New royalty was crowned in Litchfield this past weekend during the 68th annual Watercade celebration. The new royal court will appear in their first parade this weekend – Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at New London’s Water Days parade.
Adeline “Addie” Lundin, daughter of Daryl & Erin Lundin is the new Miss Litchfield and is sponsored by Jomas Hill Vineyard & Winery. Addie says the candidates had private interviews with the judges over the weekend and were asked who was their biggest hero, how they would support Litchfield, if crowned, and what celebrity would they eat with – dead or alive. She says she had a fishbowl question at the coronation about the best advice she’s been given.
Lundin says all of the candidates were asked about a growth opportunity for Litchfield and she is hoping the community will host a pickle ball tournament. She says she will be attending North Dakota State University this fall to pursue a degree in nursing.
The new princesses are Maya Wuotila, daughter of Duane & Wendy Wuotila – sponsored by Wuotila Lawn Care; and Kate Brekke, daughter of Jamie & Teresa Brekke – sponsored by Danner, Brekke & Everts Insurance and the Medicare Duo. Brekke says she would like to see more events for young people in our community. She says she received a fishbowl question about what characteristics Miss Litchfield should possess.
Brekke says the judges asked the candidates about how they would handle challenges. She says she’s excited to spend time this coming year with Addie and Maya, especially as Maya is her cousin. Maya Wuotila says the judges also asked them individually about how they are different from the other candidates. She says she wishes there were more volunteer opportunities for people in the community, and she received a fishbowl question about the characteristics that make a good leader.
Matylda Niedzielski – daughter of Mike & Courtney Niedzielski, and Hadley Beam – daughter of Laura Beach and Ryan Beam – were crowned as Junior Ambassadors. They said they also had to answer questions on stage during their pageant on Saturday in Central Park.
Hadley has been sponsored by First District Association and Matylda has been sponsored by Farm Bureau. They will both be going into the 4th grade – Hadley at St. Philip’s School and Matylda at Lake Ripley Elementary.
The Litchfield City Council received a request from the Litchfield Area Community Foundation to set up a popcorn stand in Central Park. The Council granted the request.
LACF Treasurer Tom Smith spoke to the Council about the project last evening and says there was a popcorn stand in Litchfield’s Central Park back in the 1950s and again in the 70s and 80s. He says it would help the LACF raise some extra funds and any non-profit organizations that wanted to work at the stand could earn funds as well.
The Litchfield City Council received an update on the Litchfield Area Recreation Center project last night from Collin Rehbein of ICS and he says they received excellent bids for the first parts of the project which should get started in September and be completed by the fall of 2025. The Council approved of bids of $2,152,000 from Nor-Son Construction for the metal building, and $793,300 from Ebert, Inc. for the concrete.
The Council also received an update from City Administrator David Czoik on the July 8th wastewater meeting. He says representatives with First District, DEED, MPCA, and the City of Litchfield along with Representative Urdahl met and the discussion was positive and helped define priorities. He says the administration has had numerous conversations with the MPCA following the discussion on July 8th, and will be working with Daniel Marx on extending a deadline for meeting pretreatment and discharge limits which is approaching on July 22nd.
The Litchfield School Board met last night and received a report from Business Manager Jesse Johnson on the long-term facilities maintenance plan. The Board approved of the plan.
Johnson also gave the Board an update on the Litchfield Area Recreation Center and an agreement that the School District is working on for future use of the city-owned facility.
The Litchfield School Board also approved of the St. Philip’s Church Social Hall as the location for its elections. Kris Dollerschell told the Board that the resolution to approve the location used to be an annual occurrence, but with a change in state statute, the resolution will only have to be approved in the future if the location changes. The Litchfield School Board will meet next on July 29th at 6 p.m. in the Wagner Building board room.
On Friday around noon, the St. Cloud Police Department, St. Cloud Fire Department, and Stearns County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of the Veterans Bridge over the Mississippi River after receiving information that an individual jumped off the bridge into the river. A St. Cloud Police Officer arrived and confirmed someone was floating south on the surface of the water before losing sight of the person.
The Stearns County Sonar Team responded to the area to conduct a water search after the individual was not located. They were able to identify a possible target and at approximately 3:22 p.m., the Stearns/Benton Dive Team located a deceased man in the river in approximately 14 feet of water. The man was later identified by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office as 56-year-old Douglas Ingram of Faribault.
Area surveillance video captured Ingram approach Veterans Bridge on foot. Another camera in the area captured him falling into the river a short time later. The case remains active and is being investigated by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office.
