When Holly Johnson started brainstorming about ways she could give back to the community through her role as Executive Director for NIHCA in Granite Falls, she realized that one of her experiences as a mother of a thirteen-year-old was probably an experience many parents in the community share.
Please note that the Advocate Tribune now has a new phone number beginning Wednesday, March 16th. The new main office phone number is: 320-435-6400. To reach office staff through the main office line, the following extensions are now available:
Earlier this month, Montevideo-based CURE (Clean Up the River Environment) hosted a webinar to spread the word about a new cooperative solar garden that’s currently in development in an area West of Clara City, to benefit Xcel Energy customers in both Yellow Medicine and Chippewa Counties among others. The cooperative solar garden is being developed by a company called Cooperative Energy Futures that only produces cooperatively owned community solar installations. “Rather than other models of community solar projects, they develop community solar projects as member-owned cooperatives,” explains CURE Energy Democracy Program Director Erik Hatlestad.
Last year, the Cottonwood Community Foundation came up with an idea to create an opportunity for families in Cottonwood and Hanley Falls to purchase already-assembled Easter eggs that would be hidden around their lawns for children to find on Easter morning. “It was kind of a last-minute thing that we threw together last year, and we sold around 1,000 eggs,” says Community Foundation member Tam French.
Granite Falls Living at Home Block Nurse Program (GF-LAH/BNP) The Granite Falls Living at Home Block Nurse Program (GF-LAH/ BNP) is pleased to announce the upcoming virtual performance of “In the Garden,” the third in a three part series of plays being presented by the Remember Project. The event will be held on Thursday March 24th from 1-3:00 PM.
It is wonderful to see some mild temperatures finally settling-in across the state of Minnesota! We did see some light snow move-in Sunday night into early Monday morning as a weak disturbance pushed across the region. Across parts of northern Minnesota into Wisconsin, one to three inches of snow fell. Everyone keeps asking me if this will be the last snow for the season? Like many of you, I am anxious to put away the winter coats, gloves, scarves, show blowers, and shovels. However, I never say never to snow until early May when historically the real threat for snow is over for our part of the region. There is some good news as the 8 to 14 Day Outlook is calling for above normal temperatures for the southern-half of the state, and near normal temperatures for the northern-half of Minnesota. Even if we see normal temperatures, we would see the mid to upper 30s and lower 40s for that part of the state by the end of the month. I don’t think too many would complain about those temps!
On February 17th, Senior Night was held at the YME girls basketball game. Photo Submitted .
Carris Health - Rice Hospice is looking for friendly, lovable dogs and their owners to join the volunteer pet therapy program. The training involves a three-step process that starts with temperament evaluations of the dogs on Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9 at Rice Memorial Hospital. If approved for the program, the owner will attend hospice volunteer training on Tuesday, May 3 and Thursday, May 5, followed by canine training and therapy dog certification Friday – Sunday, May 13 – 15.
The Granite Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting an Easter Coloring Contest that begins March 31st. Local businesses, Pioneer PBS and the National Independent Health Club Association have donated Easter baskets valued at approximately $30 each to be handed out as prizes for the contest.
When the Minnesota State Legislature recently announced a Minnesota Main Street Economic Revitalization Program, that will offer $80 million statewide for economic redevelopment that will award grants designed to establish programs in communities that will fund economic development and redevelopment in commercial corridors, the program was designed specifically to work through non-profits, rather than through City governmental agencies. Thus, the Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF), based out of Hutchinson, but serving a broad area of the Southwestern portion of the state, stepped in to facilitate partnering communities with the program. “We put in an application for three communities – Granite Falls, Litchfield and Worthington in the first round and it was funded,” says Scott Marquardt, Senior Vice President of the Southwest Minnesota Initiative Foundation.