Home Care In Hugo, MN

The railroad track that serves the Bald Eagle Industrial Park in Hugo was in such bad shape a few years ago that Minnesota Commercial Railway planned to abandon the line.

The 7,600 railroad ties on the 6.5-mile “short line” had rotted to the point that the railbed was uneven, and trains were in danger of tipping over, said Wayne Hall, the railway’s chief operating officer.

With just 10 to 15 cars using the freight-rail spur each month, railway officials couldn’t justify a loan to make the necessary repairs. Minnesota Commercial, which operates and maintains the Burlington Northern tracks, announced in 2015 that service would end the following year.

“We did some maintenance, but it was too big a job,” Hall said. “For the amount of rail cars, we would never have been able to recover (the costs). We would have abandoned the line.”

The news sent local officials and owners of businesses within the industrial park scrambling. Loadmaster Lubricants and JL Schwieters Construction depend on the freight-rail spur to bring in raw materials such as base oil and milled lumber.

In 2016, company officials worked with city, county and state officials to secure $1.5 million in state funding to repair and upgrade the line, which runs from White Bear Lake to its terminus in the industrial park in Hugo.

The repairs have been done in stages with no stop in service; repairs are expected to be completed by September.

During a tour of the industrial park on Thursday, officials from Loadmaster Lubricants told U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and local officials that the rail-line repairs mean their business can stay in Minnesota.

The company, which produces high-grade lubricants for mining, agriculture and other industries, ships in about 24,000 gallons of base oil each week by rail.

“Shipping costs are five times more expensive if you have to bring it in by truck,” said Butch Hitchcock, the company’s vice president of services and operations. “So it would make the price go up, and we wouldn’t be competitive. We would have had to leave and buy another plant near rail.”

The company, which employs 20 people in its 80,000-square-foot plant, expects to double its workforce in the next five years, said Josh Barritt, production manager.

In addition to being more economical, shipping by freight rail saves wear and tear on area highways, said Washington County Commissioner Fran Miron.

“It would take five 18-wheelers to ship what one rail car can ship,” he said. “Eighteen wheelers eat up roads quicker than normal traffic.”

Just north of Loadmaster Lubricants is JL Schwieters Construction. The construction company, which employs about 500 people, recently completed a new 140,000-square-feet manufacturing facility — one that wouldn’t have been built if the freight-rail spur had been abandoned, said John Schwieters, president and owner.

“If the line had closed, we would have had to move,” Schwieters said. “We were looking as far away as Rochester. We have to have rail and outdoor storage, and finding the two of those together is almost impossible.”

JL Schwieters Construction and its associated companies does $100 million in sales a year, he said. The company builds preassembled wall and floor panels and trusses, and sells them to metro-area homebuilders and commercial developers.

Using prefabricated parts cuts “build time” significantly, according to Schwieters. “We can build a D.R. Horton four-unit building in 10 days,” he said. “That’s taking a six-week frame cycle down to two weeks.”

Business is booming. Schwieters said the new $14 million plant, located across Fenway Boulevard North from its headquarters and other buildings, will allow the company to add another 100 jobs.

Those jobs, which start at $40,000 a year, would not have been created if not for the improvements to the freight-rail spur, he said.

“In the first quarter alone, we had 32 rail cars (filled with milled lumber) come in,” he said. “We’re on track to have 120 to 150 of rail cars in 2019; we had half that in 2018.”

City Administrator Bryan Bear, who joined the tour on Thursday, said loss of the short line would have had a devastating effect on Hugo.

The industrial park is in economic driver for the northern Washington County city, which has a population of almost 15,000 people. Schwieters, which opened in 1999, is the city’s largest employer.

“The city recognized that abandoning the railroad would also effectively abandon the businesses that rely on it, likely causing them to relocate elsewhere out of the city,” Bear said. “By rallying behind the project, not only were jobs preserved in the community, but it has sparked significant business expansions.”

FOSSTON, Minn. – Four months after the grocery store in Fosston, Minnesota, was bought by Hugo’s Family Marketplace, the Grand Forks-based company is happy with the way business is going in the new market.

“We’re pleasantly surprised with the traffic and the sales numbers that we have here, as well as at our gas station,” said Torrie Enget, area director for Hugo’s.

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, the Grand Forks-based grocery chain announced it was purchasing Palubicki’s Family Market and Spirits in Fosston. The store opened as Hugo’s on Dec. 30. Permanent “Hugo’s” signs on the building were installed in March.

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A Palubicki-owned grocery store had been in Fosston since 1975. The original store was expanded twice, and the business started selling fuel with Palubicki’s Express in 2012. A new 48,000-square-foot grocery store was constructed in 2016. The new building more than doubled the size of the grocery store, adding a Caribou Coffee and a liquor store.

Former owner Leah Palubicki told the Herald in November that the store’s location on U.S. Highway 2 and proximity to towns like Bemidji, Crookston, Thief River Falls and Detroit Lakes allowed the business to grow.

The grocery store was closed for a day or two to make the switch from Palubicki’s to Hugo’s, and other than some initial technology glitches, the transition went smoothly.

“We’ve got some fantastic leaders here in place that were in place prior to us coming here, and those folks have kind of taken over and have done really well with it,” Enget said.

Everybody who worked at Palubicki’s was offered a job at Hugo’s, and the vast majority of those employees continued working at the grocery store through the change. All of the employees in leadership roles had already been with the store for years, said Enget, but are now working in more formal leadership roles.

“A lot of those people were acting in those roles, so we got the opportunity then to take them to the next step,” Enget said.

The gas station, now called Hugo’s Xpress, is the first gas station and convenience store in the company.

“It was part of the deal,” Enget said. “We wanted to learn a little bit more about the business so we were happy to take it on as well.”

The Palubicki’s bakery and deli were popular among Palubicki shoppers. While some were worried those departments would change with new ownership, Enget says fresh departments have remained the same through the transition. Fan-favorite items like doughnuts are still made in store, from scratch.

“Nothing has changed whatsoever, so hopefully over time we’ve been able to relinquish those fears,” Enget said. “What we have done is we’ve brought in some new stuff – we haven’t taken out anything but some things that have been very successful within our current markets, in our current stores, we’ve just added those in to supplement things that they were already doing great here.”

Some new additions to the bakery and deli include rustic breads, muffins, new cookies and seasonal salads.

Companywide sales have also been implemented at the Fosston location. In the next month, the company expects to hold a grand opening celebration for the Fosston store, but plans are still in the works. Hugo’s customers outside of Fosston will have access to some of the same grand opening sales.

“When we do grand openings, we celebrate it throughout the whole company, so the same ads we’ll have here in Fosston we’ll have in our other markets, with a few of those special things here,” Enget said.

Including the Fosston store, Hugo’s now operates 12 supermarkets, one gas station, seven liquor stores, two pubs, four pharmacies and nine Caribou Coffee shops throughout Minnesota and North Dakota.

While there are various business models in the growing craft-beer industry, it is unheard of for a new brewery to launch in Minnesota without a taproom. Since taprooms became legal here in 2011, it’s difficult to recall a grand opening of a brewery that only distributed to liquor stores and did not serve its first pints across its own bar.

Cosmos Brewing in Hugo, Minn. is the counter-example. The beer became available to consumers on draft and in bombers late last year. There was a launch party of sorts in December 2016 at Grumpy’s Northeast during which a handful of beers were available on draft and were soon rolled out elsewhere, but the team has no plans to serve out of their north metro location. Instead, they have a wider vision, with out-of-state distribution as a primary goal.

Since the launch, nearly a dozen beers have been released, and Cosmos has begun canning as well. Head brewer Jared Camic trained in England and Wisconsin before founding Cosmos with his business partner, Daryl Bolicek. The two met in the music industry years ago.

The initial releases were typical — IPA, pale ale — but Camic doesn’t plan to adhere to specific styles. His recent release is a gose, or German-style ale made with salt and coriander that’s historically on the slightly tart side. The GoseRound is made with wheat, key limes, sea salt, and Indian coriander.

On first sip, the beer is mineral-forward, with a sulfur presence that is slightly strong. The sea salt, while not directly perceived, likely enhances the intensity of the citrus and spice, and the degree of sourness is appropriately low. Unfortunately, the flavors are a bit muddy, with no clear lime component, only a pithy sour note, while the coriander element is oddly sweet rather than serving as a savory and spicy counterpoint. Overall, it was unimpressive with a Flintstones vitamin profile.

For a more bitter option, the Double Black Hole hits all of the American black ale notes. An intensely earthy, bitter flavor from Mosaic, Simcoe, and Nelson Sauvin hops persists from aroma to aftertaste, to the detriment of all other flavors. It’s a deep black beer with persistent head, and the high carbonation gives a small amount of buoyancy to what is otherwise a palate-wrecker. There is no malt character to be found.

Crop Formation (pictured top), a wheat ale with basil and wildflower honey, is far more enjoyable. Though it’s only 5.7 percent ABV, it tastes far more substantial due to the combination of honey notes, medium body, and high carbonation. Much of this beer’s favor is fermentation-derived: The yeast character is akin to a saison, with mild clove and pepper notes that underscore the basil.

With a space-themed aesthetic and a location distant from the Northeast Minneapolis beer hub, Cosmos is forging a new path, one that more breweries may adopt, especially those that aren’t interested in running both a brewery and a bar. The downside of regional competition can’t be overlooked, though, with more and more regional brands competing for tap and shelf space. And without a place to visit, the brand loses some of its local loyalty.

Cosmos Brewing 9480 140th St N, Hugo, MN 55038 (not open to the public)

FOSSTON, Minn. – Hugo’s Family Marketplace will soon have a new location in Fosston, Minnesota. On Tuesday, Nov. 22, the Grand Forks-based grocery chain announced it has purchased Palubicki’s Family Market and Spirits, Fosston’s grocery store.

The Palubicki family has owned the grocery store in Fosston since 1975, when Jim and Nina Palubicki moved to Fosston and purchased the town's grocery store. Their four daughters were raised in the family business and in 2006, daughter Leah Palubicki purchased the store.

In 1975, the store, then called Palubicki's Red Owl, had four or five aisles, said Leah Palubicki. The original store was expanded twice, with the last expansion in 1989, which brought the building to 18,000 square feet.

Under Leah Palubicki, the business expanded to include fuel with Palubicki’s Express in 2012. In 2016, Palubicki’s Family Market and Spirits opened in a new 48,000-square-foot building, which more than doubled the size of the grocery store and added a pharmacy, Caribou Coffee and liquor store.

Leah Palubicki told the Grand Forks Herald that U.S. Highway 2 allowed Palubicki’s Family Market to grow.

“It’s the lifeblood of Fosston,” she said. “We were able to purchase land on the highway that allowed for that large of a building to be built that had such easy in-and-out parking.”

Fosston’s central location between other towns like Bemidji, Crookston, Thief River Falls and Detroit Lakes also helped the business grow, she said.

With the addition of the Fosston store, Hugo’s will operate 12 supermarkets, seven liquor stores, two pubs, four pharmacies and nine Caribou Coffee shops throughout Minnesota and North Dakota.

“We are excited to purchase this store and become members of the Fosston community,” Kristi Magnuson Nelson, president/CEO of Hugo’s, said in the announcement. “Leah and her family have built an impressive company rooted in family values, which makes this new addition to our family of supermarkets so special. We are committed to maintaining the great tradition, quality and service that the Palubicki family has built.”

Magnuson Nelson expects the transition to be seamless for the shoppers and employees of Palubicki’s Family Market.

“Hugo’s will retain all of Palubicki’s management team and employees who currently work at the store. Leah has built a great team. We look forward to working with them,” Magnuson Nelson said.

Leah Palubicki said Hugo’s hopes to close the deal by the end of the year.

HUGO — Washington County, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the city of Hugo have teamed up and are in the middle of a yearlong study for the Highway 61 corridor through Hugo.

The study encompasses that portion of Highway 61 lying between 120th Street N., Hugo’s southern border, to 180th Street N., its northern border with Forest Lake.

The study kicked off in January and is scheduled to be complete in January 2024. Currently, the parties are in the first phase of the study, or the “explore” stage, which is focused on understanding the corridor to identify issues and/or opportunities that need to be addressed for the overall vision of the corridor.

“This process will inform the jurisdictional transfer process from the state (MnDOT) to Washington County, will ensure the vision aligns with city and county priorities, and will aid the city in its continued development — providing a clearer picture of what the future hold for this important road,” said Washington County Senior Planner Maddie Dahlheimer.

Study goals include:

• Define a corridor vision that supports economic growth, community investment and long-term transportation goals while increasing safety for all users.

• Evaluate access and intersection locations onto Hwy 61 and recommend future improvements at key locations.

• Determine right-of-way needs for the corridor based on the needs of each travel mode (e.g., cars, trucks, transit, pedestrians, bicyclists).

• Identify pedestrian and bicycle safety and connectivity improvements throughout the corridor.

• Determine a financial plan and timeline for the Hwy 61 jurisdictional transfer through Hugo and Forest Lake.

“The primary goal for this study is to define a corridor vision for Hwy 61 that supports economic growth, community investment and long-term transportation goals while increasing safety for all users,” Dahlheimer explained.

The study is important for the city of Hugo in particular, as the corridor will continue to develop and see more traffic as the city’s population continues to increase.

“Understanding the vision is for Hwy 61 will aid Hugo in responsibly managing growth along this corridor, while improving long-term operations and safety of the corridor for all modes of traffic,” explained Hugo City Engineer Mark Erichson.

Dahlheimer added, “The location of Hwy 61 as the primary connection to Hugo’s downtown and as a central spine through the community, underscores the importance of this corridor in serving both city and county needs. Through this study we are not only exploring the corridor’s vision to define transportation needs locally and as a future county facility, but are also exploring the vision of how this corridor can best support the Hugo community and its continued development.”

A big part of the process is public input. Recently, residents weighed in by attending an open house at Hugo City Hall, or online via the county’s website. Approximately 100 people attended the open house and weighed in on how they travel along the corridor (vehicle, bike, walk, transit, etc.), provided key words/phrases that describe the corridor and offered general comments.

“Many of the comments we received were related to highway operations such as access delays getting on to Highway 61 during certain times of the day, need for additional turn lanes/signals/roundabouts (and) need for additional pedestrian accommodations,” Erichson recalled. “Many of the comments reinforce what the team working on this study is also seeing along this corridor.”

Some key themes included concerns about speeds, left turns onto/off of Hwy 61, the community’s growth and pedestrian safety and connectivity. Many people who attended wanted to know when the project would be constructed. It’s important to note that the study is “step zero” to implementing improvements, Dahlheimer said. She noted that the study is to establish a vision from which future projects can be identified, designed and constructed.

There will be ongoing engagement opportunities throughout the study process, including pop-up meetings and additional open houses. Dahlheimer said the project team will accept comments at any time and community members are welcome to contact her (at 651-430-4338 or [email protected]) or provide comments online by visiting www.co.washington.mn.us/Highway61.

Next up this summer will be the “evaluate” stage, where the team will develop and evaluate corridor improvement alternatives with consideration to community priorities and traffic engineering solutions. This fall/winter, the study will move into the “define” stage, where the team will define a preferred corridor vision; compile the study report and summarize the process/outcomes; and outline the jurisdictional transfer plan, including implementation, financial and timeline considerations.