Star Eagle office
Farming in the heartland at Hilltop Greenhouse
- Details
- Hits: 3086
Glenn and Gretchen Boldt demonstrate how small farms are alive and well.
Taking a drive through south central Minnesota, the farms seem to spread out for miles. Many beautiful acres of corn and soybeans in neat GPS rows. Did you ever wonder where all the small farms have gone? Drive a little ways to the little town of Hollandale, known for years as a garden for potatoes and onions. There, just 2.1 miles north of town, you will find a unique small family farm. You may even be surprised at what you find.
Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm has been dedicated to delivering its customers the best quality plants and vegetables for over 25 years. Glenn, Gretchen, and their three daughters began with one small greenhouse to start vegetable transplants for the field; we have grown into a full service Garden Center and source for local, home grown farm fresh vegetables. As word of the selection, quality, and knowledgeable customer service spread, our greenhouses and fresh vegetable production expanded.
Greenhouse sales include many varieties of annuals for sun and shade, perennials, vegetable plants, herbs, seed and seed potato and onion sets, as well as some small fruits. Don’t just think regular varieties – Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm is known for great selection and hard to find plants. Over 25 varieties of tomato and more than 30 varieties of petunias are just an example of what you will see. A delight to your senses! The hanging baskets combinations are outstanding. That is the reason both the City of Albert Lea and the City of Austin rely on Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm to grow the City Baskets and the plants that grace the downtown area.
What is a small family farm without vegetables? That’s exactly what Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm grows. Not only do they grow them, but will also deliver them to a location near you. Veggie Club is a weekly subscription to a season’s worth of sustainable, locally grown produce that is distributed to members throughout the harvesting season. Veggie Club members enjoy the quality of fresh produce each week, while supporting their local farmer. All produce is garden field grown. This means hands on work- planting, weeding, harvesting, cleaning— is done by hand. There are many long hours, but the taste and freshness can’t be beat. One Veggie Club member stated, “The boxes of produce have been amazing! Such variety of beautiful, fresh and clean veggies…….YUM!'
Hilltop Greenhouse and Farm is dedicated to providing its customers with consistent, high-quality plants and vegetables. “We are the perfect size to pay close attention to every detail from starting the seed to helping a customer pick the perfect plant.” So take that short drive into the country, and see for yourself that small farms are alive and active.
Safe return to school: Board approves plan 6-1, masks not required - September 9, 2021
- Details
- Hits: 667
By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
During its regular August meeting, the NRHEG school board approved the 2021-22 Safe Return to School plan, recommending, but not requiring face-coverings for students and staff.
The plan presented to the board was put together and agreed to during an August 4 meeting of the same committee which helped determine the approach last year.
Board approves plan 6-1
“This is a living document,” Chairman Rick Schultz emphasized. “I think some of the conversation at the committee meeting was valid in the point that we are very hopeful that the year will go as normal as possible. However, we all know that Covid is alive and well in our district, and if mandates come or if we feel uncomfortable about the safety of our students and staff, then there may be a need to adjust these. As I thought about this in preparation for tonight, my thought is that each one of us has a responsibility to do our part in trying to prevent the spread of Covid however we may see that to fit our own decision making. Our objective is as a district, and as a board, an administration, the entire team here, is to keep this as normal of a school year and move forward that way. I hope this is a group effort to make this plan successful and to keep the doors open and students in the classrooms.”
The board approved the decision by a vote of 6-1 with the lone ney vote coming from board member JoAnn Maloney.
Big shoes to fill: Elementary principal Nick Jurrens
- Details
- Hits: 932
DETAILED - Fellow principal Dave Bunn says Nick Jurrens, pictured above at NRHEG Elementary in Ellendale, communicates well and demonstrates great attention to detail.
Star Eagle photo by Deb Bently
By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
“I’m just another member of the team,” says NRHEG Elementary Principal Nick Jurrens. “As far as I’m concerned, ‘boss’ is a four-letter word. I’m all about rich conversations and shared decision making; I can’t wait to see it in action.”
Jurrens joined the NRHEG staff in June, after having been selected to follow in the footsteps of retiring principal Doug Anderson. Jurrens began his career teaching fifth grade at Kasson-Mantorville while also coaching football, basketball and baseball. Some 12 years later, after completing the requirements to be a school administrator, he became principal at Lyle, and shortly thereafter at Triton, where his position fell victim to budget cuts. He had been the elementary principal at USC for the past two years before applying to join NRHEG.
Despite having come on board at the start of July, he says he has been very busy. “There’s a lot more to do in a school building during the summer than most people realize,” he observes. He explains that several complex reports must be submitted, details from the past year must be wrapped up, and preparations need to be made for the upcoming school year. Given that NRHEG hired 21 new staff members this summer, the administrative team spent a fair amount of time interviewing and selecting new employees.
Student relations important to Meihak: Meet the new NRHEG superintendent
- Details
- Hits: 628
FIRST DAY - Superintendent Mike Meihak addresses NRHEG teachers and staff during their first staff day on August 30, 2021.
Star Eagle photo by Deb Bently
By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
At 6’5”, NRHEG’s new superintendent Mike Meihak could be an imposing fellow—if he weren’t so friendly and didn’t have such a welcoming smile.
A middle school principal for the Faribault school system for the past 7 years, Meihak began his position with NRHEG on July 1. He has been an educator for 27 years, beginning as a social studies teacher for seven years and then a principal for 12 in the nearby Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) school district, where he and his wife, Sara, still reside with two of his four children. In 2011, with nearly 20 years in education accomplished, he and his family decided to try something new: He took a position as a “school renewal specialist” for the Hawaii Department of Education for a year. Upon returning to Minnesota he became a principal at Yellow Medicine East in the northern part of the state before taking the position in Faribault. In the meantime, he continued his own education, gradually acquiring the qualifications to be a superintendent.
NRHEG selected him this past spring after receiving the news that Dale Carlson, who had been superintendent for the district for the past 6 years, was retiring.
“I felt this way from the beginning and now even more since taking office,” says Meihak. “NRHEG is absolutely the right setting for me. A smaller district like this one is where I fit in and can make strong contributions.”
Beckman inspires NRHEG: Currency in its most natural form of, oxytocin
- Details
- Hits: 552
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? - Speaker and consultant Joe Beckman encourages NRHEG staff to embrace their personal strengths by holding a dance contest to the tune of “YMCA.” Despite a determined effort, Cindi Bartness and Miles Otstot were outranked by Cortney Klocek and Dave Bunn. Star Eagle photo by Deb Bently
By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
Joe Beckman asked NRHEG staff members a simple question: “How far could you drive in seven-and-a-half hours?” He also pointed out that typical American 8- to 10-year-olds spend about that much time each day on electronic devices. By the age of 7, a child has often spent the equivalent of a full year on a screen.
Beckman, a nationally known consultant and presenter who works out of the Twin Cities, was the keynote speaker at the opening day workshop held for school staff on August 30. His 2-hour presentation featured thought-provoking questions, sobering facts, and some zany interaction, all with the point of emphasizing the value of human connection.
“Suicide rates among 10- to 12-year-olds began rising in 2007, and are at record levels,” he said. “How could this be?” Beckman postulated that the increasing numbers coincide with the introduction and rapid acceptance of the “smart” phone—along with its many effects on society. Not that the phones themselves are harmful, he explained, but that, rather than being used as the “tools” they are meant to be, they are being treated as “companions,” and are reducing the amount of genuine person-to-person interaction people experience.
“So many of the kids we interact with come from circumstances that are ‘broken’ in some way,” he said. “Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give them is a few seconds of genuine, human connection. Because ‘connection’ is the oxygen our souls breathe. It’s what we need to keep going.”