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Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Willmar, Minnesota Daughters of American Revolution chapter turns 100
May 28---- The is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Daughters of the American Revolution is a women's service organization that focuses on work in local communities to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism, according to There are 175,000 members in 3,000 chapters located across the country and around the world. There are 21 chapters in Minnesota. Any woman 18 years or older who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution can join. "It can be a military person, or it actually could be community or public service," Willmar Chapter DAR Regent Stephanie Sjoberg told the West Central Tribune during an interview. "If if they gave supplies to the troops, and they're on a supply list, that would also be accepted. Or if they actually did protection for their town, or a surveyor of roads — that was all community service, so it would be considered public service, too." A reception for the Willmar chapter's 100th is planned from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at the Kandiyohi County Historical Society, 610 Highway 71 N.E. in Willmar, with a program taking place at 2:15 p.m. Reservations are requested, but not required, via email or phone at or 320-894-3653, respectively. The first organizational meeting of the Willmar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution took place Feb. 17, 1925, at the Willmar Public Library under the guidance of Organizing Regent Myrtle Lund Diffendorf, according to an October 1975 article in the "Daughters of the American Revolution" magazine. Charter membership was open for several months after that first meeting. Along with Diffendorf, other charter members included Lillian Cutter Benson, Alice Brown Branton, Madge G. Hahn, Dorrie Brown Handy, Helen E. Jenness, Josephine Fancher Jenness, Louise Branham Rodange, Jennie Brown Sherwood, Winifred Sherwood, Ethel M. Smith. Lila M. Spencer, Alice Thompson, Abbie Paddock and Edith Emery, according to an article celebrating the centennial of its founding in the Oct. 17, 1990, edition of the West Central Tribune. Cutter Benson was the longest-lived founding member of the Willmar chapter, dying in 2008 at the age of 107, according to Sjoberg. She is buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. Sjoberg made sure that her Find A Grave website memorial was updated with her full obituary and noted that she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is listed as "Lilyan Martha 'Lillian' Cutter Benson" on the website. "That was kind of fun, just to actually update it so people, when they come across it, they would know right away that she was a DAR member," Sjoberg said. " ... Her nieces actually wrote a very nice obituary honoring the DAR chapter here." There are currently 25 members in the Willmar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, ranging in age from 28 to 92. The chapter meets on the second Saturday of each month, but takes the winters off due to the number of members who are "snowbirds" and go south. Sjoberg explained that the chapter has a registrar who can assist with genealogy research for those interested in determining if they are a direct descendant of an American revolutionary, in order to become a member. Sjoberg also helps with the genealogy research as an assistant registrar. Potential members are asked for their birth certificates and those of their parents. Ideally, they can also provide birth certificates for their grandparents, but an obituary is also sufficient if the grandparents have died. Sjoberg did not know that she would qualify for membership until she had retired and started researching her own genealogy. She found out she was a direct descendant of a patriot revolutionary on her mother's side of the family. Her mother also became a member. She had always assumed her ancestors had immigrated to the United States during the 1800s, but her mother's great-grandmother was a descendant of Frederick Countryman, who was born to parents who immigrated in 1710 from the Palatine region of Germany. She also found out that her father is a direct descendant of people who immigrated in the 1600s. In the last couple of years, Sjoberg assisted one family with their genealogy and the Willmar Chapter of the DAR gained five new members from that family. Daughters of the American Revolution is strictly a nonpolitical, nonprofit service organization, Sjoberg said. "We do patriotic things. We do educational things. We like to do commemorative events. We do a lot with the veterans," she said. She noted the local chapter really promotes education and does a lot with local libraries, especially honoring Constitution Week. The chapter sets up informational tables at local events and festivals a couple of times per year. Chapters receive awards if they have 600 or more volunteer service hours per year, according to Sjoberg, who noted that all 21 chapters in Minnesota met that goal last year. Each year the Willmar chapter sponsors an American history essay contest for fifth- through eighth-grade students and the DAR Good Citizens Award for high school seniors. Local winners of the essay contest go on to compete at the state level and winners at the state level compete at the division level. Winners of the division level earn a trip to Washington, D.C., for the award ceremony. The winner of the Good Citizens Award is a student who possesses the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities. A scholarship is awarded. A service project in 2023 by the Willmar chapter and three other chapters provided a grave marker for Cecile D. Evans Taylor, who served as an Army Nurse Corps member during World War I at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, from September of 1918 to August of 1919. Evans Taylor died in 1999 at the age of 103 and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Dover, Minnesota. An installation ceremony took place in September of 2023, with the American Legion erecting flags at the site and providing a firing squad. Through her research, Sjoberg knew that Evens Taylor was Scottish and she found a local bagpiper who played the national anthem at the ceremony. Retired from the U.S. Army, the bagpiper is married to the regent of the Rochester chapter. "That was kind of a fluke, too," Sjoberg said. " ... So, you know, if you have faith — it was like it was all really ordained from up above." Sjoberg explained how challenging it was to get a veteran's marker for Evans Taylor due to complications with obtaining her military records. The National Personnel Records Center could not find any records for her and a National Archives and Records Administration query revealed that the records were destroyed in a fire in 1973. Finally, the Military Women's Memorial was able to find a copy of her induction order and copies of her pay stubs, which were submitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for approval of a veteran's marker. "It was just really, really satisfying to have this whole group of people come together and do this for her," Sjoberg said.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Head Start families mark 60 years of program during Willmar, Minnesota, gathering
May 15---- When United Community Action Partnership recently gathered its Willmar Head Start students and families for a springtime event at Robbins Island, they also celebrated the childhood education program's 60th birthday coming up on May 18. "We do a lot of things (in Head Start). Our cornerstones are really in family engagement, health and nutrition that we provide. ... we care for children so that families can work. Close to 80% of our families are working families, and without us they wouldn't be able to do that," United Community Action Partnership Head Start director Mary Lockhart-Findling told the West Central Tribune during the family event. The describes the program as "centered around early learning and development, health and family well-being." Services are available at no cost for infants and children up to 5 years old in eligible families. Locally, United Community Action Partnership operates in locations across nine southwest Minnesota counties — including Kandiyohi, Meeker, Redwood and Renville — serving around 600 children in total. UCAP's largest program is Bright Light Head Start in Willmar. The Bright Light Head Start family event at Robbins Island featured activities including a scavenger hunt, a snack and a chance to learn about water safety from Kandiyohi County sheriff's officers. "This is a time for all families to come together with their children so they can meet with each other, play with each other and get to know each other," United Community Action Partnership family service worker Pat Olson said. The 60-year anniversary has coincided with concerns about the future of the program after reports in April that the White House was considering asking Congress to eliminate funding. At the Willmar event conducted April 30, Lockhart-Findling called for people to contact their elected representatives regarding the proposal. The official released since then does not mention the Head Start program. Nevertheless, the for program supporters to contact the president and members of Congress, calling the elimination of funding "catastrophic." According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Head Start began as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty." The program was announced in the Rose Garden on May 18, 1965. Originally, the program was an eight-week project. Since its founding, the program has served more than 38 million children, having grown from the original eight-week demonstration program to one which operates year-round. According to Lockhart-Findling, local Head Start offerings include dental clinics, help with obtaining physicals and immunizations, kindergarten prep and health and nutrition education. Alongside the services offered for children, early childhood programs for parents are provided to help educate family members. "We do a lot of training with our parents that want to and are interested in early childhood (care). We have a (Child Development Associate) program that helps them get qualified to do that," Lockhart-Findling said. "Our goal is to help the kids, and at the same time, work with families to help them get out of poverty."
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
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Utilities Commissioners call Rep. Fischbach meeting venue 'unacceptable'
Mar. 12---- Commissioners Bruce DeBlieck and Carol Laumer, along with General Manager Jeron Smith, on Monday provided an overview of the legislative rally, which took place Feb. 24-26 in Washington, D.C. They stated their meetings with U.S. Sen. and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith went well, but the venue for their meeting with U.S. Rep. was "unacceptable." "(Smith and Klobuchar) are very well-versed on their issues, and they're very supportive of what (the ) and ( ) are doing," DeBlieck said. "Fischbach's meeting was in front of the elevator in the office building, which was a very poor place to meet — in the hallway," DeBlieck added. "I've never been out there where we had to meet with our representative in the hallway — with two months' advance notice that we're going to be there and they don't have a meeting room for 40 to 50 people to meet in." DeBlieck and Laumer noted that constituents must remain vigilant in making their voices heard regarding the issues that affect them. DeBlieck commented that what happens in Washington, D.C., affects Minnesotans. "It's in such a state of turmoil and we don't know, you know, where the bull's eye is going to be, per se, that a lot of this, we just really have to keep on top of," Laumer said, noting that elected officials need to be reminded of the issues at the forefront for municipal utilities. The West Central Tribune reached out to the representative and senators for comment. Fischbach and Klobuchar did not respond by the deadline for this story. "It was great to meet with representatives from Minnesota's municipal utilities. Their work is essential in ensuring reliable, affordable power for communities across our state, especially in rural areas," Tina Smith said in a statement. "Republicans have a history of pushing for policies that could raise energy costs and make it more difficult for these locally owned utilities to serve their communities. I'll be right alongside them in the fight to ensure they have the tools they need to serve Minnesotans." Some of the main issues the delegation from Minnesota spoke about during the rally included protecting the tax-exempt status of public utilities, protecting the from sequestration and protecting the Sequestration is the term for automatic cancellation of certain federal spending. "One of the biggest issues was the talk about the tax-exempt protections," DeBlieck said. "Right now, we are a tax-exempt organization. There are some people that think they should take all the tax-exempt organizations and start taxing them and what that would do, that would do with our rates and everything else." He noted that Willmar Municipal Utilities already pays a "pretty good premium" to the city, and wondered if that would be taxable. Willmar Municipal Utilities makes a payment in lieu of taxes to the city each year. A talking points memo from Missouri River Energy Services — which provides wholesale power and a range of energy services to its member electric providers — notes that public utilities already pay federal taxes on unrelated business income, as well as other forms of taxes. It notes that additional taxing of nonprofits would increase costs and "likely reduce the services they can offer for the greater good." The memo also notes that further taxing of nonprofits will likely be passed on to ratepayers, indirectly increasing their taxes through higher utility bills. Regarding the Build America Bonds, DeBlieck explained that some of the partnering utilities within Missouri River Energy Services had invested in projects that were funded by Build America Bonds, but that financing has now "evaporated." "They are sitting on projects that they did — and no financing for funding — and the utilities have to come up and figure out how to pay for it," DeBlieck said. In 2010, Missouri River Energy Services issued Build America Bonds through the relying on the government's promise to pay; that promise has now been breached, according to the talking points memo. If the Department of Treasury eliminates payments on the Build America Bonds completely, it will cost the Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency $2.2 million per year — or $50 million over the remaining term of the bonds — according to the memo. Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency is a municipal corporation and political subdivision of the state of Minnesota. It finances the construction and acquisition of the generation and transmission facilities for members of Missouri River Energy Services. In regards to Missouri River Energy Services, protecting the Federal Power Program means protecting the hydropower generated from the Missouri River from being privatized. "There's always been a push to try and sell those off for private entities," DeBlieck commented. "Right now, they have laid off a number of people in (the ) out there." He explained that it is kind of at a crossroads as to whether they will have enough staff for WAPA to operate, and he noted that despite maintaining low rates, hydropower also makes a lot of money for the federal government. If it became privatized, rates could double, he added. Laumer added that all the customers who get their electricity through WAPA have already paid for all the assets. According to the talking points memo, Missouri River Energy Services and WAPA's other customers cover all the costs of the federal power system, including interest, and there is no taxpayer subsidy. "This system of cost-based rates has been in place for 50 years under the Eastern Pick-Sloan and related agreements," the memo states, noting that Missouri River Energy Services and WAPA customers directly fund numerous investments. Between 2001 and 2023, WAPA customers in the Eastern Pick-Sloan region advanced $793 million in investments, with Missouri River Energy Services advancing $209 million of the total amount. "Congress was looking at budget reconciliation," noted Jeron Smith. " ... Anytime they looked at public utilities, it was either increasing taxes or privatizing these federal hydrogeneration plans, and neither one of those makes sense for us as a utility, because it's just going to increase our cost of service, and then that will increase the cost on the U.S. citizens."
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
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Construction underway for Happy Halal in Willmar, Minnesota
Mar. 8---- Clean Chickens, a Minnesota meat processing company, began construction on its $3.5 million halal meat processing facility, Happy Halal, in September of 2024. Since then, construction on the Willmar plant has been underway and is expected to finish this spring. According to a previous report by the West Central Tribune, much of the building was precast, allowing for the quick construction of the 5,000-square-foot facility. When operational, Happy Halal is expected to process a mixture of goat and sheep through halal butchering methods in order to fill a need within the Willmar community and beyond. Halal foods are permissible by Islamic law. In a previous report by the West Central Tribune, Clean Chickens owners stated that they were looking to utilize Ridgewater College's meat processing program to help train employees. The new facility is expected to create 18 new jobs when it is operational. The land for the building, located in the Willmar Industrial Park just west of County Road 5 Northwest, is funded in part through grants provided by the . At a groundbreaking event on Sept. 18, 2024, President of the Minnesota Farmers Union Gary Wertish said that much of the meat processing industry is dominated by beef, pork and poultry and that by expanding the processing available, farmers will have more options for livestock. is family-run business that began as a mobile chicken processing company headquartered in Elk River.
