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Grant Berg earns degree in educational leadership
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By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
NRHEG secondary principal Grant Berg received surprise congratulations from about 500 students and school staff members on the last day of school prior to the holiday break.
Berg, who was a teacher in the district for 18 years before becoming principal last spring, had completed the final requirements for a degree in educational leadership only days before.
“This is a challenging accomplishment,” observed school counselor Liz Stiernagle. “Mr. Berg has been a great leader this year. He is popular with both the staff and the students. So it only seemed appropriate that we all work together to congratulate him.”
NRHEG’s ‘Hurricane’ Jane Wagner dies at age 57
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
There's a giant void in the New Richland area that in no way can be filled.
Hurricanes are, after all, extremely rare here on the prairie.
No longer will Jane Wagner be there to brighten the day of most anyone she encountered. The area's favorite basketball mom died suddenly last Sunday at the age of 57.
Wagner, nicknamed "Hurricane," a moniker she embraced, was born in 1966 and grew up in New Richland. She met her husband, Darren, in study hall in high school. Together they raised five children: Alex, 35; Danny 32; Carlie, 28; and twins Maddie and Marnie, 25.
“Everybody knows everybody by name,” Jane said in an interview in 2016. “We’re all friends.”
“Her smile would light any room, her heart would heal any hurt,” Carlie, Jane’s oldest daughter, said on Facebook Sunday. “She was the most giving and selfless person, and she loved her family so, so much, and it most definitely showed. Love you Mom.”
FACS students take part in Coon Rapids event
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By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
“I’m excited to see how we do in competition,” commented NRHEG Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teacher Kelly Delacruz.
Delacruz makes this observation because she feels the 10 students she took to the “Stars of the Future” event on December 10 represented themselves and the school district exceptionally well. NRHEG was one of 11 schools which brought participants to the $100-a-person event held in Coon Rapids. Money raised will be used by the sponsoring organization, Hospitality Minnesota, toward helping Minnesota’s winning culinary team travel to national competition next April in Baltimore, Maryland.
NRHEG will be sending two teams to the Minnesota invitational in March to vie for the national trip.
Delacruz makes the observation that on December 10, as hospitality leaders from around the state mingled and sampled foods made by the various teams, NRHEG ran out of food, “some others…didn’t,” she says.
Struggle, addiction, perseverance
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2005 NRHEG Graduate shares story, authors book
Jason Lennox speaks to REACH classes at NRHEG
By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
“I challenge you to be a decent human being.”
Jason Lennox, a 2005 NRHEG graduate, was invited to speak to about 90 students in the three sections of sophomore health and in a class titled “Relationships, Education, Accountability, Character, and Hard Work,” most commonly referred to as REACH.
Lennox shared the story of his personal struggles with relationships and drug addiction, admitting that, already at the age of 10 he had held a knife to his own chest, wondering how much it would hurt and how long it would take to die.
Lennox has recently published a book, “A Perfect Tragedy: Finding Purpose in Pain, Loss, and addiction.” The text began as a series of blogs published online, and is now also in print. Lennox has been a consistent speaker at NRHEG, telling about his experiences and encouraging students both to stay away from harmful substances themselves and to be compassionate toward others.
Waldorf seeks $4 million in bonds
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
The Minnesota State Senate Bonding Committee visited Waldorf November 28 to discuss potentially providing nearly $4 million for various city projects.
The stop was one of many statewide for the bonding committee, which allocated 20 minutes per visit. While on site, senators acquire information to help determine where to dedicate funds from the state’s upcoming bonding. Every two years legislators pass a statewide bonding bill which allocates money for various projects. In 2022, more than $1.5 billion was allocated. The rebuild of Tink Larson Field in Waseca, for example, was made possible when the construction received last-minute placement on the project list.
The city of Waldorf is seeking $7.4 million from state and federal sources to build a new public safety building and complete its “Phase 2 project.”
The Phase 1 project amounted to $15 million over three years and included replacing city storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water lines, refurbishing the water tower, building a new sanitary pond system and drainfield, and repairing or replacing some roadways and sidewalks.