The Cokato Historical Society welcomes everyone to its annual meeting on April 21st at 6:30 p.m. in the Centennial Room at 175 4th Street Southwest in Cokato. It’s a free event and guests will be able to see the Cokato Museum’s newest exhibit “Once Upon a Toy Box.”
The evening will begin with a brief business meeting, followed by a presentation by Museum Director Johanna Ellison, who will share details about the recent restoration work completed at the historic Gust Akerlund Photography Studio. Following the presentation, attendees will be able to tour the newly restored Akerlund Studio and see the results of the preservation efforts firsthand.
The Studio was last open to the public in the early spring of 2024. The restoration work at the Akerlund Studio was made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which has helped preserve one of Cokato’s most significant historic sites.
The museum’s new exhibit, “Once Upon a Toy Box,” is a playful journey through time – celebrating the toys, games, and dolls that shaped childhoods from generations past through the 2000s. To find out more about this event, go to www.cokatomuseum.org or call at 320-286-2427.
Next week is Severe Weather Awareness Week, and there will be tornado drills on Thursday, April 16th. The drills are scheduled for 1:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. so when you hear the sirens, you should think of where you would take shelter, no matter where you are.
Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze says if you’re outdoors when severe weather hits, you should get inside, or else lay down in a low area, and if you are in a vehicle get out of it and lay in a low area because a tornado will pick up your vehicle. He says the ideal place to go when you’re inside is a basement or an interior room with no windows.
Sheriff Cruze says besides tornadoes, severe weather includes lightning, hail, floods and extreme heat, and you need to have respect for all of those phenomena as they are capable of taking your life. He says you should not try to drive through a flooded road as the road may be missing underneath, and the current could easily wash away your vehicle; and during extreme heat – stay hydrated and take frequent breaks.
Sheriff Cruze says weather alerts are issued when conditions are favorable for severe weather and warnings are issued when severe weather is imminent; and Meeker County has the RAVE system which will send you emergency notices. You can find a link to get signed up for RAVE on the Meeker County Sheriff’s website or call Stephanie Johnson at the Sheriff’s Office at 693-5400. He says next week is also Telecommunications Week – a time to thank our 911 dispatchers for the work that they do.
On this day in music, April 10, 1970, Paul McCartney revealed in a press statement that he had quit The Beatles. “I have no future plans to record or appear with The Beatles again, or to write any music with John,” he stated. His shock departure from the groundbreaking Liverpudlian group came seven days before the singer-songwriter launched his solo career with his debut album, McCartney. His former songwriting partner John Lennon, who had left the band in late 1969 but kept his decision under wraps to aid the band’s business ventures, was scathing when asked by a journalist to comment. “Paul hasn’t left. I sacked him,” he snapped.
In 2019, Billie Eilish stormed to the top of the UK chart with her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Just 17 at the time, the Los Angeles-born singer-songwriter became the youngest female solo artist to reach the No.1 spot in the UK. The multi-platinum album topped the charts in ten countries across the globe and also won a Grammy in the Album Of The Year category.
In 1976, ex-Humble Pie guitarist Peter Frampton topped the US albums chart with Frampton Comes Alive, which sold over six million copies to become the best-selling LP of the year. It spent 97 weeks on the Billboard 200 and remains one of the best-selling live albums of all time.
In 1985, Madonna kicked off her first North American tour with a three-night engagement at Seattle’s Paramount Theater. The Beastie Boys served as the opening act for the 40-date run (dubbed “The Virgin Tour”).
In 2003, Little Eva, the singer who topped the US singles chart with “The Loco-Motion” in 1962, died at the age of 59. Born Eva Narcissus Boyd in North Carolina, she moved to New York and became the babysitter for the husband-and-wife songwriting team, Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The pair, who were aware of her talents, wrote “The Loco-Motion” especially for her.
In 2005, the final episode of the reality show The Osbournes was broadcast in the UK. During the peak of its three-year run on MTV, the program attracted eight million viewers. Ozzy Osbourne was bemused by its US popularity. “I suppose Americans get a kick out of watching a crazy Brit family like us make complete fools of ourselves every week,” he mused.
In 1982, Iron Maiden topped the UK albums chart for the first time with The Number of the Beast. The British metal band’s third LP also marked their first to go platinum in the US.
BORN ON APRIL 10
1947: Bunny Wailer (The Wailers)
1948: Fred Smith (Television)
1957: Steven Gustafson (10,000 Maniacs)
1959: Katrina Leskanich (Katrina And The Waves)
1963: Mark Oliver Everett aka “E” (Eels)
1964: Alan “Reni” Wren (The Stone Roses)
1970: Mike Mushok (Staind)
1970: Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest)
1979: Sophie Ellis Bextor
1983: Andrew Dost (Fun)
Each day a business will be featured as “Business of the Day” and every time their commercial is aired be the 7th caller and win a chance to receive KLFD Bucks to be spent at our “Business of the Day” locations.
Monday thru Friday, at 4 pm we will draw out a winner to be put into our final drawing to be held sometime later in April. Once your name has been drawn out daily and put into the final drawing, you are no longer qualified to call in. Otherwise, you can keep calling in once a day to qualify.
Our sponsors include: Miller Automotive, Litchfield Liquors, DC Diesel Tek, El Chilero, Parts City Auto Parts, Scott’s Auto, Litchfield Chrysler, Litchfield Licensing, Davis Motors, Mid Country Bank, Queen Bee’s Bar & Grill, A.M. Maus & Son, Litchfield Eagles Club, SJP Designs, Central Counties Cooperative, Edina Realty, Quality Autowerx
