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.
The annual Granite Falls Lion’s sponsored street dance, a nightly auxillary event of the Granite Falls Western Fest community celebration held in Granite Falls in late June, will possibly have a new location this year.
The event, which features a GF Lions sponsored beer garden, food and live musical entertainment Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights during Western Fest, may possibly be moved from it’s old location at Sorlien Park...
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.
It was about a month-and-half ago during a DFL-7th District Central Committee meeting that members decided fifteen, going on 16, tireless sessions supporting rural constituents and democratic causes had been enough for Senator Gary Kubly.
A little recognition was in order.
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.
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?”
As the manager of senior living facility Granite Ridge Place, Nancy Beasley has met many pairs who have been married a long time. And so it is with considerable credibility that she does assert, “LaGrant and Bea... they’re the perfect married couple.”
It was 70 years ago on Wednesday, November 23 that LaGrant and Beatrice “Bea” Velde exchanged vows. In adjacent recliners they recount the time shared leading up to this milestone.
While Circle Sentencing is, in part, why Yellow Medicine County has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual out-of-home placement costs over the past decade, the true value of the program is tough to quantify.
After all, how do you put a value on a life changed for the better?
With wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres, of course the mood was light and casual during the Granite Falls Area Community Foundations (GFACF) grant recipient celebration.
One year after only a single $113 grant was issued by the foundation, a combined $2,450 was bestowed upon six community organization––thanks in large part to the growing endowment.
If you run into one the 45 artists of the 2011 Meander and encounter a taut smile contrasting a limp physique, it is no cause for worry.
The most successful art event in the region will do that to even the most vigorous of the lot for it is wonderful business but an immense undertaking––and that’s before playing host to hundreds for three days straight.
A windy Thursday morning was ideal for Bert Raney Elementary students as they planted within the ground individual pin wheels that taken collectively made a statement larger than themselves.
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.
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.
This weekend 200-plus dancers from throughout the country will take part in the Pezihutazizi Oyate Traditional Wacipi, held Friday through Sunday, August 5, 6, and 7, at the former Firefly Creek Casino, four miles south of Highway 67 from Highway 23 at Granite Falls.
A celebration of Native American Spirituality amidst friends, relatives and newcomers, the event centers around a traditional and contemporary exhibition of indigenous song and dance and also offers an array of Native American art, food and craft vendors.
Beginning July 17 through the 23, Miss Western Fest 2010 Jennifer DeBlieck attended the 2011 Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes Scholarship Program. From interviews to formal meetings, Jen had the glamorous and exciting journey of a lifetime.
With 44 candidates from around the state all vying for the Queen of the Lakes title, DeBlieck had a full-time schedule including interviews with judges and a Meet the Candidates event, where candidates dress up in a costume that reflects their community or personality and give a one-minute speech about their community. Jen dressed up as a cowgirl and gave her speech about how Granite Fall’s annual Western Fest intertwines with the community.
Life-long resident of Granite Falls, Juliet Mortenson will be remembered by her warm smile and dedication to volunteering. For more than 10 years she volunteered for the Red Cross in many capacities. As well as being a blood donor herself, she co-chaired the Granite Falls blood drives for many years with Loretta Tjosaas by serving as a recruitment coordinator and blood drive greeter. Juliet will be honored on Monday, July 25, at the American Red Cross Blood Drive at St. Andrews Parish Center from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m.
