Emergency center for youth, set to replace existing facility, to open next year in Rochester – Post Bulletin
ROCHESTER — On a 7-acre plot just south of Rochester, construction on a new emergency youth center — set to replace the current Von Wald Youth Center on the same property — is underway. The new facility “will be a national model for kids who need help,” said Dan Pfarr, CEO of 180 Degrees, the […]
ROCHESTER — On a 7-acre plot just south of Rochester, construction on a new emergency youth center — set to replace the current Von Wald Youth Center on the same property — is underway.
The new facility “will be a national model for kids who need help,” said Dan Pfarr, CEO of 180 Degrees, the supportive housing and social services organization that operates the center.
“The whole idea is to really build a facility where you can thrive, and where they’re just not put in a place to be,” Pfarr said.
Staff from 180 Degrees, project benefactors and other community guests toured the new building on Thursday, June 5. Most of its walls and windows are in place, but appliances, doors and other furnishings are yet to be installed.
The center serves 12- to 19-year-olds in Southeast Minnesota who are dealing with housing insecurity, a family crisis, mental health, behavioral health and/or substance abuse. Depending on their situation, they might stay at Von Wald for a few nights, a few weeks or several months.
The current Von Wald building, Pfarr said, has been used as an emergency center for youth since the 1980s. Previously, it was a day care, and before that, it was a farmhouse. With eight bedrooms, a few living areas and a small office for staff, privacy and space for both staff and clients are a present concern.
A bedroom in the current Von Wald Youth Center building south of Rochester.
Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin
“I knew from day one that we needed to do something different, both for the health of our kids and the safety of our kids,” said Pfarr, who joined 180 Degrees in 2015. “This building had served its purpose.”
Youth will continue to use the current building up until the point the new building is ready to be lived in, which Pfarr said could happen in November. A grand opening is anticipated in early 2026.
The new building is divided into two halves: business and home, Pfarr said. The front half of the building designates space for staff offices, a staff break room, a donation room, classrooms and a wellness room where, for example, a teen can be administered their medicine.
“We can have family meetings, we can have community convenings … we can host workshops,” Pfarr said. “We’re able to have the kids separated so they can have privacy.”
The exterior of the future Von Wald Youth Center building, still under construction.
Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin
A large, open dining space bridges the “business” and “home” ends of the building. It will feature floor-to-ceiling windows on its north and south walls that can open up, which “allows for nature to come inside,” said Sara Marquardt, a youth case manager at the center.
A kitchen is located off the dining area. In the current center, Marquardt said meals are prepared on-site, and youth can help cook and bake if they wish. That tradition will continue in the new building, she said.
Accommodating up to 12 youth at one time, the “home” half of the new center will feature individual bedrooms with big windows and closets. Each “pod” of four bedrooms will have its own shared bathroom and laundry room.
Besides bedrooms, there are multiple rooms designated as music, art and gaming spaces, a fitness room, a big living area and two calming rooms. Those rooms, Marquardt said, can be used when a client is overwhelmed and needs a quiet, private spot to calm down. They can also be used for prayer or meditation.
A room in the future Von Wald Youth Center building that will be designated as a calming space.
Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin
“In our current building, we don’t have a space for that,” Marquardt said. “Kids just have to go to their rooms, and it feels like a punishment.”
Outside, after the new building is complete, Pfarr said 180 Degrees will restore prairie and build trails on the grounds, along with setting up solar panels to reduce the facility’s emissions.
Opportunities to sponsor rooms in the new center are available on 180 Degrees’
project webpage.
A room in the future Von Wald Youth Center building, located south of Rochester.
Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin
Dan Pfarr, CEO of 180 Degrees, at the site of the future Von Wald Youth Center building, located south of Rochester.
Hall of Famer Joe Thomas wows high school sports awards crowd
Joe Thomas has never been ordinary, but on Tuesday, June 17, the former Cleveland Browns great took time to be average. It delighted the 750 in attendance at the 2024-25 Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards to no end. The event took place at the John S. Knight Center downtown. Here was the third pick […]
Joe Thomas has never been ordinary, but on Tuesday, June 17, the former Cleveland Browns great took time to be average.
It delighted the 750 in attendance at the 2024-25 Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards to no end. The event took place at the John S. Knight Center downtown.
Here was the third pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and a first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer taking time out of his day to speak at the banquet and meet each individual winner after their names were announced.
“It shows no matter how famous you are, people care deep down,” Manchester soccer player Olivia Pfahler said. “…It’s special to have someone famous like that just meet people from a little town in Ohio.”
Award winners: The 2024-25 Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards show winners
If anyone can be labeled a hero, it’s Pfahler, who was born with a femoral deficiency that left her left side from the pelvic bone down underdeveloped. Pfahler also doesn’t have all the bones in her left foot and ankle.
None of that prevented her from becoming Manchester’s soccer captain and team MVP.
So here Pfahler was talking about how incredible it was to meet Thomas and listen to him speak after she won the 2025 Courage Award.
Joe Thomas’ humble attitude has been noticed for a long time
“I remember when he got drafted, he wasn’t at the draft because he was fishing with his dad,” said Louisville basketball coach Tom Siegfried, who won the boys coach of the year award. “I think from that point on I said, ‘This is a genuine guy.’ This is a guy that could live next door to you and is just somebody you can really look up to in doing the right thing. Maybe in a world that’s self-accolades, he’s a guy that I really think did it for the team and really did it for the all the right reasons.”
Thomas said as much to a crowd that hung on his every word when he lauded the three-sport athlete and told the 250 student-athletes in attendance that putting the team before yourself is the key to success.
“I think it shows the kids that high school football and youth sports are important,” Thomas said. “It’s worth sacrificing and dedicating yourself to. It’s the ultimate thing right now in our country that brings community together.”
Joe Thomas has always been one of the guys in Ohio
Walsh Jesuit’s Keller Moten, who was named the offensive player of the year in football, knows how extraordinary Thomas is.
The future John Carroll quarterback was given a Joe Thomas jersey when he was 2 years old and used to swing it around at games as a season ticket holder.
Several years later, on a trip home from Puerto Vallarta, the Motens boarded a connector plane in Dallas that Thomas was on. The Browns great snapped a picture with a 9-year old Moten.
“It’s just a testament to him and his character,” Moten said. “We’ve known this for a while about Joe Thomas. He’s a great guy. He is on a plane. He’s coming home, probably after a long trip, and he still took the time to meet me and sign everything. It just shows what kind of guy he is that he goes out of his way for the fans and understands it.”
Joe Thomas’ character impresses Greater Akron-Canton high school stars
Character was what everyone that met him talked about. If you took the stage as a winner, Thomas was waiting backstage to take a picture with you and his smile never faded.
Lake’s Daniela Scheffler was named the cross country, track and field, and overall female athlete of the year. That sent her backstage three times and each time she talked to Thomas the two conversed like they knew each other forever.
“I feel like I’ve met some really cool people like that and realizing that they’re just another person kind of gives you the confidence,” she said. “They’re just another person and I’m just another person, so anything that I put my mind to, I can accomplish. I think it’s important to have those role models in your life.”
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at@bbournival
These camps are run by Gargoyle Athletics since 2006. Their top-quality staff are NYS Certified PE Teachers, who hold current First Aid/CPR Certification and have over 50+ coaching experience! Learn more about Gargoyle Athletics at www.gargoyleathletics.net To register: Please send email to Drew Wendol at wendolworldwide@gmail.comor call Lisa O’Reilly at 478-2380 or via email at loreilly@hohny.govQuestions: Email Drew […]
These camps are run by Gargoyle Athletics since 2006.
Their top-quality staff are NYS Certified PE Teachers, who hold current First Aid/CPR Certification and have over 50+ coaching experience!
Learn more about Gargoyle Athletics at www.gargoyleathletics.net
To register: Please send email to Drew Wendol at wendolworldwide@gmail.com or call Lisa O’Reilly at 478-2380 or via email at loreilly@hohny.gov Questions: Email Drew Wendol @ wendolworldwide@gmail.com or Michael Bryant @ cortlandlax8@yahoo.com
Make Checks Payable to: WWA or cash. or Venmo: @Drew-wendol Mail to: Village of Hastings Recreation Department,44 Main Street, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706
Minister Bowleg makes an appearance during the Basketball Smiles camp
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg interacts with the youngsters yesterday on day two of the Basketball Smiles camp at Kendal Isaacs Gym. Photo: Jonathan Burrows By JONATHAN BURROWS DAY two of the Basketball Smiles camp brought both energy and inspiration as campers were provided with intense skill development sessions, along with an […]
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg interacts with the youngsters yesterday on day two of the Basketball Smiles camp at Kendal Isaacs Gym. Photo: Jonathan Burrows
By JONATHAN BURROWS
DAY two of the Basketball Smiles camp brought both energy and inspiration as campers were provided with intense skill development sessions, along with an appearance by the Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture Mario Bowleg.
The day kicked off yesterday at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium where the female group engaged in high-tempo drills focused on ball movement and defensive footwork.
Coaches emphasised communication and hustle, while players rotated through the indoor and outdoor courts, encountering drills that challenged both fundamentals and fitness.
The mid-day intermission allowed campers from the morning session to take a break as their session came to a close while being provided with light refreshments.
At this time, campers for the second session began to gather at the gym as they prepared themselves for the afternoon session.
The highlight of the day came during the afternoon session with the male group, when Bowleg addressed the campers. Drawing from his experience as a coach before becoming a minister, Bowleg spoke about keeping passion alive, how the game of basketball can change lives, and how important it is for camps like Basketball Smiles to exist for the youth of the Bahamas.
“It does great things for the youth,” said Bowleg about the benefits of having experienced and fundamentally trained coaches lending a helping hand to develop the youth in the Bahamas.
Campers listened intently as he shared personal anecdotes about his time coaching and stressed the importance of discipline to remain focused and stay on course.
“Coaching and development from coaches from the states help enhance the potential of kids in the Bahamas looking to pursue a professional basketball career,” answered Bowleg when explaining how having experienced coaches from the United States can impact young up-and-coming athletes looking to pursue basketball as a profession.
As the day wrapped up for the male session with a scrimmage, the energy remained high, and the message of Mario Bowlegs’ visit echoed through the gym.
With more surprises and competition ahead, day two set the tone of growth both on and off the court.
Severe storms damage Jacksonville sports complex, knock out power to thousands | News
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (WAND) – A youth sports complex was badly damaged due to strong storms on Wednesday afternoon. Online pictures and videos of the Future Champions Sports Complex on Keely Street shows extensive damage to buildings around the park. Debris was scattered across a number of ball fields and several items tore down protective nets. […]
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (WAND) – A youth sports complex was badly damaged due to strong storms on Wednesday afternoon.
Online pictures and videos of the Future Champions Sports Complex on Keely Street shows extensive damage to buildings around the park. Debris was scattered across a number of ball fields and several items tore down protective nets.
Storage and maintenance buildings across the street from the complex were also badly damaged.
A tornado warning was issued for the area around 11:45 a.m. as strong storms moved into Illinois from the west and southwest.
The National Weather Service will survey the damage later to determine the cause. It’s possible the damage was created by straight-line winds.
It’s unclear if there are any injuries following the storms in Morgan County. Attempts to reach the Jacksonville/Morgan County Emergency Management office were unsuccessful Wednesday afternoon.
Power outages reached at least 6,200 customers on Wednesday at 1:15 p.m., according to the Ameren Outage Map.
Severe storms in central Illinois spawned numerous tornado warnings. According to poweroutage.us, nearly 14,000 customers were without power in the entire state as of 1:25 p.m. Wednesday.
Storms have been producing small tornadoes, hail, damaging winds, and heavy downpours. The storms are moving quickly to the east and northeast.
The country’s best teen climbers are coming to Beaverton for the USA Climbing youth championships
Every day, either after school or throughout the summer, you can find 16-year-old Kyra Nelson at Portland Rock Gym in Beaverton. She’s doing fingertip pull-ups. She’s climbing boulders. And she’s training, two to five hours daily, for the upcoming USA Climbing Youth National Championships. Hundreds of the country’s best young rock climbers will be in […]
Every day, either after school or throughout the summer, you can find 16-year-old Kyra Nelson at Portland Rock Gym in Beaverton.
She’s doing fingertip pull-ups. She’s climbing boulders. And she’s training, two to five hours daily, for the upcoming USA Climbing Youth National Championships.
Hundreds of the country’s best young rock climbers will be in Beaverton June 26 through July 2 for the national championship, hosted at Portland Rock Gym’s westside location. Top finishers will represent the U.S. at the International Federation of Sport Climbing Youth World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Roughly 650 youth athletes, ages 13 to 19, have already registered for the event, including 39 athletes from Oregon.
Among those hopefuls is Nelson, a sophomore at Horizon Christian High School in Tualatin. She took first place in bouldering at the Region 12 Regional Championships and third place in the Divisional Championships.
This is Nelson’s fourth year as a competitive rock climber and her first time competing at nationals.
“I’m a bit nervous because everyone’s going to be really good,” Nelson said. “It’s going to be the top 50 girls in my age, and they’re all going to be the best.”
Competitive sport climbing is broken up into three disciplines: bouldering, in which climbers reach up to 18 feet without ropes; lead climbing, which involves ropes and walls that rise some 60 feet into the air; and speed climbing, in which two climbers race to the top of identical 49-foot walls.
Nelson competes in bouldering. Climbers get four minutes to assess and climb a rock wall the highest they can. There are no ropes, and thick mats protect climbers from falls.
“You definitely want to be flexible, you want really strong fingers, and you want to have strong legs,” Nelson said.
Charlotte Wylde at the USA Climbing Youth Divisional Championships earlier this year.Courtesy of Charlotte Wylde
Charlotte Wylde, 18 and a recent graduate of Portland’s Franklin High School, will be competing in her fifth youth nationals in lead climbing. Last year, she placed third at nationals and earned a spot on the U.S. team that competed at the 2024 world championships in Guiyang, China.
“ It would just feel nice to get into the same place that I was last year, and I think I obviously just want to finish out my youth climbing career on a nice note,” Wylde said.
As a young kid, Wylde loved climbing trees, streetlights, walls – all sorts of things, eventually prompting her poor mom to enroll her in a gym climbing program.
“What I really like is the fight or flight response that you get on the wall, where you can’t really climb down, but it’s really, really hard to go up, and you have to choose to fight a little bit,” Wylde said. “Even though it’s this excruciating and scary moment, it’s also just really beautiful when you choose to fight.”
Portland Rock Gym in Beaverton will host the 2025 USA Climbing Youth National Championships June 26 through July 2.Samantha Swindler/ The Oregonian
This is the first time Portland Rock Gym is hosting the youth national championships, and it’s happening at the gym’s 65,000-square-foot Beaverton location that opened last year.
“It is possibly the second largest of all the climbing gyms in America,” said gym owner Gary Rall. “It is certainly the largest in the Pacific Northwest, that’s for sure.”
Sport climbing has taken off since its start in the late 1980s.
Portland Rock Gym was the country’s second indoor rock-climbing gym when it opened its original location in 1988. (Seattle’s Vertical World was the country’s first when it opened in 1987.)
There are now 667 climbing gyms in the U.S., according to Climbing Business Journal.
“The first decade or so, it was pretty much 100% outdoor rock climbers just coming in the winter when the weather was foul and it got dark really early,” Rall said. “Now, 75% of all indoor climbers stay indoors, and only 25% of them go outside.”
The governing body for the sport, USA Climbing, was founded in 1998. Sport climbing first appeared as a discretionary sport at the 2020 summer Olympics. It will become a mandatory Olympic sport – meaning, part of the core offerings not up to the discretion of the host city – starting in 2028.
Portland Rock Gym now has two locations: one at Northeast 12th Avenue and Burnside in Portland, and the massive Beaverton gym just north of U.S. 26.
The Beaverton space has two yoga studios, a fitness studio, saunas and a rope hall with a 72-foot-long cliff wall climbers call “The Beast.”
“We look at this facility as an athletic club for climbers,” Rall said.
The amenities have drawn more climbers to indoor facilities, Rall said, but Nelson prefers indoor climbing for an even simpler reason.
“I don’t like bugs and spiders,” she said. “So, reaching my hands in the holds? I just don’t know what’s going to be in there.”
The public is invited to watch the USA Climbing youth championships at Portland Rock Gym’s Beaverton location, 10860 S.W. Barnes Road, starting June 26. Spectator day passes are $27 to $33 and can be purchased online via Eventbrite.
U – Urban and regional planning Within the School of Planning, Design and Construction, the Urban and Regional Planning program is setting out to create a sustainably built and natural environment that enriches communities through smart design, sustainable policy and socially responsible leadership. Faculty researchers in the school tackle big issues like land use, housing, […]
Within the School of Planning, Design and Construction, the Urban and Regional Planning program is setting out to create a sustainably built and natural environment that enriches communities through smart design, sustainable policy and socially responsible leadership. Faculty researchers in the school tackle big issues like land use, housing, infrastructure and zoning — things that literally shape the world around us. One area of focus is informal housing, which are often unregulated dwellings that can ease housing shortages in expensive metro areas but that also raise serious health, safety and equity concerns. It’s research that aims to make cities more livable, inclusive and resilient.
V – Violence prevention
At MSU’s School of Social Work in the College of Social Science, researchers are working to understand and prevent violence across all stages of life, with the goal of eliminating it altogether. Their work spans many areas, including shifting community norms to prevent child sexual abuse, strengthening school policies around sexual violence and bias, and evaluating crisis chat tools, which are text-based support services for sexual assault survivors. It’s research that’s turning insight into action and creating safer, more supportive communities.
W – Women’s health
In MSU’s College of Human Medicine, the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology is leading research to improve women’s health and make care more equitable. From studying pregnancy and postpartum care for Medicaid patients to tackling gynecologic diseases, faculty are addressing both medical and social challenges. Centers like the Maternal Health Lab and the MIRACLE Center are driving discoveries that make a real difference in women’s lives in Michigan and beyond.
X – X-ray diffraction
X-ray diffraction allows scientists to examine materials at the atomic level, revealing the structure of crystals and molecules in extraordinary detail. At MSU’s Center for Crystallographic Research, this powerful technique generates knowledge used by chemists, physicists and biologists to solve real-world problems. Whether it’s improving cancer treatments, developing better solar cells, advancing hydrogen storage or enhancing how we grow fruits and plants, MSU researchers are using crystallography to fuel discoveries that make life better.
Y – Youth sports
Launched in 1978 in response to concerns about unhealthy practices in youth sports, MSU’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports has spent nearly 50 years researching how sports impact children in both positive and negative ways and how to make those experiences better. One of the first institutes of its kind, its work shows that increasing youth sports participation could improve public health and save billions in medical costs. Beyond research, its team of experts has created practical tools for coaches, parents and communities, including new online modules to help prevent abuse in sports.
Z – Zoonotic disease
Zoonotic diseases — illnesses that spread between animals and humans — pose serious risks to both public and animal health. In fact, an estimated 60% of known infectious diseases and up to 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin. In MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, researchers are studying these threats to better understand how they spread and are creating innovative therapeutics and preventative measures to manage disease. And in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, researchers focus on how these diseases could impact farms and food systems, emphasizing the importance of strong biosecurity protocols to prevent outbreaks.
