NRHEG Star Eagle

137 Years Serving the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Area
Newspaper of Record for NRHEG School District
Newspaper of Record for Waseca County, MN
PO Box 248 • New Richland, MN 56072

507-463-8112
email: steagle@hickorytech.net
Published every Thursday
Yearly Subscription: Waseca, Steele, and Freeborn counties: $52
Minnesota $57 • Out of state $64

By TRISTAN JENSEN

Editorial Assistant

Bob Johannsen began as administrator of the New Richland Care Center last October. His parents, Dale and Dixie, live in the New Richland area and he has a sister, Rachel Jellum, living in Waseca. Prior to taking this role, he was doing interim work. When Johannsen heard a permanent position near his family was available, he says he felt it would be a better fit for him than traveling and “went for it.” As administrator, Johannsen oversees operations at the Care Center, ensures they have appropriate staffing levels, and plans future events – whether those are meetings, activities, staffing changes, or projects for community maintenance.

Knutson serves as New Richland Care Center’s director of nursing

By TRISTAN JENSEN

Editorial Assistant

Jessica Knutson took over as Director of Nursing for the New Richland Care Center in September of 2022 after a period serving as Interim Director of Nursing. “She was so good at it that we offered her the job,” said Administrator Bob Johanssen.

“It's not something I ever saw in my cards, that's for sure,” Knutson said about her promotion to the director position. Prior to becoming a nurse, Knutson worked as a welder. She started out at Chart Industries in Owatonna and learned everything she needed to know about welding there. When the company closed, she worked in Waseca for “a while” before finding an opportunity to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. The support she needed to leave her welding job and attend nursing school came from her fiance, John Madson. Madson supported Knutson through her time at Riverland College in Austin, allowing her to begin a career as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and eventually become a Registered Nurse (RN) in 2001.

Reductions in staffing were a major element of the March 20 NRHEG School board meeting. School Nurse Carrie Petsinger had submitted a request that her position be reduced from full time to one day a week beginning with the 2023-24 school year. Although the board accepted the request, members Terri Engel and Pat Theuer expressed concern that the reduction might leave students “underserved.”

Under her new schedule, Petsinger will be present in the school buildings only one day a week; nurse’s offices at both the New Richland and Ellendale sites will be staffed by others, as they have been whenever Petsinger was performing other duties or at the other school site.

Still, Theuer and Engel requested that further information be assembled and the matter reviewed, even raising the possibility of seeking a second qualified nurse to be present some days of the week.

Rural New Richland homesteader Christa Wadekamper recently spoke about her experiences during an event at the New Richland public library.
Star Eagle photo by Tristan Jensen

By TRISTAN JENSEN

Editorial Assistant

Homesteading is New Richland area resident Christa Wadekamper's full-time job. As part of it she sells eggs and sourdough bread, and has an online store for handcrafted items at barefootlanemn.com.

Wadekamper spoke about her experiences and the rationale behind them during an event at the New Richland Public Library on March 16.

By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD

Copy Editor

After the tornado that devastated much of downtown Hartland in December 2021, L & D Ag Service moved into a brand new building at 602 Railroad Street earlier in March of this year.

Matt Staloch of Staloch Construction began work on the new building in the summer of 2022.

During construction, L & D Ag was housed in an Albert Lea building, rented from Gary Budach of New Richland. “We started moving a couple weeks ago,” said Travis Routh, who bought the business from its founder, Larry Nelson, who retired in 2015.

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