Local News

The 2025 Litchfield High School Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for Friday, November 7th at 7 p.m. in the Litchfield High School Commons. A reception will be held prior to that – at 6 p.m. – for this year’s four inductees.

This year’s inductees include Debra Freitag Baker from the class of 1981 who spent 33 years in the U.S. Navy; Andrew Revering from the class of 1961 who spent 41 years in law enforcement – including 14 years as Anoka police chief; Donald “Pokey” Schreifels from the class of 1961 who spent 45 years as a successful insurance agent; and the late Mark Wood from the class of 1971 who was the long-time attorney for the City of Litchfield.

Revering will be interviewed on KLFD’s “Newsmaker” show this Friday, October 24th, at 8:15 a.m. Schreifels will be interviewed on the show on Monday, October 27th. Lynn and Emily Wood will represent Mark Wood on the October 30th program, and Debra Baker will be on the show on October 31st at 8:15 a.m.

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The Litchfield Visitors Bureau is encouraging people to participate in several fall activities that are coming up in the near future. One of the events is the Community Trunk or Treat on Sunday, October 26th from 3-to-5 p.m. in the parking lot between the fairgrounds and Litchfield High School on East 10th Street.

Robbie Brown says it’s a free event and they have more than 30 vendors who will be set up in the parking lot, so kids will need to have big trick-or-treating bags. She says there will be free hot chocolate and people are asked to bring a non-perishable item or cash donation for the Food Shelf, if possible.

Janaye Prieve says it’s fun to see the creativity of the vendors who set up their vehicles in the parking lot for the trunk or treat event. She says the Wreede Good Apple Orchard, just south of Litchfield on Highway 22, has a stop and shop event this Saturday, October 25th, from 10-to-3; the Nelson Farm is open one more weekend – October 25th and 26th – with the Pumpkin Patch Festival; the Light Up Litchfield contest needs business entries; and Small Business Saturday is coming up on November 29th.

Darlene Kotelnicki says the Litchfield Downtown Council is promoting Frankenstein Friday again this year, and with Halloween on a Friday this year, it will be on October 31st from 3-to-6 p.m. She says the participating businesses in downtown Litchfield will have a black cat in their windows, and kids can start anywhere, but special trick-or-treat bags will be handed out at the American Legion that have been donated by the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office that have safety tips printed on them.

For more information about upcoming events in Litchfield, call the Chamber office at 320-693-8184 or go to litchfieldmn.com.

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Meeker County officials want to get some information out to the public regarding the status of various programs that are being impacted by the federal government shutdown.  Meeker County is working on coordinating with several community partners and are also keeping their website and social media up to date as information inevitably changes. 

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has announced that if the federal government shutdown continues into November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will not have enough funds to issue November SNAP benefits.

As of October 16th, Meeker County – like other counties and tribal nations across Minnesota -cannot approve new or pending SNAP applications until further notice.  Residents who already receive SNAP benefits before October 16th can continue to use them as usual.  Applications approved by October 15th will still receive October benefits.  You can still apply for assistance through MNbenefits.mn.gov, but new SNAP approvals will be paused until funding resumes. 

If the shutdown continues into November, SNAP and Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) benefits will not be issued for that month.  MFIP applications can be approved through Wednesday, October 29, but not beyond that date if the shutdown continues. 

WIC (Women, Infants & Children) remains open and operating as of Oct. 15. WIC recipients should keep their appointments, continue shopping with their eWIC card, and use benefits as normal.  For local food resources, visit the Meeker County website or contact Meeker County Health and Human Services at 320-693-5300 for assistance. 

Meeker County will continue to share updates as new information becomes available, and thanks everyone for their patience and understanding as we navigate this situation together. 

If the shutdown continues into November, SNAP and Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) benefits will not be issued for that month.  MFIP applications can be approved through Wednesday, October 29, but not beyond that date if the shutdown continues. 

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