Carole Wendt of Litchfield was on WCCO-TV news on September 23rd promoting her new book “Think Fast: Lessons I’ve Learned from Minnesota to Manhattan and Back.” The segment became possible when Wendt simply made a phone call to the station.
Wendt says she left a message, but then decided to do some research and found the email address of a female producer at WCCO and that producer called her ten minutes later and was interested in doing a story. She says reporter and anchor Derek James showed up in Litchfield a couple of days later with a camerawoman and he mostly asked her questions about herself rather than about some of the celebrities she met over the years.
Wendt says “Think Fast” has a few essays about some of the famous people she met over the years while working at the “David Frost Show” and the “Today Show” for NBC in New York, but many of the stories are the articles that she wrote over the years for the local newspaper. She says she joked about Robert Redford maybe wanting to do a movie based on her book and then he died a couple of weeks ago. She met Redford years ago and thought he was a nice man.
Wendt says she is going to talk about her book at the Litchfield Public Library on October 15th at 4 p.m. and will also have copies available for sale that she can sign. She says “Think Fast” is available on Amazon and also in Litchfield at the Natural Food Co-op, DeAnn’s Country Village Shoppe, the G.A.R. Hall and at the gift shop at Meeker Memorial Hospital. If you missed the TV segment, you can do a search on your computer – type “WCCO/feature/Carole Wendt.
On Tuesday evening at 6:26, the Renville County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a motorcycle crash near the intersection of County Roads 11 and 8 – about 6 ½ miles north of Buffalo Lake in Boon Lake Township.
The preliminary investigation revealed that a 2016 Yamaha YZFR6 Sport motorcycle,
driven by 22-year-old Hidrael Ramirez Jr of Hector, was travelling east on County Road 11
and was overtaking a vehicle which was turning off of County Road 11, when the motorcycle left the roadway and crashed.
Ramirez Jr sustained serious injuries as a result of the crash and was transported to North Memorial Hospital by North Air Care. The Renville County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Hector Police Department, Buffalo Lake Police Department, Buffalo Lake Ambulance Service, Buffalo Lake Fire Department and North Air Care. The crash remains under investigation.
Meeker County 4H members are getting ready for the national observance of 4H Week. The special week from October 5th through the 11th will give club members a chance to talk to other kids about joining 4H.
Meeker County 4H Extention Educator Cassidy Martin says there are 8 clubs in Meeker County with about 370 kids involved and there are also some independent members. She says the kids can study any number of project areas and it’s kind of a self-directed, choose your own adventure program.
Martin says 4H is for kids from Kindergarten to one year past high school and the clubs meet once a month so the members learn about conducting a meeting, handling finances and participating in community service projects. She says there are different project bowl competitions that the members can compete in throughout the year, along with day camps, workshops and overnight camps.
Forest City Livewires President Alexis Blunt says she joined 4H when she was in Kindergarten and she specializes in poultry and rabbits. She says she’s been participating in rabbit bowl since she was in the 3rd grade and she was able to take her ducks to the State Fair for the first time in August.
Blunt, who’s in the 8th grade, says she plans to stay in 4H as long as she can – a year past high school. For more information about joining 4H, call the Meeker County Extension office at 693-5275. You can also go to the University of Minnesota Meeker County 4H website or social media for more information.
Zion Lutheran Church of Litchfield had a Meeker County Food Drive on Saturday, September 27th at Family Fare and Walmart. They collected 1,740 pounds of food, and $3,598.71 in cash.
Keith Johnson says the donations will allow the food shelf to buy $14,394.84 of food and supplies for those in need. He says they were thankful to the staff of Hicks Bus Line in Litchfield for providing two mini busses which were filled with food products and supplies. They were also thankful to the staff at Family Fare and Walmart for allowing them to solicit donations for the Meeker Area Food Shelf – and thankful for all the people who donated money and food.