All posts filed under: Blog

Upcoming Events & Recap of Last Weekend!

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Another busy weekend planned for June 24 & 25th! Click on each of the flyers below for a larger view! Last weekend (June 16, 17 & 18) Recap! Tee’d Off at Cancer Golf Tournament in Graceville It may take a moment for the Facebook embed to pop open on your screen. Lake Days in Ortonville  (2nd Annual) (a Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Event) A fun event held in Ortonville MN/Big Stone City SD on the shores of Big Stone Lake Kid’s Fishing Contest, “School of Fish” by Mike Frisch, Casting Contest Bean Bag Tournament Sand Volleyball Tournament Kayak & Canoe Races Boat/Pontoon Rides (free all day Saturday) Local Talent in the Park contest Scavenger Hunt (all ages!) Aquatic Robotics & Fishing Demonstrations Kid’s Art Activity Lighted Boat Parade Concert Campfire Sing-a-long, s’mores & Star Gazing & Bug Collecting Food Booth & Beer Garden Video highlights from just a few of the events… followed by the complete talent in the park competition videos (scroll down) Full Talent in the Park (several videos)

Beautiful Evening for Dr. Bob’s 40th Anniversary Celebration!

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Video of the Program is below. On Friday, June 9th, Dr. Bob (Dr. Robert S. Ross) was honored during the Ortonville Area Health Services’  Customer Appreciation Day at Lakeside Park for his 40 years of service.  Dr. Bob was quick to confirm when he, at the end of the Program, had the microphone – this was not a retirement party! It was an emotional evening as the Mayor of Ortonville, Doctors, friends and family had a few words to say (and stories to share!)  The crowd that came to celebrate with him and the words that were spoken were a true tribute to an amazing Doctor, Community supporter and local sports enthusiast. Although many great comments were made and laughs were shared, one portion of the program really speaks to the personal connections and the deep sense of community that are grown, here on the MNbump.  Dr. Stacy Longnecker noted that Dr. Bob delivered her… Dr. Bob also delivered her oldest child, Owen, when she was living in Ortonville during an internship portion of her …

An Old Fashioned Picnic in the Park

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The DREAM for Kids’ old fashioned picnic (in its third year!) was a hit last night! (estimating about 250 people in attendance!) Taken from the event’s invitation:  It’s time to celebrate how lucky we are to have our families… all kinds, shapes, and sizes!  YOU ARE INVITED They started serving dinner at 5:30 with the activities starting at 6:00 p.m. go fishing ride-a-horse (always a favorite!) bean bag toss sing-a-long tubs of fun crafts and more… DREAM for Kids and Someplace Safe thanked all of their partners: 4-H Dusty Hill Family ECI Ortonville Library Lee Kanten OCC 75 One Stop KDIO Moose Lodge #407 Hartman’s Super Valu Minnwest Bank Pepsi America For more information on youth opportunities, daycare, schools, check out our All About Youth page!  

2017 Memorial Day

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Update:  Unfortunately we were unable to video all of the Memorial Day programs that were held in Big Stone County.  The video below is from the Ortonville Program. Representative Jeff Backer attended the Memorial Highway Dedication for Staff Sergeant Kevin Witte and shared a few pictures from the event on his Facebook Page:    

We say goodbye

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We enjoy (in so many ways) a strong arts community, here on the MNbump.   They are weaved into our daily lives, with their music during our festivals, arts activities during our events such as Lake Days (in June), Cornfest (in August), they host events such as  “Somewhere to Begin:  The Soulful and Poetic Music of Sara Thomsen” which will be held at The Abbey of the Hills Inn & Retreat Center on May 20th… and the list goes on. We will be losing one of our artists – Naomi Ballard – her pull to “home” and work will be taking her away; however, she will be leaving so much with our youth, here in Ortonville!  She has touched so many lives in the relatively short time that she has been in the area that we just cannot let her go without a heartfelt and grateful goodbye from the MNbump! I asked my nephew awhile back what he really enjoyed the most at school (he plays basketball (with a passion), cross country, baseball, and football)   …

The Arctic Open in Clinton MN!

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One of our annual events here in Big Stone County is golfing on ice! We get creative, here on the MNbump! Golfing starts mid-morning and goes into the afternoon with a bean bag tournament starting mid afternoon at the Memorial Building and ending the evening with a Sweetheart Dance at the NorthStar Saloon. The first video is a few highlights from this year’s Arctic Open (thanks to MNbump Blogger, Janine Teske, and also the awesome Amanda Tatro!!) The second video is a blast from the past – thanks to Pioneer Public TV for the interview (and allowing our use of their video all these years later!)

Unique New Business just Opened here on the MNbump!

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I’m pretty excited about this new business (of course I’m excited about EVERY business here on the MNbump!) It was funny to hear the story of their opening  – they had listed a few of their “old” bikes on-line and as Kevin described “We had so much activity that we had to shut’er down after only a week!” They decided that they needed to be a little more prepared before they opened that up again! Love it! You can easily hear their love for the bikes when both he (Kevin Backstrand) and his partner Tina Richards talk about each bike on their showroom floor and their plans for the future. They not only sell the bikes they also have in stock those hard to find parts for the older antique models. One bike is heading to Poland, another to Germany and then a little closer to home in New York and also here in Raymond Minnesota. They are planning a bike swap this summer during Cornfest and have already had a few very well known collectors …

Get your Event listed with MNbump!

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There are a couple of ways that MNbump can help to promote your Events. 1) You can create a Facebook Event. This Event will be added to the MNbump Facebook Events list & a link will be included on the MNbump Calendar of Events. A Facebook Event is a great way to promote – it is easily shared and activities and general updates are easily added in one place to keep those interested up-to-date on the latest plans. In order for MNbump to share your Event on our Facebook Event Page, you will need to make the Event “Public” when you create it (if you do not make it public at the time you create the Event, there is no way to change it). Here is a quick little (armature!) how-to-video for creating a “Public” Event: 2) Your organization or business can create a public Google Calendar and let us know the link to your calendar. We will then merge your calendar with MNbump’s and your activities will always be current and available to the public! …

The Upcoming Events in Clinton are Multiplying!

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I was just checking the events on our MNbump Facebook page and noticed the next three are in Clinton – with Graceville and Ortonville after that. On January 28th, it is Learn to Drop Spindle Class at the Inadvertent Cafe.  A quote from Kathy Draeger “We have a wonderful fiber artist in Clinton and I’m so glad she is offering a class” The class is Saturday (28th) from Noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Inadvertent Cafe, 131 Main Street, Clinton.  They will be discussing some basics about working with wool and why it is so easy to spin.  Students will learn to use their spindle to make yarn.  For more info – https://www.facebook.com/events/264963747253378/?ti=cl February 28th is another Inadvertent Cafe event in Clinton – The Community Music and Potluck.  Potluck and then music starts at 7:30 p.m. – Dan Angelo and others will be playing music that involves the crowd (sure to be fun!!)  for more information – https://www.facebook.com/events/1099462596866611/?ti=cl The 38th Annual Arctic Open is on Saturday, February 11th (starting at 9 a.m.) on Eli Lake in Clinton …

Ortonville Study Club

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by Vicki Oakes What a delightful lunch today!  I was invited to speak at the Ortonville Study Club – all about MNbump.  I was very excited to see that all but one of the members had heard about MNbump –  one even noted that they currently have a call out for a new Pastor and that they had referred those inquiring on this position to the MNbump.com website for information about the area. The presentation centered on MNbump’s history (originated as a Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley project through a grant by the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development partnerships & the University of Minnesota Tourism Center’s grant to Big Stone Area Growth – the Countywide economic development group) and then summarized how this initiative is also assisting with our regional recruitment work based on Ben Winchester’s “Brain Gain” report (University of Minnesota) with details noted on the first page of the handout (Handout, PDF) and community connections/development.  I can talk at length and with great enthusiasm on this topic – so their questions helped to keep me focused! We …