IMPACT (October 2023) by West Central Tribune

IMPACT in Kandiyohi County and beyond ▪ 2023

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IMPACT 2023

Table of contents

06 ‘Heart of the city’ 10 A hard call 16 Structural investment 20 A vibrant atmosphere 28 Checking off the list 34 Rural recruitment 38 Finding new purpose 40 All under one roof 43 Agricultural gem 48 Small-scale store 50 Retaining identity 53 Forward momentum 56 Training future leaders 60 Art of a community

Stories and photos by Tom Cherveny / reporter Levi Jones / reporter Jennifer Kotila / reporter Shelby Lindrud / reporter Dale Morin / reporter Macy Moore / photographer PUBLISHER: Steve Ammermann EDITOR: Kelly Boldan MAGAZINE EDITOR: Kit Grode MAGAZINE DESIGNER: Jamie Holte AD MANAGER: Christie Steffel A publication of the West Central Tribune OCTOBER 2023 2208 Trott Ave S.W., Willmar, MN www.wctrib.com

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impact

im·pact | \ ‘im-,pakt \

Deﬁnition of impact

1a: to have a direct effect or impact on Merriam-Webster Dictionary

to have a strong effect on someone or something. Oxford Languages

Time marches onward, and the communities we call home have irrevocably changed. Time stops for no one, or so the saying goes. Our communities have seen children grow up, leave, and sometimes return with new ideas and a passion for revitalizing their hometowns. New businesses open up shop, old businesses close their doors, and opportunities arise from every angle. In the past few years, communities both large and small in west central Minnesota have seen their populations shift, and with that comes new wants, needs and desires. Whether it be a former school building given new life and meaning, a tired downtown street given a fresh face, or even recruiting people to live and work in a rural community, each of these changes requires an investment from the community, whether that be time, funding or patronage. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a community formed alone. Investing in one’s community creates an IMPACT, no matter how large or small, and the West Central Tribune has chosen to highlight a sampling of those stories of revitalization.

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A cart drives by giving high-fives to people watching the Willmar Fests Grande Day Parade on Saturday, June 24, 2023, in downtown Willmar.

‘Heart of the city’ Willmar Main Street program designed to invest in historic downtown district BY DALE MORIN West Central Tribune

ILLMAR — Willmar Main Street Director Riley Kennedy said she feels that the program has been making year-to-year improvements after a year of experience in her new role. A subsidiary of the Minnesota Main Streets program, Willmar Main Street seeks to revitalize Willmar’s downtown district by supporting businesses, and hosting events. The Main Street America program was founded in 1980 in order to

help older historic downtowns and commercial districts adapt to the challenges of suburbanization and deteriorating buildings. The goal of the program is to breathe new life in town squares, make better developments, revive local economies and bring communities together. According to Main Street’s website, the program has helped more than 2,000 communities, including Willmar. “I think there’s now a desire to stray away from these bigger box stores

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from bigger entities and come back downtown,” Kennedy said. “We want to see our downtown improve and thrive and continue to grow with our city.”

Reviving the heart of the city

Willmar Main Street was established in 2012 before it was absorbed into the city in 2018, according to Kennedy. The program comprises eight board members including prominent community members and business owners.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Community members stroll through the Willmar Fest Block Party in downtown Willmar on Thursday, June 23, 2022. Willmar Main Street hopes to bring more people downtown to frequent the businesses and cultural opportunities found there.

Kennedy’s job entails getting business owners and retailers in touch with networks and resources that help plan for improving their businesses and properties. The Main Street Revitalization Program will help property owners fund up to 30% or $75,000 of a proposed project, if remaining expenses are covered out of pocket or by approved loans. Eligible projects range from designing a new display to major repair and renovations. “Downtown, for a lot of these small communities, used to be the heart of the city,” Kennedy said. Programs like Main Street help small, independent and local businesses maintain their presence. “The more you invest in a place, the happier you are with it and the more you want to see it succeed.” Former Main Street director Sarah Swedburg laid the foundation of the program by establishing the boards and committees and hosting events. However, the program experienced a roadblock during the

COVID-19 pandemic. “We are looking to re-introduce ourselves into the community,” Kennedy said, “to say ‘we are Main Street, this is what we’re trying to do in the next couple of years, this is how we can help you.’”

Sarah Swedburg

Bringing laughter, fun to downtown Willmar

Kennedy and Willmar Community Growth Director Pablo Obregon partnered to put on the fourth annual Welcoming Week celebration on Sept. 9 in downtown Willmar. The celebration featured multicultural food, games and dances, and also a poet. Attendees were encouraged to wear ethnic clothing or clothing that shows others their ethnic heritage. “We’re probably one of the most diverse food cultures I have seen outside of the cities,” Kennedy said. “Willmar is a great place to come in and see something

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Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

A cart drives by giving high-fives to people watching the Willmar Fests Grande Day Parade on Saturday, June 24, 2023, in downtown Willmar.

different with its diverse shops and events throughout the year.” One goal for Welcoming Week was to decorate Sixth Street with flags of all the different countries Willmar residents are from.

“We want to bring in as much inclusivity as we can and show off the diverse cultures that we have living here,” Kennedy said. “We need to show them that they’re welcome here and that we’re integrating them into our city and community.”

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

One of the events Main Street has helped host and plan is the annual four-day Willmar Fests celebration in downtown. Kennedy said it’s an event she feels gets better every year. “It’s a lot of collaboration and a lot of time and effort put into doing

A drum circle led by John Salgado and Nicole Konz of Purpose Artisans fills the air with sounds of drums during Welcoming Week festivities in downtown Willmar on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

something fun for the community,” she said. Main Street will provide an assist to an organization hosting a Cinco de Mayo festival in 2024. “We formed a committee last year and they decided to move forward putting that together as their own entity,” Kennedy said, but added that Main Street will help in the planning stages. Kennedy said her ideal vision for downtown Willmar has already been met in some ways. “It’s full downtown,” she said. “Almost all of our buildings are completely full. You don’t like walking around and seeing empty or dilapidated buildings.” Personally, Kennedy would like to see more shops and trinket stores. She also wishes for more spaces that promote interactivity between people, such as more green spaces, which would also facilitate hosting more events. A revitalized downtown allows people to invest and take pride in their town, Kennedy said. “When you have a little more cohesion in your town everybody tries to work together and you have this sense of ‘okay we can do this,’” she said. “This is going to be great. Let’s work together and make this a better community for everybody.”

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Shelby Lindrud / West Central Tribune

BOLD Superintendent Jim Menton points out a few of the improvements the district wants to make to the high school in Olivia if a $39.9 million bond referendum passes this fall. BOLD is hoping to make major renovations to the school, including creating an updated K-12 campus now that the Bird Island school has been permanently closed.

A hard call

Difficult decisions on school facilities can make for a revitalized future BY SHELBY LINDRUD West Central Tribune

ENVILLE — It has become a familiar story, a school district having to make the hard call to close buildings and consolidate students into fewer schools. In the last 20 years, two districts in Renville County — Renville County West and BOLD — have faced that very challenge. While difficult, it has also given the districts a chance to improve not only their remaining buildings but offer a revitalized educational experience for staff and students.

For many years, RCW was in statutory operating debt and faced with declining enrollment in its three school buildings — Sacred Heart Elementary, Danube Middle School and the high school in Renville. In an effort to bring the district into a better financial situation, the decision was made to close the Danube Middle School in 2005 and Sacred Heart Elementary school in 2009. All of the district’s students were moved into the Renville building, creating a K-12 campus.

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“We didn’t have a choice,” said Dale Negen, chairman of the RCW School Board and former district employee. “We didn’t make huge strides in paying off the debt, getting into the black, until we closed both schools.” A decade later found BOLD Public Schools facing the same dilemma. The district — which covers Bird Island, Olivia and Lake Lillian — currently has two buildings, both in need of improvements. In 2019, mold was found at the

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“There were a number of efforts to sell Sacred Heart but nothing came to fruition. The process is complete and we can move on.” - Dale Negen elementary school in Bird Island. Then other maintenance issues arose. It would have cost millions of dollars to repair the building structure, not including the educational programming improvements needed. In a split vote in October 2020, the BOLD School Board did decide to permanently close the Bird Island building and keep everyone in Olivia. “There wasn’t a lot of money to maintain an old building properly,” said Jim Menton, BOLD superintendent.

What to do with closed buildings

Closing the buildings wasn’t the end of the story for these facilities. RCW had to decide twice on what to do with the school buildings the district still owned — with vastly different outcomes. The Danube building, which is located right at the intersection of US Highway 212 and Main Street, was sold in April 2007 to the city of Danube for $1. Since then, the city has used the building for a variety of uses — including space for businesses, home to the Tri-Valley Opportunity Council Head Start program and an event space. It is a success story on how an old school building can have a second life. “They use it all the time,” Negen said. Even after moving all students out of the Sacred Heart building, RCW

school’s gym and performing arts spaces, including upgrading the HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, if a proposed bond referendum passes this fall. A community group in Bird Island would like to take a portion of the building’s south side to create the Island Hub, a multi-purpose space for community use. However, the three-story 1917 section, along with the 1956 classroom addition, will meet the wrecking ball. “Almost the entire east side will be torn down,” Menton said. Shelby Lindrud / West Central Tribune

Dale Negen, RCW School Board chairman.

continued to use the gym for athletics for a few more years. However, once a new gym space was built at the Renville school, the Sacred Heart building stood empty and unsold. The school board finally made the hard decision to tear it down this past April, Negen said. Demolition started in late spring and was completed in August. “There were a number of efforts to sell Sacred Heart but nothing came to fruition,” Negen said. “The process is complete and we can move on.” At least a portion of the school in Bird Island looks to meet the same fate as Sacred Heart. BOLD has a plan to make around $6 million in improvements to the

Revitalizing the high schools for all students

Both RCW and BOLD ended up in the same spot, with a high school that needed to be remodeled to fit the needs of all students. The schools were decades old and in need of not only extra and rehabilitated instructional space, but also upgrades behind the the walls with things such as plumbing, electrical and ventilation. At RCW, the work started back in 2011 with a massive project that saw the installation of a new sprinkler system throughout the building along with air conditioning and three large elementary rooms on the south side of the building. “Basically everything was torn apart,” Negen said. Thanks to voters passing a $5.4

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The Renville County West school in Renville has housed all 12 grades for several years, and the district has completed a trio of renovation projects adding space and updating systems.

million bond referendum in 2015, the district was able to build an entire new gym and athletic facilities on the north side, along with addition classroom space on the south. The most recent project took place in 2020, with even more classrooms added to the building’s south side. The district also upgraded the original competition gym. Going

forward, Negen said the hope is to renovate the small gym and perhaps turn it into a dedicated facility for the arts. At BOLD, the district has a $33 million plan for the high school in Olivia, one that will leave very little untouched. The most visible project, from the

outside at least, will tear down of the 1922 section of the building. The space will be used for an expanded commons and cafeteria area for students. A new main entrance with enhanced security measures will lead to the office where district, high school and elementary administration will run from. The instructional spaces for special

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DRC Construction of Litchfield began demolishing the 1901 portion of the Sacred Heart School on July 11, 2023, in Sacred Heart. The school had not hosted students for nearly 15 years. The entire school was torn down over the summer, leaving just an empty lot.

“We’re going to see this as a space of pride for the community. We are going to see morale increase, for both staff and students. There is a lot more to be gained than nicer facilities.” - Jim Menton

education, technical education, science, art and technology will all be improved as will the gym and its support facilities such as the locker rooms. Unseen will be much-needed upgrades to the school’s HVAC, electrical, plumbing and ventilation systems as well as lighting. “The outside isn’t going to change much,” Menton said. “But the inside will be unrecognizable.” Getting a start on these projects will depend totally on district voters. They will have a chance to vote a $39.9 million bond referendum up or down on Nov. 7. Menton said public survey’s have shown support for such a referendum. If the referendum fails, the district will most likely just try again the next year. “Nothing is getting cheaper. We have to do it,” Menton said. “It would be foolish not to do it right the first time. Our spaces need to be updated.”

The hard, but right decision

The decision to close schools is never easy or wanted, but for both RCW and BOLD, the decisions has led to new opportunities. For RCW, no longer having the massive operational costs from three different buildings allowed the district to finally climb out of debt, improve the high school building and offer new programming and technology to its students. RCW was one of the first school’s in the state to offer iPads to its students.

Shelby Lindrud / West Central Tribune

A new gym was built at the RCW School in Renville after a 2015 bond referendum, providing additional programming space.

“We’re not bound by ‘can’t afford it’ anymore,” Negen said. For BOLD, while it isn’t dealing with the same financial strain, focusing mostly on one building will be of financial benefit to the district. It will also allow the district to focus more on the students, staff and community. “We’re going to see this as a space of pride for the community. We are going to see morale increase, for both staff and students,” Menton said. “There is a lot more to be gained than nicer facilities.” Even though closing a school is hard, including for the community of that school, both BOLD and RCW believe the decision was the right one. And despite the community heartache and concern, residents of the district’s remain as connected and part of the district as always. “I think community members, they didn’t like it but they understood,” Negen said. “They are very supportive of the school.”

The oldest part of the BOLD School in Olivia will be torn down to make room for a new commons and cafeteria area in the proposed improvement plans for the school.

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Structural investment Historic downtown Litchﬁeld buildings to get a facelift, repair assistance BY JENNIFER KOTILA West Central Tribune

ITCHFIELD — Downtown Litchfield will be looking much nicer in the near future after the Minnesota Legislature designated $2 million in the 2023 capital investment bill for building facade improvements in the historic downtown district. The money will go toward grants to building owners for building stabilization and facade improvements. Litchfield city staff, as well as the Heritage Preservation Commission, will be responsible for creating the criteria and application process for grants for building owners who qualify. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will manage the grant. This is likely to be a popular program

for business owners. “I haven’t talked to anybody who says they are not interested,” said Darlene Kotelnicki, a Litchfield City Councilor and Heritage Preservation Commissioner. Kotelnicki credits Representative Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, for ensuring that the capital improvements bill includes the money designated for improvements in Litchfield. “We are the pilot project,” said Darlene Kotelnicki about the funds, noting the city is currently working to research similar programs in other communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. “This is new and it’s wide open, so they are looking at us to develop criteria.”

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During initial discussions of what the criteria might be, the Heritage Preservation Commission agreed that grants should be specific to the needs of individual buildings so owners of multiple buildings can apply for grants for each building. It was also agreed upon that projects to fix roofs and other structural deficiency issues will qualify for the grants, since it is not effective to fix just the facade of a building if it has structural integrity issues. “Any architect and engineer will tell you, if you don’t have a solid roof and you have water infiltration stuff, you might as well just forget finishing your project, that you’ve got to do those first,” said Commissioner Connie Lies.

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“If they are assisted with the major side, the major things, people will be less reluctant to do the smaller things.” - Dave Welker

“And I would say there are ones down there that definitely need some roof work. We can look at what they’re proposing. If we have somebody that part of the building (facade) is falling off, that might rise in the need level if that can be repaired within what (money) we can give them.” The Commission also discussed the cap for grant amounts, with Commissioner Holly Flemming suggesting that the first round of applications have the amount capped at around $50,000 to $60,000 per eligible building. A second round of applications could take place with any leftover funds. Another topic of discussion was whether building owners would be required to provide matching funds for the grants. Flemming suggested a 25% match. “The less people have to put in personally, right now, especially, the more that I think they are willing to continue to work on their building,” she said, noting that inflation and interest rates are not currently ideal for construction projects. “I think being able to get some of this money, to get things started, especially the needs-based stuff … then that gives them more of a jump start to … move on to something that’s a little less crucial, because the money is there for the crucial stuff.” Commissioner Dave Welker agreed with Flemming, noting that many building owners won’t make less-costly building improvements if a building needs a new roof or other major, costly repair — like a roof replacement — to make the structure sound. “If the roof isn’t leaking, they can come up with the $500 or $1000 here or there for something smaller,” Welker said, noting that it is not feasible to make roof and other structural improvements in small monetary increments of $500 or $1000. “The major things are whole. If they are assisted with the major side, the major things, people will be less reluctant to do the smaller things.” 18 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

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Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Teagan Peters scoops ice cream for a patron at Sweet Escape in downtown Litchfield on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

A vibrant atmosphere Downtown Litchﬁeld Council putting puzzle pieces together to revitalize historic district BY JENNIFER KOTILA West Central Tribune

ITCHFIELD — It’s been a long time coming, and it took a lot of effort by a lot of people, but Litchfield’s historic downtown is becoming a “vibrant, super cool, fun place” in the community. “There’s a hundred people involved in this project over the last 15 years. It took 15 years to get it looking like it looks today and having all these pieces come together and all of a sudden there’s this vibrant, super cool, fun place to go downtown,” said Tim Cook,

realtor at Premier Real Estate and co-owner of the building that houses the Captain’s Club, one of the newest downtown venues. The Captain’s Club is located in the Independent Review building at 217 North Sibley Avenue. According to Lichfield City Councilor and Heritage Preservation Commissioner Darlene Kotelnicki, the Independent Review is the oldest business on Sibley Avenue, which is the main thoroughfare through downtown.

20 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Griffin Butler, 11, keeps cool with a cup of ice cream while visiting Sweet Escape in downtown Litchfield on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

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The Independent Review offices have been located in that building since 1909. Cook and Charles Burdick bought the building about three years ago from the MediaNews Group, which had purchased the Independent Review. The Independent Review maintains a small office in the building. The building has been renovated to accommodate the Captain’s Club in the rear of the building and a large gathering space in the front of the building. Kotelnicki and Cook are also members of the Litchfield Downtown Council, which formed in 2018 as a nonprofit focused on providing a successful downtown Litchfield business environment, organizing downtown events, preserving and protecting the historic downtown, and offering networking opportunities for members.

Repurposing a newspaper’s footprint

“We started renovating this space before we really knew what we were going to do with it. Virtually everything back here came from the paper,” Cook said of the Captain’s Club, which has the character and feel of an old speak-easy. Macy Moore / West Central Tribune He explained that MediaNews Captain’s Club co-owner Tim Cook works to ready the space for Group was reducing the footprint of a future booking at the former Independent Review building in downtown Litchfield on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. the Independent Review and moving

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“I’m kind of a ‘build it and they will come’ type philosophy.” - Tim Cook

nearly everything to Crow River Media’s Hutchinson offices. There was 130 years worth of newspaper office furniture, bound newspaper books, an old printing press and other things left in the building afterward. Independent Review General Manager/Editor Brent Schacherer was tasked with removing items, and much of it was ending up in the alley behind the building, according to Cook.

“At one point, we were like, ‘Can we just have everything? We’ll redecorate with it,’” he said. “It was a slow concept that started and then as we had more stuff … relics from the past and such, all of a sudden Kristina (Olson), the wheels started turning, she was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to renovate this space back here.’” Olson is Cook’s life partner, and runs Fiddler’s Green, a venue space outside of Litchfield. The newspaper receptionist desk was repurposed into a bar, and the shelves for the bound newspaper volumes were painted, but still hold the old newspaper volumes. Cook notes that people enjoy taking the bound volumes out and looking at them during events. A pew from a Catholic church provides additional seating, and the kneeling rail was repurposed as a footrest at the bar. The bar stools were found free on the side of the road by Kotelnicki, who immediately contacted Cook when she

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Captain’s Club co-owner Tim Cook poses for a portrait at the former Independent Review building in downtown Litchfield on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

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Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

The former Independent Review building has been transformed into the Captain’s Club, which serves as a private event venue space in downtown Litchfield on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

found them to see if he could use them. “Pretty much everything was repurposed that’s in here. And then we built it and we actually didn’t know what we were going to do with it,” Cook commented. That is until Litchfield resident Stephanie Westphall called with a “weird request” on Christmas Eve — she wanted to rent the space for her family Christmas gathering. Although Cook and his family were out of town, the keys for the building were kept in a lock box, so it was easy to grant her request — and the new business was created. “I’m kind of a ‘build it and they will come’ type philosophy,” Cook commented. Westphall immediately booked the space for the following Christmas, telling Cook that renting space allows her to enjoy her holiday with the family without having to board her dogs or make her children give up their bedrooms. The space can be rented by the hour or for a daily rate. There are special rates for weekly or monthly small group

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Patrons depart Sweet Escape after stocking up on sweets in downtown Litchfield on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

24 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

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gatherings, as well as pop up shops and sales events. When asked why he would buy a building without knowing what he was going to use it for, Cook said, “You know, Kristina asks me that question all the time.” He explained that he was the real estate agent that had the building listed for sale for a number of years. “It often happens with properties that we list … as time goes by I start to like the building more or I see it differently, I guess, than everyone else does,” he continued, noting that he was eventually contacted by the real estate agent for MediaNews Group asking if he would like to purchase the building. “I was like, ‘Well, kind of.’ Primarily because of the upstairs.” Cook really loved the upstairs apartment of the building, which had gone untouched since former Independent Review owner John Harmon had moved out of it in about April of 1964. “I guess in my mind, I picture he lived up there for many years, but at some point it was probably drafty and electrical was kind of spotty back then, it was just surface-mounted stuff and stuff was probably just getting old after 50 years,” Cook said. “He built a house in town and then moved everything out

of the apartment, except for, like, the last load. There was probably one more trip to be made and (he) never made it and locked up the building and there it sat since April of 1964. … It sat in a time capsule until we reopened it up probably four or five years ago.” Cook explained that the people who worked at the newspaper never went upstairs, because there was no power or lights and the windows were boarded up. His goal is to renovate the upstairs into apartments.

Build it, and they will come

Several new businesses have sprung up in the last few years as neighbors to the Captain’s Club in what years ago seemed like an abandoned downtown. “That’s kind of a new thing, right?” Cook said of the new downtown atmosphere. “It’s been fits and starts. ... It’s almost like you go by and everyone is like, ‘The downtown is falling apart, no one’s even down there.’ And then all of a sudden at some point you drive down and you’re like, ‘Oh, what’s this business? What’s that like? Where did all these businesses come from?’” He explained that renovating and revitalizing historic buildings for new business purposes takes a long time, and the stuff that takes place first isn’t

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always noticeable. “You do your roofs and your plumbing and your electrical and your furnaces and the things that are expensive and take time to recover from, from an expense standpoint, right? And then you get your business internally in order and make sure everything is up and running,” Cook said. Another member of the Litchfield Downtown Council, John Dyer, owns the building in which two new businesses operate — Sweet Escape and Any Thyme Catering. Dyer and his wife operate Sweet Escape, which opened in Litchfield in 2021. It also has a location in downtown Annandale. The building has a commercial kitchen in the back, which Dyer was only using to wash ice cream scoops. He offered the space for rent to Hannah Groth, who owns and operates Any Thyme Catering. The Dyers purchased the building, located at 226 North Sibley Avenue, and remodeled the entire inside. They ripped out old drop-down ceiling tiles and added all new lighting and paint. “It was a process, more than I was expecting,” Dyer said, noting that Kotelnicki assisted with preserving the historic parts of the building. “Everything you touched fell apart.

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These old buildings are tough. They are constantly bleeding money, these old buildings, and it’s hard.” But Dyer and his wife have a love for downtowns and their historic quality.

“The only reason we like it is we’re sort of old-school and I like the old downtown vibe,” he said, noting that when they travel, they make a point to tour the downtown areas of other

communities. “It used to be the heart and soul of a lot of towns, but it’s not anymore. We’re trying to bring that back with our business. … If you have a vibrant downtown, you have a sense of community, too.” Two more businesses that rent their space downtown are Red Door Nutrition and Perfect Pooches Grooming and Photography. Red Door Nutrition operates out of the building located at 134 North Sibley Avenue and serves up healthy shakes, drinks and other items. Perfect Pooches is located across the street at 129 North Sibley Avenue. The spaces out of which each business operates were renovated to fit their needs. Other businesses that have recently opened in downtown Litchfield include Half Bushel Brewing, Air-Pro Heating and Cooling, Hemp Hut and Fieldgate Cheese Store.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Perfect Pooches Dog Grooming and Photography sits along Sibley Avenue in downtown Litchfield on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

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Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

The City of Appleton hosted a traditional groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction for the new library to occupy former elementary school classrooms in the 1952 Wing of the former Appleton Schools on Sept. 12, 2022. Communities across the region are investing in a wide range of revitalizatioin projects. Shown are, from left: Cindy Hendrickx, head librarian; Dan Tosel, mayor at the time; Andy Hoffmann, president, H + U Construction; Willie Morales, city administrator at the time; and Paul Mellblom, principal, MSR Design.

Checking off the list Rural western Minnesota communities addressing long list of needs, one by one BY TOM CHERVENY West Central Tribune

PPLETON — In the heart of winter, Deb Brown went from town-to-town in Swift County to learn what people felt was needed to help their communities grow. The list she collected last February was as long as a Minnesota winter. Yet Brown, who operates Building Possibility to help small towns identify their opportunities for growth, spoke optimistically of what she found. Swift County offers a family-friendly environment that many desire, she

told her sponsors with Swift County Development. Its biggest challenge is to market what it offers, Brown concluded. Since its start in 1974, the Upper Minnesota River Valley Regional Development Commission has been working with Swift and the other four counties in the region — Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, and Yellow Medicine — to address the checklist of items that Brown collected during her visit. Dawn Hegland and her staff at

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the UMVRDC know the list well. Housing, transportation, municipal infrastructure, child care, recreation and broadband are among the top needs, she said. They represent millions and millions of dollars in needs, according to Hegland, executive director of the RDC. “There is no single thing, that’s what makes it so complicated,” said Hegland of efforts to revitalize the region. “It’s what keeps me up at night,” she admitted. “What is the right thing we

Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

The Thunder Hawks apartments are shown during construction in Montevideo. The community has been working to address housing needs as it prepares for the addition of 140 new full- and parttime jobs with the opening of the new veterans home this year.

should work on?” The public infrastructure in the region is aging, and resources are limited in a relatively sparsely populated region of small towns with an aging demographic, she explained. Seventy percent of the 37 communities in the five counties are under 500 in population. Yet there are millions of dollars of water and wastewater and road needs in those communities. The RDC plays an important, if behind-the-scenes, role in helping the counties and communities address the needs. It provides staff support needed by the communities to access state and federal funds and to help with strategic planning. It offers professional services that small communities do not have the staff to provide. Hegland said the state legislature has allocated millions of new dollars towards housing. The RDC is making it a priority to represent the region in seeking those funds, although it will be a challenge. Many of those dollars are aimed at needs in larger, urban areas, she noted. Like Brown, Hegland also speaks optimistically about the region, the challenges notwithstanding. Communities are finding ways to address the needs, such as housing., She pointed to Montevideo and Canby as examples where investments are being made in new housing. Canby has used

Contributed / UMRVDC

The Upper Minnesota River Valley Regional Development Commission’s “Get Rural” regional marketing campaign is aimed at recruiting new residents.

tax increment financing effectively to assist development. Dawson and Madison are among the communities in the midst of expensive infrastructure projects this year. Communities are also investing in improving the quality of life to attract new residents. Granite Falls is making investments in its parks and supporting a growing arts economy, she pointed out. The RDC is working with communities to develop an inventory of properties that can be developed. It’s an often overlooked asset. Many communities have vacant lots and properties where structures have been removed or can be repurposed. The RDC is also helping communities identify areas with blighted properties with the goal of targeting funds for rehabilitation.

“There is no single thing, that’s what makes it so complicated.” - Dawn Hegland Contributed / Wold Architects

This artist’s depiction of the Montevideo Veterans Home and its prairie-inspired design, which opened in 2023, is a part of many efforts to revitalize the Upper Minnesota River Valley region. 30 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

“We don’t need more jobs. We need more people.” - Dawn Hegland Housing and the related issue of recruiting new residents and retaining residents and job holders in the region are very important to the region’s growth. People are very mobile these days, and so it is increasingly important to provide a wide range of housing options, Hegland said. “We don’t need more jobs. We need more people,’’ Heglund said of the importance to recruit and retain residents. The region’s needs are multi-faceted, and always changing, she said. One of the other important roles for the RDC is to identify emerging issues and help keep the region’s communities and counties on track to address them, she explained.

West Central Tribune file photo

The cost for child care in the Upper Minnesota River Valley counties is lower than available in many urban areas, and is among the marketing points made by Prairie Waters and the RDC when marketing the region.

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Contributed / Prairie Waters

Prairie Waters celebrates rural living in promoting the region as both a great place to visit and live. Benefits include events such as the Lac qui Parle County Fair, shown here in an aerial view, which celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary in 2023.

Rural recruitment Prairie Waters has a leg up in promoting Upper Minnesota River Valley region BY TOM CHERVENY West Central Tribune

PPLETON — When it comes to successful marketing, nothing is more important than knowing your customer. That very ideology gives Melissa Streich and her colleagues involved with Prairie Waters at the Upper Minnesota River Valley Regional Development Commission a very important advantage. Once focused on promoting tourism in the Upper Minnesota Valley counties of Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine, Prairie

Waters places its emphasis today on recruiting new residents and job takers to those counties. Thanks to extensive research by Ben Winchester with the University of Minnesota, Streich has both a lot to sell and a leg up in knowing her “customers.” Winchester identified through research, some of it in the Minnesota River valley counties, what’s been termed the rural “brain gain.” He found that there is a growing migration of people ages 30 to 49

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Contributed / Prairie Waters

The Prairie Waters Visitor & Relocation Guide no longer focuses on promoting tourism in the region. Instead, it focuses on recruiting and retaining new residents to live in Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine counties.

moving to rural areas. They are attracted by the simpler life that rural living can provide, and appreciate the safety and security, recreational opportunities, and quality education found in rural communities, according to his research. Those benefits are exactly the takehome message that Prairie Waters focuses on, and with ease. “Just being authentic to our area and not making it something we are not,” said Streich of the underlying theme. What she termed “liveability” is a key point that Prairie Waters makes in its marketing to its target audience. Rural communities in the four counties offer safe and secure environments. Prairie Waters also lets prospective residents know that they will find quality education for their children in the counties. There are more one-on-one opportunities with teachers. Students have greater opportunities to participate in varsity sports and extra curricular activities thanks to lower student numbers, she explained. The cost of living is lower in rural areas too, particularly when it comes to child care. To bring that point home, Prairie Waters uses an interactive website that allows users to compare Contributed / Prairie Waters child care costs in the four counties A swimmer leaps into Wood Lake at Yellow Medicine County’s Timm County Park. Rural with those in their current counties areas have more draw than ever before, focusing on safety and the benefits of smallof residence. town life, including easy access to outdoor recreation.

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Along with promoting employment opportunities and quality of life, Prairie Waters emphasizes that the region’s broadband infrastructure also allows people to live here while retaining jobs elsewhere, she said. Winchester’s research found that for many, quality of life is the most important factor in their decisionmaking on where to live. They ranked it above jobs in their decision-making, Streich pointed out. Jobs and the need to find workers for them is the driving force behind the organization’s work. While the stereotypical image is that the counties are all about farming, the region is home to a wide range of industries as well.

Employers in the region are looking for employees, she said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Streich conducted interviews with many of the region’s largest employers to identify their employment needs, and to find ways to work together. It was an opportunity to showcase the Prairie Waters website and marketing so that employers utilize it. Employers are often the first point of contact with prospective new residents. “We need them to advocate for us as much as we do through the program,” she said. Much of the marketing is digitalbased, and takes advantage of social media platforms. It allows Prairie Waters to specifically target people who might be interested in moving to the region. The marketing campaign also includes a print product, the Prairie Waters Visitor Relocation Guide, which is distributed throughout the state. Some locations are virtual hotspots, including the Mall of America in Bloomington. But not all of the marketing is high-tech. Streich said Prairie Waters saw a

strong response from a billboard placed in St. Cloud. Visits to the Prairie Waters website from St. Cloud area internet users never reached the top 10 until the billboard went up. Within a week, visits from St. Cloud area residents rose to the top four on the site. Streich said recruiting new residents and job takers is only the first step. Many young people who have just completed their educations are willing to take jobs in the region with the thought in the back of their minds that this is just a first step in their careers. She said it is also important to work on retention so that they remain in the area once they get their careers started. There is a “culture shock” for many urban residents taking up rural life for the first time, Streich explained. She said Prairie Waters also works to market within the counties. It’s very important to let job holders know that they can advance their careers by taking new jobs in the four counties while continuing to enjoy the same, rural lifestyle. There are certainly differences among the four counties, said Striech, but overall they offer a very similar lifestyle and culture.

Contributed / Prairie Waters

Anglers try their luck on the banks of the Minnesota River in western Minnesota.

Contributed / Prairie Waters

Randal’s Resort and Campground on Lac qui Parle Lake is one of many destination opportunities in western Minnesota. Jobseekers and those looking for a more rural lifestyle are encouraged to visit Prairie Waters to see what living in the region could be like. 36 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

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Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

The historic Hollywood on Main facade is a long-standing staple along the downtown strip in the community of Montevideo.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

The historic Hollywood on Main facade is a long-standing staple along the downtown strip in the community of Montevideo.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Hollywood on Main owner Ruth Anne Lee poses for a portrait in the historic Montevideo theater on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

Finding new purpose Hollywood on Main building given new lease on life as an events center BY LEVI JONES

West Central Tribune

ONTEVIDEO — A community is influenced both by what it has been and what community members want it to be. In Montevideo, Hollywood on Main blends these together with a long history to give the theater its past, and plenty of renovation to give it a future. Built in 1937 as a state-of-the-art movie theater, Hollywood on Main

served the people of Montevideo as a place to gather to watch the latest films. At that time, this was height of movies like Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” or “A Star is Born,” starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. “It was pretty ahead of its time. There was a system of tunnels that had water in them that they blew fans over to cool

38 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

the place,” said owner Ruth Ann Lee, who bought the building in 2011. In the 1980s, a lack of use had left the building derelict. The main stage was overgrown with weeds, a tree had sprouted in the seating area, and a hole in the floor — creating a rather direct path to the basement — opened up near one of the exits. But the building still stood, and that was all the

community needed. The building was bought by Jerry Ross, who renovated the space as an events center to become a staple of the community. Today, the space has been fully restored and can host everything from parties to debates. “Mostly wedding receptions, sometimes even weddings. I have tried every music genre imaginable — from Shaun Johnson’s Big Band Experience to a Sunday afternoon polka band. I am working on a mystery dinner theater for a night, and there is a comedy tour here,” Lee said. The variety of events has helped to bring people of all sorts of backgrounds together to enjoy the space, according to Diversity USA founder Debra Lee Fader. The space has been able to host cultural events that showcase the diverse backgrounds of the people that make up Montevideo and the surrounding area. “We have done several different shows here — the holiday show, church shows. We

have had several coronations for Fiesta Days. This is the community center of town, and people take it to heart, and we need to have more people take advantage of what is offered here because it is amazing,” Fader said. Having a strong, and longstanding location within the community has meant many things around it have changed. The city is not the same as it was in 1937. Just like the theater, it has had its own share of updates. “A lot of things have changed a great deal, but it is still familiar. We used to have the bungalow shop right next door and now you can still get bungalow burgers next door on the other side at Java River,” Lee said. Revitalization efforts for some of the oldest parts of town, like Main Street, are made possible by the community members that step up and make the changes they want to see. For Fader, Lee is one of those community members. “The things that Ruth Ann does for the community, I cannot stress how important

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

The view from the stage of Hollywood on Main in Montevideo on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, shows the scale of the former theater, which has been renovated to become an events space in the community.

the things that she does for this community are, and how important this business is for the community,” Fader said. From an old movie theater, to live performances, dances and weddings, Hollywood on Main has given Montevideo 86 years of memories.

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Shelby Lindrud / West Central Tribune

Members of the Quilters Along the Yellowstone Trail check out their exhibit at the Cultural Centre in Bird Island on Sept. 11, 2023. The Centre has provided space for art exhibits and events for six years.

All under one roof

Gleseners’ vision turns former funeral home into vibrant arts, community and culture center BY SHELBY LINDRUD West Central Tribune

IRD ISLAND — At the Cultural Centre in Bird Island, art and community come together into a creative and imaginative whole. People playing bridge or holding a meeting in the gallery space are often surrounded by the creations of artists from around the region and state. This amalgamation is exactly what founders Rosemary and Mark Glesener envisioned when the idea for the Cultural Centre was born. “It is like an interactive art gallery community center,” Rosemary said. “I

know people who utilize it enjoy it.” The Cultural Centre is located in what was the home of Dirks-Blem Funeral Services on 640 Dogwood Avenue. Rosemary said she always thought the main service area of the building, with its high vaulted ceiling, large window and plenty of wall space, would make a great art gallery. In 2016, the owner of the building, Gordy Blem, approached the Gleseners about the possibility of transforming the structure into something else.

40 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

Shelby Lindrud / West Central Tribune

Mark and Rosemary Glesener founded the Cultural Centre in Bird Island back in 2017. The couple operates the arts and community center.

Rosemary said Blem didn’t want to leave an empty building behind when he closed the funeral home in town, but instead wanted it to be used for something for the community. The Gleseners formed the Bird Island Cultural Centre 501(c)3 nonprofit in November 2016 and Blem donated the entire funeral services building to the organization, providing a home for the Gleseners’ vision. “It was a beautiful gift to the community of Bird Island,” Rosemary said. As a creative person who had no real outlet for her artistic endeavors when she was a child, Rosemary wanted to create a place for artisans and art lovers to gather and come together. She is a true believer that art, in all its forms, can have major impacts on a person’s life. “If there is something else I’m passionate about, it is the process of art,” and how it forces a person to see the world and then use a tool to put it down on paper, Rosemary said. That is a skill that can be useful in a whole host of career fields, even those not technically thought as creative. “You have to be able to see and discern, do critical thinking.” The Cultural Centre is also a place

Shelby Lindrud / West Central Tribune

Rosemary Glesener, executive director of the Bird Island Cultural Centre, talks with artist McKenna Lilja on July 30, 2022, about some of her pieces for an exhibit that was housed in the Centre in August 2022.

Rosemary can put what she learned earning her integrated community health degree into practice. It provides an outlet for people of all ages to better their body, mind and spirit through the events, shows and classes the Centre hosts. “It’s the arts, health and community,” Rosemary said.

The Centre hosts exhibits of artists’ works for month-long exhibits from March through December. Over the last few years, the walls and display spaces of the gallery were covered with paintings, photography, wood carvings, bock prints, textiles, paper making and found object sculptures. In September, the Quilters Along the Yellowstone Trail group turned the gallery into a brightly colored celebration of quilting and, in October, the birds and waterfowl photography of Bill van der Hagen would fill the space. Sometimes Rosemary finds artists to bring to Bird Island; other times the artists come to her. “We are committed to this community,” Rosemary said. “There are so many talented, good people in this whole region.” Starting back up this fall will be art classes held at the Cultural Centre. Classes this fall will include fundamentals of watercolor painting for adults and basic drawing for both middle and high school students. New this year will be the My Time Art Club, which will meet the last three Tuesdays of the month, except for December. Members will be able to learn from different artists and create art.

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Erica Dischino / West Central Tribune

Siama Matuzungidi and Dallas Johnson brought a rural Congolese soukous sound to Bird Island Days at the Bird Island Cultural Centre in 2021. The centre holds many different art exhibits, events, and classes throughout the year.

Information and how to register for classes can be found on the centre’s website birdislandculture. com. “This can be an outlet,” Rosemary said. There are farmer and vendor markets during the summer, and a holiday market during Bird Island’s Old Fashioned Christmas celebration in early December. The facility is also used as a meeting place for many community organizations and groups. There are meetups of bridge and domino players, yoga classes, Lions Club meetings and even weekly practices of the Woodbury Choir. People can also rent the Cultural Centre for private events. Another important part of the Cultural Centre’s vision is the TinnesBaker House, located on Highway 212. Purchased in 2017 by the nonprofit, the 1900s Craftsman-style home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, needed upgrades, including asbestos abatement, has limited the use of the home. A grant is being applied for to start work on the house and, once completed, it will be home to the Centre’s literary endeavors. “The intent is that is where the writer’s center is going to be and that

will be a good thing,” Rosemary said. Moving into the future, the Gleseners have many ideas on how they would like to see the Cultural Centre move forward. This could include remodeling and expanding the kitchen to be able to offer space for the culinary arts. Rosemary would also like to add more opportunities for music and theater, perhaps even hold a summer camp. “Anything that is creative,” she hopes to be able to show or offer at the Cultural Centre, Rosemary said. To make these visions for the future a reality, the Cultural Centre will rely on the support of its community. The vast majority of the nonprofit’s operating revenue either comes from grants or memberships. Due to COVID, there was a significant drop in memberships. While there has been a small improvement this year, more is needed to keep the Centre open and operating. “Hopefully people see value in what we do,” Rosemary said. The Cultural Centre in Bird Island has become a place where artists can show and sell their work while also being a location for both art lovers and community members to see and experience art they may not have had the chance to before. It builds a connection between the artist and viewer, Rosemary said. It is also a place for people to gather and support each others’ endeavors and keep Bird Island a vibrant, creative and imaginative community. “We are all in this together,” Rosemary said. “Support the local artists.”

“We are committed to this community. There are so many talented, good people in this whole region.” - Rosemary Glesener Shelby Lindrud / West Central Tribune

The Cultural Centre in Bird Island was once the Dirks-Blem Funeral Home. The building was donated to the Cultural Centre nonprofit by Gordy Blem in 2016. 42 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

Agricultural gem Dawson’s 3B Vineyard demonstrates how grapes move from farm to table BY DALE MORIN West Central Tribune

AWSON — Kindergartners from the Minneota school district lucked out into a field trip on just their second day of school. The kids came to 3B Vineyard, located in Dawson, Minnesota, on Aug. 29 to learn about how grapes are grown in west central Minnesota. The vineyard was initially established in 2012, after owner and operator Hollie Thompson, a special education teacher, decided that she wanted to grow grapes outside her home shortly after purchasing 80 acres of farmland from her family. She explains that 3B is named after her three sons — Braxton, Braeden and Dale Morin / West Central Tribune Blake — who help maintain the vineyard Somerset grapes ripen on the vine at 3B Vineyard outside Dawson, Minnesota, on Aug. and harvest grapes along with Hollie’s 29, 2023. The vineyard is run by special education teacher Hollie Thompson and her husband, Jerry. family.

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The vineyard spans seven acres outside the family’s home and grows several varieties of grapes on over 4,500 plants including La Crescent, Marquette, Blanc, Somerset, Briana and King of the North grapes. Hollie Thompson invited Minneota kindergartners and their two teachers to experience one of the first harvesting days in late August, with the goal of picking five buckets worth of Somerset grapes to be sent back to their school, and served with their school lunch. That is, if they didn’t eat all of the grapes fresh off the vine first. The field trip is part of the efforts of the Farm to Schools program, a program connecting locally-grown Minnesota foods with school meals and snacks served to students. It also seeks to promote educational activities related to agriculture, food, health and nutrition students of various age groups. Thompson takes pride with her work involving the Farm to Schools program, being a teacher herself. She and her family were recently recognized as the Lac qui Parle Farm Family of 2023 by the University of Minnesota, underlining 3B Vineyard’s contribution to the local community. Thompson has also been working with the University of Minnesota in its research into different grape varieties. Thompson explains the few rows of grapes on their test plot near the back of the vineyard are assigned four-digit numbers and later sent to various schools. “What’s interesting is the kids then get to take a survey and they get to judge how well they like some of the table grapes,” she said. While the Minneota kindergartners aren’t the ones to take the survey for the grapes on the test plot, Thompson said fourth-graders from the DawsonBoyd and Morris school districts will also visit the vineyard during harvest and potentially take part in those surveys. For the morning however, kindergartners got hands-on experience of picking grapes and learned a little bit about the growing process, including how the grapes move from the vineyard to their lunch trays at school. It’s a lesson that leaves a big impression on the children as a harvester seen above all the grapevines drives by three rows ahead of where the children have been picking ripe and red Somerset grapes for approximately a half hour. The kids eventually saw the machine up close, but parked at a standstill, after the first row was harvested. Thompson

Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

Jerry Thompson drives a tractor carrying three loads of grapes harvested the morning of Aug. 29, 2023, at 3B Vineyard outside Dawson, Minnesota.

Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

3B Vineyard owner and operator Hollie Thompson reviews bushels of grapes picked by kindergartners from Minneota Public Schools on Aug. 29, 2023.

Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

A machine harvester in the distance continues down one row of grapes at 3B Vineyard outside Dawson on Aug. 29, 2023.

44 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

then explained how the machine “shakes” the grapes off of the vines. Shortly before the kids broke for lunch, Jerry Thompson drove by with a tractor and attachment holding three huge buckets of grapes yielded by the harvester.

Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

According to Hollie Thompson, it takes approximately three years after planting for a bushel of grapes to develop. She said, before establishing the vineyard, she spoke with winemakers in the area in order to determine what

Jon Roisen, left, owns and operates the machine harvester pictured. He is also a partner at 3B Vineyard and maintains grapes at another 14-acre vineyard.

types of grapes they wanted to buy. “It’s not like going to the elevator with your corn and your soybeans,” she said. “You need to make sure your grapes have a home to go to.” During the first year, she, Jerry and her sons built the trellis system used on the first two acres of planted grapes before eventually planting and adding more year to year. “The first year it took us two weeks … It was a learning curve,” Thompson said before joking, “if you can build a trellis system with your husband you can do anything.” The following year, in 2013, the family added another two acres of grapes within a week. The year after, they planted even more. “It only took us three days,” Thompson said, “so I think we got it down to science.” Thompson said her family and others still prune the vines by hand continually from January to April every year in order to produce a large number of healthy grape bushels in the summer. Of course, rows of ripe and round grapes elicit buckets of smashed grapes and the aroma of fermenting wine. However wine is the only product not made at 3B. “I don’t make wine or anything alcoholic, because that’s a different license and I don’t want to deal with any of that,” Thompson said.

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Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

Kids quickly take spots to get a close view of a different variety of grapes at 3B Vineyard outside Dawson on Aug. 29, 2023.

Instead 3B sells its grapes, such as Frontenac Blanc or La Crescent varieties, for winemaking to Grandview Winery, in Belview, and Chankaska 3B Vineyard grows seven Winery, near St. Peter. different varieties of Grapes that aren’t sold to wineries or schools grapes on seven acres are all processed into products at 3B vineyards. of land outside Dawson, The harvested grapes are pressed into juice and go Minnesota. into five-gallon food-grade buckets, which then go into a walk-in freezer to eventually be pasteurized and used in products such as grape cider or jelly. Thompson estimates there are typically 130 to 140 buckets of grape juice after harvest. One of the popular products made from 3B Vineyard’s grapes is the grape lemonade that makes frequent appearances at the annual Lac qui Parle County Fair. Thompson also hopes to debut a new bubbly beverage combining two varieties of grapes and pineapple juice this coming year at the county fair, a flavor she calls “Brianna Sunset Sip.” Despite the joy, Thompson has had discussions with her sons about possibly doing more and adding additional plants before retiring. “I said, it is named after you guys — 3B — I don’t need to add or do any more if you guys don’t want to do this,” she said. But so far, according to Thompson, “none of them have said no.” Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

Hollie Thompson demonstrates how to look for defective grapes in a bushel for visiting Minneota kindergartners and their teachers on Aug. 29, 2023.

46 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

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New London Food Co-op board president Erik Hatlestad removes linoleum flooring as work is done to construct the new co-op storefront location in New London on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

New London Food Co-op board member Dylan Erickson, at left, and co-op member Steve Slominski work to construct the new co-op store in New London on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

A sign for the New London Food Co-op hangs in the new storefront location in downtown New London on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

Small-scale store

Food co-op in New London to open its doors this fall BY LEVI JONES

West Central Tribune

EW LONDON — For the past 15 years, New London has been without a grocery store. Residents have had to drive to neighboring communities, sometimes as far as 30 minutes away, just to get fresh groceries. “Keeping people in New London and the surrounding community is really important. To do that we need to get access to a grocery store,” said Erik Hatlestad, New London Food Cooperative president. “Residents

needing to drive to Spicer, Willmar or further away is certainly a barrier to accessible food, especially for senior citizens.” After five years of planning, the New London food co-op is set to open this fall, with construction finishing up through the end of summer. In order to provide the community with more direct access to essential foods, Hatlestad and other community members decided it was time to build a new place for people to shop locally

48 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

for groceries. “Erik Hatlestad kind of kicked off the venture of creating the food co-op because New London doesn’t have a grocery store. A grocery store at small scales like this is hard,” said Sarah Swedburg, co-op secretary. When the group set out to create a new grocery store, they wanted it to be a part of the community. To do this, they decided to make it community-owned and run as a cooperative.

“The ownership and operation being reliant on one person or family can be unsustainable. By involving everyone, and involving people in owning and governing the store, it gives a chance for it to succeed. It gives people the chance to have a voice in the food system, economy and community,” Hatlestad said. The co-op was first brought up in 2018. At a February meeting, the board decided to check the community’s interest with an open meeting. More than 100 people attended the meeting to express their support, concerns and to ask questions. Now, the co-op has more than 180 members. Since then, plans have progressed. The pandemic slowed the process, according to Hatlestad, but could not stop it. Another issue that the co-op faced was finding a location. “We have been through a lot of iterations of the project. There have been a number of potential building sites, but we have had to rework how we plan to finance the store. It has been quite a process,” Hatlestad said.

When a traditional business seeks financing, the banks are able to have a specific person to provide finances to and collect from if the business fails. Co-ops do not have a singular owner, so start-up finances can be harder to come by. “Banks want a singular person so that in the event that this falls through, ‘Where am I going to recollect my money?’ We don’t own a building — we are renting — so that gives less collateral for a bank to have,” Swedburg said. “We are really fortunate to have worked with some really key partners to get it all in place. That was our biggest hurdle to jump through.” Construction has been led by co-op members. “Things like plumbing and electrical we have had to hire out, but we have had a great group of volunteers,” Swedburg said. “The construction team has been helping with a lot of framing and drywall. A few of our board members are carpenters by day so it has been really nice to have their leadership and expertise.”

When the co-op opens, the plan is to focus on local foods. While they cannot sell cottage foods — foods that are homemade — the idea is to stay local. The store’s policy will be to buy from producers within a 100-mile radius for most of its stock. “We are lucky to have a lot of really great farmers who are practicing sustainable agriculture in the area already and many more in the future,” Hatlestad said. “We can’t grow everything in the area; we will have several other suppliers we will be working with as well.” The co-op board hopes that by giving New London residents direct access to fresh, local and sustainable food, they can help to not only keep people in town, but to welcome new people to New London. For more information and updates, visit newlondonfood.coop.

Contributed

Sarah Swedburg, New London Food Cooperative secretary

Contributed / New London Food Cooperative

Erik Hatlestad, New London Food Cooperative president

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Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

Back in 1995, Milan Village Arts School purchased a school house originally built in 1915. The school was moved to its current location on Washington Avenue in Milan, Minnesota.

Retaining identity Folk arts school has helped Milan retain small-town Scandinavian heritage BY DALE MORIN West Central Tribune

ILAN — A small town in greater Minnesota has retained its Norwegian roots by teaching others traditional disciplines within folk art. A repurposed 109-year-old school house that was bought for $50 in 1995 and then moved to its current location serves as the Milan Village Arts School, where classes are taught and events are held. The folks arts school has been a part of the community in Milan for about 35 years. MVAS was initially founded in 1988 in order to employ local artists during a tumultuous time for rural communities like Milan. According to the school’s webpage, local businesses began closing and people began moving out of small western towns for better economic opportunities as the reality of an agricultural industry that demanded

larger scale and fewer farms settled in. School director Ron Porep said for probably 20 to 50 years before Milan Village Arts School there were always traditional Scandinavian art forms taught and displayed in Milan because many of its people were of Norwegian/ Scandinavian heritage. The art forms of Scandinavian culture are included in the category of “folk art.” As a result of the nationalities of the community’s early immigrants, Porep said MVAS was in a good position to begin teaching those artforms. “We were probably the first school to kick this off,” Porep said. There was, of course, the already established American Swedish Institute in the Twin Cities, which also teaches handcrafted folk arts, but for a while Milan was the only school hosting folk

50 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

A shelf featuring dragon head carvings by Jock Holmen, one of the instructors at Milan Village Arts School, is on display at the Milan Village Arts School on Sept. 8, 2023.

“We’re very deﬁned in what we do. Everything we do is about teaching the arts, supporting the artists and supporting the students.” - Ron Porep art classes in greater Minnesota. Modeled on folk schools in Denmark and Norway, MVAS brings in masters within the traditional disciplines of folk art, such as flat plane figure carving, rosemaling — a type of floral design that can be painted or carved — and ale bowl carving. The school has also taught more traditional forms of fine art such as painting with watercolors. Since then, folk schools in Ely, Duluth and other communities have also popped up, but the pandemic hindered their growth, according to Porep. Porep said, since the pandemic, classes at MVAS have seen a marked increase in demand. Some of the most popular classes, such as silversmithing and jewelry making, fill up quickly.

“We’re really the only school in the Midwest that does that,” Porep said, “Some schools touch on little bits or pieces of it, but they don’t do it to the degree we do it.” People can sign up for a number of different classes throughout the year. A tuition fee for the class is determined based on the number of days an instructor will be at the school and the cost of any additional tools or equipment needed. The school is a nonprofit organization, and members receive a $15 discount on most classes in addition to having access to studios or equipment. “One of the things that happened during COVID was that some of the

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bigger schools started to do a lot of online teaching,” Porep said. “They can pick up students from all over the world and run a class for three to four hours,” something Milan couldn’t do given its smaller size and staff. Porep said he sat down with instructors and students and simply listened to what they shared. “The instructors didn’t want to do that; they like coming to a facility like this where they can sit down and teach a two or three-day class,” he said. The students also didn’t wish to go down the online route either. “Sometimes it’s a holiday for them … I regularly have people coming from Nebraska and other states come for a week … to come and carve and be

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Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

A bedroom in the basement of the Milan Village Arts School awaits a visiting artist on Sept. 8, 2023. Director Ron Porep hopes to help house artists while they spend time hosting courses at the school in the future.

around an instructor, and they’ll learn a lot more in a two or three day class with an instructor than they would online,” he said. “You can teach anything you want in folk school,” Porep said, stating that other schools have begun teaching things such as canning and growing vegetables. “We’re kind of unique in what we do,” he said. There are cultural centers and museums in bigger cities like Minneapolis that also teach Scandinavian arts. Porep said it’s great that those centers exist, but he explained some of those things are usually nothing more than pieces to a larger exhibit. “We’re very defined in what we do,” he said. “Everything we do is about teaching the arts, supporting the artists and supporting the students.” He explained Minnesota is changing and the demographics are changing. More people are moving here from more ethnic groups. “This town used to be called ‘Little Norway’ … now half the town are South Pacific Islanders,” he said. Porep, who has been the director for the school for about 15 years, said the shifting demographics is not seen as a bad thing by instructors or residents, but it may in turn present challenges into the future. “At the moment a lot of what we’re teaching… there are only a handful of instructors in the United States who teach these art forms,” he said, “but I can’t tell how in demand they’ll be in the future.”

So far, it’s worked out well. Porep said all the artists who had hosted courses last year have each signed on to teach at least one course the next coming year. Classes fill up easily, because not only is MVAS one of the few schools that teaches the artforms but also, as Porep said, the school tries to hire “the finest instructors of their genre” and it attracts people from all over the United States. He also said the school aims to pay instructors at better rates than similar schools. Future artists will also have living facilities underneath the school during their time as instructors. A bedroom has already been completed, but the basement level is still under the construction stages to put in a bathroom and living space that may also double as an exhibit/meeting space. “The school catered to the needs of the community,” Porep said, and it’s only grown over time. “I know the

Dale Morin / West Central Tribune

school wasn’t taken seriously when we opened by a lot of the community because they told me that. I think they’re realizing we’re a real integral part of the community, and for a town of this size to have a facility of this quality is really lucky.” Milan has weathered similar challenges to many communities its size, but it has come through without losing pieces of its historical identity such as cafes, libraries, a post office, a supermarket, a community center and MVAS itself. “For a small town, it’s very dense with things that keep a town alive,” Porep said. “A lot of towns are just losing that and you can tell. You can drive through these towns and their main streets look terrible, and the buildings look terrible with broken windows and boarded up businesses. “We’re not the poster child for doing it, but you can look at Milan and say there are options for rural communities. We built this, and people come from all over the United States to come here. It was never really planned, it just happened that way,” he said.

A shelf featuring dragon head carvings by Jock Holmen, one of the instructors at Milan Village Arts School, is on display at the Milan Village Arts School on Sept. 8, 2023.

52 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

Forward momentum

Appleton sets its sights on revitalization efforts, economic rebound BY TOM CHERVENY West Central Tribune

PPLETON — A decade ago, Appleton tipped into a spiral of economic duress, signaled by a sound no louder than the whir and clang of an electronic gate in February 2010. It was the sound of the last inmate leaving the Prairie Correctional Facility. The private prison’s 1,640 beds remain vacant still today. The facility employed 365 workers at the peak of operations, 86 of whom lived within city limits. The economic woes for this community of just over 1,300 people continued when in 2018, Pioneer Public Television moved the majority of its operations and employees to a new facility in Granite Falls, vacating the historic City Hall and Opera House building the public broadcasting system once occupied.

Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

Del Overholser, founder and engineer for Northern Geo, points to one of energyefficient heating and cooling units produced by the company in Appleton during a July 25, 2023, tour.

WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023 | 53

Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

Kerry Kolke Bonk, of Preserve Appleton’s Heritage, explains how community support is helping make possible the restoration of the historic Appleton City Hall and Opera House and returning it to a role as a community focal point during a tour of the building on July 25, 2023.

Today, community leaders point to the historic building as just one of the examples of the community’s starting points for revitalization. The City Hall and Opera House is the most iconic of them. Originally built in 1895, the town’s landmark building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. Community members have been very supportive of a citizens-led effort to preserve and restore the building, according to Kerry Kolke Bonk, part of Preserve Appleton’s Heritage, the non-profit citizens group working on its revitalization. In its first year of efforts, the group has raised more than $300,000 in contributions and grants. Along with other work, the funds have made it possible to install a heating and cooling system for the upstairs opera house, which features a stage and spacious area which once held 600 seats. The building is again becoming a focal point for activities. The Valley Dance District hosts more than 50 families in its dance studios located in the building. An agreement was signed for a coffee shop to open on the first floor this autumn.

ownership of the building from Pioneer TV, according to Kolke Bonk.

Development on the rise

Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

The Appleton City Hall was built in 1895 for $8,000, a huge sum for the small prairie community at the time and evidence of the lofty ambitions of the early residents. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

A citizens group known as Appleton Arts and Culture hosts art and culture classes in the 1983 portion of the building. The first floor holds displays of memorabilia and other artifacts from the Appleton School and the community’s history. Thanks to the community support, Preserve Appleton’s Heritage is on a faster-than-expected track to acquire

54 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

Another reason for the community’s emerging optimism can be found on the other end of Main Street. Northern Geo was the focus of a “revitalization” tour hosted July 25 by the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission. There, Del Overholser led the way through a modern manufacturing facility that produces a wide variety of energy efficient products, from geothermal heating and cooling units to specialized products for a wide range of industries. Northern Geo produces everything from energy-saving systems to warm pools at American resorts to a unit that chills water to the specific temperature required for dishes served at a plush restaurant in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. “It starts here at the lab,” said Del Overholser, as he showed his guests how the company creates products for a variety of customers. Overholser and his brother, Jim, originally founded Econar in Appleton to produce

geo-thermal units. They sold Econar in 2008, but its new owners eventually sold it to a company that moved its jobs elsewhere. Overholser came out of retirement and started anew in 2014 by creating Northern Geo. He has yet to take a paycheck, but said the company is slowly but surely carving its niche. The plant now employs 20 workers and has room for growth. His goal is to bring back jobs to the community. “Appleton was good to me when I started Econar,” he explained. Revolving loan monies from the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission were critical in the rebirth, he added.

An eye for expansion

Northern Geo isn’t the only story with forward momentum. A former county park once subject to flooding is now a regional Off-Highway Vehicle Park. Swift County is eyeing eyeing roughly 200 adjoining acres for an expansion of the 331-acre Appleton OHV Park, according to Gary Hendrikcx, a member of the Swift County board of commissioners. Hendrikcx joined Kody Fossom, Swift County Parks and Drainage supervisor,

Tom Cherveny / West Central Tribune

Kody Fossum, director of Swift County parks and drainage, described plans for improvements at the Appleton OHV Park during a July 25, 2023 tour.

and Colin Wright, regional parks and trails supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, in outlining plans for the park’s further development. A $1 million federal grant will allow for the addition of modern bathrooms, cleaning stations and other amenities for park users. While the park remains focused on OHV recreation, Hendrickx said the improvements are also aimed at allowing more community use of the

park. Plans include dredging an area of the small lake in the park to develop a beach and once again make the park the community’s popular swimming hole. Fossum said a survey of park users revealed that OHV visitors to the park arrive from locations all around the state and well beyond its borders. Hendrickx said the goal now is for the community to do a better job of realizing the economic benefits that the visitors represent for the community.

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Contributed / Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

A group of Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce neXt participants pose for a picture with the Willmar Warhawks hockey mascot.

Training future leaders Three Chamber-led programs inspire future leaders of local organizations BY JENNIFER KOTILA West Central Tribune

ILLMAR — In addition to promoting the Willmar business community, the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce helps to grow individual community leadership by providing groups for students and young professionals, as well as a program to teach future community leaders about the unique aspects of the region and how the private and public sector work together for the betterment of the community. The Business Education Network provides local students with

connections to local businesses in the Willmar Lakes Area. The neXt program provides young professionals in the Willmar Lakes Area with educational, networking and community involvement opportunities in order to gain the knowledge and guidance they need to make choices that are best for the continued health and wealth of themselves, businesses and the overall community. The Leadership Perspectives program helps to develop leaders in the community who are informed, dynamic, qualified and motivated.

56 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

Local government leaders often reach out to graduates to serve on different committees and boards.

Business leaders reach out to educate students

The Business Education Network became active in the Willmar Lakes Area in 2021; Jennifer Lindquist coordinates the program. Throughout the school year, Lindquist works with five different schools and has presented Classroom to Career, formerly called CEO in the Classroom, to more than 400 students.

Contributed / Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

Jami Tanner, Willmar Lakes Area Chamber director of member services and sales

Jennifer Lindquist, Business Education Network coordinator

Each spring, business professionals are offered the opportunity to present to eighth-graders at Willmar Middle School about what is needed to work for their businesses, and how they can prepare for those careers during their high school years, according to Lindquist. BEN also welcomes businesses to Willmar High School on certain Wednesdays throughout the school year to make students more aware of the various career opportunities that exist throughout the community. “All of these interactions provide students with knowledge of various career opportunities available here in the Willmar Lakes Area, with or without a college degree, while introducing businesses to the upcoming workforce,” Lindquist said. “Allowing our business professionals to engage with students who are the future workforce in the Willmar Lakes

Contributed / Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

Sally Munyon, Willmar Lakes Area Chamber operations and finance manager

“Engaged young professionals take stake not only in their futures, but also their communities.” - Jami Tanner

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Contributed / Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

A group of students participates in a game of Jenga at the Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services booth during Zero hour at Willmar High School, which takes place during the first hour of each Wednesday. The Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce Business Education Network helps recruit businesses and organization to participate in Zero Hour.

Area provides a bridge to meet potential new employees once these students have graduated high school and begin to establish a career,” she added. An advisory board of business professionals and school and chamber representatives meet once a month to continue to improve the programming offered for area businesses and students. Local students and teachers from the middle school and high school are also involved with the advisory board.

Young professionals ﬁgure out what comes neXt

Contributed / Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

Two Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce neXt members work on their curling skills during a neXt outing.

58 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

“How can I make a difference within my company? How can I grow as a community leader? These are questions that many young professionals and adults are faced with early on in their careers,” said Jami Tanner, Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce director of member services and sales. She noted that the impact of those decisions has an effect on the sustainability of local businesses and the community as a whole. The neXt program helps to attract and retain young talent in the community while developing the next generation of leaders. “Engaged young professionals take stake not only in their futures, but also their communities,” Tanner said. The neXt program provides young professionals with fun social activities, structured educational opportunities and local volunteer events to help them grow professionally and personally. Connections and community ties play an

integral part in an individual’s sense of belonging in the community, which in turn makes neXt a retention tool for emerging leaders in the Willmar Lakes Area, Tanner noted. There are currently about 55 members in the neXt program, representing a wide range of businesses, industries, backgrounds and ages. It is a volunteer-driven program, which means all of the events are marketed and planned by members, according to Tanner. Planning and marketing these events also gives members a unique opportunity to develop or hone interests in volunteering, while at the same time creating events and opportunities that will be impactful to the targeted audience, Tanner said.

Chamber members offered insights to community

Each year, 40 diverse individuals representing different sizes and types of businesses, nonprofits and local government participate in the Leadership Perspectives class. Participants are members or employees of member businesses of the Willmar Area Lakes Chamber of Commerce. “The purpose of the Leadership Perspectives class is to develop leaders

who are informed, dynamic, qualified and motivated,” said Shelly Munyon, Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce operations and finance manager. “We know that government leaders reach out to the graduates of the program to serve on the various committees and boards.” The class assists new and long-time residents of the area in learning about the community and gives them an inside peek on how local businesses, organizations and government sectors work together for the benefit of the communities they serve. “Helping them to better understand how the community works helps them understand the inner workings of many places they drive by every day, but may not have the chance to see what’s inside,” Munyon added. Participants of the class get together once a month for nine months to gain in-depth knowledge about various aspects of the public and private sectors to help them understand how they work together to create a thriving community. Each month is a different theme, such as team building, heritage and diversity, government and media, health and human services, law and justice, education, agriculture and entrepreneurship, industry and tourism and a trip to the Minnesota

State Capitol. The Leadership Perspectives class helps businesses by teaching employees how to become stewards of the community and building a diverse, long-term network of colleagues, Munyon noted. Participants also gain a strong desire and interest to promote the organization they represent and develop an awareness of the issues and challenges affecting the Willmar Lakes Area communities, she added. Graduates of the previous year’s Leadership Perspectives classes develop the curriculum for the following year’s classes based on their class experience and knowledge of the community. Graduates decide which classes they would like to help facilitate for the following year’s classes. Chamber members remain involved by providing all the services needed for the program to continue, including catering, transport, opening their doors for tours and presenting information. “This is what keeps the program fresh and interesting to all who participate,” Munyon said. “Leadership Perspectives truly is a program that is collaborative, volunteer-led and uses our member network for a partnership that is a benefit for our members, the participants and the community.”

We believe all people should live in safe, sustainable, and beautiful communities.. New to You Thrift Store has distributed over $91,000 in gift cards to more than 160 non-proﬁt and church partners! You can Be the good and help those in need in our community by donating your used items today! We are a non-profit organization owned and operated by Central Minnesota Christian School. We sell both new (Good News department) and donated quality merchandise. We defray the cost of tuition at Central Minnesota Christian School. Additionally, we partner with non-profit community organizations and churches by distributing gift cards for those in need to purchase items from our store. We strive to provide a welcoming, safe, and clean space where everyone can shop with dignity. 2023 Regional America’s Transportation Award Willmar Wye Design-Build, MnDOT District 8, Minnesota

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Erica Dischino / West Central Tribune

Kimberly “Mona” Sepulveda, a senior at the Alternative Learning Center in Willmar, paints a door April 26, 2018, at Demo Inc., in the former Svea schoolhouse.

Art of a community DEMO Inc. in Svea offers at-risk youth place to express themselves in artistic fashion BY LEVI JONES

West Central Tribune

VEA — DEMO Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to Developing, Exploring and Maintaining Originality through the arts, has been operating out of an old schoolhouse near Svea since 1997. The nonprofit provides youth a space to enjoy and experiment with the artistic side of life. The organization was founded by Monica Villars and Pauline Donahue. At the time, Villars was an art teacher in Willmar and Donahue was a teacher at BOLD Schools in Olivia. The two saw the good that art and creativity could

do for young men and women that were considered at-risk, and wanted to help. “Pauline and I both saw the at-risk kids. Kids that won’t compete in sports, are probably flunking out of school, they might attend occasionally but they might not graduate and not be successful, perhaps, not always. That was our big focus with this space,” Villars said. When the program began, the space was in need of updates. Some of the first groups of students served by DEMO helped to renovate the old schoolhouse building, which was first

60 | WEST CENTRAL TRIBUNE ▪ OCTOBER 2023

constructed in 1907 just outside of Svea city limits. For years, it sat empty until DEMO Inc. bought it in 1987. Chipping paint, sinking floors and more plagued the building. “When I first came in, there was no heat and it smelled like fermenting beer. We started pulling stuff out in ‘88, but that was just ripping stuff out,” Villars said. “We tried to reuse as much as we could — even the massive beehive. We had somebody to come take them out instead of just killing them.” With the help of local people, as well as at-risk youth, Villars and Donahue

Ron Adams / West Central Tribune file photo

Instructor Monica Villars teaches a two-hour class about manipulating pigmented paper fibers during the annual May Day in the paper studio held at DEMO Inc. located in the historic Svea Schoolhouse north of Svea.

were able to breathe new life into the space, making it a true-to-form art studio and gallery. To this day, construction projects are still in the works to make it something special. “People who visit or participate feel good about being here. We try to make the place feel welcoming so that the kids feel good when they are here,” Villars said. Students didn’t stop with

construction. As the program grew, students were able to work on more artistic projects, papermaking, sculpting, collage, even a handful of murals around the area. By providing at-risk youth an outlet to express their creativity, Villar believes they are being given an opportunity to experiment with an often overlooked part of life. “I would say, 90% of the

artwork that you see in the Willmar area, I don’t know about other communities, it does not get defaced. There is respect by our younger populations, and I am going to include gangs. Some of the kids that were working on the building, opposite gangs, worked together to get them out,” Vilars said, “This is an art place, we are designing this place so that it is cool for kids. So they can experience this kind of place. They love our fixtures; what high school kid loves fixtures?” While DEMO inc is focused on at-risk youth, they do welcome the community for special events. Art shows and art classes have drawn crowds to the old building and helped to raise money for the programs. “We don’t consider it complete, we don’t have all the classes set up and all the times. I want to get everything regularly scheduled,” Villars said. By having a place to be the heart of arts in the area, Villars and Donahue created more than sculptures and paintings — they built more than new walls and an art studio. The DEMO Inc. founders created a community.

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