The Litchfield City Council passed a resolution Monday evening to limit parking to one side of the service road that runs from the Sure Stay Motel to County-State-Aid-Highway 34. No parking will be allowed on the west and south sides of the roadway.
Mayor Ron Dingmann says the Council also approved of the issuance/sale of $3,270,000 in general obligation bonds which will help fund projects on Johnson Drive/260th Street and Swift Avenue/Ripley Street. He says the Council also discussed a priority list of over 70 future projects.
Mayor Dingmann says the priority list will be discussed further at the October 5th meeting. He says the Council plans to make a decision at the August 17th meeting about whether or not to allow THC products to be sold at the liquor store.
The Meeker County Board of Commissioners has awarded a bid for a bridge project on County-State-Aid-Highway 26 – south of Cedar Mills. Three bids were opened on Monday and Structural Specialties of Hutchinson had the lowest bid.
The County Board approved the bid with an estimated cost of $1,207,247.42. Public Works Director/County Engineer Phil Schmalz says it was about 9.4% over the engineer’s estimate of $1,093,599. He says they are hoping to start the project by late August.
Meeker County Bridge number 47504 is a 1963 timber structure on CSAH 26 over the South Fork of the Crow River, south of Cedar Mills. The bridge underwent a detailed structural element inspection in the spring of 2025 and was closed in May of 2025. The bridge closure was due to severe internal decay of the north abutment pile cap. Internal section loss of this timber member was measured at 77% at its most severe location. The bridge closure was not anticipated and Meeker County Public Works immediately requested consultant proposals for the replacement of the bridge after the crossing was closed.
The construction cost will be funded through a $450,000 State Bridge Bonding Grant with remaining funds coming from Meeker County’s regular CSAH Construction fund.
Schmalz also presented his annual report to the Meeker County Board of Commissioners. He says Meeker County maintains 273-miles of county-state-aid highways and there are 775-miles of township roads, of which Meeker County maintains 680-miles. Schmalz says the county has 17 plow trucks, 13 motor graders and 9 tractor/mowers to help with maintenance of the roads. He says they are looking at reducing the number of county shops from 9 to 5 in the future, and a work session will be held this fall to determine which shops to close.
On this day in music – August 4, 1967 – Pink Floyd released their debut album, The Piper At the Gates of Dawn. The record launched Pink Floyd’s illustrious career and has been recognized as one of the most influential psychedelic rock albums of the 1960s. Recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, it was the band’s only album to be penned primarily by founding member Syd Barrett.
In 2017, Luis Fonsi and Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” surpassed Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again” to become the most-watched YouTube video ever. The collaboration amassed nearly 3 billion views within seven months.
On August 4, 1984, Prince’s soundtrack to Purple Rain began a 24-week run on the US album charts. Featuring such iconic hits as “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy,” as well as the title track, the record went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide. Today, it remains one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time.
In 1958, Billboard introduced its Hot 100 singles chart, with Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” taking the top spot.
On this day in 2007, singer-songwriter Lee Hazlewood died of cancer in his home near Las Vegas at 78. Hazlewood was perhaps most famous for his prolific work with Nancy Sinatra, including writing and producing her 1965 anthem, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’”
And in 1968, the second day of the Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California. Over 100,000 fans attended the star-studded event, as bands like the Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, Blue Cheer, Jefferson Airplane, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and The Byrds took the stage.
BORN ON AUGUST 4
1901: Louis Armstrong
1936: Elsbeary Hobbs (The Drifters)
1940: Larry Knechtel (The Wrecking Crew)
1947: Klaus Schulze (Tangerine Dream)
1962: Paul Reynolds (A Flock Of Seagulls)
1988: Tom Parker (The Wanted)
The 35th annual Darwin Twine Ball Day is coming up on Saturday, August 8th. Several activities are planned as the town honors its big tourist attraction – the largest ball of twine in the world created by one man – Francis Johnson.
Darwin Mayor Josh Johnson says the Twine Ball has become a quintessential roadside attraction for tourists from all over the world because of its size and because of Francis Johnson’s story. He says the Twine Ball Day celebration has grown over the years as floats in their parade used to go around the route at least twice in the early years – and some still do, but the parade lasts about 30-minutes and lots of candy and other items are distributed.
Johnson says the parade line up begins at 11:30 and any floats are welcome – you do not need to pay a fee or pre-register, and then the parade begins at 12:30. He says the day gets started with the Twine-K Run at 7:30 a.m. and it is 17,400-feet in length to honor the weight of the Twine Ball which is 17,400-pounds.
Johnson says there’s a volleyball tournament at 8 a.m. this Saturday, pedal pull at 10, craft fair from 9-to-3 and Minnesota Mini-rods at 2 p.m. He says everyone is welcome to Darwin for Twine Ball Day this Saturday and you can find more information on the Twine Ball Facebook page.