Kare11
Five sisters reopen store for one week in Arlington, MN
The Hartmann sisters bring back an Arlington, Minnesota tradition to honor their parents.
ARLINGTON, Minn. — One by one, the Hartmann sisters glanced at the building across the street. Too many memories lie beyond the thick brick walls to ignore it.
“We all started out washing those windows over there,” Cathy Hansen says.
From window washing in their early teens, the five Hartmann sisters graduated to mopping floors and, eventually, waiting on customers and working the cash register at their parents’ department store.
“That’s the way we grew up,” Jean Stevens says.
The Hartmann sisters — Jean, Cathy, Julie, Sue, and Patty — grew up as daughters of the owners of the only department store in Arlington, Minnesota.
Farm overalls, interview suits, kitchen utensils and back to school clothes, Hartmann’s had everything a town of 2,000 needed.
Until Arlington didn’t.
As the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis creeped closer, fewer people stopped at Hartmann’s for their shoes, shirts and skirts.
“We just couldn’t complete with the larger department stores – Targets,” Julie Rachel says.
In 1987, Hartmann’s closed its doors.
“It was tough for the town and tough for the family,” Julie continues.
Their department store may be gone, but Gary and Lila Hartmann planted seeds in their five daughters, now blossoming in a small storefront across the street.
On the weekend of Arli-Dazzle – Arlington’s annual celebration of Christmas – a version of Hartmann’s has reappeared.
The Christmas pop-up will be open for just two days.
But for one December Friday and Saturday, all five Hartmann sisters are again welcoming customers and selling goods on Arlington’s main street.
“Back at Hartmann’s, yep,” customer Theresa Wroge says gleefully. “Back at Hartmann’s.”
Four of the five sisters moved away from Arlington, but all have made the trip back to work in space they’ve rented for the weekend in a former jewelry store.
The small store is crammed with shoppers, browsing for clothing, furniture, Christmas decorations and other merchandise made or repurposed by the Hartmann sisters.
“They just keep coming in the door,” Sue Schultz, the oldest of the Hartmann sisters, says with a mix of delight and amazement.
Hugs are exchanged between the sisters and customers; some they haven’t seen since they worked in their parents’ store decades ago.
“It’s like a reunion, all class reunion,” Patty Geister, another of the Hartmann sisters, says.
Though busy, the store runs efficiently. Each sister knows her role. As Sue and Julie work the checkout, Jean and Patty welcome customers. Nearby, Cathy passes out spritz, sandbakkels and krumkake, the same cookies their mother used to leave out for customers at Hartmann’s.
“Happy, sad,” Cathy says, before glancing away to compose herself.
She believes her parents would be proud.
“They’re smiling, they’re smiling up in heaven,” she says.
In a few hours, fireworks will light the sky, signaling the start of the Arli-Dazzle parade that will cast a holiday glow over thousands of people who’ll come to watch in the cool evening air.
It is Arlington’s brightest tradition.
That distinction belongs to five sisters with love in store.
Watch the latest videos from the Land of 10,000 Stories in our YouTube playlist and subscribe to the Land of 10,000 Stories Complete Collection on YouTube.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
Little information is being made public as police investigate a homicide.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Police in St. Paul are investigating a fatal stabbing in the city Friday night.
Little information is made available at this time, but police are calling it a homicide.
It happened on the 200 block of E 7th Street, police said.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Gov. Tim Walz took a break from the campaign trail to watch his old football team in action.
MANKATO, Minn. — People poured into Blakeslee Stadium on the Minnesota State Mankato campus Friday to see a clash between crosstown rivals Mankato West and Mankato East. Added to the mix was an appearance by Governor Tim Walz, who came to take a stroll down memory lane.
“I was lucky enough to have both Mr. Walz and Mrs. Walz as teachers,” Jimmy Baker, a Mankato West alum told KARE. “They started at West my freshman year, so they just as much a part of this place as I am.”
Baker played linebacker and running back on the Scarlets’ 1999 state championship team, with Tim Walz as his defensive coordinator. Walz was a social studies teacher at the time and his wife Gwen taught English and literature.
“He just really loved football, and he really felt passionate about the gameplay, and he gets really pumped up by good plays, and he was really good at redirecting and getting everyone on the same page,” Baker recalled.
Baker was one of the Mankato alums who took the stage wearing their Scarlet jerseys during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It was part of the DNC’s overall effort to reinforce the “Coach Walz” theme for their vice-presidential candidate.
“I don’t really follow politics as closely as some, but it was very surreal to be there on that stage,” Baker recalled.
“It was pretty amazing to do that and also be able to do it with some of my oldest friends was probably the best part.”
As soon as Walz joined the Kamala Harris ticket in early August many former students of Gov. Walz and First Lady Gwen Walz have come forward to share their stories with the media of what it was like to be in their classroom decades ago.
At a State Capitol press conference, former student and football player Nate Hood from the Class of 2002 said Walz made a point of ensuring second-stringers got some playing time.
“Coach Walz brings me over and he was like, ‘Hood, what’s’ the score?’ I said, ‘Zero to 34, we’re down.’ He goes, ‘Alright! You can get in there!”
Walz taught social studies at Mankato West for nine years and served as defensive coordinator and assistant coach for the Scarlets until retiring to run for Congress in 2006.
Not everyone was thrilled with Walz’s appearance at Friday night’s game. Former Rep. Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal said the Secret Service security measures would be inconvenient for families looking to enjoy the game.
“It’s upsetting to a lot of the parents to have this turned into a political event, by bringing the Secret Service, and I understand that’s the position he’s in as a candidate he has to have that security.”
Munson and others have commissioned a plane to fly over the stadium before the game with a banner that read “Bench Coach Walz – Trump 2024.”
The plane never made it to its destination. Munson later explained that the plane with the banner took off but was instructed by the control tower to return to the airport a few minutes later.
Jimmy Baker, who now has children of his own at Mankato West, said he thinks it’s great to see Mankato’s big game in the spotlight. He said he believes Gov. Walz and the First Lady have every right to see the big game.
“They’re as much a part of the community as anyone else. Whatever they’re at, or whatever they’re doing, they absolutely belong here!”
Wendell Epps and Charles Hallman agree Thursday’s game was unlike anything they’ve ever seen… or covered.
MINNEAPOLIS — A security camera inside Minneapolis’ A Bar of Their Own looked as if it would fall from the ceiling on Thursday night, as Minnesota Lynx fans erupted in celebration during the team’s historic comeback in Game One of the WNBA Finals.
It was one of several fan reaction videos that spoke to the joy and pandemonium that unfolded in the final seconds of regulation and throughout overtime, as the Lynx clawed back from an improbable 15-point deficit with less than six minutes to play in regulation.
That joy wasn’t just coming from fans.
Wendell Epps, the 23-year-old, first-year play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Lynx Radio Network, had some of the best seats in the house for all the unforgettable plays, and his selfie-style recording of his final calls captured the chaos that unfolded in New York.
“It was absolutely insane,” Epps said. “I mean, this is my first, big-boy play-by-play job and to have that opportunity was really cool and it was a surreal experience. I loved it.”
Just thinking about it made Charles Hallman, a Hall of Fame sportswriter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, laugh.
“That young man… just think, this is his first year calling WNBA games and he’s in the Finals,” Hallman said, with a loud laugh.
Charles Hallman is on the other end of the spectrum… the basketball writer says it’s also one of the best games he’s ever seen… and he had to watch from his living room.
Charles Hallman: “I watched on an easy chair and I was on the edge of my seat.”
Kent Edahl: “I’m guessing you were NOT at the edge of your seat after that shot by Courtney Williams.”
Hallman: “Haha, no, I fell backwards! I fell backwards like she fell when she got fouled.”
Though he is no stranger to covering the Lynx in the WNBA Finals, Hallman said this run has stood out.
Hallman: “If they win this, this will be a very unique, unique championship.”
Erdahl: “What do you think makes this run special?”
Hallman: “This team, literally, just came together this year, that just shows you the great coaching job of Cheryl Reeve, who don’t get a lot of credit for what she does, and how these players grasp on to her. The chemistry of this team is just… for professional sports is very impressive. They just love to play together.”
“I just think we have a lot of players who have kind of flown under the radar,” Epps said. “Even Napheesa Collier, our best player, is probably the most underrated superstar in any professional sports league.”
And the fact that the Lynx were able to bite back in the Big Apple makes it even sweeter.
“Literally, every time out I would see a different celebrity pop up on the jumbotron,” Epps said.
“I’m glad that America got to see the Lynx play if they haven’t seen them play all year, that was a fantastic, an instant classic,” Hallman said. “I mean, to see the Lynx on the front page of the paper today. You don’t see that very often. For somebody that’s been covering the sport for as long as I have. That’s something that I love to see, and I’d love to see that more because women’s sports deserves to get that kind of praise.” added Epps.
