B2 SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 POST-BULLETIN • www.PostBulletin.com Obituaries / local news Robert Francis Kelly — Elk River Richard F. ‘Dick’ Searles — Pine Island Robert Francis Kelly of Elk River, son of Arthur and Rose, died Sunday, April 14, 2013, at the age of 87. Robert was born June 16, 1925, in Simpson, graduated from Rochester High School, and served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-1946. Robert retired after 37 years from the Chicago Northwestern Railroad in 1987 and farmed from 1967 until 2011 in Simpson where he grew up. Robert is survived by his wife, Ina; four daughters, Barbara (Lynn) Moeller of Minnetonka, Catherine “Kitty” of Plymouth, Colleen (Kris) Kareti of Albuquerque, N.M., and Diane (Robert) Weikle of Shakopee; and Kelly six sons, Timothy (Debra) of Laurel, Maryland, Michael (Elaine) of Big Lake, Steve (Nancy) of Erie Colo., Jerry (Melanie) of Chanhassen, Robert (Fern) of Ocean Springs, Miss., and Kevin (Peggy) of Brighton, Colo. He was the grandfather of 14, Ben and Alexandra Moeller, Christine (Dean) Singley, Matthew (Michelle), Melissa (Kenny) Kamper, and Rachel, Tracy, Mikayla (Tim) Sager, Michael, Courtney and Nick, Ryan (Amy) and Jena, (Bryan) Hartley and Luke. He was a great-grandfather of 12; and great-great-grandfather of four. He is also survived by his sister, Rosella Bernard of Chatfield; and his brother, Vincent of Rochester; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his grandson, Jesse Jensen. Viewing will be held Friday April 26, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home in Rochester and a half hour prior to the service at the church. The funeral mass for Robert will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 at St. Bridget church in Simpson, Minn., officiated by Rev. Matt Fasnacht, with interment to follow service. Online condolences are welcome at mackenfuneralhome.com. Richard F. “Dick” Searles, 94, of Pine Island died on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, at the Pine Haven Care Center, where he had been a patient for the past two days. The funeral service will be on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Pine Island with the Revs. John Torris Lohre and Kip Groettum officiating. Burial will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Monday, April 22, 2013, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mahn Family Funeral Home ‑ Mahler Chapel in Pine Island and on Tuesday for one hour prior to the service at the church. Searles Richard Frank Searles was born on Dec. 16, 1918, in Pine Island, Minn., to Ray and Alvina (nee Fiek) Searles. He grew up in Pine Island, attended Pine Island Schools, graduated from Pine Island High School in 1937 and attended one year of college. On May 8, 1940, Dick married Helen Stucky in Cresco, Iowa. And they made their home in Pine Island. On Jan. 30, 1942, Dick entered the U.S. Navy. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations with the Seabees. Dick was honorably discharged on October 29, 1945. After returning to Pine Island, Dick started Searles Construction and worked as a self-employed carpenter/contractor for over thirty years. Over the years, Dick enjoyed fishing, bowling and attending Seabees reunions. He was active in Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Charles Cowden American Legion Post #184 in Pine Island and as a volunteer at the Pine Haven Care Center. Dick is survived by his wife, Helen; daughter, Paula (Robert) Hofer of Elk River; son, Brian (Jane) Searles of Hanover Park, Ill.; granddaughters, Tracy (Pete) Nielsen of St. Paul and Angela (Matt) Huber of Fridley and great-granddaughter, Celia Huber of Fridley. Dick was preceded in death by an infant son and his parents. T. Dean Borland — Albert Lea A Celebration of Life for T. Dean Borland, 88, of Albert Lea, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, April 26, 2013, at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home in Albert Lea. Military honors will be accorded by Albert Lea servicemen’s organizations, VFW and American Legion. Online condolences are welcome at bayviewfuneral.com. Dean died Tuesday, April 9, 2013, at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester. T. Dean Borland was born Dec. 2, 1924, the son of Archie and Anna (Putman) Borland in Hampton, Iowa. He grew up in Albert Lea Borland where he graduated from Albert Lea High School on June 3, 1943. Dean served his country in the European Theater during World War II in the United States Army. He was honorably discharged on April 16, 1946. On Dec.11, 1947, Dean was united in marriage to Dolores Larson at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. Dean was a small business owner including the Looking Glass Beauty Salon, BoDean Beauty Supply and the Rochester Beauty School. He enjoyed golfing, traveling and fishing. Blessed be his memory. Survivors include his wife, Dolores; children, Dale Borland, Marsha (Borland) Kranebell, LoJean Borland and Scott Borland; grandson, Chad (Nikki) Kranebell; great-grandchildren, Jackson Kranebell and Audrey Kranebell; and sister, Marion Thompson. Dean was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Lois Madzia. In memory of Dean Borland memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers to the Freeborn County Historical Museum, 1031 Bridge Avenue Albert Lea, MN 56007. George ’Roger’ Gilbert — Spring Valley Funeral services for George “Roger” Gilbert will be held at 11 a.m. Monday April 22, 2013, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church with Revs. Dennis Timmerman and Laura Fladten officiating. Visitation will be held Sunday 5 p.m. to 7 P.M. at the Hindt Funeral Home in Spring Valley and will continue for one hour prior to the service at the church. Mr Gilbert, 77, of Spring Valley passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on Friday April 19, 2013, after a lengthy illness. George Roger Gilbert was born Nov. 4, 1935, at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, to George Gilbert Walter Gilbert and Clarice Hillestead Gilbert. He attended school in Spring Valley and was united in marriage to Ramona Ruud on Aug. 1, 1955. Roger worked at Land O’ Lakes in Spring Valley where he retired as Chief Boiler Engineer after 43 years. A true outdoorsman, Roger was an avid trout fisherman, trapper and hunter, hunting rattlesnake and ginseng in years past. He also loved to ride motorcycles and was a member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church. Roger was a quiet, gentle and honest man and also a great steward of the land. His greatest joys in life were his wife, children and family. He is survived by his wife, Ramona Gilbert of Spring Valley; son, Roger Daniel (Susan) Gilbert of Spring Valley; daughter, Lavonne Knutson (Steven Kraling) of Ostrander; seven grandchildren,10 great-grandchildren; and two siblings, Patricia (Robert) Grabau of Stewartville and Marilyn Gehrking of Spring Valley. He was preceded in death by his parents; a daughter, Lucy Gilbert; a son-in-law, Bradley Knutson; and a great grandson, Joseph Mlinar. Condolences may be left at Hindtfuneralhomes.com Notices of death George “Roger” Gilbert, 77 of Spring Valley died Friday at his home. Service will be 11 a.m. Monday at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Spring Valley. Hindt Funeral Home, Spring Valley. Robert Francis Kelly, 87, of Elk River, formerly of Rochester, died Sunday. A Mass will be 1 p.m. April 27, at St Bridget’s in Simpson. Macken Funeral Home, Rochester. Robert Duaine Knudson, 80, of Crosby, formerly of Rochester and Dodge Center, died Wednesday at his home. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Sunday at the Zion Lutheran Church in Crosby. Koop Funeral Home, Crosby. Jean Schuett, 90, of St. Charles, Minn., passed away Friday at the Golden Living Center in St. Charles. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at the St. Charles Bible Church in St. Charles. Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home of Winona. Reno Vantaggi, 100, died Thursday, April 4, 2013, at Maple Manor Healthcare and Rehabilitation where he had been confined for the past several weeks. A memorial service for Reno and Zola, will be 1 p.m. May 2, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rochester. Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes, Rochester. Virginia D. ‘Gini’ Anderson — Minneola, Fla. Virginia D. ‘Gini’ Anderson, 69, of Minneola, Fla., formerly of Rochester, passed away Friday, April 12, 2013, after a brief illness. Gini was born Dec.1, 1943, in Rochester. She was a mother and housewife and traveled extensively around the world with her husband. She enjoyed playing golf and kept busy with her craft hobbies. She is survived by her husband of 48 years Larry “Swede”; daughters, Tammy (Dewey) Mullan and Janet Rabe; four grandchildren, Miranda, Jonathan, Cody and Kyle; and two great-grandchildren, Braydon and Bryson. Anderson A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 4, at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Becker Family Funeral Home, 806 W. Minneola Ave, Clermont, Fla. A Celebration of Gini’s Life will be held June 15, at 25582 E. Comfort Drive, in Chisago City. Cremation Choices, Minneola is in charge of arrangements. Alfred Edward McGinnis — Rochester Alfred Edward McGinnis, 84, of Rochester, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 19, 2013, at Saint Marys Hospital, Rochester, Minn. Al was born Dec. 16, 1928, to James and Martha (Schmidt) McGinnis in Caledonia, Minn. He graduated from Loretto High School, Caledonia, and St. John’s College, Collegeville, Minn. Al served four years in the U.S. Navy, from 1951 to 1955. On July 2, 1955, he married the love of his life, Maureen Hildhal. Shortly after, he began his 35 years at International Harvester. McGinnis Al is survived by his wife, Maureen; three daughters, Kate, Colleen (Don) Taylor, Maggie (Andy) Walsh; three sons, Dennis, Jim (Sally), John (Beth); siblings, Bob (Shirley), Bill (Darlene) and Sister Martha Ann; and 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Mike; a daughter, Martha; siblings, Dr. Jim, Monsignor Joe, Mary, Rita (Klug), and John. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 450 S. Pine, Caledonia. The Rev. Gregory Leif will officiate and burial with military honors will be in Calvary Cemetery, Caledonia. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday at Holy Family Hall, next to the church, where a rosary will be said at 4 p.m. and a scripture service at 7:30 pm. Visitation will also be one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. McCormick Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements and online condolences may be given at mccormickfuneralhome.net Obituary Policy Death Notices are published free of charge. Obituaries are paid space and are published as they are submitted. Obituaries generally are handled by funeral directors, although we also accept them from families. Please send them to: obit@ postbulletin.com, fax to 507-285-7772, or bring them to Post-Bulletin offices, 18 First Ave. S.E., Rochester, or 201 S. Main St., Austin. Families receive 10 free Post-Bulletin newspapers with their submitted obituary, upon request. Laminated copies of an obituary are available at a nominal cost. For more information, call 507-285-7791. Riverland instructor named educator of the year By Brian Sander [email protected] The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees has named Riverland Community College biology instruct Alan Erdahl one of its educators of the year. Erdahl was one of four selected from among 36 nominated by students, faulty peers and staff. The other three recipients are Andrew Aspaas of Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Darci Goeden of Central Lakes College, and Susan Thaemert of Hennepin Technical College. The MnSCU board bestows the award to acknowledge and reward exceptional professional accomplishment and to encourage ongoing excellence in teaching, according to a press release. This is the seventh year of the awards. “These faculty members have all gone well beyond expectations to provide support to their students in achieving their academic goals,” Clarence Hightower, chairman of the board of trustees said in a press release. Riverland Community College, a member of the MnSCU system, serves approximately 4,900 students annually through a wide range of credit-based educational opportunities. An additional 5,400 students are annually served in non-credit courses. Facilities are located in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna. Comments? Local news editor Mike Klein/[email protected] Rochester wants local DMC money requirement scaled back Staver: New $128M price tag a stretch By Heather J. Carlson [email protected] ST. PAUL — Rochester officials are urging lawmakers to scale back the $128 million local match for Mayo Clinic’s Destination Medical Center initiative. A House plan unveiled earlier this week more than doubled the amount of money the city of Rochester and Olmsted County will need to chip in toward Mayo’s expansion plan. Rochester City Council interim President Randy Staver said the city had initially planned to contribute $60 million and was prepared to go up to $88 million, but the new $128 million price tag “is a real stretch.” He added, “What’s important to me is we don’t want to unduly burden the taxpayers of Rochester.” Those lobbying Staver efforts are primarily centered on the Senate where a new version of the plan is slated to be unveiled on Monday during a Senate Taxes Committee hearing. Mayo Clinic says it is pledging to invest $3.5 billion to expand its Rochester campus and leverage an additional $2 billion in private investments over 20 years in an effort to remain globally competitive. In exchange, Mayo wants the state to help the city of Rochester and Olmsted County pay for the public infrastructure upgrades needed to support that project. Those dollars would go toward roads, bridges, transit and site preparation. Funding plans The initial project called for up to $565 million in state assistance with funding coming from a portion of the additional state taxes generated by the 20-year project. But that idea hit a roadblock in St. Paul where legislators said they were concerned about setting a precedent that would lead to other companies across the state wanting to do the same thing. Under the latest House plan, Mayo Clinic is required to spend $200 million on construction before the state dollars begin to flow. The state’s commitment would be $338 million for non-transportation projects and $83 million for transportation. Olmsted County’s contribution to transportation-related projects would be capped at $33 million. Included in the House bill are a number of options for the city and county to raise the needed dollars. They include allowing the city to extend its half-cent localoption sales tax, raise its lodging tax, use a food and beverage tax. The county would have the option of impose a quarter-cent sales tax and/or imposing a wheelage fee of up to $10 per vehicle. Senate Taxes Committee Chairman Rod Skoe said in an interview on Friday he has been working closely with the House Taxes Committee Chairwoman Ann Lenczewski and Rochester legislators. While the Senate plan will not be identical to the House plan, he said there will be many similarities. As for the local match, Skoe has advised the city to work closely with its lawmakers if they want to get that figure lowered. At this point, Mayo Clinic spokesman Karl Oestreich said the clinic is pleased to see the proposal continuing to advance. “We’re still happy with the progress of the bills,” he said. “We’re happy with the progress, it’s consistent with our original principles and goals.” We want to make sure we are treated fairly and able to capture back some of that tax base.” — John Wade Also concerned about the potential for higher local taxes is Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce President John Wade. If the city and county need to chip in more for the project, Wade said he wants to make sure that it doesn’t lead to higher property taxes. Ideally, he would like the city and county to have choices about how to raise that money, including being able to use a portion of the additional tax revenue generated by development to cover the cost. He added, “We want to make sure we are treated fairly and able to capture back some of that tax base.” Who oversees the DMC? One area where the House and Senate plans are expected to differ is in the oversight of the DMC plan. The House puts the Rochester City Council in charge of determining how the public dollars are spent. The current Senate version creates an authority board to oversee the DMC project. Rochester residents would be prohibited from serving on that authority and all of the board members would be appointed by the governor. Rochester officials said they have concerns about putting an authority made up entirely of non-residents in charge of determining what local projects advance. Rochester City Council Wojcik member Michael Wojcik said he believes the city council should get the final say in how these dollars are used and should play a greater role in determining who is on the authority. He also backs a change made to the House plan that requires the DMC board abide by the state’s Data Practices Act. “If the local taxpayers have to put money in, the local taxpayers deserve to have representation, oversight and open meetings and that is why that authority is so important,” he said. Like Staver, he is also concerned about how much the city is being asked to contribute and said it seems as though Rochester is being treated unfairly when compared to other cities where large projects have been done like the Vikings stadium and Twins stadium. Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said he expects that the Senate plan will change to allow for at least some Rochester representation on the authority, but he said it’s also important for statewide representation. “We can’t entirely give up the state taxpayers’ perspective on this over 20 years,” he said. “They have to be part of the project.”