools of Excellence criteria were developed by the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association (MESPA) based on research and aligned with national standards in leadership, vision, student learning, the culture of adult learning, data and decision-making and community engagement. • Kimball Area High School students Kelsey Klein and Amanda Kuseske were chosen to perform Saturday, Nov. 10, in the St. Olaf College Festival Band at St. Olaf in Northfield. They were chosen from a pool of more than 600 of the top high school musicians from central and southern Minnesota to be part of the 140-piece Festival Band. • The week of Nov. 11-17, Kimball Schools celebrated American Education Week with activities throughout the week. • Kimball Area High School held its football awards banquet, honoring outstanding Cubs. • At its Nov. 19 meeting, the Kimball city council was presented a flag and two flag poles by Bill Adolph of the Kimball American Legion. The new flag will replace the one borrowed from a local church for city hall. • The traditional first-grade Thanksgiving feast was held Nov. 20 at Kimball Elementary School. This year’s first-graders again made their own costumes (as Pilgrims, Indians or a combination). They dined on applesauce that they made, popcorn, pumpkin muffins and apple juice. Teachers were Mrs. Klein, Mrs. Nusbaum and Mrs. Gustafson, as well as Foster Grandma Nancy. • The city of Kimball held an open meeting Nov. 29. The 15-member steering committee, consultants from Biko Associates and about 50 other community members participated in an exercise to prioritize items for Kimball’s comprehensive plan. December • On Dec. 2, Joyce Quast, LPN/manager at Heritage House of Kimball, presented a scholarship check to Tiffany Danelke of Kimball. Tiffany has worked at Heritage House for one year and is pursing a career as a medical administrative assistant. • Kimball Elementary School’s planned concert Dec. 4 was postponed to 7 p.m. Dec. 6 because of snow. All other after-school activities were canceled Dec. 4 because of a snowstorm that dumped about 6 inches of fresh snow in central Minnesota. Students in grades K-3 performed their concert the mroning of Dec. 4 for parents, teachers and other KES students. The one-hour program entitled “Special Gifts” was directed and arranged by Arlene Sands. • On Dec. 7, A fish fry benefitting the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life was held at Playland Ballroom in kimball. • A spaghetti dinner benefit for Katy Stewart James was held Dec. 8 at the South Haven City Hall, followed by a silent auction and dance. Katie was diagnosed with leukemia this past January. • The week of Dec. 3, Tom Ehlinger, Kimball Fire & Rescue Squad Department chief for the past five years, handed over the reins of the volunteer department to new fire chief John Gohman. Other officers approved by the city council are Dave Traurig, new assistant chief, and Jim Young, first assistant chief; captai
