The Pioneerland Libraries in Meeker County have several events scheduled during the month of March. All 4 libraries – Litchfield, Dassel, Grove City and Cosmos – will be ending the Winter Reads program – a self-paced reading program for adults and teens – on March 14th.
For more details, call 693-2483. The events for each library in March are as follows:
Litchfield
Seed Library available all month
Wednesdays, 10:15-10:45: Baby/Toddler Storytime
Fridays, 10:15-11:15, Kids’ Storytime
Tues 3/10, 12-12:45: Adult Book Club: Tom Lake
Tues 3/10, 6:30-7:30 pm: LEGO Night. Ages 14 and under.
Wed 3/11, 2-2:45 pm: Homeschool Connections. Sign-up required.
Sat 3/14, 1:30-3:30 pm: Teen Program: Book folding art
Tues 3/17, 6:30-7:30 pm: Board Game Night. All ages.
Wed 3/18, 7 pm: Mystery Book Club: The Maid
Thurs 3/19, 12:30-1:30 pm: Knitting Club. All ages.
Sat 3/21, 10 am-2 pm: Friends of the Library book sale
Thurs 3/26, 6:30 pm: Adult Arts & Crafts: Decoupaged wooden bunny. Sign-up required.
Mon 3/30-Sat 4/4: Button maker available in children’s department during library hours all week
Dassel
Fri 3/6,10 am: Story Hour
Thurs 3/12, 4-5:30 pm: Crafternoon. Bring-your-own craft program for adults and older teens.
Fri 3/13, 10 am: Dot Day with Ms. Jenna. For children of all ages.
Fri 3/20, 10 am: Story Hour
Tues 3/24, 1 pm: Adult Book Club: Number the Stars
Fri 3/27: No Story Hour
Grove City
Thursdays 3-5 pm: Crafternoon. Bring-your-own craft program for adults.
Tues 3/10, 2 pm: Story Time
Tues 3/17, 7 pm: ATGC Book Club at Atwater Library: The Maid
Wed 3/18, 4-5 pm: Board Games. All ages.
Thurs 3/19, 4-5 pm: Knitting Club. All ages.
Cosmos
Week of March 2: Dr. Seuss take-home craft kits available for children while supplies last
Tues 3/10: St. Patrick’s Day beaded bracelet kits available for children while supplies last
Thurs 3/19, 4-5:30 pm: Pokémon Trading Card Game. Ages 7-18.
Thurs 3/26, 4-5:30 pm: Pokémon Trading Card Game. Ages 7-18
Sat 3/28, 10:30 am-12:30 pm: Craft Circle. Bring-your-own craft program for adults and older teens.
On this day in music, February 26, 1983, Michael Jackson’s Thriller topped the Billboard Album chart – and was well on its way to becoming the best-selling album of the year, worldwide. Produced by Quincy Jones, Jackson’s sixth studio album marked his creative and commercial breakthrough as a solo artist and, eventually, spent a whopping 37 non-consecutive weeks at No.1. Thriller also produced a record-breaking seven Top Ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, while it later earned an unprecedented eight Grammy Awards. Today, it remains the world’s best-selling album of all time.
In 1966, Nancy Sinatra scored her first No.1 hit in the US with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” Written by Lee Hazlewood, and featuring instrumentation by The Wrecking Crew, the song marked the beginning of a long creative partnership between Sinatra and Hazlewood. The swinging track – which also topped the charts in the UK, Australia, and South Africa, among other territories – became an anthem for female empowerment.
In 1980, Island Records’ Rob Partridge and Bill Stewart offered U2 a recording contract after watching their performance at Dublin’s National Boxing Stadium. A month later, the Irish rock band signed a four-year, four-album contract with the label. Their first single with Island, “11 O’Clock Tick Tock,” dropped in May, followed by their debut LP, Boy in October.
In 1965, not long before he joined the Yardbirds, session musician Jimmy Page released his first single, “She Just Satisfies,” in the UK. The future Led Zeppelin guitarist played all of the instruments (aside from drums), produced the song, and sang lead vocals.
In 2011, a survey from royalty-distribution service BMI announced that Queen’s “We Will Rock You” was still the most-played song at US sporting events, more than 30 years after its release. BMI further calculated that US radio and TV performances of the 1977 hit added up to more than 18 years of continuous airplay.
BORN ON FEBRUARY 26
1928: Fats Domino
1932: Johnny Cash
1945: Mitch Ryder
1953: Michael Bolton
1968: Tim Commerford (Rage Against The Machine)
1971: Max Martin (Producer and songwriter)
1971: Erykah Badu
1979: Corinne Bailey Rae
1982: Nate Ruess (Fun)
The Community Survey, available on the Litchfield School District website and on Facebook, will be closing as of midnight on Friday night. The District has been seeking input from people in the school district to help determine the feasibility of going to voters in November with a building referendum or operating levy.
Superintendent Susan Burris says a scientific telephone survey has also been conducted, and information from the two surveys will be shared during the March 9th Litchfield School Board meeting. She says she will also be sharing information during the March 9th meeting about possible reductions as about $350,000-to-$500,000 in cuts will need to be made to the next budget.
Burris says an issue has been discovered with the surface of the tennis courts at Litchfield High School, so the contractor will be resurfacing the courts in June. She says the swimming pool project at Litchfield High School was recently completed and they’ve heard lots of positive comments.
Burris says the Litchfield School Board continues to hear personal stories about families who have been affected by bullying and they will continue to approach the issue of bullying and look for ways to improve. She says bullying has always been around and it’s been magnified with social media.
Burris says she’s hoping the March weather will be cooperative, but there are still 3 e-learning days left in the calendar that they may use. She says Spring Break will be coming up in the Litchfield School District March 30th through April 3rd. She says families are welcome to attend a Read Across America event this evening at Lake Ripley Elementary School from 5-to-7 p.m. which will include all kinds of activities.
A teacher at ACGC is one of the finalists for Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Thomas Rosengren is one of the 30 finalists for the award which is given annually by Education Minnesota.
Rosengren teaches 6th grade earth science, a section of Minnesota history and also works in reading and math intervention. He’s been teaching in the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City School District for 5 years. He’s also the theater director and a 7th and 8th grade baseball coach.
Rosengren grew up in Belgrade, attended Concordia College in Moorhead, and first worked as an elementary teacher in Houston, Texas. He then returned to Minnesota and worked in other fields, then joined ACGC in 2016 as theater director and served as a long-term substitute before being hired full time in 2021.
An independent panel will narrow the list of 30 finalists for Teacher of the Year by mid-March. The same panel narrowed the list of 128 nominees to 30. The Teacher of the Year will be announced during a banquet on May 3rd in St. Paul.
