Glenwood's Winterama

Put this on your calendar: Saturday, February 21. That day is the annual Glenwood Winterama!

Online payment for subscriptions!

For $20 a year, anyone outside of the local area can subscribe to the Bonanza Valley Voice in Brooten.

Once you've made your payment, e-mail your name and address to: lifeinbonanzavalley@gmail.com and we'll get you started right away!

Click on this "Add to cart" link to get to Paypal for an out-of-area subscription:

Click on this "Add to cart" link to get to Paypal for local subscribers who live in Pope, Swift, Kandiyohi or Stearns counties - the cost each year is $18...double check before check-out that you are paying for just one subscription unless you intend to sign up for more than one:

Slowly but surely we are moving the Bonanza Valley Voice into the modern digital age! Thank you again for your support.

Dam Jammers coming to 104 Club!

Looking for some entertainment this weekend? Check this out in rural Sunburg on Saturday night.

Skip-a-payment ends tomorrow!

If you have a payment due today or tomorrow at the bank, check out this soon-to-expire offer from Bonanza Valley State Bank.

Agriculture announcement!

A glimpse of what will be a story on the Ag-Business page next week.

Dick Hagen

The Bonanza Valley Voice is thrilled to announce the addition of Dick Hagen of Oliva to our list of writers and contributors. Hagen is as knowledgeable and thoughtful as they come in the agriculture industry and is a current staff writer for The Land publication. He has graciously offered his services in helping add more agriculture content to our newspaper.

Coming in our Feb. 5 issue is an article by Hagen about a speech given by former area State Representative Al Juhnke of Willmar at the Jan. 9-10 Organic Farmer Conference in St. Cloud.

Thank you, Dick Hagen!!!

USDA Conservation Stewardship Program announcement

USDA Accepting Applications for Conservation Stewardship Program

$100 million Expected to Attract Enrollment of 7.7 Million Acres for Conservation

WAITE PARK, MINN, Jan. 28, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make available $100 million this year through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Completed applications must be received Feb. 27, 2015 to ensure they are considered for this year’s funding.   

“Stearns County currently has over 54,000 acres enrolled in CSP, bringing in over $7 million to local farmers and forest landowners. CSP is a way of providing an incentive for farmers, ranchers, and private forest managers who maintain a high level of conservation on their land and agree to adopt higher levels of stewardship,” said District Conservationist David Rose of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). “By focusing on multiple resource concerns, landowners are able to achieve a sustainable landscape and maintain or increase the productivity of their operation.”

Through CSP, participants take additional conservation steps to improve the resource conditions on their land, including soil, air and habitat quality, water quality and quantity, and energy conservation. 

Rose said CSP producers are conservation leaders, showing how science-based conservation and technological advancements can improve the environment and farming operations at the same time. 

The 2014 Farm Bill brought changes to CSP including an expanded conservation activity list that will offer participants greater options to meet their conservation needs and protect the natural resources on their land. These conservation activities, called enhancements, include cover crops, intensive rotational grazing and wildlife friendly fencing. 

  

As part of the CSP application process, applicants will work with NRCS field personnel to complete a resource inventory of their land, which will help determine the conservation performance for existing and new conservation activities. The applicant's conservation performance will be used to determine eligibility, ranking and payments.

A CSP self-screening checklist is available to help producers determine if the program is suitable for their operation. The checklist highlights basic information about CSP eligibility requirements, stewardship threshold requirements and payment types. To find out more about the CSP program contact the NRCS office in Waite Park at 320-251-7800 ext.3.

For more on technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted or a local USDA service center.

Physical Fitness standards

I found this a very interesting read!

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/01/29/olwell

Youth fundraiser is this weekend

Notes from the State Captiol

A closer look at tumbling gas prices and more

by Representative Paul Anderson

Consumers pulling into gas stations all over the nation are smiling at the prices they see posted on the pumps. The worldwide price of crude has been in a free-fall the past few months, and those lower prices for oil are showing up at the pump. 

The price of gasoline, which was between $3 and $4 per gallon last summer, is now under two bucks as we all take advantage of these new, lower prices for energy. It’s been at least five years since we’ve experienced this level in the cost of gasoline. And since it takes about half the amount of money to fill up as it did at the height of gas prices, one positive result is a tremendous amount of additional spending power left in consumers’ hands. Overall, this is very positive for the U.S. and world economies.

We may be approaching a case of “too much of a good thing” in terms of its effect on other segments of the economy. The value of crude oil dropping by 50 percent obviously has serious implications for those who produce energy. States such as North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas are seeing their tax revenue from oil dropping. Also being affected are those in the business of producing ethanol, and in this case, the impact is dramatic. Coming off a year of excellent profits, caused mainly by the drop in the value of corn, ethanol production has gone to a break-even proposition at best in just a few short months. As the price of gasoline has come down, so has the value of ethanol. Hovering near $1 per gallon, the current price is below the break-even point for many producers and they are losing money.

Those in attendance at last Saturday’s annual meeting of the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company in Benson heard a presentation by Logan Caldwell of Kingwood, Texas. He explained that ethanol will continue to be blended with gasoline because of its boost to the octane rating. He sees a value of at least $1 per gallon of ethanol because of that reason alone. Mr. Caldwell also said he believes the oil companies would continue using ethanol as an octane booster even without the federal mandate of the Renewable Fuel Standard.

 While on the subject of energy, another major change from just a year ago pertains to propane. Last year at this time, we were dealing with skyrocketing prices of LP and shortages of product. This year, thanks to less being used for corn drying and a much milder winter so far, supplies of propane are in good shape. Several suppliers also made significant investments in larger storage facilities, which has also helped the supply situation. In addition, as with other forms of energy, the price of propane has also moderated.

A bill was introduced last week that’s the result of a working group dealing with the subject of child neglect or abuse. Similar to legislation I introduced, it calls for the repeal of state law that says authorities cannot use “screened out” reports when dealing with potential cases. This larger bill also mandates that all reports of possible abuse or neglect be reported to law enforcement, in addition to social workers relying less on family assessments and more on intervention. This legislation comes as a result of the highly publicized case in Pope County that resulted in the death of a 4-year-old boy.

"Play Day"

This week's Bonanza Valley Voice will include a short story on the upcoming Global Play Day at the B-B-E elementary school. Click on this link to see more information:
http://globalschoolplayday.com

School board meeting tonight

What can safely be dubbed a "meaty agenda" is on the docket tonight for the regular monthly meeting of the B-B-E school board. They will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Catholic parish center in Elrosa.

Beyond the usual approval of personnel items such as hires and resignations, Superintendent Bullard will review the district goals under old business. The Meet and Confer committee will have a report on the negotiations between the teachers and administration on the length of the contract days once the school resumes the five-day week schedule.

New business is quite lengthy. It includes: a propane proposal from the Belgrade Coop, B-B-E Community Pool survey data, a proposal on sponsoring a Clay Target League through the MSHSL, a flexible learning year application to start the school year before Labor Day plus review of a draft calendar for the 2015-2016 school year.

Read about what went down at the board meeting in the Jan. 29 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

Ag in the classroom

Here's video from January 9 at the elementary school. This was featured in a front-page story in the Jan. 15 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

Credit card payments

Starting next week the Bonanza Valley Voice can take credit card payments over the phone or in person. Call 320-346-2400 for more information.

To subscribe, payments can be mailed to:

Bonanza Valley Voice

PO Box 250

Brooten, MN 56316

In our first three weeks, we have 50 new subscribers! We picked up #49 and #50 last night. That represents about a five percent hike in subscribers, which most newspapers can't get in an entire year.

Thank you for the support!

Lions Family Fun Day!

Belgrade Lions members Les Thompson and Dennis Weimerskirch working at the 2014 Family Fun Day.

Don't miss out on this fun and rewarding afternoon of family-oriented events at the B-B-E high school. Read details about it on page eight of this week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

Groundwater Management meeting announcement

The Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Area Project Advisory Team meeting planned for Wednesday, Jan. 28, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 25.  The new date will allow the team ample time to review the revised sections of the Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Area draft plan.

The Feb. 25 meeting will be 9 a.m. to noon, at Saboe Leverson VFW Post in Belgrade. This meeting is open to the public and time is provided for attendees to offer comments and ideas.

Questions about the Bonanza Valley project can be directed to Mark Hauck, DNR project manager, at 320-223-7846  or mark.hauck@state.mn.us.  More information is also available on the DNR website, www.mndnr.gov/groundwater.

Redhead Creamery announcement!

Check out page eight of this week's Bonanza Valley Voice to read an important announcement from Redhead Creamery, located between Brooten and Padua.

Later this week we'll have video and photos posted from a visit by the Bonanza Valley Voice to their farm operation. (Sorry, didn't get a chance to go out there on Wednesday.)

Black ice

We've heard reports of black ice out on rural roadways...please drive carefully tonight! The roads will only get worse as it cools off...

Make tracks to Spicer on Saturday

Click on the graphic for best viewing.

There's plenty going on in Spicer over the next few days. Check out the story on all the activities in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice. Also see more at the Spicer Chamber of Commerce website: http://www.spicermn.com

Representative Paul Anderson column

This was dated January 12...didn't have room in the Jan. 15 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice:

Interesting topics quickly arise as 2015 session begins

By Rep. Paul Anderson

The new legislative session is underway! The ceremonial first day swearing-in was last Tuesday, with the House chamber packed full of family members and friends as 26 freshmen legislators took the oath of office along with returning members. It’s always a fun day with optimism about bi-partisanship running high.

It was just three days later, however, when Governor Dayton blasted the Republican House proposal for transportation funding over the next few years. The governor had outlined his plan, which calls for a 6.5-percent sales tax on gasoline, at the annual Chamber of Commerce dinnerWednesday evening. The proposal put forth by our caucus the next day contained a combination of using some of the projected budget surplus, along with reserve funds and money from the general fund, to pay for the state’s transportation needs over the next four years. This was a starting point; although the governor’s swift reaction was a bit surprising. Transportation funding will be a huge topic this year, one that will require compromise from all parties involved.

One interesting piece of news that floated about during those first days had to do with not having a legislative session at all next year because of the major remodeling project currently underway at the Capital. Approximately two-thirds of the building is off-limits now, with even more closures planned for next summer after this current session has ended. Both the Senate and House chambers are in use, although the rotunda and most other areas have been cordoned off. One of the casualties during the remodeling is the cancellation of school group tours. In past years, spring time especially has seen literally hundreds of school kids touring the Capital on any given day. However, that will not be happening for at least the next year.

The Senate has really been scrambling for space. They will only have access to three committee hearing rooms in the Capital, and many of their individual offices have been moved. In addition, once this session ends, their chamber will be closed down for remodeling work. The hope is that their new office building, currently under construction across the street from the Capital, will be completed by next January so they could have sessions there. The House chamber itself will still be usable next year; however, the staff working areas on both sides of the chamber will be off-limits. That raises the question of how all the bill and amendment processing would be done when the House is in floor session.

Those are some of the reasons the issue was raised. It’s my best guess, however, that we will have some kind of session next year, although it may be of a shorter duration. It would be difficult to finish work on the budget this year, and also get the bonding bill done. It will be interesting to see how all of these factors play out over the next two years!

Committee hearings got underway this week. I am serving as Chair of the House Agriculture Policy Committee, in addition to working with Ag Finance, Education Finance, and the Property Tax Division. It’s going to be an interesting year with Republicans in control of the House, while the DFL remains the majority party in the Senate. As always, I encourage your thoughts and input. My e-mail address is;rep.paul.anderson@house.mn and my phone number in St. Paul is 651-296-4317.

Who remembers Coach Don Larson?

The Brooten Buccaneers wrestling coaching staff for the 1974-1975 season. They finished 6-4-1 in duals.

Don Larson was head coach of the Brooten Buccaneers football, wrestling and track & field teams from 1970 to 1974. He went on to coach at Sauk Centre high school after Brooten, and later he coached at North Dakota State University and finally Hamline University before he passed away unexpectedly in 2004.

Larson's 1973 team finished 9-0 overall while winning the Prairie Conference title and finishing in the Top 10 in the state rankings (fifth in Class C).

In the winter months, he and his assistant coaches laid the groundwork for what became a string of countless Prairie Conference champion Buccaneer wrestling teams. He and Coach Bud Heidgerken were founding coaches of the wrestling program in Brooten.

Below is a story on his daughter, Heidi that I stumbled across:
http://www.inforum.com/business/3656526-making-mark-woman-opens-coffee-bar-honor-father

Announcement: credit cards

It happened about a month sooner than the business plan said it would...but we can now accept credit card payments for subscriptions and bills.

Cool! It's an exciting step for the Bonanza Valley Voice.

This looks interesting

Do you know anyone who'd be interested in small-town media on the television end of the spectrum?

http://www.pioneer.org/news/now-hiring-tv-producer-reporter

Economic development

According to Margaret Anderson Kelliher of the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA), by 2020, Minnesota will need an additional 80,000 to 180,000 people with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees to fill newly created jobs and to replace retiring baby boomers. She calls the challenge of finding the talent companies need one of the top issues affecting growth of companies in our state and region, particularly related to technology jobs and basic-science jobs. She says workforce training must be our most important area of focus in order to meet MHTA's goal of Minnesota being in the top five science and technology states in the country.

Since the birth replacement rate won't fill all of these jobs, Kelliher says, we can't afford to lose people along the way. She believes we suffer in the STEM area from the "super-bright student bias," often focusing only on the top students who can qualify, for example, for the highly ranked University of Minnesota's engineering program. But we must also identify people in the middle with good skills and aptitude, who can complete two- or four-year STEM degrees in Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) institutions, are more likely to stay in Minnesota after graduation and can have successful careers.

Kelliher believes we must do a better job of exposing people to the variety of job and training opportunities in STEM fields. That includes bringing people from high-tech businesses into the classroom to tell students and their parents what they do, taking students on tours of high-tech companies and providing more high-tech internships for high school and college students. She discusses several programs outside of the state's postsecondary system providing these opportunities and alternative job skills training.

As a member of MnSCU's board of trustees, Kelliher says the biggest challenge facing the system is its low completion rate for students, whether they are pursuing certificate programs, two-year degrees or four-year degrees. This is expensive for the individual, for the state and for the system, she says. Retaining the number of students who enter the MnSCU system would solve the system's budget and enrollment issues, she asserts.

'Your Legislators' is on Pioneer Public TV tonight

Check out their press release:
http://www.pioneer.org/news/carlson-fishbach-bly-and-schomacker-to-appear-on-thursday-jan-15th-your-legislators-program

Tully's Memorial Fishing Tournament

A group of area outdoorsman are sponsoring the first Anthony Tullis "Tully" Ice Fishing Memorial tournament on Saturday, February 7 on Big Norway Lake. Organizers have said that fishermen/women should use the south side access.

Tully was a 2007 graduate of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa. He died at his home last August in rural Brooten.

When: Saturday, February 7 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Cost: $10 a hole.

Categories: biggest sunny, biggest crappie, biggest walleye, biggest northern.

RJs in Brooten, Micki's in Belgrade and Skindelien's in New London are donating prizes. Warming houses and concessions will also be on site.

Padua Conservation Club

The Padua Conservation Club held its annual meeting on Saturday night at the Padua Pub. I won't get a chance to write about that until later this week. It will print in the Jan. 22 issue.

Jury duty scam!!!

Jury Duty Scam Courts New Victims

The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota ®(BBB) is warning the public about a jury duty scam which, regrettably, never goes out of style. Though most adults are aware they may be called for jury duty, not everyone is familiar with the bureaucracy surrounding this process; the exact manner in which people are summoned for jury duty. People also know that jury duty is both a civic duty and mandatory. Scammers, meanwhile, look to profit off situations where uncertainty exists.

“The jury duty scam is just clever enough to pay dividends for fraudsters,” said Dana Badgerow, president and CEO of BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota. “Our hope is that by spreading the word about this scheme it will reduce the pool of people who might get hooked by it.”

How the jury duty scam works:

Scammers contact you, claiming you’ve missed jury duty. The calls or messages threaten people with arrest or jail time if they don’t pay the fine for “missing” jury duty. Scammers will then seek personal information such as bank account or credit card numbers – even Social Security numbers. BBB advises the public that if you get a call from someone who claims to be a court official and asks for sensitive personal information or demands a payment, it’s a scam.

In Minnesota, jury duty notices/summonses are sent through the mail. Though Minnesota law requires people to serve on jury duty, if qualified, nobody will call you – or email or text – demanding payment for missing jury duty.

• BBB Tips to avoid the jury duty scam:

Don’t let scammers pressure you. If you get a call from alleged court officials asking for financial information, end the phone call and report the scam to BBB and your county’s jury office.

Be aware that scammers can mask their identity. Scammers have the ability to use software to disguise how they appear on your caller ID. So while calls might appear to be from your local courthouse, it could be a fraudster on the other end of the line.

Guard your personal information. Giving out sensitive personal or financial information over the phone is always a bad idea – don’t do it.

Have questions about the process? If you did indeed miss jury duty, you will be sent a notification in the mail. However, if you have any doubt that a mailing is legitimate, contact your county courthouse.

For the latest consumer news, fraud alerts and free BBB Business Reviews, visit bbb.org.

The mission of Better Business Bureau is to be the leader in building marketplace trust by promoting, through self-regulation, the highest standards of business ethics and conduct, and to instill confidence in responsible businesses through programs of education and action that inform, assist and protect the general public. We are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact BBB at bbb.org or 651-699-1111, toll-free at 1-800-646-6222.

My small town

No small town is perfect. But we can all do our part to make our little corners of the world a better place!

Small town businesses

Without the support of small town businesses like Jim Fischer's auto repair shop, the Bonanza Valley Voice would be unable to last into the modern digital age. We will carefully attempt to bridge the divide between the traditional ways of operating a small town newspaper and the 21st-century media techniques of the digital age.

Thank you to all area businesses for your support!

Kaffestua's reopening is a big success

Mark Bendickson, co-manager and operator of Kaffestua (with his wife Lisa), visits with two customers this morning during Kaffestua's first day of business in 2015.

Video from mid-morning in Sunburg today:


The Sunburg community celebrated the reopening of a landmark in their small-town cafe, Kaffestua, with a huge turnout of support today. On Sundays they are offering a brunch starting at 10 a.m. Don't miss the full story with more photos on Kaffestua in the Jan. 15 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

Old school

The way it should be! And what we should be teaching our kids in 2015.

Sunburg's cafe will reopen

The town of Sunburg will have a cafe open and running once again.

Mark and Lisa Bendickson are from the Sunburg area and have recently signed on as operators and managers of Sunburg’s Kaffestua cafe located in the city’s downtown.

Their first day of business will be this Saturday, Jan. 10.

In a brief interview in the Bonanza Valley Voice, Lisa said Kaffestua will open at 6 a.m. from Mondays through Saturdays and at 7 a.m. on Sundays. As of now they are unsure when an exact closing time will be.

“At first we plan to be open at least through 2 o’clock in the afternoons, and if we still have a crowd of people to serve we will stay open until 3 o’clock,” said Lisa as they were finishing up some last-minute work this afternoon.

“Our goal is to be open one night of the week through supper hour, but first we’ll see how things go and focus on our mornings and early afternoon hours.”

The Bendicksons, who both have full-time jobs besides this business, will operate the city-owned Kaffestua no differently than if they were owners and look to put all their spare energy into it.

Look for a full story with more information on Kaffestua and the Bendicksons in the Jan. 15 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice, including photos from their first day of business.

B-B-E closing early today

School was dismissed at 1:45 p.m. this afternoon at B-B-E. No games tonight.

Ka-De Shack Bingo ad for January 10

Click on the ad for best viewing.

So not only did a handful of stories not get printed, this advertisement was missed in the January 8 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. Here's the information.

I literally have a list of "dozens and dozens" of ideas for what to add to the Bonanza Valley Voice. This was an example of getting too far ahead of myself.

By the way,  here's other information on subscribing to the newspaper. Please share this information! More subscribers means I can work towards making the newspaper bigger and definitely better!

Bonanza Valley Voice
PO Box 250
Brooten, MN 56316

2014 Legislative session begins

Here's an article that didn't get published this week featuring the start of the 2015 Minnesota Legislative session. District 12B State Representative Paul Anderson returned a call to the Bonanza Valley Voice on Tuesday and offered a few responses on local topics.

Rep. Paul Anderson took his fourth oath of office to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives Tuesday, Jan. 7 at noon in St. Paul at the State Capitol.

"Hopefully we can get some important work done this session with mixed power as it is," said Anderson.

"I want to see us figure out how to scale back some taxes while increasing nursing home funding and transportation funding. There's a very real crisis going on with rural nursing homes. The need is great."

In terms of Governor Dayton's recently-announced transportation package, Anderson said, "I'm not really keen on what Dayton put out. The 12-cent a gallon hike on gasoline at the wholesale level may not seem like much at current gas prices, but if gas goes back up again inflation will make that hurt a whole lot worse."

Anderson stated his willingness to consider Dayton's focus on education and support ideas that make sense for rural Minnesota and school districts in District 12B.

As a farmer and a legislator, Anderson will serve as chair of the House Agriculture Policy Committee this biennium. He also will be on Ag. Finance, Education Finance, and the Property Taxes & Local Government Finance Division.

"In terms of agriculture policy, we'll hold hearings on the issues out there. I know water issues are a concern right now for our part of the state. The Department of Natural Resources has put a big spotlight on water usage, and I want to work with them to make sure they aren't setting up a system that will adversely hurt our farmers. I want to see more evidence of what the DNR is saying that farmers are doing wrong. I'm not sold on what they're trying to do."

By law, the DNR has been directed to study water usage and irrigation practices of farmers. In 2012, White Bear Lake sued the DNR over the lake's diminished water level and blamed it on agency approval that allowed surrounding communities to draw more water from an aquifer located beneath the lake.

"It's certainly not a bad thing to look at water issues, but the actions taken by the DNR have to be reasonable. We can't just shut down irrigation or place an unfair level of fees on farmers," added Anderson.

Anderson’s post as an agriculture chair will allow him to continue working on issues that impact Greater Minnesota, something he has made a priority his first three terms in the House.

“Our top job this session will be to set a new two-year budget and I look forward to that challenge,” Anderson said. “It always is a good feeling to start a session fresh with goals and ideas of what you would like to accomplish. For me, serving as an ag. chair will really put me in position to make decisions that will help our area.”

Anderson welcomes input from local citizens throughout the year, particularly during the legislative session. He can be reached by emailing rep.paul.anderson@house.mn, or by calling (651) 296-4317.

“One thing I pride myself on as a legislator is being in touch with the people I represent,” Anderson said. “The feedback I receive from constituents helps me continue doing my best to voice their thoughts, ideas and concerns at the Capitol.”