By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

Three area churches and one New Richland business were burglarized within the last week.

LeSueur River Lutheran Church, rural New Richland, Zion Lutheran and Pontoppidan Lutheran, rural Ellendale, and New Richland Auto Repair were broken into and robbed of thousands of dollars in cash and other items.

The church incidents took place late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. New Richland Auto Repair was hit the next night.

At LeSueur River Lutheran, thieves stole primarily electronic equipment, including all but one speaker in the sanctuary, an amplifier and equalizer for the sound system, a printer and a DVD/VCR player. The speakers were reportedly ripped off the wall. A four-drawer file cabinet containing church records was pried open, but nothing was taken from it.

Entrance to LeSueur River Lutheran may have been made through an unlocked door, according to Pastor Paul Meierding. LeSueur River is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

“This Sunday, I’m going to have to tell them, ‘It’s like the old days, no PA system. The best seats are in the front,’” said Meierding. “We’ll have something in by Easter.”

Meidering was at a loss for words to explain what happened.

“For me, going into Holy Week, trying to figure out what was lost…..I hope they find the people that did it,” he said. “People are pretty riled up about it.”

Matt Groskreutz, past president of the church, estimated replacement cost to be at least a couple thousand dollars.

Extensive damage was done to the front door at Zion Lutheran, according to church council president Milo Dahlin.

“It looks like entry was tried at different doors,” said Dahlin. “Two screens were cut. They pried open the front door, causing quite a bit of damage to the locking portion of the door.”

Items stolen included an oil-filled candle, a DVD/VCR player, 17 pounds of Hope Butter, seven frozen orange juice containers, a blue garbage can with Zion written on it and a black plastic ash tray.

Dahlin said there was no official estimate yet but guessed the damage to the door and items missing would amount to $3500 to $4000.

At Pontoppidan Lutheran, Pastor Josh Ehrler said one of the church’s doors was found wide open. Missing was the church’s safe, containing an unknown amount of money, and about $60 collected by Sunday School students for local food shelves.

“I guess I would just say it’s disappointing and unfortunate,” said Ehrler. “I’m thankful no one was harmed.”

Isaac Kofstad, owner of New Richland Auto Repair, said a little more than $500 in cash was stolen from his business.

“They broke in the back window,” said Kofstad. “We’re speculating it was two guys, one to hoist the other one through the window.”

It’s the second time in recent years Kofstad’s business was burglarized, but he’s making sure it won’t happen again.

“We will be taking security measures within the building,” he said. “We’re installing a security system.”

Waseca County Deputy Trevor Kanewischer said church break-ins have been going on for some time in Southern Minnesota. He said the most recent incidents are being actively investigated, though there are no leads at this time.

Anyone with any information on the break-ins — or anyone who sees any suspicious activity — is encouraged to call the Waseca County Sheriff’s Department at (507) 835-0500 or the Steele County Sheriff’s Department at (507) 444-3800.

“We encourage the public to call us with any information or reports of suspicious activity,” said Kanewischer. “We’re here 24/7. We like to see people call in with tips. They can remain anonymous. We’re looking for any information we can get.”