2024: Expansion, flooding among the top stories of this past year
Published 10:00 am Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Family and neighbors along with members from a near-by church fill sandbags as water from the Cedar River crosses Main Street in June. Herald file photos
Austin Area Arts Operations Director Kelsey Ritchie, kicks off Tuesday’s press conference announcing the Historic Paramount Theatre’s renovation and expansion project. With her, from left, is new Austin Area Arts Executive Director Tom Robbins, Paramount Renovation and Expansion Committee Co-Chair Belita Schindler, Paramount Manager Amy Wightkin, committee Co-Chair Randy Kramer.
Noelani Robinson
Construction workers attach cabling to a beam that will be lifted into place on the eastbound lane bridge of Interstate 90 across the Cedar River in October.
Henry Heers cleans off a paver after pulling it from its place in the Veterans Memorial. The pavers were being removed ahead of the Memorial’s renovation project.
Jenup Chop
Manamany Omot Abella
Warner Outdoor Solutions’ Pierre Taddeini describes the treatment procedure of an emerald ash borer-infested tree at Todd Park. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Austin VFW Post 1216 Commander Justin Hutchinson, center, and member Jon Gaul place the lid of the VFW’s time capsule on during a ceremony in September celebrating the post’s 100th anniversary. Herald file photo
Jennifer Reif leads participants in the Summer Troupe through an activity this summer at the Matchbox Children’s Theatre in First United Methodist Church.
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The new year is here and as we say goodbye to 2024 on the way to 2025, we take a look back at 10 of the bigger stories that took place in 2024.
The following selections are listed in no particular order and represent just a small example of the headlines coming out of our area in 2024.
Paramount renovation and expansion
One of the biggest events to in 2024 came toward the end of the year when it was announced that Austin Area Arts received $3.67 million from The Hormel Foundation to go toward the long-awaited renovation and expansion project for the Historic Paramount Theatre.
The entire project is slated to cost a little over $4.3 million and will begin just days after the new year with an aim to have everything completed in time to be revealed at the 2025 Austin ArtWorks Festival.
Among the items the project will include will be:
• Regrading portions of the theater floor to create seven ADA compliant wheelchair spaces plus companion seats;
• New wider theater seats that will add ADA retractable arms on aisle seats dispersed throughout the theater;
• Acoustical treatment of the theater and new sound system;
• New theatrical lighting system;
• Rebuild the stage floor; and
• Relocate the piano storage to regain wing space.
• Creating an accessible stage access;
• Multipurpose room with folding wall (performer dressing/green room;
• Accessible performer bathrooms;
• New loading ramp; and
• New storage room.
June floods
In late June, the Mower County area, along with southeastern Minnesota, was deluged by rains in the span of just a couple days resulting in extensive flooding.
Flood waters began to affect the area early on Saturday, June 22, and rose progressively throughout the day, impacting homes and businesses in Austin and throughout the county.
While flooding didn’t reach record heights, they came dangerously close with the Cedar River in Austin cresting at 20.6 feet and Turtle Creek west of Austin cresting at 12.64 feet. Dobbins Creek crested at 17.56 feet.
Justice for Noelani
In 2019, two-year-old Noelani Robinson was found dead in a ditch on the north edge of Blooming Prairie. In April the man accused of killing the little girl in this harrowing story filled with horror and sadness, was sentenced to prison.
Dariaz Lewis Higgins, 40, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for Noelani’s death.
“It’s just sad,” Mower County Attorney Kristen Nelsen said after the sentencing. “Yes, it’s done, but (Noelani) is still gone.”
Higgins was already serving a life sentence in Wisconsin for the shooting death of Noelani’s mother, 24-year-old Sierra Robinson, who was killed just days before Noelani on March 11, 2019.
Noelani’s body was discovered on March 15, 2019.
“Thank God … my babies can rest now that he’s gotten his justice,” said Latosha Bryant, Noelani’s grandmother. “Thank God justice has been done.”
Bridge project
underway
On April 25, a groundbreaking was held for the mammoth six-bridge reconstruction project by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
“It feels like it was just yesterday that we were here to announce the federal funding that is supporting this project,” Sen. Tina Smith said at the event. “It’s great to be back here today to celebrate this ground breaking for all of these new bridges along Interstate 90.”
Just a week earlier, work had started on the first of the six bridges, Oakland Avenue West over Interstate 90, which opened again in October of this year. To date Oakland Avenue and the eastbound lane of I-90 over the Cedar River mark the first two bridges to be completed, along with a resurfacing of the bridge over Sixth Street NW.
The most recent bridge at Fourth Street NW has just started and is estimated to take a year to complete.
The six-bridge project is projected to be completely wrapped up in 2026.
Veterans Memorial
gets an upgrade
In early August, members of the Austin Packers football team began the work of removing the pavers, marking the names of veterans, from the Veteran’s Memorial in Austin, the first active work to take place at the memorial as part of its renovation.
When completed, the 1,200 pavers will be arranged off the ground on steel structures that will hold the pavers at a 45 degree angle making them easier to view.
The new layout will also make it possible to add another 700 pavers if required, something that couldn’t be done with the original arrangement.
The work will also alleviate maintenance issues which included weeds growing up from between pavers and pavers being pushed out of place by the shifting ground.
A large chunk of the renovation by The Joseph Company has already been completed and while there is no official time table as to when the project might be completed, Mike Ruzek, of Mower County Veterans Memorial Incorporated, hopes that at the very latest it will be ready by Memorial Day in 2025.
“I think it means a lot,” Ruzek said. “There are people that look at it all the time and it’s been a backdrop for things like National Day of Prayer.”
Two plead guilty in the drive-by shooting death of Gumdel Gilo
With trial dates for those involved in the 2023 drive-by shooting death of Gumdel Negate Gilo looming in 2025, two of the suspects have changed their pleas to guilty in 2024.
Jenup Stepen Chop, 19, who was named the shooter by a grand jury earlier in the year, changed his plea to guilty of murder in the second degree-drive by shooting, attempted murder in the first degree-drive by shooting and attempted murder in the first degree-drive by shooting.
Both the defense and prosecution agreed to 37 and a half years in prison breaking down to 297 months for the murder charge and 210 and 153 months respectively for the last two counts.
The 153 month sentence would run consecutive to the previous two sentences with the 210 month sentence running concurrently.
A sentencing date has not been set for Chop.
Meanwhile, Manamany Omot Abella, agreed to plead guilty in April to a single count of felony aiding an offender – accomplice after the fact. He will be sentenced on April 3.
This leaves Cham Obang Oman, who has been charged with five counts of aiding and abetting including aiding and abetting first and second degree murder and two counts of aiding and abetting attempted murder and the use of a dangerous weapon.
A motion hearing for Oman is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2025 with a jury trial scheduled for Feb. 18.
EAB work continues
In 2023, the City of Austin began to approach the issue of the Emerald Ash Borer in Austin, but in 2024 work began in earnest as trees began coming down as part of an overall larger task that includes treating as many trees as possible.
In July, the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department identified 500 treatable trees on public grounds with more expected to be added.
At the same time, this effort has involved helping private landowners treat their own trees in the hope that more ash trees can be left standing.
VFW turns 100
In September of this year, the Austin VFW Post 1216 celebrated its 100th anniversary, which actually came and went this past summer.
Starting on Sept. 12 and concluding on Sept. 15, the VFW held a number of festivities to celebrate the occasion, including the filling of a time capsule on the final day.
“This one represents 100 years of the post,” said Post Commander Justin Hutchinson, who follows outgoing commander Scott Wiechmann. “To me, I think it’s a reminder of the past and as we move forward of the accomplishments the post has made. There aren’t too many that have made it 100 years.”
Salvation Army
Thrift Store closes
After 75 years, it was announced in April that the Salvation Army would be closing its thrift store.
Despite exhaustive efforts by staff to increase profitability, the thrift store has faced increasing financial challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.
“Our team has worked tirelessly to explore various avenues to sustain the store’s operations,” said then Austin Salvation Army Major Jeff Strickler in a press release. “However, the economic impact of the pandemic has made it increasingly difficult to maintain viability.”
Prior to that, the thrift store was just able to just break even, but the decision was ultimately made in recognition of being a responsible step forward to better allocate available resources and further enhance services.
Matchbox
Theatre loses non-profit status
After months of revamping its programming in order to be able to offer more to young players, the Matchbox Children’s Theatre in Austin announced to the public in November that it had lost its 501(c)3 non profit status and that it owed $70,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
The news puts into effect the very real possibility that the troupe could close by June if it can’t repay the money.
But, organizers have vowed not to give up without a fight and are taking a positive step forward in hoping to not only repay the funds, but regain its non-profit that would allow for MCT to once again begin applying for grants.
“I’m going to be honest. Our board we have now is so attached and so passionate to our cause, everyone of us is pulling out of our own pockets,” MCT Executive Director Angela Sedgwick Perry said. “Of course many will say, ‘you’re not supposed to do that.’ Well, too damn bad. We absolutely, whole-heartedly, 100% refuse to give up. We are willing to do everything and anything we have to do to keep it open.”
