Panel faces dilemma over work permit

German worker may have to travel to

Canadian border to have permit validated

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- New Ulm's Sister Cities Commission continued preparations for hosting a statewide conference of Sister Cities in September and presented this year's Hans Joohs Cultural Exchange trainee to the community at a reception following the commission meeting on Monday evening.

The conference, the first to be hosted by New Ulm, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 22. The commission, after hearing an update, agreed to meet in early September to finalize a number of details.

Juergen Klopfer of Neu Ulm is Ulm, Germany's exchange trainee. He arrived in New Ulm July 17 and will remain here until Sept. 29. He will be working in the Systems Group at Kraft when his work permit is validated.

His work permit was approved and sent to his home in Germany the same day that he arrived here. It's expected to arrive here later this week.

However, he will have to either travel to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's Bloomington office or the Canadian border in order to get it validated because he didn't have it with him when he entered the country.

The commission discussed at length details of how to get Klopfer to the Canadian border if it didn't get permission to go to the Bloomington office.

It was the first time that the commission had applied for a QV1 work visa because that task had been handled by Sister Cities International in the past.

Commission Co-Chair Mark Hempel thanked all those who had helped get the visa approved. In particular, he thanked Assistant City Manager Tom MacAulay who wrote the letter, some 20 pages worth, explaining that the commission's program met the requirements for that type of visa.

While Klopfer will get a stipend from Kraft for his work in the plant, he is receiving no stipend until his permit is validated. The commission decided to give him $100 for his help with the Youth German Language Camp last week.

Camp Director Kurt Wittmershaus reported there were 47 campers which he said was all that could be handled because there were only four teachers.

The camp account started the year with $3,154 and now has a balance of more than $4,600, but MacAulay said not all expenses have been tabulated.

"It will probably turn out a 'wash' as it has in past years," MacAulay reported, in which revenues match expenditures. He also reported that the commission's sinking fund has a balance of $4,387.73.

He also reported that the five "Einstein" videocassettes which were purchased for $64.95 have been delivered and donated to the public library.

Because Albert Einstein was born in New Ulm's sister city, Ulm, Germany, the commission decided it would be good to have something representative of him in the library. The set of tapes -- billed as modern physics for non-scientists -- covers Einstein's Theory of Relativity and the Quantum Revolution, as presented by Professor Richard Wolfson of Middlebury College.