NOBLES COUNTY

Bill requiring opiate antagonists on public campuses passes

Chloe Farnsworth — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 02:05:06 GMT

ST. PAUL / PIPESTONE — During the spring of 2023, Will Rops, of Pipestone, was visiting the Minnesota Capitol for a student government event as a member of Minnesota State University Moorhead’s student senate.

“I just kinda decided to stop into my legislator’s office because I had gotten this idea for a bill,” Rops said. “They really liked it and they were shocked that we weren’t already doing it.”

Rops talked to Sen. Bill Weber (R-Luverne) about requiring public post-secondary institutions to maintain a supply of opiate antagonists, such as naloxone, on system campuses.

Rops, who will attend grad school this fall at South Dakota State University for school counseling, had the idea after losing his brother in 2022 to a fentanyl overdose.

“That was really, really hard for us,” he said. “That’s why I felt so much joy for it (when it passed) and why I had so much motivation to do it, because if it weren’t for him, this bill would not exist. No question. There wouldn’t be a bill.”

When Rops first introduced the idea to Weber, it was too late to be implemented into the 2023 legislative session.

“When we started again this year, I reintroduced the bill and it was heard in both the higher education committee as well as the HHS (Health and Human Services) committee,” Weber said. “Then, it was ultimately put into the higher ed omnibus bill at that point. We had one hearing on it last time and then I had two hearings on it this year and it got included.”

Rops testified at one of those hearings in February.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking,” he said. “It was exactly how you picture it with the fancy leather chairs and the table… but it went really well. It’s something that I’m very passionate about because of the death of my brother and how it impacted my family and my community. ... I felt pretty bold for lack of a better word.”

The bill passed during the special session in June as part of the higher education omnibus bill, which also addresses funding for institutions.

“I give a lot of credit to the testimony of the young man (Rops) who had brought the issue to me,” Weber said. “(He) actually testified once in person and once via Zoom in both committee meetings and gave obviously a very impactful testimony having witnessed what his family went through with the death of his brother… It was an emotional testimony and a very touching testimony that he gave. He really did the heavy lift on it as far as that was concerned.”

Rops said not having opiate antagonists on Minnesota college campuses was a massive oversight. According to him, Minnesota already has Narcan, a brand name for naloxone, required in K-12 schools.

“An elementary school is required to have Narcan doses on-site,” he said. “But they didn’t have any requirements for colleges/universities. It was just a massive oversight and I felt relief (when it passed) because there were people overdosing in dorms.”

Rops said there was proof of students overdosing on Minnesota State College campuses. “I felt relief for the fact that they would have Narcan on-site to help them,” he said.

He also wants people to know how accessible Narcan is.

“It can save a life and it’s easy for you to carry,” he said. “You could put it in your purse, you could put it in a backpack, you can put it in your car and just have it because you never know.”

Rops said there are no drawbacks to using Narcan.

“We got to stop this stigma that Narcan can be abused in some way,” he said. “That’s not true at all and there’s people that think that, but it’s just not true. As much access to it as we can have as possible is what we need. Everybody should carry it.”

According to Weber, by this fall, public post-secondary institutions should be including those opiate antagonists emergency doses in residential units on campus.

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Minnesota seeing uptick in reported rabies cases, state health department says

Julie Buntjer — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 17:06:00 GMT

REGIONAL — Rabid skunks and cattle have the Minnesota Department of Health urging area residents to vaccinate their pets, horses and cattle against rabies this summer.

Southern Minnesota counties are reporting an uptick in cases of rabies, with rabid skunks — including three in Pipestone County and one each in Nobles and Murray counties — and cattle — two in Rock County and one in Pipestone County — documented so far in 2024.

The rabies cases appear to be confined to the far southwest corner of Minnesota, with an incident also reported in Stearns County. There, three beef steers tested positive for rabies in mid-May after apparent skunk bites, according to reports from MDH and the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

We had a really mild winter. We think that might have allowed more of the skunk population to survive and interact and spread rabies.

MDH Epidemiologist Carrie Klumb said Monday there has been an unusually high number of rabid animals so far this year in Minnesota, including 14 bats, 12 skunks, six cattle and one cat. In a typical year, she said the state may record three to five cases of rabid skunks and zero to one rabid cattle.

What makes this year so unusual?

“We don’t know exactly why this is happening,” Klumb said. “We had a really mild winter. We think that might have allowed more of the skunk population to survive and interact and spread rabies.”

In Minnesota, skunks are one of the main reservoirs for rabies, she said, noting that southern Indiana is also seeing an uptick in rabies cases spread from infected skunks this year.

With the unusually high number of rabies cases reported in animals, there is a corresponding high number of humans who have had to be treated for likely or possible exposure to rabies.

As of Monday, there were 17 instances in which people needed to get the series of four rabies shots. That’s because they were either bitten by a rabid animal or were exposed to the animal’s saliva through close contact, such as while administering medication.

“You do need to have a break in the skin where the virus gets into the body,” said Klumb. “Where we have cattle (infected), we are being very conservative.”

If a producer sticks their hand inside an infected animal’s mouth, just having lots of saliva exposure would lead MDH to recommend they get the rabies shot.

While that scenario may be unusual, Klumb said the most common way to get rabies from an animal is through a bite. And, if that happens, a person should call their healthcare provider or the MDH help line at (651) 201-5414 for a risk assessment.

If the animal that caused the bite wound is wild and is not captured, the recommendation is to start the series of shots. If it is a known animal, such as a dog, cat or livestock species, Klumb recommends confining the animal for 10 days and watching for any abnormal behavior.

The only way to truly know if the animal has rabies is to test its brain.

Rabies shots are administered to humans over a period of two weeks, with shots given in the arm on Days 0, 3, 7 and 14. People are also given Human Rabies Immune Globulin, a pre-made antibody from people who are already vaccinated. The HRIG dose is given in the opposite arm as the four rabies shots, and the amount is based on the person’s bodyweight.

Of course, avoiding exposure to rabid animals is best, which is why MDH is encouraging pet owners, as well as owners of horses and cattle, to vaccinate their animals for rabies.

“We want them to vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies; vaccinate horses, vaccinate cattle,” Klumb said. “We know that’s not always possible if you have a large herd, but we are seeing more activity in skunks.”

Klumb also encourages the public to leave wild animals alone, and if you see a nocturnal animal out in the daytime, to understand that they might be sick and you should stay away from them and keep your animals inside.

We want them to vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies; vaccinate horses, vaccinate cattle.

Connie McNab, a small animal veterinarian at the Veterinary Medical Center in Worthington, said puppies should be vaccinated at four months of age and then given a booster a year later. After that, rabies vaccinations are recommended every three years.

“If a pet did get exposure — especially if we know the exposure was a positive skunk — we’d definitely booster,” McNab said. “A lot of times we booster regardless because a lot of times we don’t have that answer from the exposure.”

With pets, McNab said owners should watch them for abnormal behavior — staggering, lethargy, drooling, difficulty swallowing or neurological effects — for 45 days. And, if a pet isn’t current on their rabies vaccination, there’s a six-month quarantine period once they’re given a booster.

“It can take anywhere from a 2-week incubation to six months,” McNab said of the length of time it could take for a pet to show signs of rabies. “If they got bit in the tail, it could take up to six months.”

The VMC has not received any reports this year involving rabies in pets.

For information on rabies testing, including how to submit animals and bats for testing, visit health.state.mn.us/diseases/rabies/index.html

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Some believe Henrietta Mae simply ran away. Others are convinced she is 'buried on that farm'

Stewart Chisham — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 20:31:00 GMT

RUSHMORE, Minn. — On Feb. 26, 1964, two residents of Rushmore vanished from the tight-knit community without a trace — local cafe co-owner Henrietta Mae DeVries and town mechanic George Steven Nicholson.

To some in the community, it appeared to be a cut-and-dry case of two star-crossed companions trying to escape their old lives and run away. Some believe Henrietta was buried on her late husband’s acreage. Either way, after 60 years without answers, the waters aren’t any clearer, but a few key insights from Henrietta’s family could perhaps unlock the greater narrative.

Henrietta married Russell James DeVries in Ransom Township, Nobles County, on March 18, 1953. The two spent most of their married lives together on the DeVries farm south of Rushmore, where they raised three children — Dale, Diane and Roger. The couple moved into the town of Rushmore in the early 1960s, where they opened the restaurant now known as CD Cafe.

Family members say Russell was incredibly abusive toward both Henrietta and his second wife, Violet Thorson-DeVries, whom he married on Aug. 23, 1967, just three years after Henrietta’s disappearance.

Multiple family members, including Henrietta’s youngest sibling, Gordon Vogt, have recanted that Russell was witnessed to have waved his gun around frequently in a threatening manner. Russell was also believed by some family to have had an affair with someone in Worthington while he was married to Henrietta, although this is unconfirmed.

On Nov. 20, 1982, Russell DeVries died of a brain aneurysm, and his land was divided among his surviving family.

Back when Russell and Henrietta owned the cafe in Rushmore, it was known to be a lively business — if not somewhat hellish. Henrietta would arrive at work each morning with a smile. Many times, however, according to former cafe employee Betty Rosenberg, both Henrietta and Russell would get into terrible arguments. It was the reason Rosenberg turned in her resignation not long after the cafe opened its doors.

One early morning, after she had left some fresh sweet rolls on the cafe counter, Henrietta vanished. That same morning, just down the street from the cafe, Nicholson had not shown up for work at the auto repair shop.

Both of them were missing, and nobody knew why.

Three days later, the FBI reported finding Nicholson’s 1954 Ford pickup truck in Sioux Falls, South Dakota — 53 miles west of Rushmore.

Nicholson, who was also married, had three children with a fourth on the way at the time he vanished. His wife, Marlys Fenske, filed for a divorce by abandonment in 1979, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Little else is known about Nicholson other than his apparent career as a mechanic.

Nicholson’s truck was abandoned with $5,000 in cash and an empty briefcase still inside. The vehicle had recently been converted from gas to propane, presumably to travel a farther distance, the FBI stated at the time.

Sixty years later, though, the case remains unsolved. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office have declined to comment on the case.

Some family members, including Henrietta and Russell’s three children, simply assumed she was having an affair with Nicholson. However, relatives of Henrietta don’t believe the story adds up.

“My folks could not understand or really believe that she would leave her kids behind,” said Gordon Vogt. “She would have taken them with her if she was going somewhere. They found it hard to believe she would be seeing someone.”

On several occasions, Henrietta attempted to get her children away from the fearsome arguments at home. Shirley Heidebrink, one of Henrietta’s surviving siblings, said she was one of the first people Henrietta would call when they were having issues, because she wanted Heidebrink to take their kids.

“We got there, she and the kids were in the house, and Russell was in the garage (...) I just thought maybe they got into a big fight. We talked for a while, she calmed down and didn’t want us to take the kids anymore,” Heidebrink said. “She reassured us (Russell) would cool off, too.”

All of Henrietta’s surviving relatives seem to be in agreement that she put her children before everything else.

“A weird thing that stood out to me was the fact that every single person we’ve spoken to said there’s no way (Henrietta) would have just left her kids and family,” said Mitch Vogt, Henrietta’s great-nephew. Both Mitch and his wife, Ashley Vogt, set out on the trail of finding Mitch’s great-aunt late last year. The couple was watching an episode of “Dateline” when they began to discuss Henrietta’s disappearance.

Just as they began their investigation, Mitch and Ashley Vogt were contacted by a distant relative of Russell's. Their familial connection was established when Russell married his second wife.

The relative, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that until the day she died in 2015, Thorson-DeVries was adamant Russell had “buried (Henrietta) on that farm.”

They couldn't have known what the end result would be.

“I remember they were having some marital issues,” Gordon Vogt shared. “There were times before she disappeared where (Henrietta) would come over to our folks’ house for visiting, and after she left that day, Mom and Dad would talk about the bruises that she had. It didn’t seem normal to them.”

Gordon Vogt also recalled a time when he was sleeping in the room above the kitchen when he was awoken by voices down below. It was Henrietta and Russell, and they were talking with Henrietta’s parents, George Sr. and Anna Vogt.

Gordon overheard Henrietta say she wanted to move in with her parents, along with her children, because of the marital issues she was having with Russell.

The back and forth continued for some time until Henrietta’s parents agreed she and Russell needed to go home to settle their issues.

“My mom and dad’s philosophy was that they felt everyone needed to solve their own issues,” Gordon Vogt shared. “They couldn’t have known what the end result would be. Spousal counseling at the time wasn’t very well known, either.”

After Henrietta vanished, Gordon Vogt said his parents were heartbroken. “After she disappeared, they always said, you know, ‘We should’ve kept her — we should’ve kept her and the kids.’ They just didn’t realize at the time.”

“Spousal and physical abuse, those are my words. Those I never heard from anybody,” Gordon Vogt said. “That’s the impression I got from that night. That’s what I assumed when they talked about the bruises.”

George Vogt Sr. had apparently contacted the FBI on multiple occasions in the 1960s, as it appeared to the family that local law enforcement “wasn’t doing much of anything.”

Contacting the FBI now, however, Mitch Vogt said he only received the same boilerplate response:

“We cannot confirm nor deny that information.”

With no body ever found, there was no murder, and with no murder, there’s no death certificate. As Henrietta has not been legally declared dead, it is difficult for the family to get answers.

“You would think her information would be on file somewhere,” said Mitch Vogt. “But nobody had a record of that. We had to dig up her birth certificate just to prove she even existed.”

Gordon Vogt speculated that perhaps Nicholson and Henrietta struck up a friendly conversation one day, and that he knew she wanted to get out of there, though he also says it is still difficult to understand why Nicholson would abandon his own family as well.

“It was so bizarre, as I think about it over the years,” Gordon Vogt said.

Gordon Vogt’s parents attempted to remain in contact with the three DeVries children, however, one day when he and his mother were visiting, one of the children said they “never want to see (the Vogts) again” and that the Vogts were keeping their mother away from them.

They took it at face value, and that's that.

That was the last time George and Anna Vogt saw their grandchildren, according to Gordon.

Later on, the Vogts were able to reconnect with Dale DeVries, but as for most of the surviving DeVries family, the rift that was formed between them and the Vogts was irreparable.

“(Russell) told (their children) that (Henrietta) was a floozy and ran off,” Mitch Vogt said. “They took it for face value, and that’s that. The family has estranged themselves. I don’t think any of us have heard from them since 1964.”

While Mitch and Ashley Vogt haven’t been successful with their attempts to get information from law enforcement, they aren’t ready to give up the search for what happened to Henrietta DeVries. If anyone has information about Henrietta — or George Nicholson — they may reach out to the Vogts at FindHenrietta1964@gmail.com.

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Nobles County commissioners vote in opposition to new Minnesota state flag, seal

Samuel Martin — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 17:55:44 GMT

WORTHINGTON — On a 3-1 vote, Nobles County commissioners on Tuesday, Jan. 23 approved a resolution stating their dissatisfaction with the newly designed Minnesota state flag and seal, citing the costs they will incur for changing out flags, seals and even patches on law enforcement uniforms.

The new state seal will replace the former seal statewide on May 11, which is Minnesota’s statehood day. The former flag and seal each featured a Dakota native on horseback, which were considered culturally insensitive to Minnesota’s indigenous Dakota people and their place in state history.

It’s kind of ironic that the old state seal they thought was offensive to Native Americans… and now we’re using Native American verbiage in the new one.

By adopting the resolution, which involves sending a letter voicing their opinion to the Minnesota Legislature, State Emblem Redesign Commission and Gov. Tim Walz, Nobles County is joining a list of other Minnesota counties that have adopted similar resolutions.

Crow Wing County voted 3-1-1 this month in favor of sending a letter of opposition to Walz and the Legislature. McLeod County, Houston County and the Minnesota Republican Party have also publicly renounced the new flag and seal designs.

The resolution supports the argument that the original seal illustrates the state’s agricultural industry, indigenous history and coexistence of settlers and natives, and also states that changing the flag and seal would negatively impact county budgets.

“There’s been dialogue amongst other county administrators,” shared Nobles County Administrator Bruce Heitkamp. “This is state business. However, state business often trickles down with unfunded mandates.”

Heitkamp said the change of seals and flags also entails the change of law enforcement uniforms, which bear the state flag and state seal.

“Sheriff (Ryan) Kruger and his staff’s uniforms, which represent the seal and (their) badges represent the seal,” he said. “It starts getting into the expense … it starts getting into our pockets. I think there’s arguments that it is.”

“Why can’t we… when the new deputies come on or you have to get new shirts or whatever the case may be, can we change them at that time?” Commissioner Bob Paplow asked.

“That may be an option, but I don’t want half of my department to have the new patch and then (the other) half have the old patch,” Kruger replied. “I think that looks very unprofessional. Each deputy has a couple uniforms. That’s not just deputies, that’s regular (officers) as well.”

Nobles County Attorney Braden Hoefert said he hadn’t yet heard what the law requires in terms of implementing the new flag and seal.

Several commissioners said the old state seal reflected Minnesota’s history more accurately than the new one. Commissioner Gene Metz, meanwhile, said that the inclusion of the Dakota phrase “Mni Sota Macoke” (which translates to “land where the waters reflect the clouds,” from which the state’s name is derived) was ironic given the redesigns were the result of criticisms of a Dakota native on horseback within the old flag and seal.

“It’s kind of ironic that the old state seal they thought was offensive to Native Americans… and now we’re using Native American verbiage in the new one,” said Metz.

“It tells more of the story of Minnesota than this does,” added Commissioner Robert Demuth Jr., who ultimately voted in opposition to the resolution. “This (issue) is just one of those dumpster fire things.”

Ultimately, Metz said the battle to stop the changing of the emblems is an uphill one that isn’t worth the fight.

“Some of the counties are doing this, some of them aren’t. I was curious as to what MRC (Minnesota Rural Counties) was going to do,” Metz said. “They’ve got about 22 rural counties now and they brought it up at their last meeting. The vote was split right down the middle, about 50-50. I talked to Sen. Bill Weber and he said it was out of the legislature’s hands.

“He said, ‘If you want to send it, send it just to send a message,’” Metz shared. “It all just depends on whether you want to send a message. I kind of am on both sides… but don’t burn any bridges trying to fight something that’s not going to change. We’ve got other, bigger fish to fry. At some point, we just have to make a stand.”

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Minnesota school board votes to revise policy, remove flags

Stewart Chisham — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 19:06:42 GMT

WORTHINGTON, Minn. — After months of deliberation, the District 518 Board of Education voted Tuesday to revise a policy and remove two "controversial" flags from a Worthington high school classroom.

The district, which encompasses elementary and high schools in Worthington, voted unanimously on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in favor of revising policy 606, which outlines a procedure for addressing controversial or problematic items.

Policy 606 review committee member Becca McGaughey explained the process, which aimed to provide a way for parents and guardians to have concerns reviewed diplomatically.

“It goes through the steps, it goes through the committees, ultimately it ends here," she told the board. "If there’s an objection, the objector can take that to the next level, where the end answer is in (the school board’s) hands.”

Approval of the revised policy then led to the board being asked to make a decision regarding two specific flags that were displayed in a high school science classroom. The flags — one of the teacher's home territory of Puerto Rico, and the other a Pride flag with the message "Everyone is welcome here" — were deemed offensive by a parent, who took the issue to District 518 Superintendent John Landgaard shortly after the start of the 2023-24 school year.

After nearly four months of discussion, the board voted 4-1 on Tuesday to remove the banner from Dr. José Morales Callazo’s classroom. The Puerto Rican flag will also be removed, with only the U.S. and Minnesota flags to be allowed in classrooms moving forward. Teachers may still display the flag of their alma mater — something that has always been allowed, Landgaard said.

Board member Erin Schutte Wadzinski asked for the reasoning behind removing the two flags, to which Landgaard responded: “They are deemed as a potential controversial topic or issue or item. And that’s where the complaint came from.”

When asked by Schutte Wadzinski if the complaint was just about the Pride flag, Landgaard confirmed that was correct.

Schutte Wadzinski asked, “How is the Puerto Rican flag controversial?”

“It’s been a social issue of what has been controversial,” Landgaard responded.

“It’s not part of our curriculum, and that’s the other side of it. It’s not curriculum. That’s what the decision is based on.”

“My line of questioning is to understand why not have these flags up? Or these posters on the walls? What’s wrong with them?” Schutte Wadzinski said. “If it’s a balancing test, I think there’s more good than harm being done to have something on the walls saying ‘everyone is welcome here.’ ”

Schutte Wadzinski also said these types of decisions could potentially impact the district's ability to retain or hire staff in the future and noted potential mental health concerns for students.

Collazo, a high school science teacher, has tendered his resignation, effective at the end of the school year.

If it’s a balancing test, I think there’s more good than harm being done to have something on the walls saying "Every One is Welcome Here."

“I think the appropriate flags should be the United States flag and the state of Minnesota flag,” said board member Stephen Schneider. “If we go to Iowa, I don’t expect them to be flying Minnesota flags. I don’t have anything against people wanting to bring their flags somewhere, but I think in a public building, the state flag and the U.S. flag are the ones we fly.”

Schutte Wadzinski said she thinks the district's students feel marginalized and need a space where they are welcome. She said the Pride flag in Callazo’s classroom may be a way to identify a source of support for those students.

"It’s not obvious necessarily, in school, who is an ally, and in southwest Minnesota, not everybody is,” Schutte Wadzinski said.

"Bullying has been happening for decades, centuries. It isn’t right, never has been right, and it shouldn’t be permitted," Schneider responded. "I don’t see how flying flags fixes that problem, nor is it necessary for us to be doing this.”

Board member Lori Dudley said it was a matter of public feedback, not the board members' personal viewpoints.

"I had several people say they were uncomfortable about a Pride flag being flown. It’s not about what I think,” she said. “At this point, we have a complaint about a particular flag, not everyone is comfortable. It’s controversial in some people’s minds.”

“I agree with people’s desire to want it to be easier for students to understand who supports,” Schneider said. “I don’t have the complete answer, but we should be working together to find a way to do that.”

One example he shared was that these teachers could wear lapel pins or other jewelry to express their support.

Adam Blume and Landgaard both expressed frustration over how the situation had been “Blown well past what it should be.” Blume was particularly upset about how much time was dedicated to the issue when comprehension scores have been plummeting — something he said should be getting more attention.

Ultimately, Blume, Schneider, Dudley and Board Chairman Joel Lorenz voted for the removal of the banner, while Schutte Wadzinski voted in opposition. Board members Matt Widboom and Tom Prins were not present for the vote.

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Minnesota classic car memorabilia museum closing after 2 decades

Emma McNamee — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 16:05:00 GMT

WORTHINGTON, Minn. — It’s a collection 43 years in the making, brought together from across the United States and made possible by a lifetime of connections, love of all things automotive, and enough electricity to power a showroom of neon signs.

Spomer Classics, a car and automotive memorabilia museum, has been a Worthington, Minnesota, must-see since owner Marv Spomer first opened its doors. But now, after two decades, the museum is closing.

“It isn’t going to be easy,” Spomer said, standing in the back room of the former car dealership-turned-museum. The back room is filled with classic cars. Most of the time, Spomer has had 18 to 20 cars on display, including a 1957 Venetian orange Corvette, and the sleek red ’66 Pontiac that Robert Kennedy rode in — and signed — during his participation in Worthington's King Turkey Day parade.

It’s all part of the history, part of the collection, that Spomer has spent more than half of his life building. While his love of the automobile has been lifelong, the collection he credits to his wife Jeanine, an antiques lover who encouraged Spomer to ride along when she went to auctions.

Together, they built Spomer Classics. Since its opening, car enthusiasts, history lovers and the mildly curious have made their way to the Worthington museum.

The museum has hosted many large groups who took one of Spomer’s two-hour tours, while he walks them around the brightly lit interior. People come from nearby; they travel across state lines, and in some cases, from out of the country.

“Two weeks ago, we had two people in from South Africa,” Spomer said. “That’s the biggest thing, is we’re gonna miss the people, because we’ve gotten to talk to people from all over the world.”

While many people come in to view the cars, Spomer says they’re really a secondary attraction.

“We have people come in here all the time (who say) ‘Oh we gotta see the cars,’ but pretty soon all they’re looking at is the neon signs.” he said, walking along a line of sleek looking automobiles in the back showroom. “The signs and the clocks and the memorabilia, that’s what they’re really here to see. They just don’t understand that ’til they come in.”

His very first neon signs — a Pontiac and a Fireball V8 — came from an auction in Scotland, South Dakota. There’s a Coca-Cola sign from the gas station Spomer’s father used to run, where Spomer first got into the car business by pumping gas.

Towering above one of the cars near the back is an 11-foot-long rotating sign from 1953 that was found in a grove of trees in Decorah, Iowa. Spomer cleaned it out himself, as he does with most of the signs he’s collected. The restoration is all part of the process, and Spomer jokes that he can never be without some project, whether that’s a car, a sign, or figuring out how to find space for a massive rotating sign.

“That rotator, it actually came off the Phillips 66 sign in Worthington,” Spomer said, adding that a friend from his coffee group gave it to him after hearing about his new sign. “It was totally shot. It took me six months to get it all working again.”

He points out other signs and says a friend told him about it, or a contact tracked him down and offered to sell it to him, or someone, somewhere, said they had a sign and a story.

Spomer, it seems, collects both.

“There’s a lot of research that goes into this,” he said, “The stuff we find, we try to find the history that goes with it.”

In a room packed so full of lights and signs that it’s hard to find the walls, Spomer’s own tales about how he acquired pieces of memorabilia mingles with the item’s history. Interspersed with talks of the auctions and antique stores he’s collected from is a vast assortment of automotive trivia and historical tidbits, connected to the various items that make up Spomer’s collection.

Neon signs, he explained, took off in the United States in the 1920s and first showed up at a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles. They were a huge hit at the 1926 National Auto Show at Madison Square Garden in New York, and the subsequent neon wave spread throughout the world of advertising.

While that spread is on full, technicolor display inside Spomer Classics, the neon signs are only a portion of the collection. Porcelain and tin, lit-up milk glass, Spomer possesses what is one of the largest collections of automotive signs in the country — and more than a couple pieces are one-of-a-kind.

“I've got quite a few signs that are over 100 years old,” he said, “and we have broadened out from automotive, to gas and oil ... And naturally, we’ve collected a lot of local stuff — Worthington stuff — that will be going into the historical building downtown.”

Spomer will be giving — or returning, in some cases — several pieces from his collection to people the memorabilia holds significant value for. In large part though, most of the memorabilia will be sold.

Since deciding to sell, Spomer said he’s had visits from some of the top auctioneer companies in the country, and that’s where a majority of the signs will be headed. The first grouping will include 30 signs, split between two auctions in North Carolina. The first will take place in February, with additional auctions yet to be determined.

“It’s gonna take time, but it’ll be interesting to watch,” Spomer said. “So many of these things are so unique.”

Spomer will keep some of the signs, along with a handful of cars that he’s not looking to part with. And, even though he’s closing the museum, he doesn’t plan to quit his restoration hobby any time soon. He encourages anyone still interested in a tour to give him a call at 507-360-9557.

While some of the cars have been sold, and a few could go to auction, Spomer has yet to decide where the others will end up.

“It’s been a wonderful journey,” he said. “For the simple fact of all the wonderful people we’ve met doing this. It warms your heart seeing the expression of their faces when you light this place up. We’ve always said, we’re about restoring cars and signs and memories, and some days, the memories really hit.”

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Feds investigate company hired by Minn. slaughterhouses for exposing children to hazardous work conditions

Emma McNamee — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 18:41:24 GMT

LINCOLN, Nebraska — The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking a nationwide court injunction to stop one of the nation's leading food safety sanitation providers from illegally employing dozens of minor-aged workers at processing facilities — including at JBS in Worthington, Minnesota.

The U.S. Department of Labor asked a federal court to issue a nationwide temporary restraining order and injunction against Packers Sanitation Services Inc., following an investigation by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division.

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Nebraska, PSSI had employed at least 31 children — from 13 to 17 years of age — in hazardous occupations. The jobs performed by children included cleaning dangerous powered equipment during overnight shifts to fulfill sanitation contracts at JBS USA plants in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, and at Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall, Minnesota.

Investigators also reported that several minors employed by PSSI — including a 13-year-old — suffered caustic chemical burns and other injuries.

In its 61-page filing, the department alleges the food sanitation contractor interfered with an investigation by intimidating minor workers to stop them from cooperating with investigators. PSSI also allegedly deleted and manipulated employment files.

“The Department of Labor will use every available legal resource to protect workers — regardless of their age — and hold to account those employers who mistakenly believe they can violate the Fair Labor Standards Act, obstruct federal investigations, and retaliate against workers who assert their rights,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri, in Chicago.

The investigation at PSSI began on Aug. 24, when the division received credible information alleging the company assigned minors to work in hazardous occupations. On Oct. 13, warrants were executed for the company’s operations at the Nebraska and Minnesota facilities and PSSI’s corporate office in Keiler, Wisconsin.

According to the complaint, the Wage and Hour Division toured parts of the JBS Grand Island and Worthington facilities during the PSSI overnight shift, documenting working conditions and interviewing PSSI employees, including many minor children.

“Federal laws were established decades ago to prevent employers from profiting by putting children in harm’s way,” said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri in Chicago. “Taking advantage of children, exposing them to workplace dangers — and interfering with a federal investigation — demonstrates Packers Sanitation Services Inc.’s flagrant disregard for the law and for the well-being of young workers.”

PSSI provides contract sanitation services, chemical innovations, pest prevention and other solutions for about 700 food processing facilities nationwide and employs about 17,000 workers.

Through interviews conducted with minor children during the execution of the warrant, the Wage and Hour Division reported that PSSI is employing, or has employed, at least a dozen 17-year-olds, 14 individuals who are 16 years old, three 15-year-olds, one 14-year-old, and one 13-year-old across three processing facilities. Many, if not all, of these children were employed in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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The Rooster Booster: Worthington is ready to host Minnesota Governor's Pheasant Hunting Opener

Julie Buntjer — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 00:30:00 GMT

WORTHINGTON — Dozens of media outlets and hundreds of guests will make their way to Worthington next week for the Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener. This marks the second year Worthington has hosted the event.

In 2014, during Mark Dayton’s time in office, Tim Walz took part in the hunt as U.S. Representative in Congressional District 1 — and he found success among the cornfields and grasslands of Nobles County that year.

Walz is making his return to Worthington just weeks after taking part in the community’s annual King Turkey Day festivities Sept. 17. He will hunt at an undisclosed location with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and the rest of their hunting party on private lands.

Nobles County Pheasants Forever President Scott Rall assures there will be birds for the governor and his entourage. With any kind of outdoor sport, though, there are many variables in play.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ most recent roadside count of pheasants across the state showed Nobles County in the “poor” category. Rall is somewhat more optimistic. For the past decade, he’s driven the same three 25-mile loops down the county’s blacktop and gravel roads and taken counts for himself.

“I did the route during perfect conditions,” Rall said Monday morning, Oct. 3. “The number of pheasants I see now are much better than the DNR counts would indicate.”

He went a step beyond his windshield count to walk into an area of pheasant habitat.

“I flushed 12 pheasants in 700 yards,” Rall said. “Reports from around the county are very strong.”

Nobles County is home to more than 6,600 acres of state-owned public hunting land — much of it thanks to a Pheasants Forever chapter focused on land acquisition and habitat development since its inception 39 years ago.

Earlier this year, the chapter received the Conservation Excellence Award in recognition of the $14 million it has invested in habitat in Nobles County. The local organization is also a three-time recipient of the Outstanding Chapter award — in 2010, 2014 and 2021.

Those coming to Nobles County to participate in the pheasant opener will get to hunt on any of the public lands acquired by Nobles County Pheasants Forever — or cross the county line into Murray or Jackson counties.

With the exception of the governor’s hunting party, invited guests will be on their own to select a hunting spot — a change from past years when groups were assigned hunting guides.

“Nobles County Pheasants Forever will have information at the Food Truck Flocking (Friday evening) of the public lands in Nobles County,” Rall said. “We’re going to give away maps of Murray, Nobles and Jackson counties, helping people to find a place to go. Those maps are also available to the general public.”

Tours highlight partnerships

While pheasant hunting won’t begin until the season opens on the morning of Oct. 15, the Nobles County Pheasants Forever chapter has planned a selection of tours on Friday, including stops at the Worthington Wells Wildlife Management Area in Bigelow Township, south of Worthington, and the Schwessinger WMA in Bloom Township, north of Worthington.

Both stops will highlight the partners that came together to purchase private lands and make them available for public use.

The Worthington Wells story will be shared by Worthington Public Utilities General Manager Scott Hain, who is also a member of Nobles County PF. The story highlights the partnership between the local Pheasants Forever chapter, the E.O. Olson Trust, Minnesota DNR, Worthington Public Utilities, Minnesota Build a Wildlife Area and the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District. They, along with private donors, combined to purchase marginal lands along the Ocheyedan River to protect the city of Worthington’s drinking water supply in the Lake Bella wellfield.

“This partnership has achieved both regional and upper Midwest acclaim,” Rall said. “Worthington Public Utilities won an award for groundwater protection as a result of their partnership with us. (And) Hain credits that partnership for having one of the only water supplies that isn’t struggling with the presence of nitrates in the water.”

The success of the partnerships has prompted other Midwest communities to attempt to replicate groundwater protection efforts, Rall said.

Also of note, the Worthington Wells project was dedicated in 2014 with assistance from then-Gov. Mark Dayton as part of that year’s Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener.

The other tour stop is the Schwessinger WMA, which involved partnerships with Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, and funds from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council raised through the state’s Land and Legacy Amendment.

The 645-acre parcel once owned by David B. Jones, was placed by Jones in a trust with the stipulation it be sold for the benefit of conservation. Since it was acquired by the state through the partnerships in 2017, Rall said 18 wetlands have been restored on the parcel and multiple cover seedings were completed to match the topography of the section, located in the upper reaches of the Heron Lake Watershed.

Land dedication planned

Like its last governor’s hunt, Nobles County Pheasants Forever wanted to again dedicate a wildlife management area as part of the two-day event. This time, the program will take place near Rushmore, at the Ransom Ridge WMA.

Rall said this particular WMA is special in that Nobles County Pheasants Forever is partnering with the Worthington FFA Chapter in the Adopt a WMA program developed by the Minnesota DNR.

The dedication begins at 5 p.m. Oct. 14, but FFA members will be there a half-hour before that to hand-seed pollinators at the site. Rall is excited about the connection between conservation and agriculture, and said it’s a partnership they will strive to build on as a chapter.

The dedication will include the Honor Guard and several guest speakers. It is hoped Gov. Walz will attend the event.

The Ransom Ridge WMA consists of 296 acres, acquired three years ago from the Willie Elsing estate.

“It’s a legacy project, meaning that it’s very unique,” Rall said. “It has topography unlike anywhere else in the county.”

The Little Rock Creek runs through the property, and is home to the endangered Topeka Shiner, a small minnow known to inhabit certain waters in this part of the state.

“Extensive work has been done to protect Topeka Shiners on that property and three adjacent properties,” Rall said, adding that Nobles County Pheasants Forever members had volunteered 1,065 hours of work to restore the property as of 2021. Thus far, 40 acres of upland habitat was enhanced, 57 acres are in the process of being restored this year, and another 25 acres is planned for enhancement.

Food and fun

While the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener has traditionally included a Friday evening banquet, that won’t be the case this year.

Instead, four food trucks have signed on to participate in a Food Truck Flocking, starting at 5 p.m. Oct. 14 at the new downtown pavilion at the intersection of Second Avenue and 10th Street in Worthington. A DJ will provide music, and a beer garden will be open during the evening.

Participating food trucks include Jon-E-1 BBQ, the Long Branch Taco Truck, The Cheese Carriage and Frutissimo.

“We will set up the where to hunt table,” Rall said. “We’re hoping that lots of people come.”

Rall assured that the annual governor’s hunt will return to a full-scale event in 2023 for “whatever community is fortunate to be chosen (as host).”

And, for those who are coming to town but not interested in hunting, rest assured there are plenty of other things to see and do. One of the Friday options is to take a self-guided tour of Worthington’s ethnically diverse downtown business district.

“The Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener produces a heightened awareness of Worthington, its diversity and uniqueness — along with all of the natural resources being developed here,” Rall said, adding that he’s hoping to have about 50 different media outlets in town for the weekend. “The total economic impact for the community is dramatic.”

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19-year-old man drowns in southwest Minnesota lake

Julie Buntjer — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 17:01:59 GMT

WORTHINGTON — A 19-year-old Worthington man drowned in approximately 10 feet of water off the shoreline of Sailboard Beach in Lake Okabena Monday afternoon.

The Worthington Fire Department, Worthington Police and Nobles County Sheriff’s Office responded to the reported drowning at 4:24 p.m. At the scene, they were informed a 19-year-old male was swimming and had gone under the water and not resurfaced.

At approximately 5:46 p.m., an unresponsive male was recovered from the water by the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office and Worthington Fire Department. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Nobles County Sheriff Ryan Kruger.

During the search, law enforcement officers closed a portion of Lake Street to traffic, using yellow police tape to block off the area near Sailboard Beach.

Several agencies responded to the call, including the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office, Worthington Police Department, Worthington Fire and Rescue, Sanford Ambulance and Luverne Fire and Rescue. Several community members assisted with the search as well.

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1 dead, several injured in multi-vehicle crash in southwest Minnesota

Julie Buntjer — Thu, 12 May 2022 16:39:00 GMT

WORTHINGTON, Minn.— The Minnesota State Patrol reports one person was killed in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 90, in mile 46, just east of Minnesota 60, on Wednesday evening.

All of the vehicles were eastbound on I-90 when they encountered downed power lines as a result of high winds that went through the Worthington area.

A 2021 Chevrolet Hatchback driven by Diego Alvaro Campos, 37, of Chili, had stopped to avoid the power lines when it was struck by a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia driven by Jaskaran Singh, 26, of Ottawa, Canada.

Campos sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Sanford Worthington Medical Center. He was wearing his seatbelt and the airbags did deploy. There were three passengers in the vehicle, including Martha Lilian Llanos Rodriguez, 30, of Mexico City, Mexico, who died at the scene. Also in the car were Bradford Scott Barrett, 42, of Annapolis, Maryland, who sustained life-threatening injuries, and Aldo Alberto Viscarra-Avilez, 33, of Chili, who sustained non-life threatening injuries. Both were transported to Sanford Worthington Medical Center. Rodriguez was wearing a seatbelt, Barrett was not and it is unknown if Viscarra-Avilez was wearing a seatbelt.

Singh was not injured and was wearing a seatbelt.

Also involved was a 2009 Pontiac G6 driven by Tyler Scott Gilbery, 23, of Tea, South Dakota, who collided with the power lines. He sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Sanford Worthington Medical Center. It was unknown if he was wearing a seatbelt.

Assisting the Minnesota State Patrol at the scene were the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office, Worthington Police Department, Worthington Fire Department, and Sanford Worthington Ambulance.

The crash was reported at 5:54 p.m. Wednesday.

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