The Meeker Area Ministries (MAM) Christmas Carols and Holiday Cheer event will be on Thursday, December 4th at 7 p.m. at the Litchfield Opera House. Some of the Litchfield High School choir members will be singing and treats will be served.
Julie Pennertz says a testimony will be shared from someone who has been helped by their program of finding housing for the homeless. She says Meeker Area Ministries has an apartment complex with three units and a handicapped unit that is undergoing renovation, along with a couple of transitional units and two motel rooms, and a big part of their ministry is helping the homeless to build trust.
Pennertz says Thursday evening’s event at the Litchfield Opera House is a good way to learn more about MAM and kick off the holiday season. She says it will help you think about ways that you can help other people.
Rochelle Brummond says their units are always full and the average stay is 42-days. She says it is difficult to find affordable housing.
Brummond says MAM works alongside United Community Action Partnership (UCAP) as they help people transition into a more normal lifestyle with permanent housing. She says if anyone has questions, they may call her at 320-693-7911, extension 1401, and donations to MAM may be mailed to Post Office Box 192 in Litchfield.
On Sunday at 5:59 P.M., the Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a report of a farm accident with injuries at an address in the 29800 block of Dolphin Drive in Paynesville Township – just northwest of Paynesville. The caller reported that a man had been run over by a tractor and was injured.
Upon arrival, Stearns County Deputies learned that 30-year-old Jerrod Quade of Paynesville had brought a Case International 4230 tractor to this location. The tractor had been brought inside a pole shed on the property. Quade was showing a neighbor how to start the tractor and was standing in front of the back right tire. When the tractor started, it was still in gear and advanced forward, pulling Quade to the ground and going over him.
Quade was transported to the Paynesville Hospital by Allina Ambulance service and later transported to Hennepin County Medical Center via LifeLink III Air Ambulance with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Assisting the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was the Paynesville Police Department, Paynesville Fire Department, Allina Ambulance, and LifeLink III.
The Litchfield City Council received an update last night on 5th Street speeding. The issue came up earlier this fall when a resident complained about the speeding traffic on 5th Street – especially in the Gilman Avenue area.
City Administrator Dave Czoik says there was extra patrolling in that area this fall and two signs – at a cost of $5,000 – were ordered which will show motorists their speed which will be placed in opposite directions near the 5th Street/Gilman avenue intersection. Czoik also told the Council that information has been sent to the Veterans Administration regarding land availability in Litchfield as the VA is looking for an area to locate a clinic.
The Litchfield City Council approved of a certificate of appropriateness last night for the G.A.R. Hall at 308 North Marshall Avenue for an exterior window project. The Council also held the public hearing last night for truth-in-taxation and no one from the public attended. Administrator Czoik went over the 2026 budget in detail. The levy will increase 6.86% at $4,052,020 which is less than the 7.8% increase the Council had considered in September. Czoik says Litchfield’s levy increase is about 2% less than the state average.
