Gretta Stark
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Gretta Stark has been a reporter for the River Falls Journal since July of 2013. She previously worked as a reporter for the New Richmond News from June 2012 to July 2013. She holds a BA in Print and Electronic Media from Wartburg College.
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The River Falls Public Library hosts a gingerbread contest each year in December. The winners were declared last week and include: Youth Traditional: 1st place - Ellen Somerville 2nd place - Anika Hovland Graham Cracker: 1st place - Emmett Matter 2nd place - Hailey Perfect Adult Traditional: 1st place - Jill Wurdell (also People's Choice Winner) 2nd place - Kim Kiiskinen Youth Whimsical: 1st place - Sebastien Bowden 2nd place - Harvey Bowden Adult Whimsical: 1st place (tie) - Roseanne Olsen
The Hudson City Council had a very young visitor during its Dec. 4 regular meeting. Dressed in a pink dress with a tiara and sash, 6-year-old Izzy Kramber introduced herself. "Big things come in small packages," she said, introducing herself. "And that's very true for this little firecracker ..." She told the council she loves to dance and make people smile. She is the 2017 National American Miss Wisconsin Princess. She shared a speech she had prepared for the competition with the council, inspired by the words of Dr. Seuss.
Writing a book has been a lifelong dream for Linda James. "It was always just something I wanted to do," she said. "I didn't know if I would really do it. I hoped that I would do it." About 15 months ago, she began working to make that dream a reality. And as of Oct. 11, James' dream had officially come true. She's published a book titled "The Space in Between." Set in 1968 in the fictional town of Springville, Minnesota, "The Space In Between" tells the story of a 10-year-old girl, Anna Hendricks, and her family.
River Falls and other firefighters and emergency responders were sent to the scene of a structure fire near N7521 Highway 65, in the town of River Falls, Saturday morning, Nov 11. Firefighters were called before 6:20 a.m. At around 7:50 a.m., those driving by could see smoke coming from the address on HIghway 65. Law enforcement redirected traffic around the many emergency vehicles at the scene of the fire. More information will be added as it becomes available.
Hudson resident August Hoffman runs a community vegetable garden with students. The foods produced are donated to local food centers and food pantries. "This time of year we also visit several apple orchards in Wisconsin and Minnesota," Hoffman said, "and the leftover apples are harvested by our students and donated to local food centers." Originally from Los Angeles, California, Hoffman has lived in Hudson for about 10 years, and teaches psychology at Metropolitan State University.
Sofie Daniels just celebrated her 18th birthday. Eighteen is a big milestone in Belgium, where Daniels is from, and her host mom Mona Schomas said Daniels has been very excited about it. In fact, Daniels' birthday came in the middle of a group of milestone birthdays for the Schomas family. Daniels, a Rotary exchange student, said she was matched with the North Star Rotary District, which includes Hudson, when she was deciding to take an exchange trip to the U.S. The Schomas family is her first host family, she said. "They're really nice," Daniels said.
Each Hudson elementary school is receiving as part of the Health Action book clubs. The "Health Action book clubs" are brought to Hudson through a partnership linking the Hudson School District with the Hudson Hospital Foundation and the Little Free Library nonprofit organization.
A new Hudson High School construction timeline was reviewed by the Hudson Board of Education at the end of September. The construction management firm Kraus-Anderson has made progress on the school's interior renovations and additions and developed the new construction timeline based on the scope of work. The new construction timeline or phasing plan is posted on the school district's website under the construction tab. Auditorium progress
Those walking along Main Street Saturday, Oct. 21, will see more than the usual offerings in 16 local businesses. Those businesses are hosting a combined total of 26 artists for the River Falls Community Arts Base (CAB)'s annual Main Street Art Crawl, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 "It's a special time to patronize local businesses and see the work of our wonderful River Falls area artists while getting in some early Christmas shopping," said CAB president Steve Preisler.
Though he isn't from Romania, Hudson resident Nick Motu has been a part of the Romanian community his entire life. His father was an Orthodox Priest in South St. Paul. The church, he said, was a real center for the Romanian community in South St. Paul. "My whole childhood, and young adult experience... was around immigrants that came from Romania," he said. "Not a summer went by without somebody visiting from Romania, or temporarily staying with my parents until they got a job and acclimated to the country."