It’s that time of the year again when the Patriot re-visits some of the top stories we featured in the 2024 calendar year.
General News
A year after detecting a leak of tritiated water from its Monticello Nuclear Generating Station, Xcel Energy in January recovered the majority of the tritium released and completed actions to contain the leaked water — about 7 million gallons from the ground and lowered groundwater tritium concentrations at the site by more than 90%.
Becker resident Troy Verley parlayed his love of cooking into a delectable experience for his clients when he opened himself for business in January as an executive chef for fine diners.
A large crowd turned out to participate in the Orrock Twp. Annual Meeting in March, as well as to attend the town hall open house and check out the newly-constructed building.
Daisy Kent of Becker sidestepped and withdrew in the final rose ceremony of the Bachelor TV show in March and finished second to Kelsey Anderson in the hopes of capturing the heart of Joey Graziadei.
Back for a second year, the Clearwater Library once again hosted a Tiny Art Show throughout the month of April featuring miniature works of art created by area library patrons.
Becker Middle School Principal Chantel Boyer was named the Central Division Principal of the Year by the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals in May.
Monday, May 17, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) visited Big Lake to celebrate $1.8 million in federal funding she helped secure for The Wave Youth Center to build a new facility that will allow them to expand their services.
Ryan Agnew and Brandon Hines embarked on a 10,000-mile road trip on their motorcycles in July. They ended their trip of 35 days+ at Sturgis in early August for the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally.
Gold Star Mother, Stella Huso, 105 died in August, leaving behind a legacy of community service.
A record amount of funds were raised at the Clearwater Heritage Festival in August by the Clearwater Legion Riders in their annual’ Homeless Vets Run with all proceeds going to helping veterans.
In September, Stephen Clayton was formally recognized as Becker Evangelical Free Church’s new Preaching Pastor.
The owners of Lee’s Tree Farm in Becker had to make a difficult decision in December of placing their festive-colored trees behind fences due to a rash of thefts the last few years.
Politics
Bryan Lawrence of Baldwin Twp. asked the Orrock Town Board in February to lend their support to Baldwin’s efforts to become a city.
Approximately 70 area Republicans met at Becker Intermediate School in March, where local party leaders announced the rules and procedures for the evening. Approximately a dozen Democrats met at Becker High School and started the process of bringing forward resolutions to eventually be included in the party’s platform.
The Clear Lake City Council met in May and took action to formalize the process for exploring the building of a new Fire Hall.
St. Cloud/Clearwater RV Park owners Eldon and Mary Peterson graciously hosted the quarterly meeting of the Clear Valley Business Connection Thursday, July 11.
SEIU Becker 726’s bargaining team met in August to discuss their stalemate with the local school district.
On October 16, the Sherburne County Association of Townships (SCAT) said goodbye to Baldwin Twp. Having incorporated into a city, this was the last SCAT meeting in which Baldwin was eligible to participate.
In November, Mark Kolbinger was elected to be Becker’s Mayor after receiving the majority votes in the race with Tracy Bertram. Donald Trump won the presidency.
Becker Police Chief Brent Baloun is retiring at the end of the year but plans to stay in the community he has served for 18 years.
Sports News
Two brothers who were fishing on Ann Lake last January, fell into open water and had to be rescued by Firefighters from the Zimmerman/Livonia Fire District.
For the first time in Big Lake’s school history, three dancers made all-state in January. Freshman Morgan Panek, junior Victoria Lundquist, and senior Rowan Payne were the three that were selected.
Bulldog basketball star, Lexi Rose scored her 1,000th career point in February against Princeton.
The Becker Bulldog gymnastics team captured the MSHSL Class A State Gymnastics Championship in March. Becker scored 143.575 points, breezing by second place Watertown-Mayer (142.250) to win the program’s first title.
Becker placed co-third in the MSHSL State AA Team Tournament in wrestling in March.
Becker Baseball received a well-deserved honor in May as Senior Captain Kellan Graning was named to the North Metro All Star roster, playing in the state’s All-Star Series.
Seven-year-old Eleanor Stanley of Zimmerman hosted a “watch party” at Willy’s on the Water in Big Lake in June to celebrate her appearance on local TV.
Five Big Lake track and field athletes took part in the Class AA State Championships in June, coming with four gold medals. They included Jack Leuer, Owen Layton, Tayla Glassman and the 4x400 relay team of Caleb Kennedy, Layton, Josh Kennedy and Leuer.
The Becker Blast 12U Columbia girls softball captured the state title in the 12U, Tier 5 State Tournament hosted by Moorhead June 29-30.
Long-time Becker amateur baseball player Deron Trovall retired in July from the sport he had pursued since his first game playing for the Luxemburg Brewers in 1983.
The Becker Bulldogs — finishing at 13-0 — took down the mighty Totino-Grace Eagles in November to capture the Class 4A state title in football.
