The Litchfield Education Association hosted a forum on Tuesday night for the five Litchfield School Board candidates. Three people will be elected on November 5th to begin serving terms in January on the Litchfield School Board.
Alex Carlson is the incumbent who was elected to the Litchfield School Board 4 years ago and is currently serving as chair. He taught for 6 years in Sartell before returning to Litchfield in 2010 with his wife and children to begin a career in business. He graduated from Litchfield high school in 2000. He says he would like to continue serving the community in his role on the School Board and to continue to make the District better.
Adam Boerema works as a yardmaster for BNSF Railway in Willmar. His wife, Candace, teaches in the Litchfield School District. They have 3 children, two of whom have graduated from Litchfield High School, and another who is junior. He says Litchfield is a great place to raise a family. He says the school needs to make kids marketable as they head into the world, but also needs to continue to retain its strong traditions.
Stephanie Danielson is a retail bank manager and she and her husband and 3 children have lived in Litchfield for 6 years. She says she wants to listen to any issues people have and help to bridge gaps that may exist.
Tim Oster graduated from Litchfield High School in 2015, then entered the Marine Corps, and after being honorably discharged as a sergeant, returned to Litchfield with his wife and two children. He says he had the best time of his life attending Litchfield High School and wants his children and other children to experience the successes that he enjoyed.
Mick Spillane is an advanced senior manufacturing engineer at Honeywell Aerospace and moved to Litchfield 7 years ago. He says he’s seen his 7 children flourish in the Litchfield School District, and this generation will face challenges never seen before and the school needs to help get them prepared.
Several activities have been taking place in the Litchfield School District this fall, and many more are coming up. Conferences took place on Monday at Litchfield High School and Middle School and Lake Ripley Elementary will have them later in November.
Superintendent Susan Burris says it’s so important for parents to attend the conferences. She says this has been a busy week with the Litchfield School Board candidate forum on Tuesday night, the showing of the documentary “Letters to Eleanore” – featuring Litchfield Middle School student Olivia Haralson – last night, and then celebrating the success of the Litchfield High School Girls Tennis team, and the send-off for the Litchfield High School parliamentary procedures team to the National FFA convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Burris says the Litchfield High School football team has a play-off game on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Litchfield against Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. She says the drama department will present “Footloose” October 31st, November 1st and November 2nd at 7 p.m. and November 3rd at 2 p.m. in the Bernie Aaker Auditorium; and then the Indoor Marching Band concert will be held on November 8th and 9th at 7 p.m. in the Litchfield High School gym. Burris says amongst all of the activities, she’d like to thank the community for all of their support to her so far.
Burris says there will be Veterans Day programs in the Litchfield School District next month, and the Student Council is hosting a blood drive on November 14th from 7-to-3 in the High School gym.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the victim from Tuesday’s shooting in Willmar as 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London. According to the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office the victim from a shooting by Lake Lillian Tuesday, 25-year-old Peter Mayerchak of Lake Lillian, is in stable condition and is expected to survive. The suspect in Tuesday’s incident – which began in Minneapolis and ended in Willmar – has been identified at 25-year-old Ameer Matariyeh of Minneapolis. The investigation is ongoing.
On Oct. 23, 1941, the Disney film “Dumbo” was released.
In 1950, actor-singer Al Jolson died in San Francisco at the age of 64. He’s probably best known for starring in “The Jazz Singer,” the first talking film.
In 1962, a 12-year-old named Little Stevie Wonder recorded his first single for Motown Records. It was called “Thank You For Loving Me All The Way.”
In 1978, Maybelle Carter, the matriarch of the musical Carter family, died at the age of 69.
In 1984, musician Bob Geldof watched a documentary on the BBC about Ethiopia’s famine. He was so moved he called his friend, Midge Ure, and together they wrote the charity song “Do They Know It’s Christmas.”
In 1991, Rodney Crowell announced he and fellow singer Rosanne Cash were getting divorced. They had married in 1979.
In 1992, country singer George Strait made his movie debut in “Pure Country,” in which he starred as a country western singer.
In 1995, a Houston jury found Yolanda Saldivar guilty of murdering Tejano (tay-HAH’-no) singing star Selena. She was sentenced to spend at least 30 years in prison.
In 2004, singer Ashlee Simpson walked off stage after the wrong vocal track was played during her performance on “Saturday Night Live,” which revealed she was lip-synching.
In 2010, singer Katy Perry married comedian Russell Brand at a tiger sanctuary in India. They divorced in 2012.
In 2015, Carrie Underwood released her “Storyteller” album.
Today’s Birthdays: Director Philip Kaufman (“The Right Stuff”) is 88. Singer Barbara Ann Hawkins of The Dixie Cups is 81. Director Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) is 70. Jazz singer Dianne Reeves is 68. Singer Dwight Yoakam is 68. Director-actor Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man” films) is 65. Singer “Weird Al” Yankovic is 65. Bassist Robert Trujillo of Metallica is 60. Drummer Brian Nevin of Big Head Todd and The Monsters is 58. Singer David Thomas of Take 6 is 58. Singer Junior Bryant of Ricochet is 56. Actor John Huertas (“This is Us,” “Castle”) is 55. Director Chris Weitz (”About a Boy,” “American Pie”) is 55. Country singer Jimmy Wayne is 52. Bassist Eric Bass of Shinedown is 50. “So You Think You Can Dance” host Cat Deeley is 48. Actor Ryan Reynolds is 48. Actor Saycon Sengbloh (TV’s “In The Dark”) is 47. Singer Matthew Shultz of Cage The Elephant is 41. Former TV host Meghan McCain (“The View”) is 40. Actor Masiela Lusha (“George Lopez”) is 39. Singer Miguel is 39. Actor Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) is 38. Actor Inbar Lavi (“Imposters,” “Prison Break”) is 38. Actor Jessica Stroup (”Iron Fist,” “90210”) is 38. Trumpeter Allen Branstetter of St. Paul and the Broken Bones is 34. Actor Taylor Spreitler (“Kevin Can Wait,” “Melissa and Joey”) is 31. Actor Margaret Qualley (“Poor Things,” “Fosse/Verdon”) is 30. Actor Amandla Stenberg (“The Acolyte,” “The Hunger Games”) is 26.