By Ed Shannon, staff writer

JANUARY

1 – Isaac Adams, son of Stacy and Jason Adams, became the first baby to be born in Freeborn County.

10 &8212; Demolition of the former Albert Lea High School building just to the west of Central Park by Veit Companies started on this date.

12 &8212; Sharon Cunicelli retired after 30 years employment at the Freeborn County License Center. She had been manager of this center since 1985.

23 &8212; The Albert Lea City Council decided not to impose a 10 percent fee for charitable gambling by seven organizations in the city.

30 &8212; Albert Lea High School senior Bethany Zogg was crowned as queen of Winterfest.

31 &8212; A fire cause damages to a home at 1106 Frank Ave.

FEBRUARY

2 &8212; The driver of a semi hauling hogs to Austin sustained minor injuries when the vehicle&8217;s trailer rolled over on its side near the intersection of I-90

and I-35. Four hogs were killed. Law enforcement officers and firemen spent several hours rounding up about 70 loose hogs.

9 &8212; Alex Scott and Malena Maria Barrientos, both of Albert Lea, were arrested by Freeborn County Sheriff&8217;s Department deputies on charges based on a series of alleged burglaries and car thefts in the county of a period of several months.

12 &8212; Daniel Shaw, 18, of Hartland, and a passenger escaped from a car which went through the ice on Albert Lea Lake near Frank Hall Park. The car was pulled out of the lake the next day.

13 &8212; This was the first day of employment for Tim Engstrom as the Tribune&8217;s new managing editor.

13 &8212; Lei Lanie Hoole, 38, and Martin Paradee, 26, both of Montevideo, were sentenced in Freeborn County District Court to serve prison sentences for the sale of methamphetamine.

14 &8212; Thomas Vaale, 21, of Albert Lea, was arrested by Freeborn County Sheriff&8217;s Department deputies. He was allegedly the third person involved with 14 thefts from vehicles and 15 home burglaries.

21 &8212; Aruan Enrique Campa, 20, of Albert Lea, was arrested on charges of aggravated robbery of the Countryside Inn.

26 &8212; The Tribune issued the 2006 Progress Edition

MARCH

2 &8212; David Dean Snider, 29, and Jeromy Michael Kennedy, 33, both of Hanlontown, Iowa, and Toni Jean Funte, 33, of Leland, Iowa, were arrested by Albert Lea police on charges of possession of methamphetamine.

6 &8212; Donald Loren Bierman, 41, of Albert Lea, was arrested for failure to register as a predatory offender.

14 &8212; Annual elections were held in the 20 townships of Freeborn County.

17 &8212; A fire destroyed the home of Ron and Chris Reule on Lake Chapeau Drive.

17 &8212; A vehicle rolled over near the drive-thru at Burger King on Stevens Street. Kary Alfred Kleinschrodt, 27, died March 19 of injuries. Adam Edward Sorum, 18, was also injured in this accident.

19 &8212; Larry Barnett, 43, was arrested by Albert Lea police for allegedly breaking into the Alliance Benefits Group building, 201 E. Clark St. He was later charged with third-degree burglary in Freeborn County District Court.

24-25 &8212; The students at Albert Lea High School presented the annual &8220;Tigers&8217; Roar.&8221;

24 &8212; A homemade pipe bomb destroyed a portable toilet at a construction site on Ekko Avenue near Hy-Vee.

25 &8212; Another pipe bomb was found at the construction site. It was deactivated by the Bloomington Bomb Squad.

27 &8212; Police responded to a report of another bomb on Triangle Drive which exploded when it was moved.

28 &8212; Four members of the Yahnke family of Frost were arrested by Faribault County authorities for felony possession of explosive devices. These arrests came as a direct result of Albert Lea police investigations of local explosions.

APRIL

4 &8212; Freeborn County signed an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to operate and maintain the dam on Geneva Lake.

5 &8212; Second grade teacher Pam Carlson of Hawthorne Elementary School was named as Albert Lea&8217;s Teacher of the Year.

6 &8212; The Diamond Jo Casino, four miles south of the state line on I-35 near the Top of Iowa Welcome Center opened to the public.

6 &8212; Loren and Jane Lair of rural Hayward were named as the Freeborn County Family of the Year

6 &8212; This was the official ice-out date for Fountain Lake.

7 &8212; A high speed chase which started north of Clarks Grove on 1-35 ended near the County Road 46 exit. Terrance John, 18, and Joseph David Kamm, 18, of Watonwan County, were arrested. A juvenile female was transferred to Martin County authorities.

8 &8212; A fire caused what was described as minor damage to the Korner Mart near the corner of South Broadway Avenue and East Seventh Street.

16 &8212; An article in the Tribune confirmed that the Albert Lea Golf Club had been sold to Scott and Shari LaFavre of the Minneapolis area. The new owners said they planned to turn the 100-acre golf course into a 120-lot high end residential development.

24 &8212; Jorge Sanchez, 20, of Albert Lea, was arrested on charges based on felony criminal sexual conduct involving a 17-year-old female.

MAY

2 &8212; Jason Northwick, 35, of Frost, and Steven Franke, 50, of Blue Earth, were arrested by Freeborn County authorities for allegedly purchasing ephedrine, a meth precursor. A later investigation by Freeborn and Faribault County authorities reportedly found firearms and a meth manufacturing facility.

6 &8212; A fire caused severe damages to the home of Denise Kuba of Wells.

8 &8212; Bruce Mittag, 65, of rural Glenville, died in a farm accident involving a skid loader.

9 &8212; Lucas Wangsness, 20, of Albert Lea, was charged in Freeborn County District Court with first-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault. Anthony Iverson, 20, also of Albert Lea, was charged with second-degree assault. These charges were based on the men being involved in a fight at the Channel View Apartments where a man was shot in the leg with shotgun pellets.

12 &8212; The final closing for the purchase of the Albert Lea Golf Club was announced.

17 &8212; A fire destroyed the home of Diane Brackey in Lake Mills, Iowa.

18 &8212; Benjamin Perez Segura was charged with criminal mischief for the alleged arson fire at the Brackey home in Lake Mills,

according to Winnebago County authorities.

22 &8212; Scott Hanna, a captain with the Albert Lea Fire Department, was named as citizen of the year by fifth graders in the city schools.

22 &8212; Eddie Alvin Hopper, 25, of Albert Lea, was charged with terroristic threats and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in Freeborn County District Court. He allegedly pointed a pistol at a neighbor&8217;s head during an argument.

25 &8212; State Representative Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea, announced he would not seek reelection.

30 &8212; Brett Kelly Crumb, 47, of Hartland, was charged in Freeborn County District court with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, based on an alleged drinking party involving minors. Also, a stabbing of a juvenile by another juvenile reportedly occurred during this party.

JUNE

2 &8212; Geores Buttner-Clevenger, 69, arrived in Albert Lea after running the full length of U.S. Highway 69 from Port Arthur, Texas, to the north end of this highway near the Skyline Plaza. His run was 1,136 miles in distance.

7 &8212; A Freeborn County District Court jury found Larry Barnett guilty of burglary based on a break-in on March 19 at the Alliance Benefits Group building on East Clark Street.

8 &8212; The Albert Lea Medical Center announced plans to add two more levels or floors to the main building.

26 &8212; Dennis Vanderwoude, 53, of Albert Lea, was injured in an accident at Advanced Component Technologies in Northwood, Iowa. He died the following day at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester.

JULY

3 &8212; Television star Marion Ross, who grew up in Albert Lea, was the grand marshall of the Sesquicentennial parade.

13 &8212; The Albert Lea planning Commission approved plans to convert the former Albert Lea Golf Club property into a residential area to be known as Eagles&8217; Rest.

14 &8212; A change in venue was approved for the pending trial of Robert Hughes of Albert Lea, charged for the murder of his wife on May 25, 2005, from Freeborn County to Olmsted County.

AUGUST

1-6 &8212; Freeborn County Fair

4 &8212; Jerry Jim, 18, of Austin, reportedly stole a car in Albert Lea on July 29. He allegedly didn&8217;t pay for gas in Osage, Iowa, and was arrested in St. Ansgar, Iowa, after crashing the car during a police chase.

7 &8212; Lon Hatton, 41, of Cold Spring, Minn., reportedly stole a car in Hollandale on Aug. 4 and was arrested near Ft. Pierre, S.D.

10 &8212; Undersecretary Tom Dorr of the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited the Soymor and Exol plants just west of Glenville.

18 &8212; Emerlee (Emmy) Ann Stilley, 34, of Glenville, was injured in a two car collision two miles south of Alden. Victor Andreas Stafne, 17, driver of the second car was injured. A passenger in the Stafne car, 19-year-old Caleb Alan Kleinschrodt, was also injured.

26 &8212; The home of Tom Henderson, rural Glenville, was badly damaged by fire.

25 &8212; Aruan Enrique Campa, 21, was sentence in Freeborn County District Court to 10 years in prison for the robbery of the Countryside Motel in February.

SEPTEMBER

1 &8212; A ground breaking ceremony was held for the new expansion project at Albert Lea Medical Center.

12 &8212; The primary election in Albert Lea resulted in Randy Erdman and Rex Stotts being selected to be on the November ballot for the office of mayor. George Gillespie, John Cook, Chad Hayson and Kyle Katzenmeyer were the other contenders for this position.

For City Council Ward Two the contenders were Tina Le, Richard Hench, Paul Carstens, Larry Baker and Mike Kelly were on the ballot,. Hench and Baker won and would be on the November ballot.

14 &8212; The United South Central School Board voted to close the Kiester Middle School at the end of the school year in 2007. (This decision was questioned as to legality and was altered at a later date.)

24 &8212; Albert Lea police were investigating the stabbing in the arm of Ryan Jensen, 24, which reportedly took place near the Kwik Trip on Front Street.

OCTOBER

2 &8212; A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Freeborn County Veterans&8217; Memorial near the corner of South Washington Avenue and East College Street.

4 &8212; A hail storm caused extensive damages to buildings, vehicles and crops in the south part of Freeborn County and into north Iowa. Lightning during this same storm caused a fire at the Bricelyn grain elevator which was quickly extinguished.

7-8 &8212; The Big Island Rendezvous was held at the Bancroft Bay City Park.

9 &8212; The trail for Robert Michael Hughes, 33, charged with the murder of his wife, Tammy, in Albert Lea on May 25, 2005, started at the Olmsted County Courthouse in Rochester.

17 &8212; Hughes was found guilty of first-degree and second-degree murder by a jury&8217;s verdict in Rochester.

20 &8212; Hughes was sentenced to life in prison by Freeborn County District Court Judge John Chesterman.

30 &8212; About 600 employees were evacuated from the Cummins Filtration plant in Lake Mills, Iowa, as the result of a bomb scare.

NOVEMBER

7 &8212; Randy Erdman won over Rex Stotts to be the new mayor of Albert Lea.

City council results in this election were: Ward Two, Larry Baker won over Richard Hench; Ward Four, Reid Olson won over Lanier Pratt; and Ward Six, Al &8220;Minnow&8221; Brooks won over Art Anderson.

School District 241 voters defeated a proposed levy increase.

Mark Harig was reelected Freeborn County Sheriff, winning over challenger Bill Villarreal. Dan Belshan was reelected to represent District Two on the Freeborn County Board, winning over Curtis O. Gnieffke. Christopher Shoff won over William &8220;Bill&8221; Danielson to represent District Four on the County Board. Dennis Distad (unopposed) was reelected Freeborn County Auditor-Treasurer, Kelly Callahan (unopposed) was reelected to be Freeborn County Recorder, and Craig S. Nelson (unopposed) was reelected Freeborn County attorney.

Robin Brown won over Matt Benda to represent District 27A in the state legislature. Dan Sparks was reelected to represent District 27 in the state senate, winning over challenger George Marin.

7 &8212; The voter turnout in Freeborn County was 79 percent.

7 &8212; Voters in the United South Central School District defeated a proposed levy.

15 &8212; The United south Central School District Board of Education voted to close the Kiester Middle School on June 30, 2008.

DECEMBER

4 &8212; Jeremy David Johnson, 25, of Albert Lea, was sentenced in Freeborn County District Court to 36 months in prison for felony criminal sexual conduct with a child.

7 &8212; Ron Gabrielsen, Freeborn County Administrator, announced his resignation which would be effective on March 1, 2007.

8 &8212; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 45 immigration status violators in the Albert Lea and Austin area as a part of Operation Return to Sender.

11 &8212; The Minnesota Department of Health was investigating an outbreak of E. coli in Albert Lea which was reportedly traced to the local Taco John&8217;s. A total of 14 cases of E. coli have been reported in Albert Lea and Austin.

14 &8212; The Tribune confirmed that the Faribault County Attorney in Blue Earth had resolved the charges agianst members of the Yahnke family of Frost. The father, Marvin Yanhke, pleaded guilty to possession of fireworkers and paid a fine. The Yanhkes were reportedly involved with a explosion which destroyed a portable toilet in Albert Lea on March 24.