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Legion reaches century mark
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But commander concerned about future of Post 75
A LOT OF HISTORY — The New Richland American Legion Andrew Borgen Post 75 has a lot of history, as pointed out by commander Syvert Berg (Star Eagle photo by Jim Lutgens)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
As you look around the walls of the New Richland American Legion’s hole-in-the-wall headquarters on N. Broadway Ave., you see a lot of history.
The original charter is there, along with photos of local soldiers killed in action, a list of past commanders, and other items.
How much more history they’ll make is anybody’s guess, but as of this year the Andrew Borgen post is exactly 100 years old.
The sad truth is the Legion has gone downhill since it sold its building several years ago. It was tough to do, according to current commander Syvert Berg, but something that had to be done.
“Times have changed,” said Berg. “That was an expensive building to maintain, and the patronage was way down. The public doesn’t drink like it used to. People are afraid of DWIs.”
Berg laments the fact the Legion is no longer able to support the community the way it used to.
“We were supporting (the Legion) with Bingo nights,” said Berg. “We used to get quite a crew in here on Tuesday nights. Food and beverage sales were big.”
Homecoming 2019
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Domeier, Ihrke crowned
Homecoming royalty for 2019 at NRHEG High School was crowned Monday, Sept. 23 in the high school gymnasium. Above, Queen Jayna Domeier gets a hug from Annie Prigge. Blake Ihrke was crowned King. See Pages 6-7 of this week's Star Eagle for photos of the current Homecoming court, past Homecoming courts and a list of all royalty from NRHEG, New Richland-Hartland and Ellendale-Geneva. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
Strenge sets record at state fair
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PRIZE PIG — Ethan Strenge shows his Grand Champion market gilt at the 2019 Minnesota State Fair. (Photo by Empire Imagery)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
Almost everyone in New Richland knows of Ethan Strenge.
He’s the kid who grew up with a misshapen face, the result of a rare form of cancer that forced the removal of most of his right cheekbone. It hasn’t been pretty, and Strenge — who was diagnosed 14 years ago — became known around town as the kid who overcame so much.
Now he can be also recognized as a state record holder.
Strenge, who turned 18 in July, earned Grand Champion honors with his market gilt at the Minnesota State Fair, netting a record $17,500 in the auction ($10,500 selling price, $7,000 donations). He also won the use of a Featherlite livestock trailer for one year. The money, of course, is set aside for college, but first there’s his senior year at NRHEG High School, and another year that promises to be just as eventful (more on that later).
Strenge’s path to state began with Grand Champion honors at the Waseca County Fair. He accepted the optional trip to the state fair, where there were more than 100 market gilts in seven classes. After winning his class, it was on to an extremely competitive final round.
“The judge looked at a lot of pigs, but he looked at mine the most,” said Strenge.
Count on him
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Kruger helps raise hopes, expectations for NRHEG football
FIRST AT LAST — NRHEG head football coach Marc Kruger, right, embraces Jacob Schuller after the Panthers’ section championship victory over WEM at Janesville last October. The Panthers’ 2018 and continuing motto: “Count on Me.” (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
Last year, expectations were not exactly high for the NRHEG High School football team.
And they did not get any higher when the Panthers hired first-year head coach Marc Kruger, a product of Albert Lea High School, where they rarely win football games.
So what did Kruger’s Panthers do? They surprised everyone, winning their first-ever section championship while finishing 9-3 and reaching the state semifinals.
“It was a perfect season,” said Kruger. “The last game for every team is real bad, but we were able to look back at it pretty quickly and realize how well we did.”
How did the Panthers win so many games when Kruger won so little at Albert Lea?
“In Albert Lea, we had our own issues,” he said. “The kids would never buy in to what they were doing. Kids from Albert Lea would go on to play in college, and everyone wondered, why can’t Albert Lea be better? The kids never bought in.”
This did not happen here last year, according to Kruger. The NRHEG kids bought into the system and the Panthers won. It also didn’t hurt that they had 10 talented seniors, three of whom are on college football rosters.
Blazing Star seeks to restore native prairie habitat
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NATIVE MINNESOTA - Dustin Demmer works hard to bring back native plants that were once common across MInnesota prairie. (Star Eagle photo by Melanie Piltingsrud)
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
Dustin Demmer is the entrepreneur behind Blazing Star Gardens, a business just a few miles west of Clarks Grove, that seeks to re-propagate some of Minnesota’s native prairie flowers and grasses by growing the seeds – and knowledge – that people need to be successful when they decide to implement prairie restoration projects.
Demmer grows plants from native Minnesota prairie grasses and flowers that you would have seen here long ago. He sells some of the plants at Souba Greenhouse & Garden Center in Owatonna in the spring, but, from most of the plants, he harvests the seeds, cleans them, and then sells those top quality seeds to wholesalers, who then mix them with other native plant seeds for use in prairie restoration projects.
Such projects are becoming increasingly popular. But why are they so important? Demmer explains: “A lot of people are starting to become concerned about monarchs, bees, pollinators, and they’re wondering why they don’t see any in their gardens, and it’s because most people have planted daylilies and hostas and stuff that we brought over from Asia, Africa and Europe, and those plants don’t have the same insect associations as the plants that the insects in America [..] evolved with. Most people know that monarchs need milkweed to lay the eggs, because it’s the only thing the caterpillars eat, but a lot of insects have the same kind of specific relationships with really specific species of plants. Another example is: painted lady butterflies need either pussytoes or sweet everlasting or pearly everlasting, which are all native perennials – perennials that, if you were to come here a thousand years ago, that’s what would have been growing.”