Striving to reach the kids before the kids reach him In 18 Years as Dakota County Attorney, Jim Backstrom has made it his goal to steer youth away from crime By Hank Long, Star-Gazette staff writer Jim Backstrom has a job he loves, but it’s s job that comes with a lot of stress. And the last several months have been extremely stressful for the Dakota County attorney who led the prosecution of three teenagers convicted of killing a Hastings couple last October.

“We read about these tragedies happening across America on occasion, but you never think it’s going to happen here,” Backstrom said last Thursday, the day that Matthew Niedere and Clayton Keister, the teens sentenced in March for murdering Niedre’s parents at their Hastings auto glass shop last October, would have attended their high school graduation at Concordia Academy in Roseville. The day was also one week after the last of the three teenagers, Jamie Patton, was sentenced for his role in helping to plan the double murder.

“This time it did happen right here,” Backstrom said. “I will always have a sense of distress from the fact that this crime occurred here in our county. But in the same vein, it motivates me all the more to continue our efforts to get out the positive messages to young people about the importance of respect for the law and respect for each other.” (complete story can be found at Hastings City Hall, in the Pioneer Room).

Of Fathers & Sons Working together adds quality time for Gegens Despite problems that can often arise when family members do business together, Bill and Tim Gegen think they have what it takes to make their relationship work.

Industrial psychologists warn that unhealthy relationships in the home can spill over and damage work relationships if family businesses aren’t careful.

But the Gegens say they aren’t worried about that happening.

Because Bill and his sons are good friends outside of the office, the time he spends with Tim at work is quality as well.

“We have a lot of things in common,” Bill said. “The boys love to go golfing. I love to go golfing. They love to fish. I love to fish. They love to hunt. I love to hunt.”

When Bill Gegen owned his own insurance company, 20-year-old Tim Gegen worked under his father and answered to his father as “boss.”

But since Bill sold his business in 1985, they have been co-workers under Dotson-Gegen Insurance Services Inc., and that has changed a few things about their professional relationship… 45 Years Ago THE HASTINGS GAZETTE June 17, 1976 School Bd. Survey Indicates Interest In Boys Volleyball The School Board of Ind. School District 200 voted to accept the Title IX Survey concerning athletic programs in the district. Questions addressed to students who participated in the survey included: What activities have you participated in? What activities do you plan to participate in? If we were to add a sport, what would you add? If we were to eliminate a sport, what would you eliminate?

Of the 6-11 grade students who replied to the questionnaire, a total of 2,359 indicated they would be participating in school sports next year. Girl sports (top five) with the most interested students included softball, cheerleading, volleyball, tennis, and gymnastics; boys sports (top five) with the most interested students included football, baseball, track and field, basketball, and golf.

A strong interest in adding boys volleyball to the roster of events appeared in answers from both the boys and the girls. Younger female students expressed interest in the addition of girls football, while that interest was changed to soccer in responses from the older grades. All ages polled among the girls indicated interest in the addition of horseback riding to the list of girls sports.

60 Years Ago THE REPORTER Serving St. Paul Park, Newport, Thompson Grove, Woodbury Hts.

Friday, June 9, 1961 Nuisance Law OK’d in Port NEWPORT – The village council will postpone a decision on the Dahlen Transport, Inc., rezoning and street vacation requests until July 7.

The council tabled the request Friday in spite of favorable recommendations from the Newport planning commission the previous evening.

The trucking firm is asking for rezoning of 14 lots east of Fourth Ave. and vacation of Fifth Ave through its property. Plans are to expand the present terminal and construct an office building… Also 120 Years Ago THE MIRROR Put out by the inmates of the Stillwater Prison Stillwater, Minnesota June 20, 1901 THE DESIDERATUM In Philadelphia they inquire: “Who was your sire, and his sire’s sire?”

In Boston you must make it plain, you have an intellectual brain.

In New York you must show th’ amount, of cash upon your bank account.

In Baltimore you must proclaim, the women queens, in beauty’s name.

In Brooklyn you will find a friend, if only you his church attend.

In Washington they give you grace, according to your rank of place.

—Boston Globe In San Francisco they demand, that, being called, you show your hand.

In Denver they are so polite, that you must either drink or fight.

In Omaha they merely grin, and murmur: “When did you roll in?”

But in St. Louis they exclaim: “Where is it from that you have came?”

While in Scheccawg you cut no ice, unless, b’Jove, you’ve got the price.

—Chicago Record-Herald In Min’apolis you’re in a fog, unless you can say, “Gud dag.”

But in St. Paul ‘tisn’t so, Brains and gelt are all the go.

In Fairmont it’s different still, A man’s no man when sitting still.

—Blue Earth Post The “still” and “still” in Fairmount’s rhyme, puts it up to us who do time At still Stillwater (not on a yacht), where you’re greeted with: “How long you got?”

—R.

FIRST AID TO THE INJURED Third Paper: Asphyxiation from Drowning It is sometimes impossible to secure a physician when a friend’s life hangs by a thread. A person who is unconscious after being taken from the water needs immediate treatment. From personal experience I have found the following method productive of the quickest results: Remove from the mouth and nostrils all obstructions to the to the free passage of air to the lungs. Free the body from all clothing that binds the neck, chest or waist; turn it over upon the face for a moment, thrusting a finger into the mouth and sweeping it around, to bring anything away that may have gotten in or accumulated there…do not become discouraged. It may be necessary to work for hours, and is not a human life worth more than a few hours labor? If there are a number of persons present, the brisk rubbing of the feet and lower limbs will stimulate the circulation and make your work easier. CLINIC.