As your county commissioner I will be a strong advocate for reduced spending and lower taxes for the residents of Goodhue County. The county budget needs to have a few years of 0% growth. Other counties and cities in the area are reducing their budgets, but our county budget just seems to climb 2-4% every year. The budget in 2006 was 47.9 million, in 2012 the budget is 54.2 million. That is a 6.3 million dollar(13%) increase in county government spending in just the last 6 years. This never ending march of higher taxes needs to come to a stop.

When elected as your county commissioner I will promote jobs. The county needs to focus on business development. We need to work with existing businesses to make it attractive to stay and expand in Goodhue County. Also we should actively recruit new businesses.

Currently,  most all the votes on more spending always end up with a 3-2 decision, with Mr Rechtzigel ‘s votes falling on the side of increased spending. My election will change the whole dynamic of the board. The board would become more fiscally conservative and better reflect the values of district 3 residents.

I believe that growing up on a family farm has given me a very strong work ethic. The experiences I have gained running a small business has made me a financial watchdog. Working in the technology field for last 25 years, I am well aware of advances in technology used in the business world and would apply that knowledge at the county level. The experience gained from serving on the Kenyon-Wanamingo School board has given me insight into how public institutions operate.  I know these personal attributes and experiences will be very useful as your next county commissioner.

On the personal side, my lovely bride Laura and I have been married for 18 years. We have two wonderful children. My son Alec who is 11 and daughter Rachel who is 8. We currently live on a farm outside of Wanamingo near Hader.  I am an active member of Holden Lutheran Church in rural Kenyon.  I operate a small business in Wanamingo and work for a technology company.  Currently I volunteer as Cubmaster of troop 76 in Wanamingo and serve on the Kenyon Sunset Home board.

I look forward to meeting and talking with fellow District 3 residents over the next few months, listening to your concerns and sharing my ideas with you.

If you would like to help with the campaign or want to ask questions feel free to contact me at 507-990-7578 or email me at barneyforgcc@yahoo.com

Regards

Barney Nesseth

Barney Nesseth

When people think of Farmer’s Markets they only envision vegetables, but at the Dennison Farmer’s Market we’ve created an outlet for the community to meet new people, re connect with old friends and purchase fresh home grown / home made products. The community support, not just in town but the rural communities like Nerstand, Randolph and Sogn Valley residents. When we talk community, we should mention that our Vendors come from Cannon Falls, Kenyon, Randolph and Northfield, the Vendors bring quality crafted items many of them participate in a variety of other organizations.

Last year was our first year for bringing the Market inside after our Appreciation night, we had a great turn out, and people were able to purchase Holiday gifts, Thanksgiving pies and winter vegetables.  We are encouraging Vendors to continue the season with our indoor City Hall Market.

If you would like to join the market as a Vendor or know of someone that is crafty and wants to test the waters as a retailer of their craft please encourage them to join our Market.  Come see what we have to offer, we provide the Vendors support, advertising and a community sense.  If you would like more information about the Dennison Farmer’s Market feel free to stop by the Coordinators table, or email them atdennisonfarmersmarket@live.com.

People ask Jim Foss why he is still on the fair board in Goodhue County. He doesn’t know life without it.Foss became president of the Minnesota State Fair in January and will serve for two years.

“The state fair here is as exemplary as you can find,” he said. “Others come here to learn.”

The ten-member State Fair Board represents the entire state. There is one person from St. Paul, one from Minneapolis and the rest from around the state. They are divided up by regions and Foss represents Southeast District 1. He lives in rural Kenyon.  ”I’ve only missed the State Fair one year,” he said. Both Foss and his wife, Liz, take time off from work to attend. They go a day or so before the State Fair and stay through the day after Labor Day. They stay in a little cottage on the fairgrounds with ten rooms and a common area.

“I mostly do PR (public relations) work while there,” Foss said. “I visit with people and make sure they are having a good time.”

The rest of the year is spent preparing for the fair and helping at the county level. He spends ten to 12 weeks a year serving as a volunteer. At 73, he has been on the Goodhue County Fair Board since he was 21. It was that volunteer work that led him to the State Fair Board. He does get paid $1,000 a year, plus expenses.There are meetings to attend, county fairs to visit and sometimes trips to another state fair. One year they attended the Iowa State Fair and they are considering going to one this year. They travel by bus and transportation is provided by the State Fair. It is a learning experience and an opportunity to share ideas.”The State Fair doesn’t tolerate things that are shady,” he said. “We have to improve every year.”There are 76 full-time employees who do administrative work, building maintenance, plant and care for the flowers, and provide security. The fairgrounds are used year-round, especially from late March to the end of October. It also provides storage space during the winter months.The State Fair is self-supporting and there is no state funding. They did get some sales tax money at one time and now collect sales tax on tickets for the State of Minnesota. To keep money coming in, the Minnesota State Fair Foundation was organized. It consists of businesses and individuals to help with capital funding projects. They have supported many projects over the years.  ”The first project was the grandstand,” he said. “Then it was the Miracle of Birth center.”  Foss was a state officer when they started the first Miracle of Birth exhibit.”I saw it grow from nothing,” Foss said. “It is fun to see how things have grown.”Food is an important part of fairs and vendors come from all over the country to work at the State Fair.”It is hard to get in and they want to be there,” he said. “It’s hard work.”There are always some new food items along with the traditional cheese curds, French fries, corn dogs, milk shakes and sweet corn on the cob. Foods are territorial from one part of the country to another. The popular cheese curds wouldn’t sell in other places like Florida where they focus on strawberries.Foss is proud of the recycling efforts at the State Fair.”We try to avoid wasting things,” he said. “We recycle oil, most of the cobs from the sweet corn, straw from the cows and more.”Although some people complain about strollers, he is happy to see them there, as those children are future fair-goers. “When you buy a ticket to get into the State Fair, you own a part of that,” Foss said. “It’s our fair.”The board looks for educational opportunities, especially related to agriculture. Television stations have been a part of the State Fair for a long time. Foss has seen newspaper advertising decline while social media has grown. They target young people through the Internet, Facebook and Twitter.
Foss’s Early Fair Years in Goodhue County

Foss’s first experience with fairs was as a 4-H member exhibiting at the Goodhue County Fair in Zumbrota. He joined the Aspelund Ever-Readies 4-H Club at the age of nine. Among his activities were demonstrations, leadership projects, and showing milking shorthorn cattle and hogs at the fair. His 4-H demonstrations included making a rope halter, clipping calves and a team demonstration on livestock conservation with Mark Flom of Kenyon. They won a trip to the State Fair and he also won trips to the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago.A graduate of Kenyon High School, Foss also graduated from a two-year program at the school of agriculture in St. Paul. He studied farming, livestock and crops. He then came home and farmed.Foss was an active FFA member during high school and continued his membership until he turned 21. He served as secretary and president at the state level and got the American Farmer degree. He visited other FFA chapters and talked at banquets. One of the biggest changes he saw over the years was girls joining FFA.”There were no girls in FFA when I belonged,” he said. “Now they serve in at least 50% of the positions.” His own involvement with FFA continued. There is less focus on livestock projects now and more on agri-business, agri-science, leadership, horse, horticulture and floriculture. He recently received the FFA Hall of Fame award and the honorary state farmer degree.

Foss became a member of the Goodhue County Fair Board in 1959 when he was 21.”I went to a county fair annual meeting,” Foss said. “They still hadn’t fixed up buildings.” He was nominated and got on the fair board. He still belongs to the Goodhue County Fair Board which consists of 15 adults from around the county. This year there are 22 youth on the Junior Fair Board.The first big project he was involved with was the 4-H building. It was built in the early 1960s. They received a grant and had a levy to help pay for it. Many more changes came over the years like the building of a sheep barn, beef barn, auction ring and Izaak Walton League building. The grandstand was rebuilt and a township building was added a couple of years ago.”We try to pick events for the grandstand that are interesting,” he said. “Demolition derbies, tractor pulling contests and bands maintain interest.”

The Goodhue County Fair will be Aug. 7-12 this year. The county fair is the culmination of the 4-H year and members have their projects judged. Some members win trips to the Minnesota State Fair. It is an opportunity for local people to be involved and meet with neighbors. A new show this year is the Mitchell Marionettes, a puppet show from California. They will be doing a couple of shows every day during the fair and the shows are free.The board’s main project this year is to redo the green horticulture building. A new floor will be put in, shelves redone and curtains replaced. They hope to find a couple of locked cabinets for valuable exhibits. The boarded up windows on the top of the building will be replaced with new windows to let the light in. The Sentence to Service program will help with labor.”I’ve done many things at the fair from handling a fork for cleaning the barns to serving as president,” he said.Foss has been president for the past decade, a position he also held earlier. The local board meets once a month until June when they start meeting weekly. Some of their meetings include working on projects.Funding over the years has come from other sources including a fund for parks and recreation, historical efforts, partnerships with townships, Operation Round-Up through the county’s electrical association and they receive about $11,000 a year from the county.Foss and Liz have two boys, Timothy and Thomas, who also were active at the local fair. The couple served as 4-H leaders and it was a family activity. Liz has also been an active volunteer and two of their granddaughters now belong to 4-H.”For a while they (the fair board) couldn’t even pay the premiums,” he said. “We got a small grant from the county commissioners to cover it.”Goodhue County’s animal exhibits have remained strong despite fewer 4-H members coming from farms. The animal auctions are popular and remain well supported by area businesses. Animal auctions are also a part of the State Fair experience for those who receive top honors. Organized by the Minnesota Livestock Breeders, Foss also belongs to this association.

Foss is no longer actively farming but rents out his land and owns a few animals with others. He works for AgPartners which is headquartered in Goodhue. He delivers fertilizer and chemicals to farmers from Rosemount to Elgin. “It is a nice part-time job in the spring and fall,” Foss said. “I can be flexible and take off for my volunteer work.”In 2010 he received the national heritage award for volunteers.”Volunteer work is a priority,” he said.

After serving his two years on the Minnesota State Fair Board, he will be finished and isn’t sure what volunteer work will come next. He and his wife are grateful for their experiences and the people they have met from all over the world.”It’s been great,” he said. “There have been lots of surprises and fun.”

Her duties as the State President, along with Jared Luhman, will be to serve as an advocate for agriculture in the state. After an extensive training process she will be ready to represent agriculture in many different events and conferences throughout the state, including visiting with FFA chapters and industry leaders and will complete the year of service by planning the next FFA annual convention.

Shawna is the daughter of Ray and Deb Conrad of Goodhue and the youngest of four children. She has always loved to serve people and based on her strong sense of belief has always planned to travel as a faith based motivational speaker. She will attend South Dakota State and major in Agriculture Education with an emphasis in leadership and communication.  - by Terry Campbell

Shawna Conrad

She was born September 25, 1964 in Zumbrota, the daughter of Ron and Jean (Benson) Hunt. She graduated from Zumbrota High School. After high school she went to RCTC to be a medical transcriptionist. She worked for Allina Heath Systems for over 12 years. Robin married Tony Buck on December 12th, 1996.

Robin was an avid Twins fan and later started to cheer for the Vikings too. She enjoyed walks and time spent with family and friends. She loved to watch her children participate in their sporting events. She was also looking forward to being a grandmother in the near future.

She is survived by her husband, Tony Buck; daughters, Alissa Hester from first marriage to Dan Hester, Madison Buck; father, Ron Hunt; brother, Randy (and Jenn) Hunt; sister, Roxanne (and Martin) Hill; grandma, Janette Benson; parent-in-laws, Roger (and Ardell) Buck; brother-in-law, Troy (and Wendy) Buck; sister-in-law, Molly Hunt; nieces and nephews, Kyle Hill, Kasie Hill, Collin Buck, Freedom Hunt, Ariana Buck, Evan Buck, Siddha Hunt; god-child, Shawn Wickum, many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her mother and grandparents.

Visitation was at Michaelson Funeral Home, Kenyon on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and at First Evangelical Lutheran Church on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Funeral services were held Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 11 a.m. at First Evangelical Lutheran Church with The Reverend Luther Mathsen officiating. Interment was in the County Line Cemetery in Pine Island.

Lorna was born on February 11, 1917 in the family living area of the Skyberg cheese factory in Skyberg, MN. The daughter and eldest child of Lewis and Olga (Johnson) Lorenson. Lorna could have been named Lois Marie, but her father”s wishes prevailed and she was named Lorna. Lewis was the cheese maker at Skyberg and moved his family to rural Cannon Falls when Lorna was about 7 years old.

She attended the country school at Poe”s Corner in rural Cannon Falls where she received an 8th grade diploma. She attended the Cannon Falls High School through 10th grade and then accepted domestic work with different families in the area in an effort to help out her family during the depression.

Lorna was united in marriage to Howard Ferdinand Flaten on November 4, 1939 at St. Ansgar”s Lutheran Church parsonage in Cannon Falls. They lived and farmed in Wanamingo Township until they moved to Kenyon in 1990. They were married for 60 years and were blessed with five children.

Lorna was devoted to her family, her church and her community. She took great pride in her five children, eleven grandchildren and twenty-five great grandchildren. She was an excellent cook and family celebrations were always held at Grandma and Grandpa Flaten”s house until she was no longer physically able to do the work herself. Every spring she planted a huge vegetable garden and spent many hours every year canning or freezing those vegetables, strawberries from her strawberry bed and corn from Howard”s sweet corn fields. Her flower beds at both their country home and their home in Kenyon were absolutely beautiful.

Lorna and Howard were members of Holden Lutheran Church where all of their five children were baptized and confirmed. She and Howard were church custodians for several years and took great pride in the appearance of the church, the cemetery and the flower beds. She was an active member of the Holden WELCA and circles. She spent many hours quilting with the other WELCA ladies and always participated in other projects at the church. She loved to quilt and made a quilt for each of her children and grandchildren. Later she made a marriage quilt for each of her grandchildren and a baby quilt for each of the first babies born to them.

She was a project leader and an adult leader of the Aspelund Ever Readies 4-H club where her children were members. She always made sure that her children fair entries were completed on time so they could take them to the Cannon Falls and Goodhue County fairs.

Lorna entered the Bridges Assisted Care Facility in Zumbrota in November of 2003 and then became a resident of the Zumbrota Care Center in 2006. The Flaten family wishes to thank the staff of both facilities for the excellent care, dedication, love and compassion that they showed to Lorna during her stays there during the past nine years. God bless you all.

She was greatly loved by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She will be sorely missed by all.

Lorna was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Howard, two sisters, Jeannette and Janice, one brother, Lowell and son-in-law Bob Blakstad.

She is survived by one son, Roger (and Janice) Flaten of Cannon Falls; four daughters, Joanne Flaten of Delano; Judy Blakstad of Zumbrota; Lois (and Donald) Dankers of Goodhue; Nancy Robles of Zumbrota; one brother, Dale (and Violet) Lorenson of Cannon Falls; 11 grandchildren, Wendy (and Charlie) Simons of Cannon Falls; Bruce (and Cindy) Flaten of Cannon Falls; Brian (and Diana) Flaten of Rush City; Daniel (and Dr. Alyson) Blakstad of Watertown; Eric Blakstad of Zumbrota; Patricia (and Jay) McNamara of LaCrosse, WI; Jane (and Mark) Bortnem of Maple Grove; Amy (and Steve) Hinrichs of Plainview; Annette Dankers of Plainview; Kevin (and Robyn) Dankers of Goodhue; Rick Robles of Zumbrota; 25 great grandchildren who were a very special part of her life and always put a smile on her face; and several nieces and nephews.

Visitation was at Michaelson Funeral Home, Kenyon on Sunday, April 29, 2012 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and one hour prior to the service at the church. Funeral services were held Monday, April 30, 2012 at 2:00 PM at Holden Lutheran Church with The Reverend Heather Culuris officiating. Lorna was buried next to her husband Howard in the Holden Cemetery. Memorials are preferred to the Holden Lutheran Church, Holden Cemetery Fund, Holden Park Fund or donor”s choice.

Jerold Norris Grove was born May 26, 1916 on the Johannes T. Grove farm to Bernhard ‘Benny’ and Louise Grove. He attended the local school, and worked with his father on the farm, gradually taking over the farm interests. He also hauled milk for many years. On May 14, 1940 he married Myrtle Medora Norby from Mahnomen, Minnesota. They farmed in Wanamingo Township on the Thrond Grove homestead until 1979, and then moved to Wanamingo where they resided at 321 Beverly Street. He was a member of Dale Lutheran Church. He enjoyed growing plants, going for car rides and looking at the countryside and fields. He also enjoyed yard work, cooking, and visiting with people.

Jerold is survived by his son, Steve Grove; daughter, Mary (Ron) Malecha; grandchildren, Joshua Jerold Malecha, and Jessica Jean (Jeremy) Kirkpatrick; and a great-grandchild, Maxwell James Kirkpatrick.

His wife and parents preceded him in death.

If so desired, memorials may be directed to Dale Lutheran Church.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church on Friday.

McBroom is a native of Mazeppa, graduating from Z-M High School in 2003. She was always interested in health care and biology but her passion for the non-pharmaceutical side of medicine led to pursue a career outside of the hospital environment. Her small town roots caused her to search out a location in the area and she received a warm welcome coming to Kenyon.

McBroom enjoys visiting and getting to know the people in the community and likes developing a relationship with her patients as she works to keep them healthy and active. “Chiropractic care is a way to keep people doing what they want to do”, Dr. Laura says.

McBroom is married and lives in Wanamingo with her husband Jale and their two young daughters.

The McBroom Chiropractic office is located at 502 2^nd Street in Kenyon, between Curves and Nygaard Repair. Her hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from nine am to 7pm. She can be reached by phone at 507-273-9108.   – by Terry Campbell

Laura McBroom