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Created: 09 December 2023

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Proceeds go to New Richland Area Foundation

By DEB BENTLY

Staff Writer

New Richland residents are in for a treat; Adam Moen and Gavin Berg are scheduled to perform for a New Richland Foundation fundraiser that will have folks flocking to Trinity Lutheran Church Dec. 9 and 10.

“The NRHEG community is where we learned to sing and to play instruments,” says Adam Moen. “It gave us a foundation for everything that’s followed.”

“People talk about how it takes a village to raise a child,” observes Gavin Berg. “Well, this is our village. The people here are always with us because they’re part of who we are.”

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Created: 24 November 2023

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By MARK BERNARD

Staff Writer

Harvest 2023 is history for most and like last year, brought about far better than anticipated yields especially on the corn side. Uncertainty was the name of the growing season until harvest began. Soybean yields were respectable in most cases but not generally on a par with 2022. Corn yields surprised a lot of us. One was in amazement once yields began to trickle in. Where did the yields come from given the rainfall that just never seemed to come in July and August?

We made the most of what we had for moisture. We went into the winter last fall very dry. Winter started early and we received about the usual amount of snowfall. However, the frost depth remained shallow or nonexistent where the ground was snow-covered throughout much of the winter. The snowfall also contained a higher-than-normal moisture content. When the opportunity was there for the snow to melt and seep into the soil, that’s exactly what it did. The snow cover was gone in mid-March and even though precipitation for March and April was below normal, it added enough moisture to get the crop out of the blocks in good shape. Warm temps in mid-April had everyone giddy. A few planted corn prior to that and were rewarded, this time. The temps turned cold and rainfall after that delayed planting into the first week in May.

Most made great headway and were done planting corn when the rain started the afternoon of May 5th. Depending on location, much of the area received between 6” – 14” of rain over a ten-day period. Large areas of corn were underwater where the rainfall ponded. Some of the soybeans that were planted suffered a similar fate. By the end of May, anywhere from 20% - 25% of the corn had to be replanted. What appeared to be a nice start similar to last year had suddenly deteriorated into a potential crop insurance claim. Or had it?

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Created: 30 November 2023

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$100,000 in damage from past flooding 

Stennes shares problem with Waseca County

By DEB BENTLY

Staff Writer

New Richland area resident Paul Stennes, 96, has been looking for answers since 2015.

Based on what Stennes told Waseca County commissioners during their 8 a.m. work session on Nov. 21, a heavy rainstorm that year caused flooding in a storage building on his property–one whose floor was about two feet above surrounding terrain and which stood in a location that had never previously experienced flooding. As rainwater pooled, levels inside the building reached an estimated three feet in depth.

Stored in the shed was a collection of vintage snowmobiles, most of which had been in operating condition. All were covered by water, and their engines ruined. Also covered in water were a number of vehicle motors, a number of vintage tractors, and a nearly new lawnmower. Adding insult to injury, a number of barrels holding oil were raised and tipped, leaving residue on many surfaces.

Stennes did not have flood insurance on the property, since it had never, in the many years he had owned it, been subject to flooding. Essentially, everything–Stennes says roughly $100,000 worth of machines and equipment–was a loss.

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Created: 24 November 2023

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By DEB BENTLY

Staff Writer

The NRHEG chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) inducted juniors Alden Dobberstein, Sierra Misgen and Tayla Sandry during a ceremony held Wednesday, Nov. 15 in the high school gym. All three inductees expressed that they felt honored to be inducted.

Speaker for the event was Duey Ferber, sixth-grade teacher for the district.

The NHS lists four cornerstone personality traits for potential members: scholarship, leadership, service and character. Ferber focused on the word “leadership.”

He told those in attendance, “Being a leader is not about being the best, it is about making everyone else better.” He went on to say that the NHS members assembled on the stage were not “perfect.” 

“I taught them all how to drive,” joked Ferber. “I assure you, they made mistakes.”

Ferber then went on to share a story of regret from his own childhood. He told of a classmate who was “an easy target” for bullies. He confessed, “I didn’t join in, but I did nothing to stop it.

“I was 12 years old, and I was a coward.”

He went on to suggest that anyone in the room could be a leader. “Be the kind of person who stands up for the Penny Fishers of the world,” he suggested. “Be the kind of person who looks for solutions rather than complications.

“Show leadership by shoveling an elderly neighbor’s driveway,” he offered, then went on to give his own address. “Be the kind of leader who understands pressure is a privilege; it means something is expected of you.

“And always,” Ferber finished, “choose kindness.”

Along with the three inductees, members of the New Richland chapter of the National Honor Society are Kia Buendorf, Payton Bunn, Julia Churchill, Keira Lenort, Addison Loken, McKenzie Mueller, Madison Murray, Evelyn Nydegger, Erin Peterson, Annabelle Petsinger, George Roessler, Tayler Schmidt, Hallie Schultz, Brenna Sommer and Isabel Stadheim.