The Meeker County Historical Society will be hosting the annual Memorial Day Picnic later this month in the Litchfield Opera House. It’s scheduled for May 26th from 11-to-1:30, and the G.A.R. Hall and Meeker County Museum will also be open that day.
Museum Executive Director Danelle Erickson says April was a busy month as several local history enthusiasts attended the statewide Civil War Roundtable Symposium, and a local group also toured the State Capitol last Saturday. She says the next Civil War Roundtable discussion at the G.A.R. Hall in Litchfield will be on Thursday, May 8th, at 1:30 p.m. as a speaker will be there from St. Cloud to talk about E.P. Alexander and the use of hot air balloons.
Erickson says the museum staff will be conducting several school tours this month. She says they have 16 tours scheduled as students from 4 different school districts will visit the museum – one class at a time.
Erickson says there’s usually something in the museum that catches the eyes of the children and it’s often the Civil War-era weapons in the G.A.R. Hall. She says the museum at 308 North Marshall Avenue in Litchfield is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10-to-4 and Saturdays from noon-to-4. For more information, go to meekercomuseum.org.
Meeker County residents could see a double-digit property tax increase in 2026 and in 2027, driven largely by cost shifts included in various budget proposals that have been proposed by Governor Walz and are being considered by the Legislature in the final weeks of the legislative session. The proposals would impose additional costs for essential services, including Medicaid and disability waiver programs on counties without granting the authority to influence program criteria, eligibility, or cost structures.
These proposed shifts come on top of already rising expenses for wages, benefits, materials, and equipment, which could translate to a property tax increase of over 10% in the next two years. The Meeker County Board of Commissioners supports the need for equitable state funding and is
understanding of the state’s need to address its own financial issues, but the proposed cost shifts will
result in further strain on local taxpayers and non-mandated county services.
In Minnesota, human services operate under a State-Supervised, County Administered model where counties administer state programs, but lack the control over costs or service delivery. As a result, several of the budget proposals do not control the cost of these services, but instead shift the rising burden to local taxpayers.
Meeker County Board Chair Paul Johnson says Meeker County has managed its finances in a responsible and conservative manner for many years, which has allowed them to minimize the cost of local government services while remaining financially stable. However, he says shifting the burden of these
programs to the local level will add to the local tax levy without actually controlling the cost of the
services.
The Board of Commissioners has held productive discussions with local legislators to express concerns
about these proposals. The County will continue to advocate for solutions that protect residents from an
undue property tax burden while ensuring that residents have access to the services they need. Johnson says the Meeker County Board of Commissioners is committed to ensuring that the residents of Meeker
County have access to high-quality services, particularly those who are the most vulnerable, while
simultaneously working to minimize the cost on taxpayers.
On Tuesday afternoon at 5:47, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a farm accident at the location of 26338 County Road 201 in North Fork Township – about 4-miles northeast of Brooten. The caller said there was a man pinned underneath a large corn planter.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they determined that two men were working on a John Deere DB66 planter which was having hydraulic issues. One of the men, 46-year-old Eric Scott Segaar of Brooten, was underneath the planter when it’s believed the hydraulic system failed, causing the planter to suddenly and unexpectedly lower to the ground – pinning Segaar underneath the planter.
Segaar was freed from the planter and provided life saving measures by multiple emergency personnel on the scene, but was pronounced deceased. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Brooten Fire Department, Brooten Ambulance, and Life Link Helicopter.