Kiger's Notebook

Old-style Five and Dime + Rushford

People kept asking Marlene Bellock when the Rushford store she managed, About a Buck, would re-open after the flood.

She grew tired of telling them it wasn’t re-opening, so she decided to open her own store on Rushford’s Jesse Street.

“I knew there was a need. I decided to take the chance.” says Bellock.

Variety Plus will be more than a dollar store, though much of her stock in 2,500-square-foot showroom will cost around a dollar.

It should open in a few weeks.

Bellock didn’t just buy the one store, she also bought the one next to it. It is slated to house a floral shop, antiques and gathering spot for people who love crafts and sewing. It is Bellock's dream to help teach young girls who to sew, since that skill is not being taught much anymore.

Staffing the family-owned business should not be hard. Bellock has 10 children and 23 grandchildren. Two granddaughters will work there this summer.

Rushford bank re-opens today

Here's a tidbit from Rushford written by roving reporter John Weiss:

The snow predicted for today makes a certain amount of sense to Jeanne Feldmeier because, to her, today is Christmas.

Feldmeier manages Rushford’s branch of Associated Bank where August’s flood left about 2 feet of water in the bank’s main level. About two weeks later, the bank reopened in its small drive-up building across Minnesota Highway 42 from the century-old main building and workers began to tear apart the insides of the main building to rebuild it.

Today it opened to the public for the first time since the flood.

“This is like Christmas for us,” she said. “We’re walking around with smiles on our faces.” The grand opening week will be April 21-25 and the bank will celebrate with a donation of $1,000 to the Rushford food shelf.

Customers will notice a radically different look. It’s more modern, with a handicapped-accessible teller counter and new flooring, walls and colors, Feldmeier said. The bank had planned on redecorating this summer. However, what happened over winter is much more than redecorating, it’s a completely new inside.

The bank is another sign Rushford is mending, she said. She estimates 60 percent of businesses have now reopened. The local lefse business is back and car dealers.

“They want to get back and get going again,” Feldmeier said.

Hormel + China

Hormel plus China = innovation, Here's a press release Austin-based Hormel Foods sent out this morning:

Hormel Foods Corporation, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers and marketers of consumer-branded meat and food products, today announced that it has opened an Idea and Innovation Center in China. The new center, which opened today, is devoted to creating innovative new products for Chinese consumers.

The 5,000-square-foot Idea and Innovation Center is adjoined with the Hormel Foods processing facility in the Baoshan District of Shanghai. The Center will facilitate the entire creative process, from ideation to testing and manufacturing, and includes a sensory panel room for evaluation of products as well as a fully-functional duplicated plant.

“This new facility represents the future of Hormel Foods, combining local expertise, a heritage of innovation and 116 years of quality,” said Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer, Hormel Foods. “Our local meat experts will work closely with our Research and Development team in the United States as they lead this facility and guide the innovative process.”

The Center will serve Hormel Foods facilities in both Beijing and Shanghai, and will be overseen by Rubin Lin, research and development manager for China, and Mike Forbes, manager of production for China.

“As we continue to grow internationally, it is essential we adapt to changing local tastes, cultures and lifestyles,” said Richard A. Bross, president, Hormel Foods International Corporation. “The new Idea and Innovation Center in China will help us build our diversified product portfolio and better serve our Chinese customers.”

Hormel Foods has established a significant presence in Asia with business ventures in China, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and most recently, Vietnam. In 2007, Shanghai Hormel Foods was named one of China’s Top Employers for 2007, and Hormel Foods was designated as the processed meats supplier to the Training Bureau of China State Sports, where the Chinese Olympic athletes train.

Game on, Flame on

Game on.

After handing over the necessary money, the Rochester Fire basketball team will play Friday.

Expect a tip-off against the St. Louis Stunners at the Mayo Civic Center, says a Civic Center official.

It came down to the last minute with the financially-troubled American Basketball Association team making the payment at 2 p.m. today, right at the deadline set by the civic center.

Look for more on this story in Friday’s Post-Bulletin.

Co-op + downtown Rushford

Here's a quick news brief about a co-op office in Rushford hit by the August flooding:

Tri-County Electric Cooperative is back at work in downtown Rushford.

It is now working out of a construction trailer behind its flood damaged headquarters. It was displaced by this summer’s historic flooding that devastated much of Rushford.

Since the flooding, Tri-County has been operating out of the lounge in the Rushford Municipal Airport.

Tri-County is an electric cooperative that covers five Minnesota counties – Olmsted, Winona, Houston, Mower and Fillmore - and three Iowa counties – Howard, Winneshiek and Allamakee. It provides electricity to more than 12,000 services in the area

St. Charles Child Care re-opened

St. Charles Child Care, owned by Vicky Pagel who also owns the recently opened Endless Journey Child Care near the Rochester airport, just re-opened its doors following its flood clean-up.

Pagel cited the help of many people in the community as to how she re-open in just two weeks.

She opened Endless Journey on the Tuesday after the flooding.

If the flooding and opening a new business weren't enough, she also fell and broke her wrist. It is all screwed back together now.

Flood damage + RAB contractors

The Rochester Area Builders Association has a contractors fair coming up to help people with flood damage connect with licensed, reptuable contractors. It is sceduled for Sept. 8 at Mayo High School.

Another one will be held in a month or so in the Rushford area.

I have more on this in today's paper.

New daycare open, old one flooded

What was planned to be a good week for Vicki Pagel, the owner of St. Charles Child Care in St. Charles and
the new Endless Journey Child Care center by the Rochester International Airport, went bad as fast as the flood waters rose.

Endless Journey was slated to open Monday. It did open on Tuesday. The pics are from June and December.

Pagel's St. Charles center was hit by the flood as was her elderly mother's possessions. The Pagels also has a camper in Elba, which washed away.

While checking out the damage at the St. Charles site, she fell and broke her wrist.

So Endless Journey is operating and I think the clients from St. Charles are now taking their kids there.

Reporter Jeff Hansel will have the full story on this for Thursday's print edition.