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Wright County News
Pete's Grocery in Waverly to Close Saturday A local landmark business in Waverly
plans to mark the end of an era this weekend. Chimielewski told KRWC Radio that he moved to Waverly from his hometown of Foley in 1978. Before moving to Waverly he worked at his Dad's store. Chimielewski says his store has remained pretty familiar to customers throughout his years of operation. Pete plans to thank his customers and the community on Saturday with a customer appreciation day. The customer appreciation day hours will run from 8 AM to 7 PM Saturday. Chimielewski says while he's done with the retailing end of the business, he wouldn't mind finding some other type of work in the grocery business to help him fill some of his retirement years. Officials in Waverly say they hope that another interested party will purchase the business and keep it going. The Herald Journal of Howard Lake reports that a group that raised some 30 thousand dollars for remodeling and repairs to the store back in 2005 can offer information on the operation and financing options. Funeral Services
Tuesday for Longtime Friends and family will remember a longtime Delano area civic
leader at funeral services next week.
Local authorities say that as the unusually mild winter weather continues, thin ice also continues to be a major problem on several area lakes. Wright County Sheriff Joe Hagerty says this week alone, his department has received reports of cars and trucks, or ATVs and snowmobiles partially or completely breaking through the ice on Lake Pulaski in Buffalo, Pelican Lake in northeastern Wright County, and parts of Maple Lake. No one was injured in any of the recent incidents, but Sheriff Hagerty says there were some close calls. The Sheriff says his department has been busy this week posting areas where ice has been known to be very thin. He says some lakes have had areas of open water develop unexpectedly as well. Just last month, two young men from the area died when their snowmobile went down in an area of open water on Lake Charlotte near St. Michael. Humphrey Elementary Nominated for Top Education Award Officials with the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted school district have announced that the Humphrey Elementary School in Waverly has been nominated for consideration for a top award from the U-S Department of Education. The school has been nominated by Minnesota for the 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools award. The award highlights and gives recognition to both public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are producing outstanding results for all students regardless of race or socioeconomic status. The program is part of a larger effort by the U-S Department of Education to identify and disseminate knowledge about best school leadership and teaching practices. Health Officials Say Tobacco Companies Getting Creative With Products Each year over 55-hundred Minnesotans die from a tobacco-related illness. Although youth and adult smoking rates continue to decline, critics say tobacco companies are finding alternative ways to get people hooked. Pat McKone with the Minnesota American Lung Association says nearly 15 percent of Minnesota adults are smokers, while close to 20 percent of high school students are.Spare Tire Not Always a Given in Newer Vehicles A lot of people grumbled when auto makers switched over many years ago to the "donut" sized spare tire. If you have a newer vehicle, your grumbling may turn to disbelief if you have a flat and find that your new car doesn't even come with a spare. Many carmakers no longer provide a spare tire, and motorists are advised to check the vehicle manual for handling a flat. Triple-A Minnesota's Gary Klopp says carmakers are doing whatever they can to make their vehicles comply with federal fuel-efficiency standards. Klopp says motorists have the option of purchasing an after-market spare and carrying it in their trunk. If you do, your advised to also check to see if the vehicle has a proper jack. Search Called Off in Cruise Ship Tragedy Officials in Italy have called off the search for the remains of 16 persons still missing in the cruise ship disaster off the coast of Giglio. Authorities say it is simply too dangerous for divers to continue the search due to the condition of the ship's hull after it ran aground on a rocky reef in mid-January. It is presumed that the bodies of a White Bear Lake couple, Gerald and Barbara Heil, the parents of St. Michael-Albertville elementary school teacher, Aaron Heil, are still aboard the ship. The Heil family hoped crews could recover their bodies to have closure on the disaster. Teams of searchers were able to recover 17 bodies, one of which has yet to be identified. Officials say there are still 16 persons unaccounted for. Some 42 hundred people were aboard the luxury liner at the time of the accident. Filing Window Open for Wright-Hennepin Board of Directors Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association members may now submit nominations to vie for a seat on the co-op's board of directors. Seats are open in Districts 1, 3, 7 and 9. Current board members Timothy Young of Annandale in District 1, Burton Horsch of Howard Lake in District 3, and Erick Heinz of Corcoran in District 9 are all running for re-election to a three-year term. The seat in District 7 is open due to the recent resignation of Sarah Evenson, who recently moved outside the Wright-Hennepin service area, making her ineligible to continue her service on the board. The election in District 7 will be to fill out the remaining two years on Evenson's term. Members elected to the board seats will begin their terms immediately following the 75th Annual Meeting on March 29th. Members in any of these Wright-Hennepin Districts who are interested in running should file a nominee application form and a resume. The forms are available on the Wright-Hennepin website at; www.whe.org. The application deadline is February 8th. For more information, contact Wright-Hennepin at (763) 477-3027. Wright County Law Enforcement Torch Run Set for Early May The date has been set for the 2nd annual Wright County Law Enforcement Torch Run Half Marathon and 5K for Special Olympics Minnesota. The event will be held Saturday, May 5th at Sturges Park in Buffalo. The half marathon is a challenging course through the beautiful, but hilly, Wright County countryside. Participants should note that this is an open course with some gravel. A new addition this year is a 5K, which will not be timed, though participants can check their own time on a large clock at the beginning and end of the course if they wish. Registration will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 AM, with the opening ceremonies at 7:35. The Half-Marathon and 5K will both begin at 8 AM. For more information on registration, participation and fees, log onto: www.wrightcounty.kintera.org. You may also call Sgt. Brian Johnson at (763) 684-2366. The event benefits Special Olympics Minnesota, in support of the more than 71 hundred Special Minnesota athletes across the state with year-round sports training and competition. Wright County Unemployment Rate Up to End 2011 Unemployment in Wright County took an upturn to end 2011. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has released statistics of Wright County's non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the month of December, which was at 6.8 percent. The new rate marks a jump of 1.2 percent from November's 5.8 percent, but is more than a full point lower than the 7.9 percent rate of the same period in 2010. It's not uncommon for the jobless rate to go up in December of any year, largely due to seasonal layoffs. In fact, the December unemployment rate in Wright County has jumped anywhere from eight-tenths of a point to more than a full percentage point for the past several years. The months showing the highest local unemployment rate in 2011 were January and February, registering 9.1 percent, while the low-water mark for unemployment last year was in October, when the jobless rate dropped to 5.5 percent. Minnesota's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of 5.7 percent in December marked a slight decrease from November, while the U-S seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 8.5 percent also marked a two-tenths of a point drop from November. Bachmann Not Ready To Endorse Presidential Candidate Wright County's representative in the U-S House says she's not yet ready to endorse one of the remaining Republican presidential candidates. 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann dropped out of the race after a disappointing finish in the Iowa caucuses. She told CBS' "Face the Nation" that she's confident that the party will unify behind whoever the eventual GOP nominee turns out to be. Bachmann says she's also confident that the other candidates will also pull together at the end of the primary process. She says the bristling attacks between the Republican front-runners during the primary battles is nothing uncommon in the process for either party, and she says she hopes to bring dissatisfied Democrats as well as independents to the GOP. IRS Officials Urge Filers to Collect Earned Income Tax Credit If Eligible With tax filing season approaching, the Internal Revenue Service encourages eligible taxpayers to file for the Earned Income Tax Credit. The credit targets low and moderate-income wage earners, but 20 percent of those who are qualified fail to claim it. Eligibility can be determined online by going to; www.irs.gov. Political Watchers Expect Shorter, Less Combative Legislative Session Many Capitol watchers predict a relatively short and less combative state legislative session. Carleton College analyst Steven Schier says the Vikings stadium issue may be the most difficult to resolve. He points to deep divisions in both parties, and in both houses, and he says it will be up to Governor Dayton to find the middle ground. Schier says the governor will probably enjoy a little more political "wiggle room" this session because he's not up for re-election this fall, while all lawmakers must face the voters this year. Schier thinks that most lawmakers are hoping for a session that produces much less dramatic headlines. Sales Of Foreclosed Properties Increasing New figures show a jump in sales of foreclosed properties in Minnesota during the third quarter of 2011. RealtyTrac's Daren Blomquist says the increase is a reflection that lenders are beginning to speed up the foreclosure process. He says the Minnesota market is still glutted with distressed properties. Blomquist says "cash is still king" in the distressed property market. He estimates that cash buyers account for more than 30 percent of foreclosure sales. Wright County remains among the leading counties in Minnesota in the number of active home foreclosures. Buffalo Masons to Double Match Food Shelf Donations Members of the Buffalo area Masonic lodge are hoping to make a big impact on donations to area food shelves in early 2012 with a special "double match" of any monetary donations from the public. For the months of January and February, the Minnesota Masonic Charities will provide a two times matching grant for donations made. The Buffalo Nelson Lodge #135 is also partnering with brother lodges in Clearwater and Monticello to assure that food shelves in Annandale, Buffalo, Delano, Waverly, Clearwater and Monticello share in the special double match donations. Organizers say they hope to reach 10 thousand dollars in public donations, which would then be double-matched, and split between the six food shelves in the lodge jurisdictions. Officials say to make a donation, make a check payable to the Nelson Lodge #135, and write the name of the food shelf you wish to receive a donation on the memo line of the check. Checks may be deposited at any KleinBank branch, or may be mailed to KleinBank, attn: Therese, P.O. Box 40, Buffalo, MN 55313. All donations must be received by February 29th for the special two times matching grant. These stories and more follow CNN and MNN network news in our Wright County News at 6:10, 7:10, & 8:10 AM and 12:10, 4:10, 5:10, & 6:10 PM on AM 1360 / KRWC. |
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