The Litchfield Visitors Bureau is looking ahead to one of its biggest events of the year. The annual Parade of Bands is scheduled for June 17th at 6 p.m.
Janaye Prieve says they’re expecting to have more food vendors for the event this year, and they already have commitments from several marching bands. She says the Visitors Bureau is also promoting the Chamber’s annual online auction which is being hosted by Steffes Auctioneers from March 17th through the 23rd.
Prieve says lots of meat raffles and other special events have been taking place at area establishments. She says Shaggy’s Bonfire has a fun Decades Party scheduled for this Saturday, March 1st for people 21 and older with free admission so you can dress up in costumes from a decade ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s and maybe win a prize.
Prieve says you can find more information on all kinds of area events at litchfieldmn.com or on social media. She says you can also stop in at the Chamber office at 219 North Sibley Avenue in downtown Litchfield or call 693-8184 for more information.
The Meeker County American Dairy Association held its annual Princess Banquet on Sunday in the Church of Our Lady Social Hall in Manannah. The dairy royalty for 2025 received their crowns and sashes.
The dairy princesses include Paige Frenchick, Claudia Frenchick and Elizabeth Thyen. They each gave a speech explaining the importance of the dairy industry and they ways they will promote it. Paige Frenchick also spoke about the trip she got to take to Alabama last November with other members of the Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee. The junior princesses include Ella Lahr and Mikyla Gerding, and the dairy ambassadors include Izzy Lahr, Virginia Isaacson and Alexis Blunt.
The princesses, junior princesses and ambassadors promote the dairy industry – mostly during the summer months – by reading to children in libraries, helping during Cheeseburger Days, riding in parades, serving milkshakes and ice cream in the malt booth at the Meeker County Fair and attending other events.
The 15th annual Wintercade Ice Fishing Contest in Litchfield a couple of weeks ago was a huge success. It’s estimated that the event raised about $20,000.
Daniel Lease says over $172,000 was raised over the first 14 years of the event and half of the funds each year go to veteran’s organizations. He says the committee will meet soon to determine which organizations will benefit from this year’s Wintercade.
Lease says there were so many groups who helped to make the event possible, and they appreciate all of the donations they received for Wintercade. He says the winners of the top prizes and the winners in the fishing categories are listed on the Wintercade Facebook page.
The grand prize winner of the Farm Rite Bobcat UV34 UTV was Tim Koebnick of Litchfield. Scott Moeller of Chokio won the 1st place cash prize of $2,000. Donald Holtz of Hutchinson won the 2nd place cash prize of $1,500, and Beverly Vorbeck of Watkins won the 3rd place cash prize of $1,000. The 4th through 14th place cash prize winners of $100 each were Dillon Anderson, Lonny Bach, Lori Tierney, Mark Kruse, Savanna Pater, Barry White, Bruce Johnson, Ross Kaping, Gregg Schilling, Norm Malecek and Blake Koch. Leslie Young was the 15th place winner of $500.
The fish prize winners included $300 for Ryan Schwartz, $200 for Aaron Eckroad and $100 for Gunner Iverson in the bluegill category; $300 for Jeremy Settergren, $200 for John Spreiter and $100 for Phillip Baalson in the crappie category; $300 for Mary Krokstrom, $200 for Jesse Narr and $100 for Carter Wattenhofer in the northern category; $300 for Colleen Kotila, $200 for Phillip DeSchepper and $100 for Jesse Narr in the walleye/bass category; and the $50 perch prize winner was Ethan Geislinger.
Other notable prize winners included Leslie Young of Litchfield, Jeremiah Manwarren of Jackson and Sue Cron of Darwin who won the veterans awards; Cammy Moses who won the Eskimo fish house from Kadyl Trucking; Jaxson Piepenburg who won the Wild tickets from Hamm Seeds; and Ryan Wreede who won the $300 gift card from Scheel’s.
In recognition of his outstanding overall career performance, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Andy Schmidt has been named the 2024 Conservation Officer of the Year. DNR Enforcement Division Director Rodmen Smith presented awards to Schmidt and 4 other officers on February 12th as part of an annual award celebration at Camp Ripley.
A conservation officer since 2008, Schmidt currently works in the Duluth West station. He’s spent his entire career working in the northeastern part of Minnesota, and recently accepted a promotion to become district supervisor in the area in early March. One of the other conservation officers honored was Shane Vernier who is stationed in Willmar. He patrols some of the state’s best waterfowl-hunting lakes and marshes and the public lands that surround them. Shane has been a conservation officer since 2015 and works hard to protect the habitat that draws waterfowl to the area. He’s committed to teaching the next generation of waterfowl hunters how to enjoy the sport ethically and safely.
Another conservation officer stationed in Willmar – Cassie Block – received the Willard Munger Wetlands Achievement Award. She’s been a conservation officer since 2020, and works in an area where waterways receive heavy pressure ranging from agriculture to recreational use. She prioritizes investigating and resolving complaints related to wetlands and water resources and emphasizes work around preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species.
REMOVE FISH HOUSE
With warm weather in the forecast for much of Minnesota during the coming week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds anyone who still has a fish house on the ice to start planning for its removal. The shelter removal deadline for inland waters in the southern two-thirds of the state is 11:59 p.m. on March 3rd. The deadline for inland lakes in the northern portion of the state is 11:59 p.m. on March 17th. The DNR reminds all fish house owners to pick up and properly dispose of any trash as part of hauling their shelter off the ice.
LAKE MANAGEMENT
The DNR fisheries offices across Minnesota report that about 151 lakes in 40 counties will have their fisheries lake management plans updated in 2025. The DNR encourages people with thoughts on the future management of a lake scheduled for a 2025 plan update to call or email the area fisheries office listed for that lake before March 31. You can find more details on the Lake Management page at mndnr.gov. The lake management plans to be update in 2025 include Dunns, Hoff and Richardson in Meeker County; Andrew, Florida, Games and Norway Lakes in Kandiyohi County; Koronis and Rice in Stearns County; and Granite and Lake Waverly in Wright County.