Winter activities are underway at Litchfield Community Education and there are already opportunities to get signed up for spring activities. Several bus trips are also coming up for adults.
Litchfield Community Education Director Grant Solem says there was a well-attended bus trip last week to see “Phantom of the Opera” at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis and trips this spring include “Guys and Dolls” at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater on April 22nd, “Birthday Candles” at the Sidetrack Theater on May 14th and the Day Trippers Theater on June 24th. He says one of the enrichment classes for youth this winter is Mini-Dragonaires.
Solem says Mini-Dragonaires is for 4th and 5th graders and it will be held Tuesdays from 3:15-to-4:15 from January 13th to March 17th in the High School Choir Room. He says Val Chellin will direct “Beauty and the Beast” in May which is a good way to introduce kids to theater.
Solem says aquatics will restart in February when the pool renovation project is complete and youth can already get signed up for soccer, softball, flag football, track & field and other spring activities, and it’s not too late to get involved in basketball, wrestling and winter activities. He says they have gift certificates available at their office in the Wagner Building. For more details on any Litchfield Community Education activities, call 693-2354.
On Monday afternoon at 12:37, the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a pedestrian being struck by a train. The location was at the railroad crossing on Meeker County Road 1 in Litchfield Township. Meeker County Deputies responded and found the victim was deceased. Deputies learned the train was westbound and the victim had been walking on the tracks when she was struck. The victim was identified as 35-year-old Raihna Mathews of Cosmos. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the BNSF Police, MN DNR, MN State Patrol, Litchfield Police and Litchfield Rescue.
The Litchfield School Board held its truth-in-taxation hearing last night with a detailed report given by Business Manager Jesse Johnson. The Board certified the levy at $6,629,247.16.
Johnson says 80% of the funding comes from the state and the school funding is highly regulated by the state. He says the District has five funds – general, food service, community service, building construction and debt service and 73.5% of the general fund is for wages and benefits. The levy was a decrease from the amount of the previous year of $51,645.04 or .77%.
No one from the public attended the hearing, but prior to the hearing, Greg Langmo spoke to the Board about his concerns regarding the District’s reading scores for 3rd graders and the test result for the state as a whole. He challenged the Board to try to do something different to make improvements. Judy Jones also spoke to the Board and recognized that their hands are tied in many ways by state regulations. Student Council representative Kalla Ziegler spoke to the Board about the great participation they had last Saturday with their co-ed volleyball tournament.
The Litchfield School Board approved of the 2025-27 custodial contract; approved of the annual report for the 2024-25 World’s Best Workforce which will be published on the Litchfield School District website; and decided to hold a second meeting in December – on the 22nd at 6 p.m. Board member Marcia Provencher spoke about last Saturday evening’s Holiday Showcase which she says will probably be the final one.
Also last night, the Litchfield School Board approved of a resolution accepting several donations including: $5,188 from the Litchfield Gymnastic Booster Club for the Gymnastics program for a competition landing mat; $10,000 from Lee Hollaar for the High School for 3D printing supplies; $5,000 from Lee Hollaar for Litchfield Schools photography equipment; $15,000 from Lee Hollaar for Litchfield Schools for future projects; $300 from the Women’s Study Club Lake Ripley School for boards for the wax museum; $269 from Barb Piepenburg for Lake Ripley School for boards for the wax museum; $298.48 from Central Counties Cooperative for the Litchfield High School FFA; $4,000 from the LDC Hockey Boosters for the High School for HUDL for Boys Hockey; and $1,000 from the Litchfield Eagles Club for the High School for the dance program.
On Friday, December 5th, at 7:02 A.M., the Renville County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting that a woman had suffered an accidental gunshot wound to the leg. The incident was reported to have occurred in a parking lot at Southern MN Beet Sugar Cooperative in Renville.
The caller reported that the victim was in a vehicle near Renville and was being driven to the Olivia Hospital. Law enforcement officers, along with the Olivia Ambulance Service, were dispatched to intercept the vehicle.
The vehicle, and subsequently the victim – a passenger in the vehicle, a 31-year-old woman from Olivia, were located outside of Olivia. She was found to have a non-life threatening gunshot wound to her leg. Medical care was administered at the scene and she was transported to the Olivia Hospital by ambulance. She was later transferred to the St. Cloud Hospital for further treatment, but remained in stable condition and is expected to make a complete recovery.
Officers located and recovered a handgun from within the vehicle. The Renville County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.