DAWSON

UPDATE: South Dakota driver dies after semis collide in western Minnesota

Staff reports — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:57:33 GMT

HAMLIN TOWNSHIP, Minn. — A Gary, South Dakota, man died of his injuries after two semitractors collided late Sunday night in western Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a Peterbilt semitractor driven by Jonathan Edward Kallemeyn, 48, of Lake Benton, Minnesota, was entering U.S. Highway 75 while another International semitractor driven by Steven Michael Schanning, 68, was traveling southbound on Highway 75 when the collision occurred at the intersection with 180th Street in Hamlin Township, west of Dawson.

Schanning was transported to Johnson Memorial Health Services Hospital in Dawson, but his injuries were fatal. The State Patrol report as of Monday night said it was unknown if he was wearing a seat belt or if alcohol was involved.

Kallemeyn suffered non-life-threatening injuries but was not transported, according to the State Patrol. He was not wearing a seat belt and alcohol was not involved.

Road conditions were reported as dry at the time of the time of the crash, reported around 10:34 p.m. Sunday.

Assisting the Minnesota State Patrol at the scene were the Lac qui Parle County Sheriff's Office, Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office and Dawson Fire and Ambulance.

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'Flinn's family' comes together to remember bartender in Montevideo, Minnesota

Dale Morin — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 22:32:07 GMT

MONTEVIDEO — A crowd of around 150 people came to the “Flinn’s family funeral,” a term bartender Jamie Moore used to describe the Tuesday night vigil as she gave a eulogy for a man with whom she worked.

Mitch Twite, 69, of Montevideo, formerly of Dawson, was identified by Inn Like Flinn's bar as the man whose body was found near the post office in downtown Montevideo, just across the street from where he worked as a bartender.

Law enforcement has not officially identified the man, whose body was found with a stab wound around 6:30 a.m. Monday. Police said in a news release Monday there is no known threat to the public, and as of Wednesday afternoon had not provided any more information on the matter.

In her eulogy to Twite, Moore said, “his form of charm was telling you you’re the dumbest.” The crowd chuckled, “but he considered everyone family.”

After a shift ended, he was an easy man to find as he was often sitting at the corner of the bar in front of the First Street door with a shot of Jagermeister and a Busch Light.

“It’ll never be the same here without you,” Moore said.

She told the crowd to raise their glasses in a toast to Mitch before she said “see ya Tuesday,” a phrase Mitch was known for telling others whenever they would leave the bar.

“See ya Tuesday,” the crowd echoed before turning up their drink glasses. During the moment of silence for Twite, the lights went out. Those who did not have candles opted to use the flashlights on their phones.

Some vigil attendees recalled Twite as a man known for dishing out one-liners, or having a comeback to anyone willing to verbally joust with him.

He would talk to anyone who came in the bar. Given enough time, he was someone people confided in.

Sarcastic comments were Mitch’s method of connecting with people.

Carly Wilson, of Montevideo, a regular patron at Inn Like Flinn’s, said you could tell if what you said got to him. She explained Mitch would simply grin and his chest would puff up a little bit as he attempted to hide a faint smile that would eventually worm its way across his lips.

Twite was known as a "Wheel of Fortune" whiz, able to solve entire puzzles displayed on the TV game show with only two or three letters — a talent that annoyed or amazed others. He also was known to complete newspaper crossword puzzles in ink.

Cassie McKinley, also a bartender at Inn Like Flinn’s, said that Mitch didn’t own a car and would walk to work from his apartment in town.

As a result, she would often give him rides back home after a shift, or take him to buy groceries.

Stacy Ramberg, 39, of Montevideo, originally from Dawson, explained that the bar was her favorite place to go. She and Twite immediately bonded over the fact they were both from Dawson.

As it turned out, when the two kept talking, they found out Twite grew up as a neighbor to Ramberg's father.

“He told so many stories about my dad and my grandma,” Ramberg said, “He even graduated in the same class with my dad.”

Ramberg said for her, losing Twite was much like losing a family member. She said sometimes coming to the bar wasn’t about having a night out but finding solace in talking to Twite.

“Everytime I needed somewhere to go, I could always come here,” she said.

Dylan Donahue, 31, of Montevideo, was another regular who was known by staff and other patrons as a sort of son to Twite. As Donahue put it, he pretty much saw Twite from his 21st birthday onward.

Donahue would take to calling him "dad." It started as a joke, but later became an affectionate shorthand.

The two became close friends. Donahue said he was often the first person Twite would call whenever he needed something. “He did say he loved me a couple of times over the years,” Donahue said.

“Mitch was the man that made this bar,” Donahue said. He said he was devastated by the news Monday.

However, Tuesday night made for a better day simply because the bar was packed, busier than almost any other time it’s been open, according to Moore, all there to remember Mitch Twite, a man who had been their favorite bartender for 30 years.

Twite is survived by two sisters and a daughter.

“He was a local treasure who is now a local legend,” Wilson said.

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Minnesota's Alt-Meat Revolution: 'Quiet' revolution taking hold in Midwest ag

Tom Cherveny — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 19:15:48 GMT

DAWSON, Minn. — There’s a quiet revolution taking place in agriculture, although you can’t really see it in the fields yet.

Listen for it instead in the kitchen, where it’s no louder than the sizzle of a plant-based burger on the griddle or the whisk of a plant-based egg mix being readied for one.

More people are incorporating plant-based protein into their diets, adopting what Abigail Krentz, a senior research scientist at the University of Minnesota’s Plant Protein Innovation Center, likes to call a “flexitarian” approach to their diets. They still turn to meat for much of their protein, but are increasingly open to plant-based protein as well.

Plant-based protein is nothing new. It’s been a part of diets for centuries, Krentz pointed out while being interviewed in the second installment of “Minnesota’s Alt-Meat Revolution,” a joint project involving Pioneer Public Broadcasting System, the West Central Tribune and the WORLD Channel.

What has really changed, Krentz explained, is that the move toward more plant-based protein has gone mainstream. America’s early forays into alt-meat products in the 1970s and into the early 1980s focused largely on bean-based burgers and soybean-based imitations of meats. Their intended customers were vegetarians and vegans, which represented only a small subset of the larger consumer market.

These early products, including some soybean-based versions produced by Dawson Mills in Dawson, never gained a stronghold in mainstream markets.

The Plant Protein Innovation Center where Krentz conducts her research is housed in the Food Science and Nutrition Building on the U of M’s St. Paul campus. In some respects, the work is very much in keeping with the tradition of the Green Revolution, launched in part by the University’s Norman Borlaug, who brought modern agricultural production technology to the world.

Much of what is learned at the center is meant to be transferable to the world at large. One of what she calls the most exciting projects is in collaboration with Microsoft and involves identifying all the unique characteristics of the proteins contained in a wide range of plants.

The proteins in various plants carry compounds that can have off flavors. Identifying them and developing ways to remove them can be essential to what this revolution is all about: bringing more plants to the table for humans.

Because first of all, they’ve got to taste good.

“People want to consume what they are comfortable with and seem very familiar to them,” Krentz said.

That understanding is essential to knowing why the western Minnesota community of Dawson, population 1,454, is again playing a leading role in the transformation taking place.

It’s home to PURIS, now housed in the 200,000-square-foot facility originally built by Dawson Mills. A PURIS workforce of roughly 100 people devote their days to extracting protein from yellow field peas for use in a wide range of human foods, from plant-based burgers to plant-based eggs, diet supplements and snack foods.

Company founders Jerry and Renee Lorenzen realized in 1984 that as the world population grew to a projected 10 billion, plant-based protein would have to play a larger role in feeding everyone. Jerry Lorenzen saw the inefficiencies that are inherent in raising crops to feed livestock to provide protein for people, said his daughter, Nicole Atchinson.

She and her brother, Tyler, now oversee the company that their parents launched. Atchison is CEO of PURIS Holdings. She said her father originally began his work by selectively breeding soybeans as a source of protein.

Soybeans remain a big part of the company’s business, but her father also discovered the benefits of turning to yellow field peas. The texture and other characteristics of the pea protein made them ideal for producing high-quality foods for people, she explained.

The company opened a processing plant in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, and quickly realized it needed to expand production. A $100 million infusion of capital from Cargill led the company to Dawson, where it purchased and retrofitted what is now one of the world’s largest pea processing facilities.

Plant-based burgers get much of the attention, but whether they prove to be a staple of the American diet or a fad is not all that matters. Pea protein is finding its way as an ingredient in a growing range of products.

Most importantly, the trend toward producing more plant-based protein is on firm ground. With a growing world population, there is a need for more diversity in protein sources. The vast majority of the corn and soybeans raised today are for animal feed or fuel, Atchison pointed out.

By growing more plants to provide protein directly to humans, rather than through livestock, we can raise the food we need on existing farmlands instead of converting more wild lands to production, she explained.

A growing number of consumers are realizing what her parents understood 20 years ago, and are acting on that knowledge. Atchison said consumers today have access to information about the carbon footprint and environmental costs associated with the current food production model. And, consumers are more aware of the health benefits of making plant-based foods a larger share of their diets.

As a result, more are conscious of their buying practices to incorporate plant-based proteins.

The website for the U of M’s College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Science points it out this way:

31% of consumers say they will eat more plant protein in the next five years. 36% of those eating meat say they are concerned about the environmental impact of it.

Atchinson said there is another equally important change steering the move toward plant-based foods. Technology.

“It makes the food taste great,” she said.

The industry has come a long way from the bean- and soybean-foods of the 1970s that were dubious imitations of the meats people enjoy.

Proof of the growing acceptance of today’s plant-based foods can be found in the heart of Dawson at the Rusty Duck bar and restaurant, where a pea-protein-based burger is now a standard on the menu. With the cameras of Pioneer PBS focused on him, kitchen manager John Schneider admits that he was skeptical about this plant-based burger when he flipped his first one from the grill onto a bun.

“I was very, very shocked that they actually tasted as good as they are,” he said.

While farm fields in western Minnesota remain the domain of corn, soybeans and sugar beets, change may be coming.

PURIS now raises most of its yellow field peas in the vicinity of Harrold, South Dakota, where it acquired a processing plant for them. Atchison said there’s no doubt. Acre per acre, corn and soybeans and sugar beets produce more profit for Minnesota farmers than yellow field peas.

But she believes the time will come when legume crops such as yellow field peas will be incorporated into the rotation to add nitrogen into the soil for corn. She foresees the day when yellow field peas — or other specialty crops — and corn can be raised in sequence on the same ground in the same growing season, adding to the farmer's profitability.

And that, according to Krentz, is exactly the sort of research already underway in the Plant Protein Innovation Center.

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Minnesota’s Alt-Meat Revolution: Dawson gets ground-floor start in plant-based protein

Tom Cherveny — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 17:56:09 GMT

DAWSON, Minn. — One of Dawson’s most popular gathering places is the Rusty Duck, and the menu has a lot to do with it.

Patrons appreciate its traditional Midwestern fare, everything from hot roast beef specials to barbecue ribs, steaks and burger baskets. Dawson is very much a traditional meat-and-potatoes community when it comes to food preferences, according to Jay Knoop, who helps serve up the Rusty Duck’s popular menu.

But Knoop said it’s not all meat and potatoes. Here in the heart of western Minnesota farm country, a veggie burger is also on the menu. Real meat burgers remain the most popular, but Knoop said the veggie burger does well.

How did an alternative meat burger find its way on the Rusty Duck’s menu? There is the matter of supporting one of the community’s largest employers.

PURIS Company has been processing pea protein in the former AMPI plant on the eastern edge of Dawson since October 2021. The plant employs more than 100 workers. The 200,000-square-foot facility with state-of-the-art processing equipment represents a more than $100 million investment as a partnership involving PURIS and Cargill.

Pea protein produced by PURIS makes its way into a wide range of food products, from high-energy bars and body-building mixes to alternative meat burgers.

“This is more than a pea protein facility,” PURIS President Tyler Lorenzen said in the companies’ joint news release announcing the partnership. “This is the future of food.”

This is familiar territory for Dawson. This rural community of just over 1,400 people has been in the vanguard of plant-based protein production for more than half a century. In fact, the building that now houses PURIS in Dawson was originally constructed in the mid-1970s by Dawson Mills to extract protein from soybeans.

The history of the rise of plant-based meats and western Minnesota’s role in this still-evolving endeavor is the subject of a series produced by Pioneer PBS for national broadcast. The West Central Tribune is participating in the venture. Pioneer PBS made the first of the series available for streaming in March.

The first series delves into the history of plant-based protein in Dawson. While it’s a story of being on the cutting edge in the food revolution, its origin story is a familiar one in rural Minnesota.

Being located far from the country’s major urban markets, Minnesota farmers have often received a lower price for their grains due to the shipping costs to get them to market. In response, Minnesota farmers have long focused on value-added processing.

That’s exactly what four Dawson-area businessmen proposed over their morning coffee one day, according to David Craigmile, a retired Lac qui Parle County farmer and educator as well as local historian. He said the businessmen decided: “We need to have an ag processing-related business in the area.”

The Tri-County Cooperative started processing soybeans in 1951 and became Dawson Mills in 1969. It has since become part of a larger company, Ag Processing Inc., and continues to process soybeans in the heart of Dawson as the community’s largest employer.

Dawson Mills was forward-thinking.

“In my mind, it was ahead of its time,” said Lee Gunderson, who retired as plant manager after 35 years with Dawson Mills.

The soybean processor was among the first to venture into extracting protein from soybeans. It built a processing facility east of town — which is now housing the PURIS operations — for extracting protein from soybeans for human consumption.

It purchased technology from General Mills, which had also produced plant-based protein for human consumption, to produce high-protein cubes flavored as beef, chicken or pork. The cubes were intended for human consumption. They were typically added to macaroni salads and similar dishes, Gunderson said.

Much of the protein produced by Dawson Mills was shipped overseas as part of a U.S. government-sponsored Food for Peace program, according to Gunderson. It was intended to improve diets in Third World countries.

Dawson Mills also produced a soybean isolate, a high-protein powder that could be added to baby formula and a variety of other products.

Dawson Mills faced many challenges as a pioneer. There were “scares” when traces of chemicals detrimental to livestock were found in some of the plant-based protein products processed for use as animal feed. The company changed its chemical extraction process in response.

Gunderson said the company was quick to adapt its equipment and develop new equipment to produce a range of protein products in response to inquiries from prospective customers. But those investments also worked against the company, he said, as the markets that were needed did not develop or prove to be sustaining.

Bernice Oeillien, who retired after 50 years as an administrative assistant with Dawson Mills, summed it up this way for Pioneer PBS: “We thought we're really going to be doing something here, and expanding, and helping the farmers out, and the elevators, and all of the feed, and it looked really great. And I think, maybe if we could have exposed people more to how to use it, and what was really involved, it would've been better. But that's hindsight, you just don't know.”

By 1981, Dawson’s foray into meatless meats came to its end. The building on the city’s east side was purchased by American Milk Producers Inc. and was retrofitted to produce cheese foods from 1982 to 2012.

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Puris ready to make Dawson, Minnesota, the capital for plant-based protein

Sun, 17 Oct 2021 13:00:00 GMT

DAWSON, Minn. — Startup operations are underway at the new Puris facility in Dawson, Minnesota.

Its opening represents more than 100 new jobs for the western Minnesota community and what company officials called an opportunity to be a world leader in the production of plant-based foods.

“I am inspired by this job creation,” Gov. Tim Walz told a gathering of Puris and Cargill company representatives Wednesday, Oct. 13, at a ceremony at the plant to mark the startup. “Real jobs that build something and make a difference in the community,” he said.

Puris will produce pea protein sourced from a network of more than 400 growers raising peas on more than 200,000 acres, according to Tyler Lorenzen, CEO of Puris Proteins.

“Dawson is known as Gnome Town USA, also soon to be known as the pea protein capital of the world,” Lorenzen told the gathering.

He was joined at the event by his father, Jerry Lorenzen, the company’s founder, and sister Nicole Atchinson, who leads Puris Holdings, the company’s plant-based operations their father began in 1985.

Puris purchased the 200,000-square-foot, former AMPI dairy facility in Dawson in 2019. With an investment of more than $100 million by Cargill, it has been completely retrofitted as a state-of-the-art facility to produce pea protein along with starch and fiber. The Minnesota Department of Economic Development also provided $2 million to the project.

Puris now “possesses the only vertically integrated, multi-plant pea protein production model in the U.S. It will enable Puris to supply roughly 50% of North America's pea protein and do so sustainably,” it stated in a news release announcing the startup.

Tyler Lorenzen said the former AMPI plant represented a very valuable asset to the company and brought the company to Dawson. The infrastructure the plant offers is very hard to find, he said.

Its location in Dawson is a benefit as well. It’s in a good location for peas produced by its network of producers. It can be operated in coordination with the company’s corporate headquarters in Minneapolis and its pea protein plant in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin.

The company CEO also cited the work ethic and support of the community as important for the company.

“Dawson has been great,” he said. “A lot of hard-working folks out here. They just want to make something happen.”

This venture into plant-based foods is good news for Minnesota farmers, who stand to benefit from the demand for peas, according to Thom Petersen, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. He believes there will be continued growth in the demand for plant-based proteins.

While peas represent a small share of the plant-based protein market as compared to soybeans, they are used in faux meats products that are growing in popularity. Puris is the main supplier for Beyond Meat.

Walz is among those who expect growing demand for plant-based proteins. He pointed out that the world population is expected to reach 10 billion in four to five years. Affordable protein sources will be increasingly important in a hungry world, he explained.

Lorenzen said the world’s growing population and need for affordable and sustainable plant-based protein is behind the company’s growth. He noted that plant-based protein represents a very small share of total food consumption at this point.

But he told the West Central Tribune that he believes the world is at a tipping point. Consumers and farmers are looking for better ways to consume and grow food and make more profitable choices that translate to longevity in life and affordability and accessibility, he explained.

“There’s been a mindset change,” said Lorenzen. “People are certainly more open to try different types of food from places very familiar, (from) soil right here in the U.S.”

The Puris facility is designed with an eye toward the ability to increase production as markets grow, according to the CEO.

Walz pointed to Minnesota’s role as a leader in agriculture and the Green Revolution, citing the role of Norman Borlaug of the University of Minnesota.

The new jobs that Puris brings are so important to rural Minnesota, Walz told those attending the event.

“It allows people to make a choice. People chose to live in Dawson because of the quality of life and the sense of community. It’s not just a business that comes here. It’s a business that understands: It’s about community,” he said.

Puris ready to make Dawson, Minnesota, the capital for plant-based protein

A June 2021 aerial view of the Puris facility located just east of Dawson, Minnesota. Contributed

An event to mark the start of operations at the Puris facility in Dawson, Minnesota, provided a photo opportunity for company officials with Gov. Tim Walz on Oct. 13, 2021. From left are: Jerry Lorenzen, founder of Puris; Nicole Atchison, the founder's daughter and CEO of Puris Holdings; Gov. Walz; Tyler Lorenzen, the founder's son and CEO of Puris Proteins; and Mike Wagner, manager of starches in North America for Cargill. Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

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Minnesota basketball academy owner faces sex crime charges in South Dakota

Tom Cherveny / Forum News Service — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 01:27:34 GMT

DAWSON, Minn. — The owner of a basketball academy is facing criminal charges in South Dakota for alleged improper sexual conduct involving a 12-year-old nearly two years ago.

Kendra Joanne Lindblad, 26, of rural Dawson, was indicted Oct. 28 by a grand jury in South Dakota's Lincoln County on two Class 3 felony charges: sexual contact with a child under age 16 and attempted sexual contact with a child under age 16.

Both charges allege actions involving a 12-year-old child while Lindblad was age 24. The grand jury indictment says the alleged conduct occurred on or between Nov. 1, 2017, and Feb. 28, 2018, in Lincoln County, which is in southeastern South Dakota.

The state of South Dakota issued a warrant for Lindblad's arrest on Nov. 1, 2019.

The state of Minnesota filed a felony charge of fugitive from justice from another state against Lindblad on Dec. 13. A hearing was held on that date in Lac qui Parle County District Court. She was released after posting a $5,000 bond on condition she remain law-abiding and make all future appearances, according to court records.

Lindblad is a graduate of Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota, where she was a well-known basketball player for the school. She serves as an athletic trainer and operates and owns the Redemption Basketball Academy for school-age athletes. The academy operates in the gym that is part of the Dawson Covenant Church south of Dawson.

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Wisconsin authorities identify body found in state park as west-central Minnesota man

Forum News Service — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 04:02:15 GMT

HUDSON, Wis. — A west-central Minnesota resident was identified Friday as the man whose body was found this week at Willow River State Park.

The St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office said foul play was ruled out in the death of 40-year-old Nathan D. Greiner. The sheriff’s office listed his residence as Meeker County, Minn.

The agency previously described the death as an “isolated” incident. A determination on Greiner’s cause of death was pending toxicology results, according to Friday’s news release.

Greiner’s body was observed at a campsite in the 321-336 loop at the state park. He appeared to be lying outside a pop-up camper.

St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Brent Standaert said the campground host made the initial 911 call after other campers registered concerns.

Minnesota court records show Greiner, who listed a Dawson, Minn., address at the time, was on probation for a March DWI conviction in which a fifth-degree drug possession charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

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More roads close as Minnesota River rises

Tom Cherveny / Forum News Service — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 23:28:23 GMT

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. – A rising Minnesota River is spilling over roads and bridges in the upper basin, and authorities warn that more road closures are likely in the days ahead.

The river’s rise is accelerating as it moves toward an expected crest during the night Friday-Saturday in Montevideo and on Saturday at locations downstream from Granite Falls to Morton.

Montevideo Mayor Jim Curtiss described Wednesday, March 27, as the calm before the storm as the fastest rise in river levels are expected Thursday and Friday. The city is continuing its preparations for an expected crest of 21.8 feet, or below the 23.9 record crest of 1997. Along with Duininck’s Inc., the city is building up its 1969 levee by two feet with clay and will top it with sandbags on Thursday.

City workers also began plugging the Twin Cities and Western Railroad line.

Floodwaters reached familiar thresholds in Montevideo and Granite Falls on Wednesday. Waters spilled into Lagoon Park in Montevideo and topped the roadway behind downtown businesses in Granite Falls.

Chippewa County authorities have closed County Road 13 at the Churchill Dam, where waters have reached the roadway. Waters at the dam were at 937.99 feet late Wednesday, and rising. The record is 941.7 feet set in 1997.

Chippewa County has also closed County Roads 14 and 15, reported Emergency Management Director Stephanie Weich.

Renville County has closures on 10 county roads, including those crossing the Minnesota River.

Yellow Medicine County is keeping a watchful eye on water levels along the Minnesota River, and anticipates that road closures will be necessary in some areas Thursday and Friday. The county has closures on portions of 70 different roadways this week, but water levels are dropping in areas away from the Minnesota River, according to Sheriff Bill Flatten.

He urged motorists not to attempt to drive on flooded roadways. His department was called to assist a motorist who attempted to drive on a flooded roadway west of Clarkfield on Tuesday. It required a state truck to rescue the motorist, who was cited for driving around a barricade.

Waters are beginning to recede in portions of Lac qui Parle County, but many roads remain affected. Emergency Manager Director Blaine Johnson reported that 231 miles of roadway were closed as of late Wednesday, including a portion of U.S. Highway 75 south of Madison.

The Lac qui Parle River set a new record crest at 20.66 feet on Tuesday afternoon at a gauging station just upstream of where it reaches the Minnesota River above the Churchill Dam.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is watching the water levels and prepared to close roads as needed, according to Highway Maintenance Supervisor Craig Gertsema.

The department anticipates that water will top Highway 40 just west of the Milan Bridge. A windy day could also send sheets of ice onto the road.

Some water is also expected to reach U.S. Highway 212 on a low curve between Montevideo and Granite Falls. The City of Montevideo is upgrading its 1969 levee and MnDOT believes Highway 212 in the city will remain protected and open.

If waters reach the projected levels in the Granite Falls, water will top Highway 67 southeast of the Granite Falls golf course and force that portion of roadway to be closed.

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Camp Ripley ceremony honors new commander Kruse

Frank Lee — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 01:05:31 GMT

CAMP RIPLEY, Minn.-Brig. Gen. Lowell E. Kruse always wanted to do two things in life: be a soldier and a farmer.

The 50-year-old fulfilled both of his lifelong ambitions. From 1989 to 2006, the husband and father of two operated a 70-cow dairy farm in South Dakota before relocating to Camp Ripley.

"I tell people that the (National) Guard allowed me to do two things that I've always wanted to do: I've always wanted to be a soldier and I've always wanted to be a farmer. And I got to do both of those things," Kruse said to the crowd at his promotion ceremony Saturday, Nov. 18, at the camp near Little Falls.

The new position, as Camp Ripley senior commander, places Kruse in the role as the full-time administrator to the entire installation including the Camp Ripley garrison personnel.

"I came to Camp Ripley in 2006, and it didn't take long for me to learn and appreciate what an amazing family the whole installation is," Kruse said after the ceremony.

Senior commander

Kruse assumed the duties as the Camp Ripley senior commander in October, working in conjunction with Col. Brian Melton, who took command as the Camp Ripley garrison

commander, a position which had been held by Col. Scott St. Sauver since 2010.

"I am very happy for Brig. Gen. Kruse and his family. He is a 'soldier's soldier,' the type of officer that will place the mission and the needs of his soldiers first," said Battalion Officer-in-Charge Maj. Kristen Augé of Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 34th Infantry Division.

The Dawson native from Lac qui Parle County earned his commission from South Dakota State University, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, in 1989 and joined the Minnesota Army National Guard as a field artillery officer the same year.

"All I ever wanted to be was a soldier ... and I got the chance when I joined the Minnesota Army National Guard. Throughout that time, I've tried to work hard like my mother taught me, to treat people like my father did," Kruse said from the podium.

Kruse received a Bachelor of Science degree in dairy science from SDSU and graduated from the U.S. Army War College with a master's in strategic studies in 2014.

"And all the time it was the smart people around me-that worked with and for me-that made me and my unit successful, so for those of you standing at the back of the room, you're why I'm here and I thank you for that," Kruse told the capacity crowd that turned out for him at the event.

Kruse, who was raised on his family's dairy farm, was promoted from colonel to brigadier general during Saturday's 30-minute ceremony, which was followed by a reception in an adjoining room at the Hangar Conference Center on Camp Ripley, which is about 25 miles south of Brainerd, in Morrison County.

Camp Ripley

The role of garrison commander, under the command of Melton, will now become a traditional duty as a drilling guardsman and will continue to care for the service members, employees and families of Camp Ripley.

"We got 680 people that come here every day and the 680 folks are doing their best to provide the best training environment they can for soldiers and for first-responders, and it gets in your blood, and you truly-the installation is a living, breathing entity," Kruse said after the event.

The duties of Kruse, the Camp Ripley senior commander, include the coordination of several departments operating on the 53,000-acre, state-owned training facility in order to meet customer training requirement needs.

"I think part of the challenge is educating the public on just what the Guard is trying to do by putting me-a general-here full time as a senior commander, compared to what we had before with Col. Scott St. Sauver as the garrison commander," Kruse said after the ceremony.

Additionally, the senior commander will work with interagency, community and state partners to ensure Camp Ripley remains in compliance environmentally, while maintaining federal, state and community mission readiness standards.

"Other challenges going forward is obviously fighting for money in Washington, D.C. ... as we go forward here to try to continue to expand the installation and do those things that we need to put in place for the training of the future," Kruse said during a break from his well-wishers.

"Right now, we meet every training need of the current Army, but we've got to look forward and try to figure out the training needs of the future."

Kruse also served as the full-time deputy chief of staff - logistics for the Minnesota National Guard; implementing several maintenance, logistical and administrative policies used by one of the premier organizations within the National Guard.

"Col. St. Sauver was my best friend and what I learned from him was the value of relationships. He cultivated relationships across probably the whole center region, and his ability to make friends and talk to anybody is one of the keys to success in this job," Kruse said of his new role.

Camp Ripley's command team will also continue to support the Minnesota National Guard's international partners while collaborating through several exchange and Partners for Peace Programs.

"He is extremely approachable and even with this promotion to general, troops will still feel comfortable in sharing their successes or concerns with him," Augé said during the reception.

Kruse commanded the Montevideo-based 1-151 Field Artillery Battalion from August 2010 to March 2012, leaving command to be promoted to colonel as the Minnesota Army National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters G4.

"The National Guard in Minnesota is the only military presence in Minnesota; we don't have an active duty base, so Camp Ripley plays that role for Minnesota and becomes our visible element of the Department of Defense in Minnesota," Kruse said of Camp Ripley.

"I think that's important because as we continue to have less people serve, we have this continued gulf that's widening between civilians and the military. Camp Ripley stands in the middle of that gulf, trying to become the place that allows them to understand and know their military and what they are doing for them."

Family man

Kruse commanded the 347th Regional Support Group from September 2015 to September 2017, but it was the brigadier general who was the one expressing at Saturday's ceremony his appreciation for the support of his friends, family, mentors and extended military family.

"We're so proud of him and we love the Minnesota National Guard so much. We feel like we have so many brothers and sisters beyond our actual family," said Amy Kruse, his wife, after the emotional remarks her husband made during his promotion ceremony.

They have two sons-1st Lt. Jacob Kruse, a 25-year-old Army engineer assigned to the 588th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo.; and Pierz High �� seventh-grader Connor Kruse, who stood on a chair to pin his father, who towered over most that stood near him.

The brigadier general's in-laws as well as his mother, wife and children sat in the front row of the brightly-lit conference center as he became emotional during the ceremony, and as his eldest son wiped away a few tears.

"I stand before you today as one of the luckiest people in the world," Kruse told the crowd. "I grew up in a wonderful family with parents that taught me respect and the value of hard work and the joy of a completed project and the resourcefulness to find the solution."

Kruse's late father was a World War II veteran who would have appreciated the promotion ceremony, which included posting of colors, the national anthem, an invocation and benediction, and presentation to Kruse of a general officer flag, belt and pistol before concluding in song.

"My final thank-you is to the Minnesota Army National Guard-those men and women that make up our ranks and to their families that continue to sacrifice for all of us," Kruse said.

"The Minnesota National Guard has nurtured and mentored me. Today, I get the chance to return that favor."

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Child care crisis causes economic development problem in rural Minn.

Tom Cherveny — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 22:48:39 GMT

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. - When attorney Janice Nelson of Montevideo emceed a conference in September looking at the region's workforce challenges, she announced at the start just how familiar she was with one of them.

Her administrative assistant had just quit. She was unable to find child care for her first child.

A "quiet crisis'' is what the Center for Rural Policy in Minnesota calls the growing shortage of child care providers in Minnesota.

It's become an economic development issue for an increasing number of city councils, schools boards and economic development agencies throughout the region. Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit new workers and retain workers due to the child care shortage, and they are letting their local officials know it.

"It's critically important for us for recruitment,'' said Nathan Blad, CEO of RC Hospitals and Clinics. The Renville County-owned hospital has been working with the city of Olivia and the BOLD �� District to take on an issue with serious economic ramifications. At the hospital, Blad said more than 80 employees are parents to young children.

Addressing the child-care issue has become a focus for the Southwest Initiative Foundation serving the 18 counties of the region, according to Diana Anderson, CEO and president of the foundation.

In southwest Minnesota, there are 15,662 child care spaces needed, but only 12,528 licensed spaces available. That leaves 3,134 children - or 25 percent of the population ages birth through 6 years - without access to qualify, affordable care, according to the Initiative Foundation.

The foundation also points out that in Minnesota, 74 percent of households with children under age 6 had both parents in the workforce, the third-highest rate in the country.

Home-based child care has been the norm in the region, but the region is seeing a generation of providers retire. New providers are not coming in to fill the gaps, Anderson said.

The Southwest Initiative Foundation and the Greater Dubuque, Iowa, Foundation are jointly looking at the challenges associated with the child care shortage in their regions, and have identified four critical gaps to address. One is in the sphere of public policy. The current regulatory environment makes it difficult for many to start their own, home-based child care centers, Anderson said.

Another gap is the financial and business side of the equation. It's tough for prospective providers to raise the capital to modify their homes and purchase the equipment they need to start.

It's also all about compensation. "There is a disconnect between what you have to charge to make a go of it and what people can afford to pay,'' Anderson said.

Compensation is also a factor for those who may seek an associate degree in early childhood care with intentions of working for a care center. The pay rates of $10 to $12 an hour do not compete with what they could earn in many other fields requiring associate degrees, she explained.

Public awareness of the child care issue and professional development opportunities for providers are another gap needing to be addressed, she said.

Public awareness is growing in the region. John Dotson, superintendent of BOLD ��s, said a series of meetings were held to bring together parties in Olivia to address the community's issue. It's led to the hiring of a consultant to help identify just how big the need is in the community, and how best to address it.

The BOLD �� District is interested in helping meet the need, Dotson said.

Right now, communities are discovering that they are largely on their own in addressing the child-care issue. "Every community is being left to its own resources,'' said Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski.

He pointed out that the neighboring community of Clarkfield recently broke ground on a community-owned child center. The community of Franklin in Renville County already opened its own, and is getting lots of attention for it.

One week ago, the city of Dawson held a community meeting to gather input on what to do.

Smiglewski said the issue of child care became an issue in Granite Falls earlier this year with the closing of a Prairie Five Community Action Council-sponsored center at the Minnesota West Community and Technical College. With its closing, the mayor began hearing from a wide range of employers in town about their concerns. And, of course, he began hearing from many parents struggling to find child care.

"It's easier to find a job than it is to find daycare,'' he said.

Many communities are turning to center-based care facilities to meet the need as the number of home-based centers declines.

Anderson said that comes with its own challenge. It's really hard to get the economy of scale needed in smaller communities to support center-based care. "Where it is working, it is community-supported,'' she said.

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