YESTERYEAR
100 Years Ago
(Jan. 11, 1924)
Sawvell sells pool hall, lunch counter to Iowa man
I.G. Sawvell of Toronto, SD, who has been proprietor of a pool hall and lunch counter in Minneota for a short time, disposed of his interests on Friday and returned to Toronto. L.A. Enockson of Cherokee, Iowa, purchased the establishment and will arrive here around the 20th of this month to assume proprietorship. In the meantime, C.D. Frasher of Cherokee is in charge.
75 Years Ago
(Jan. 14, 1949)
Low bid of $10,645 received for lights
A Marshall firm, Moore Electric Co., turned in the low figure on lights for the ball park when members of the Minneota Village Council opened proposals at a meeting Wednesday evening. Five firms bid on the job, each turning in two sets of figures, one for overhead wiring, the other for underground wiring. Moore Electric's bid, for overhead wiring, was $10,645, the lowest of the entire group. This firm also had the low bid on underground wiring, bidding $11,536.36 on that type of installation. Bids that were submitted included the lights, and steel towers and wiring, but did not include assembling the towers before they are erected, nor digging and pouring the footings for the towers.
Capacity crowd attends baseball benefit carnival
"It was a grand success," Carl Christianson said Thursday morning in commenting on the baseball benefit carnival held here Wednesday evening. Christianson, the chairman of the Minneota Businessman's Association baseball committee, said he couldn't give enough credit to the various committee workers for the success of the carnival. A capacity crowd attended the carnival and dance at the Legion, including many out-of-towners.
Farmers and Merchants State Bank directors elected
Stockholders of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, at its regular annual meeting on Tuesday, re-elected the board of directors. H.J. Tillemans will continue to serve as chairman of the board, with Harry N. Dirks, Harry W. Tillemans, E.M. Amundson, and L.V. Widmark of Ivanhoe, as other members of the board.
Matinees scheduled to be held Saturdays at Joy Theatre
Matinees will be shown at the Joy Theatre on Saturday afternoons until further notice, Medard Debbaut, proprietor, said this week in announcing that the first matinee would be shown Saturday afternoon of this week. The matinees will be shown at 2 p.m. each Saturday.
50 Years Ago
(Jan. 10, 1974)
Kloos is elected Minneota Fire Chief; Johnson first assistant
Jerry Kloos, truck driver at the Minneota, Ghent and Taunton Cooperative Oil Company, was elected chief of the Minneota Fire Department when that organization elected officers last Thursday evening. Kloos takes over for James Wambeke, who had held that position since 1951 and recently resigned. Named to other offices were Richard Johnson, first assistant chief; and Wambeke, second assistant chief.
Local Community Ambulance crew elects Lanners as president
Attendants for the Minneota Community Ambulance elected officers in December, naming Cletus Lanners as president, Stan Miller as vice president, and George Sarazyn as secretary/treasurer. It was learned that the local ambulance made 38 runs during 1973, exactly the same number of runs that were made in 1972.
Minneota officially a 'city', no longer called a 'village'
Minneota will henceforth be known as a "city", times of elections will be changed, and terms of councilmen will be lengthened as the result of state laws which were acted upon by the City Council at its first meeting of the year on Monday evening. Minneota could have remained a "village" had the council taken certain legal steps, but a decision was made by the council that this matter be tabled, due in large part to the fact that regardless of what it did, federal and state governments would still have called us "City of Minneota."
Lyon County 4-H Council allows 8-year-olds to join
At a recent Lyon County 4-H Leaders' Council meeting, a landmark ruling was passed, allowing eight-year-olds to join 4-H. Since the start of the 4-H Club in Lyon County, the youngest age was always nine years old.
25 Years Ago
(Jan. 13, 1999)
Public School changes policy for student security reasons
Beginning on Feb. 1, the Minneota Public Schools will be changing its policy on securing the school during the regular hours of the school day. Most of the doors will be locked during school hours. The administration met and discussed the issue of school safety, and with the approval of the school board, decided to change the current policy. It may be a little inconvenient for those visiting the school during the day, but the bottom line is safety for the students and the staff. Beginning on Feb. 1, the school building will be secured 30 minutes after the start of classes Monday through Friday. The only entrances to the building at that time will be the main door near the office and the entrance to the elementary section.
Local men's drugs case may be moved to federal court
The drug case involving Joseph Lanners, 39, of Minneota and Parrish Lee Goethe, 31, of Marshall came before Judge George Harrelson on Jan. 7 in Lyon County District Court. During the hearing, Lanners' attorney, Kevin Stroup of Marshall, entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Lanners. Judge Harrelson denied a request for bail reduction of $100,000 and postponed Lanners' next hearing until it is known exactly if and when the U.S. Attorney will intervene. Goethe also went before the judge after being arrested during the Dec. 17 raid at the Lanners farm. Goethe's attorney, Nancy Mattson, argued that he was not involved in the drug operation and less likely to flea. She claimed Goethe was doing electrical work on the lower level of the building where it was alleged marijuana was hanging. He was released without bail and will reappear for an omnibus hearing on Jan. 22. Both men are charged with two felony counts of First degree controlled substance.