Ben and Krishana Dempcy performed at the YES! House’s Open Mic Night hosted by Betsy Pardick Friday evening. The evening’s line-up of local talent on display included poetry readings, an opera reading, author talk, music and comedy. Open Mic Nights are free to attend. The next will be held May 16th beginning at 6:30 p.m.
It turned out to be a great weekend across the area! I know many golf courses opened up officially for the season. A few had opened up for a day or two last month, but they quickly shut down after we had a return of winter.
Governor Tim Walz today announced a new dashboard Minnesotans can use to track disruptions and cancellations of federal funding and their impact on services available to Minnesotans. Federal disruptions and cuts so far include grants to track measles and avian influenza, provide heating assistance, and mitigate flooding.
Last week, CherryRoad Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Gulban traveled to Montevideo and Granite Falls to meet with community members to discuss upcoming changes to the print format of the Montevideo American News, Tri-County News and Advocate Tribune. Starting expected in June, the newspapers will be printed on a new paper, in a new size, that will provide for clearer photos, as well as some other changes to the look of the newspapers print editions.
Mr. Suter’s 9th-grade science classes at Yellow Medicine East took advantage of the warmer weather last week by heading outdoors for some hands-on learning. Students explored the Minnesota River, studying flow rate, signs of erosion, and the surrounding riverfront ecosystem.
On Sunday, Nicole Zempel of Wild Roots MN gave a presentation at Bluenose Gopher Public House’s Cooperative Sunday on her recent trash clean-up efforts in the public spaces we all share. Then, visitors to the establishment participated in a group clean-up effort along the river bank downtown. Zempel has been documenting local clean-up efforts on her Facebook page, Wild Roots MN.
At last week’s meeting of the Granite Falls City Council, an in-depth discussion was held about adjusting the City’s licensing fees for low-potency THC products in light of changing state regulations for cannabis sales.
For the month of April, WRAP would like to discuss sexual assault, awareness, and prevention. Since 2001, the month of April has been coined as the National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and has helped to make huge strides to bring awareness and a voice to survivors of sexual assault. Statistically, every 68 seconds someone in the United States is sexually assaulted, which is a total number of 531,810 people that were sexually assaulted in the year 2022 alone. The state of Minnesota reported at least 8% of 8th graders experienced sexual assault, and the numbers double to 16% in the 11th grade for experiencing sexual violence. 34% of reported youth survivors stated their abusers were family members and a staggering 93% of youth survivors reported they were violated by someone they knew. Recent statistics show that by adulthood one out of every five females have experienced completed or attempted rape and 1 out of every 4 males have been sexually assaulted during their lifetime. As alarming as these statistics are, it is estimated that only 21.4% of sexual assaults have been reported. Many survivors of sexual assault do not report the crime for multiple reasons which could include fear, embarrassment, shame, cultural barriers, or lack of resources to get help.
At last week’s meeting, the Granite Falls City Council unanimously approved a request for $1,6121 to support a new community mural project led by local artist Sammy Jo Miller. The mural will be painted on the City’s flood wall as an extension of the existing public art along the Riverwalk.
Beginning April 14, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is installing LED chevron signs along curves on highways in in Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, and Yellow Medicine counties. Chevrons are being installed to provide enhanced safety for drivers. The chevrons have simple LEDs powered by a solar panel. They are generally illuminated all day unless it is cloudy for an extended period.