Looking back to 2017; Tragedy and promise mark top local stories

Published 8:42 am Wednesday, December 27, 2017

The year 2017 was a year of tragedy and promise.

Early in the year, our community witnessed an officer-involved fatal shooting, house fires killed two Austinites, and a heart-attack led to the death of a young athlete just beginning his high school career.

The year also included the opening of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center interpretive center, a new Hy-Vee store and the news that the shuttered Target store has been sold to a furniture company.

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Austin also got the news that Hy-Vee might build a distribution center here, and that Hormel had its second-most profitable year in its history.

In reviewing the news of 2017, these are the top 10 stories of the year in chronological order as selected by Austin Daily Herald staff.

Austin Police officer found justified in using deadly force

Austin Police officer Chad Norman talks with APD detectives moments after shooting Ronald Dean Johnson, Jr. in early January.

Officer Chad Norman was a 14-year-veteran of the Austin Police Department when he fired his gun Jan. 11 at Ronald Dean Johnson Jr., 41, at 1010 8th Ave. SW in Austin.

Johnson was threatening a woman with a knife on the second floor of the home. When she began to scream, Mower County deputies and Austin Police officers tried to climb the stairs. Johnson threw things down at them. Norman was struck and injured by a bottle and a window air conditioner before he fired. Johnson was declared dead at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester of a died gunshot wound to the head.

The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office later found Norman justified in his use of force. He is back on regular duty

House Fire Deaths

After making it through 2016 with no fire deaths, two people died as the result of cooking fires. The first deadly fire was Feb. 9.

Michael James Langan, 58,  died in a house fire in the 1500 block of 29th Avenue Southwest, but Austin firefighters were able to save his son, 19, who was trying to escape the home through a downstairs window.

Langan was found deceased in the kitchen of the home.

Takeshia Greene, 40, of Austin, died as the result of a house fire on Aug. 25, at 1608 Fourth Street Southwest. An autopsy showed the cause of death was smoke inhalation.  She was pronounced dead at the scene by Gold Cross responders when CPR failed to revive her.

Greene was a mother raising six children at the time of the fire.

Austin had no fire-related deaths in 2016, but there were two fire fire-related fatality 2015, on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Austin principal among nation’s best

In May, Woodson Kindergarten Center Principal Jessica Cabeen was named Minnesota’s 2017 National Distinguished Principal by the Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

The award was created in 1984 to recognize and celebrate elementary and middle-level principals who set high standards for instruction, student achievement, character and climate for students, families and staffs in their learning communities, according to a news release issued by the MESPA.

The program highlights the fundamental importance of the school principal in achieving educational excellence from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade students and reinforces their continued leadership in helping children develop a lifelong love of learning.

In October, she traveled to Washington, D.C., to accept the award.

Nature center interpretive center opens

People begin moving into the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center’s interpretive center after the ribbon cutting this past spring.

The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center opened its new interpretive center on Saturday, April 22 with a ribbon cutting dedication ceremony. The dedication took place one year to the day of the center’s ground-breaking ceremony. The ribbon was cut by James Hormel, son of Jay C. Hormel, Nature Center Director Luke Reese, and former Nature Center Director Larry Dolphin.

James Hormel, said the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center and its 500 acres “far surpasses” anything his father, Jay C. Hormel, “could have ever envisioned.”

“This,” he said as he stood in the entrance of the new center, during a special donor celebration before the grand opening, “is just a wonderful building, a wonderful place.”

Jay C. Hormel planted nearly 250,000 trees in Austin during his lifetime.

New Hy-Vee opens

An estimated 200 people lined up outside the new Hy-Vee Store on May 9, opening day.  At 6 a.m., Mark Kanne, manager of general merchandise, opened the doors while an entire employee group applauded.

Kanne is the longest serving employee at the Austin store, having worked there for 42 years, so store Director Dan Goshorn decided to have him unlock the doors for the first time.

“It was pretty emotional,” said Goshorn. “And he deserved it.”

One customer dropped to her knees and inexplicably kissed the floor of the store before she jumped right back up to tour the new building; another man came in with a homemade sign that he had missed Hy-Vee since it closed on Saturday night.

The new 82,000-square foot store, located west of Shopko on 18th Street Northwest, hosts a slate of new offerings: Hibachi Asian Grill, Long Island Deli, Cocina Mexicana, The Market Grille restaurant and bar, Dia Pida Italian Street Food and a revamped traditional deli case, the Hickory House Comfort Foods. Other areas include a Juice & Smoothies island; a bakery with artisan and pan breads, pastries, cakes, bagels and daily fresh-fried doughnuts; a specialty cheese and olive bar; a salad bar; a full meat counter with smoked meats, in-store chefs and a cooking demonstration station. A full wine and spirits area is located on the west side of the store.

Add to that a pharmacy with a drive-up window; an in-store dietitian and wellness department; a large HealthMarket and bulk foods section with fresh produce items, including homegrown and organic; specialty items; floral design and shop; a mother’s room; dry cleaning and postal services; Aisles Online grocery delivery and pickup service; and a convenience store with a Caribou coffee shop and drive-through.

Mayo Clinic  announces Albert Lea and Austin realignment

In June, the Mayo Clinic Health System announced that a new childbirth center will be built in Austin as part of a $25 million consolidation that will include the move of surgical, hospitalization and intensive care services from Albert Lea to Austin.

Mayo Clinic officials said the changes would strengthen operations and efficiencies at both sites, which are 25 miles apart.

The announcement has led to a Save Our Hospital movement that has put on protests in Albert Lea and Rochester, the headquarters of Mayo Clinic.

Coming to Austin are inpatient surgery, hospitalizations and intensive care, as well as the new childbirth center, to be located on property adjacent to the Austin hospital. The facility will be built over 2019 and 2020.

All mental health services, including inpatient care and addiction services, will move in early 2019 from the Austin location to Albert Lea. The proximity to Fountain Center treatment services in Albert Lea could complement the operation, Mayo officials said

The ICU was the first to move and the inpatient surgeries will move to Austin by January 2018. The moves will require renovation of spaces that could be expanded at a later date, should operations grow. The Austin site offered the best configuration for expansion of hospital rooms and services, according to Mayo officials.

Young Austin athlete dies

Fischer

Chris Fischer, 14, collapsed during an Austin High School football practice on Aug. 22  and later died in pediatric intensive care Saturday morning, Sept. 2, due to complications from cardiac arrest,  according to family. His death shook the community, which followed his progress through social media posts provided by the family.

The day before a memorial service for Chris was held at Knowlton Auditorium at Austin High School, the Packers traveled to Red Wing to play the Wingers. They were greeted with a gesture to honor the memory of Chris Fischer. The Red Wing student section wore Packer red, the Wingers football team wore red tape on their helmets in honor of Fischer. There was also a banner proclaiming “Wingers stand with Austin in memory of Chris Fischer.”

Elsewhere that night, before the start of Lyle-Pacelli’s home football game against Spring Grove there was a moment of silence by the teams and fans in memory of Chris.

Hy-Vee eyes Austin for distribution center

In September, Hy-Vee Inc. confirmed it was exploring the idea of  building a new distribution center in Austin.

“The site in Austin is being considered for the project due to its centralized location in the company’s eight-state territory and interstate access as well as the community’s ample workforce,” said Tina Potthoff, vice president of communications for Hy-Vee, Inc.

Hy-Vee was considering a 150-acre site on the western edge of the community north of Interstate 90 by the Oakland Avenue exit. Hy-Vee has distribution centers in Cherokee, Iowa, and Chariton, Iowa. Both centers employ several hundred people.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Austin, and we are excited to continue our great relationship with Hy-Vee,” Mayor Tom Stiehm said.

Some potential neighbors to the distribution center have raised questions and objections.

Then in November, Hy-Vee, Inc. announced it is delaying the new distribution center in Austin.

The construction that was projected to start in 2019 will be delayed by several years as Hy-Vee re-evaluates the need for a third distribution center, according Potthoff.

“After evaluating recent changes in consumer shopping and lifestyle behaviors, we are adjusting our growth strategy to best meet our customers’ changing wants and needs,” Potthoff said in a news release. “Over the next several years, we will continue to expand our offerings across the Midwest by constructing new smaller format stores. In addition, we are also looking at developing larger store formats, larger than our current 90,000-square-foot stores, which would complement our smaller format locations.”

Man missing for a week

An 72-year-old Austin man reported missing on Monday, Nov. 6, led to extensive searches by Austin authorities and residents. He was found three days later and the community learned more about the reality of depression.

After his family could not find him that Monday morning, Dennis Hanson’s description was circulated through the media outlets and on social media. Different areas in and around Austin were searched by law enforcement, emergency personnel and citizens every day since the report was filed, until Thursday afternoon. A bloodhound, drone, and State Patrol helicopter and plane were all used in the search.

He was found on Thursday, Nov. 9, at his residence in the basement of his Third Avenue Southeast residence. He seemed disoriented when he walked out of the basement under his own power, according to police, and was transported to Mayo Clinic Health System-Austin.

His wife, Anne Hanson, and family  thanked the community in an open letter:

“It is with humble and grateful hearts that we, Dennis Hanson’s loving family, come back to our community to express the most sincere thanks that anyone could ever have.

“It was God’s leading all who involved themselves in this massive search and His protection that brought Dennis back to us alive and willing to receive the intensive medical attention to relieve the burdens that prompted this desperate attempt for peace of mind.

“It is our hope that everyone will have a renewed awareness of the magnitude a “little down in the dumps” can have on the human mind. Depression is very real and not a choice.

“Dennis is but just one in our small space on Earth, who at this moment is dealing with thoughts and actions of this nature. Let us all remember how a community working together with such vigor can be a very real help to humanity. Treating our brothers and sisters with understanding and kindness is a huge part in their total care and recovery.

“May God richly bless everyone who had made this blessed outcome a reality for the most grateful family on the face of the Earth!”

Amid intense drug cases, county files suit

The Mower County Court docket saw more destruction from illegal drugs in 2017, and the Mower County Board of Commissioners decided to join other counties in suing the manufacturers of opioids for what is being called an epidemic.

Examples of the major court cases included the conviction of a 21-year-old man who sold heroin to a 20-year-old man who died of an overdose. The price for the heroin  a 55-inch smart TV.  Jordan David Flugum, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter as part of a plea agreement.

In another case, an Austin man found shot in the leg Saturday, July 8, is facing drug charges after police allegedly found 296.5 grams of methamphetamine — an estimated street value of $20,000 — in his home on the 800 block of Second Avenue Southwest. Jesus Alejandro Ybarra, 23, of Austin was charged with one count of felony first-degree drug possession of 50 grams or more of cocaine or methamphetamine.

In November, the Mower County Board voted to “indicate that the county is willing and would like to go forward with litigation to pursue the manufacturers and distributors in the opioid crisis that we are in right now.”

In December,  Mower County joined other Minnesota counties in  announcing lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of opiate-based pain medications.

Mower County officials say the suit is not being paid for from taxypayer funds. The legal team’s compensation depends on the outcome of the lawsuit.