On Monday morning at 11:26, the Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a call of a tractor on fire at the address of 16558 Lakewood Road in Eden Lake Township. The tractor was parked inside of a 30×54 foot canvas-style hoop shed. The owner, 59-year-old Rodney Salzl of Eden Valley, had plugged the tractor in the previous evening. 27-year-old John Salzl of Eden Valley arrived at the farm and noticed flames coming from the side of the enclosed cab Ford tractor. The fire damaged two other tractors parked nearby. The canvas covering of the shed was also damaged by the fire. No one was injured in the fire. Eden Valley Fire and Watkins Fire responded to the scene.
The Litchfield Kiwanis Club will have an open house on Friday from 4-to-6 p.m. at the Captain’s Club in downtown Litchfield – right next to Mimi’s. Appetizers and wine will be served.
Ian McGuire says it’s just a way for people to learn more about the Litchfield Kiwanis Club, learn what the club does, and find out more about the projects that it supports. He says they are working right now on playground communication boards.
McGuire says the communication boards would be located at the Wagner and Lake Ripley Elementary playgrounds. He says they need to raise $2,000 for the project and they have just a few hundred more dollars to go, so if anyone would like to donate toward the project, donations are welcome.
Leland Fredman says the Litchfield Kiwanis Club supports a lot of projects that help children including scholarships and the LAMP Turkey Bingo each November. He says they are involved in a project called “Who Gets the Job” to help 8th graders learn about interview skills.
Fredman says the program is a good way for local employers to help students understand that there are job opportunities right in Litchfield after they graduate from high school, trade school or college. He says the Kiwanis Club has the Kans for Kids trailers where people may donate their aluminum cans which help support youth programs in the community.
The Litchfield City Council had a visit last night – via video-conference – with Meaghan Elliott of New History. Elliott has been helping the City figure out how to utilize the $2-million dollars from the State that can be used for improving facades in Litchfield’s Historic Downtown district.
Elliott told the Council that facades are defined as anything visible to the public from the street so the funds cannot be used for roofs or other improvements, and any funds that do not get used will need to be returned to the State. She says construction on any projects is likely to begin in 2026 and will need to be done by the end of 2028.
Elliott showed the Council a flow chart showing the tangled web of those involved in this process with the funds being funneled through the Minnesota Historical Society. The Council approved of the grant agreement with New History, subject to staff review, and one of the next steps in the process will be seeking the help of an architect.
On Saturday afternoon at 3:46, the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a structure fire in the 59000 block of CSAH 3 in Manannah Township. Meeker County Deputies, Eden Valley Fire Department, and Watkins Fire Department all responded to the scene. Upon arriving, deputies saw a shed engulfed in fire. The shed and its contents are a total loss. It is believed the fire was due to a wood-burning stove attached to the shed. The property is owned by 83-year-old Richard Millerbernd. No one was injured as a result of the fire
