Year: 2016

Local Foods – Made in Big Stone County

Local Foods – Made in Big Stone County

(video below) The Inadvertent Cafe in Clinton is known for their amazing breakfasts (unique, local – organic options to start your day!); however, the cafe’s larger purpose is to provide the area with a community commercial kitchen. The owner of the cafe, Brent Olson, is 

Beautiful Christmas Music from the MNbump

Beautiful Christmas Music from the MNbump

We have been posting our school music programs on our Facebook page and now that we have a few more to add, we’ve decided to post all the videos on one page for easy access.   They all did a beautiful job.  Enjoy!

Jeremy Radtke’s Design Connects Ortonville Business to State Tournament

Jeremy Radtke’s Design Connects Ortonville Business to State Tournament

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We are considered “rural” here on the MNbump – people enjoy coming to our area for the fishing and the beauty of Big Stone Lake, the National and State Parks – the beauty of a more open-space quality of life.  Our region is perfectly described with two hashtags – #QuietlyBeautifulMN, #WildlyConnectedMN! — and for us, here on the MNbump, we have people like Dan and Brenda Kafka, who take full advantage of the “Connected” part of our Region’s hashtags!

pro-image-building-webDan and Brenda Kafka own Pro Image Partners in Ortonville.  When you look at the front of their business on Main Street (2nd Street actually – one of our little quirks) you see a nice, standard-sized rural retail store which proudly displays one of the strengths of their business  –  their reach… how they are “connected” beyond our City limits! (and… thanks to our County Commissioners’ vision for our future, the State’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant and Federated Telephone, Big Stone County is now fully connected with the recent addition of fiber-to-premise throughout the County!)

We found out yesterday that Pro Image Partners’ Jeremy Radtke’s design has connected this Ortonville business to the Minnesota State High School Girl’s Tennis Tournament this fall!  Pro 2016-state-tennis-mshsl-webImage Partners will be providing the t-shirts for 600+ people (players, parents, coaches, etc) for this fall’s banquet.  Pro Image Partners has been steadily gaining the State tennis team business – starting with the Minnesota Tennis Coaches Association (through Brenda Kafka’s connections from her previous life – pre-MNbump living) and expanding to individual tennis teams such as:  Columbia Heights, Eveleth-Gilbert, Fillmore Central, Hill-Murray, Holy Family Catholic School (in the Cities), Minneapolis-South, New Ulm, Park Rapids, St. James Area and Stewartville.  They will also be the supplier for next Spring’s Boys State Tennis Banquet!  This opportunity started with a personal connection, good on-line presence to promote their business – and obviously good quality product (and designing) in order to maintain and expand in this arena.

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Other customers fly in to pick up their order from Pro Image

That is quite a reach from our little town of Ortonville located along Minnesota’s western border!

I talked with Dan Kafka about their business that arrives at Pro Image through their website to which he promptly signed into their website dashboard and shared the data with me – impressive!!  I also asked how Jeremy Radtke was feeling these days since it was this younger employee’s push to get the on-line store up and running  – although Dan Kafka is quite well-known around town for his “techy toys” (impressive considering his age!) – it took this “younger generation” Radtke to convince his employers there was a real opportunity with an on-line shopping store to expand their business.  I wish I would have taken a picture of Dan’s face when he smiled, chuckled, and told me Jeremy was pretty happy about his accomplishments – and that Jeremy e-mails some of the latest on-line stats to him periodically to remind him how good it is working!  AND, I can picture Jeremy having lots of fun with his e-mail reports to his boss!

Living the MNbump Life… beauty surrounds us, we are connected, we have available housing, great schools, great health care — with our biggest asset being our people! — Jeremy is certainly one of those people!

You’ll find graphic designer, Jeremy Radtke, in this video below!  The video also shows some of Pro Image Partner’s work, their collaboration with local business, Progressive Collision & Glass Center, and showing off a wrap that was purchased from another one of our local businesses – Shores Edge Excavating!

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Great for Hunters ‘Where are you’ Map App

Great for Hunters ‘Where are you’ Map App

Great app if you are in Big Stone County – next to property that looks great to hunt – and you want the owner information!  This link will provide all of the public data through the County GIS system (who owns the property, size, value, 

MNbump Fall Colors

MNbump Fall Colors

Big Stone Lake to around Big Stone County, MNbump is beautiful this time of year.  We had a Facebook follower that commented on a post that had a few fall pictures from an afternoon drive (shown below) that she enjoyed seeing photos from the area 

Survey – Ortonville Swimming Pool Upgrade

Survey – Ortonville Swimming Pool Upgrade

We need your help!  There is a group of parents researching the possibility of upgrading the Ortonville Swimming Pool.  They have been gathering information from other communities that have recently upgraded their community swimming pool.  They have also been gathering information from additional community pools on their rates (seasonal and daily).

This group has gathered an impressive foundation of information, and they are now looking for your assistance!  Are families (residents) in the area interested in upgrading the swimming pool — or, there is another option that has been considered – a natural pool.  There may be an opportunity to obtain DNR funding to assist with a natural swimming pool at the pier – no chemicals, natural shade, turn the face of the city towards the  lake, make the arts center more viable, provide a demonstration platform for how plants can clean polluted water, etc.  For an example of a natural pool in Minneapolis, please  CLICK HERE!

Please use this link to complete the survey as soon as possible – it would be much appreciated!! 

SURVEY LINK:  ORTONVILLE SWIMMING POOL SURVEY 

To print a PDF copy of the Survey and fill it out by hand, please use this link:  ortonville_pool_upgrade_survey_paper – and then drop the survey off at the EDA Office (in the Helping Hands Massage/KDIO building at 706 2nd Street SE, Ortonville) – You can also stop and pick up a copy of the survey at the EDA Office – fill it out and leave it.

Thank you!!

 

Fall Family Fun

Fall Family Fun

We have been sharing the family-fun fall activities on our Facebook page and thought we’d share the information on a one-stop blog post! October 28th is Ortonville’s Harvest Madness –  October 31st is Treat Street in Clinton –  7-75 Corn Maze Saturday & Sundays Noon 

Housing is Available in Big Stone County, Minnesota! – Check out Ortonville!

Housing is Available in Big Stone County, Minnesota! – Check out Ortonville!

Great housing opportunities in Big Stone County!   The City of Ortonville via Ortonville Area Health Services has expanded their senior housing campus (located on a beautiful 18-hole golf course) which has opened up a number of single-family homes over the past few months adding to our 

What do our local artists do?

What do our local artists do?

First, this is certainly not an all inclusive list that covers everything that those within our arts’ community do!

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I’m starting with one project that was recently featured on 1350 KDIO‘s Morning Show with Julie & Adam.  The Cari Me Project (click here for more info).  One of our local artists, Becky Stattelman, collaborated with Make it Minnesota magazine which held a state-wide Instagram photo contest – 6 regional winners along with a grand prize winner.  Becky made one of her tote bags with each of the winners’ photos and this display of bags then travels to each winner’s community to be displayed and used as a fundraiser for a local cause that is selected by that photographer.  The grand prize winner will be displaying in their community at the Mall of America!

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The display is currently at Becky’s community location which is the Inadvertent Cafe in Clinton with her fundraiser to support youth art by helping to purchase supplies for both of our school districts in Big Stone County.  Becky is pictured above (middle) with Naomi Ballard (left) and Joleen Weigman (right).  Both Naomi and Joleen have been  providing art classes and events with a focus on our youth in their perspective MNbump school systems (Ortonville and Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley) on a volunteer basis!  They have also been providing youth art classes in their community.  (Support for this project was provided by Fairbault Woolen Mills (their wool was used for all of the bags – which is a pretty ‘big deal‘ sponsor for this Clinton project!), Thrivent (provided the hors d’oeuvre for the event –  which really do deserve a blog post all on their own they were that delicious and unique!), Big Stone Arts Council, MNbump, Brent Olson and a few other individuals)

This will be the Naomi Ballard example (she is my example – just because this MNbump blogger had a 6th grade nephew in Naomi’s volunteer school class and a niece and two nephews in one of her backyard art classes – so of course I was present and video taped these events! — Joleen’s work with our youth has been just as wonderful – I just do not have video!)  I’ll start with Naomi’s 6th Grade Art class in Ortonville which was a completely volunteer teaching commitment.  Upon completion of the class, the students held an evening art event to display their projects.  It was so much fun to walk through the exhibits and talk with each of the students – as they explained their projects and the techniques that were used – it was impressive to hear what they had been taught – and equally impressive to see the excitement of the students as they talked about their work!  The 6th grade class had some funds left over from their lollipop sales – and they wanted Naomi to have this money to reimburse her for some of the supplies that she had provided for the class!  Awesome students!

The first video below was from the 6th Grade Art Event and the second video was taken at one of Naomi’s backyard art classes.

For the 2016/17 School year in Ortonville, Becky Stattelman’s “Cari Me” project donations will be used to help pay for art supplies for elementary art (half of the donations will be going to Ortonville with the other half to the Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley school); the Big Stone Arts Council is helping through a SMAC grant; the Ortonville School Foundation will be providing funds for supplies during the first half of the school year and a Thrivent grant was applied for (by Annette) in the amount of $250 which will also be invested in the youth art program in Ortonville this school year.

A huge shout out to both Naomi and Joleen for sharing their love of art with our youth!

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by Callie Howell

If you stop at the Little Spoon in Ortonvillle, you will find a beautiful display of Callie Howell’s art.  Aliza Anderson’s is currently on display in the Rotunda of the courthouse.

During Cornfest in August, 48 youth took part in the Squirt Gun Painting Project.  The Big Stone Arts Council provided 48 canvasses and the quirt guns –  and Naomi Ballard supplied the paint and the instruction.  Sounds like the class was quite a hit!

Members of the Big Stone Arts Council helped out with many activities during this first ever “Lake Days” – a brief and early evening storm blew through on Friday night but that did not stop this group of kids from coming down for the Campfire Sing-a-long (at the start of the video & at the far right is Lee Kanton who also provided music and a “tourism direction/welcome” for WCCO when they were on and around Big Stone Lake for their Goin’ to the Lake program)

The Big Stone Arts Council provides supplies and talent for activities during annual events such as Cornfest, Lake Days, Downtown Festival, the Meander and at the Sports & Leisure Show.

September 30, October 1 & 2 — We have 12 artists at three locations participating in the Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl (we call the Meander!) – This is a free self-guided tour of artist studios featuring 45 local artists from the Upper Minnesota River Valley.  The event has more than 33 individual studios in and near the western Minnesota communities of Ortonville, Appleton, Madison, Milan, Dawson, Montevideo and Granite Falls.  (the included link above will take you to the map).

That was a very brief list in answer to “What do our local artists do” – I think you can get the picture they are very involved – and will likely be one of the first in our communities to reach out to a visitor or someone new moving to the area just say say “hello” and “welcome”!

As for an example of a larger on-going project, the City of Ortonville has donated 100′ of lakeshore along with the old brick water plant building to the Big Stone Arts Council (BSAC).  BSAC is currently focused on the renovation of this building for a community/art center.  The center will be a multi-purpose venue providing gallery space, a classroom, a large room that will accommodate 130, a catering kitchen, office, restrooms and lobby.  The building has been designed and the next step is to begin fund raising.

They will soon be sharing the progress of their activities and their progress on the Water Building Project on social media and websites – with the help of  their new intern, Abby Guggisber, from the University of Minnesota Center for Small Towns!

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The Business First Stop Team Tours the Graceville Grain Terminal

The Business First Stop Team Tours the Graceville Grain Terminal

State agency leaders visit 11 communities (one was Graceville in Big Stone County!) to highlight investments in water, energy, agriculture innovation in Greater Minnesota. Among the goals of the trip is to increase awareness of Minnesota Business First Stop, which Gov. Mark Dayton created in