Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

The year 2000 in review – Howard Lake and Waverly



Everyone braced for the Y2K computer bug, but nothing came
of it.

Wright Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association reported
a quiet night for New Year’s Eve, although the company staffed extra personnel
that night just in case.

New streetlights were ordered by the Howard Lake City
Council for the section of Highway 12 from 13th Ave. to Sixth Ave.

An emergency Caesarean section was not enough to save the
life of Lorelei Goepfert’s unborn child after a two-car crash on Wright
County roads 35 and 7. Goepfert, Waverly, was driving a 1994 Chevrolet
Corsica west on Cty Rd. 35 when she was struck by Tamara Higgins of Howard
lake, according to the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.

Annexation of the Tom Ryan property on the east edge of
Waverly was denied by a controversial 3-2 vote of the Waverly City Council.
Some council members expressed concern that the city would have to spend
money on the property.

The Minneapolis Police Department awarded Sergeant Michael
Young of Waverly and fellow officers Tim Hanks and Dave Clifford the Medal
of Valor, the second highest honor that the department gives.

The men were honored for bravery during a confrontation
in Polk County with a suspected drug dealer, who was armed with a shotgun.

The Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted school one-act play “Macbeth,”
placed second in sub-section competition.

Two highly trained search and rescue dogs died in a traffic
accident in Mankato. They were owned by HLWW junior John Amborn, Cokato.

Amborn lost one yellow labrador named Cody, and a bloodhound
named Coby, both of which were trained cadaver dogs used to find bodies
at the site of an Alaska Airlines crash in California.

A new duck mascot was introduced to HLWW athletic events.

The Gordon Dalbec property was recommended by the HLWW
School District Site Task Force.

The Dalbec property is located on the south side of Wright
Co. Rd. 30 and just east of Wright Co. Rd. 6.

Members of the Waverly planning and zoning commission asked
Waverly City Council members for written reasons why the Tom Ryan property
was not annexed.

HLWW Sno-fest royalty were crowned Valentine’s Day: Princess
Angie Kriesel, Queen Jamie Hussman, King Ryan Muldoon and Prince Brooks
Borrell.

Purchase of the Gordon Dalbec property was approved by
the HLWW School Board.

The chemical dependency treatment center in Waverly known
as New Beginnings resumed operations at the heels of Charter Behavorial
Health System, which discontinued.

Lakers get perfect conference record in basketball. The
boys varsity basketball team secured top honor in the conference as they
defeated Big Lake 68-56 in Humphrey Hall.

A straw vote at a special meeting in Victor Township showed
a lack of support to have the Dalbec property annexed. Among concerns voice
by Victor Township were traffic, the driving habits of teenagers on a road
traveled by farm implements, future development, and questions about information
regarding a survey conducted previously.

Pat Salonek and Joey Graczyk wrestled at the state tournament,
Salonek placed sixth in Class A competition.

A drug bust in Howard Lake ended in the arrests of Samuel
Cruz, 38, of Winthrop and Alfredo Lopez, 24, of Hutchinson, both of whom
were cited for possession of marijuana.

Juan Coronado, 23, Cokato and Andrew Ramirez, 24, Litchfield,
were cited for possession of methamphetamines, according to Sheriff Don
Hozempa.

Ramirez was spotted ingesting narcotics in the Dura Supreme
parking lot in an attempt to elude arrest.

The HLWW task force regrouped after the Victor Township
Board voted against the idea of a new school on the corner of Wright Co.
Rd. 6 and 30.

Tony Ecklund of Howard Lake, petroleum manager of Cologne-based
Mid-County Co-op will drive the Lester Prairie route for the cooperative,
which purchased Ralph’s Oil.

The city portion of costs associated with the Highway 12
reconstruction was approved by the Howard Lake City Council in the amount
of $1,272,000.

The city pays for sewer and water, with the rest being
paid 80 percent by federal dollars and the remainder divided between the
city and state.

Gymnast Corbin Johnson, Howard Lake, won the level five
state gymnastics championship.

Waverly’s share of the Highway 12 reconstruction will be
$363,000, mostly from the water main work that needs to be completed in
conjunction with the project.

The Highway 12 reconstruction project was postponed one
year, to be done simultaneously with Waverly’s work in 2001.

The HLWW school district was short two bus drivers due
to termination and alleged medical reasons, which meant longer waits for
students.

A mature bald eagle made its way along The Greens golf
course in Howard Lake, flying away after its visit.

World War II POWs were the subject of a story about author
Dean Simmons, who wrote Swords Into Plowshares, a book about POW camps in
Minnesota, presented at the Old Town Gallery.

A potential new school site dominated discussion at the
HLWW school board meeting. The school board looked at two different properties,
the Franke property south of Howard Lake and the Fiecke property north of
Winsted.

Members decided to allow cities to “sweeten the pot,”
by making bids for properties in their respective areas. The cities were
allowed a month to give a presentation on the physical aspects of their
respective sites.

Waverly Council members discussed the possibility of joining
a regional wastewater treatment facility with Montrose.

Construction begins on Howard Lake’s new water tower.

HLWW sophomore Candice Berg was chosen to play in the Minnesota
Music Educators Association All-State Band.

A time capsule was opened with soggy results by HLWW staff.
The capsule was sealed by Howard Lake school in 1935, but its contents
were not salvageable except for a few medals and piece of newspaper.

The HLWW School Board shared a vision for an agricultural
partnership with the University of Minnesota.

The HLWW School Board Task Force, although frustrated,
resolved to make another effort to find the “best site” for a
potential new school.

Members appeared to take partisan sides about the school
site, depending on their respective town, Howard Lake or Winsted.

For the unity of the school district, it was felt that
more work needed to be done to find a site that was both acceptable to the
township supervisors and wouldn’t tear the district apart.

A surprise 3-1 vote by the Waverly City Council allowed
the Waverly Lions Club to have music play until 12:30 a.m. at Waverly Daze.

Howard Lake crowned new royalty Miss Howard Lake Michelle
Confeld, Princess and Miss Congeniality Miranda Painschab and Princess Heather
Ostvig.

Dorothy Novak retired as the deputy clerk of Howard Lake.

Waverly crowned Queen Anna Millerbernd and Princess Jennifer
Sawatzke.

Former professional boxer Bob Hazelton shared his story
lost his legs to steriod use during his professional career. He shared
his story with the Herald.

The Howard Lake City Council discussed the possible purchase
of the Sand Bar and Grill by the city.

A series of two meetings by the council, both well attended
by the public, persuaded the city council to cancel its plans to purchase
the property.

A new judging arena was added to the cattle barn and new
bathrooms were constructed at the Wright County Fairgrounds.

Eighth Avenue was changed to a two-way street after a judge
threw out a number of tickets given to drivers for driving the wrong way
on it.

“We don’t have any way to stop it (the traffic going
the the wrong way). We put a sign in the middle of the street and people
hit the darn sign,” Howard Lake Police Chief Mike Simmons said.

Sara Swenson of Howard Lake is named princess in the “Fairest
of the Fair” competition along, with Queen Carisa Abbas, Buffalo, and
Miss Congeniality Candice Baughman of Maple Lake, during the Wright County
Fair.

The name of the park next to Waverly Lake was officially
changed to Legion Waterfront Park, as decided by the Waverly City Council.
This was to clear up confusion about the park’s true name.

Pastor Gerhard Michael celebrated his 70th anniversary
as a pastor in festivities at the St. James Lutheran School fellowship hall
Aug. 13.

The sidewalk in front of the HLWW High School received
a facelift.

Three male juveniles were arrested in Meeker County in
connection with a string of burglaries.

The trio confessed to break-ins at local schools, churches,
and businesses from July 27 to Aug. 16.

There will be no increase in city taxes for Howard Lake
taxpayers to meet the city’s budget.

Waverly’s levy reflected a three percent increase.

Plans for a gas station/convenience store/car wash on Highway
12, owned by Rod Miller of Howard Lake, received final approval from the
Howard Lake City Council.

Firefighters used a front-end loader to battle a blaze
at Hackbarth Enterprises warehouse, a roofing company in Waverly.

The fire consumed the front section of the warehouse and
heavily damaged its mid section. The Waverly, Montrose and Howard Lake
fire departments responded to the fire.

The Humphrey Museum is a no-go as the museum board announced
plans to end an effort to develop a museum and learning center in honor
of Hubert Humphrey.

Lack of funds was cited as the reason for abandonment of
the four-year fundraising project.

The new water tower proclaims “Historic Howard Lake”
aloft the city scape.

An outpouring of community support was given to Brandon
Rehmann, Winsted, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Rehmann, a third grader at Lester Prairie Elementary, was
scheduled to have surgery at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.

The proposed detour for Howard Lake caused a stir at the
city council meeting, causing council members to weigh their options with
keeping businesses alive during construction and the potential danger of
trucks being routed through residential streets.

Jerome Cafferty objected to the idea of routing semi trucks
past two churches, the back of a school and a mortuary.

Plans moved forward to demolish the former Werner Hardware
Building in Howard Lake, over the protests of those who claimed it is an
historic building. It is not on the Register of Historic Places, although
the building was built before 1900.

John Peterson and Mike Gagnon opened a joint office on
Waverly’s main street. Peterson is an attorney and Gagnon is a senior financial
advisor for American Express.

The headline “Bush wins cliffhanger,” modeled
closely after the premature Star Tribune headline, prompts WCCO’s Don Shelby
and other personalities to interview Herald manager Dale Kovar, who came
up with the headline.

An electronic weather system was placed upon the Howard
Lake city hall building to monitor weather conditions.

Victor Township residents voted to keep its land use policy
intact, which effectively eliminated the option of the Gordon Dalbec property
from those available to the HLWW school board task force.

The following school board meeting saw a turnout of about
30 residents, including the mayors of Howard Lake and Waverly, to persuade
the board to choose a property closer to Howard Lake.

Meanwhile, the HLWW school district’s budget was impacted
by lower enrollment numbers, although its auditor gave the district an “A”
for the district’s financial shape.

Brad Miller added a touchless car wash at the Howard Lake
Auto Center, east on Highway 12. The business joins Howard Lake Fast Lube.

Vandals damaged property at the Wright County Fairgrounds.

The HLWW school board focused its attention on the Franke
and Fiecke parcels.

Red’s Pizza changed hands. Kim Hughes of Buffalo purchased
the business from Bill and Gloria Strandquist. Hughes plans to change its
name to Kim’s Kountry Kafe by June.

A string of burglaries appeared to be solved with the execution
of three search warrants, two in Howard Lake and one in Annandale.

The search turned up 150 bottles of liquor, stereo equipment,
outdoor wear and other miscellaneous items, according to Scott Halonen of
the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.

Seven people are expected to be charged in connection with
the robberies.

A new full-time police officer was hired by the City of
Howard Lake, Tim Sonnek.

Thieves hit a Lake Ann ice house, taking a new box of tackle,
portable radio, new walkie talkie and other items.

A Waverly man, Michael James Dahlin, 21, was charged with
second degree murder in connection with the death of a Minnetonka man Dec.
16.

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