NRHEG Star Eagle

137 Years Serving the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Area
Newspaper of Record for NRHEG School District
Newspaper of Record for Waseca County, MN
PO Box 248 • New Richland, MN 56072

507-463-8112
email: steagle@hickorytech.net
Published every Thursday
Yearly Subscription: Waseca, Steele, and Freeborn counties: $52
Minnesota $57 • Out of state $64

Area Veterans gathered together at the Willows in New RIchland to view the virtual 2021 NRHEG Veterans Day program. Pictured at the left table, beginning with Richard Chicos in the red shirt, from left are: Aldean Drager, Roger Holland, Dennis Dinneen, Dan Economy, Winston Evenson, Jack Pfeffer, Orville Bouldan (light blue shirt), and David Warke.

Seated at table two are, from the furthest left seat: Don Loken, Jeff Jessen (in the black cap), Pastor Scott Williams, Rick Crumb, Rich Crumb, Brian Verma, Paul Fornberg.

By TREVOR LENOR AND ASA JOHNSON
Panther Press

On Thursday, Nov. 11, NRHEG Schools honored area veterans with an event that was both very traditional and a new way of doing things. “Recording and sharing the program was a step we took to protect our community and our veterans,” explains secondary principal Dave Bunn. “We would rather have been able to honor their service and sacrifice in person, but risking everyone’s health was too high a price to pay.”

“People were thrilled to take part in the program,” comments Nancy Rudau, one of the organizers who planned the schedule and found volunteers to participate. “It’s clear that our community has very high regard for our veterans.”

The new bleachers installed last week in the high school gym will seat aproximately 588 people, replacing the former which were installed in 1950s.   

Star Eagle photo by Deb Bently

By Isaiah Huisman
Panther Press

In a whirlwind of construction which required only 4 work days, the wooden bleachers which had been in the secondary gym since its construction in the 1950s were removed and new ones installed as of Nov. 3. 

According to NRHEG Athletic Director Dan Stork, the new bleachers are able to seat 588 people, including 7 spots for those who cannot climb stairs. They have two fewer rows of seating than the old ones, which creates both disadvantages and advantages. “We probably lost over 100 seats compared to the wooden bleachers,” says Stork, “but the new configuration does not extend as far into the playing surface, and so is much safer.”

Stork mentions past incidents when referees sometimes collided with spectators, and also points out that people coming and going to their seats would block the line of sight for coaches and team members trying to watch games.  

With wider spacing between the front row and the playing floor, Stork believes everyone will be safer.  There will now also be space for chairs in front of the bleachers where team members and coaches can sit. Spectators will have room to walk behind them to come and go to their seats. “We had to make decisions based on our priorities,” Stork explains. “And everyone’s safety is the highest priority.”

State Bank of New Richland Vice President Matt Harrington joins NRHEG student council members and other student representatives next to the new school sign. A donation from State Bank covered the majority of the cost for the new unit.

 Star Eagle photo by Deb Bently

By McKenna Schiell
Panther Press

“This is something that we do in our role as a community bank,” observes State Bank of New Richland Vice President Matt Harrington. “The new sign is a quality project, and we’re glad to support it.”

As of last week, the new electronic sign outside the secondary school is up and running. Planning, construction and installation processes have lasted about six months, and costs have exceeded $25,000, much of which was covered by a donation from the State Bank of New Richland.

According to district financial manager Karla Christopherson, the new sign is similar to the one which stopped working late in 2020. Thanks to updated technology, however, it has a higher definition display and is more flexible in terms of what can be shown and when. “For example, it can be pre-programmed to change displays in advance, and can be accessed from more locations,” Christopherson explains. The electronic display board is 8 feet wide and 6 feet tall, and allows full color artwork and animations.

The structure around the base of the sign is built of the same bricks as were used during the 2019-20 school construction. Some finishing landscape features will be added in spring. Discussing the installation during their October meeting, school board members commented that they believe the sign is a useful way to connect with and inform community members about upcoming events.

 

PRESS RELEASE

Waseca County

A new website aims to give residents another way to avoid falling victim to fraud.

Linda Karst, the Waseca County Recorder, has implemented Land Notification, a website that allows residents to monitor their name for real estate activity.

The free service creates alerts based on a name or business name that residents provide. The alert will generate emails to residents when documents referencing the name have been recorded with the Waseca County Recorder’s office.

The website is a proactive way to prevent fraud. While the county has not yet seen an instance of fraud, a person could forge signatures of homeowners on a new deed or mortgage and commit a fraud worth thousands of dollars.

The program allows potential problems to be caught early and promptly fixed. Customers can now take a proactive approach to monitoring their home/land, which is often the largest investment one will make in their lifetime.

Visit HTTPS:// WC-FRAUDDETECTION.CO.WASECA.MN.US/LNS.APP for more information or to sign up for Land Notification alerts.

 

The week of Oct. 18-20, NRHEG students Natalie Johnson and Corbin Delacruz were recognized for being "original." Here, Natalie cuts Secondary Principal David Bunn's tie. Corbin cut Mr. Domeier's during the junior high lunch.

By Malu Monrreal
Panther Press

Under a program meant “to recognize some of those students who don’t always stand out with perfect grades or as great athletes,” NRHEG teacher Mark Domeier and secondary principal David Bunn allow a student to cut their ties, and then spend the rest of the day wearing the newly-sculptured “art.”

Domeier, who manages the program, explains that every week a different adjective is chosen, for example, “creative” or “energetic.” Staff members then nominate students who personify the word; all staff members are asked to vote for their selected nominees. At the end of the week the student who has the most votes cuts the tie during lunch time.

Domeier remembers that this system was used at the school before: “We actually did this about ten years ago for a couple of years...in an effort to recognize a vast swath of our students for positive characteristics…”

When asked whether he likes to participate in cutting the tie, he said “It’s fun to see the reaction of kids, both when they realize they’ve been nominated and the actual winners.” He adds that “the response in the Middle School has been really good…”