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More than $25,000 donated from Wild Game Feed
By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
The Geneva Bar and Grill was filled to capacity, possibly as many as 250 people, both Friday and Saturday, January 5 and 6, as the fortieth Geneva Cancer Auction began. Whitey Hagen, 91, originator and long-time spokesperson for the event, welcomed crowd members and thanked them for their willingness to carry on “the good fight” to end cancer. Hagen spoke every once in a while as the auction proceeded to introduce special guests or call attention to particular happenings.
One such introduction was for David Thompson, coordinator of Geneva’s annual Wild Game Feed, held this past year on Dec. 2. Thompson presented Whitey with $25,000 raised during the “feed.”
With the donation, the total raised from the Geneva Cancer Auction since its inception is $2.34 million. 
As always, the 2024 auction is being held over two weekends, starting at 7 p.m. on both Friday evenings and at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoons. The dates are always the first and second weekends of January, ending just in time to present the collective donations during the Eagles Cancer Telethon, held the second Sunday in January–this year on January 14. A representative from the Geneva event–for the past few years, Whitey’s granddaughter Jenna Hagen–makes the trip to Rochester to announce the donation live.
During the hours of the auction, dozens of items go up for sale ranging from homemade candy, foods, crafts and even furniture, to gift certificates for everyday services such as oil changes.
Chelsea Hanson, who has been an employee at the bar for about five years, admits that staff must put in a lot of time and effort to prepare for the gathering, but says the fun and excitement make it all worthwhile. For Hanson, an annual highlight is the sale of an apple pie, homemade by Geneva area residents Doug and Sandy Selt, who lost a daughter to cancer. Hanson says that in her experience the pie has sold for as much as $1,000.
The energy and positive mood of the crowd, she says, outweigh the challenges waiters and bartenders face as they navigate the packed room.
Geneva resident Kathy Paulson has put together a first-person narrative describing events and highlights from this past weekend and inviting people to take part in the continued excitement this coming Friday and Saturday. For more information, see her piece on Page 5.
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By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
NRHEG secondary principal Grant Berg received surprise congratulations from about 500 students and school staff members on the last day of school prior to the holiday break.
Berg, who was a teacher in the district for 18 years before becoming principal last spring, had completed the final requirements for a degree in educational leadership only days before.
“This is a challenging accomplishment,” observed school counselor Liz Stiernagle. “Mr. Berg has been a great leader this year. He is popular with both the staff and the students. So it only seemed appropriate that we all work together to congratulate him.”
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By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
“I’m excited to see how we do in competition,” commented NRHEG Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teacher Kelly Delacruz.
Delacruz makes this observation because she feels the 10 students she took to the “Stars of the Future” event on December 10 represented themselves and the school district exceptionally well. NRHEG was one of 11 schools which brought participants to the $100-a-person event held in Coon Rapids. Money raised will be used by the sponsoring organization, Hospitality Minnesota, toward helping Minnesota’s winning culinary team travel to national competition next April in Baltimore, Maryland.
NRHEG will be sending two teams to the Minnesota invitational in March to vie for the national trip.
Delacruz makes the observation that on December 10, as hospitality leaders from around the state mingled and sampled foods made by the various teams, NRHEG ran out of food, “some others…didn’t,” she says.
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
There's a giant void in the New Richland area that in no way can be filled.
Hurricanes are, after all, extremely rare here on the prairie.
No longer will Jane Wagner be there to brighten the day of most anyone she encountered. The area's favorite basketball mom died suddenly last Sunday at the age of 57.
Wagner, nicknamed "Hurricane," a moniker she embraced, was born in 1966 and grew up in New Richland. She met her husband, Darren, in study hall in high school. Together they raised five children: Alex, 35; Danny 32; Carlie, 28; and twins Maddie and Marnie, 25.
“Everybody knows everybody by name,” Jane said in an interview in 2016. “We’re all friends.”
“Her smile would light any room, her heart would heal any hurt,” Carlie, Jane’s oldest daughter, said on Facebook Sunday. “She was the most giving and selfless person, and she loved her family so, so much, and it most definitely showed. Love you Mom.”
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2005 NRHEG Graduate shares story, authors book
Jason Lennox speaks to REACH classes at NRHEG
By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
“I challenge you to be a decent human being.”
Jason Lennox, a 2005 NRHEG graduate, was invited to speak to about 90 students in the three sections of sophomore health and in a class titled “Relationships, Education, Accountability, Character, and Hard Work,” most commonly referred to as REACH.
Lennox shared the story of his personal struggles with relationships and drug addiction, admitting that, already at the age of 10 he had held a knife to his own chest, wondering how much it would hurt and how long it would take to die.
Lennox has recently published a book, “A Perfect Tragedy: Finding Purpose in Pain, Loss, and addiction.” The text began as a series of blogs published online, and is now also in print. Lennox has been a consistent speaker at NRHEG, telling about his experiences and encouraging students both to stay away from harmful substances themselves and to be compassionate toward others.