Springfield murder tops list of local stories in 2002

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- Crime -- uncharacteristic and violent crime -- dominated the news in New Ulm and the area in 2002, and dominated the top spots in the voting for The Journal's Top Ten News Stories of 2002.

The shocking murder of an elderly Springfield resident, Edwin J. "Speedy" Saffert, was judged the top news story of the year in voting by Journal employees. The robbery of the South Branch of Valley Bank & Trust in New Ulm was selected as the second most significant story of the year.

Other stories on the Top Ten list include: 3. the Class AAA Baseball title won by the New Ulm Eagles; 4. Nicollet's battle with owners of The Mirage; 5. The seizure of 85 neglected dogs from a Brown County farm site; 6. The question of what will happen with George's Ballroom; 7. The arrest of 20 people in Brown County's largest undercover narcotics investigation; 8. The fire that destroyed the Springfield Harvestland Elevator; 9. The start of construction on the city's new Park and Rec facilities, and, 10. the retirement of Police Chief Howard Zins and his replacement by Erv Weinkauf.

1. Murder in Springfield

Violent crimes are always jarring in small towns, but the slaying of Edwin J. "Speedy" Saffert on Sept. 15 was especially shocking in its senseless brutality.

Saffert, a kindly, harmless man described by those who knew him well as a "gentle, gentle soul," was found beaten to death in his Springfield home. Early speculation was that someone thought Saffert, who didn't trust banks and paid cash for all his purchases, had large amounts of cash stashed in the home where he lived alone.

Saffert was remembered as a person who visited his friends all over town, who helped the UPS driver deliver packages, and as someone who would never hurt anyone. After an intensive investigation, assisted by the Brown County Sheriff's office and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Springfield Police arrested two people in the crime: 16-year-old Jose Ramon Pena, and James Robert Kretcher, 27. Both implicated each other in the robbery and killing, and are awaiting trial.

2. Bank robbery

A couple of weeks after the Saffert killing, a young man walked into the South Branch of Valley Bank and Trust shortly after noon on Friday, Sept. 27, said he had a gun and demanded money. Bank staff gave the man money, and he left, fleeing into a wooded area near the bank. Police quickly instituted a search of the area, calling in a Minnesota State Patrol airplane and a canine unit from Lake Crystal, but they could not find the suspect.

After investigating several tips over the weekend, authorities executed a search warranted in Nicollet County the following Monday evening and arrested 18-year-old Peter Wingate of Courtland, recovering a weapon along with money taken during the robbery. Federal charges were filed against Wingate.

In December, police arrested five more teens for conspiring to commit robbery or receiving stolen property. All six are facing prosecution this year.

3. Eagles win one for Senske; St. Mary's wins in Class A

After a long, distinguished career as New Ulm High School's baseball coach, Jim Senske had the record as Minnesota's winningest high school baseball coach, but in 18 trips to the state tournament his teams had never won a state title.

The Eagles changed that on June 14, 2002 when they won the State Class AAA Baseball Title with a 12-4 romp over North St. Paul. It had been a difficult trip through the Section 2AAA tournament for the Eagles, who had battled through the loser's bracket and had to beat St. Michael's-Albertville twice in the finals.

The Eagles were aided in their quest by hot hitting in the last two weeks of the season that carried over into the state tournament and made up for the tired arms that plagued their pitchers.

After the team's triumphant return to New Ulm, and obviously emotional Senske praised his team and the town. "It's been 38 years of blood, sweat, tears and toil, but the wait was worth it. I've never felt better. One kid said, 'God, this is a good feeling. Lets do it again next year.' The players showed a great deal of passion, heart, attitude and the bats were powerful.

"There has been lots of time, effort and money spent on baseball here. This is a baseball town. I thank everybody involved and keep sending us ballplayers."

In the state's Class A title game, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's lost a 5-0 lead, but capped a thrilling 9-8 game with a three-run sixth inning to beat Menagha, making New Ulm and Sleepy Eye the Twin Cities of State High School Baseball.

4. Nicollet v. "The Mirage"

Nicollet residents weren't seeing things in September 2001 when they woke up and found a strip club called "The Mirage" doing business in a former pontoon boat factory in town. The club, which served no alcohol, was able to open without seeking a liquor license, and city ordinances, like many cities in the state, didn't cover this kind of adult entertainment.

City residents were infuriated as patrons came from near and far, creating traffic and noise problems and public nuisance and indecency violations. Protesters from area churches picketed across the street, but owners laughingly offered the picketers free admission.

Nicollet City Council members researched the situation and found a way to regulate the nude dancing, requiring the dancers to be semi-clothed or for the club to move to a different section of town. When the time came for the club to comply, it put scanty coverings on its dancers rather than move, but opened the club to all ages.

By August the club, now called "Pure Gold," found it too costly to stay in operation and continue its legal battles with the city. It closed on a Saturday night, but reopened on Monday after finding a temporary financial backer, then closed a couple of nights later for good. Its owner promised he would be back with another adult entertainment business when city officials were least expecting it.

5. Dogs seized from county farm

Prompted by reports that a large number of dogs were being kept in bad conditions on a Brown County farm, officials from the Brown County Sheriff, the Federated Minnesota Humane Societies and the Brown County Humane Society descended on the farm, southeast of Sanborn, in Stately Township and seized about 85 dogs from their owner, Amelia Odegaard.

The dogs were taken to a farm near St. Peter where the Federated Humane Societies arranged for them to be examined and cared for. The dogs were found to be in poor condition.

While charges are being pursued against Odegaard, the dogs were put up for adoption, and were placed in good homes by the end of the year.

6. George's Ballroom

George's Ballroom, once the center of New Ulm entertainment has fallen on hard times over the years. Closed for the last 15 years, the onetime ballroom and music hall, bar and bowling alley had deteriorated as a leaky roof and water problems warped floors and created fungus and mold problems.

Last year the property was seized by Brown County because of delinquent taxes, and the question arose as to what to do with the property, which is still fondly remembered by local residents, some of whom celebrated weddings, anniversaries and other special events at George's.

The task of finding a new inhabitant or use for the building is hampered by the high cost of fixing it up and making it habitable once again. But the option of demolishing the building and using the land for new development is not a happy one for the City of New Ulm and the county, which are being urged to help preserve the building.

The building still sits empty and unused. The county has put off selling the building to recover its unpaid taxes, to allow the city to seek other uses and developers. A private committee devoted to saving the old building is also looking into possible uses for the building.

7. Narcotics investigation

Late in June, area law enforcement agencies concluded the largest undercover narcotics investigation in the county's history with the arrest of 20 people in New Ulm and Sleepy Eye, and the seizure of 80 grams of cocaine and methamphetamine, along with half a dozen cars and other personal property.

The agencies involved included the New Ulm Police Department, the Brown County Sheriff's Department, Brown-Lyon-Redwood Drug Task Force, the State Patrol and the Department of Natural Resources.

The Brown County courts have been busy the last half of the year with hearings, trials and plea bargain agreements against most of the individuals who were arrested in the raid.

8. Springfield elevator destroyed

The city of Springfield was rocked at about 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, as the top of the Harvestland Elevator exploded, sending a fireball of debris into the air. A raging fire soon enveloped the rest of the elevator, which was destroyed as departments from Springfield, Sleepy Eye, Comfrey and New Ulm responded, trying to control the blaze.

One employee of the elevator, Roger Kueker, was injured and flown to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

9. Park and Rec Projects Begin

Mild January weather allowed for an early start on excavation and construction of the City of New Ulm's Park and Recreation expansion project. The city is building a double-rink arena and community building at the Brown County Fairgrounds, which will provide better facilities for the Brown County Fair and Heritagefest as well. The city also began construction of an expanded Senior Citizens Center, which will include space for arts and crafts programs and a performing arts facility.

10. Police Chief retires

After 30+ years on the New Ulm Police Department, Police Chief Howard Zins announced his retirement in August, effective Sept. 22. In a seamless transition, Zins' second-in-command, Police Commander Erv Weinkauf was named by Mayor Arnold Koelpin to be his replacement. Weinkauf was sworn in on Monday, Sept. 23, and soon named Police Sgt. Harvey Grunst to be his Police Commander.

Before his tenure as police chief was a week old, Weinkauf was on his way north on a hunting trip on Sept. 27 when the robbery of the South Branch of Valley Bank & Trust took place. Weinkauf stayed in phone contact with his department throughout the weekend as they conducted a successful investigation leading to an arrest the following Monday.