Alexandria area business stories lead ‘Top 5’ list for 2024

ALEXANDRIA

— How will 2024 be remembered in the Alexandria area?

It was a big year for businesses — new ones that opened their doors, existing businesses that expanded or those that relocated.

It was a bad year for crime — a suspect arrested in a stabbing death, heart-wrenching child abuse allegations, an armed robbery, embezzlement and fraud.

It was a tragic year — fatal crashes, accidents and a deadly fire.

And it was a big turnout for the election —

Donald Trump’s big victory

, and a time to say goodbye to four local government leaders who decided to step aside and not seek reelection.

It was also a busy year for the Echo Press. Our online stories drew a total of more an 8.4 million views in 2024.

As in past years, the Echo Press editorial team went through the stories and determined a “Top 5” story list for 2024.

News broke in April that a

TJ Maxx department store

will be moving into the Viking Plaza Mall and was the most-read story of 2024. The store will be located in a space once occupied by Herberger’s. It will take up more than 24,000 square feet. A grand opening of TJ Maxx is slated for spring 2025, “bringing a fresh retail experience to the community,” according to mall management. Other business activity at the mall — new public restrooms with upgraded amenities, and the opening of a new restaurant,

D. Mike’s Resort Bar and Grill.

In October, the story, “Out with The Barn,

in with Kwik Trip

,” showed how keenly interested local readers are about the new convenience story that will be opening near the Holiday Inn. Many readers said they’ll miss The Barn though. It was once a popular bar and wedding venue before it closed. The story also made our Top-10 list and drew hundreds of comments on our Facebook page. Construction on the 8,700 square foot Kwik Trip store is expected to begin this summer.

In July,

Massman Companies

held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate its new $16.3 million, 73,000-square-foot facility in Alexandria. It’s located at 2800 Nevada St., Massman now has seven sites in four states, and 430 employees operating in roughly 300,000 square feet. Massman Companies, Inc. is a strategic collection of industry-leading manufacturers of packaging equipment with the unique capability to combine a wide variety of packaging technologies.

Other popular business stories:

In July, more details were announced for a new roof-top bar,

The Terrace on Broadway

, which will be located in the narrow spot that’s between

Bazara

and

Cowing Robards

along Broadway by Fifth Avenue.

Contributed drawing / Jillian Reiner, Widseth

A new ice cream shop,

The Up North Ice Cream Company

, opened its doors at 406 Third Ave. E., offering 32 flavors of homemade ice cream, malts, shakes, cakes and more.

In April,

Rancho Viejo

opened at a new location — 303 30th Avenue West in the building once occupied by Burger King. Rancho Viejo had been doing business at the old Wendy’s Restaurant at 607 Twin Boulevard in south Alexandria.

A new restaurant –

Los Mariachis Mexican Grill

– opened at 4820 State Highway 29 South in October. The building previously housed the Tennessee Roadhouse and El Loro Mexican Grill.

In April,

Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center

sold for $14 million, according to the website Finance&Commerce. The selling price was listed at $14,159,250 and included a $250,000 down payment. The buyer is SAI Realty Holdings LLC in Connecticut. The seller is Regency Midwest Ventures Limited Partnership in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The $14 million transaction appears to be the most expensive single-property resort sale since the Minnesota Department of Revenue began posting online sale reports a decade ago, according to Finance&Commerce.

In December,

Tastefully Simple

announced it was changing its business model. At the heart of the transformation is a desire to reach a younger generation. Sellers will now be known as TS Ambassadors. “We chose the term Ambassador because it perfectly reflects what our sellers do,” Jill Blashack Strahan, Tastefully Simple’s founder and CEO, said in a press release. “They love our products so much that they instinctively want to share them with family and friends.”

There were a number of high-profile crime stories in Douglas County this year.

In October,

Katana Joel Coffel

, a former Alexandria Area YMCA daycare worker, was charged with malicious punishment of a child, a felony, after she allegedly broke the arm and clavicle of a 4-month-old baby.

Brandon resident

Brian John Poepping

was charged with defrauding an Alexandria business of more than $500,000. The charges were dropped after Poepping died on Aug. 19.

In August,

Judd and Wendy Hoff

were charged with felonies for allegedly stealing more than 240 signs from people’s yards.

Victor Paul Wallace

was arrested for allegedly robbing Bremer Bank on May 2. He was apprehended in West Fargo.

Melanie Ann Belsheim

was charged in November with embezzlement of public school funds for allegedly embezzling more than $40,000 from Alexandria Public Schools.

Angel Rua-Torres

was charged with felony murder in the second degree for allegedly stabbing his adult niece to death. The stabbing occurred in Alexandria on Nov. 24, 2023.

It wasn’t a good year when it comes to fatal car crashes, farm accidents and house fires.

Starting in January, a

54-year-old Alexandria woman died in a head-on crash

southwest of Alexandria. Charlene Patricia Berglin, an instructor at Alexandria Technical and Community College, died Jan. 16 as the result of the crash, which happened at the intersection of County Road 45 SW and Turning Leaf Lane SW.

A house fire on Feb. 14,

claimed the life of 20-year-old Chance GiGuere

. There were five others in the home who were transported to Alomere Health. Two of them were treated and released while the other three were air-lifted to Hennepin County Medical Center. An Alexandria police officer and a Douglas County deputy were also injured, but were treated and released.

Echo Press file photo

On May 7,

a 28-year-old man died in a farming accident

near Parkers Prairie. Kyle Laverne Olson had been working on a piece of tillage equipment when a part of the machinery fell on him and pinned him underneath. In his obituary, it was stated that born a farmer, Olson’s hobbies and activities tied him closer to the land his family had farmed for nearly 40 years.

Also in May,

two people were killed in a head-on crash

near Glenwood. Isaac Carlson, 33, of Glenwood and Nicholas Bergman, 39, of Oakdale were both traveling on Highway 28 when their vehicles collided head-on. The crash happened on May 25. Carlson served in the National Guard.

It was a long, contentious campaign at the national level but Donald Trump won his second term as president, capturing 49.9% of the popular vote to Kamala Harris’ 48.4%. The Electoral College vote wasn’t as close, with Trump receiving 312 votes to Harris’ 226.

In Douglas County,

Trump’s margin of victory was more than 2:1

. He received 66.62% of the county’s votes compared to Harris’ 31.62%. The last time the county supported a Democrat for president was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Both Republican incumbents for the Minnesota House, Mary Franson and Tom Murphy, coasted to lopsided victories.

Voter participation was strong in the county with a voter turnout of 90.33%.

Echo Press file photo

At the grassroots level, four local leaders chose not to run for re-election. This included two long-time Alexandria School Board members, Pam Carlson, with 26 years of service, and Dave Anderson, with 20 years of service.

School board winners

of the contested races were Tracy Capistrant and Angie Krebs. Elizabeth Paul, who ran unopposed, was also elected to the school board.

Douglas County Commissioners bid a fond farewell to Keith Englund, who represented District 1 for eight years.

Jeff Way

will take his seat.

The

Alexandria City Council

thanked Andrew Wiener for his four years representing Ward 5. Carl Kvale won the Ward 5 election over Robert Cumberbatch. Meanwhile, Mayor Bobbie Osterberg was re-elected. She defeated Robert Jensen, 4,193 votes to 2,222. Scott Allen, who was running unopposed, was also elected to the council in Ward 3.

In a matter of minutes – four to be exact –

Douglas County Coordinator Heather Schlangen

was let go by the Douglas County Board in a special meeting Nov. 25. She had been appointed to that role in August 2014 and began serving in that capacity on Sept. 29, 2014.

The Echo Press tried to find out the reason why Schlangen had been fired. In a statement sent via email on Nov. 26, it was stated: “The county coordinator serves at the pleasure of the board and employment may be terminated by the board without notice. The Douglas County Board has chosen to move in a different direction and has severed employment with Heather Schlangen.”

The Echo Press reached out to Mark Anfinson, attorney for the Minnesota Newspaper Association, to find out if the county had to provide more info. Because the county said she wasn’t let go because of disciplinary action, they did not have to specify why she was let go.

The newspaper’s attorney said it was remarkable the board could unanimously fire someone in a four-minute meeting without any discussion. He said it invited suspicion about whether the Open Meeting Law was complied with.

In an unexpected decision by the board of the Andria Theatre,

Christine Reilly, executive director

was asked to resign. Reilly said she was deeply saddened by the request and that it was unexpected and extremely disappointing.

In a response to the newspaper by the interim director, Jeff Larson, it was stated that the board made a difficult decision based on a review of circumstances. He said the board thanked Reilly for her contributions to the theater and her continued support of the Andria’s work.