Chris Hahn

Kingsland Students Celebrate Homecoming by Giving Back

10/26/2026 by Chris Hahn

Article Published in the Fillmore County Journal, Monday October 26, 2026

By Paula Barness

On Monday, October 19, 2026, the Kingsland School Board heard about the ways the district’s students gave back to the community recently.

“Amongst many of the homecoming activities, we had our Third Annual Community Service Day with our 7-12 grade students. It is a very cool activity that the high school staff started a few years ago with the kids that has become a very popular activity,” Superintendent Scott Klavetter said.

Each of the grades performs a different task within the community. Teachers Martin Moore and Morgan Jacobson shared their experiences with the board.

Jacobson and the seniors started their day at the Preston Veteran’s Home where they decorated the facility for Fall and Halloween. The students then spent time doing arts and craft projects, and playing games with the residents

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE COUNTY JOURNAL

Spring Valley Public Library’s roof fund set aside

10/04/2026 by Chris Hahn

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, September 24, 2026. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

It may be safe to fiddle on the library’s roof after all.

“We have been putting away $15,000 a year for the roof…it’s a $200,000 project. The company that did the inspection and told us that it needed to be re placed got fired from the city… our roof was re-inspected by another company, and we have a longer life for our roof,” stated Spring Valley Public Library (SVPU) Director Melissa Vander Plas, expressing relief at the potential savings that the library’s budget may have in hand, especially now that she has been informed that the city’s building maintenance fund may be the source of money to cover the cost of a new roof when the library actually needs one.

She went on to say that the new inspection gave her hope as related to the ability to pay for the installation of LED lights in the library if the city takes responsibility for the roofing expenses if at all possible, as she’d conversed with ambulance personnel regarding the ambulance station being scheduled to be fitted with LED lighting and learned how it had saved other city departments’ budgets through reduced utility bills.

In other business, Vander Plas related that the library has need of a rural library board member and that Gina Jahn had stopped in to inquire about being chosen for the seat. The director referred Jahn to the city council via a letter of interest. “Hope fully, they’ll appoint her and we’ll get her onboard at next month’s meeting.”

She then gave a quick director’s report, citing that the staff has been moving furniture around the library to make room for more large print books to meet older patrons’ needs and relocating certain children’s and young adult book series into the collection shelving to make it easier for readers to find what they want to read. Also, she has applied for grants to help under write winter programming for adults, as the summer reading program is for children and winter is generally reserved for adults to explore new topics at the library.

The Friends of the Spring Valley Public Library have used their time to sell out of Flap doodles ice cream during Ag Days last month as a fundraiser for the library, and they will be hosting a book sale during the annual downtown Oktoberfest next month. Vander Plas thanked them for agreeing to provide rolls for this past Saturday’s Read Across Minnesota coffee and books event.

Upcoming programs include “Preparing Your Garden for Winter,” set for Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 6:00 p.m. with Magali Disdier, photographer and historian Doug Ohman’s “America’s 250th” presentation on Thurs day, Oct. 1 at 2:00 p.m., and the Friends’ book sale at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Hall on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The library will once again hold its Christmas Craft Saturday event on the first Saturday in December, featuring cookie dec orating and a visit with Santa.

The board extended its appreciation and gratitude to those who have donated memorials to ~ Back in History ~ September 21 1893: Frank Duryea drives first US-made gasoline-propelled vehicle (car) 1895: First auto manufacturer opens—Duryea Motor Wagon Company 1897: New York Sun runs famous “Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus” editorial 1937: J.R.R. Tolkien publishes “The Hobbit” 1957: “Perry Mason” with Raymond Burr premieres on CBS-TV 1961: Earle Dickson, inventor (band-aid), dies at 68 1970: “Monday Night Football” on ABC premieres (Browns beat Jets 31-21) 1981: Sandra Day O’Connor becomes first female Supreme Court Justice the library within the past month. They include Mrs. Ro land Matson for Susan Himle Berg, Annette Johnson for Mike Sikkink, Ryan Matzke and the family of Susan Himle Berg to celebrate Berg’s life, M&S Rei land for Lance Sikkink, Jim and Susan Cavanaugh for Lance Sikkink, and Katherine Porter for Ruth Sonheim.

The Spring Valley Public Library is located at 121 W. Jeffer son St., behind First National Bank, and is open Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tues day through Thursday from noon to 7:00 p.m., Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The friendly library staff is available to assist with media questions. Spring Valley’s library board meets on third Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. in the conference room just off the library entrance, though the October meeting has been rescheduled from Oct. 15 to Oct. 22. The public is welcome to at tend. For more information, log onto the library’s website at www.springvalley.lib.mn.us, stop in for a quick chat, or call 507-346-2100.

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325

Spring Valley city council certifies preliminary property tax levy

10/02/2026 by Chris Hahn

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, September 24, 2026. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

Spring Valley’s city council was set to certify the 2027 preliminary property tax levy during its Sept. 14 regular meeting. The Mower County In dependent was unable to attend due to it being Grand Meadow’s council meeting night at the same hour, but the Independent will return to Spring Val ley’s October meeting to offer news representation.

The levy is certified now and collectable in 2027, and the city is required to submit a preliminary levy and budget to the state by the end of September and a final budget and levy by the close of December. Prior to certifying the budget and levy, the council was to review them to share any questions or concerns they might have about the numbers within the documents.

In other business, the council was to pay for its share of the downtown improvement project that has upgraded streets and sidewalks – the rest was paid for by a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) Active Transportation grant, and none of the funds were from local taxpayers. Furthermore, the agenda included passing a resolution imposing a lien on a property for non-payment of utility services, reading through an estimate to re place the lighting in the ambulance station with LED fixtures, transferring unused emergency management operating budget funding to the city’s capital fund for a future radio purchase.

Ambulance news involved hiring a third ambulance co-director, as the city lost a dedicated servant in Mike Zimmer upon his passing in August. Also, the city was to hire two new emergency medical technicians (EMT) and consider paying for three students in the current EMT training class.

The consent agenda included approving the minutes of the July 13 and Aug. 31 city council meetings, the September preliminary and August final accounts payable, allowing Wednesdays on Broad way to use city streets for its upcoming market, and granting Fins and Films a raffle permit.

Spring Valley’s city council convenes on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the former Carnegie Library on Broadway, the town’s city hall. The public is welcome to attend. For more information, log onto the city website at www.spring valley-mn.com, or call 507-346-7367.

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325

Spring Valley underwater overnight Sept. 18th and 19th

09/28/2026 by Chris Hahn

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, September 24, 2026. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

5.13 to 5.26 inches of sky, to be exact.

It was well-predicted, however, as both KTTC and KAAL news stations were warning res idents that they may be getting wet overnight from Friday, Sept. 18 into Saturday morning, Sept. 19, ultimately being proven right with 5.13 to 5.26 inches of heavy rain falling from late afternoon until very early Saturday, depending on which official website one consulted.

KTTC offered at 12:15 p.m. Friday afternoon, “A flood watch has been issued for portions of southeast Minnesota and northern Iowa. This flood watch goes into effect at 7:00 p.m. this evening and will last until 7:00 a.m. Saturday. With our flood threat being mostly overnight, be sure to have a way to get weather alerts tonight, especially if you’re in an area susceptible to flooding or near a body of water. Something we have been monitoring for the past couple of days is our excessive rainfall outlook. We still have a level 2 out of 4 risk for excessive rainfall across the region. Around 1 to 3 inches of rain will be possible in the area in yellow (over Spring Valley and surrounding towns). Areas that see training thunderstorms will likely see higher amounts, around 3 to 5 plus inches.”

KAAL, out of Austin, relayed, “A flood watch is in effect until 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon for southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa. Showers and thunderstorms have developed across southern Minnesota this evening and will continue into early Saturday morning. Due to ‘training’ thunderstorms moving west to east over the same area and on top of where heavy rain already fell today, there is a heightened risk of localized flooding.” KAAL’s notice went on, “These storms may bring a localized swath of rainfall totals anywhere from 1 to 5 inches of rain, with isolated higher totals not out of the question. These higher rainfall totals, along with his area already seeing 2 to 3 inches of widespread rain earlier this week, contribute to this elevated flood risk Friday night into early Saturday.”

Spring Valley Mayor Justin Mlinar was cautiously walking through downtown Spring Val ley near the Main Street bridge just off Broadway, as evidenced by photos posted to his mayoral Facebook page and submitted to Austin’s KAAL TV of Bear Creek Auto’s lot being far wet ter than is comfortable, water pushing up against the dealer’s south-facing storefront, and Highway 63 almost visible as being underwater, along with other pictures of Broadway between Valley Lanes and the Carnegie Library town hall building and several other

streets awash in unexpected rivers. Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) News relayed on Saturday, “In Spring Valley, Mayor Justin Mlinar reported just after 6:00 a.m. Saturday that all streets were closed due to flooding. Photos posted to social media showed floodwaters flowing along streets in the city’s downtown, near Spring Valley City Hall. Some streets re opened by mid-morning as the floodwaters receded.” Addition ally, MPR News registered that “the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) also reported flooding affecting state highways near New Richland and Spring Valley.”

Mlinar, who advised against driving or wading through the flooded streets, posted at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning, “At this time, all in-town streets have been closed. The water went over the banks early this morning and appears to be holding at this time. However, with the continued chance of rain in the forecast, it could always continue to rise. Please do not drive through water-covered streets/roads. It can be deeper than you think, and erosion could have taken place. If you need to get around the floodwaters, please use the designated routes provided by city, county or state staff.”

Two and a quarter hours later, he wrote, “Floodwaters are slowly receding. However, the streets are still not open for traffic. Please continue to use designated routes provided by city, county or state staff.” And at 10:00 a.m., he was able to post, “The water receded enough that South Broadway is now open. Additional streets will open as the water continues to go down. Please do not ride through the water-covered streets/roads. You don’t know how deep the water is or if there is significant damage to the road.”

Much later in the day, at ap proximately 4:00 p.m., the creek was still roiling under the Main Street bridge and the Highway 63 bridge north of the Spring Valley Public Utilities power plant, but downtown, the only signs of any flooding having happened were barricades set up against the front of the city hall building, a few sandbags leaning against the repair bay garage door at Bear Creek Auto, and pinecones, grass and other de bris strewn across streets, leaving motorists and pedestrians to only guess how high the sky had fallen that morning.

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325

Spring Valley’s O’Connor Court dedicated July 8

08/11/2026 by Chris Hahn

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, August 6, 2026. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

O’Connor Court is now open to the public and was an instrumental part of recent downtown celebrations. The park features seating, a flagpole with engraved pavers, a deck available for use when there are no VFW activities, two little libraries and a grassy spot in the middle of Broadway.

“This is a lasting memorial to Steve O’Connor. He was commander for a lot of years, and he was our mentor. He was a state commander, and he also did a little work for the national organization. Since he passed away, we’ve missed him,” stated Spring Valley Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Commander Ross Heusinkveld, standing before a gathering at the VFW Hall on a rainy Wednesday evening, speaking about Army nurse O’Connor, the post’s late former commander, a state commander and a representative to the national VFW organization, for whom the little green park next door to the south was named.

The July 8 dedication ceremony featured remarks from Heusinkveld, Spring Valley Business Alliance (SVBA) member Shelly Skindelien and Charlotte O’Connor, Steve’s wife who is also an Army nurse veteran and who was pleased to accept the recognition on her husband’s behalf. Skindelien welcomed the attendees and outlined how O’Connor Court, the garden between the VFW Hall and the next building came to exist there as a collaborative effort between the VFW and the SVBA, sharing that the opportunity to work together to build something that could serve the community was one not to be missed. Earlier, the lot had been identified as a potential location for the local veterans’ organizations to build a new veterans’ memorial – that initiative has been moved to the intersection of Highway 63 and Tracy Road on the corner near MinnWest Bank – and because the VFW had constructed a deck to the south of its meeting hall, converting to a park the lot that remained following the 2017 fire that razed the former VFW/Johnny Ringo’s building seemed a fitting purpose.

Heusinkveld recalled that the 1871 Italianate structure that once stood as part of the VFW had belonged to the VFW as a bar and eatery for decades, but it was sold to Aaron Kolling and Matt Kolling, who leased the lower level to bar owner Ray Jacobson, who operated Johnny Ringo’s. “Sometime in 2007, the VFW decided to get out of the bar business, and we sold the building to the Kolling brothers. That went fine until October 2017 when the building burned down. The Kolling brothers got the property back and gave it to the VFW. We built a deck, and later on, Duane Knutson took it upon himself to build the base for a flag and put the flag out. We approached the SVBA about putting in O’Connor Court, got the ball rolling. That fire in 2017 turned into a great thing, O’Connor Court.”

Skindelien took up the task of fundraising for the electrical infrastructure and for the benches, trees, retaining walls and memorial paver bricks, arranging for sidewalks to be installed, and carrying out public relations for the then-unnamed odd little green between, devoting spare minutes from early 2025 to present to rounding up donations from organizations and individuals who wished to see the planned park become a place to rest while wandering downtown to shop or peruse the sights. She appeared at city council and local clubs’ meetings to advocate for the verdant venue, explaining how what an unexpected slot of grass was wedged into downtown could be something that could encourage people – residents and visitors alike – to pause and enjoy the moments in their day. Skindelien remarked during the dedication ceremony that “we take pride in everything we do here” and that the park that had been her project for the past year and a half or longer was no exception, meaning that choosing a name for it involved great consideration.

Charlotte O’Connor and her family attended to accept the honor and recognition. She introduced her daughter, Katie, and her children, son Brian and his children, and added that eldest son Sean lives in the Philippines, then went on to tell about how Steve would have relished the occasion for the chance to network, be it with or without a little Jameson in hand and an Irish tall tale to share for good measure, and how being a veteran was one of his most cherished accomplishments, as well as was working for the wellbeing of other veterans. “From the time he retired in 1986, he was active in the post…he even worked with the legislators for the veterans’ cemetery in Preston, or counseling (other veterans).

He was so proud to be a part of the VFW.”

Skindelien thanked everyone who has contributed to the ongoing fundraising and cited that “we continue to fundraise,” even though what is now O’Connor Court has benches, a flagpole, sidewalks, trees, a lovely lawn, two little libraries and access to the VFW Hall’s deck, because the SVBA hopes to add planter boxes and flowers to further beautify the little rectangle that will be available to the public every single day of the year. Heusinkveld concluded, “This is a true honor for Steve and his family. The VFW is proud to have been part of it. I hope it’s used and people enjoy it in the future.”

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325