Year in Review

July 2019

  • A semi tipped on state Highway 30 just west of Woodstock due powerful straight line winds on July 20. No injuries were sustained during the accident.

  • John Amdahl is flanked by Mark Dahl (left) and his brother, Scott Dahl. The brothers purchased the dealership from Amdahl, whose last day was July 31.

  • Pipestone native and World War II fighter pilot Boyd Sorenson received France’s Legion of Honor medal, the highest distinction that France can bestow upon those who have achieved remarkable deeds for France.

  • Over the course of 2019, the Central School building was being demolished from the inside out.

  • Daniel Pratt, a photographer/archaeologist, took historic photographs prior to the dismantling of old exhibits in preparation for the new in the Visitor Center hallway at Pipestone National Monument.

  • Ian Cunningham of Pipestone testified before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on soil health.

Near hurricane winds 

The weather was in the news again as a period of hot and muggy air broke Saturday morning, July 20, with thunderstorms that packed powerful, straight-line winds that knocked out power and downed trees and branches. In the city of Pipestone, the National Weather Service received a reading from the monitor at the Pipestone Municipal Airport of a 71 mph wind gust at 8:12 a.m. Hurricane-force winds start at 74 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center.

City rejects revised evacuation plan for mobile home park

•The Pipestone City Council once again rejected the emergency evacuation plan drafted by the Georgia owner of the Prairie View Mobile Home Park, located on the city’s southeast side. The first plan left residents to fend for themselves in the case of an emergency. The revised plan directed park residents to the Pipestone Municipal Airport building located across U.S. Highway 75 from the mobile home park. That plan had problems of its own, including that the owner never asked the city if the airport could be used for a shelter.

Monument exhibits documented before being replaced

•Two and three-dimensional documentation was being conducted at Pipestone National Monument’s Visitor Center in preparation for the new exhibits and changes to some of the building’s historic features. The two dimensions were being rendered through black and white photographs, the three dimensions with laser scanning technology. Both were documenting what the space looked like prior to being dismantled.

Extension granted for demolition of Central School

•Pipestone County commissioners granted contractor DRC, Inc. a 90-day extension to finish the demolition of Central School, making the new target completion date Sept. 20. A change order approved by county commissioners on June 25 indicated that the project was delayed “due to the harsh winter and continuing wet weather conditions during this spring.” Another extension would later give the contractor until December to complete the project.

Pipestone native receives French medal

•About 125 people looked on as the Legion of Honor medal, France’s highest distinction, was pinned to the lapel of Boyd W. Sorenson, a Pipestone native and World War II fighter pilot. The Consul General of France to the Midwest region, Guillaume Lacroix, officially presented the medal during a July 1 ceremony in Waite Park in the apartment building where Sorenson, 97, lived.

Fish and chips truck opens

•Ericka Jackson brought southern-style, soul-food seafood specialties to Pipestone with her newly-opened Fish and Chips food truck. 

Quarry Twin owners move to Ohio

•Jennifer Bolden, who purchased the former Quarry Twin Theatre property at a tax-forfeiture auction in May, had since accepted a position as manager of a Dollar General store in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to that city. Bolden said by phone that her husband, Jimmy Bolden still planned to restore the former Quarry Twin building even though the couple no longer lives in Pipestone.

Cunningham speaks to Congress about conservation

•The Congressional Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry had held a public hearing on June 25 on the conservation and economic benefits of healthy soils, and Pipestone’s Ian Cunningham was one of the five people invited to testify. His testimony on the importance of soil health came as secretary-treasurer of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD).

Amdahl Motors sold

•After 81 years of operation in Pipestone under the Amdahl name, Amdahl Motors has been sold to Scott and Mark Dahl.

New doctor joins PCMC

•Dr. Dustin Stewart would join Pipestone County Medical Center in August as a family medicine general practitioner.

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