The Eden Valley-Watkins Home Trade Show is coming up this Saturday, March 7th, from 9-to-1 in the High School Gym in Eden Valley. It’s a free event and will be especially helpful for those interested in home construction-related services.
The first 150 people attending will receive a free bag from the Eden Valley Chamber of Commerce. There will be food and beverage vendors, and several booths with information about landscaping, painting, cabinet-making, flooring, design, realty and more.
You can find more information on the EV-W Home Trade Show Facebook page or call 320-260-8079. More than 100 people attended last year’s trade show and visited with the 20 vendors. The event is sponsored by Brandi Hansen with Central MN Realty, Citizens Bank, Farmers & Merchants State Bank, and Schmitt Farms of Eden Valley.
The Litchfield City Council held a public hearing last night regarding the state historic building grant owner allocation. A couple of building owners spoke during the hearing.
One of the owners has the buildings at 19 and 21 Depot Street and wondered if funds allocated for one of the buildings could be applied towards the other building, and when the Council later approved of the preliminary distribution of funds, the request for the Depot Street owner was granted. Funds will be granted based on the square footage of the buildings in the program.
On a related note, the Council approved of BCI Construction as the construction manager for the historic building grant project. The Council also approved of hiring Jamie McCarney as the Office Lead last night, but will send the City Planner position back to the Personnel Committee for further review. City Administrator Dave Czoik says there were only four applicants for that position with one – or possibly 2 of them having the minimum qualifications.
The Council approved of golf course rates for 2026 last night on a 6-to-1 vote with Darlene Kotelnicki opposed. Czoik says most of the rates have increased about 6% from 2025. The Council also approved (on a 6-to-1 vote with Kotelnicki opposed) of a monthly rate of $10 for the walking track at the Litchfield Area Recreation Center, and to allow the senior groups who are playing cards and cribbage at the Center to continue doing so for no charge as they were grandfathered in from the former Civic Arena meeting room.
Also last night, Litchfield Fire Dept. Chief Kurt Beckstrand and Rescue Chief Blake Tangen presented their annual reports to the Litchfield City Council. The Council then approved of the fire and rescue contracts for 2026.
The Meeker County Gardener’s Gala is coming up on Thursday, March 12th from 5-to-8:30 p.m. in the St. Philip’s Church Social Hall in Litchfield. Admission is $20.
Master Gardener Connie Johnson says there will be two speakers – Courtney Tchida from Wild Farm Alliance who will talk about edible native plants and herbs; and Quincy Sadowski from University of Minnesota Extension who will talk about non-native plants and their native alternatives. She says both speakers will provide great gardening information and maybe encourage you to try something new in your gardening endeavors.
Johnson says there will also be vendor and information booths at the Gardener’s Gala and door prizes. She says you can register at z.umn.edu/MeekerGardenGalaReg and you can also stop at the Extension office at the Meeker County Fairgrounds to get tickets in advance. Call 320-693-5275 for more details.