The last building added to the McLeod County Fairgrounds was in 2018, when the county replaced the central pavilion. Another new addition may soon be on the way.
The Mcleod County Board appears ready to take a major step forward on longtime plans to enhance the county fairgrounds in Hutchinson.
Approved unanimously this past week was a resolution hiring Widseth of Alexandria to design a pavilion at the McLeod County Fairgrounds at a cost of $97,500. Scope of the work includes completion of architectural, structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and civil plans by June 16. Construction would begin after the 2023 McLeod County Fair in August.
Board Chairman Paul Wright said the contract will “kickstart” plans to add a new building to the fairgrounds, which has been part of the county’s long-range plans.
“We are up against a timeline to get contractors and so forth lined up,” he said, adding that in the current climate the county might even be a bit behind. “It should hopefully be kind of fast and furious from here on out.”
Board member Doug Krueger said, “the big thing is going to be the amount of money it costs to do it. Everything is expensive. We have appropriated the funds ... into fairgrounds and parks.”
The County Board has had its sights on fairgrounds improvements in addition to parks investments for the past few years. The largest change most easily spotted by the public was the replacement of the aging central pavilion at the fairgrounds in 2018.
In 2020, the county approved work to add bathrooms to the McLeod County Horticulture Building using federal Coronavirus Relief Funds. Prior to purchasing its new space west of Hutchinson, the Heart of Minnesota Animal Shelter housed cats in a building north of the Commercial Building, but the space was identified as an area for future expansion.
In early 2022 the County Board created a new parks committee, which considered the fairgrounds as well. A public survey that year also touched on the site. The parks committee worked with Mid-Minnesota Development Commission, which was brought on to help design a McLeod County Master Parks Plan, which was “complementary” to the Master Fairgrounds Plan.
This past November, the County Board approved four more years of free Mcleod County Fair admission, after approving the same for the 2022 fair. Funds came from the American Rescue Plan Act. That same month, commissioners allocated $2.7 million in ARPA funds for parks and fairgrounds improvements.
“This is undoubtedly a lot of money, and it should catch peoples’ attention,” Wright said at the time. “We’ve had long-range planning on the fairgrounds, we’re in the process of the parks plan. These are public assets, amenities, that we have here not only for our constituents, but also bring people through McLeod County.”
County Board members regularly tout the fairgrounds as the site of a major fair attraction, but also a popular site for events all year, while giving various ordinary renovations and maintenance projects the green light.
Paul and Heather Wright of Hutchinson.Paul and Heather Wright
Clint and Brandy Zentner of Litchfield
Paul and Heather Wright
Clint and Brandy Zentner
Tammy Diehn of Arlington founded 2BContinued and is leading the drive to raise awareness about suicide prevention, mental health and wellness. She is holding a photo of her sister, Shelly Teubert, who died by suicide in 2017.
The stars will be shining when 12 area couples compete in “Dancing Like the Stars” Saturday at Glencoe Event Center.
The friendly dance competition is a fundraiser for 2BContinued, an organization focused on mental health and suicide prevention. The gala begins at 6:30 p.m. at Glencoe Event Center, 1107 11th St. E., Glencoe. A pre-show warm-up featuring music by Al Heldon begins at 5:30 p.m. The “Dancing Like the Stars” show is sold out, but tickets to watch online can be found on 2bcontinued.org/dlts2023/ and watch parties are listed on the website.
MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHER
Tammy Diehn founded “Dancing Like the Stars” in 2019 to bring awareness to mental health and suicide. Diehn contacted Hutchinson dance instructor Kelly Bestul of Kelly’s Dance Academy for ideas on how to make the event a reality. Bestul shared her thoughts and experience with production and dancing, names of choreographers, and even offered to volunteer to coach couples who wanted to compete. Then COVID happened, postponing the event’s launch.
It returned the following year to in-person, and being involved with the fundraiser became personal for Bestul. Her son had been rock climbing in Colorado and suffered severe brain trauma from a fall. Four months later, during COVID, he took his own life.
“I like how compassionate Tammy is with the organization and this fundraiser,” Bestul said. “Attention needs to be brought to suicide. It’s not a choice — taking your life. There’s physiological reasons this is happening. We need to have open dialogue so people can find out what can be done.”
Bestul enjoys working with the couples. “I love it,” she said. “I get people who haven’t danced other than at their own wedding. They come to me with a song and/or a dance they want to do and we start with a few basic steps. We tweak things week to week, changing some things. By the fourth meeting, everything is planned out and the dance just needs to be polished so the couple feels comfortable with it.
“I am surprised what people can accomplish,” she added.
The practice time can be humorous, also. When trying to implement lifting, the wife might say, “There’s no way he’s lifting me!” Bestul explained.
But she believes the experience brings couples together. She’s impressed by the commitment from the couples she’s worked with.
“They’re all in,” she said. “I feel they grow together and become stronger. I feel blessed to work with them.”
THE COUPLES
Two couples Bestul worked with this year are Paul and Heather Wright of Hutchinson, and Clint and Brandy Zentner of Litchfield.
When Paul and Heather Wright were contacted by Tammy Diehn to participate in “Dancing Like the Stars,” they said “no” at first. She asked them to think about it, telling them she would call back a few days later.
Paul and Heather have been very active in the community with their involvement with 4-H, FFA, Wings McLeod and Paul as county commissioner. After the initial conversation with Tammy, they found out more about 2BContinued and how involved the organization was with the schools and youth. Since youth development is so important to them, when Tammy called back the second time, the couple emphatically said “yes.”
“Kelly has been wonderful to work with,” Paul said. “We don’t dance, but with her patience and guidance we’ve been coming along.”
“The first night we went to our class, Kelly was so careful,” Heather continues. “She started us out with a few simple steps. Over time, she would add more. Eventually, we found we could get through the whole dance. Now, we’re perfecting.”
The Wrights have found they’ve learned a lot more about mental health and suicide from survivor’s stories they’ve heard. When shopping for outfits for their dance, the person helping them shared her story of her father’s suicide.
“It’s important to talk about it (suicide),” Heather shares. “We need to erase the stigma.”
Paul adds, “2BContinued is so wrapped around it. They are so committed to reaching out. We’ve been impressed with Tammy and the crew.”
The Wrights recommend this experience to other couples. “If you get the call — say yes!”
The Zentners like Paul and Heather Wright had no dance experience. Clint Zentner, an engineer at 3M, was managing a booth at the county fair that was situated next to 2BContinued’s event area. Zentner was impressed with the activity around 2BContinued, especially when the “Dancing Like the Stars” group came. The seating filled up when they danced.
During the fair, Zentner was there 10 hours of the day and he got to know many of the 2BContinued people. So did the human resources manager at 3M. Eventually, Diehn reached out to Zentner and his wife, Brandy, asking if they would be interested in participating in “Dancing Like the Stars.”
The couple was hesitant, but, “We looked at each other, and we knew we were going to say ‘yes,’” Brandy said.
“Kelly is amazing,” Brandy said. “She made us feel comfortable right away. She’s fun and patient. We’ve come a long way since we started.”
It took the couple a while to choose their song. Clint came up with it, and they really are happy with the choice.
The couple has enjoyed their time working together on something. Having children, they have sacrificed their alone time as a couple. They feel this experience has reinforced the value of having “date night” and hope to continue having special time together in the future.
Both of them also are discovering the impact mental health and suicide have had on people they know through involvement with this event. Clint, a member of Toastmasters in Hutchinson, has been speaking about 2BContinued at club meetings and has had members share their personal experiences with him.
“I didn’t know how many people I knew that have been affected by this issue,” he said. “It has deepened our friendships. It’s given people an opportunity to talk about it.”
Other couples competing are Chad and Kim Bergstrom, Hector; Josh and Leah Bernau, Norwood Young America; Jesus and Miriam Castillo, Glencoe; Ryan and Joann Dammann, Waconia; Matt and Shauna Gruber, Glencoe; Kyle and Danielle Marti, New Ulm; Bob and Rochelle Nielsen, Green Isle; Anna Panning and Reece Chiriboga, Chaska; McKay and Steph Rodning, Gaylord; and Joe and Beth Sawatzke, Winsted.
McLeod County has brought on Tamara Pieschke to serve as an assistant county attorney.
At the request of McLeod County Attorney Ryan Hansch, the County Board approved the April 17 appointment this past week. Pieschke has been an assistant county attorney in Le Sueur since 2021, and was previously a staff attorney for a judge in McLeod County.
“We are excited at the prospect of having her on board,” Hansch said.
Later in the meeting, Hansch told board members the previously approved return of retired former county attorney Michael Junge had been helpful. After serving since 1982, Junge did not run for reelection at the end of 2022. He was appointed as an assistant county attorney this past month on a temporary basis due to staff turnover.
“The rest of the staff, during this recent turnover and with upcoming turnover, has been quite flexible, willing to put in the extra work and time, and take on new tasks,” Hansch said. “We are doing well. ... We plan to provide a high level of service during this time of transition.”
The Mcleod County Board tackled two issues related to the care of county residents this past week.
In order to meet with state statute, the county’s guardian and conservator reimbursement policy was updated with unanimous approval. Under the policy, those who serve as guardians or conservators will be reimbursed at a rate of $200 per month. Someone serving in both capacities would be paid $300 per month. Previously, the county paid $150 to guardians and conservators.
The county will also reimburse mileage at the IRS rate for up to two in-person, face-to-face visits with the client each year.
“I think we’ve come to some pretty good numbers here as far as how we need to move forward in order to hold the requirements together,” said Board Chair Paul Wright.
“Staff did their due diligence checking what rates were throughout the state,” said Board Vice Chairman Joe Nagel.
The policy is administered through McLeod County Health and Human Services.
In a separate item, the County Board unanimously approved an update to the county government’s children’s mental health duties.
Up for discussion was an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, which dictates the county will “promote and ensure equal access of respite care services to all youth with an emotional disturbance or severe emotional disturbance, and their families.”
“(The County) will meet with individuals and organizations from underserved communities,” reads the approved agreement. “Underserved Communities (UC) include people who are experiencing disparities because of race, ethnicity, language or social status, income, inability to access care, and other barriers to receiving services their region.”
The county must also submit quarterly reports regarding demographics of youth served, and the type of services provided.
The update to the Children’s Mental Health Respite Care Grant covers a $44,147 grant (ending June 30) and a $22,074 grant (ending Dec. 31).
“We’re going to probably see a lot more of this,” said board member Doug Krueger, who noted there is a question of where future funding will come from. “There are a lot of issues with mental health across the board, let alone with children’s mental health.”
