The region finally blanketed with snow
The Tyler area was blanketed with snow last week after a mild winter that stretched well into January.
A few inches of snow accumulated on the ground when the snow storm hit mid-week.
Above: Residents brought out their shovels and snow blowers that had been accumulating dust during the winter up until this point.
Right: The snow didn’t stop Paul Engels of Ivanhoe, who was contracted for some work in Tyler. Even while the snow was falling Engels continued to work on a project he had already started.
Filed under Community |Hwy. 68 Corridor Colation requests county reps
By Tammy Mathison
hendrickspioneer@gmail.com
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners heard reports and updates from county entities at their Jan. 20 meeting.
Lee Amundson included in his report to the commissioners an update on the proposed shop inTyler. The intention is to get a shop put up inTylerfor under $100,000.
Christin Berger provided an update on the DSI Trails Grant. In regard to the Hole-in-the- Mountain Trail, a water/wetland review will be done and, if needed, the trail will be rerouted to accommodate the wetland. Construction is slated to begin on the Hole-in-the-Mountain trail this year.
Jeanna Sommers spoke to the board regarding the county sirens grant. Each city has applied for a USDA grant and would get $5,000 toward the sirens. “I would like the siren to go off each night in Ivanhoe at 6 p.m. like it used to,” said Commissioner Gillund, who appeared pleased with the favorable news regarding the sirens grant.
Rebecca Day of the Minneota EDA spoke to the commissioners about the Highway 68 Corridor Coalition, presenting a packet of information on Highway 68, of which 3.7 miles run through a portion ofLincolnCounty. The packet contained information on the highway and the need to fix it. Maps were included in the packet, as well as the dimensions of the road and shoulders. Safety issues concerning the road were brought up, including the narrow shoulder widths, steep slope and the fact that it is a heavily travelled road.
The Coalition was at the meeting on Jan. 20 to request of the commissioners representation forLincolnCountyso needs and concerns regarding the stretch of Highway 68 inLincolnCountycould be voiced at upcoming meetings. Commissioner Blumeyer and possibly the county engineer will representLincolnCounty.
Filed under Community |RTR One-Act team ready for competition
The cast of “Chipped,” RTR’s 2012 one-act competition play, are pictured in the middle of rehearsal last week.
The RTR One-Act competition play Chipped is set to debut in the first round of competition on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Yellow Medicine East High School in Granite Falls.
“Anyone is welcome to attend,” said director Neil Witte. “We may perform as early as 2 p.m., so don’t come at the last second or you might miss it.”
Witte said, “Chipped is a fast-paced comedy about a variety show that performs live over the internet, enlightening its viewers on the subject of love, relationships and the family unit. The play satirizes the way society treats computers/technology and whether we control the computers, or if the computers control us.”
The top two plays from each subsection will be invited to perform at section finals on Feb. 4 inRedwoodFalls, Witte said.
Filed under Community |TACC holds annual meeting
The Tyler Area Community Club held its annual meeting on Monday, Jan. 16 at the Log Cabin meeting room.
Gary Manson, 2011 TACC president, was voted in for a second term with no candidates nominated for the positions of first or second vice-president.
A number of committee reports were given, including the Beautification and Lighting Committee which held a tour of homes during the summer.
Sharon Jacobsen said the tour of homes event was a success for the group and brought in some good fundraising dollars for the organization.
The Lincoln County Tourism Committee showed the new brochure forTylerthat is taken to various towns throughout the greater region to encourage people to visitTyler.
Carl Holmquist said the brochure has seen a lot of interest at both shows and the locations it has been left at.
TACC also discussed the water tower design as was requested by the Tyler City Council.
The group decided on aTylerlogo that would include the Danish flag on a silver or grey background color.
The design will be mocked up and presented to the Tyler City Council during its February meeting.
TACC also voted to donate $50 in Tyler Bucks to the THC sponsored Cookin’ at the Club event in February.
Filed under Community |RTR Snow Week King and Queen
Katie Bump, left, and Nathan Condelli are pictured after they were crowned RTR Snow Week Queen and King during the halftime of the girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 13.
There wasn’t a lot of snow on the ground, but that didn’t stopRTRHigh Schoolfrom crowning its Snow Week King and Queen.
Katie Bump was crowned Queen and Nathan Condelli crowned King during the coronation that took place during halftime of the Lady Knights basketball game Friday, Jan. 13.
The Queen candidates also included Wendy Andersen, Larisa Denney, Danica Long, Elizabeth Shelton and Kelsey Stanek. The King candidates also included Spencer Kor, Andrew Miller, Jerad Stanfield, Taylor Thooft and Zach Thooft.
Before the King was announced, the Snow Week King candidates each knelt down like NFL quarterback Tim Tebow during the halftime of the girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 13.
Last year’s King and Queen, Tanner Thomsen and Samantha Schaefer, were on hand to crown the winners.
Filed under Community |Recognition for Sunrise Manor – Tyler Healthcare Center
Sunrise Manor was recently recognized for its work. Kayla Knaeble, CNA, left, Laura duCharme, RN, DON; and Bethanni Johnson, CNA pose for a photo with the award.
In their announcement, Amanda Twiss, CEO of my InnerView-OCS, stated, “Celebrating the fifth year of Excellence in Action awards, it’s important to note that this year’s award recipients were first recognized by their own customers and employees. There is no doubt that these nursing homes understand the value of measuring quality improvement over time, as evidenced not only by their outstanding scores, but the differences that they are making in the lives of their residents and employees.”
Dale Kruger, THC CEO, states that “TylerHealthcareCenterviews customer satisfaction as a high priority. Our employees take pride in assuring that we are doing the absolute best we can in the services we provide residents and patients.” The facility has received a plaque to recognize this outstanding achievement in quality care.
Filed under Community |Tyler City Council hears Schuneman project proposal
By Robert Wolfington
tributeeditor@gmail.com
The Tyler City Council scheduled a public hearing for a tax abatement for a proposed expansion to the Schuneman Equipment building inTylerduring its regular meeting on Monday, Jan. 9.
Vince Robinson of the Lincoln County Enterprise Development Corporation presented the council with the project and said Schuneman Equipment is requesting a tax abatement that will help in the $900,000 construction project.
Robinson said the expansion will also likely include the addition of three full-time jobs at Schuneman Equipment in addition to the current jobs.
Robinson presented the council with three options, including a tax abatement, utilizing an existing tax incriminate finance district or creating a new TIF district.
Robinson said the abatement option was his recommended option because it gave the city more input and control over how it is administered.
The council scheduled the public hearing for Monday, Feb. 6 during its regular meeting.
Robinson said the Lincoln County Board also scheduled a hearing for its portion of the tax abatement, which will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 7 during its regular meeting.
City Councilman Erick Harper said he was impressed with the scope of the project and the economic impact it will have inTyler.
Mayor Kurt Thomsen said he was happy to see an existing business inTylernot only maintaining its current staff, but also looking at expanding.
Robinson said Schunamen Equipment is also working with the Tyler Regional Economic Development board on a grant to help cover additional expenses for the project.
The tax abatement would be for a period of 10 years with a net total incentive to the business of $73,210.
The council approved the hiring of anew citypolice officer from the recommendation of the Tyler Fire/Police Committee.
Eric Bloch, formerly of the Balaton Police Department, was selected for the position.
Harper, a member of the committee, said there were four strong candidates for the position and complimented Police Chief John Spindler for finding strong part-time officers to work with the city.
Filed under Community |January heat wave continues in Tyler
The word January on the calendar didn’t stop Jim Miranowski, pictured above, and Roger Isenberg from golfing on Thursday, Jan. 5. The two were just some of the golfers taking in the nice weather on the Tyler Golf Course.
An unusually warm winter continued into the early weeks of January with golfers taking a swing on the course and the thermometer in front of Citizens State Bank in Tyler reading as high as 62 degrees on Thursday, Jan. 5.
On Monday, Jan. 9 and Tuesday, Jan. 10 the thermometer read at least 51 degrees during part of the day.
The weather outlook for the remainder of the week was not as warm with snow in the forecast and temperatures dropping to below zero on Thursday.
There has been some snow this winter but none of it has stayed on the ground for more than a day.
At one point the thermometer at Citizens State Bank read 62 degrees last week. Temperatures stayed warm in the early part of this week with 51 degrees reported on Monday, Jan. 9.
Snow week candidates announced at RTR High School
Congratulations to the Snow Week Queen and King candidates. Pictured from left to right in front are Katie Bump, Danica Long, Elizabeth Shelton, Larisa Denney, Kelsey Stanek and Wendy Andersen; in back are Jerad Stanfield, Zach Thooft, Nathan Condelli, Andrew Miller, Taylor Thooft and Spencer Kor. The Snow Week King and Queen will be crowned during half time of the RTR Lady Knights basketball game on Friday, Jan. 13.
RTR Knights at home with Holiday Tournament win
The RTR Boys Basketball Team is pictured above after winning the Holiday Tournament.
The RTR Knights came up with a win against Wabasso to take the RTR Holiday Classic on Thursday, Dec. 22 inTyler.
The tournament featured four teams that each take turns hosting the event, including Wabasso, Red Rock Central and Adrian, along with the Knights.
The Knights picked up a win against Red Rock Central to open the tournament before facing off against Wabasso.
The tournament is held at RTR every four years.
The RTR b-squad also picked up a tournament victory
For full coverage of the tournament see the sports section of this week’s Tribute on pages 8 and 14.
Dylan Kor, Travis King and Brett Peterson, pictured above, were named to the all-tournament team.
