Clinton Native Captain Royce Williams Recognized at California USS Midway Museum
Clinton native Royce Williams is pictured here with David Torgerson in May of 2017 at Clinton’s Memorial Day program where he spoke.
All posts filed under: Blog
Town Hall Meeting in Clinton
Thank you to State Senator Torrey Westrom and State Representative Jeff Backer for the legislative updates and an opportunity for residents to visit about topics that are important to Big Stone County! It was certainly not an ideal travel day for them to make the trip. I’ve attached the two handouts that were distributed to everyone as they each gave a brief update on their work in St. Paul. Once they’d given their update, the residents kept them engaged past the 9:00 a.m. scheduled closing for the meeting. Topics that were discussed: concerns regarding the low reimbursements that threaten the viability of small-town hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies; status of the licensing bureau, daycares (Kendra Moberg made some very good points on changes that could help rural daycare programs – and maybe a trip to St. Paul is in her future!); the guidance document that was recently put out by the DNR on County ditches; rural grocery stores & the Good Food Access; diversifying crops; rain tax; LGA; Border City Tax Credits/Enterprise Funds – and others. …
MNbump Alumni
The focus of the project that started the MNbump.com was to help small communities (Under 1,500 pop) across Minnesota discover opportunities to develop community assets for sustainable tourism. Through community input during this process, marketing our tourism opportunities via web was identified as a top priority. With further discussion, it was determined that the web marketing could also provide an opportunity for residents to communicate. As the new MNbump Coordinator, I have been trying to come up with ideas to reach out and to see if there are things about life in the MNbump that people that grew up here or still live here would like to share with us and others. So I thought, why not start by reaching out the Alumni of our schools. Are you an alumni from the Clinton Rockets, Graceville Shamrocks, Beardsley Mustangs, Odessa Monarchs, Ortonville Trojans, the Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley Wolverines? Where are you now, we want to hear from you. I don’t know what the school mascot was for Barry, Johnson, or Correll were were back in the day, but …
40th Annual Arctic Open in Clinton this Weekend!
By Dillon Dwyer, The Northern Star and Ortonville Independent There is an uniquely Minnesotan tradition that takes place every winter in Big Stone County. The Clinton Community Service Club (CCSC) and other local businesses host the Arctic Open, a six-hole charity golf tournament on the frozen surface of Lake Eli. Ralph and Illa Strand and Illa’s sister, Mrs. Manty Jallen came up with the original idea as a way to raise money for the Good Samaritan Center in Clinton. They pitched the event to Doug Anderson, Randy Stattelman, Curt Bystol and Jerry Stattelman, who agreed with the idea and formed the original board of directors. The first annual Arctic Open was held on March 9 in 1979. It featured fair weather and approximately 75 golfers. Judy Drewicke and Randy Stattelman won the event, but no prizes were given out. All the earnings from the afternoon were donated to the Good Samaritan Center. “That first year was just so much fun for everybody,” Randy Stattelman said. “There were even a lot of people who weren’t golfers …
Teske contracted as MNbump.com Coordinator/Navigator
At the recent meeting of the Big Stone Area Growth board, agreements were approved to contract with Janine Teske of Clinton to serve as the new Big Stone County Navigator and the MNbump Initiative Coordinator. Also approved was a contract with the Ortonville Economic Development Authority (OEDA) to continue to engage the services of Vicki Oakes, EDA Director to assist with the MNbump Initiative, and a contract with Development Services, Inc., a consulting service that is currently working with BSAG. At a past meeting of the BSAG board, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was approved to engage a contractor to work as a contracted employee for the continued promotion of the MNbump initiative. After posting the RFP and receiving proposals, the best option presented to the BSAG board was to combine the efforts of Teske to cover the areas of Clinton, Graceville, Beardsley, Odessa and Correll, and continue to use the OEDA Director, Oakes to cover the events and things happening in Ortonville. DSI wil conduct research, program evaluation, grants and manage project resources. Prior …
Big Stone Lake Area Chamber Hosts Annual Meeting at Sioux Historic
What a fun evening and fun people. I had the pleasure of attending the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting tonight at Sioux Historic on Big Stone Lake. I’ve never attended this event in the past but I can tell you that I will be going again! It was a great evening. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Chamber Director Mary Hillman, with a big smile. Mary and I have been acquainted for several years through family and friends and it’s always fun to see her. I had the opportunity to register for door prizes and then made my way to the silent auction items to take a quick look. There was also an opportunity to play plinko and bean bag toss to win other prizes. The Chamber members were so generous in their donations to the event. I bid on a few items that I thought might be fun and continued on my way to the bar for Happy Hour! Sioux Historic is one of the gems of MNbump, I …
Ice Bowling in the #MNbump
When it’s cold in Minnesota, you don’t let the weather stop you from having a fun time! You take advantage of the weather and make accommodations to enjoy what you can. The Beardsley Fire Department did just that last weekend with an Ice Bowling Tournament on Dry Lake in Beardsley. I have lived in this area most of my life and I didn’t even know that there was a lake in Beardsley. Dry Lake is located just north of Beardsley’s Main Street and it was a fun day to be on the ice. The Beardsley Firemen were prepared to help us all deal with the cold by providing warming houses, warming fires and some warm beverages to help deal with the below zero temps. Luckily the wind was not blowing so it didn’t seem as cold as it may have been. To find out more about the history of Beardsley’s Ice Bowling, click here to check out the Beardsley Fire Department Facebook Page.
Clinton’s 135th Celebration
The 135th Celebration in Clinton has begun! Event Flyer Link There was an “Over 80’s Gathering at 10:00 this morning at the Trinity Lutheran Church. Check out the photos by Janine on the ClintonMN Facebook Page A very fun parade! The Opening Flag Ceremony has been broken into three videos: Flag Ceremony Video Welcome Video Stattelman – Water Fountain & Ending of the Ceremony The All School Reunion Brunch (AWESOME turnout!) A 2-Minute Recap of the weekend
Corina Kells’ Conceptual Photography Show
The Smallest Art Gallery in Ortonville held an Artist Reception for Corina Kells on Thursday, July 5th from 5:00 to 6:30. Corina Kells specializes in expressive conceptual photography to capture complex emotions such as fear, sadness, confusion, and isolation. Her goal is to bring awareness to mental health issues and cultivate conversation. Due to another event in Ortonville, I did not make it to this reception until a few minutes after 6 and missed Corina’s presentation (I was very disappointed!) — not that I would have had much room to stand since the gallery was packed when I arrived. I did, however, get a chance to talk one on one with the artist about her work and the life experiences that are detailed within her photography (she was kind enough to visit with me until 7:00!) Her insights into the opioid and mental health epidemic and the way she is reaching out through art is amazing. It is not only a personal therapy for her it is also an impactful way to reach out to bring …
Peace Run in Ortonville at Lakeside Park
Ortonville enjoyed a stop by a few participating in the 2018 route of the SRI CHINMOY ONENESS-HOME PEACE RUN last night. (welcomed by Mary Hillman and Kevin Benson of the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce) The Peace Run is a global torch relay that symbolizes humanity’s universal aspiration for a more peaceful world. Now in its third decade, the Peace Run is humanity’s largest and longest grassroots effort for peace. Since its inception, the torch has visited more than 140 nations! Check out their website & the 2018 North American route at this link! In this first video, they sing the Peace Run Song for us: In the next video, they shared some background and information about the run: And in this last video, they shared a song that they sing when they are with a group of children:
