MEEKER COUNTY

Secrets of a fortress: Inside Litchfield’s GAR Hall

Susan Lunneborg — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 10:00:00 GMT

LITCHFIELD, Minn. — Visitors to the Grand Army of the Republic Hall in this central Minnesota city are able to step back 140 years thanks to the decision of the Civil War veterans who built it.

The deed for the property, turned over to what was then the village of Litchfield, spelled out that the building was to be preserved and used in a manner that maintained its original purpose — to honor Civil War veterans and preserve their history.

“The building itself is the first GAR hall built in the state,” Meeker County Museum Executive Director Danelle Erickson said in an interview for a story published by the West Central Tribune in 2022. Other Grand Army of the Republic posts formed in the state of Minnesota had gathered in homes or other available spaces.

The Grand Army of the Republic was first organized by Union veterans of the Civil War in 1866 in Illinois. The history published on the website of the Meeker County Museum and GAR Hall states that the organization’s purpose was to "maintain fellowship for the men who fought to preserve the Union and to help widows, orphans, and handicapped veterans."

The Grand Army of the Republic conducted regular meetings and had thousands of posts throughout the United States, along with thousands and thousands of members, according to Erickson. There were close to 300 members of the Litchfield post throughout the years.

The first Grand Army of the Republic post in Litchfield was formed in 1874 but died out with the death of the founder two years later. Another was formed in 1883, and many of the first meetings were in the county courthouse, according to another online history by the museum.

Members of Frank Daggett Post No. 35 decided in March 1885 that they needed their own building, and construction began in May of that year, using cream-colored brick from the local brickyard. The cornerstone was laid by Memorial Day, according to the online history.

The building is described in a 2010 inventory for the State Historic Preservation Office as "reminiscent of a small, medieval fortress” with features that include a central tower, turrets that project above the parapet wall and an inscribed stone with the raised letters “GAR” and the 1885 date.

“It’s very memorable from the outside, that fortress look. It just kind of shows a lot about the men that were here at the time,” Erickson said in the 2022 interview.

The bulk of the work was completed by October of 1885. One of the final things added was a “spectacular, 16-globe chandelier,” according to another online history by the museum.

Today, the Meeker County Historical Society is the caretaker of the GAR Hall. The Meeker County Museum, built in 1961, is attached to the back of the building.

Officially called “Meeker County Museum at the GAR Hall,” it includes a pioneer cabin and exhibits that include artifacts relating to the history of the Dakota people, schools in Meeker County, Minnesotans serving in war, medicine and more.

The two-story museum also houses a research library for genealogy enthusiasts.

In the anteroom of the GAR Hall are Civil War artifacts, including cannons, literature and photos of important players in the war.

The old wooden chairs upon which veterans sat during meetings are set up in the main hall as if ready for a meeting. The altar stands at the front of the room for use by a veteran leading the meeting. Photos of members line the walls, and the decor is original to the time.

The Grand Army of the Republic Hall was added to the National Register of Historical Places on May 21, 1975. The areas of significance for the designation are architecture and social/humanitarian.

When Erickson became museum director, she learned that some local citizens were concerned the history of the GAR Hall was not being maintained in accordance with the deed. Historic documents, including the 1885 deed, were then reviewed to better understand the intentions of the original members who had deeded the building to the city.

Erickson said the goal of all parties involved was the same — preserving the history but just with some “different views on how that was done.” The result of their work was the creation of a handbook detailing the proper care and upkeep of the facility.

The GAR Hall and museum, located at 308 N. Marshall Ave. in Litchfield, are open year-round for walk-in tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

GAR Hall programming includes Civil War roundtables the second Thursday of every month, featuring various speakers throughout the year.

“The Civil War, especially for American history, is pretty much one of the most written about book-wise,” Erickson said in 2022. “Each year there are thousands of books, hundreds at least, on the Civil War. It’s very much a topic that people are interested in, and continue to be interested in.”

For more from our Lakes Country Treasures series, click on the gems in the map below.

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Lambs, family and garlic help this couple build a new life in rural Minnesota

Dan Gunderson / MPR News — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 20:34:33 GMT

MEEKER COUNTY, Minn. — Mark Anema and Kate Ritger met at a garlic harvest party. He was looking for land to realize a dream. She was running a community-supported agriculture venture for the Sisters of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.

Together, they started a small farm near Watkins growing produce and garlic. That partnership has worked pretty well, growing over seven years into marriage, a baby, and now lots of lambs on the way.

The transformation has come easier to Ritger, 44, who grew up around animals on a hobby farm in Wisconsin. Anema, 64, was raised in Detroit and Chicago and spent much of his professional life in investment finance and consulting but couldn’t shake the dream of working a farm in the country.

He concedes that life now isn’t easier or more profitable than the one he left, but he’s finding it more rewarding and says changing his life has changed him for the better.

‘They bounce, they hop sideways and jump around’

Garlic is the main crop on their farm, but the lambs provide the show.

Four years ago, a friend texted the couple to say some Icelandic sheep were for sale. “So, we jumped in and bought our first seven ewes,” Ritger said. The flock is now about two dozen ewes, and this year, they expect 40-50 lambs.

Sheep are a growing part of the farm finances. Spring is a busy time, with new lambs being born and sheep needing to be shorn of their thick winter wool.

Icelandic sheep are known as resilient, and they generally birth lambs with little trouble.

“Lambing is very exciting, and what's really exciting is when it's all done and then you’ve got a bunch of little lambs running around,” Anema said. “That's really fun, because the lambs are fun to watch. It's kind of endearing.”

“They bounce, they hop sideways and jump around. And it's really exciting,” Ritger said.

But it's also stressful, especially when a lamb isn’t able to feed from their mother.

“We did have one reject a lamb, so now it's a bottle lamb,” Anema said. “Bottle lambs are really a bummer. I got up at 3:30 this morning to go give a lamb a bottle, and it's not fun.”

While the lambs are cute and entertaining, they are a key part of the farm balance sheet and will be sold for slaughter within a year, a reality Anema calls bittersweet.

“You can't have livestock without getting paid somehow, and I can't afford just to graze sheep and keep them as pets,” she said.

In addition to the meat, the couple sells sheepskins and skull mounts with impressive curled horns. Ritger is developing a market for woven rugs and tapestries from the wool.

In Minnesota, 2,137 farms collectively had 109,592 sheep and lambs in 2022, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Most of those farms had fewer than 25 sheep.

Garlic is an increasingly popular crop to farm, with some 115 garlic producers in the state growing more than 100 different varieties, according to the Minnesota Grown Program.

‘I don’t worry about what’s going to happen’

Anema’s successful career provided the seed money to start the farm. Ritger works as a hospital chaplain in St. Cloud when she’s not raising sheep. Together, they raise their 4-year-old daughter.

Despite his expertise in finance, making a living off the land isn’t easy. Garlic is their big crop, but last year, disease spread by a leaf hopper insect destroyed nearly one-quarter of the crop.

“This year, I'm growing garlic again, and I've just got my fingers crossed that the weather will be different, that the conditions for leaf hoppers will be different. You just don't know. But that's farming, right?” he said.

“There's not a paycheck, and it's really hard to make a living. Often, when I tote up the cost of all the feed I bought and all the lambs I've sold, I'm only a little bit ahead, and so I can't recommend this as a money-making proposition.”

But Anema is not deterred by the financial challenges.

“I'm a lot more relaxed. I don't think I was always very nice when I was working in an office,” he said with a rueful chuckle.

“There's a lot of competition; there's always quite a bit of conflict. I think you learn to deal with that, and that changes your personality,” he said of his past life.

“Out here, I don't really have conflict. I do have a certain anxiety about lambs coming out properly, but I sleep like a log every night, and I don't worry about what’s going to happen at work the next day,” he said.

“I think it's not for everybody, but it is for me. I don't think I'm ever going to leave this place.”

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org
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Advocates for Health in Minnesota try to save lives — one outdoor AED at a time

Leo Pomerenke — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 22:22:00 GMT

WILLMAR — Rich Feneis has a litany of stories about someone’s life being saved by an automated external defibrillator.

One such story involved his brother, Bob Feneis, and his friend, Marv Erickson, in 2016. Both were volunteering at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, during the Ryder Cup.

As the two were walking down a trail, Erickson stopped talking and fell over, going into sudden cardiac arrest.

“It’s like somebody turns off an electric switch,” said Rich Feneis.

Thankfully, paramedics were there just in time with an AED.

“It ended up saving his life,” said Feneis. “Now he’s back golfing, and he got to see his daughter have their grandchild. I mean, what a change.”

There’s a reason why Rich Feneis has stories like this. They’re common ever since he and his longtime friend Joel Vogel started Advocates for Health, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make AEDs accessible in as many communities as possible.

Vogel started volunteering for heart health organizations after he suffered a heart attack in 2004. He started a golf tournament in 2010 to raise money for AEDs, which inspired Feneis to approach Vogel to start the nonprofit.

What is an AED?

An automated external defibrillator shocks a heart back to normal rhythm for those experiencing cardiac arrest.

They’re important, lifesaving and very expensive.

Most paramedics have AEDs on hand, but in some communities, waiting for paramedics isn’t a viable option.

“Where I live in Pine Point (Minnesota), EMS response time is 30 minutes,” Feneis said. “If somebody goes into sudden cardiac arrest, you’ve got to do something within the first 10 minutes or they just won’t survive.”

Sudden cardiac arrests can be much more lethal than something like a heart attack, according to Feneis.

"A heart attack is a plumbing problem, a sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical problem," he said. "The survival rate from a heart attack is 90%. Sudden cardiac arrest, if you don't have an AED, your chance of survival is less than 5%. And yet, if you have an AED, it's 75% to 85%. That's why they're so important."

Feneis added that sudden cardiac arrests aren't just for old people.

“(About) 370,000 people a year die of sudden cardiac arrest just in the United States, and 23,000 of them are kids 18 and under,” he said. "We've seen every age group. Sudden cardiac arrests doesn't discriminate."

That’s why having AEDs in public places is so important in the eyes of Vogel and Feneis.

Storing outdoor AEDs

Vogel and Feneis both started their work in 2018 with the Pilot Program, which supplied AED cabinets in local parks around Stearns County. After the program, the two officially founded the organization in 2019.

An AED can’t be stored in areas where temperatures get below freezing, a problem in Minnesota winters. According to Advocates for Health, for an AED to be available outdoors, it costs $6,605 for the outdoor cabinet, $895 for the AED itself and $600 a year for annual maintenance costs plus electricity.

For such an important life-saving device, the cost can be covered by donations from the public, local businesses, service clubs and more.

Their work doesn’t stop there. Four years ago, Stearns County became the first county in the state to map AEDs for 911 callers with help from Advocates for Health. This provides 911 operators rapid information they can relay to the callers about the closest AED to them.

“It’s been a phenomenal success,” said Bob Knutson of Advocates for Health.

Since then, the project has expanded into Kandiyohi and Meeker counties, with more on the way.

Yet Feneis emphasized that the education to use an AED “is just as important as getting the product out there.”

Spreading the word

Knutson, from Spicer, knows people who buy an AED but aren’t curious enough to know how to use it. It can be frustrating, he says.

“I know people that don’t want to come to the (AED) meeting. They don’t care,” he said. “‘Oh, we bought the machine, that’s good enough.’ No, it’s not. You gotta know how to use it.”

AED training is done across Minnesota high schools. Students are required to have CPR and AED education before graduating, one of 41 states to do so.

Advocates for Health also holds classes for those who need AED education across the state.

Social media has been great for getting the word out, according to Feneis, but spokespeople have been an enormous help to the organization.

Caitlin Gilk won a gold award for the Girl Scouts thanks to her efforts helping Advocates for Health, raising $22,000 for the devices in the Paynesville area.

"She installed over 160 AEDs in Stearns County alone," Knutson said. "She's just incredible."

2024 Miss Minnesota Emily Schumacher has also been helpful to the organization as well, raising money for the organization and is set to make an appearance at this year’s golf tournament.

“She wants to be an open heart surgeon,” Feneis said. “She teaches CPR and AED classes in Rochester, so this is very important to her.”

Saving lives

On July 11, Bob Knutson oversaw another outdoor AED installed, this time at Robbins Island Park in Willmar, a week before the start of the Rockin' Robbins concert series.

Members of the Rotary Club of Willmar, Willmar city staff, Advocates for Health volunteers and other members of the community helped or witnessed the installation.

"It's very important to me because it saved my life," said Tim Rehn of Willmar.

Rehn was playing in an adult hockey league in December 2023 when he went into cardiac arrest on the ice at the Willmar Civic Center. Quick-thinking retired emergency medical technician Heather Coleman grabbed an AED at the rink and used it on him, which ended up saving his life.

Stories like that are inspiring, but in Rehn's case, Coleman knew what the AED was and how to use it.

For Knutson, Feneis and the rest of Advocates for Health, educating the public is just as important as getting AEDs out there.

“We’re just trying to make people aware,” said Knutson. “From 10 years old to 100 years old.”

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Avian flu confirmed in commercial turkey flock in Meeker County

Kelly Boldan — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 17:16:38 GMT

MEEKER COUNTY, Minn. — A commercial turkey flock in Meeker County was confirmed on April 11 to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as HPAI or avian influenza, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The Meeker County flock included 70,100 commercial turkeys.

This is the first outbreak of avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in 2024. The last case in Minnesota was confirmed on Dec. 27, 2023, when 78,800 turkeys in Todd County were impacted.

However, there have been other instances of the same variant of H5N1 in Minnesota in 2024, including three backyard poultry flocks and one goat herd. The goat herd shared a barn space and a water source with an infected poultry flock in Stevens County.

The last time a Meeker County commercial flock was confirmed with HPAI was on Oct. 31, 2023. The county had four flocks infected in 2023 and eight flocks infected in 2022.

The first cases of H5N1 in Minnesota were confirmed on March 25, 2022, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

The first confirmed case of H5N1 in a dairy herd in Texas was confirmed on March 25. Since then, the virus has been found in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, New Mexico and South Dakota.

On April 2, a worker at one of the Texas dairies, who had pink eye, tested positive for the avian influenza virus. This was the second human infection since the first infection in Colorado in 2022.

A USDA preliminary investigation indicates that wild birds are the infection source. While these cattle have tested positive for the virus, Minnesota State Veterinarian Brian Hoefs said on April 2 that it’s not yet clear if the virus is the reason for the symptoms found in the cows. Transmission of the virus between cattle can also not be ruled out.

Agweek contributed to this story.
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Dassel, Minnesota, man alleged to have shot wife in front of their children

Dale Morin — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 17:58:06 GMT

LITCHFIELD, Minn. — A rural Dassel man who last week surrendered himself to law enforcement at his home after reporting that he shot his wife is now charged in the homicide, alleged to have been witnessed by their two children.

Bryan William Demarais, 35, made his first court appearance on Tuesday in Meeker County District Court on a second-degree murder charge and two felony counts of child endangerment.

The death of his wife, Kayla Demarais, 29, was ruled a homicide resulting from multiple gunshot wounds, according to an autopsy report from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to the criminal complaint, a search of the residence in the 22000 block of 713th Avenue yielded multiple .22-caliber rounds found near Kayla Demarais' body in the living room area of the home. Court documents do not identify her by name, but she was named in an earlier news release by the Meeker County Sheriff's Office.

Neither child was physically harmed, and the Meeker County Sheriff's Office said they have been placed in protective custody.

On the morning of Dec. 28, Bryan Demarais called law enforcement from his residence to report that he had shot his wife and requested a law enforcement response. According to the criminal complaint, he also advised the dispatcher that children were present in the home and he had told them to stay back.

He requested that the children be removed from the home through a window in another room where they would not have to see their mother.

He then stated that he had shot his wife repeatedly in the head but said he "may have hit a couple other spots," according to the complaint. He said he had shot his wife with a .22-caliber firearm, which was sitting on top of a washing machine in the home.

According to the complaint, when the dispatcher asked for the identity of the victim, Bryan Demarais immediately responded by saying, "Her name was (Kayla)."

An online fundraising page at gofundme.com/f/kayla-marie-demarais has been set up by a family member of Kayla's in Georgia.

"My beautiful sister was taken from this world, leaving 2 young children and a family devastated," Casey Watts wrote on the page seeking funds to help the family with expenses related to Kayla Marie Demarais' death and to bring her children to Georgia.

When law enforcement arrived at the home on Dec. 28, Bryan Demarais came out and was arrested. He advised officers that he had anxiety and needed medication to calm him down. He indicated he was not injured and denied any further medical assistance.

He also told officers two children were in the home along with his wife, but she was dead.

Officers entered the home and found Kayla Demarais in the living room with apparent gunshot wounds to her head. According to the complaint, she did not have a pulse and was declared dead at the scene.

An 11-year-old male and an 8-year-old female were located in a bedroom and assisted in exiting the home through the window.

During follow-up interviews conducted separately with the two children, each said their parents had a fight on the morning of Dec. 28, and that Bryan Demarais returned home soon after leaving for work. According to the complaint, the children were in a bedroom playing video games while their parents were arguing in the kitchen area.

The children then heard a gunshot and saw their mother fall to the floor in the living room. She reportedly told them to call 911, before Bryan Demarais allegedly yelled, ordering them to "close the door," before saying he would call 911. According to the complaint, the children then heard more gunshots before Bryan Demarais called 911.

When he was interviewed, Bryan Demarais said that he and his wife had argued the previous evening about financial problems and ongoing marital issues. He told officers his wife was involved in an extramarital relationship and that he found messages on his wife's phone that morning from the other man.

Demarais said he was so mad before leaving for work that he told their two children there would be a divorce, according to the complaint. He said he only got angrier after speaking with his wife on the phone while heading to his place of employment in Hutchinson and immediately hung up. According to the complaint, she attempted to call him two more times, but he did not answer. He also stated he couldn't recall any events after declining her calls.

According to the criminal complaint, Bryan Demarais suffers from medical conditions that can result in short-term memory loss. He qualifies for caregiver services and had designated Kayla Demarais as his primary caregiver.

Bryan Demarais' supervisor told law enforcement that Demarais had arrived late for a 9 a.m. shift on Dec. 28. He said Demarais told him that his marriage was over and appeared to be extremely distraught. The supervisor offered additional support services, but Demarais declined, according to the complaint. The supervisor then allowed him to go home for the rest of the day.

Demarais' next court hearing is currently scheduled for March 25. The document specifying bail conditions after his appearance Tuesday morning was not available as of Tuesday afternoon.

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New case of avian flu affects flock of 32K in west-central Minn.

Staff reports — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 21:37:37 GMT

WILLMAR, Minn. — The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has identified another case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Meeker County in a commercial turkey flock.

The diagnosis was confirmed Tuesday, Oct. 31. The affected flock of 32,073 birds has been quarantined.

This case marked the 12th appearance of the disease in Minnesota this October and is the fourth confirmed case in Meeker County.

Nationwide, Minnesota has the most affected birds within the past 30 days, at just over 360,000 birds.

Response zones have been established around the affected flocks. Current response zones cover most of northern Meeker and Kandiyohi counties, as well as parts of Redwood, Yellow Medicine, Stearns and Wright counties.

Farmers are asked to remain vigilant for signs of infection among their birds. This includes reviewing biosecurity measures and notifying their veterinarian if any symptoms are noticed in their flock.

According to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, symptoms include:

Decrease in feed or water intake Swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, wattle and hocks Decrease in egg production Sudden unexplained death Extreme depression Very quiet Difficulty breathing]]>

Avian flu cases reported in Meeker, Kandiyohi and Redwood counties in October

Levi Jones — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 18:46:38 GMT

WILLMAR — After a flock of 114,000 birds was found by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza as of Oct. 11, more cases have been found in Minnesota in the past two weeks.

On Oct. 24, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health reported a flock of 53,000 turkeys in Kandiyohi County had been infected. The infected flock has been quarantined as of Oct. 19.

Other west central Minnesota reported cases of avian influenza include an infection of another Meeker County flock totaling more than 71,000 birds reported Oct. 13; and an Oct. 18 outbreak in a flock of 8,853 birds in Redwood County.

Statewide, infections have been found in Blue Earth and Becker counties.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Minnesota has a total of 330,000 affected birds. This makes up around a third of the reported 0.93 million birds affected nationwide. The majority of these infections have come from commercial flocks.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has recommended farmers take precautions to ensure their birds remain healthy. This includes reviewing biosecurity measures, and contacting veterinarians if any symptoms are found in a flock.

Symptoms include:

Decrease in feed or water intake; Swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, wattle and hocks; Decrease in egg production; Sudden unexplained death; Extreme depression; Very quiet; Difficulty breathing.

Quarantines have been placed around the reported flocks. Farmers within an area extending 10 kilometers from these flocks must meet control area standards. Currently, control areas include northern Kandiyohi County, eastern Meeker County and northern Redwood County, with some extending into neighboring counties.

Avian influenza commonly arises in the fall between September and April, according to Minnesota Board of Animal Health data.

For more information on avian influenza or to check if you are within a control zone, check the Minnesota Board of Animal Health website.

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Change of venue OK'd in sexual contact case against former teacher

Tom Cherveny — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 16:45:35 GMT

BENSON, Minn. — A district court judge has granted motions allowing for both a change of venue in the sexual contact case against former Benson elementary instructor Roger Joseph Ebnet and for the state to argue for an increased sentence if he is convicted.

Ebnet, 60, of Benson, was charged in Swift County District Court with three counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the second degree on Nov. 30, 2022, for alleged sexual contact with three boys, ages 7 and 8, in his second-grade classroom in Benson.

In her ruling filed July 18, District Judge Melissa Listug approved a defense motion to move any pretrial hearing or jury trial for Ebnet to Meeker County. The judge concurred with a motion by defense attorney Daniel Mohs that it would be impossible to procure an impartial jury in Swift County due to pretrial publicity in the case.

The prosecution did not oppose the request for a change of venue. The judge stated in the ruling that the change of venue may also be approved due to the convenience it represents. The special prosecutor for the case is Meeker County Attorney Brandi Schiefelbein.

The judge also ruled that there is probable cause that aggravating factors may be present to allow the state to argue for an increased sentence if Ebnet is convicted on any of the counts. The judge agreed with arguments by the prosecution that the alleged victims present “particular vulnerability due to age” and that Ebnet allegedly “intentionally selected the victims because of their actual or perceived gender.” Both represent aggravating factors.

The ruling follows a May 31 hearing in Swift County in which the investigating police officer testified. �� Resource Officer Paula Wilson, who has 21 years of law enforcement experience, began her investigation after receiving a report from a parent with a daughter in Ebnet’s second-grade classroom.

The parent reported that her daughter was not getting help in school because the defendant allegedly “spends most of his time with his favorite student, a boy who sat on the defendant’s lap,” according to the court ruling.

The report reminded Wilson of a similar report from years prior, and she pursued the installation of a camera in the defendant’s classroom. The camera was installed without the defendant’s knowledge and focused on a rug and reading area.

Ebnet allegedly had three separate minor males seated between his legs at various times on Nov. 30, 2022. The complaint states that Ebnet appears to have the children close their eyes and face away from him.

Ebnet is observed in the video placing the boys’ hands behind their backs and under his own groin area as he moves behind them, according to the complaint.

The case is scheduled for a settlement conference on Sept. 18.

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Summer in Minnesota also means it's county fair season

Dale Morin — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 15:22:00 GMT

Summertime in Minnesota means it's prime time for county fairs to gear up with new acts and entertainment, but all the same special summer fun.

The events listed here are only a partial listing, and events are subject to change. Check fair websites or social media pages for additional information and updates.

Yellow Medicine County Fair

July 20-22

Fairgrounds in Canby

Free admission and free parking. Check the website for more information.

Website: ymcfair.org

Chippewa County Fair

July 26-30

Fairgrounds in Montevideo.

Gate admission is $10, ages 6 and younger are free. Excluding food, carnival rides and drinks, everything inside the gates, including grandstand events, is free. Check the website for more information.

Website: chippewacofairmn.com

Pope County Fair

Aug. 2-5

Fairgrounds in Glenwood.

A demolition derby featuring six derby and racing classes will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, after fair activities will be over. Admission for Sunday's derby is $15, kids 5 and under get in free. Check the website for more information.

Website: popecountyfair.org

Meeker County Fair

Aug. 2-6

Fairgrounds in Litchfield.

Admission is $5, ages 4 and under and over 70 will be admitted free. Gates open at 8 a.m. every day of the fair. Parking is free outside the fairgrounds. $30 parking passes for inside the fairgrounds will be available at the fair office starting Aug. 3 at noon. Passes are limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Featured grandstand events include a tractor pull, Motokazie supercross racing and a demolition derby. Check the website for more information.

Website: meekerfair.com

Kandiyohi County Fair

Aug. 9-12

Fairgrounds in Willmar.

Gate admission is $7 for adults, $3 for seniors on Thursday only, $2 for students 6-12; children 5 and under will be admitted free. Daily parking is $5 per car/truck. Season passes are $20 gate pass, $15 parking pass. A season ticket allows you to come and go as many times as you want during the four-day fair. Grandstand three-day wristbands are available for $20 per adult and $7 for kids 6-12.

Wednesday is Veterans Day and Thursday is Senior Day. Check the website for more information.

Website: kandifair.com

Renville County Fair

Aug. 9-11

Fairgrounds in Bird Island.

Gates are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Daily admission is $7 ages 12 and under are admitted free. Season pass available for $15.

Featured grandstand events include ATV barrel racing, bull-riding and a demolition derby. All day, every day events include an antique tractor show, 4H exhibits/animals and a petting zoo. Check the website for more information.

Website: renvillecountyfair.org

Swift County Fair

Aug. 16-20

Fairgrounds in Appleton.

Check the website for more information.

Website: swiftcountyfair.org

Lac qui Parle County Fair

Sept. 7-10

Fairgrounds in Madison.

Gates open at 9 a.m. daily, admission is $5 for ages 12 and over and includes parking; admission is free for ages 11 and under and for active military personnel with a military ID and law enforcement.

On Thursday, a performance by the White Sidewalls will be the featured entertainment. Friday through Sunday, magician Dr. Street and Caricatures by Jennifer will be at the fair along with a band each evening. Other events Friday include The AbbeyRoad Band and West Addison Blues. Saturday there will be a pedal pull, veggies races, diaper derby, demo derby and the Minnesota High �� Rodeo. Sunday’s events include a Minnesota High �� Rodeo and the Tom Bly Memorial Auto Race. Check the website for more information.

Website: lqpfair.com

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Monticello, Minnesota, man killed Monday in Meeker County rollover that also injured a child

West Central Tribune staff report — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 20:15:16 GMT

KINGSTON — A Monticello, Minnesota, man was killed Monday evening in a Meeker County rollover crash, and one of two children in the car was injured.

Dakota Daniel Flint, 22, was killed. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the Minnesota State Patrol, and whether alcohol was involved was listed as unknown.

One of the two children in the car — a 4-year-old boy who was not identified by name — was reported to have suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but no health care facility was listed in the report. A male infant was not injured. Both were restrained.

According to the report, Flint was driving a 2013 Dodge Dart southbound on Highway 15, south of Meeker County Road 27 in Kingston Township, when he went off the road and overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll over.

CentraCare — St. Cloud Hospital was listed as the treating facility for Flint.

The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office, Dassel Fire and Rescue, Mayo Ambulance and Life Link Helicopter also responded to the crash reported at 5:42 p.m. Monday.

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