2023 Year in Review: November

NOVEMBER

With Stearns County Emergency Services in the lead, an emergency drill was held in Kimball Wednesday evening, Nov. 1. The exercise situation was a “pretend” train derailment with leaking chemicals. Nearly 80 emergency personnel from Kimball, Watkins, South Haven, Stearns County, Mayo Ambulance, and more participated in the exercise. Kimball fire chief Dave Traurig told the city council that it “went very very well.” “I was very proud to be there,” he said. “We train well.” Training for such emergencies is important to local fire and police departments, just as “practice burns” help train firefighters. There are many things to be learned, including who does what, who’s in charge, and what are the standard procedures.

The Kimball FFA Food Science team competed Nov. 2 at the National FFA Conference in Indianapolis, Ind. From among 32 teams, the Kimball team finished 11th in the nation, earning them an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Poultry Convention in Atlanta, Ga. Jordyn Theis and Jackson Fink earned Gold Individual awards, and Austin Kunkel and Bryce Lindberg earned Silver Individual honors.

Eden Valley-Watkins rolled to a 44-14 win over Holdingford in the Section 5AA Championship game Friday, Nov. 3, at St. John’s University’s Clemens Stadium. The Eagles (10-0) led 28-6 at the half. The Huskers (7-4) cut it to 28-14 at the end of the third quarter, but EV-W scored the final two touchdowns to ice it.

Minnesota’s State Champion 4-H Dairy Knowledge Bowl Team competed against 14 other state champion teams from throughout the United States at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 3-4. Dairy Bowl is a competition where all questions deal with dairy topics. Teams of four to six members take a written test and then compete face-to-face orally answering questions posed by a moderator on nutrition, reproduction, milk quality, judging, and more. Teams receive points for correct answers and lose points for incorrect answers. The team with the highest final score is the winner. The contest is organized on a double-elimination basis with winning teams advancing into further rounds until a champion team is selected.

EV-W/K runner Henry Lemke placed ninth in the state at the Nov. 4 Class AA State cross country tournament in Falcon Heights. Lemke was the sole EV-W/K runner to qualify for the State Tournament. He finished the course in 16:00:80 and earned All-State honors. Following the awards ceremony, Lemke posed with coaches Tyler Warren and Holly Hansen.

A special referendum was held Nov. 7 on a proposed operating referendum for Eden Valley-Watkins schools. The referendum passed with 729 YES votes and 365 NO votes. Passage of the referendum revoked the current operating levy of $82.75 per pupil and replaced it with an operating levy of $460 per student for 10 years. The increased funds will be used to maintain current staffing and curriculum options as rising costs eat away at the district’s reserve fund.

The Eagles won their Nov. 9 game against Moose Lake/Willow River (played at Forest Lake), 60-0, to advance to the State Class AA semifinals Nov. 17 at U.S. Bank Stadium, facing Cannon Falls.

The Kimball American Legion Auxiliary hosted a free lunch for local veterans on Nov. 10.

A Veterans Day program was held Saturday, Nov. 11, for residents at Hilltop Health Care Center in Watkins and their families. Veterans were seated in a semicircle at the front of the dining room. Music was provided by Gig Noonan, and certificates of appreciation were presented to each veteran.

Eden Valley-Watkins students presented three performances of the murder-comedy “Death by Chocolate,” Nov. 10-12.

Construction of an ag products processing plant was under construction at the north end of Kimball. Their plan is to package organic grains for sale to the public, process the straw into building materials, and process collected dust into pellets. It is anticipated the plant will employ 15 people.

Two autumns ago, voters in the Kimball school district approved investing $8.1 million for safety and educational improvements at both the Kimball Elementary School and the high school. The overall plan includes replacing entrances at both schools with secured entrances, building an early childhood addition onto the elementary school, and renovating science labs and the FACS (Home Ec) classrooms at the high school.

Although the Kimball Golf Club was officially closed, some club members were still out there playing golf on Nov. 15, enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of snow. It would be about two weeks before it was cold enough for Powder Ridge to start making snow on the hill.

Darrin Hondl and Ashley Meyer of EV-W each received an ESS (Educational Support Staff) award at the Resource Training & Solutions ceremony on Nov. 15. Representing Kimball Schools, Brock Schindele and Linda Rosenow also received ESS Awards that evening.

The No. 3-ranked Eagles displayed a diverse and speedy offensive attack in defeating unranked Cannon Falls, 42-24, in the state semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday, Nov. 17. 

Kimball Area Theatre presented “The Little Mermaid” Nov. 17-19. Directed by Kenzie Traurig, there were 70 cast members ranging from 3rd-12th grade. People who assisted the Fall Musical were Music Director Amber Wang, Technical Director Rachel Kuebelbeck, and Choreography Director Erin Donnay.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Eden Valley held their Harvest Hotdish Dinner on Nov. 18.

There was great jubilation throughout our area as the EV-W Eagles defeated Barnesville, 24-6, for the State Class AA Championship on Nov. 24. The Eagles were State Champs in 2005, and State runner-up in 2004 and 2016. The game was viewable on the Internet, and there was a good crowd attending in-person to cheer them on. They enjoyed a well-earned welcome-home celebration Sunday afternoon at the high school.

The streets of Kimball were filled with lighted floats and vehicles for Kimball’s fourth annual Holiday Lights Parade Friday evening, Nov. 24.

The Eden Valley community celebrated “Christmas in the Valley” on Nov. 25 with special offers and events at participating local businesses.

A newly formed church was announced this month: Lake Country Bible Church (LCBC). The new church now meets in the former Fair Haven Christian Church, with the building and contents being donated by the former congregation to the new one.

Departures

Donna Loch, 77, of Watkins; Nov. 5, 2023

Donna Mae “Frosty” (O’Keefe) Schiefelbein, 90, of Kimball; Nov. 5, 2023

Robert Ecker, 72, of Litchfield; Nov. 6, 2023

Scott Nystrom, 32, of Clearwater; Nov. 14, 2023

Alan “Al” Lundeen, 65, of Fosston, Minn.; Nov. 18, 2023

Lucy (Gunnerson) Schmidt, 87, formerly of Kimball; Nov. 19, 2023

Karie Bearman, 52, of South Haven; Nov. 20, 2023

Bonnie Kotila, 64, of St. Cloud; Nov. 20, 2023

Ludwig “Bud” Lochen, 91, of Marty; Nov. 27, 2023