A look back to 2016; The Herald looks back to the top stories of the year, based on your votes

Editor’s note: Look for stories 1-10 in Sunday’s Herald.

11. Hallmark closing (6 percent of the vote)

Tributes were long and heartfelt when it was announced in December that Evenson’s Hallmark, a mainstay of Austin’s Main Street, would close in January.

The store, in the same location for over 50 years, suffered the same fate as many of its peers in the Hallmark line: Lower sales, higher wages and the need for a new cash register system. When faced with having to install the system, owner Neil Evenson decided it was time to close. The store in Owatonna will also close.

Jeanne Anderson, who managed the store since 2009, said, “For years, co-workers were like family, and alway friends. We always got along,” said Anderson. “And our customers were my best friends.”

12. Goodbye, Mr. Nature Center (6 percent of the vote)

After 28 years at the helm of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, director and naturalist Larry Dophin retired on Aug. 31.

His name had become synonymous with the center, known as the man with a heart for the natural world.

“We are connected to everything else, and this planet provides all that we need, so we need to make sure we take care of the wildlife, the air, the soil,” Dolphin said.

He vowed to continue volunteer work at the center, and to remember his time as director of the center as “a job that I loved to do,” he said. “I don’t know what else I would have wanted to do, so I’m very fortunate.”

One of his former interns, Luke Reese, was hired to fill his position.

Reese has been busy, overseeing the construction of the $7 million interpretive center being built near the entrance of the nature center.

The center is slated to open on Earth Day, April 22, 2017.

“I’m jumping into the middle of the building project so it’s fantastic,” Reese said. “It’s this great period of transition.”

 

13. Officer shoots suspect (5 percent of the vote)

A 25-year-old Austin man was shot by an Austin police officer after the man rammed his vehicle into a squad car in April.

The man, Edgar F. Rodriguez, was fleeing police at a high rate of speed after he was suspected of driving while under the influence. A citizen had called police to complain of his poor driving.

After a pursuit, the Mercedes was stopped. As an officer got out of his squad to approach the car, the Mercedes allegedly backed up and rammed two squad cars. At that point, Officer Adam Scott fire at the vehicle, which once again took off. He was finally stopped permanently when police and a deputy from the Mower County Sheriff’s Department executed a maneuver to stop him. Scott was put on standard leave pending a full investigation.

Rodriguez was initially charged with felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle. He later pleaded guilty and was convicted of first-degree property damage and fleeing a police officer. No charges were filed against Scott.

14. Doughnuts and a new day (5 percent of the vote)

There were tears when it was announced that after more than 40 years, an Austin mainstay business was selling its final doughnut in August. Dan and Janet Hooker closed Austin’s Donut Connection on Aug. 13 for the couple to retire.

The shop, located at 507 First St. NW, started as a Mr. Donut in 1976 before converting to a Dunkin’ Donuts in 1991 and becoming Donut Connection in 2005. But after 40 years and three months of business, the Hookers were ready to retire.

Switch to October, when Jose Rivera purchased the business under the name, The Green Ranch. You can still get doughnuts, as well as ice cream and coffee.

“To me, the customer is everything, the most important thing. I treat them like kings and queens, you know?” Rivera said.

15. City reacts to drug issues (5 percent of the vote)

Those who have seen or felt the ravages of drug abuse, including heroin, methaphetamine and prescription drugs, told their stories in a series of roundtables entitled “Wake Up Austin!,” held in October, November and December. Each meeting drew 50-75 citizens.

The meetings were sponsored under the support of the Circle of Hope, Austin Community Education and Bill Spitzer, the  planning and implementation coordinator for a five-year grant to focus on creating, promoting and sustaining effective approaches to reducing alcohol and drug use, especially opioid and prescription drugs.

Also on hand were members of law enforcement, the justice system and the FBI, who spoke during the second meeting in November.

Most compelling, however, were stories from addicts or addicts’ families. At the end of two hours, there was a common theme: There is recovery — recovery from addiction and the loss of loved ones — and that the addiction needs to be viewed as an illness from which thousands suffer.

Question and answer time followed each gathering. More gatherings are planned in the spring, said Chris Lukes, one of the organizers.

Austin also saw two third-degree murder cases from heroin overdoses in 2016. Jordan Flugum was charged with third-degree murder after allegedly selling to a man who overdosed on heroine, and Ryan Allen Anderson took a plea agreement and was sentenced to five years in prison for drug sales charges and manslaughter charges in three cases.

16. Austin native shot, killed in Fla. police academy exercise (4 percent of the vote)

Mary Knowlton, a 73-year-old former librarian and Austin native, died tragically in August when real ammunition was used by mistake during a “shoot/don’t shoot” demoin Punta Gorda, Florida.

Mary, a well-known community volunteer, was shot after being randomly selected to take part in the role-playing scenario illustrating the split-second decisions an officer must make about firing. It was part of a popular citizens academy attended by 35 people, including her 75-year-old husband, and the police chief.

In the days after her death, her son, Steve Knowlton, said his father was “devastated.” Steve said that, on his mother’s behalf, he was forgiving the officer who fired.

“There’s too much hate in this world, in America, we always feel like we need revenge and it doesn’t solve anything,” he said. “I obviously can’t say it’s easy to forgive, but it needs to be done. She’s watching me now.”

Officer Lee Coel, 28, was identified as the officer involved, and he was accused of using excessive force with his police dog and resigned from another police agency in 2013 for failing to satisfactorily complete an agency field training program.

Mary was born to Arthur and Josephine Stevens on June 21, 1943, in Austin. She was homecoming queen at Austin High School and also worked on the school newspaper.

She had been a librarian at Scott County Public Library in Savage, Minnesota. She and her husband, Gary, were married 55 years and had two sons. The couple split time between Minnesota and Florida.

 

17. Sweet Reads opens (4 percent of the vote)

Downtown Austin welcomed a sweet store early this summer.

Sweet Reads opened at 407 N. Main St. and continues selling used and new books, magazines, candy, treats and other local items.

Owner Lisa Deyo has plenty of help from Susan DeVries, who sells handcrafted cards and painted stones, and Dianne Sherman, who is in charge of candy.

When the Herald caught up with Deyo, a long-time Austin teacher, in October, and it was still easy to see the thrill that comes with owning a bookstore, which she’s said was a lifelong dream. She even gets a little choked up when talking about her experience connecting with Austin and visitors during the early months at her store.

“I feel like this whole place has just been wrapped in the community’s arms,” she said. “… It’s just been amazing.”

Sweet Reads’ opening made for one bright spot for downtown Austin small businesses, as downtown staples Hallmark and Philomathian Religious Books both closed.

 

18. Red Bike debuts (4 percent of the vote)

Austin’s bike sharing program enjoyed a busy first year, and is looking forward to expanding in its second year.

Red Bike debuted April 15 as 30 refurbished red bicycles were placed out on specific red bike racks throughout Austin. This project had the intention of providing a free mode of transportation for those who wanted or needed it.

The bikes remained out around town throughout the summer and the remaining bikes were collected and stored in October.

Volunteers hope to refurbish more bikes over the winter to pedal out 60 bikes for racks in 2017.

In November, Austin received an honorable mention designation from the American League of Bicyclists, and volunteers are working to eventually get recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community.

19. McDonald seeks right to die on his own terms (4 percent of the vote)

Malcolm “Mac” McDonald’s plea to die with dignity reached ears across the state when he spoke out in his final days as he battled stage 4 lung cancer.

As he battled cancer, McDonald, 81, went from frequenting the gym to needing oxygen to help with his breathing.

McDonald wrote a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton and other state leaders voicing his support for a “compassionate care” law. Such a law would allow a terminally ill patient to obtain a doctor’s prescription for medication and self-administer the dose.

To McDonald, such an end made sense.

“I’ve got a wife and a son for whom I see no reason for them to go through a time when I am miserable to myself and miserable to them. It’s selfish, I admit. But we are living in a country whose most basic thought is freedom of the individual and not making decisions that other people have to live by. I want to make my own choice.” he said. “I want to die well.”

McDonald died on Christmas Day at Mayo Clinic Health System Hospital – Austin.

20. Board votes to close Brownsdale school (2 percent of the vote)

When Brownsdale students went back to school in late summer of 2016, they went to school in Hayfield.

Hayfield Community Schools Board voted unanimously on March 30 to close the elementary school during a special meeting.

Discussions on the school’s future spurred opinions and emotions for months in Brownsdale, including at a public meeting with more 250 concerned citizens in attendance.

Board member Lana Mindrup broke down and couldn’t speak for a minute the night of the vote, but she said the decision was not taken lightly.

“It has not been easy separating the emotional part of me from the business part,” she said. “We looked at many things last year to reduce our expenses by $225,000, so to say that Brownsdale is the only thing we’ve looked at is untrue.”

The school closed in June and the building sold to the city of Brownsdale. A buyer is reportedly interested in buying the old school to turn it into an assisted living facility.