Morris in 2011: What happened around here?

MORRIS - In part one of our recap of the top news stories in 2011, snow pummeled the area to start the year, the Pomme de Terre Golf Course found new owners and an earthquake shook things up.

January 2011

• Stevens County Commissioners Herb Kloos and Don Munsterman retired from the board. Kloos had served on the board for 28 and Munsterman had served for four years. New county commissioners Jeanne Ennen and Phil Gausman were sworn in a few days later. Ron Staples was elected chair of the board in a 3-2 vote (commissioners Larry Sayre and Paul Watzke opposed the nomination).

• Brad Heins began work at the West Central Research and Outreach Center, taking over the WCROC's dairy program from Dennis Johnson, who retired after 42 years. Eric Buchanan began work at the WCROC doing research related to the facilities solar thermal system.

• The Morris Area swimming and diving team started the year with new coaches – Megan Lange and Travis Lembcke – and a new mascot. The team decided to drop the Stingrays mascot and wear orange and black as the Tigers.

• The Morris Armory welcomed a new company, the 175th Forward Support Unit, from Appleton. The 151st Field Artillery moved its equipment and headquarters to Ortonville.

• Sara Rajewsky recorded her 200th career point as the Morris Benson Area Storm defeated Park Rapids 5-1, shut out Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato and improved to 10-2 on the season. On the boy's side, Tony Schultz became the leading scorer in Storm history with 83 goals, passing Tony Schultz's former-record of 80 goals.

• Chad William Goldenstein, a 28-year-old man from Hancock, was charged with fifth degree drug possession, interfering with an emergency telephone call and misdemeanor domestic assault after an incident that began with a domestic disturbance investigation. Law enforcement discovered a marijuana growing operation in the basement of the home and uncovered more than 14 pounds of marijuana.

• Superior Industries acquired Hancock Concrete as of January 1. Hancock Concrete President Rob Schmidgall told the Hancock Record that the acquisition is more like a merger of Hancock Concrete into a corporation that includes Superior and Westmor Industries.

February 2011

• Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta wrestler Zach Gibson claimed the 285-pound West Central Conference South title by beating a familiar rival – Brandon Schmitt of Dawson/Lac qui Parle Valley.

• Joe and John Riley were each sentenced to 42 months in prison and received the maximum fine of $250,000 for devising a tax-evasion scheme that involved concealing income from their road construction business. The brothers pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in November 2009.

• The Morris Area FFA Alumni and the Hancock FFA Alumni chapters joined and moved forward as the Stevens County FFA Alumni organization. The group met for their annual meeting which included a free supper and an FFA work auction where FFA student made themselves available for four to eight hours of work for the winning bidder.

• About a foot of snow blanketed the area, adding to the already 58 inches of snow that had fallen since the season began (with 30 inches falling after Jan. 1).

• Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen and Rep. Torrey Westrom stopped in Morris as part of a six-stop town hall tour of the district. Both lawmakers said they saw the state budget as the top issue this session. The same week, Sen. Al Franken stopped by UMM to review renewable energy projects.

• American Legion National Commander Jimmie Foster made a breakfast stop in Morris to urge voters to pass a Constitutional amendment protecting the American flag as part of a week-long tour of Legion posts in Minnesota.

• The Storm boys’ hockey season ended in a double overtime loss to St. Cloud Apollo. The same week, the UMM mens’ basketball team advanced to the UMAC championship to face Northwestern, and the womens’ basketball team hosted Northwestern in their own UMAC championship.

March 2011

• Barb Hesse was inducted into the Artillery Order of Molly Pitcher after being nominated by the National Guard's Battery C 1-151 for her work with the Family Readiness Group for the unit. Hesse said she considered the award a joint honor she shares with her husband, Tom.

• After six years on the transplant list, 10-year-old Erin Tanner (the daughter of former Morris residents Robert and Amber Tanner and the granddaughter of Morris resident Tina Didreckson) received a new liver at the University of California-Los Angeles' Mattel Children's Hospital. Erin was born with biliary atresia, a hereditary bile duct condition.

• Ryan Hurd of Owatonna was convicted on five counts of murder, including premeditated murder in the first degree, for the death of 19-year-old Kathryn Anderson of Morris on Dec. 3, 2009. Hurd will spend the rest of his life in jail.

April 2011

• Owners of the Pomme de Terre Golf Club and a group arranging a public purchase of the course reached an agreement when a letter of intent and purchase agreement for $557,583 were signed. The fundraising committee for the public purchase raised more than $615,000 since the club was put up for sale in February. The deal closed on Friday, April 29, and the course opened for the season that Saturday. A new manager – Tom Legate – was hired in May by the new five-member Board of Directors.

• Seven of the 14 neglected horses removed from a Starbuck home by the Stevens County Humane Society in an animal hording and neglect case found new foster homes. The most seriously ill horses remained at a safe haven in Stevens County where they could be monitored until they too found homes. Weeks later, the Humane Society took in four horses from a residence in Douglas County as well.

• 2010 Census data showed that the population of West Central Minnesota continues to decline. Overall, Stevens County lost 327 people (a decline of 3.25 percent). In contrast, the City of Morris population grew 4.3 percent, from 5,068 to 5,286 people.

• An 2.5 magnitude earthquake hit West Central Minnesota 2:20 p.m. on Friday, April 29, with a center near Alexandria. The quake was likely an event on the Great Lakes Tectonic Zone.

May 2011

• In their first year as a student organization, eight members of the Morris Area Business Professionals of America team competed at the BPA national competition in Washington D.C. Eighteen Morris Area students qualified for the national event. Junior Sydney Beyer also accepted the “Ambassador of the Year” award for earning the most Torch Points, beating about 800 students across the nation who are active in the Torch program.

• Long-time Stevens County and City of Morris attorney Charles Glasrud was appointed to fill the 8th Judicial District vacancy left when Peter A. Hoff retired in January 2011. Although becoming a judge wasn't a life-long ambition, Glasrud said he saw the appointment as an opportunity to grow professionally and personally.

• The Morris Liquor Store failed its second alcohol compliance check in a year for selling alcohol to a minor. As a result, store employees are now required to run identification cards through a card reader attached to the cash registers, which City Manager Blaine Hill said he hoped would correct the problem. The part-time employee who sold to a minor was also fired, resulting in a number of letters to the newspaper noting that the store manager was not fired for a similar offense in 2010.

June 2011

• Repair projects on Highway 9 between Morris and the Pope County line, south of Hancock, were completed in mid-June. The project was part two of MnDOT's plan to repair about 25 miles of Highway 9 between Benson and Morris.

• Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta athletes Cody Cannon and Rachel Moser jumped for gold at the state track and field meet. Moser pole vaulted 11-0 without a miss and Cannon won in a narrow victory in the 110 hurdles.

• The Stevens County Board of Commissioners began interviews to fill the vacant Stevens County Attorney position. Minnesota House District 11A Rep. Torrey Westrom was one of the four finalists, which also included Jeanine R. Brand, Aaron K. Jordan, and Lars B. Markeson.

• The Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta girls' softball team finished their season 20-4 overall and won the West Central Conference South title with a perfect 16-0 record. The season ended with a 2-2 showing in the Section 3AA tournament.

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