Living History: Jacobson Oil Co. robbed of $100 early Tuesday morning

10 years ago

Excerpts from the July, 2006 Pioneer Journal

• Ethanol company eyes Wadena property

An ethanol company with offices in Iowa and Nevada has purchased an option on land in Wadena, a company official confirmed this week.

Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc., a public company which trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol GPRE, is constructing ethanol plants in Shenandoah, Iowa, and is planning a second plant in Superior, Iowa.

Barry Ellsworth, president of Green Plains Renewable Energy, said his company purchased an option on land in Wadena. Purchasing an option is purchasing the right to buy the land within a certain timeframe.

A feasibility study on whether the Wadena area could support a plant - detailing factors like availability of rail lines to transport product and the area's supply of corn - will now be conducted.

GPRE aims to produce ethanol, a clean burning fuel added to regular gasoline which is also used as a primary fuel in e85 gasoline. The company also plans to produce Distillers Grains, a high protein, high energy animal feed supplement primarily marketed to the dairy and beef industry, according to its website. Distillers Grains are a byproduct of the manufacture of ethanol.

25 years ago

Excerpts from the July 25, 1991 Pioneer Journal

• State plans cut in Army Guards

A letter outlining a proposal to reduce manpower within the Minnesota Army National Guard by 59 percent was intended to quell rumors about military cutbacks, a guard spokesman said Monday.

The letter, from Maj. gen. Eugene Andreotti, adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, is being read at guard drills around the state. It warns that while the Gulf War is over, the "war of survival in tomorrow's army structure is just heating up."

Andreotti said the 34th Infantry Division, headquartered in St. Paul, could find its ranks and its stature sharply reduced. The division encompasses parts of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

A guard spokesman said, however, that there are no plans to reduce troop levels in unit affiliated with Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 136 Infantry, stationed in Moorhead.

He said some cutback decisions have already been made. But others, including staffing levels for the Minnesota guard, are still being negotiated.

The current plan by the Department of the Army, Andreotti said, calls for equal reduction in the active and reserve forces. Under that plan, 137,000 men and women would be cut nationwide from the guard.

Troop strength in the Minnesota Guard would be cut 59 percent in the first phase.

50 years ago

Excerpts from the July 28, 1966 Pioneer Journal

• Jacobson Oil Co. robbed of $100 early Tuesday morning

Jacobson Oil Company on east Hwy. 10 in Wadena was robbed of approximately $100 from the cash register early Tuesday morning, according to the Wadena Police Department. The incident took place approximately 12:30 a.m.

Howard McIntyre, Jacobson employee, was at the pumps to give $2 worth of gas to a motorist and was also asked to tighten a wheel lug wrench. While attending to the car, the motorist, Elliot Jore, 29, of St. Paul, and his wife and small child entered the gas station.

Upon his return to the station to ring up the gas in the register, McIntyre noted that a large sum of money was missing. He notified the local police department who in turn radioed the description of the vehicle and people who had just appeared at the Jacobson station to other police stations. Detroit Lakes police apprehended the couple and when the Wadena police questioned them of the missing money, they denied stealing it. A thorough search was made of the couple's vehicle and no money was found.

The subjects were brought back to Wadena and were charged with petty larceny. They appeared in municipal court Wednesday and pleaded guilty to the charge. Jore was assessed a fine of $50.

Jore lives in St. Paul and is presently unemployed. He is wanted in Grand Forks, N.D. at the sheriff's office for questioning for acquiring money under false pretenses, authorities stated. Records reveal that he has served in a federal penitentiary for interstate transportation of stolen firearms.