Jon and Tammy Lueck and their sons Tyler, right, Matthew and Nicholas, not pictured, run Lazy Loon Brewing Co. in Glencoe. The new brewery and taproom opened this past week.
When life gives you lemons, the saying goes you make lemonade. In the case of Jon Lueck, however, you make beer.
Lueck is owner of the new Lazy Loon Brewing Co. and taproom at 610 13th St. E., Glencoe, right off State Highway 22. Don’t let the name fool you, Lueck is anything but lazy.
The Watertown native started his brewing company in 2014 out of his residence in Victoria, and in 2015 he began searching for a new facility to brew and open a taproom. After years of planning; complying with state, federal and city regulations; and a yearlong buildout process that Lueck and his family took on largely themselves, the new brewery and taproom opened this past week.
“It’s kind of a relief to finally be open,” he said. “It seemed like we kept thinking we were close and kept hitting different hurdles that pushed out the opening. But we wanted to take our time and do it right.”
Lueck is the first to admit it’s been a long road to opening day. It was all the way back in June 2018 when Glencoe City Council, upon Lueck’s request, began amending the city’s liquor ordinance to allow for a brewery and taproom in town. At that time he hoped to have the doors open within a couple months, but in business things often don’t go as planned. It would be nearly two years later until people were enjoying beer inside Lazy Loon.
Part of the reason for the delayed opening were obstacles encountered during the buildout. Lueck and his sons — Tyler, Matthew and Nicholas — did much of the work themselves. One of the first issues they faced was a redesign of the layout. Although original plans called for a larger taproom, changes were made when it was discovered that the building’s water main was not large enough to support a fire suppression system. That meant a smaller space with a maximum occupancy set at 49.
It was quiet noon Saturday at opening of Lazy Loon Brewing Co., but more visitors stopped in at the taproom to escape the cold as the day went on.
Another time-consuming project was the full kitchen. Not only can people enjoy a beverage at Lazy Loon, they can also grab a bite to eat such as burgers, chicken and pulled pork sandwiches, french fries and onion rings.
“That ended up being important to me. People can come in and have food,” Lueck said. “That’s what I learned after the fact, the statistics are that actual taprooms, breweries, the growth is slowing, but what is now taking off are the breweries with kitchens.”
When it comes to drinks, the taproom currently offers seven beers and one hard seltzer, but Lueck expects the offerings to grow now that most of the construction is complete and he can turn his focus back to brewing. Still, Lueck is looking forward to spring and tackling exterior projects such as a new sign, parking lot improvements and outdoor seating.
“Now that the money is finally coming in instead of all going out, we can look at continuing to put some more improvements into this,” he said.
For now, Lazy Loon is open 6-9 p.m. Thursday, 4-9 p.m. Friday, noon-9 p.m. Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday, but Lueck expects those hours to change as they begin to hire and train more staff. Check the Lazy Loon Brewing Company Facebook page for updates.
Along with craft beer, Lazy Loon serves food such as onion rings and burgers from its full kitchen.
It was a long wait for Lueck’s dream to come true, but he’s pleased with the final product and believes customers will be as well. Despite last week’s snowstorm, craft beer fans braved the blizzard and cold temps to check out the new taproom, which came as no surprise to Lueck who said Glencoe residents have been patient and friendly as they waited for their new hometown brewery.
“People are excited that we’re finally open,” he said. “Even before we were open people would walk by. The citizens of Glencoe have been great. They’ve been looking forward to it and have a lot of positive responses.”
Roads of Ice
The McLeod County Sheriff’s Office responded to a one-vehicle rollover in the area of Airport Road and State Highway 22 at 4:06 p.m. Sunday near Hutchinson. A 2003 Ford Pickup driven by Hannah Franke, 29, of Lester Prairie was off the road. There were no injuries and the vehicle was towed. Road conditions Saturday and Sunday were dangerous all around the county as the Sheriff’s Office reported assisting with several vehicles that went into ditches.
What projects across Minnesota should the state fund through bonds? That's the question lawmakers traditionally debate every other year, and starting next month they'll do so as part of the 2020 legislative session in St. Paul.
To help tackle the bonding bill, legislators spent weeks on the road this past year to learn about local needs and issues, and hear funding pitches from cities, counties and local agencies. Gov. Tim Walz has proposed a roughly $2 billion package that includes numerous local projects, major projects for state buildings, water and wastewater treatment, projects on college campuses, road and bridge repairs and public safety improvements. Lawmakers mostly seem to agree on what types of things need funding aid, but disagree on how much money to spend on that aid, and what local projects qualify for state tax dollars.
Included in the governor's recommendations is $5 million to aid in a $10 million project to improve the civics arena and park system of Litchfield, and to construct a new wellness center/recreation facility. Also included in the governor's recommendations is $5 million of a $10 million project to help the Dassel-Cokato Public School District construct a regional activity center that includes a walking track, field house, gymnastics facility and community center. Not included in the governor's recommendations is a $4.5 million request from Hutchinson to improve and rehabilitate local waters for wildlife and recreation.
“We had a record number of requests for state assistance from communities across Minnesota," Walz said in a statement. "The need is real, interest rates are low, and the best time to fix a leaky roof isn’t after your house has flooded. The time to act is now.”
The DFL has the majority in the House, but Republicans hold the majority in the Senate. Both parties will likely need to compromise as a two-thirds majority is required to pass the bonding bill.
"The state of Minnesota has never passed a bonding bill in excess of a billion dollars," said Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, vice chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee. "I'm thinking that in the senate we will be looking at something between three-quarters of a billion and a billion dollars."
The 2018 bill was $825 million. Newman said the interest on $2 billion in bonds compared to $1 billion would be too high.
"In my mind, what we spend money on is brick and mortal infrastructure type things," he said. "Transportation would come to mind first for me, roads and bridges and treatment plants, airports, port authorities, that kind of thing."
He said the state's two college systems also need money to keep up with building maintenance.
"And there are local projects, some of which are very legitimate, and some of which are not," Newman said. "We will try to help small cities with wastewater treatment problems, but things like a theater or a hockey rink, those things in my mind are local projects. ... The rule of thumb is if it's not a state asset, it has to be of regional significance."
Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, said his No. 1 priority in the bonding bill is to expand U.S. Highway 212 to four lanes from Cologne to Norwood Young America. Doing so will finish a four-lane connection from McLeod County to the metro area.
Most regional centers in rural Minnesota have a continuous four-lane connection to the metro area, but McLeod County, a center for manufacturing and agriculture with a large commuting population, is one of the few exceptions.
"It will be a tremendous economic benefit to this district to get this completed," Gruenhagen said. "I've been working on that for six years."
Newman, who chairs the Transportation Finance and Policy committee, also named Highway 212 improvements as a top bonding priority.
"There is no four-lane highway coming out of the metropolitan going west except I-94," Newman said. "We need a four-lane road. That's going to benefit all of the surrounding areas."
Gruenhagen said that his additional bonding priorities include road and bridge work for which there is a "dire need," and upgrades to wastewater plants and sewer lines to help small cities keep up with costly state and federal regulations. He said that when small cities have to raise taxes to meet water regulations, it can be devastating to people on fixed and low income.
Dean Urdahl, the Republican lead on the House Capital Investment Committee, is doubtful the governor's proposal will be adopted.
"We won't get to a $2 billion bonding bill," he said. "There's a lot of opposition in the Senate and House for going that high."
While he is not aware of an official number proposed by House Democrats, he's heard $3 billion from committee members.
"Obviously there is going to be a lot of negotiation," Urdahl said. "But keep in mind that a bonding bill requires a super majority. The Democrats need Republicans to pass a bonding bill."
He wants to see a bonding bill heavy on infrastructure that is geographically and politically balanced. His prioties include clean water, wastewater projects, asset preservation for the state's two college systems and local roads and bridges.
"Also we'll be looking at affordable housing," Urdahl said.
He hopes the state can tackle the issue, as well as find methods to expand child care facilities in rural Minnesota, perhaps by easing regulations or seeking public/private partnerships. The issue could be tackled in the bonding bill or outside of it.
"These are important workforce areas. It's hard to get people to come out to Greater Minnesota to work if there is nowhere to live and no one to take care of their children," Urdahl said. "In Litchfield there is an expansion of Bobcat potentially bringing in 200 workers, so maybe 200 families. Right now there are 21 houses available in Litchfield."
Urdahl also named the Hutchinson waters project, Litchfield's wellness center and the Dassel-Cokato schools project as local bonding priorities.
Hutchinson’s portion of the bill for this summer’s State Highway 15/Main Street reconstruction project may end up costing $1 million more than previously estimated, according to City Engineer Kent Exner. This was among the details Exner discussed at last week’s City Council meeting during a review of the cooperative agreement the city is considering with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The project calls for full reconstruction of the roadway and underground utilities covering seven downtown blocks between Second Avenue North and Fifth Avenue South, as well as pavement resurfacing, sidewalk and pedestrian improvements from Fifth Avenue south to Airport Road. The work is scheduled to begin in May and wrap up by November.
Along with outlining the construction and longterm maintenance responsibilities of the city and MnDOT, the agreement clarifies the city’s cost obligations for the project. According to the agreement, the city’s share of the bill includes 100 percent of the water and sanitary sewer costs, as well as portions of the costs associated with other utilities, street lights, sidewalks, traffic lights, parking lane construction and improvements that meet Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.
Back in August, the city estimated its share of the project’s cost at $1.7 million, but that has increased substantially and is now estimated at $2.7 million. Several factors led to the increase, according to Exner, including the overall rise in the costs of construction materials from August to January.
Soil and groundwater contamination was another major factor. Petroleum-based contamination was found in several areas where there used to be gas stations along Main Street. To properly treat and handle the contaminated material during construction is an expensive process, Exner said, for which the city must spend an estimated $150,000.
That contamination also leads to another added expense for the city’s water and sewer utilities as special pipes and gaskets are required.
“You can't put a typical PVC pipe in with a normal rubber gasket in it,” Exner said. “These gaskets, we're talking on a 12-inch sewer pipe, are $400-$500 a piece, the gaskets alone.”
Another significant factor in the increase is related to the city’s plan for its street lights along the highway.
MnDOT estimates it would cost less than $100,000 to build a new street light system that would meet its standards. The city, however, wants to refurbish and reuse its current decorative street lights after giving them a fresh coat of paint and rewiring them to be fitted with LED lighting. MnDOT estimates the cost for that work to be $436,708, and according to the agreement it will only pay the approximate amount for the cheaper lighting system, which is about 20 percent of the total cost. That is not the cost share Exner was expecting, he said, and that means the city is on the hook for the difference, which is about $349,366.
“(MnDOT) deviated, per their central office review, from an agreement we had on a district level here,” Exner said. “That price went up over $100,000.”
PAYMENT FIRST
City Council is expected to vote on the agreement at its next meeting Tuesday, Jan. 28, following a public hearing at 6 p.m.
Assuming the council approves the agreement, the project bid opening is scheduled for Feb. 28. After the bid opening, new prices will be calculated and the city will be given a final estimate for the project. The city must pay the state for its share of the project before MnDOT awards the contract to the lowest bidder, which it hopes to do by the end of March.
“They get the convenience of having all of our money up front,” Exner said.
That final estimate of the city’s costs may change, and if it does Exner believes it wouldn’t be to the city’s advantage.
“My fear is that it actually might be higher (than the estimate), recognizing the expectations for the contractor to turn this around relatively quickly and start work May 1,” Exner said. “Also, just the contracting bidding environment we’ve been in the last couple years especially, prices have increased noticeably.”
Once the city makes its upfront payment to the state, it’s cost obligations are still not finished. After work is complete and the final cost of the city’s share of the project is determined, the agreement states that the city will either receive a refund for the difference if the total is less than the upfront payment, or it may have to pay the difference if the total exceeds the upfront payment.
“Either MnDOT will cut us a check,” Exner said, “or we’ll cut them a check for the increase in our share of the work.”
