Ben Sonnek
Recent Stories
See you at the parade
What started as one college’s enrollment error in 1962 led to Mike Felling leading fundraising efforts at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, North Dakota – and that, in turn, has led to him being selected as the grand marshal for the college’s homecoming parade Saturday, Oct. 7. While Felling does not consider his contributions to have been that great at NDSCS, he is honored to be a part of this celebration and has already heard from people looking forward to his arrival.
Bear Trap still catching customers
It has been 40 years since friends and classmates Barry Walker and Steve Vogt decided to see what it was like behind the bar, establishing the Bear Trap just north of Sauk Centre. Today, while city limits now enclose the bar and the ownership has changed once, not much else has changed about the longstanding establishment – and for Pat Winters, the Bear Trap’s current owner, that is a good thing, a testament to its founders and the people who supported them.
Pennsylvanian pastor
Faith Baptist Church in Sauk Centre is welcoming their new pastor, the Rev. Jared Matthew, as the new leader of their church, and the Pennsylvania native is glad to not be leading the church on his own. As he and his family settle into the community, Matthew is ready to make Faith Baptist Church more visible while bringing Biblical counseling to those who are struggling.
Developing poems and prose
Writers of all stripes will be returning to Sauk Centre the first weekend of October, as the Sinclair Lewis Writers Conference returns for its 33rd year. The event, which can be attended virtually or in-person, has authors and poets share their tips and experience to make it a valuable, engaging time for any wordsmith who wants to improve their craft.
Managing future traffic
With the Authors Addition residential expansion project wrapping up for the year and the intersection of Hendryx Street, Halfaday Drive and Hickman Drive being realigned, Sauk Centre will be regulating the intersection’s traffic flow with yield signs while keeping stop signs on the table for the future if they are needed.
Climate in California
While Minnesota certainly has a wide range of weather, it does not have it all, so it was a learning experience for Azara Boschee when she interned at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego. She narrowly missed studying Hurricane Hilary up close, but her time taught her much about weather models and predicting flood damage.
Healing for emotional scars
As mental health problems become more serious nationwide, the Twedt family, of Sauk Centre, is holding a walk Saturday, Sept. 16, on the Lake Wobegon Trail, sponsored by The Scars Foundation, to bring attention to these issues. With this walk, Shannon Twedt wants people to realize it is OK to not be OK.
Tommy and the two pennies
For most people, the Titanic is merely a byword for disaster. For Susie Millar, president of the Belfast Titanic Society, the famous shipwreck is part of her family history and the legacy of her hometown, Belfast, Ireland.
A decade of ministry
It has been 10 years since the Rev. Greg Paffel, the newly installed pastor of St. Paul’s Church in Sauk Centre, rode into town on his orange Honda Goldwing motorcycle. That motorcycle and its rider have since become familiar sights in the community, and while Paffel has had to navigate difficult times for the area’s Catholic churches, he maintains his joyful optimism as he ministers to parishioners and learns from them as they learn from him.
