AMPI fire tops

year in review

By KEVIN SWEENEY

Journal Editor

NEW ULM -- It was never even close.

The fire that destroyed part of the AMPI Butter Plant in New Ulm was the unanimous selection as New Ulm's top local story of the year.

The fire, which started accidentally at about 6 p.m. in the storage area of the plant, caused extensive damage to the plant, put 180 local jobs in jeopardy and garnered nationwide publicity as the image of rivers of melted butter flowing through the streets of the city captured the fevered imaginations of news directors here and there.

In reality, very little of the 3 million pounds of butter affected by the fire made it out of the plant. New Ulm Street Department crews worked quickly to build sand dikes to contain that butter which did make it into the street, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ruled that the small amount of butter that was washed into the Minnesota River posed little threat to the environment.

As cleanup and assessment of the damage slowly continues, the cost of the damage to the plant and product has not been determined. AMPI continues to ponder its options for temporary resumption of butter production and a permanent decision for the future of the plant.

About 130 of the plant's 180 employees were directly involved in the production of butter, and while about half of them have been working on cleanup, the others are collecting unemployment and hoping their jobs will resume in the future.

The fire drew the attention of state politicians as well. First District Rep. Gil Gutknecht and Gov. Tim Pawlenty traveled to New Ulm two days after the fire to pledge as much assistance as the state and federal government could provide and encourage AMPI officials to rebuild in New Ulm.

AMPI General Manager Mark Furth has stated that AMPI has every desire to do just that, but it won't be able to make a decision until it knows the full extent of the damage and costs.

The plight of the AMPI workers just a few weeks before Christmas led New Ulmites to raise over $12,000 in a benefit fund for the displaced workers.

Following the AMPI story in The Journal's Top Ten list was the restoration work on the statue of Hermann, and his successful return in November to his post atop the Hermann Monument.

Third place went to the stir created when Wal-Mart announced its interest in locating a Supercenter store in New Ulm.

In fourth place was the Highway 14 reconstruction project that ripped up North Broadway from 7th North Street to Garden Street. Fifth place went to the celebration marking the 150th anniversary of New Ulm's founding.

The war in Iraq had an impact locally. The return of members of the National Guard's First Battallion, 125th Artillery, who had been deployed to Europe in support of the war on terrorism, and the deployment of the Army Reserve's 42nd Quartermaster Company from Winthrop to Iraq in January, was 6th on The Journal's Top Ten list.

Seventh place went to the sale and ongoing restoration of George's Ballroom in New Ulm. Eighth place went to Heritagefest's continuation after three years of financial losses.

Ninth went to the mold problems in District 88 schools that led to big increases in next year's tax levy to fund cleanup costs and equipment replacement.

Tied for 10th were the developments in economic development in New Ulm, (including the growth of Beacon Promotions, Inc., and the decision by Medallion Cabinetry, Inc., to build a plant in New Ulm) and the demolition of the old St. Mary's church and convent buildings.

Hermann

The statue of Hermann the Cheruscan, who had overlooked New Ulm for over 100 years, had been lifted off its monument and placed on the ground in 2003 while the city sought someone who could repair the ravages of time, weather and assorted sharpshooter who had plunked bullets into Hermann over the years.

The city found Conservation Solutions, Inc., of Washington, D.C., a firm that specializes in the preservation and restoration of historic artifacts. Starting in July, the crew from Conservation Solutions replaced, repaired and reinforced Hermann's iron framework, patched holes in his copper plating, and recreated parts that were too far gone to repair. The firm even gave the new copper the weathered patina finish it needed to fit in with the rest of the statue.

On Nov. 9, before a cheering crowd of 200 or so spectators, Hermann was gently lifted and welded back into place, stronger than ever and ready for the next 100 years.

Wal-Mart

Rumors began flying early in the year that Wal-Mart was planning on building a store in New Ulm. In July, a company spokesman met with local business and government leaders to confirm that the retailing giant was indeed interested in building a 203,000 square-foot "supercenter" in New Ulm. The company's customer tracking estimated that about $4.5 million a year was spent by New Ulmites in stores in Mankato, Redwood Falls and Hutchinson.

The announcement started a backlash by local citizens and business people concerned about Wal-Mart's tough competitiveness, its reputation for driving other local retailers out of business, and its employment records.

A group of concerned citizens gathered a petition requesting the New Ulm City Council place a moratorium on "big box stores," while the issue is studied further. The council continues to ponder the request.

Highway 14

The Minnesota Department of Transportation completed the first phase of a reconstruction project for Highway 14 (North Broadway) in New Ulm, from the 7th North Street intersection to the city limits. The first phase involved digging up the road and replacing the underlying utilities from 7th North to Garden Street. New Ulm motorists and North Broadway businesses put up with the detours and disruption throughout the summer and fall, and are braced for the continuation of the project this coming year, which continues the reconstruction from Garden Street out past the New Ulm Airport.

New Ulm's 150th

New Ulm celebrated its 150th birthday with a series of events, from a costume ball to celebrity auctions, all culminated with the weekend of Aug. 13-15. The city dedicated a new "Heritage Tree" on Minnesota Street, dedicated a new plaque honoring its founding fathers, and saw a Pergola built in German Park. The party continued with a banquet, and a concert in the park by the New Ulm Municipal Band, which finished with the "1812 Overture," accompanied by a brigade of Civil War cannons, led by the New Ulm Battery.

Home from the Front

New Ulm welcomed home members of the National Guard's First Battallion, 125th Artillery, who had been called up for active duty guarding military posts in Europe during the war on terrorism. The local Guards were responsible for security at posts in Europe while the troops normally stationed at the posts served in Iraq.

Their nine-month deployment ended in April.

Meanwhile, in January, members of the Army Reserve unit in Winthrop, the 452nd Quartermasters Co., left in January for an 18-month deployment in Iraq.

George's Ballroom

After a lot of concern and study about what would happen to George's Ballroom, the long-neglected landmark was sold at public auction to Randy Danielson of Arlington. Danielson tackled the building, which had suffered from a leaking roof, warped floors and mold, with sweat equity.

Danielson's cleanup efforts and utilities in the building that were in better shape than expected led him to think the building can be restored for use for much less investment than city-sponsored engineering inspections had indicated.

Some disagreements with the city inspection department have apparently been resolved, and Danielson continues his restoration work.

Heritagefest

After Heritagefest 2003 lost money for the third year in a row, Heritagefest organizers wondered whether they had enough funds on hand to weather a fourth year of losses.

The board responded to the challenge by seeking out new sources of revenue, including corporate sponsors, by trimming expenses as much as possible, and by adding new events designed to attract new festgoers.

One of the best publicized events was "sauerkraut wrestling," a crowd-pleasing event in which local competitors agreed to grapple in a big pile of the stuff.

The 2004 event succeeded in making money, enough to encourage Heritagefest directors that the event will continue in the future.

The cost of mold

District 88 has been dealing with mold problems in the district school buildings the past few years. This year the District 88 School Board approved the solution for mold problems - replacing heating and ventilation systems in the High School and Washington and Jefferson Elementary schools. The high cost of cleaning up the mold, and of replacing the heating equipment led to big increases in the district's tax levy for next year. The increase was abated somewhat when the district approved a $2.8 million settlement in December from some of the suppliers and contractors who had but in the original heating systems, and it continues to pursue litigation to recover other later this year.

Industrial Development and Demolition

Two stories tied for 10th place on The Journal's list.

The first is the success of local industrial development efforts, fueled in part by the JOBZ program.

Beacon Promotions, Inc., which started up in New Ulm late in 2003, has been growing, and is planning for building expansion. The company makes promotional items for businesses.

The city's biggest addition this year, however, is the building of Medallion Cabinetry to the city's industrial community. Medallion Cabinetry, which makes kitchen and bathroom cabinets, announced in August that it had selected New Ulm as the site for a new factory that would make wooden cabinet doors.

Medallion said it would begin building the plant, which it wanted to be in operation by the end of this year to gain a tax advantage. With the cooperation of New Ulm Public Utilities, the plant was built in the city's new Airport Industrial Park.

The second story is one that saddened historical preservation advocates and people who had grown up attending church or going to school at St. Mary's Parish in New Ulm. The old church building, which had been later used as an elementary school, and the old convent, which had been converted to a day care center, had been standing unused since the building of St. Anthony's Elementary School on the NUACS campus.

Efforts by St. Mary's Parish to have the school building converted to residential apartments turned out to be unsuccessful, and the parish was decided to demolish the buildings.

The demolition took place in November.