Mom and pop shop: Old town bagels in Owatonna opened in 2005
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Old Town Bagels, pictured above, has been in business for 16 years.
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
Old Town Bagels has been at 211 N. Cedar Ave. in Owatonna for 16 years, and, in spite of diminished business during the pandemic, it remains a popular dining and snack destination.
The business was originally owned by the Satterlunds. Mark Wilson, husband of current owner Stacy Wilson, who purchased the business six years ago, says simply, “There wasn't a bagel shop in town, so they opened it as a bagel shop.”
Usually, the cafe is filled with inviting tables, where locals sit down to sip a latte, munch bagels and homemade cream cheese, and share the latest news or gossip with friends. During the Covid pandemic though, all the tables were removed, and customers could call in orders and stop by to pick them up, paying either over the phone, or when they arrived. When limited to curbside pickup and to-go bags for eight months, the customer base dropped drastically. Wilson concedes that business is still rather slow, “But it's doing okay,” he says. Happily, the empty look is a thing of the past, and customers once again enjoy their bagel sandwiches together amid the chatter at the longed-for tables.
“It's a great mom-and-pop sandwich and soup shop,” says Wilson.
In October, in addition to the ever-popular Chicken Pesto Melts and Perfect Pastrami sandwiches, ice cream will be on the menu – a hard-dip ice cream from Madison, Wis., called Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream.
The current hours at Old Town Bagels are 6:30 – 2:30 Mon. – Sat., with hours expanding to be open later come October.
Court set: Coronation will be Sept. 28 at 8 p.m.
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WHO WILL REIGN? — Candidates for this year’s NRHEG Homecoming are, front row, from left: Brenlee Knudson, Alex D obberstein; Second row: Miranda LaCanne, Jack Olson, Matthew Mueller, Journey Utpadel; Back row: Cassie Kormann, Bo Budach, Porter Peterson, Kylee Kruger. Coronation will take place Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. in New Richland. Photo by Chris Schlaak
NRHEG Homecoming week 2021 kicks off next week. Coronation is set for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the high school gymnasium in New Richland. Parades are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Ellendale and 2:15 p.m. in New Richland. The homecoming game originally scheduled for Friday will be Saturday Oct. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
The royalty will be crowned, based on a vote of the student body, grades 9-12 – and will reign over Homecoming week.
This year’s candidates are: Queen: Cassie Kormann (daughter of Tim & Lis Kormann), Brenlee Knudson (Katie and Kevin Knudson), Kylee Kruger (Pat and Jess Kruger), Miranda LaCanne (Chris and Tami LaCanne), Journey Utpadel (Troy and Kelly Utpadel); King: Bo Budach (Dan and Kari Budach), Alex Dobberstein (Luke and Brenda Dobberstein), Matthew Mueller (Rich and Penni Mueller), Jack Olson (Todd and Patty Stencel), Porter Peterson (Thomas and Tamara Peterson). This year’s Princess and Prince are Aaliyah Johnson (Nadine Pascuzzi and Jake Johnson) and Casey Hallman (Kristina Castle and Casey Hallman).
Ellendale church welcomed their new pastor in May
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Pastor David Modder
By BARB FINSETH
Staff Writer
Vibrant Life Assembly of God Church in Ellendale welcomed Pastor David Modder and his family in May of 2021 to serve as their full-time pastor. Assembly of God churches are a mainline Christian community and the largest Pentacostal denomination, which welcomes people of all faiths and walks of life.
Pastor David was a young follower of Jesus Christ in high school, who grew up in a farming community in central Michigan. He tried several different professions after graduating, but he says, "There was a restlessness in my soul, and I sensed being asked to serve Him as a vocation." David followed this calling years later when he enrolled at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis to pursue the call to full-time ministry. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Cross-Cultural Communications, and met his wife, Jennifer, while they were studying there.
After college, they were deciding where they would locate their ministry when they realized, "The biggest need we saw was in the ethnic variety of our neighborhoods, so we decided to stay in Minneapolis." For the next 23 years, David worked as an "at-home" missionary, starting a church among this diverse community, which was primarily among the large population of Somalis. He later started another church in the area and both of these churches are still active.
During the busy years of ministering, they were blessed with four children: Gabriel, the oldest and recently engaged to Danelle, works and goes to school in the Twin Cities; Caleb and his wife, Angela, are also in the Twin Cities, working and going to school; Joseph lives at home and is finishing his high school senior year in the Post-Secondary Option through Riverland Community College; and their daughter, Alaina, who is entering 7th grade at the Cannon River STEM school in Faribault, where Jennifer is employed.
Business to ministry: Todd Lundgren pastor at newly renamed, Simply Church
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SIMPLY CHRISTIAN - Geneva’s Simply Church unanimously decided to make the church a non-denominational church. Pictured above is Pastor Todd Lundgren of Owatonna.
Star Eagle photo by Melanie Piltingsrud
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
Todd Lundgren of Owatonna is the new pastor of Simply Church, formerly called Victory Life, in Geneva.
Lundgren is a businessman with three daughters. He and his wife, Grace, own Country Goods, a business known as “southern Minnesota's largest gift store.” The 18-year-old shop at 4515 NW 22nd Ave., Owatonna – across the freeway from Cabella's – is open seven days a week. Lundgren's three daughters are all over the map. One daughter, together with her husband, is a missionary in Kazakhstan. Another lives with her family in Lawrence, KS. A third daughter is in her fourth year at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Lundgren also lost his fourteen-year-old son seventeen years ago in a boating accident, just one year after Lundgren had opened his business.
“Most of us Owatonnans don't really get to Geneva too much,” says Lundgren, “so I wasn't too familiar with Geneva.”
Lundgren says the Geneva church started about eight years ago, and was connected with the Assembly of God denomination. “For whatever reason, they decided they didn't want to be part of that denomination or any denomination,” says Lundgren. The congregation voted unanimously to be a non-denominational church, deciding to be known as, “just strictly Christian.”
They also wanted a new moniker. “I gave them a big, long list of potential church names,” Lundgren says. But the congregation didn't choose any of those. “Lo and behold, they unanimously voted on the name 'Simply Church.'”
Preliminary tax increase of 10%
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
A preliminary 2022 City of New Richland budget proposal calling for a 10.21% residential property tax increase was presented during a public budget hearing, September 13, 2021.
“I don’t want anyone to be alarmed, because right now it looks like a 10.21% increase,” Mayor Gail Schmidt said. “There are reasons for that[...]. So the numbers are ugly. I really don’t want anyone to panic, because there is still work to do. We just have to get this preliminary submitted to the county before the end of September.”
Property Tax Increase
The proposed property tax hike would have owners of residential property valued at $100,000 see an increase from 2021 totals of $888 go to $969 in 2022, an $80 increase. At the high end, for properties valued at $400,000, the increase would be an additional $446. Properties valued at $200,000 would see an increase of $202. Commercial properties valued at $500,000 would see an increase of $1,033 at the proposed rate increase.
The rate may decrease once the city receives its tax rate from the county. “We’re kind of at their mercy because we’re waiting for a tax rate,” Mayor Schmidt said. “I think once we get that tax capacity [rate], that’s gonna bring it down some."
Explanation
The reasons given by Mayor Schmidt for the proposed increase are:
1. Liability insurance increased by 20 percent due to the turmoil in police departments across the state of Minnesota.
2. Workman's compensation increased 12 percent.
3. Health insurance increased six percent.
“These are things we do not have control over,” Mayor Schmidt explained. “Those are big jumps, especially the property and liability.”