Jordan Willi
Primary tabs
Jordan Willi is a reporter for the New Richmond News. Previously, he worked as a sports reporter at the Worthington Daily Globe in Worthington, Minnesota. He also interned at the Hudson Star Observer for two summers and contributed to the Bison Illustrated sports magazine at North Dakota State University.
Contact Email
History
- Member for
- 5 years 7 months
Author Content
When New Richmond senior Ethan Thompson found out he had been selected as one of 200 graduating high school students to receive a $10,000 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation 2019 Initiative Scholarship, he was shocked and felt like he was on cloud nine. "It's by far one of the highlights of my life thus far. Being that this scholarship only gets to New Richmond once every seven years, I am the only person in my entire family who will accept this scholarship, past and present. Because of this, it meant so unbelievably much. I still can't believe it," Thompson said.
For many people across the region, this past winter was one of the worst in recent memory, both for the record-breaking amounts of snow and extreme cold. Given the issues the weather has already caused many people, it would be easy for those with septic systems to forget to think about maintaining those systems until it is too late.
For the last several years, the St. Croix Valley Foundation, along with other regional organizations, has worked to bring more awareness and support to those impacted by dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. One such example is the creation of the St. Croix Valley Dementia Friendly Coalition.
According to New Richmond Fire Chief Jim VanderWyst, a single lightning strike caused fires to break out in two homes, as well as gas leaks and melted wires in others, in a one-block radius of 134th and 132nd avenues off of 116th Street in the town of Richmond on Thursday, April 17.
Being a school nurse, according to New Richmond District School Nurse Joan Simpson, is more than just giving out Bandaids. That is why she invited Sen. Patty Schachtner to visit the high school on Monday, March 25, as part of a "Day in the Life of a School Nurse." "I feel that every student should have somebody very knowledgeable in their health needs so that they can be successful in school and so that parents don't have to worry about their kids when they are with us," Simpson said.
During its Monday, April 15 school board meeting, the New Richmond School Board approved an update to the 2018-2019 calendar, approved a memorandum of understanding with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and approved a medical agreement extension with HealthPartners. The board approved adjusting Monday, April 22, from a professional learning day to a full day of school for students and staff, due to the April 11 snow storm forcing the district to cancel school that day.
An early morning house fire on Monday, April 15, left a Star Prairie family without a home. The New Richmond Fire Department received a call about the house fire at 1967 Nighthawk Drive at 2:16 a.m. It took about an hour to get the fire under control, according to NRFD Chief Jim VanderWyst. According to St. Croix County property records, the home is owned by Scott Kotaska of White Bear Lake. Minn.
Every year, the New Richmond School District Happy Kids Backpack program provides backpacks full of food to families who qualify as "financially in need." During the 2017-2018 school year, the program delivered more than 70 backpacks each week.
Every year, the New Richmond High School drama department holds a pair of productions for their family, friends and the community at large. In between shows, the students who take part in those productions, or have a love for the theater, find it hard to keep the spirit and community of the stage alive. That's why theater director Ashley Steiner decided to start a Drama Club to keep the students involved throughout the school year.
For as long as she can remember, St. Croix Central senior Sara Nyhus has wanted to be an artist. "I worked diligently on improvement, even at a young age. I guess I started to recognize my somewhat inclination around third grade," Nyhus said. On March 11, the Hazel Mackin Community Library announced that Nyhus's design was the winner of the library's Teen Mural Contest.