This past Saturday the Granite Arts Council put on the 'Home Town Talent' variety show in conjunction with Ole and Lena days.

Ben Lecy would MC the event while spectators enjoyed performances by Emma Woods, the vocal group Song of the Prairie, Andrew McCormick, Elaine Halverson, Rosina Halverson Studer, Aaron Schuler and Hilary Rupp. The talent show wwould be followed by a performance by The Kingery Family. See the photo-gallery inside.

Anita Patel—daughter of Annette and Dr. Subhashchandra “Pat” Patel of Clarkfield—was chosen by the Minnesota Jaycees as one of it’s ‘Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans’ and was featured by Minnesota Business magazine. Raised in Clarkfield and a graduate of Yellow Medicine East High School, the 29-year-old Patel is now chiefly the Director of Racial Justice and Public Policy at the YWCA of Minneapolis. Check out a question and answer with Anita inside.

   February 8th will be the 100th Anniversary of Boy Scouts of America.
    In honor of this milestone, Cub Scout Pack 291 is hosting a coffee and cookie celebration that every Scout will remember for a long time. To commemorate this occasion, they would like to invite anyone who has ever been involved with cub scouts in any way to join them!
    The celebration will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the Granite Falls American Legion.

There’s a good size list of entries ready to entertain, surprise and maybe even make fools of themselves all for the enjoyment of their friends and neighbors during this year’s Ole and Lena Days’ Hometown Variety Show set for Friday, February 5.
 

“She’s always smiling,” said Ruth Dahl.
She has a “Personality plus,” commented Ruth Johnson.
“We will miss her.”
To the chagrin of the county’s elders, Cindy Velde retired as the Yellow Medicine Senior Advocate as of last Thursday.
For nine years, Velde has put an enormous amount of effort into looking out for the interests of the seniors, dutifully and cheerfully fulfilling her role as their ‘advocate.’
“You can always do more,” she said of her position. “You can never do too much.”

Whether you want to tune in and allow your emotions to be moved like the windswept prairie, or just settle down to an evening of socializing with a perfectly proportioned backdrop of blues... this Friday, Bootlegger’s is the place to be.
The candid fact is that it’s a guaranteed good night when the Strollers take the stage.
The trio of local talent that comprise the soul filled group are an easily taken for granted gift in the commodified country of Minnesota’s southwest.

There may be nothing more important to a culture’s identity than its language.
According to National Geographic explorer Wade Davis, at the time today’s typical adult was born there were 6,000 languages spoken on earth. Today, “fully half” are no longer being taught to school children.
Looking at a map of Minnesota, names such as Minneapolis, Kandiyohi and Mankato dot the landscape in reference to the Dakota  language – the very first spoken in the state.
Yet, the existence of the very language from which the word “Minnesota” derives is in danger of being lost. In fact, after the recent passing of two Dakota elders, including local Rev. Gary Cavender, only nine first generation speakers remain to pass on the vernacular as it was once spoken – true to the sound and inflections as it had been expressed, at one time, in abundance.

The Granite Falls Hospital welcomed its first birth of 2010 at 10:54 a.m. on Thursday, January 14 as Ezra John Streblow was born to Randi and Joshua Streblow of Granite Falls. Ezra weighed a healthy 8 lbs. 12 oz. This year the first baby of 2010 will receive gifts from 14 local businesses involved in the ‘First Baby Contest’.

“After the doldrums of the winter everybody’s excited to have live flowers again.”
You said it, Ruby Hieb.
The American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days sales are underway. One of the Cancer Society's biggest and most popular fund raisers, the Daffodil Days campaign helps to fund groundbreaking cancer research, provide up-to-date cancer information and education, advocate for public policies that benefit the community, and provide services that improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

You’re a comedian, a singer... you juggle balls of fire? We’ve all got talents – it’s time to put them on display.
On February 5, the Granite Falls Arts Council and Community Ed. are collaborating to host the Hometown Variety Show at the Yellow Medicine East Auditorium during Ole and Lena Days.

All women in recovery, interested in recovery, and others who could benefit by attending are welcome and encouraged to attend the monthly Women’s Recovery Luncheon, which will be held in the gymnasium of Project Turnabout, 660 18th Street, Granite Falls on Saturday, January 23, 2010, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Genius is often looked over in its own time and certainly in its own home town, which is why you need to get out to Bootlegger’s to check out all the local musicians on hand every Friday in January through March.
Names like Jerry Ostensoe, Tommy Listul, Guy Stevermer, Verlyn Kling, Steve Barber, and even the Advocate Tribune’s own Eric Monson... if you haven’t seen them you are simply missing out.
Each week in January the Advocate Tribune will profile the musician who will be playing the coming Friday, giving potential listeners an indication of the musical treat that awaits amongst the fine dining, atmosphere and company guaranteed at Bootlegger’s Supper Club.

1) New Granite Falls City Hall goes up, Old City Hall goes down:  The new $3 million, 5,000 sq. foot  City Hall opened in late June. The former city hall building and a nearby building were razed in September and the site was restored to a riverside park and overlook.

2) YME takes budgetary hit: Declining enrollment and tight state funding resulted in more than $700,000 in cuts to the 2009-2010 YME budget and the elimination of 14 high school and elementary school positions.

3) Upper Sioux Community cuts ribbon on Tribal Government/Administration Center: The $2.5 million, 15,000 sq. foot, was constructed to accommodate growth of community, which has reached close to 500 members.

 

She’s been laboring day-in and day-out for over a month-and-a-half in order to complete three months of renovation work in two months time. Dressed head to toe in working attire, Mary Virnig looks great and brims with energy.
She’s excited. Come this weekend, her ambition will reach fruition and unveil the most comfortable, relaxing and rejuvenating spa experience that Southwest Minnesota has ever bore witness to: the River Valley Spa.
“I am excited. I’m thrilled actually,” Virnig beamed.  “I think it’s going to be great, I think it’s going to be fun. I think it’s time that people get just a little something different.”

Last Thursday Bert Raney Elementary students traveled to the Granite Falls Hospital and Manor where they partnered up with manor residents to produce some of the coolest and creative gingerbread houses you have ever seen.