The Litchfield Area Mentorship Program had a good turn-out for the Ham Bingo event on March 27th which is one of the organization’s biggest fundraisers of the year. Mark your calendars for Turkey Bingo which will be coming up on the Friday before Thanksgiving in November at the Litchfield Eagles Club.
Judy Hulterstrum says a week is set aside in April to recognize volunteers so they will have a volunteer appreciation event on April 22nd to recognize the mentors, board members and other volunteers who help with the Litchfield Area Mentorship Program. She says if anyone is willing to become a mentor, applications are available at lampkinship.org and it’s a pretty simple process.
Hulterstrum says they will be starting their Lunch Buddies program at Eden Valley-Watkins Elementary School this fall. She says if anyone is willing to make a donation to the Litchfield Area Mentorship Program, checks may be sent to Post Office Box 82 in Litchfield. For more information about the program, call 320-699-1616.
The Community is invited to an open house on April 13th at the LSS Youth Resource Center in Willmar. There will be tours of the facility, which is located at Bethel Lutheran Church, to celebrate its one-year anniversary.
Since the LSS Youth Resource Center in Willmar opened one year ago in April, team members have supported 146 youth who have made 423 visits for a safe place to connect with others, get food and hygiene items, enjoy warm meals and get emotional support from caring adults.
Program Director Angie Mateski says every number represents a young person navigating challenges no one should face alone. She says many are experiencing housing instability, family conflict, exploitation, or the overwhelming pressure of trying to meet their own basic needs.
The resource center, located at Bethel Lutheran Church in Willmar, serves youth from eight
counties in Southwestern Minnesota – Kandiyohi, Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, McLeod,
Meeker, Renville and Swift counties. It supports young people up to 24 years old, particularly
those experiencing homelessness.
The space, originally built for Sunday school, was renovated to offer a safe space and
welcoming environment for youth, where they can access community support and essential resources, and build trusting relationships.
Ongoing support with basic needs supplies is a way the community can support youth at the LSS
Youth Resource Center – Willmar. Lutheran Social Service invites the community to the open house to learn more about services, tour the facility and meet the staff on Monday, April 13th, at 411 Becker Avenue SW in Willmar. Visitors can enter Door 3 and go to the third floor.
Each day a business will be featured as “Business of the Day” and every time their commercial is aired be the 7th caller and win a chance to receive KLFD Bucks to be spent at our “Business of the Day” locations.
Monday thru Friday, at 4 pm we will draw out a winner to be put into our final drawing to be held sometime later in April. Once your name has been drawn out daily and put into the final drawing, you are no longer qualified to call in. Otherwise, you can keep calling in once a day to qualify.
Our sponsors include: Miller Automotive, Litchfield Liquors, DC Diesel Tek, El Chilero, Parts City Auto Parts, Scott’s Auto, Litchfield Chrysler, Litchfield Licensing, Davis Motors, Mid Country Bank, Queen Bee’s Bar & Grill, A.M. Maus & Son, Litchfield Eagles Club, SJP Designs, Central Counties Cooperative, Edina Realty, Quality Autowerx
The Litchfield City Council has approved of replacing the dissolved air flotation unit at the Wastewater plant. A quote of $61,820 from Minnesota Mechanical Solutions of Waite Park was approved by the City Council on Monday evening.
Mayor Ron Dingmann says the Council also hired Bryce Manning as the Golf Course Manager; approved of having the staff get a quote for a new community sign; will have a proposal put together for the next meeting regarding cemetery stone maintenance; and will have staff put a policy together for replacing trees along Swift Avenue. He says some trees have been removed and will need to be replaced, and the emerald ash borer issue will need to be addressed over the next few years.
Mayor Dingmann says the Council discussed a request for using the Litchfield Area Recreation Center for a gun show at the end of November, but since that’s a busy time at the LARC and as some Council members felt that the facility should be used only for recreational events, a resolution was approved to deny the gun show request and to put a one-year moratorium in place, as of April 15th, that the LARC should be used only for recreational or wellness events.
Mayor Dingmann says he voted against the resolution as he felt that a moratorium tied their hands. He says Owen Boerma also put a schedule of summer hours together for the LARC, but it was tabled.