3 minute read
Powering Dreams
When the need for a new baseball field arose in Webster, South Dakota, NorthWestern was one of several local businesses that stepped up to the plate.
It all began with a bare field and a dream. When the Webster baseball community needed a new field, Chad Hesla, the Webster Complex Coordinator, took the lead.
“I filled out an application and applied for a community grant through NorthWestern Energy to help fund the project,” Chad said.
Local donations from various organizations, businesses, grants and in-kind labor further supported the project’s vision. Through these collective efforts, approximately $125,000 was raised to bring the project to life.
In 2023, NorthWestern Energy donated $7,500 to the project. Out of this donation, $5,000 directly contributed to the construction of the new baseball field while additionally providing four poles, along with labor for installing them.
“I worked with the head groundskeeper from Target Field, and we came up with a scaled-down model of Target Field,” Chad said.
The dimensions were adjusted, with fences at 50% of the height, bases at 45 feet instead of 90, and an overall layout reminiscent of a professional baseball field.
A company from Minneapolis, led by a former groundskeeper for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was brought in for the dirt work and field preparation.
Mike Baumgarn, Electric Operations Supervisor at NorthWestern, went above and beyond to enhance the field even more.
“I went and put irrigation in for them, dug the trench, just as another way of helping out,” Mike said.
After two months of hard work, the project was completed in July 2023, just in time to enjoy the rest of the summer season.
Looking forward to the upcoming summer season, Chad expressed his eagerness to see children enjoying the field and playing baseball.
“It’s a great problem to have, but I’d go out there on a weekend to work and have to come back home because there were kids out there playing,” Chad said. “I couldn’t even get the work done. So it’s a great problem to have, and it’s fun to see.”
Reflecting on the project’s impact, Chad emphasized, “Kids would never have this opportunity without great companies and organizations like NorthWestern Energy, and all the donations and everything made the whole project possible.”
New lights, coming soon
NorthWestern Energy is working with Meagher County High School in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, and the Laurel Dodgers’ baseball field in Laurel, Montana, to install new lights on the sports fields.
Work to install the new lights is in progress, and we hope to have them up and running this spring or summer.
