Here are some nuggets about fishing in Minnesota Some of the information is from the 2022 National Survey of Fishing Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation The purchase price of every fishing license in Minnesota goes into the Department of Natural Resources’ Game and Fish Fund a dedicated account that can only be used for fish law enforcement and certain other outdoor-related activities It’s simple to install the Bulletin App on your smart phone or iPad:If you have an Android phone connect to the Bulletin’s website— https://northplattebulletin.com Look at the bottom of the screen for the install command The Bulletin icon will appear on the page of your home screen where there is space for a new icon Look for it and move it to the front page for handy access This process creates a web app on an Android phone It does not always require an internet connection I walked through the technical aspects of the budget process and highlighted key dates to keep in mind This is a look not just at the steps we follow and trust that truly make this work possible At the heart of every successful budget are dedicated individuals working together toward a common goal: serving our communities with integrity State budgets present an entirely different challenge compared to business or city budgets We’re overseeing a system that spans more than 90 agencies each with its own priorities and complexities it’s difficult to see the full picture and make well-informed especially when it comes to balancing the budget effectively and the impact of each decision ripples through every part of our communities That’s why strong relationships with colleagues are crucial to deliver the best possible outcomes for the people we serve I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come The Appropriations Committee has worked hard to close the shortfall we were faced with and I believe we’ve done an exceptional job navigating a complex process The senators who move legislation forward and make meaningful progress are the ones who collaborate constructively That’s what drives results in a process as demanding as the state budget the greatest struggle has been pushing for efficiency in a system that wasn’t built for transparency And we’ll continue fighting to ensure every dollar is used as effectively and responsibly as possible The Revenue Forecasting Board will meet Friday afternoon for their final assessment prior to the end of the regular session the committee must now move its budget proposal to the full legislature Your feedback and ideas help shape the future of our district and our state 47 — west of Lincoln County — in the Nebraska Legislature Log in to post Talk Back By Fred Knapp Senior Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media The Nebraska Legislature resumed debate Wednesday on possible changes to a law approved by voters last November requiring businesses give their employees paid sick leave Wednesday’s debate pitted arguments that the paid sick leave requirement would hurt small businesses against claims that changing the law would defy the will of the voters Debate centered on an amendment championed by Sen Paul Strommen to exclude seasonal agricultural workers and workers for companies with 10 or fewer employees Strommen explained the small business exclusion “Smaller businesses operate on thin profit margins and will not be able to compete with larger companies that can more easily absorb the costs of mandated benefits," he said small businesses will be forced to shut down and likely fewer benefits over time." Megan Hunt said the proposed changes were dangerous “Illness doesn't check someone's age or what type of job they have," she said "A sick farm worker can spread the flu just as easily as any other worker maybe more so in the close quarters of seasonal housing A sick teenager in a restaurant can get other customers sick and this amendment invites more people to work sick George Dungan said his constituents wonder what the Legislature is up to “Why does the Legislature keep trying to change what the people voted for?" he asked "And there's a fear that I hear from these people that we're not going to do what they want where the medical marijuana ballot initiative passed with overwhelming support and there has been a pervasive fear amongst the public that we as a Legislature are not going to do our job in effectuating Legislation to implement medical marijuana remains stuck in committee although its legalization will take effect even if the Legislature does not act Tony Sorrentino pushed back against the argument that legislators are ignoring the will of voters I do believe that they did not understand the cost of this and specifically the cost of this to a small employer," he said and one or two of them are taking leave and I have to pay them So I don't think we're undoing the will of the people as much as we are contemplating what the financial impact may be." Danielle Conrad argued that voters did know what they were doing who said he had voted against paid sick leave on the ballot “The ballot question before voters was clear the vast majority in your district and across the state and voted ‘yes.’ Do you believe that you have more discernment than the average Nebraska voter?” she asked “I'm not going to pretend to know what the average Nebraska voter thinks,” Strommen replied you should resign your position,” Conrad continued “That's fantastic,” Strommen commented Lawmakers adjourned for the day before reaching a first-round vote on the bill They have now spent a little under four hours Following the general practice of allowing for eight hours of debate before a cloture motion to cut off debate and vote would mean another three hours of debate Thursday morning and a vote on Friday It would take two-thirds of the Legislature to ultimately approve a change in the law approved by voters That’s the same number it would take to cut off debate and vote on the bill meaning Friday’s vote should give a good indication of which way the issue will be decided Senators advance health care funding despite federal concerns Proposed scaling-back of sick leave requirement draws opposition Nicotine taxes, housing help advance in Legislature Train of bills temporarily sidetracked, Perkins diversion heard Proposal to cut down on health reports draws opposition NIL bill would allow Nebraska colleges to pay athletes directly under NCAA settlement Senators' pay, tax on services discussed in Legislature Get the latest from around Nebraska delivered to your inbox online and mobile platforms.Your support is essential News | Oct 15 The Strommen Ranch crew poses with a tour group from Argentina A group of Maternal POWER® cows waters at a windmill on the ranch.Windmill Aaron and Cassidy help out with a neighbor’s branding on horseback a proven herd bull used heavily at Strommen Ranch Show CaptionsHide Captions When the brutal weather of a North Dakota winter hits most cattlemen begin supplemental feeding to aid their cattle through the challenging season Not so for Aaron and Sheyna Strommen of Strommen Ranch Their hardy herd of purebred Angus seedstock cows graze the North Dakota rangelands with minimal outside assistance until well into the winter months Aaron and Sheyna value cows that can thrive on what nature provides and pass their hardy traits onto their offspring “We try and graze as long as possible,” Aaron said “We allow Mother Nature to take its course and not interfere as much as we can We definitely try to push them and make them work a little harder than the average purebred guy We just have a different management system we truly run them like commercial cattlemen do Strommens view this hardiness as one of the most unique traits of their operation alongside a focus on their cows’ maternal traits While many seedstock producers focus on production or terminal traits Strommens select for traits such as fertility “We’re really focused on the female side of things here We think as cow-calf producers here in the northern plains you make your money with your females while the steer crop is only there for a short time and feet are all key to profitable cow-calf production.”   Their cows are renowned for their maternal traits and lay claim to several notable titles A portion of their herd are Pathfinder cows a designation set by the American Angus Association for cows that meet standards for fertility she gets to keep that designation for life “We place a lot of emphasis on cows that can make that level,” said Aaron Strommen cows boast a unique label of their own: Maternal POWER® Strommens took it upon themselves to brand their cows with desirable maternal characteristics as Maternal POWER® cows Strommen cows that “…have a lot of fertility powerful calves” feature this trademarked label exclusive to their ranch.   Their customers recognize the benefits these highly decorated females bring to the table the Strommen Ranch hosts a Maternal POWER® bull sale where their customers have the opportunity to invest in their genetics They sell over 100 yearling and two-year-old bulls at this time along with a handful of private treaty bulls to their current customers The Strommen Ranch also works with two other ranches to put on the Badlands Angus Alliance Sale where they invite their commercial customers to bring bred heifers on consignment Aaron said that this year at the sale they will have nearly 60 two-year-old bulls plus about 800 commercial bred heifers and 100 registered females between their own cattle and those owned by their customers Aaron also said that their customers have realized a $331/head premium on their Strommen Ranch influenced bred heifers through this sale over the past six years when compared with similar bred heifer sales in the region.  Aaron believes that this focus on their customers is another thing that sets their ranch apart “That’s something not a lot of people are doing We won’t have success unless our customers are having success We try to help drive their profitability up by helping market their heifers and commercial stock.”   Not everyone gets to boast and market their Maternal POWER® genetics but that’s just one benefit of associating with Strommens.   “Many of our customers have a built-in demand for their females influenced by our genetics many selling their replacement heifers higher than their steer mates,” said Aaron.   Another benefit is the opportunity to have the Strommen Ranch crew artificially inseminate their cattle.   “We’ll sell semen out of our bulls at a discounted rate to our customers and if they want us to come and AI their cows or heifers we can bring our mobile facilities right to their operation We can bring the semen and breed their cattle for them.”   it’s all about customer satisfaction but without our customers we’re just another cow-calf operation we try and focus on the things that’ll make our customers profitable If we can share a little bit of our operation with them that makes it good for everyone.”  With all this talk about maternal traits it can be easy to forget about the other half of the equation but Strommens place just as much emphasis on their bulls as they do their cows they prefer to work outside the box and utilize management techniques many other seedstock producers don’t they rely on four main lines of sires: Rainmaker “We just keep crossing those lines back and forth,” Aaron said “Once we find a mating that works we just repeat The goal is to make a consistent and uniform cow herd that works in our environment so our customers have the ability to select bulls from any pen we have and get similar results no matter the genetics.” They also have 2 bulls owned in partnership with Santiago Debernardi Debernardi and 60 other cattlemen from Argentina and Brazil have toured the Strommen Ranch over the past 11 years Debernardi has maintained a close relationship with Strommens.  Strommens have no trouble forging lifelong connections Their operation has come a long way since its beginning in 2001 when newlyweds Aaron and Sheyna had “five or six registered females and a pile of dreams.” After lots of hard work along with their three children (Cassidy who is now a junior at South Dakota State University Strommens were able to purchase their first ranch four years ago and expand again this August.   Aaron and Sheyna view their children as an essential part of the growth of their operation “We are blessed to have them because without them helping we wouldn’t have built what we’ve built they’ve been fully involved in our operation.” Forming and maintaining connections are what Strommens do best along with representing the best and brightest maternal traits the northern Great Plains have to offer.   Sign up for daily and breaking news headlines Manage Subscriptions You may wonder how someone who grew up near the ocean in Los Angeles and once intended to spend his days as a merchant marine ended up in landlocked middle America A proposal to increase penalties for certain traffic violations and crimes was given first-round approval May 1 after lawmakers amended it to include several other bills heard by the Judiciary Committee Lawmakers gave first-round approval May 1 to a bill that would change disclaimer requirements for political advertisements Lawmakers gave first-round approval May 1 to a bill that would update provisions of law related to pharmacy benefit managers Lawmakers gave first-round approval May 1 to a proposal intended to correct an unintended consequence of a recent change in the way community colleges are funded Military and Veterans Affairs annual election cleanup bill from the first round of debate May 1 Lawmakers gave general file approval May 1 to a bill that would change meeting requirements and duties for the state’s African American Commission A bill that would eliminate the state’s lifetime ban on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility for individuals with certain drug-related convictions was advanced from select file April 30 after being amended to include a substance abuse treatment requirement A bill that would limit scheduled increases to the state’s minimum wage and establish a separate lower wage for young Nebraskans was given second-round approval April 30 following a successful cloture motion A proposal to combine two state agencies tasked with managing Nebraska’s water resources received final approval from lawmakers May 1 A measure intended to encourage certain defense contractors to relocate to Nebraska advanced to final reading April 30 after lawmakers amended it to ensure that it rewards the creation of new jobs Lawmakers gave final approval April 30 to a bill that rolls back various recently enacted tax incentives Senators gave first-round approval April 29 to a package of revenue-related bills including a proposal under which Nebraska educational savings plan trust accounts could be used to pay for private K-12 education Senators gave first-round approval April 29 to a Transportation and Telecommunications Committee omnibus bill that would update state law regulating telecommunications companies and common carriers A proposal to cut county inheritance tax rates while also distributing replacement revenue to counties advanced from general file April 29 Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application as one of four children to loving parents Delmer and Eunice (Larson) Paulson in Fargo graduating from Crookston Central High School in 1969 Larry started working for the Burlington Northern Railroad Larry enlisted in the Navy alongside his cousin ending his time in the Navy before marrying the love of his life Larry returned to working on the railroad in Grand Forks He was also a longtime member and involved with the Crookston Eagles Larry was awarded Eagle of the Year for his dedication and was especially good at finding deals on TVs Delmer and Eunice (Larson) Paulson; parents-in-law Brad Paulson and Jeff Paulson; brother-in-law Melanie Newcombe; many cousins; and many beloved great-nieces and nephews who will all miss him dearly A time for sharing of memories with Larry’s family and friends will be held at Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home in Crookston Visitation will be two hours prior to the service the link to which can be found by going to www.stenshoelhouske.com/obituaries and following the prompts to Larry’s page Stenshoel-Houske Funeral & Cremation Service Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors BLANCHARDVILLE — When Jim Strommen first stepped foot on the baseball field at McKellar Park as the new head coach in 1980 he had no idea that he’d be surrounded by friends and family on June 16 In 45 years as the head coach for Pecatonica baseball Strommen has led the Vikings to 19 conference championships one sectional title and a state runner-up finish in 2023 He was inducted into the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004 Strommen was closing in on Royall’s Joe Vitcenda as Wisconsin’s all-time winningest coach the two would have been tied with 647 wins — a feat that former Blanchardville Bullets teammates Scott Ingwell and Pat Hardyman knew had to be honored coaches and Pecatonica alumni officers — Hardyman Gene Spellman and Rick Gordon — set the plan into motion to honor Strommen in September 2023 Gant had a resolution written and presented it to the Park Board The same resolution was then approved by the Village Board November 6 That’s when Strommen first got wind of the plan “I read my resolution that I had given the week before to the Park Board,” Gant said of the phone call with Strommen I remember taking the phone away from my ear to see if we had been disconnected and we weren’t I said ‘Are you there?’ and after some serious stuttering Flash forward to this past Father’s Day — June 16 Strommen sat on the field among his closest family and friends with the Blanchardville community Blanchardville Bullets and Hollandale Rockies in the stands and bleachers for the naming ceremony opened before Father Luke Syse blessed the field Strommen’s sister Rosann Myers and his step-daughter Amy Anderson Carr spoke Bredeson and Anderson then unveiled the new signage before Strommen — with coaches Kammerude and Jim Carter and catcher Scott Kleppe — threw out the first pitch before the Home Talent game Although Strommen (663-229) is still two wins behind Vitcenda (665-389) at the end of the 2024 season “Tom (Kammerude) said it best,” Ingwell said but about how Jim has been successful in teaching leading and getting these young men ready for what lies ahead.” Black Hawk and Belleville were front-runners in the then-named Stateline League Pecatonica was still making a name for itself having won a conference championship in 1972 and regional championships in 1972 and 1978 the Vikings clinched their second conference title with a win over Argyle It was the first of Strommen’s 19 league titles to date looked back at the moment as a milestone in Pecatonica program history “Belleville and Black Hawk were powerhouses Winning the conference proved to us that we can start our own dynasty.” Pecatonica won its third regional title and advanced to play Cassville in sectionals one of Strommen’s players took a knee while shagging balls in the outfield Chandler recalled how Strommen began to pepper the outfield “Some coaches might overlook it,” Chandler said ‘You’ve got the biggest game of your life tomorrow and you kneel We don’t operate that way.’ He set the tone as a young 28-year-old You knew this guy was going to go places.” who coached with Strommen in 1980 before covering sports for the Pecatonica Valley Leader remembers how there may have been more players in the early years of Strommen’s career “He taught them to be prepared and think ahead,” Gary McKenzie said “‘What do I do if the ball is hit to me?’ There were other teams that had more talent where we had lost some to graduation But they were disciplined and coached so well that they still went out and won a conference championship.” remembering how practices were just as hard as games “We were more prepared than our opponents — nothing surprised us,” Chandler said Another major shift occurred when Strommen got Pecatonica into the Babe Ruth League Players began to dedicate more time to baseball in the summer which translated to improvement during the high school season “Strommen expected these kids to get better on their own I made sure I got Brooks there,” Chandler said of his son who played for Strommen from 2013 to 2016 earning Six Rivers East Player of the Year in 2016 “If you came back next spring and didn’t get better Pecatonica won five conference championships — 1990 the 1991 and 1992 teams were regional champions began to be a good feeder program for the kids going into high school it trickles down to little league,” said Larry Schliem everyone coming up wants to be the next team to win.” was one of those kids that began to admire Strommen and the high school team from a young age Drew Schliem was a manager for the team in 2010 and 2011 before playing shortstop and pitcher from 2012 to 2015 “Coach Strommen has been someone that I have looked up to since I was just a little kid growing up watching Pec teams,” Drew Schliem said “He has certainly been a mentor to me in life I look up to him and respect him in many ways as a person and coach.” Larry and Drew joined Pecatonica baseball at a time when the Vikings were really cementing their name in the Six Rivers East After a six-year drought since their last conference championship in 2009 the Vikings won the league in 2015 — the start of a nine-year streak that extends to the 2024 season Strommen earned his 500th and 600th career wins Only four other active coaches in Wisconsin baseball have amassed 500 career wins “Being the first year of the nine consecutive conference championships is certainly one of my proudest memories,” Drew Schliem said and we had some great teams through the ’90s and early 2000s We had a few down years and then in 2014 was when we started to piece back the puzzle and really bring back that winning tradition that I believe has carried into today’s teams.” The culture and tradition extended beyond the team as the communities of Blanchardville and Hollandale continued to support and look forward to the baseball season each year to see how the Vikings would fare it’s an iceberg: People tend to see only the starters and coaches — the tip of the iceberg — but beneath the water are the future starters community members and fans that make up the base of the program — the part which isn’t seen While the wins and conference championships kept piling up one goal remained elusive — getting to state the WIAA state baseball tournament in Appleton has been in the back of Strommen’s head So much so that the team has done the ‘Appleton Challenge’ where they split into the Cardinals Braves and Brewers to answer baseball trivia Each correct answer is one step closer to Appleton “It’s a challenge to get to Appleton and have it in the back of their heads,” Larry Schliem said The 2023 season went much like those in 2016 2018 and 2022 — winning conference and securing a regional title Pecatonica hosted sectionals at McKellar Park as the top-seeded Vikings defeated 2-seed Potosi-Cassville 2-1 and 3-seed Johnson Creek 5-2 to win Strommen’s first sectional title and punch their ticket to the WIAA Division 4 state tournament we hugged,” Larry Schliem said of the pop up to then-senior Coy Ruegsegger on the mound Although the first day of the state tournament was delayed due to weather — Pecatonica was originally slated to play at 10:30 a.m — walking out on Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium was an unforgettable experience who had not hit infield all season due to an injury “He was a kid in a candy store that first day,” Larry Schliem said “There was no way I was taking that (hitting infield) away from him.” Although that season didn’t end the way Pecatonica had hoped — a 7-6 walk-off loss in the championship game — the state berth further solidified Strommen’s name into Wisconsin baseball history “I think Coach Strommen’s legacy has always been there but finally getting to state in 2023 was the final straw that people started to realize how great he really has been when reflecting on his history,” Drew Schliem said In addition to naming Pecatonica’s baseball field after Strommen Gant secured another surprise — Strommen will throw out the first pitch of the Brewer game against Pittsburgh on July 11 “I asked him ‘Are you doing anything on Thursday You are throwing out the first pitch when the Milwaukee Brewers take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1:10 p.m.’ This time 438 tickets have been sold for the first Blanchardville Community Day at American Family Field with other community members buying on their own That’s enough to fill two sections in right field Two charter buses and a mini coach have been secured for the event The Brewer game can be streamed on MLB.TV with a subscription BLANCHARDVILLE — Nine Rockies came to the plate in a four-run sixth inning that proved to be the difference in a Home Talent game against Hollandale (4-1) and Blanchardville (2-3) June 16 Colton Schraepfer and Cole Breuer also drove in runs By Arthur Jones Multimedia Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media News A hearing was held on Monday to discuss a LB698, a bill introduced by Sen. Paul Strommen that would make modifications to the mandatory paid sick leave law that 75% of Nebraskans voted in favor of last November. The changes would include increasing the minimum number of employees a business must have to be required to provide paid sick leave from one to at least 11 employees The changes also include making workers age 15 and under as well as temporary and seasonal agricultural workers ineligible for the mandatory paid sick leave The final change is to remove a section that allows employees to seek legal recourse if they feel that their employer has violated their ability to accrue paid sick leave up to four years past their last date of employment Strommen and those for his bill said that it will cost small businesses and either put them out of business or limit the availability of jobs those small businesses offer They also believe that it will force small businesses to pass the costs from the business to the consumer “The sum of this bill is to ensure that both employees and employers in our most vulnerable small businesses in the state are not finding themselves in a position where they're going to have to start letting folks go,” Strommen said to the senate committee on business and labor Those who are against the adoption of LB698 a community organizer for Heartland Workers Center said that the changes hurt workers and their rights as well as lead to missed paychecks or working while sick because they're looking at the future for when they need the time,” said Pinto if a business has less than 20 full or part-time employees and does not already offer a paid sick leave program it is required to provide employees with at least five days of paid sick leave a year If the business has more than 20 full and or part-time employees it must provide employees with at least seven days of paid sick leave a year The start date for Nebraska’s workers to begin accruing mandatory sick leave is scheduled to begin on Oct Pillen's appointment to head Administrative Services challenged Education Committee hears proposal to combat antisemitism Legislative proposal would end sales taxes on residential utilities in Nebraska Gig workers' status, death penalty discussed in Legislature Nebraskans debate winner-take-all at hearing Judiciary Committee considers proposals to ban or regulate Delta 8 Nebraska seeks Colorado canal land, school choice fight resumes Reimbursing teachers for school supplies, requiring colleges to report foreign funding heard by Legislature's Education Committee Senators keep restrictions on bills, consider prison changes including a resume or list of qualifications from any registered voter within the city limits interested in filling the city council seat vacated by Paul Strommen.Wednesday 4:24 PM MSTBy Forrest HershbergerPaul Strommen resigned his seat on the Sidney Council Tuesday He was elected for the 47th District seat of the State Unicameral.Forrest Hershberger/News Channel NebraskaSIDNEY -- Paul Strommen is stepping down from his seat on the Sidney City Council He was elected to represent the 47th District in the Nebraska Legislature "I will be resigning from my position as a city council member and Vice-Mayor this evening as I've been selected by the great people of District 47 to represent them at the Legislature for the next four years and moving on to that," Strommen said in the December 17 city council meeting and I'm proud to have been able to serve the city of Sidney and the people of Sidney and you guys can continue to do all the great things you've been doing for the city of Sidney," Strommen said to the council Mayor Brad Sherman accepted nominations for vice-mayor Sherman nominated councilman Brandon Bondegard to be the next vice-mayor The City of Sidney is accepting letters of interest for the open seat Letters should include qualifications/resume from a registered voter of the city of Sidney Letters of interest can be mailed to Mayor & City Council in care of City Clerk or delivered to City Hall at 1115 13th Ave. Deadline to submit a letter of interest and qualifications is 5 p.m Joan Elizabeth (Hearn) Leimer was born October 22 the daughter of Elmer and Ida (Hockswender) Hearn She graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in Queens In 1963 they moved to Rochester with their two children Joan was an active member at Mount Olive Lutheran Church where she was a member for nearly fifty years co-owning Jancee Pottery & Gifts in downtown Rochester She volunteered at Saints Marys Hospital Auxiliary ("Pink Ladies") for several decades John (Nancy) Leimer of Rochester; daughter Wisconsin; four grandchildren Jaime Decker (Brian) and Peter Strommen (Bekah); five great grandchildren Landon A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Friday A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church Interment will be in Mount Olive Lutheran Church Columbarium Memorials are preferred to Mount Olive Lutheran Church The family thanks Mayo Clinic Hospice and Homestead staff for the care and kindness they showed Joan A Celebration of Life service for Nanette Strommen 2023 at Stevenson Funeral Home Chapel in Killdeer.  Burial will take place in Red Lodge Montana where she attended school and graduated from high school She lived on the Roberts’ Ranch for 16 years.  Nanette married Verlyn Strommen in 1996 in St They were proud of the family they raised together She gracefully fought the battle of her illness baking and cooking.  Holidays were her favorite and she especially loved April Fools and Christmas.  She will be dearly missed It's important to remember on election night don't be fooled by early returns They won't necessarily be reflective of how the race is going to end up Every state counts votes a little bit differently but in many states you'll see the Democrat will be up by a large margin at the beginning … With less than a handful of precincts still waiting to be counted the results of some races are becoming clear Scotts Bluff County and Nebraska cast ballots on Tuesday Tanya Storer of Whitman topped fellow Republican Tony Tangwall of Whitney who represents 11 northern and central counties to represent nine Panhandle counties that make up District 47 Scottsbluff resident Arianna Guel turns in her ballot and receives a voting sticker at the Elks Lodge in Scottsbluff on Election Night renewal of its 1.5% sales tax and LB 840 plan were the key issues on the ballot casting 2,938 votes in support of Proposition 1 and 1,781  votes opposed which sets aside a quarter of 1% or 1/6 of the 1.5% sales tax to fund the city's economic development program also was rubber stamped by voters with 3,393 opting to support the plan compared to 1,153 against Two seats on the Scottsbluff City Council were up for grabs as council members Jordan Colwell and Angela Scanlan chose not to run for re-election Earning spots on the council are Jerry Stricker Kassandra Lauder followed close behind with 1,764 votes and Selina Lerma Incumbents took the top spots in the Scottsbluff School Board race with Scott Reisig being the top vote-getter with 4,428 votes Beth Merrigan followed close behind at 4,296 votes and Paul Snyder will continue his tenure as the longest serving school board member after garnering 4,047 votes Challenger Reginald Preston earned 2,197 votes The Morrill and Mitchell School Boards also received healthy attention from voters in Tuesday's election Brad Helgerson (832) and Paul Pieper (788) will retain their seats on the board with voters electing Lenora Sue Gompert (501 votes) Jim Scott (412) and Joey Muhr (473) to fill vacancies on the board Candidates Nicholas Drysdale and Curtis McGabe received 267 and 382 votes With Minatare's mayor having stepped down earlier this year voting in former Minatare city clerk Carolyn Nelson to head city Voters cast 146 votes for Nelson and 104 for challenger Frank Costa The Mitchell City Council will see incumbent Douglas French joined by Gary Martin on the council French was the top vote-getter with 328 votes and Martin garnered 304 votes Challenger Kyle Kakuda received 235 votes to round out the contest All results are unofficial until canvassing is complete If you can't see results below, please tap here Use the pulldown menu to select your state legislative district 12:30 a.m. | Nebraska voters appeared to have decided Tuesday that workers deserve paid sick leave. nearly 75% of voters favored Initiative 436 which would create a new law that allows eligible employees to earn paid sick time for personal and family needs Paid sick time means time that is compensated at the same hourly rate as the employee typically earns during hours worked Attendees cheer as some results are shown from ballot measure 437 Initiative Legalize Medical Marijuana during an election night watch party for State Sen Tony Vargas at the Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel in Omaha on Tuesday 12:15 a.m. | Initiative 437, which decriminalizes marijuana prescribed by a medical professional, had received more than 71% of the vote when the Associated Press called the race just before midnight which establishes a regulatory commission and removes penalties for the prescription and sale of marijuana Although voters supported the measures on Tuesday the initiatives are still facing a court challenge that could jeopardize medical marijuana’s legalization | Nebraska voters approved a ballot measure to write the state’s current 12-week abortion ban into the state constitution It also allows for a stricter ban to be imposed The abortion restriction measure was one of two competing abortion measures to appear on the ballot The other measure would enshrine in the Nebraska Constitution the right to have an abortion until viability or later to protect the health of the pregnant woman Though there’s no defined time frame for viability Nebraska is the first state to carry competing abortion amendments on the same ballot since the U.S The Associated Press declared the initiative was approved at 1:02 a.m 10:08 p.m.  |  Democrat Kamala Harris won the electoral vote tied to Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. The sitting vice president defeated Republican and former President Donald Trump in the district centered on Nebraska’s largest city of Omaha and its surrounding suburbs The district has earned the nickname of Nebraska’s "blue dot" after having supported two other Democrats for president in the last 16 years — former President Barack Obama in 2008 and President Joe Biden in 2020 Deb Fischer speaks during the Republican election night watch party at the Beardmore Event Center in Bellevue on Tuesday 10:07 p.m. | AP Race Call: Republican Deb Fischer wins reelection to U.S. Senate from Nebraska Deb Fischer won a third term to represent Nebraska in the U.S Fischer won her previous two elections by wide margins in the deep-red state But she faced her toughest challenge yet in political newcomer Dan Osborn a mechanical engineer who appealed to voters by eschewing the major political parties and running as an independent Fischer successfully countered by leaning into support for former President Donald Trump The Associated Press declared Fischer the winner at 12:06 a.m House seat representing Nebraska's vast rural 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday Smith faced little challenge from Democrat Daniel Ebers of Lincoln That's in keeping with Smith's wins over the last several cycles; he ran unopposed in the 2016 election and won the next three elections with nearly 80% of the vote Smith is considered one of the most conservative members of Congress and represents one of the country's most conservative congressional districts 8:50 p.m. |  AP Race Call: Donald Trump wins the statewide vote in Nebraska and two electoral votes 8:24 p.m. |  AP Race Call: Donald Trump wins the 3rd Congressional District in Nebraska Pete Ricketts will be heading back to Washington after winning Nebraska's special two-year Senate election over Democratic challenger Preston Love Sen. Pete Ricketts wins Nebraska's special two-year US Senate election Mike Minzey assists voters with finding their precinct on a map of Gering at the Gering Civic Center on Election Day Among the volunteers helping Tuesday was Mike Minzey assisting voters with finding their precinct on a map of Gering at the Gering Civic Center on Election Day Minzey has been dressing up in attire from when Rutherford B "I've been doing this for 10-12 years," he said Polls will close at 7 p.m. Stay with the Star-Herald to watch as results roll in The Star-Herald will have a reporter on scene at the Scotts Bluff County Courthouse and reporters working to keep readers updated Creighton and Marcie Beals went to the polls together this morning at the Gering Civic Center Creighton and Marcie Beals went to the polls Tuesday morning at the Gering Civic Center both take an American Government class with Matt Salomon who they said prepared them for Election Day He also said if he wasn't sure about an issue or didn't feel totally prepared he didn't answer came home to vote for the first time at his precinct "I'd rather not vote than vote in the wrong way," Marez said Lund took American Government classes in high school but has stayed up to date on election debates and important issues so he can vote appropriately "I've tried to make as much of an education decision as possible," he said Voters fill out their ballots at the precinct at WNCC on Election Day Scotts Bluff County Clerk Kelly Sides and her team of full-time employees and volunteer poll workers are putting in the hours to make sure today’s election goes off without a hitch The clerk’s office only has five full-time employees and they’ve all had their hands full with record numbers of early voters Sides said that keeping the proceedings organized and efficient was a high priority with the office so busy “I believe some days I had four or five people in here at a time helping just at the counter and directing them to the booth and then showing them where the ballot box was and the exit door so that we could keep a flow going in one door and out the other,” Sides said Some of those workers are employees in other county offices who’ve pitched in to help during the election season It takes a large number of volunteers to adequately staff the county’s 24 polling places on Election Day each site would be staffed by five poll workers That means coordinating around 145 trained volunteers county-wide approximately halfway through the polling day Sides said everything was running smoothly She also said that voters have been friendly and courteous to her and her poll workers as a general rule “From the voters that I've seen in the precincts I've visited Sides expects that she’ll clock around 16 hours on Election Day alone and will be back in her office first thing tomorrow to get back to work The large Election Day turnout bolsters an already impressive number of early votes cast in the weeks leading up to the election Well over 5,100 early ballots were requested in Scotts Bluff County and a large number of those were processed right in the clerk’s office Sides said it wasn’t unusual for her office to process around 200 voters each day and Monday — the day before the election — saw 332 in-office voters alone the actual number of ballots processed on Monday was around 570 Sides said she is impressed with this year’s total voter turnout and she thinks it might even surpass the impressive turnout seen in 2020 Carmen Trevino and daughter Theresa work the polls at the Guadalupe Center in Scottsbluff on Election Day Carmen Trevino and daughter Theresa worked the polls at the Guadalupe Center in Scottsbluff on Election Day Carmen has been working polls for 47 years She does it partly for pride in her country but partly so she sees the people in her community Now it's a thing the mother-daughter duo can do together I had to stay home with my sister,” Theresa said Carmen said she knew family who were alive during the time that women were not allowed to vote so now being allowed to vote is another reason she continues to assist with the polling centers “It's a privilege to be able to vote,” she said “and I think it's important that as citizens So many people moan and groan and complain but I just think it's important to at least be able to express your voice.” Panhandle voters will be making determinations in the presidential race; ballot measures on abortion marijuana and school scholarships; two U.S Scottsbluff voters will be deciding on renewing the sales tax that supports the LB 840 program They'll also weigh city council and school board races voters will consider candidates for Mitchell City Council Morrill School Board and the Minatare mayor While more than 5,100 Scotts Bluff County votes took the opportunity to vote early Election Day polling places are expected to be brisk business today Don't forget your ID, as Nebraska experiences it's second election and first presidential election since Voter ID requirements went into place. Don't know your polling place? Visit here.  Voters in the City of Scottsbluff have seen some of their polling places change due to changes in districts and Minatare had a change in polling place announced last week Stick with the Star-Herald all day and all night to follow along as results roll in. Need to familiarize yourself with the issues? Visit starherald.com/election for articles we have run on the federal We've also included links to local races below Proposition 1 (Sales Tax Renewal) and Proposition 2 (LB 840) Scottsbluff City Council  Scottsbluff School Board Morrill School Board Mitchell School Board Mitchell City Council Minatare Mayor Panhandle Legislative Races We're always interested in hearing about news in our community Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter They won't necessarily be reflective of how the race is going t… Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account 04 Feb 2024 • 3m read • View Author Project-ready-Faucet-Strommen-Revit-library-1735025092.png Faucet Strommen Australia announces that an extensive, high quality Revit library for their products is now available via BIMcontent.com. Created to a consistent ‘industry best practices’ standard, our Revit families have been developed with the objective of finding a balance between visualisation output, functionality, ease of use, documentation quality, file size and performance in a Revit project environment. Faucet Strommen has partnered with Australia’s leading BIM Content specialists IGS Group (IGS BIM Solutions) to develop an extensive Revit library, which is free for designers to download from the Faucet Strommen website and via BIMcontent.com. The ‘project ready’ Faucet Strommen Revit library has been developed according to industry best practices, created with attention to detail in areas such as Family and Shared Parameters, 2D linework, Origin Points, Family/Type Naming, Product Data Integration, Reference Planes, application of Materials, Classification, and File Size. The library uses normal maps to represent fluting and knurling, includes 20 different finish options (types) in each family and incorporates PBR (‘Advanced’) materials, which were introduced in Revit 2019 and provide a higher quality, more accurate visualisation output in Revit and associated rendering applications. In addition to individual Revit families, the Faucet Strommen library includes a ‘Virtual Showroom’ (.RVT), loaded with all Families and Family Types. This Project File provides designers with an efficient way to download and browse the Revit library in its entirety, and to view how the families document, visualise and schedule consistently in a Revit project environment. Further recognising and accommodating varying Revit user preferences, the library is available to download in multiple versions of Revit (2019-23). A library of 2D and 3D CAD files is also available for users of AutoCAD and other 3D design programs. To ensure designers can access the library using workflows optimised for browsing and downloading BIM content, we are utilising IGS Group’s fast-growing BIM Content hosting platform, BIMcontent.com. In implementing the website integration feature of BIMcontent.com, we have ensured designers are able to experience the same optimised search, preview and download workflows on both the Faucet Strommen website and BIMcontent.com. This includes the ability to preview the 3D Revit geometry in the web browser, view parameter data, download specific versions of Revit content, and choose the type of Revit content download – Individual Revit Families, Product Range and Revit Format based ‘Collections’, Revit Project File (AKA, ‘Virtual Showroom’) or even a one-click ‘Download All’ option – catering to various user preferences. BOSS Pedestal Planner: Take the guesswork out of pedestal estimation Anston’s brand rejuvenation consolidates architectural products, streamlines operations Case study: Rifle Range Retrofit, Melbourne, VIC Sign up to our newsletter for the latest industry news, products and inspiration. Sunday, December 10, 2023 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM CST Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home Racine Location 803 Main St. Racine, WI 53403 (262) 634-7888 Driving Directions Sunday, December 10, 2023 3:00 PM CST Live Stream Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home Racine Location 803 Main St. Racine, WI 53403 (262) 634-7888 Driving Directions At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice daughter of the late John and Josephine (nee: Clement) Storck Aggie was employed with the Racine Motor Inn for over twenty years Aggie will be fondly remembered for cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers cribbage and pool at the Grobschmidt Senior Center Aggie will be best remembered for her sense of humor feisty spirit and her great love and devotion to her family Aggie will be dearly missed by her daughters Alyssa Koloske; 16 great grandchildren; 5 great-great grandchildren; nieces Aggie was also preceded in death by her three brothers Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Sunday December 10 with a service celebrating Aggie’s life to start at 3:00 p.m Private family interment will be held at St Jude Childrens Hospital or the charity of your choice have been suggested The family extends a special thank you to Aggie’s caregivers and to the Gentiva Hospice staff for their loving and compassionate care JavaScript is disabled. In order to use all of the features on meredithfuneralhome.com, enable JavaScript.Close 2021 Dnr Budget Request Summary by inforumdocs on Scribd How fair is all this grousing? To get an expert’s perspective on the matter, Slate spoke to Garrett Strommen, who runs a Los Angeles company that offers language lessons and dialect coaching Strommen has worked as an Italian dialect coach and consultant for TV and agreed to explain exactly what is going on with Gaga and Leto in House of Gucci Our conversation has been edited and condensed Heather Schwedel: Can you tell me about your background with Italian Garrett Strommen: I was born in the Midwest I moved to Italy when I was about 8 years old because we moved around a lot for my dad’s work and learned both Italian and the local Roman slang I lived in Italy for about eight years on and off I did middle school and high school all in Rome How did you get involved in dialect coaching I have an acting background. When I was living in Italy, when I was 16, I got cast in a major motion picture kind of out of the blue. I ended up flying down to Africa to shoot a film with Kim Basinger and Daniel Craig I actually worked with the dialect coach on that film And people would actually come to me; they knew I spoke Italian so friends and other actors would often lean on me for help with auditions or roles when I started teaching Italian and saw that there was a big demand for that I started advertising as a dialect coach as well and ended up getting a lot more work that way How would you summarize what you thought of the accents I would say that everybody for the most part brought positive things to their performances that her lines that she had in Italian were actually the best of any of the other actors She really nailed the lines that were in spoken Italian That kind of sways me to believe that there was a little more intention with her accent because I see that she has a command of the language itself and that she understands the mechanics and definitely put some effort and time into it A lot of the time she really gets the vowel sounds correct You have to kind of slow down and pronounce each one the way they’re pronounced in Italian [using an accent] “I get bored”: The vowels were all executed perfectly If you can’t roll or trill your Rs in Italian you’re going to sound American no matter what Rs in Italian are made the way you pronounce the letter D in English Your tongue just kind of lightly taps the gumline above your front teeth [Read: Is House of Gucci a Godfather-esque Epic or the Best Comedy of 2021?] Another thing she did well is when she pronounces her th- sounds Italians really struggle with that because they don’t have that aspirated th- sound and she at times would slip out of those perfect vowel sounds and say things like kill instead of keel She also had a very American-sounding H sound which is another sound Italians don’t usually use But she would often say the H words with a very natural American accent It’s pretty tricky not to slip into those American sounds when you’re so accustomed to saying those words a certain way especially when those vowel sounds are kind of hidden tacked onto consonants that we use all the time in English Another thing that came up was the fact that Italians they really love to use their hands and gesticulate I thought I would see a lot of people gesticulate the wrong way 50 different hand gestures that all mean something very unique But what I saw was that basically nobody gesticulated including her—there just wasn’t any gesticulation her accent conveyed an Italian spirit to me Adam’s accent was far less consistent than Gaga’s especially his vowel sounds—we call those vowel shifts when you have to change the vowel sounds—remained very American “I didn’t know” where didn’t should have been more of a deedn’t His H sounds also came off as kind of effortlessly American instead of sounding like somebody that was struggling to make an H sound—it should have kind of an awkwardness to it for Italian The most notable issue for him was that he didn’t really trill his Rs He says “very beautiful.” The R should be a tap on the tongue rather than being back in the middle of your mouth Italian for “thank you.” The thing is he said the version that when I meet someone who doesn’t speak any Italian where they drop that Italian E off the end There’s basically an -eh sound at the end of that: grat-zee-eh If you were somebody coming to me to just learn some basic conversational Italian that’s something we would pretty much cover in the first lesson just extremely stiff with the gesticulation But there was one moment where he put his hands together in the prayer formation because people don’t really think of that as a dialect coach but it’s an intrinsic part of the language Especially when they’re getting angry at each other or yelling at each other I’m looking at it on a level of consistency and his accent wasn’t really consistently Italian or American It’s not like he picked a level and stuck to it I noticed this with him too: When he was with certain actors it almost seemed like he nailed the accent better partly because you have that kind of parroting effect with people when you’re acting I’m almost upset about this one because he did so much right but then really kind of messed it up with one thing that he kept doing Italian is a language that requires you to really use your mouth and tongue If you don’t speak Italian normally and you’re speaking it properly your mouth should get tired in about five minutes He was maybe the the best at some things with that because at first I didn’t really even recognize him in his makeup part of what was so convincing was how much he used his hands and gesticulated I thought that was really convincing and authentic The big problem with him was another issue you run into with what Americans perceive Italian as being which is that most words have the accent on the second-to-last syllable We all know that kind of caricature of an Italian I’m Italian!” It’s the overemphasis of the tonic accent to sound quote-unquote Italian He even went so far sometimes to just add extra syllables to things He also overdid that in his spoken Italian He had some Italian lines that were pretty good I would have just recommended he tone it down because Italian is actually one of the most fluid and smooth languages It just kind of flows like water rather than going up and down and up and down I can’t recall which films he’s spoken Italian in before but I remember never being too impressed with Al Pacino’s Italian because his accented Italian was pretty good He correctly pronounced th- sounds the way Italians do repeatedly His consonants were nice and strong—his cadence was good He also incorporated that kind of Italian soul with the hand gestures It seemed like his natural accent and style slipped several times when he said “Come to my birthday party,” he said it with a very soft T that sounded like a D like “par-dee,” whereas in Italian that would have been “par-tee” with the trill He didn’t do a lot of trilling with his Rs Was there anyone else who stood out to you in the movie It just seemed like he completely dropped the accent I did pay a little attention to her performance There was one scene where she was on the TV and I noticed her accent wasn’t very good She took her time more than anybody else did with her vowels I would say she had one of the better accents I would say that definitely the worst is Jeremy Irons but I would say it’s almost like a tie between Al Pacino God—I can’t believe I’m saying this—Jared Leto but he really messed it up with that tonic accent And that’s why it was so frustrating for me But that could be part of the character choice just somebody who it’s a little bit of a funny guy Lady Gaga has talked a bit in interviews about how she wanted her character’s accent to reflect class differences and regional differences depending on who she was speaking to I definitely noticed a change when she was at that party the lunch at the ski slope with all of [Adam Driver’s character] Maurizio’s friends I did notice that that shift in that scene and certainly when she’s in the scenes at home I can see how maybe she pushed the accent a little bit more She also has talked about how she stayed in character for nine months What do you think of that as a strategy for getting the accent down I got the feeling that she’d been speaking a lot of Italian and practicing her Italian I think you might run into an issue if in character for nine months and you’re doing a few things incorrectly you might just be reinforcing something that’s not quite right I think anybody attempting to do an Italian-accented English should get as much of a command of the Italian language as possible Her accent got a lot of attention when Salma Hayek’s dialect coach from the film said she thought Lady Gaga sounded more Russian than Italian I think that that criticism might be in part due to some of the vowels not being crystal clear I can see where there’s something going on with some of the vowels where there’s a little bit of a fluctuation in the vowel sound that can give it the kind of sounds you get in Russian But it didn’t sound like a Russian accent to me which perhaps is based on the original Italian dialect that her character in real life spoke If you had been the dialect coach on this movie The biggest issues I saw were some actors not trilling their Rs Some people have a mental block where they think they can’t do it but sometimes it’s just a matter of replacing the R with a D and getting them accustomed to that You’re bringing me back to my high school Spanish classes but I hated speaking because I could not roll my Rs and you’ll hear that you in fact rolled your R we would have eliminated the American-sounding Rs but just reinforcing and reading over and over again and as if they were like a music sheet with Italian vowels Just practicing those vowel sounds over and over again until that’s all you see Those were the biggest issues that they ran into with the sounds the trilling of the Rs and the vowel sounds if you can then add in the extra heavy consonants where you need them then that just really kind of brings it all together is a native Minnesotan who has worked wildlife jobs in Hawaii The head of the Fish and Wildlife Division at Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources is retiring after five years on the job making way for the promotion of wildlife veterinarian Kelly Straka as the new chief DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen announced the personnel move Monday in a letter to agency staff. The outgoing division director, Dave Olfelt, will work at DNR part-time until March 2025 to help launch an electronic licensing system approved this year by the Legislature Strommen complimented Olfelt for a “long and distinguished career” at DNR that began in 1987 and included assignments as a field biologist and regional administrator in the section of wildlife and in the Parks and Trails division Strommen said Olfelt’s accomplishments included the continuation of an aggressive fight against chronic wasting disease in wild deer improving relationships with the fish bait industry and upgrading the status of native rough fish The federal agency wanted DNR to prove that logging on public hunting land was designed primarily to benefit wildlife Still simmering is a state investigation of the allegedly inappropriate logging The probe is being carried out by the Office of the Legislative Auditor and a public report is expected by year’s end Olfelt’s replacement, Straka, is a native Minnesotan who began her conservation career in DNR’s Shallow Lakes Program before journeying to various wildlife jobs in Hawaii, Michigan and Missouri. She was rehired by DNR in 2021 as the agency’s wildlife section manager. Starting July 4, she’ll be in charge of a $276 million budget in a division with 561 employees. “Kelly has a passion for public lands, mentoring people in the outdoors, supporting natural resource managers and building cross-disciplinary partnerships,” Strommen said. “These passions, combined with her commitment to the health of our fish and wildlife resources, make her a terrific fit.” Tony Kennedy is an outdoors writer covering Minnesota news about fishing, hunting, wildlife, conservation, BWCA, natural resource management, public land, forests and water. No Section Peek inside homes for sale in the Twin Cities area After falling behind 17-0 at halftime and being dominated most of the game the Bulldogs may have locked up a spot in the College Football Playoff News | Feb 20 Averages86 Yearling Bulls ……………………………………………………………. $9,38014 Two-Year-Old Bulls ……………………………………………………… $7,821 a yearling son of S R Silverado 083 that sold to Steppler Ranch of Culbertson sold to a commercial buyer from North Dakota for $16,000.Lot 1 sold to a commercial buyer from North Dakota for $15,000.Lot 12 sold to a commercial buyer from North Dakota for $14,500.Lot 13 sold to a commercial buyer from North Dakota for $14,500.Lot 14 sold to a commercial buyer from North Dakota for $14,000.Lot 24 sold to a commercial buyer from South Dakota for $14,000.Lot 64 sold to a commercial buyer from North Dakota for $13,500.Lot 21 sold to a commercial buyer from North Dakota for $13,500 We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Online streaming is available upon family\u0027s request held within our funeral home chapel \u003ca href=\"/resources/webcast-viewing-instructions\"\u003eRead More\u003c/a\u003e The family of Tina Marie Strommen created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories © 2025 Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home and Crematorium Made with love by funeralOne The former mayor of Ramsey is the first woman to hold the post. The first female commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources is a problem solver, consensus builder, clean water champion, lake cabin owner and fishing enthusiast who vows to deepen the connections Minnesotans have to the outdoors. Sarah Strommen, who was picked over incumbent Tom Landwehr to shepherd the state's land, lakes and wildlife, was appointed Thursday and will take control of the agency Monday after serving four years as an assistant DNR commissioner overseeing fishing, hunting, wildlife, state parks and trails. "She's excellent at items of high concern,'' said Ramsey Mayor John LeTourneau. "She'll do great.'' Strommen, 46, preceded LeTourneau as mayor of that Anoka County suburb — a hands-on position that many say boosted her suitability to lead the DNR's 2,700 employees and $1.1 billion biennial budget. Gov.-elect Tim Walz said he had never met Strommen until he interviewed her for the job. He jettisoned Landwehr, a personal friend, to give Strommen the reins. "She knows the ins and outs of the department,'' Walz said. "She spoke with a passion that spoke to me.'' Strommen is a new face to the general public, but she's been a natural resources professional in her home state for a decade. She was policy director at Friends of the BWCA; associate director at Minnesota Land Trust; and acting deputy director for the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, another state agency. She joined the DNR in 2015. "She listens first and tries to understand,'' said Kris Larson, executive director of the Minnesota Land Trust. "But she's a doer. She gets things done.'' Gov. Mark Dayton leaned on Strommen to clean up polluted surface water in farm country by teaming her with others to develop his agricultural buffer strip initiative. She also has helped steer millions of special tax dollars to conservation projects as the DNR's liaison to the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. Larson said Strommen's intricate knowledge of state government translated into speedy work of high quality. "If she's got a superpower it's that she can suspend time,'' Larson said. "She gets so much done.'' On the home front, that includes weekends at the family cabin on Leech Lake, where her 12-year-old son hones skills useful to his Bassinators Junior Fishing Club. She recently caught perch with him on Leech Lake's ice. But Strommen said she was blanked on this year's family deer hunt in the rough and hilly Paul Bunyan State Forest. "It's so much a part of my family and my family's experience,'' Strommen said of the outdoors. "I would say that angling is my first love.'' Strommen grew up in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood, where her parents taught history at Macalester College. She spent five years at St. Paul Academy and graduated from St. Paul Central High School. She completed two years of postgraduate environmental work at Duke University and studied birds in Costa Rica under a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2000, she and her husband, Jon Strommen, moved to Ramsey. She was drawn into local politics by challenging the city's plans for a housing development in their neighborhood. That led to seven years on the City Council and two turns at mayor. LeTourneau said Strommen's ability to bring people together delivered Ramsey's first major transportation change in 65 years. It addressed congestion and safety on the city's all-important Hwy. 10 corridor. LeTourneau said the plan required a lot of listening to public concerns in atmospheres conducive to open discussion. "City councils before her … would kick the can down the road,'' LeTourneau said. Strommen was re-elected mayor but gave up her seat last May to move into the home in Plymouth where her husband grew up. The couple and their son have two dogs. Strommen's appointment was welcomed by Pheasants Forever, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, Friends of the Boundary Waters, other conservation groups and leaders of natural resources committees in the state House and Senate. Eran Sandquist, Minnesota state coordinator for Pheasants Forever, said the new commissioner comes from a strong conservation background and has always relied on science to guide her decisions. Craig Engwall, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, said he remembers when Strommen stepped in more than a year ago to appease hunters rankled by a lack of transparency in the DNR. "There was a lot of frustration. … She was very good about making sure they would communicate better,'' Engwall said. State Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, and state Rep. Rick Hansen, D-South St. Paul, both contacted Strommen to personally congratulate her. The two men chair Senate and House committees that decide policy and funding related to natural resources. "I think Minnesotans are going to like her,'' Hansen said. "She'll bring her ideas and her skills and her problem solving.'' Starting Monday, the state's 500,000 deer hunters will look to her for answers on how to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease in deer. She also inherits a high-stakes battle over proposed copper-nickel mining on the edge of the BWCA and faces worrisome declines in hunting and fishing participation. "If hunters and anglers decline, who is going to fund our conservation work?'' Strommen said. "Even more broadly, who is going to care if people don't have that connection'' to the outdoors? History, Interior Design, Renovate by | Jun 2015 The story of 980 Shady Lane unfolds through black-and-white photographs and the colorful memories of those who once lived in the Wayzata home Albums hold pictures that display snippets of the house’s history: Children dressed as cowboys and Indians performing plays during the family’s annual Wild West Days; and families and guests playing yard games relaxing in the embrace of Lake Minnetonka’s shores It was a place where the full arc of family life stretched through generations—from births to closing chapters of lives lived in pastoral light of Shady Lane And it all began with a man seeking respite from a hurried city life there had been talk of a wonderful lake west of [Minneapolis] accessed by a muddy trail,” Winthrop Eastman “To escape the hustle and bustle of the growing city Henry Welles visited the lake and decided to acquire property for summer retreats and getaways.” The property remained in the family for generations and a new home replaced the original house in 1936 when a caretaker/carriage house was also built inherited the property (Dain later sold her interest to the elder Eastman) Chippewa for “home for all,” and it more than lived up to its moniker so many times there were parties and just gatherings of family and guests,” Winthrop Eastman says Part of the lawn gave way to an expansive garden created around the time of the Great Depression It produced a bounty of vegetables and fruits “I remember so vividly the gauze bags she would fill with berries or grapes and then hand-squeeze them letting the juices run into pots for making jams and jellies Her hands were stained red and purple for days afterward.” The home’s living room includes an open floorplan to the kitchen too—yielding perfect projectiles for young boys hiding near the stone entrance gates “The large square section of the gates is actually hollow,” Eastman says we would gather up tomatoes from the garden hide inside the gate and toss the tomatoes at passing cars but we were never caught because no one ever figured the gates were hollow.” liberation from dawn to dusk in the summertime “The lake grants you a free backyard of literally thousands of acres of playground and adventure,” Eastman says “As a youth without a driver’s license get into my 16-foot rowboat with its seven-horsepower outboard motor I’d meet up with my friends around the lake who also had boats and we would explore the far reaches and bays of Minnetonka Eastman enjoyed treasured spaces within the main house and it was always ready for sleepovers when friends would come,” he says the sun began to set over the family’s time at 980 Shady “My mother became ill with Parkinson’s and eventually had to move to the Hillcrest nursing home,” Eastman says my father would pick her up and bring her home to 980 for the day returning her often just after supper if not before A front view of Shady Lane’s rebuilt house Historical photo courtesy of the Strommen Family he and his siblings divided the inherited property into three parcels “My brother took the lot on the east (his widow sold it after his death) I took the middle lot (where Margie Kinney now lives) and my sister [Marilyn Eastman Kingman] took the house and property it sits on.” Though Kingman wanted to live in the home she and her husband had settled in another residence not far away had been a helper to my dad for a number of years and was quite the local bon vivant bachelor,” Eastman says so we offered him the chance to live there.” “It’s literally the best address in the state as far as I’m concerned.” Crear lived at Shady Lane alone through the winter of 1976 but then the Eastman children decided they wanted to rent out the home Crear enlisted five other guys to divide the $800 a month in rent “We’d hand them out to anybody,” Crear says easily rattling off the home’s old phone number starting a short series of new owners and a four-year period of vacancy until the house was again put on the market in 2012 a Realtor friend of Jay and Heather Strommen called the couple about the enticing deal on Lake Minnetonka Even though the Strommens weren’t currently looking to leave their Deephaven home “The second I put my hand on the doorknob and walked in I imagined walking in hundreds of times,” Strommen says and visions of her daughters’ weddings danced in her head moved into the carriage house in March 2012 where they lived for two years while the main house was reconstructed “The carriage house is so ridiculously cute I was worried that when we moved in [to the main house] I wouldn’t want to leave it,” Strommen says The main house’s floorplan didn’t suit the Strommens’ more casual lifestyle “It was a formal set-up and choppy,” Strommen says but the couple knew they wanted to maintain the vintage essence of the home “We really loved how beautiful it was,” Strommen says and we didn’t want to mess with that.” To help drive the vision, they enlisted the help of Jon Monson’s Landschute Group “Jon just fell in love with the house,” Strommen says “I could have handed the keys to Jon and said Monson mirrored the Strommens’ desire to preserve the home “Our commitment to breathing new life into vintage homes on and around the lake is unique,” he says “It is much easier to tear down and start from scratch we are losing homes with great stories of the past I want to do what is possible to keep those stories alive.” Since the home was vacant for about four years there was some interior damage from neglect which had surreptitiously left their own kind of calling cards we took the structure down to the bare bones and rebuilt according to a design which provided for the Strommens’ needs,” Monson explains adding the plan included replacing “details and character that would fit with the original design.” The main house was completed in 2014 A Mona Bina plaque now extends its welcome over the front threshold even first-time visitors are blanketed in warmth and calm with the assistance of the Sitting Room in Excelsior The 6,693-square-foot main house features four bedrooms which opens to the living room and a sitting area is supplemented by a walk-in pantry and an enviable butler pantry lined with lit cabinetry A spacious home office and a cozy den are tucked off the main living area features an angled entry to showcase another view of the lake The second level’s standout might be “the Oval Office,” a wide hallway off the master bedroom that features a circular single-shelf bookcase rimming the ceiling with vintage titles in gentle blue The attic has been transformed into the boys’ quarters built-in queen-size beds and dressers read practical and classic A television/gaming area is tucked under the angled ceiling The basement’s walls and ceiling are covered in red brick an unexpected treatment that avoids a feeling of heaviness while presenting a vintage finish A bar area and pool table paired together give a masculine feel The single-car garage was transformed into a cabinet-lined storage area and a porte-cochère was added to enhance the exterior What is truly beautiful about the home is not just the stunning lake view that stretches across the back of the home (“It’s like watching moving art,” Strommen says) the Nantucket-influenced décor or the open floor plan that embraces intimate spaces suitable for conversations à deux or reading for one Loveliness weaves through the home with memories—the original home’s brass-ringed skeleton keys are preserved in a frame a 980 Shady calling card is framed for posterity (or infamy!) and an original Welles Eastman floor safe holds love letters between two high-school sweethearts—the Strommens Winthrop Eastman has visited the Strommens but apart from yarns about the family celebrations and childhood hijinks he wanted the family to know something else “He was really intent on letting us know there was a lot of love here,” Strommen says Eastman has given the home’s renovation a nod of approval “There are not words sufficient to describe it,” Eastman says I honor the fact that the Strommens elected to restore the place rather than tear it down and build anew.” his family served as stewards along the storied shores of Lake Minnetonka “The Andersons raised a fine family there and so did the Harrises—all benefitted from everything that location had to offer my brother raised his family of three kids there and the Kinney family has enjoyed their place to this day Visit Heather Strommen’s blog about 980 Shady Lane More than 28,000 viewers have visited the site and people seem to be really interested in this house,” she says Sign up for our newsletter and receive email updates with our top stories , , , , © Copyright 2026 Local. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy Read the May 2025 Lake Minnetonka Magazine Digital Edition            The Jill-of-all-trades is the voice and eye behind @SweetShadyLane on Instagram where she serves design inspiration from her colonial Lake Minnetonka home Like many creatives, Heather Strommen is a Jill-of-all-trades. Some of you may know her on Instagram as the voice and eye behind @SweetShadyLane where she serves design inspiration from Mona Bina a series of bundled decorative objects curated by Strommen to help others create stylized moments in their homes an online marketplace filled with collected I love your signature Northeast coastal style so I’m inspired by anything that elicits emotion I’m not too concerned with whether or not they are “in style.” They bring me joy and elevate a room by adding character and charm and it can be hard for me to resist a new line of swatches Do you attract clients rooted in the same nautical vibe I seem to attract clients who want the same traditional feeling that Mona Bina elicits—which is so fun for me I’m currently working on a living room in Nantucket What are your tips for juxtaposing the old with the new The secret to creating an emotional home is to add in the old Antiques elevate the story you are trying to tell you’re adding a sense of depth and nostalgia a bamboo chair (to update with a fabric slipcover) and vintage trinkets—I love setting brass ducks and nautical touches on top of books What are your favorite local antique shops Strommen blends antique treasures and coastal collectibles that tell a story—like seashells—with different textiles and fabrics to elevate Mona Bina Any suggestions for giving a space a new personality The smallest modifications—updating picture frames or swapping older pillows for new ones—can create such a significant emotional response to how you see and live in your space These little transformations ignite creativity while taking a photo for Instagram to highlight the various vignettes around my house I created the boxes for those who may need help accessorizing their homes The boxes help create an instant design moment—for a mantel they make for perfect wedding or birthday gifts I hope that the simple art of setting a table will provide new opportunities for self-expression As Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s Trend & Style editor Madeline Nachbar draws on her passion for travel fashion and the arts to keep a close pulse on what the next big trends are and excels at creating visually-compelling content that inspires Key Enterprises LLC is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for mspmag.com for people with disabilities. 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