Photo Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
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Nominate a Kiwanis Citizen of the Year
The Kiwanis Club of Spring Valley is seeking nominations for an outstanding person
to be honored at its annual Citizen of the Year program in the fall.
The Kiwanis Citizen of the Year, chosen by the club from nominations received from the public,
is someone who has contributed to the betterment of Spring Valley through service to the community.
Nominations are due by September 1, 2023.
Download the nomination form or compete the online nomination below.
Minn. author’s diligence garners on TV, three novels
Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, June 1, 2023. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy
The secret to getting published is moving people from inebriation to brilliant statement, then listening to one’s grandma.
“I walked my resume to MTV. That was 1999, and I started working at VH1, when MTV was still doing music programming. That’s when they started making reality programs, and by the time we got to 2002, I got a call from the higher-ups at ABC to do a reality show called ‘The Bachelorette.’ I spent my time escorting really goodlooking drunk people from mansion to mansion and try to get them to say interesting things,” recounted Hastings, Minn., native and California author Stradal during his appearance at the Spring Valley Public Library (SVPL) earlier this month as part of the library’s participation in the Southeast Libraries Cooperating (SELCO) spring author tour.
The author of three novels – “Kitchens of the Great Midwest,” “The Lager Queen of Minnesota,” and “Saturday Night at the Lakeside Sup[1]per Club” – highlighted how his career progressed from being just a guy from Hastings who aspired to put words on a screen to being a member of pro[1]duction crews for famous television shows and writing books that, according to his website, “received glowing reviews from NPR, People, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota Public Radio, TASTE Magazine, AARP Magazine, and Kirkus, where it earned a starred review.” He addressed the audience at SVPL and answered their questions related to how he acquired novel-writing skills, saying, “Vanity Fair asked me how I learned to write a novel, and I told them that I had to take hours of footage down to 42 minutes…that’s not a lot of time to winnow things down to tell a story.”
He continued by telling about how he felt that his first manuscript had potential for publication. “I wrote every day for a year before work. I had written a novel before, but this was one that I thought might have a chance, but…my grandma read it and hated it. She told me to my face.” Stradal took questions from his audience related to how the editorial process affected his confidence, and he answered that he’d attempted to challenge one editor on the topic of how many swear words were included in the dialogue and been informed that he’d probably overdone it… eventually learning from his readers that it was better to listen to his editor than to do his best to row against the current. “Editors at every level have been very helpful…and once you get started in the publishing industry, you just keep writing… you get another crack at changes between hardback and paperback for when someone asks, ‘Who’s Blaine?’ and I remember ‘Oh yeah, I forgot I changed his name to Jake.’”
He took some more questions from attendees – particularly one involving whether he’s finished writing or has “more pressure now to write more after first successful books.” He responded, “Yeah, but a tree fell on our house.” That’s a house in Burbank, Calif., by the way, meaning that while he was “just a guy from Hastings, Minnesota” who wanted to use words to make his living, he’s well-traveled, but, he concluded, having a chance to return to the Midwest was a treat he thoroughly enjoyed.
SVPL’s summer program calendar is quite full with author visits, the children’s summer reading program, various educational workshops and more. SVPL’s director, Jenny Simon, encouraged interested persons to peruse the library’s schedule and take advantage of the free opportunities that await, including the return of photographer and author Doug Ohman, who presented in late March on his new book about metal detecting and will return to the library on June 29 to demonstrate how to use metal detectors to find historic artifacts deep underground.
The Spring Valley Public Library is open Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 7 p.m., striving to find opportunity and ability to reopen on Saturdays, if possible. For more information on library services, log onto the library’s website at www.springvalley.lib.mn.us, or call 507-346- 2100.
Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
Young Runners Excel at 2021 Ag Days 6k
Teens made a strong showing in the Ag Days 6k race on the Spring Valley trail Saturday, Aug. 21, as a 16-year old had the fastest time. Cole Kruegel was the first finisher in the 2021 race with a time of 24:19. Two other teens were close on his heels, though, as Andrew Imm finished second with a time of 24:39 and Garrison Hubka took third with a time of 24:57. The three Spring Valley teens are all 16 years old and members of the Kingsland cross-country team.
The first female across the finish line was Jenna Steeves, 32, of Milford, Connecticut, with a time of 27:12. She is the daughter of Steve Tammel, who volunteered to drive the bus full of runners to the starting line. Steeves was also the female winner in 2018, the last time she ran the local race.
A teen winner is a repeat of the last Ag Days 6k trail race. The Ag Days race wasn’t held in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2019, Treyton Lanning, 14, of Chatfield, became the youngest ever winner of the race, which became a 6k race on the trail in 2013. Previously the race was 5k in length and the course was on roads in Spring Valley, starting at Spring Creek Park.
Since then, the race has started on County Road 8 near the city camping area with runners heading onto the paved trail and following it all the way to Willow Park. The course is 3.72 miles long.
Kruegel previously played football in the fall, but last season he was allowed to play football and run cross-country for Kingsland. This year, he is focusing solely on cross-country. However, in cross-country meets this year, Hubka is usually the one in front of the Kingsland High School cross-country team. At a Hayfield invitational meet Sept. 9, Hubka took first and Kruegel finished second overall in a field of a dozen teams.
A total of 49 runners signed up for the 2021 race. There were plenty of young runners as 16 of them, or nearly a third, were age 18 or younger. The field even included a 9-year-old, Carson Smith of Spring Valley. Every age group was represented up to the 60s, which included three women older than 60.
Age group medal winners, not including the overall winners, are as follows: 
Youth 14 and younger: Dalton Pischke of Elkton and Kylie Meyer of Spring Valley.
Age 19 and under: Imm and Susan Mettler of Spring Valley.
Age 20 to 29: Isaac Watson of Spring Valley.
Age 30 to 39: Dan Hershberger and Heather Betts, both of Spring Valley.
Age 40 to 49: Nils Wahlander and Angela Boysen, both of Spring Valley.
Age 50 to 59: Bruce Meyer and Sarah Kohn, both of Spring Valley.
Age 60 to 69: Sharon McGill of Stewartville.
Volunteers included Dave and Marlene Foster at the finish line, Kristi Mettler at the registration table, and Brenda and Matt Stier and Pam Phillips at the aid station. Tammel also officially started the runners and the Kingsland School District provided a bus to transport the runners from Willow Park to the starting line.
Next year’s race will be held Saturday, Aug. 20, with plans to run the same course. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome. Also, don’t forget the Frozen Feet 4k during Christmas on Historic Broadway Avenue on Dec. 11. This is a fun run that supports Kingsland youth football.
Click Here to View 2021 Ag Days 6K Run Results
SV100 Race Report – Final Report!
Greetings all, the SV100 Gravel Bike Race is upon us!
The weather-guessers are predicting a hot one so the Tri-Chairs have decided to toe the line slightly when emphasizing the golden rule of self-supported. We can’t help it, but when you, us and our city residents expressed concerns over the forecast for Saturday, we’ve redirected some of our volunteers to setting up some reasonable-person principled water-stations, just in case you miscalculated the self-supported rationing you planned for the day.
What does this mean:
- Mile 21 – Chatfield Range: There will be a canopy with miracle coolers of water by the grain bins.
- Mile 40 – Preston/Greenleafton Bridge: For those who have raced the route before, know that when you ride the gauntlet before the Preston/Greenleafton Bridge at mile 40, that the onlookers are friendlies and often bear nutritious gifts they have been known to share.
- Mile 67 – Forestville: Some Spring Valley Businesses are planning a complimentary, heavier snack and hydration station, perhaps some pickles, water, sports drinks, sweet and salty snacks and a bit of meat protein may be found here.
- Mile 84 – Wykoff: We’re working on getting a stocked cooler, clearly marked with SV100, just after crossing the highway, just before.
Important Finish Line Information:
It means that the finish line timing table will be unmanned for some of the later afternoon time slots due to the redirecting of limited number of volunteers above…but we can, and have overcome this challenge successfully in the past; when you hit the finish line, if there is no one at the table, take note of the time on the official clock and write it on the race roster on the table, or better yet, grab a refreshment from under the table and take times for a few minutes while cheering on fellow finishers…drop the mic, issue resolved, thank you for your teamwork.
You are responsible for you, so please don’t change your self-supported plan based on the above, but know that the tri-chairs and community have you on their minds. Please keep a watchful eye on one another, and have a great time. We are looking forward to your arrival and participation in the SV100. Safe travels, Tri-Chairs.
Rollout remains at 8:00 AM, and we look forward to seeing you all!
SV100 Race Report – Music-in-the-Park Afterglow Event
While your calendars are marked for the Spring Valley 100 on June 5th, and the celebrated “grandaddy” of all gravel race courses, please add a mark in your activity calendar for after the race. All are invited and encouraged to pull up your zero gravity chairs and relax in Spring Creek Park, just 4 blocks from the race finish, and listen to live music (free), refuel from onsite food vendors($), and watch an outdoor classic “Sandlot” (free). Lupulin Brewing Company out of Big Lake, MN will be pouring brews($) in the park too (sponsored by the SV VFW), with all proceeds benefitting Never Surrender, Inc – Black Woods Blizzard Tour, the worlds largest snowmobile fundraising event to help defeat ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. Please consider joining fellow riders at the Music-in-the-Park afterglow event. We are looking forward to meeting you at the registration, start, finish… or by the beer tent. Cheers!
