The 4 Pioneerland libraries in Meeker County have all kinds of events taking place in the month of July. All four libraries are continuing their summer reading programs through August with the theme “Plant a Seed, Read” and America’s 250th Anniversary Reading Challenge is on for adults through August 15th.
All of the libraries will be closed on July 4th for Independence Day. You can find a complete schedule of events for each library on the KLFD website in the “local news” category and for more information on any events, call 320-693-2483.
Litchfield
Wednesdays, 10:15-10:45 am: Baby/Toddler Storytime
Thursday 7/2, 3 pm: Bilingual Storytime at Legion Park
Fri 7/3, 10:15 am: America’s 250th birthday storytime with Litchfield Watercade royalty
Thurs 7/9, 10:30 am: Science Museum of Minnesota: Dinosaurs
Thurs 7/9, 2 pm: Ken Burns’ The American Revolution: Spirit of Service viewing and discussion
Fri 7/10, 10:15 am: Kids’ Storytime
Sat 7/11, 10 am-2 pm: Friends of the Library Watercade Book Sale
Tues 7/14, 12 pm: Adult Book Club: 1776
Tues 7/14, 6:30 pm: LEGO Night
Wed 7/15, 7 pm: Mystery Book Club
Thurs 7/16, all day: Button maker available in the children’s department
Thurs 7/16, 12:30-1:30 pm: Knitting Club. All ages.
Fri 7/17, 10:15 am: Kids’ Storytime with Meeker County Dairy Princesses & Ambassadors
Sat 7/18, 1:30-3:30 pm: Teen Program: Sungazing with telescope filter and paper marbling. Ages 11-18.
Mon 7/20, 6 pm: Popsicle Fun Painting Workshop for children and teens up to age 18. Registration required.
Tues 7/21, 4:30-5:30: Kids’ Crafts
Thurs 7/23, 6 pm: Master Gardener Program for Kids
Thurs 7/23, 6:30 pm: Adult Arts & Crafts: Mosaics. Registration required.
Fri 7/24, 10:15 am: Kids’ Storytime with Minnesota State Park Naturalist: Trees
Thurs 7/30, 1:30 pm: Voter 101
Thurs 7/30, 6:30 pm: Adult Arts & Crafts: Mosaics. Registration required.
Fri 7/31, 10:15 am: Kids’ Storytime with Meeker County Soil & Water Conservation District: Seed bombs
Fri 7/31, 12 pm, through Monday, 8/3, 8 pm: Puzzle Exchange
Dassel
Fri 7/3, 10 am: Story Hour at the Bandstand with Minnesota State Park Naturalist: Trees
Wed 7/8, 10 am: Science Museum of Minnesota: Dinosaurs
Thurs 7/10, 10 am: Story Hour at the Band Stand with Dassel Elementary Principal Ryan Weinandt
Wed 7/15, 1:30 pm: Herb Planting Class. Registration required. Grades K-6, minimum age 5.
Fri 7/17, 10 am: Story Hour at the Bandstand
Mon 7/20, 2:30 pm: Popsicle Fun Painting Class. Registration required. For all ages.
Mon 7/20 through Fri 7/24: Button maker week
Fri 7/24, 10 am: Story Hour at the Bandstand with Meeker County Dairy Princesses & Ambassadors
Tues 7/28, 1 pm: Adult Book Club: The Wind in the Willows
Fri 7/31, 10 am: Story Hour at the Bandstand: CLIMB Theatre: Once Upon a Beanstalk
Grove City
Thursdays 3-5 pm: Crafternoon. Bring-your-own craft program for adults and teens.
Mondays 11 am: Storytime
Tues 7/7, 4 pm: Science Museum of Minnesota: Dinosaurs
Mon 7/13, 11 am: Storytime with Meeker County Dairy Princesses & Ambassadors
Wed 7/15, 4 pm: Board Game Day
Thurs 7/23, 3 pm: Summer Splash Goldfish Painting Workshop. Registration required. All ages.
Thurs 7/31, 2 pm: CLIMB Theatre: Once Upon a Beanstalk
Cosmos
Mondays 10:30 am: Tiny Tykes Storytime
Mondays 3-4:30 pm: Pokémon Trading Card Game. Ages 8-18.
Tues 7/7: Teen Take-Home Tuesday: USA sand art bottle craft kit
Thurs 7/9, 2:30 pm: Science Museum of Minnesota: Dinosaurs
Tues 7/14: Take-Home Tuesday: S’more campfire lacing craft kit for kids
Fri 7/17, 5-8 pm: Library Minigolf for Cosmos Space Festival. All ages
Sat 7/18, 10:30 am: Saturday Storytime
Tues 7/21: Take-Home Tuesday: Paper strip ice cream craft kit for kids
Tues 7/21, 3 pm: Summer Splash Goldfish Painting Workshop. Registration required. All ages.
Sat 7/25, 10:30 am: Garden Fairy Wand Craft Class. Registration required. Ages 8 to adult.
Thurs 7/30, 6:30 pm: All-American Diamond Art. Registration required. Ages 13 to adult.
There are 9 candidates this year for Litchfield Watercade’s Junior Royalty. The girls all just finished the 3rd grade and are heading into the 4th grade.
Three more candidates were interviewed on KLFD yesterday. Adilee is sponsored by Jeff’s Auto Wrecking. She says her favorite subject is math and running for junior royalty is a way to support the community.
Adilee says her favorite Watercade activity is the parade. Wynnie is sponsored by KMG & Company Hairy & Nail Salon. She says her favorite school subjects are math – especially division, cursive and participating in a writing contest. Wynnie says she’s running for junior royalty because she loves the community.
Wynnie says her favorite Watercade activity is the Medallion Hunt because she likes to listen for the clues on the radio and then go around town looking for the medallion. Jewel is sponsored by Basement Water Solutions and says she liked the 3rd grade – especially her teacher. She says running for junior royalty is a way to support the community.
Jewel says she has been a part of this summer’s Litchfield High School Marching Band as the little kid in the back of their routine so she’s been in a lot of parades this summer. The Junior Royalty Coronation will take place on July 12th at 12:30 in the Bernie Aaker Auditorium.
The Litchfield Watercade coronation will be held on July 12th at 3 p.m. in the Bernie Aaker Auditorium. A new Miss Litchfield will be crowned at the conclusion of the ceremony.
There are 7 candidates this year and they are being interviewed this week on KLFD’s “Newsmaker” program. Two more candidates were on the show yesterday – Claire Gabrielson and Bianca Forsberg. Bianca is the daughter of Bridget & Andy Forsberg and is sponsored by First District Association. She will be a senior at Litchfield High School where she’s been involved in FFA, band, marching band and dance. Forsberg says she will be working at the Miracle of Birth Center later this summer at the Minnesota State Fair. She says running for Miss Litchfield is a way for her to improve herself.
Forsberg says she thought about waiting to run for Miss Litchfield next year, but Addie Lundin encouraged her to run this year. She says the parade has always been her favorite Litchfield Watercade activity.
Claire Gabrielson, daughter of Todd & Jessica Gabrielson, is sponsored by Holmgren & Kuechle Appraisals. Her high school activities have included band, FCA, FFA, Peanut Butter & Milk Festival, track, volleyball and golf. Gabrielson says she’s planning to go to college in Brookings, South Dakota to major in elementary education. She says she’s running for Miss Litchfield because she wants to be a role model.
Gabrielson says she thought about running for Miss Litchfield last year, but didn’t and then decided to go for it this year. She says her favorite Watercade activities have included the beach party, the bike dig and the parade. Both Claire and Bianca have had the opportunity to travel to Alabama as part of the Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee. For more Litchfield Watercade information, go to watercade.com.
The Crow River Winery in Hutchinson lost its maintenance building in a fast-moving, three-alarm fire Tuesday morning. The fire started shortly after 1:30 a.m., but wasn’t spotted until nearly 30 minutes later when a person driving down Highway 7 spotted the flames from the road.
The owners are saying it only took eight minutes for an electrical short to spread through the building, which serves as a maintenance and storage shed. No one was hurt and the main building wasn’t impacted by the fire.
Despite the loss of heavy machinery, tables, chairs and bottles, upcoming events and plans will not be delayed. A member of the ownership team told WCCO-TV there were some significant things in the building that are central to their business that we will now be piecing together in terms of how to supplement and pivot, and they will figure out how to keep serving the community.
The Minnesota State Patrol responded to a one-vehicle crash at 8:33 Tuesday morning on Highway 24, near County-State-Aid-Highway 27, in Forest City Township. A 2023 Chevrolet Malibu was northbound on highway 24 when it left the roadway and crashed. The vehicle was driven by 81-year-old Mary Louise Mendoza of Litchfield. She received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Meeker Memorial Hospital. Also responding to the scene were Litchfield Fire Dept., Meeker County Sheriff’s Office and Mayo Ambulance.
