Newsletter-Early-Week

This year marks the 52nd anniversary of the Arbor Day Foundation, the largest member nonprofit organization on a mission to plant and distribute trees around the world. The celebrating of Arbor Day began in January of 1872, when a Nebraska Newspaper editor named J. Sterling Morton proposed a tree planting holiday at a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture. The first celebration was held on April 10, 1872, offering prizes to those who planted the largest number of trees. Estimates for trees planted that day totaled more than one million trees. The City of Granite Falls planted trees on 15th Avenue in honor of the day. Pictured are Water Plant Superintendent Chris Anderson and Granite Falls Mayor Steve Nordaune with the trees planted in Granite Falls in honor of Arbor Day this year.

Thursday evening, southwest Minnesota musician Eric James took the stage at Bluenose Gopher Public House for a free live music performance. The event is made possible through donations from area community members to the Bluenose Presents fund. The next opportunity for free live music downtown happens this Saturday, directly after the Western Fest parade when country music singer Hope Rasmussen takes the stage for the first time in Granite Falls for a family-friendly show in celebration of the town’s annual festival. The music is expected to begin around 2 p.m.

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Minnesota’s own Tanner Aus, 8x Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Qualifier, won his sixth American Heroes PRCA Rodeo with an 82-point ride aboard Universal Pro Rodeos’ Blueberry Special. The Granite Falls native secured a $1,173 payday. Aus won Rodeo Austion (Texas) earlier this year, repeating his title in back-to-back wins and making it his third overall since 2017. Aus, a veteran cowboy with a rodeo resume including career wins at Cheyenne Frontier Days, Calgary Stampede and The American is a home state favorite. He was a featured interview during the weather report with Russ Thomas on Valley News Live.

Granite Falls is gearing up for another exciting Western Fest, and at the heart of the festivities is the long-standing Western Fest Royalty program—a 76 year tradition that highlights leadership, community service, and local pride.

The 2025 Chippewa and Yellow Medicine Counties Honorary Survivors and Caregivers Cancer Connection Walk was held June 4, 2025 in Smith Park in Montevideo. Pictured are: (L to R) Caregiver Bear Rowell, Survivor Michele Rowell, Montevideo; Caregiver June Eisenlohr, Survivor Mary Lou Lanes, Montevideo; Survivors Eileen and Milt Skogund, Clara City, they are each other’s caregiver.