(Lakefield, Mn.)– The club house at Valleybrook Golf Course in Lakefield is no more following a controlled burn Monday. The new owner of the course, Jim Hussong, says it wasn’t feasible to remodel the building, which had fallen into disrepair over the years. He says they plan to replace it with something the entire community will be proud of…
“We’re actually going to make an events center here that can seat about 300 people so it will be great for weddings, bigger events, family reunions, all of that side of it. We’re going to have simulated golf going on here. We’ll have a bar and it will just be a great destination spot along with everything else that Lakefield has to offer.”
Hussong and his wife, Teresa, also own Dudley’s Garage and Bowling and the Hi-Lo Club, along with Kozy Heat, Lakefield’s largest employer…
“We have a lot of interest. You know with Kozy Heat we have 700 people working there and so we wanted Lakefield to be a spot to be a destination spot and that they want to have fun and hang out with. Teresa and I both grew up here, we went to high school here. I worked as a dishwasher here at Valleybrook back in the day, or actually then it was Northridge and bartended for awhile there. We wanted to just kind of start fresh with it and this golf course was a huge amenity for Lakefield and we wanted to make sure it’s taken care of and something that people would want to come and visit and come to Lakefield for.”
While Monday’s controlled burn was a major role in plans to improve the golf course, Lakefield Fire Chief Tim Bauman says it also provided training for firefighters…
“You know when you don’t get trainings like that it shows. There’s a lot of stuff that the more seasoned guys take for granted that the younger guys, you can watch all the video tapes you want but until you’re right in there, so. I hope some day they make it a little more accessible in the state of Minnesota that we can do more of this.”
Bauman says Monday’s controlled burn went off without a hitch. A large crowd gathered to watch the fire.
