Volunteers Gather to Build New Playground
Posted on July 26, 2016 at 2:17 pmOn a warm and sunny Saturday morning, July 16, Gordy Koehn went to work to help build a new playground near the Central Education Center.
Koehn, a former choir director at Stewartville High School, joined about 26 others to assemble and build slides, swings and ladders for the preschoolers who will soon call the Central Education Center home.
Early Childhood Family Education students will use the new play area at the former Central Intermediate School site beginning with the start of the 2016-17 school year.
For more on this story pick up your copy of the July 26 Stewartville STAR.
Mayor thanks vets in speech at Memorial Day ceremony
Posted on June 8, 2016 at 6:58 amAmerica’s veterans are ordinary people who have served in extraordinary ways under extreme circumstances, Mayor Jimmie-John King told a large audience at Stewartville’s annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 30.
Speaking at Woodlawn Cemetery on a warm and sunny morning, King pointed to Memorial Day as the time the country honors and remembers all military personnel who died in the service of our nation.
“These heroes are called to be part of something bigger than themselves,” the mayor said. “They rose up to this nation’s call because they wanted to protect a nation which has given them and given all of us so very, very much…”
For more on this story pick up your copy of the June 7 Stewartville STAR.
Street construction has 4th of July parade units taking new route
Posted on June 8, 2016 at 6:56 amThanks to street construction, the units in Stewartville’s annual Summerfest Parade will take a slightly different route this July 4.
Floats traveling east along Lakeshore Drive will avoid Fourth Street Northeast, which is under construction, and will instead turn left and move north along Main Street to Sixth Street Northeast, where they will turn right and follow the street until it becomes Second Avenue Northeast, which runs along the east side of the Stewartville Care Center.
“We’re hoping to go down to Sixth, and come up and around and go past the Care Center…and then the normal route,” Gwen Ravenhorst, administrator of the Stewartville Area Chamber of Commerce, told the City Council at a May meeting. “(The parade) shouldn’t be that much longer. We want it to go past the Care Center.”
Parade units normally travel east along Lakeshore Drive, then cross Main Street to Fourth Street Northeast, proceed just north of the Care Center, turn right onto Second Avenue Northeast, then turn right again onto Highway 30 East and proceed to Main Street.
Glynis Sturm retiring after twenty-seven years at the Stewartville Library
Posted on June 8, 2016 at 6:54 amAs a young girl, Glynis Sturm spent a lot of time in the aisles of her local public library.
“I read all the Nancy Drew books,” she said. “I read everything.”
As a longtime associate librarian at the Stewartville Public Library, Sturm has parlayed her love for books and reading into an enjoyable career.
“To be able to work someplace where you can do what you love is pretty great,” she said.
She enjoyed her work:
Sturm sat at the library on Friday, May 27, welcoming guests who stopped by to congratulate her on her retirement, which took effect on Monday, May 31. Library work was wonderful, she said, because it gave her the opportunity to meet so many interesting residents.
“I’m really going to miss the people,” she said. “You get to know so many different people in town. It’s really nice to learn about the new families and to catch up with the people you’ve known for a long time.”
Mary Lynch, the former director of the Stewartville Public Library, hired Sturm in April 1989. Twenty-seven years ago, the library’s books, newspapers and magazines were housed at the current Stewartville City Hall.
“Everything has changed,” Sturm said. “We had one computer at the desk at the City Hall building.”
“He got the look-over”:
After growing up in Stewartville, Sturm earned a teaching degree at Mankato State University, after which she taught briefly in Ellendale. On a return visit to Stewartville, she met her husband, Steve, on a blind date.
“Delores Lofgren introduced us,” she said. “She knew me, and she asked if I’d be interested in this young man from St. James.”
She still remembers her first date with Steve.
“It was funny,” she said. “He’s from western Minnesota, so I was expecting the cowboy type. My six brothers were all sitting on he couch as he came in. He got the look-over.”
Steve and Glynis dated for nine months before they were married. They’ve lived in Stewartville ever since. They raised four daughters and have four grandsons and one granddaughter.
She loved the small staff:
Sturm has enjoyed being part of a small staff that included Pat Johnson, library director; Deb Lofgren, associate librarian, and Sam Edge, page.
“When you work with a small staff, everybody helps everybody,” she said. “We have a close working relationship. It’s not hard to come to work.”
As a librarian, she loved searching for books and materials for the library’s patrons.
“It’s fun to find new authors for people — to find things they really want to read,” she said.
She has especially enjoyed making deliveries to local day care centers to put books in the hands of young readers. Currently, the library is delivering books to six day care centers.
“It’s (available) to any day care center,” she said. “If they want books delivered, we’re more than happy to do it.”
Technology: pro or con?
Advances in technology have changed the way libraries operate and what they offer to their patrons. For example, some people enjoy e-books, the equivalent of reading a book on a computer screen.
“I personally like the feel of a book in my hands,” Sturm said. “Steve, on the other hand, likes e-books. He’s a technology person. It’s a form you need to make available for people, if that’s what they like.”
The importance of reading:
Libraries play an important role in a community because they make books and reading available to people at all socioeconomic levels, she said.
“I wouldn’t live in a community that didn’t have a library,” she said. “I think books should be available to everyone. Not everybody can afford to buy books. They should be available for information, and for recreation. That’s good, too. The availability is the key.”
Plans for retirement:
In retirement, she plans to travel and spend time with her grandchildren.
“I’ll spoil the grandchildren,” she said. “That’s at the top of the list. Steve and I plan to travel to England in the fall, and then each year to a different country. We want to get in some traveling while we can.”
When she travels, she enjoys seeing things she has read about.
“We went to Italy last September,” she said. “It was amazing. I love British literature, so I’m ready to be in England.”
Steve’s reaction:
Steve Sturm laid out the itinerary for the Sturms’ travel plans: England this September, Germany in 2017, Ireland in 2018 and Portugal in 2019.
“(Glynis is) excited about England,” Steve said. “She loves the culture, and we’re big fans of Downton Abbey.”
Steve said he’s looking forward to Glynis’s retirement.
“I’m very excited for her, to move into the next chapter of her life,” he said.
Stewartville Discussing Business Incubator
Posted on April 26, 2016 at 8:45 amApril 26, 2016
4/25/2016 11:00:00 AM
EDA looks to jump-start local businesses
Mark Peterson
Editor
Keefe is honored by local EDA
Posted on March 8, 2016 at 4:39 pmTory Keefe accepted a special honor from the Economic Development Authority earlier this winter.
Keefe, the owner of Sunshine Sanitation, received the EDA’s Business Appreciation Award for December.
Chris Stafford, EDA president, mentioned Keefe’s recent work to build a new office for Sunshine Sanitation and High Point Realty & Auction in the former Casey’s building along Main Street.
Read S’more Literacy Night draws 800+
Posted on March 8, 2016 at 4:37 pmNicole Fay of Stewartville knows that reading is very important for her daughters, Kadynse, a fourth grader at Central Intermediate School; and Malorey, a second grader at Bonner Elementary School.
Read MoreImproving Our Streets
Posted on January 20, 2016 at 8:13 amCity officials have taken another step toward improving a number of streets in 2016.
The Stewartville City Council unanimously approved a resolution last week approving plans and specifications and ordering the advertisement of bids to improve Fourth Street Northeast, Third Avenue Northeast, Fifth Street Northeast and a portion of Sixth Avenue Southwest.
Summerfest will Expand to Three Days
Posted on January 20, 2016 at 8:04 amTraditionally held on July 3 and 4, the Stewartville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Summerfest celebration will expand to three days in 2016.
Stacy Hanson, co-chair of the Summerfest Street Dance, told the City Council last week that the Chamber plans to host the festivities on Saturday, July 2, Sunday, July 3 and Monday, July 4.
Chamber welcomes hundreds to Winterfest
Posted on December 14, 2015 at 4:34 pmIsaac and Michelle Hurst brought their two children to Florence Park on a mild and calm Saturday evening, Dec. 5.
The Hursts were among the hundreds of local and area residents who enjoyed the Stewartville Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Winterfest celebration that evening.