So long 2016. Welcome 2017. It’s time again to look back over 2016 at the events that shaped the year. Here we’ve chosen stories that had the most impact -- or received the most attention.

 

Jake Miller, a 2002 graduate of Becker High School, became an inventor, entrepreneur, designer and a company owner of Fellow, a San Francisco manufacturer selling unique coffee steepers,  kettles and non-traditional coffee mugs. He began a Kickstart campaign last year and in six days his project raised $193,402 from over 2,700 supporters.

 

Jenny Bjorlin of Becker Twp. is a quilter and over the years has made quilts for her kids for Christmas, her daughter and new husband as a wedding gift and making quilts for the Quilts of Valor foundation, whose mission is to cover service members and veterans touched by war.

 

Sara Robbins, Becker, helped lead the St. Cloud State University Dance Team to a national title Jan. 17 at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship in Orlando, FL.

 

Susana Elizabeth Acosta (Susana Kuehne), 25, of Becker  wrote her first book (Tamed Lightning) in 2012 and had it published in 2014 by a local publisher in the Twin Cities.  She said she’d love to get her book into a big chain like Barnes & Noble or even some local bookstores, but she hasn’t had the opportunity yet, so she’d like to spark some excitement in my community so they will look forward to the upcoming books in the series.

 

Pastor Brian Cole of Faith Free Church in Stanley, WI, paid an exuberant visit to Becker Baptist Church to explain his childhood, his life of addictions, satanism and crime and his newfound walk with God.

 

Shirley Cox, 83, who for years had seen the branches of her family tree extend to higher elevations year-in and year-out, promised she would “stay alive” until she saw for herself her 100th descendent. Last January, that 100th descendent came into the world in the form of a great grandson named Abel.

 

Lt. Gov. Tina Smith convened a meeting in Becker last April, focusing on the importance of ensuring that Minnesotans have reliable, affordable broadband internet access. 

Jen Callahan of Becker was featured on the CMT TV program, Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge in April.

 

Mike Garland spent five months last summer walking the Pacific Coast trail in order to raise awareness and funds for the Becker Relay for Life organization is support of the American Cancer Society.

 

Becker Sophomore Morgan Meyer held her first Cystic Fibrosis Walk in May in the Becker Fieldhouse to raise money to create and spread awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.

 

Pebble Creek Golf Course in Becker hosted their first-ever  community concert in July that featured a Central Minnesota band called Outside Recess, and local legend Chris Hawkey of KFAN Radio fame.

 

Reports of bears roaming the backyards of Becker residents continued to flourish during the summer as a “baby” bear was photographed near the patio of Cinda and Jaiden Foley’s backyard in August.

 

Nathan France, a former Becker resident and his son, Tyler (former Becker graduate) participated in the Heroes Climb event over the Fourth of July and scaled mountains in the Himalayas no man has set foot upon.

 

Becker Police Chief Brent Baloun celebrated his 10th year at the helm of the department Sept. 11.

 

The Becker HS Class of ‘66 held a gathering at Pebble Creek Golf Course in September to celebrate their 50 year reunion.

 

Curtis Hed, 54 of Becker is a local magician who wants people to realize his magic show is more than visual perplexities but more about revealing truths and beliefs that bring people closer to a relationship with their God.

 

Last July, the son of Daniel and Allie Gohman (Bentley) ell between the spindles of the staircase about eight-to-10 feet to the floor below. Bentley suffered a severe skull fracture and swelling on the brain, and is recovering well since the accident.

 

Pedal Inn Antiques closed their doors in October after serving the Becker area for the last 15 years. Larry Sperr of Hanover purchased the property and plans to redesign and open the location as a bar/restaurant/cafe  (LaFloyd’s).

 

Rose Wipper, 84 of Clear Lake,  died in a car crash on Hwy. 10 in October.

 

Former Becker High School student and 2005 graduate Phebe Carr was given the Excellent Educator Award by WCCO-TV in September.

 

Former Santiago Twp. resident Marty Meyer-Gad published a new book in 2016 and  made it available on Amazon.com. The book is called, Kimsara Detective Agency: Dog Gone It.

 

 

Denice Frieh stepped down as executive director of Great River Area Faith In Action in November after serving 14 years at the helm.

 

Clarence Oliver Olson celebrated his 100th birthday in November with family and friends.

 

Chuck Legatt and Hugh Duke moved up to be co-managers at LPI, Inc. after Larry Newell was promoted in August.

 

Katherine Marie Dahlen, 19 and a 2016 Becker High School graduate, received a special honor at her U.S. Navy graduation ceremony from boot camp in Great Lakes, Il. in November.

 

Becker High School 17-year-old junior Lauren Brower finished in the top 15 at the Miss Minnesota Teen USA Pageant in November and continues to aim high for her future as a model or actress.

 

Academy Award nominee Tom Berenger of Platoon fame was hired to star in a feature film shot (in part) in Big Lake in December called Wunderland. 

 

Improvements to Becker city’s wastewater plant to accommodate an increase in capacity to handle LPI’s expansion of operations was approved in January.

 

Becker Twp. began looking at proposals to possibly locate a solar farm somewhere in the township.

 

Xcel Energy and Sherco continued to meet with regulators and city officials throughout the year to discuss the future of Sherco after Units 1 & 2 are shut down by the year 2026.

 

Chris and Deb Perkins of Palmer Twp. requested to have six variances approved for the construction of a new, two-story home on property they currently live on at Briggs Lake.

 

Perkins’ variances were denied by the board in February yet many neighbors have complained the construction went on as planned despite the homeowners not having proper permits or allowances.

 

CMP Attachments, a company that manufactures commercial-grade attachments for industrial equipment approached the Santiago Twp. Board about possibly purchasing some property to build a pole barn and office for the company’s rapid expansion.

 

A censure of Mayor Lefty Kleis was upheld by council in late February causing Kleis to file a lawsuit in April asking for $50,000 and the lift of the censure. In August, Kleis’ lawsuit was dismissed by a judge and in November, Kleis lost his re-election bid to Tracy Bertram.

 

An article posted on the WJON Radio website in March reported 60 percent of the groundwater monitoring wells sampled across central Minnesota were contaminated with nitrates well above the safe drinking water standard. Becker City Administrator Greg Pruszinske responded to the article saying, “Becker’s municipal water is fine. “We sample our municipal wells for nitrates on a regular basis.”

 

Dave Jehoich and Kathy Woolard retained their positions as supervisor and town clerk in an election in March.

 

State Rep. Jim Newberger, R-Becker, called on Gov. Mark Dayton and Minnesota Democrats in March to denounce comments made by DFL Presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton where she said "we're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” 

 

Brian Kolbinger was nominated to take over as chairman of the board for Becker Twp. while newly-sworn-in Supervisor Brad Wilkening was named vice chairman. Wilkening took the oath of office after receiving 44 votes at the township election in early March.

 

Several residents from a Becker township residence north of Edgewood Street petitioned the board in April to have a road in their neighborhood changed from four identities to one — Mallard Drive.

 

Becker Councilmember Adam Oliver abruptly resigned his seat in May citing political differences and an undisclosed medical diagnosis concerning his wife. Todd Hanrahan was named Oliver’s replacement in June.

 

Refuge Sherburne National Wildlife Manager Steve Karel took time out of his busy schedule in May to visit the Santiago Twp. board to introduce himself and begin building a relationship.

 

Members of the Becker City Council spent three hours in late June pouring over an OSA  audit report that was originally requested by 429 residents interested in acquiring some new revelations on how Pebble Creek Golf Course was being run.

 

Members of the Santiago Twp. Board discussed in earnest in late June the constant issues of stolen cross walk signs at the intersection of Co. Rd. 11 and Co. Rd. 3.

 

Becker City staff had a busy summer working to fill open spaces in the industrial park with at least two major companies looking to relocate to Becker. The companies were identified as Northern Metal Recyclers, White Dog Labs and “Project Pine.”

 

Changes to the intersection of Sherburne Avenue and Co. Rd. 10 were discussed and shared by MnDOT with the public in July at the BCC.

 

Karla Scapanski of Sartell and Chilah Brown of Isle made their rounds at local townships looking for support in their runs for Rep. Jim Newberger’s position as well as Sen. Dave Brown’s seat. Both candidates lost in the November election.

 

Becker City Treasurer Sarah Brunn submitted her resignation in September to accept a position elsewhere. Brunn’s last day was Sept. 16.

 

Becker City and Becker Twp. joined the Hwy. 25 river crossing coalition in 2016 in hopes to get a bridge built somewhere between Monticello and Clear Lake.

 

Parking in the Becker T-Town area of the city was discussed several times at meetings and a 32-vehicle parking lot was constructed north of Gruenes Dental to try and alleviate some of the parking issues now and in the future.

 

Vandalism at the Santiago Twp. Hall, fire station and sheriff’s station was addressed at  a board meeting in October. The board voted to approve the replacement of doors and windows in the buildings and repair the damages caused by one or two perpetrators.

 

Becker city resident Wilbur Lemmon lashed out at city council and city staff in October for not addressing his ongoing problems with drainage on his property.

 

Kathryn Miller stepped down as Palmer Twp. Clerk and Kelly McCann was sworn in November to take her spot.

 

Gary Hammer stepped down as board member of the Becker Twp. in December after a 25-year run.

 

Becker Assistant Football Coach Mike Lundeen   received the Butch Nash award at the 2015 Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s awards banquet in April.

 

Former Becker graduate, teacher and coach Justin Hegna was honored by the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx as the first recipient of the State Farm Exist To Assist Award in January at Target Center during the Timberwolves vs. Memphis Grizzlies game. 

 

Jacob Berning became a Region 7 champion last January and advanced to the Minnesota Ninth Grade & Under Wrestling League (MNGWL) State Individual Tournament at Champlin Park High School and came home with a sixth place medal.

 

Bulldog football players, Dillon Radunz and Beau Pauly signed National Letters of Intent in February to play football at North Dakota State University. 

 

The Becker Inferno 14U Navy volleyball team won the Mid-Winter Classic Tournament at Ogilvie and Onamia High Schools,  going 6-0 in the process.

 

The Becker/Big Lake Squirt C hockey team won the District 10 Hockey Consolation Championship in Anoka in February.

 

The Becker Bulldog gymnastics team sent five athletes to state to participate in individual competition last February at the UofM Sports Pavillion. Katie Wilke placed 13th in vault, Marlee Louden placed 16th in bars and 11th on beam, Lindsey Olsen placed 19th on beam, Haley Hubbard placed eighth on floor and Hannah Schmidt placed 30th in the all-around.

 

Becker hosted the Third Annual Erich J. Kanne Memorial Archery Tournament in the Becker High School Fieldhouse in early March.

 

Nearly 100 people from all over the state of Minnesota descended upon the community center to participate in the annual Chase the Leprechaun 5K Run/Walk in early March. Thirteen-year-old Elise Yeager of Clearwater won the female division and 23-year-old Chris Caron of Ham Lake won the male division.

 

The Becker Lady Bulldog basketball team won the Section 5AAA championship in March and advanced to state where they finished fourth.

 

Bulldog heavyweight varsity wrestler Casey Vesledahl was one of 14 grapplers selected to be part of the St. Cloud Times all-area wrestling team in April.  

 

In mid-April, Becker Supt. Steve Malone received a letter from Paul Lindsay, resigning his position as Head Girls Varsity Basketball Coach.

 

Ex-Bulldog student/athlete Rachel Gilbert — now Rachel Bekius — took the reins as co-head-coach of the Milaca Wolves softball team in April.

 

Nina McDowall (2008 graduate) and Amanda Ritchie (2011 graduate) started playing full-contact, tackle football in April for the American Football Minnesota Vixen, a women’s football team that combines rules from the NFL and the NCAA.

 

Chinese golfer Jing Yan won the U.S. Women’s Open Sectional Qualifier at Pebble Creek Golf Club in May.

 

The Becker CIS Robotics 4607 team traveled to Mariucci Arena last May to compete in the MSHSL State Robotics Tournament. They advanced to the third place match and lost, finishing fourth after teaming up with FRC2502, FRC2512.

 

The Becker girls softball team won two games in early June to advance to the MSHSL State Tournament in Mankato. They ended up in sixth place.

 

The Becker Bulldog boys lacrosse team lost to the Red River Valley Polars in early June in the championship match by a score of 9-8. Milan Kent received All American honors from U.S. Lacrosse for the 2016 season. 

 

The Bulldog football team lost their bid for a three-peat as they were defeated by Big Lake 29-26 in early November on a last second field goal.

 

Sophomore Emi Quill became the GRC champion for diving and advanced to state where she finished 15th.