By Deb Moldaschel
60 years ago – Oct. 8, 1964
A space heater blew up at the Russell Augustin farm house, southwest of Sleepy Eye, early Wednesday. Stove pipes were knocked down and there was some soot damage. Sleepy Eye fire department were called at 5:15, but Mr. and Mrs. Augustin had the fire checked by the time they reached the farm.
The soybean harvest in the Sleepy Eye area is fast nearing an end and the crop is a dandy. Marvin Erickson of the Farmers Elevator company, estimated that the harvest is approximately 75 percent completed. He said beans are of good quality and there have been many reports of yields of 30 bushels per acre.
40 years ago – Oct. 9, 1984
City residents may have been surprised when a helicopter with bold letters “MAYO” flew overhead and landed at the Sleepy Eye Municipal Hospital. This was a public relations landing, announcing a new air ambulance service offered to hospitals within a 200-mile radius of Rochester. Scott Morin, hospital administrator, said the hospital has used air transport services in the past as patients were taken to the airport and taken by plane from there. With the air ambulance, the transport vehicle can land on the hospital grounds and make it to Rochester in about 45 minutes.
Sleepy Eye Fire Department’s poster contest winners are fifth graders Tricia Seidl, Kellie Jorgenson, Jory Mages and Mona Hoffman.
25 years ago – Oct. 7, 1999
Snow. Fall. Autumn and winter scenes clashed on Friday as snowfall blanketed the area. The snow and cold temperatures Sleepy Eye experienced are very unusual for Oct. 1, but it does happen, leaving Minnesotans with the gentle reminder that winter is not far away. The weather made for a snowy Homecoming parade for St. Mary’s.
Local students, Maggie Biesanz (St. Mary’s) and Emily Lowther (Public) were named Commended Students in the year 2000 National Merit Scholarship program, by demonstrating outstanding academic potential for their high performance in the extremely competitive National Merit Program.
10 years ago – Oct. 9, 2014
A 26-year-old Springfield man [Miguel Angel Vasquez] was charged with second-degree murder Friday, Oct. 3 in Brown County District Court in connection with the human remains found in a burning van Sept. 25 south of Sleepy Eye.
Several members of the Sleepy Eye Yes! Team gathered to lend their time and energies to a new local project, Holiday Lights in Motion. Hand-made displays donated by Bob Schabert of Courtland needed to be stripped of the old holiday lights before they are replaced with new LED lights for the upcoming holiday project. Each year the Yes! Team collects old holiday lights to recycle and gladly donated their time to strip the old lights for the their recycling collection.
