Security improvements will be the addition of secure entrances at the middle and high school, and an automated door system that will allow all exterior doors to be locked simultaneously at five schools, including both the middle school and high school. 

Facility improvements will include replacing steam systems with hot water systems, upgrading equipment, PAC equipment and various roof sections will be replaced, adding dehumidification

capabilities to various areas – including activity spaces; where necessary, classrooms in all buildings will be updated with appropriate acoustic walls and re-configured to allow for contemporary teaching methods emphasizing collaboration rather than lectures.  These upgrades will take place over the next three summers, from June 2024 – August 2026.

Before Nationals, Varsity 1, consisting of seniors Ryder Zvorak, Amelia Butler, Avery Thompson, Matthew Scherber, and Milo Zimmermann, competed at the State competition for the second year at Cragun’s resort against 71 other teams. The previous year Buffalo got 1st place, this year Buffalo took home the 2nd place trophy.

“I had decided for myself that we had already won once, so I didn’t need to do it again. I was just happy to be [at state] with [my team] and have fun,” said Butler.

Varsity 1 earned the exact number of points that won state last year, yet this year it wasn’t the winning total.

“It wasn’t easy to get second place,” said Scherber. “It was easier to take the loss knowing the competition was so good. We can be proud knowing that we had the potential to do really well and did do really well.”

Knowledge Bowl success does not come without team compatibility. The team has been competing together for two years, which allowed them to know each other’s strengths. Each team member has different areas of knowledge, all of which promote success.

In addition, Varsity 1 tries to keep a positive team environment to avoid conflict while competing.

“One thing that we don’t do that a lot of other people do is the blame game,” said Thompson. “I think that keeps us away from a really negative team dynamic.”

Besides having an outstanding season and record, the team of seniors marks the first Buffalo team ever to make an appearance at the National Knowledge Bowl meet.

The Varsity 2 team of sophomores Greta Winger, Daniel Jungwirth, Dexter Huss, Kumail Akram, and Lucas Lawrence took second place overall after a strong final round.  This year Buffalo has returned with an impressive start, with all four Varsity teams placing in the top seven teams at the meet.

Buffalo has the biggest Knowledge Bowl team in the region, consisting of seven smaller teams of 5 members: four Varsity and three JV. There are 33 Varsity and 27 JV teams competing in the area. Led by head coach Aldrich and assistant coach McCallum, the teams hope to continue to bring home trophies. 

Ulrich was faced with 11 counts, the most serious of which were one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder. While Ulrich openly admitted he perpetrated the attack, his defense contested the degree of planning before Ulrich opened fire at the clinic. Per Minnesota statute, “premeditation and with intent to effect the death of the person or of another” must be proved to convict on the count of first-degree murder, a charge that carries a mandatory life sentence.

Lindsay Overbay was killed and four other nurses injured when Ulrich opened fire at the clinic. He had previously been in conflict with the clinic employees over prescription painkillers. Ulrich was represented by public defender Virginia Murphrey and her partner. Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes and Assistant Attorney Shane Simonds represented the state.

The trial has been emotional for the whole community but most of all so for those connected with the clinic and its staff. Yesterday brought emotional testimony from victims and their families and today included a strong courtroom showing from Dr. Andrew Burgdorf and Allina clinic staff who watched from the front row, some hugging and crying during courtroom breaks. Today brings more closure to a community that has sought to come together after this tragedy, offering new mental health resources and recently hosting a community event and health fair on the one-year anniversary of the attack. Many hope this verdict will allow Buffalo to move forward and focus on the future.

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The Defense

The day began with a series of questions posed by both Ulrich’s public defender and Judge McPherson to make certain Ulrich understood his rights under the 5th amendment and that he had decided to testify without coercion. The previous day, Ulrich had asked to leave the courtroom as he was in great pain and would prefer to lie down in an adjacent room. McPherson denied his request, saying it was important that Ulrich be present for the day’s testimony, including that of the surviving shooting victims and Lindsay’s sister.

McPherson questioned Ulrich regarding his choice to testify, “Can you think clearly and understand everything that is going on?” “I understand everything that is going on and have thought about it for a year.”

The 68-year-old Ulrich wore an untucked blue button-down shirt and sat feebly in his wheelchair beside his attorneys.

After a brief period, McPherson asked if either party had anything for the record before the jury was brought in. Ulrich’s defense team made a motion for a mistrial citing
the “prejudicial impact” of shootings around the nation “in Buffalo, NY, the same name as this city, and yesterday at a medical facility” claiming the connections make a fair trial for Ulrich impossible.

Lutes argued “I don’t think there is any basis for a mistrial. I think the jury will decide this case based on information and evidence provided.” McPherson agreed and the proceedings continued.

The jury of 16 entered the courtroom and took their seats. This number was later cut to 12 as four were dismissed as alternates.

As Ulrich, the day’s only witness took the stand he began to recount his battles with severe pain and troubles obtaining prescription painkillers. Ulrich explained he has scoliosis and that the pain started after a scaffold accident in 1977, leaving him with a lesioned disc. Continuing to seek treatment for his condition, around 2015 Ulrich claims to have begun requesting oxycodone after 30 years without the drug.

The 2016 Allina nurses strike postponed Ulrich’s scheduled surgery, which was eventually completed that December. After his procedure, Ulrich was prescribed painkillers on a short-term basis. “I started weaning about 5% a day. I was given enough pain medication, if I followed the prescription strictly, for 5 days but it lasted me 10 days before I ran out,” Ulrich testified.

A nurse began making daily visits to Ulrich’s Buffalo residence to check on his prescription usage. “I didn’t trust her,” said Ulrich. “I told her not to look at my medications” Ulrich explained he took many medications for a variety of conditions such as gout, neuropathy, and allergies, as well as to regulate his blood pressure and heart rate.

“She was snooping around looking in my refrigerator and my room,” said Ulrich. “We got into a dispute over where I had hidden my narcotics.”

Ulrich repeatedly veered off-topic and ignored the objections of Assistant Wright County Attorney Shane Simonds, prompting McPherson to admonish him, “Mr. Ulrich, when he says objection you have to stop talking.”

He explained that his pain intensified after he ran out of pills and his nurse refused to refill the prescription, accusing him of abusing his medication. “She left and four hours later I was in so much pain I couldn’t even reach the telephone,” said Ulrich. “I screamed,” he added, indicating no one came to his aid.

In a long exchange that drew several relevance objections from the prosecution, Ulrich recounted an ordeal during which he was brought to a Minneapolis hospital and held, as he claims, against his will for seven days. In the hospital, his health deteriorated further. “It got worse, I got an injury in the hospital to my spine, ” said Ulrich. “I was trying to commit suicide because the pain was so bad.”

When he returned home, Ulrich asked the doctor about receiving pain medication, a request he denied. Ulrich says he was unaware he had been labeled as a drug seeker. According to the Star Tribune, Ulrich continued to contact Allina in hopes of obtaining opioids and eventually began threatening acts of violence toward the clinic and physician Dr. Andrew Burgdorf.

Desperate, Ulrich admitted in court to sending letters to as many as 50 doctors seeking medication. After repeated denials, he began sending letters to elected officials and law enforcement including Buffalo’s mayor, Buffalo PD, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, and “even the White House, even Trump.” No one would help him in his struggle to obtain opioids.

“My life was over, I was dead as far as I was concerned,” Ulrich said. “If I was dead I had nothing to worry about. […] My life was over. No fishing, no canoeing, just laying in bed crying and having bad dreams.”

After five years of writing letters, Ulrich gave up and turned to plotting his attack.

The Attack

Defense attorneys next shifted to discussing the details of the attack. When asked why he went to the clinic the morning of February 9th, Ulrich replied, “I intended property damage […] I had to bring attention to what these people had done to me and I had all the documentation. I wanted to inform the public.” Ulrich claimed to have brought the gun as it was the easiest way to take out the windows. He wanted to attract as much attention to his crusade as possible, and also said he believed insurance would cover the cost of any damages. “I wanted to sensationalize it and get more attention, get it in the papers,” said Ulrich. “I would like people to understand what that pain is like without pain mediation.”

Ulrich said he had “one bullet for each person but after the first bullet I lost control of the situation […] I shot as little as I could and if I hit anything I stopped.”

By the time Ulrich stopped shooting five Allina employees lay bleeding, their bodies perforated with bullet holes. Lindsay Overbay was pierced from behind as she fled toward a side door, the bullet severing Lindsay’s spine and destroying her liver, causing her to bleed out on the clinic floor.

Ulrich said he returned to the front of the building to retrieve his briefcase and began setting his pipe bombs to detonate around the building. Next, he shot out the windows in the clinic lobby while calling 911, telling police “I would send ambulances, we have critical spine injuries.”

The defense maintained that Ulrich was only interested in causing property damage and did not intend to kill anyone that day. At the end of their direct examination, the defense asked Ulrich why he chose not to include nails in the pipe bombs he detonated. Ulrich replied, “I didn’t want people to be hurt.”

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The Case Against Ulrich

The prosecution began by laying out the steps Ulrich took to prepare for his attack. They highlighted his purchases of a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun, ammunition, and pipe bomb supplies in the months prior.

During cross-examination, Ulrich admitted to shooting Tamera Schaufler at close range and then traveling down the hallway where he claims to have seen three more Allina employees, shooting two of them.

When asked if he knew Overbay prior to the incident or if she had ever provided him with medical care, Ulrich replied “No, just her company. I had no idea who she was.”

As previously testified, victim Sherry Curtis was treated for six gunshot wounds at the hospital although Ulrich maintained he only shot her once, claiming it was “Six holes from one bullet.” At this, several jurors appeared visibly confused.

Ulrich admitted to shooting each of the victims individually when asked by the prosecution. Afterward, the prosecution rested its case.

Closings

After a short break, Judge McPherson read the charges jury instructions to the jurors before the prosecution began its closing statement.

Dr. Andrew Burgdorf, a prominent Allina clinician previously threatened by Ulrich, and over a dozen Allina staff members, many clad in scrubs, sat in the front rows of the courtroom during closing arguments.

Brian Lutes began the state’s passionate closing remarks “Innocent defenseless victims were critically injured because of the defendant’s senseless attack. The defendant got a pistol, got on the trailblazer, arrived early at the clinic, and shot five nurses, Lindsay Overbay being one of them.”

Lutes continued, “The natural and probable consequence of shooting someone in the torso is someone dying […] You need only look at what happened to Lindsay Overbay to see the truth of that statement. […] He doesn’t get to decide with his words after the fact that he didn’t mean to kill Lindsay Overbay. He doesn’t get to decide that with his word when his actions show otherwise.”

Referencing the duty put on his legal team to prove Ulrich’s guilt, he said “The state has a heavy burden in this case and I accept that burden. Presumption of innocence is just that, a presumption, and it is a presumption that can be overcome, and we have overcome it in this case.”

“Don’t be fooled for a second that that man cares for the people she had shot on his 911 call,” cautioned Lutes. “You don’t purposely shoot innocent defenseless victims and pretend to care about them.”

Assistant Attorney Shane Simonds reminded the jurors, “Remember him talking about sensationalism, it’s sad but it’s true, the more that you kill the more sensational it is going to get.”

The prosecution re-aired several exhibits including photos of the destruction inside the clinic after the attack and a video of Ulrich in December 2020 when he spoke outlandishly saying “You picked on the wrong person. […] Anyone over 80 should have a special license for super leniency when it comes to narcotics because when you’re 80 what do you got to lose. Pain causes people to be violent […] Grab your f***ing pistol and go down there and kill as many nurses as you can.”

Simonds continued, “When he draws his handgun on each person, that’s premeditation, when he enters the employee area, that’s premeditation, when he prowls the back hallway, that’s premeditation, when he raises his gun, that’s premeditation. […] His intent was to destroy and his intent was to kill.”

Finally, becoming slightly emotional, Simonds said, “It’s not rash or unconsidered, it is the opposite, this is as premeditated as it gets. […] The presumption one has when you are shooting at someone is that you are going to kill them and you are da** lucky if you don’t.”

The defense laid out a comparatively brief closing that included the playing of Ulrich’s February 9th, 2021 911 call. They cited his willingness to surrender and calls for an ambulance as signs he didn’t want bloodshed. Murphrey claimed “His plan to go there was to create havoc and get publicity” but not to kill.

“The evidence is that as convoluted as this plan was, that as cruel as this plan was, it was to get attention and press and that is what happened. But it is not premeditated murder.”

She concluded somberly, “Perhaps the reason [for the 911 call] was that after he had done it he realized they were human beings, not just Allina.”

The case was then turned over to the jurors who after an afternoon of deliberations convicted Ulrich on all counts. Sentencing will be held on June 17.

Buffalo High School students have a range of thoughts on the salad line removal.

“It’s not a bad idea because they have all the other stuff people like in a line, but some people like building their own salads. I think it’s a good idea. I like the actual choices they have in there now,” said Junior Mike Miller.

“It’s so stupid because if you want a salad on a particular day you can’t just go through the salad line,” said Freshman Megan Lowell. “Also all the kids who would have gone in the salad line are now in the other lines taking up space. They’re removing a healthy choice from the public and everybody likes the salad line too. That is my opinion and fact that I have decided.”

“In the past I really liked the salad line, just because of the selection of food you could get. I liked getting the particular fruit I liked and getting a salad along with protein,” said Senior Jon Thielen. “It’s a little bit larger selection, so you can get a larger quantity of food that you like. So I liked that. The new ala carte line I like some of the new things, they’re okay. They taste like they were just kept warm, rather than some of the stuff with the salad was fresher because it was more cooler ingredients with the salad and the protein, stuff like that. I wish the salad line would be back, but I’m okay with the way it is now.”

The food service at Buffalo High School has declined to comment on the removal of the salad line.

Since the school started making healthier choices in 2012, due to the push for healthier lunches by the government, lead by Michelle Obama. The government mandated lunches by minimum fruit, vegetable and whole grain servings, as well as maximum sodium, sugar and fat contents.

“I think it’s kinda weird considering that they were trying to make healthier foods and they took the salad bar away and replaced it with non-healthy foods,” said Junior Reid Kasowski.

What do you think of the salad line removal? Vote here!

When? Friday March 6th

Where? BHS West Gym (gymnastics gym)

For? The Red Cross

Why should you donate blood?

• Donating just one pint of blood can save up to 3 lives!
• If we reach our goal, 141 donations, our school can get $1,000 scholarship. Currently we have 57 people signed up to donate.
• Even if you make an appointment to give blood, you could win prizes such as 1 lane of bowling free for one hour at Hukkio’s Bowling, as well as free meals for restaurants around Buffalo and more!

How? Sign up online at http://www.redcross.org/ (if you are 17 or older)

• Go to the blue box (“Give Blood. Find a Blood Drive.”) in the upper right corner to enter the text. Registration Code: Buffalo High School
• If you are 16, you will need to get a permission slip signed from your guardian and turn it into Mrs. Bergquist in room C212.

 Time is limited! Sign up for donating blood will end March 1st.

“It will be a new experience,” Says Eiynck, “But I will miss my students a lot. Yet, I intend to keep strong connections with my students in my new position.”

Now the million dollar question, Who will be taking her position?

“We are currently looking for a new candidate. The position has been posted.” Says Eiynck.

Not only is Señora Eiynck leaving her position, But she is leaving behind some sad colleagues as well.

“I was really sad of course the first weekend and I am trying to keep a positive attitude about all of this.” Says Spanish 1 teacher Mr. (Señor) Boeckers.

Along with sad colleagues, Students have not been too happy either.

“I’m really mad,” Says Sophomore Callie Liska,” I am going to miss her. She is a really good teacher and people are going to miss out on the opportunity of having her as a teacher.”

Though some people may be sad or disappointed, new experiences create new memories. BHS wishes good luck to Señora Eiynck and her new position!

“The main reason (I wanted to graduate) was because I just wanted to be done with school.” said graduated Senior Jake Willmert.
With the extra time these graduated students have, some spend their time preparing for college or working.
“I have a landscaping job and I have been working there for most of my free time.” says Willmert
Also in their free time, some students are looking to start second jobs to help pay for college.
“I wanted to (graduate) because I wanted to work more and get a second job” Said graduated Senior Maddie Sebey.

Buffalo wishes good luck to these BHS graduates!

Photo taken by Rachel Mussell.

“My favorite time of the year is showing horses at the fairs and helping at the FFA barn, petting area,” said Junior Katie Manz.

The summer is packed with camps, retreats, and all sorts of fun filled adventures. Fitting stuff in, in the summer is very hard for our BHS teacher and FFA advisor Kari Stai. She has a part time job along with the FFA crazy packed summer.

“The first summer activity is an officer retreat, this year we have 8 officers and we go and learn all about being a leader and go swimming, eat dinner and all kinds of fun stuff for one week,” said Stai.

One of our BHS seniors, Andrew Krause, is the first Minnesota state FFA officers in 12 years. He will be busy the whole summer.

“I am at every camp, retreat, and any FFA activity going on in Minnesota. At one time I will be going for 30 days straight, not including the fairs, County and State,” said Krause.