Dr. David Pichaske, author, publisher and a longtime English professor at Southwest Minnesota State University, has been nominated for the annual Kay B. Sexton Award, which honors a lifetime contribution to Minnesota’s literary community.
The winner of the award will be announced in late February. It is sponsored by Common Good Books of St. Paul and affiliated with the annual Minnesota Book Awards contest.
The 20th annual meeting of Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) will be held on Saturday, February 11th from 3 - 10 p.m. with the Hollywood Theater serving as the hub of a multi-venue event on Main Street Montevideo. The event is being billed as a progressive party as there will be activities held at the Hollywood, the Public Library, Java River Café and at CURE's new upstairs office space. Pre-registration is required by calling 1-877-269-2873 or by e-mailing dixie@cureriver.org.
Hair stylist Darcee Pederson is feeling pretty lucky these days. For one thing, she’s discovered she has a strawberry birthmark on the back of her head.
“It’s only hair. It’ll grow back,” she said last week, rubbing her nearly bald head.
That possibility seemed remote last September, when Pederson was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a variety of cancer.
Pederson, a Morton High School graduate whose children attend school at Yellow Medicine East in Granite Falls, started as a hair stylist in Redwood Falls 27 years ago.
Ever since Nicole Zempel took the reins of the Granite Falls Chamber of Commerce, the attendance at the annual Chamber banquet has been on an upward trend.
“Each year the Chamber Board has tweaked the event based off of feedback from the year prior. This year is no different and we are probably the most excited we have ever been about our annual event,” said Chamber Director Nicole Zempel.
A Tribute Lunch honoring local DFL Senator Gary Kubly will be held at noon on January 15 at the Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort by the DFL-7th District Central Committee.
United States DFL-Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken will be in attendance for the tribute with a number of other state representatives including, DFL-Sentate minority leader Tom Bakk and local DFL-House Representatives Lyle Koenen and Andrew Falk.
The fifth annual Community Health Challenge, administrated by the Kilowatt Community Center, kicks off Monday, Jan. 9 with $2,250 on the line.
Last year, 53 teams (212 individuals) participated in the annual weight loss competition. Over 2,000 pounds were lost by those 53 teams. Also in line with the competition, 1,447 items and $500 were donated to the local food shelf and 100 units of blood were donated to the Red Cross.
Participants can experience a fun and exciting way to enjoy winter at a “snowshoeing for beginners” class at Lac qui Parle State Park on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Snowshoeing, one of winter’s easiest types of recreation to learn, can be fun for all ages, alone or in groups. As a low impact workout, snowshoeing can burn more calories than running, cycling or cross country skiing.
A Los Angeles film crew will be at the Legion for karaoke Friday evening. They are in town to tape interviews with local veterans that will be used to create a promotional vignette for "America Wants You," which is a program that will help unemployed veterans. To learn more check out the full story here or go talk to the film crew yourself at the Legion.
With news that another Los Angeles film crew will be filming in Granite Falls for the second time in six months this week, Yellow Medicine County Veterans Service Officer Michelle Gatz can’t help but say it...
“The question begs to be asked,” she remarks with a laugh. “Is Granite Falls the new Aspen, Colorado?”
Santa’s set to arrive a little early this year. Don’t be surprised if it’s by horseback.
This Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. a “Cowboy Christmas,” will be held at the Lee Mar Ranch, brining Santa, games, goodies and more.
Free and open to the public, the event is being organized by a group of dedicated volunteers and the Lee Mar Ranch Board.
Minnesota’s nonprofit organizations ask Minnesotans to give to their favorite charities at GiveMN.org during the third annual “Give to the Max Day” on November 16, with hopes of raising as much money as possible for nonprofit organizations in 24 hours (starting at midnight on Nov. 16 through midnight on Nov. 17).
The Granite Falls Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the University of Minnesota Extension is pleased to present a free workshop on “Google-Tools” from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Minnesota West Community and Technical College computer lab.
In the first weekend of October, hundreds travel from throughout Minnesota and neighboring states to attend the annual Meander: Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl.
This year, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, Granite Falls will have the special privilege of hosting the art crawl’s Kick-Off Event. Artists, organizations and businesses are hoping to make the most of the opportunity.
Some say it’s a benefit while others like to refer to it as a party. Whatever it’s called, Noreen Sperl has it coming, say friends.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Sperl has been battling cancer that has spread from her rectum to her lungs. She told friends she could manage without aid of a benefit but they – as friends will sometimes do, particularly when they feel otherwise – insisted.
“We know it’s hard to be a single mother and she’s always been the type of person who goes above and beyond for others,” said one of a number of the event’s organizers, Karen Mills. “She’s a hard worker that’s always on the go, very responsible and a very, very good mother.”
In other words, her friends feel its time for Sperl’s good works to come full circle, and are hoping the “Livin’ Out Loud for Noreen Sperl” fundraiser will bring her that which is due.
After setting a Guinness World Record for the largest competitive trail ride in 2010, the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) is attempting to best the feat this Saturday, September 10.
All across the nation, rides are being hosted in concert with the event. In Minnnesota, the associated six-seven mile ride at Upper Sioux Agency State Park is the only one of its kind in the state.
This year’s ride is being hosted by Sacred Heart resident Kristin Noble who participated in her first competitive trail ride at last year’s world record outing.
The 28th annual ECFE Early Childhood Fair for families with preschool children will be held Monday, September 12 at Bert Raney Elementary (BRE) in Granite Falls from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. There is no admission charge.
Area organizations and agencies that serve families with preschool children will have numerous displays and hands-on activity areas with play materials, creative projects and resource/informational handouts available to fair visitors in the BRE Gym. Granite Falls Ambulance squad members will be on hand to give children a “tour” of an ambulance parked in front of BRE.
There are four institutions that anchor the city of Clarkfield: the elevator that feeds its industry, the school that feeds its future, the church that feed its soul and the library that feeds its mind.
For the past 20 years the final of these institutions has been governed by Enola Rolla. To Clarkfield she’s known simply as ‘Nola’. A minor shortening that makes her name as pleasing to say out loud as it is to meet the woman herself.
On Friday, September 30 from 4 to 8 p.m., the 8th Annual Meander Upper Minnesota River Arts Crawl will kick off with a brand new event showcasing the picturesque Downtown Granite Falls as a gateway to the Upper Minnesota River Valley and all the art, culture and natural beauty it has to offer.
The Meander is a self-guided tour of 33 artist Studios in western Minnesota. The weekend routinely draws more than a thousand visitors from the Twin Cites Metro Area, Sioux Falls, Fargo and the surrounding region who enjoy exploring the unique treasure spots found in the small towns and farms of the Meander region.
“Well, I give you a year and you’ll probably be back too,” said a friend in 1981. Dave Beasley was 25-years-old then; striking out from his hometown of Redwood Falls to buy a dusty, cluttered, hole-in-the-wall electric motor company in Granite Falls. That off-hand comment rang in his ears. Now it’s 30 years later.
He never went back.
“It was a good thing he said that,” says Dave now from the counter of the Dave’s Sales building as he bustles back and forth between customers. “Because that really forced me to stay here and work hard.”
Photography, bird baths, ornament making, basket weaving, Zentangle, woodcarving– all are classes our area can enroll in thanks to the Granite Falls Arts Council (GFAC).
This past July, Bill Van der Hagen of Cottonwood led a class on photography for those who wished to enhance their skill in the use of their cameras. Van der Hagen taught skills including how to use natural light, how to enhance an image with background control, and -also taught how to achieve the basic compositions of a photo.
