Center National Bank in Litchfield has its Burgers for a Cause event today from 11-to-1 and from 4:30-to-5:30. For $7, you will get a hamburger or cheeseburger, chips, cookie and beverage, and for $10, you can get a second burger with your meal.
Banker Loree Schultz says they are raising money this year for Ecumen of Litchfield to help them purchase wheelchair-friendly equipment for their exercise room. She says the Minnesota Bankers Association encourages banks to do some kind of philanthropic activity each September.
Schultz says Center Bank has been doing this since 2018 and in that time has raised $33,400 for various causes including a youth baseball scoreboard, Litchfield Area Mentorship Program, youth winter clothing drive, Litchfield Rescue Squad, Sheriff’s Office drone program, and Meeker Area Food Shelf. She says she’d like to thank the community for all of their support and for attending Burgers for a Cause to support these worthy projects.
The Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee is getting ready to send a group of delegates to Alabama for the annual sister-city exchange trip. The trip is coming up November 2-to-9.
This year’s group from Meeker County will include FFA students Claire Gabrielson, Riley Joyer, Lydia Schultz and Tanner Sonsalla, and chaperones Jim & Holly Cottington. A couple more chaperones may be selected, and Meeker County Dairy Princess Paige Frenchick will be joining the delegation.
Peanut Butter & Milk Festival President Terri Anderson was given permission to purchase airline tickets before the Committee’s next meeting. The Committee also chose the dates for its winter festival on Tuesday night – it will be held February 1st through the 8th. The next Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 15th at 7 p.m. in the Litchfield High School Ag Room. Everyone’s welcome to get involved.
Meeker County Parks Superintendent Braden Piram gave the Meeker County Commissioners an annual report on Tuesday morning. He spoke about the ten county parks and the recreational opportunities that are available.
Piram says some of the parks contain playground and play equipment, swimming beaches, volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, disc golf, trails and fishing piers – depending on the location. He says they maintain 18 picnic shelters and have some rustic cabins at Koronis Park.
Piram says over $78,000 in camping fees and over $6,000 in firewood sales were collected at the Koronis Park in 2023 and the numbers are looking similar for 2024. That park’s revenues and expenses are shared with Stearns County. He says a new boat landing is needed at the Koronis Park and they will be working on possible plans for that with the DNR which has offered to provide over half-a-million-dollars for that project.
Piram says the Forest City Stockade is part of the Meeker County Parks system. He says there are 21-miles of trails in the county’s parks – 6 of which are paved – for hiking, biking and horseback riding. He says Thompson Park near Cosmos has 23 acres and is a popular site for disc golf, and pollinator plots are being planted in some locations to cut down on mowing and to help the bees. To reserve park shelters or for more information, look for the park link on the Meeker County website.