Editor’s note: Following is a recap of some of the top stories of 2022, as reported in the Independent Review. See some of our favorite photos from the year on Page 14.
JANUARY
- It might sound like a line from a 1980s movie script. But when the Rev. Brian Oestreich and Evan Sandstede boarded a U-Haul truck Dec. 28 and headed out on a 26-hour road trip to Texas, it was real life. And they really were “on a mission from God” — “Blues Brothers” reference notwithstanding.
The two Litchfield High School graduates arrived in Eagle Pass, Texas, late Dec. 29 to deliver the jam-packed truck’s contents of blankets, clothes, shoes and other items to the Caridad de Corazon ministry, which provides care and basic necessities to disenfranchised people living in the area on the Texas-Mexico border.
“I’m just so happy I could be helpful to this effort,” said Sandstede, a 1985 LHS graduate who now works as a field representative for Education Minnesota and lives in Hibbing.
“This has been truly overwhelming,” said Oestreich, a 1984 LHS graduate and former member of the clergy at Holy Family Catholic Church in Silver Lake. “It’s amazing how God works through all this stuff. We will have lots of stories to tell in the new year.”
- Litchfield’s oldest church has a new pastor.
“I feel pretty lucky,” said the Rev. Kerri Meyer, who was called in late December to serve as part-time priest-in-charge at Trinity Episcopal. “I am so moved by the history, commitment to the parish, commitment to the community … we said ‘yes’ to this invitation to the spirit.”
Trinity Episcopal Church, founded as a mission church in 1871, marked its 150th anniversary in May 2121. Church membership has risen and fallen during the past century and a half, from a high of about 150 to a current congregation that numbers about 20 on any given Sunday.
As parishioners celebrated the church’s anniversary, they looked to a future of reinvigorating the congregation. Mary-Anne Olmsted-Kohls, the church’s senior warden, said leadership was working with the diocese “to develop our future course.” Served by so-called “supply priests” for several years, the church looked to add a pastor who could provide a more local presence for the congregation and community. Meyer turned out to be that person.
“Trinity’s new priest looks forward to being a regular and neighborly presence in Litchfield, and to counting herself among the friendly and hospital group of faithful Christians who call Trinity their church home,” Olmsted-Kohls said in a written release announcing Meyer’s call. “Her preaching brings a uniquely Episcopalian voice to the community, focusing on Jesus’ steadfast example of justice-seeking love that embraces strangers and those whom society casts aside.”
- January got a little busier for the Rachel and Michael Koivukangas family. Already the month for three of the family’s four birthdays, No. 4 arrived Jan. 4. And it wasn’t just any January birthday. When Dane Charles Koivukangas ws born at 11:42 a.m. Jan. 4, he was the first baby of the new year born at Meeker Memorial Hospital. He joined a busy January birthday schedule for the family, with both of his siblings, along with his father sharing the month. Drew, 5, was born Jan. 9. Nova, 3, has a Jan. 18 birthday. And dad, Michael’s birthday is Jan. 17.
- It’s easy to think that real world problems like hunger and homelessness are too big for a group of school kids to solve. But while they might not have the total solution, they can make an impact, one good deed at a time. That belief brought a small group of students and their adult leaders to First Lutheran Church in Litchfield to make blankets.
“It’s just interesting,” Katie McGraw, a Litchfield Middle School math teacher, said. “You know, you think it’s so minor … it’s not a big deal. I mean, this is fun for us. But you see how, if we can get together, what a big impact you can have on people.”
McGraw has seen small gestures make big impacts many times through the years as advisor for the FCCLA — Family, Career and Community Leaders of America — chapter at Litchfield High School. Just this past October, the student organization with both high school and middle school members, raised about $2,000 for the Meeker Area Food Shelf as part of its We Scare Hunger food drive. She also took a group of students to a Feed My Starving Children food packaging event in November at which they joined other volunteers in packing enough food to provide 16,848 meals.
- Timothy Steinert was hired as Meeker County’s next veterans service officer.
“We are very fortunate to have Timothy as part of our team,” County Administrator Andrew Letson said in a news release last week. “I am excited for him to get to work and begin building relationships with the veterans in our community.”
Steinert has more than 28 years of military service in the Minnesota National Guard. His career includes deployment to Iraq in 2009 and service as Rear Detachment Battalion Commander, in which he provided support to deployed soldiers and their families. In addition to military service, Letson said, Steinert has extensive sales and volunteer experience.
- Three days after approving a policy they had delayed as long as possible, Litchfield School Board members and school administrators received the reprieve many had been hoping for all along. The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to block the Biden administration from enforcing vaccine-or-test requirements for companies with 100 or more employees.
In an unsigned opinion, the six-justice majority said, “Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly. Requiring the vaccination of 84 million Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more than 100 employees, certainly falls in the latter category.”
Locally, that opinion meant Litchfield School District would not implement “Policy 491,” which called for district employees to either offer proof of vaccination or submit to regular testing and to wear a mask — a policy the board approved during its regular meeting Jan. 10, the day OSHA’s mandate was to take effect. The board’s 5-0 vote came with the stipulation that the policy would sunset immediately if blocked by the Supreme Court or once the mandated vaccinate-or-test requirement expired.
- Litchfield Wrestling Club announced plans to honor Scott Shepersky, a long-time contributor to the local wrestling program, with induction into its Hall of Fame. Shepersky’s involvement with Litchfield wrestling has touched nearly all aspects of the program, beginning when his career started as a five-year-old wrestler in the youth program. While a wrestler at Litchfield High School, Shepersky earned conference, section and state championships and piled up a 105-13 record.
Shepersky was a two-time Litchfield Invite champion, in addition to winning a title at the Burnsville Invitational during his prep career. He wrestled to conference championships in 1996 and 1998, and won section titles three consecutive seasons, from 1996-1998, along with berths in the state tournament. He took third place at the state tournament as a junior, then won the state championship as a senior in 1998.
FEBRUARY
- After multiple meetings over the a few months, a group of city and school district representatives brought the result of their work on a wellness/recreation center to a large crowd gathered at Litchfield Opera House.
The report by the joint city-school committee was short on specifics — though it did include a potential price tag in the $35 million range and a preferred site on school district property just south of the high school-middle school complex. Details will come later, group members said, as the school board, city council and consultants build out the plan based on public comments they receive.
Pat Overom, principal director of ICS, a Minneapolis consulting firm that worked with Litchfield Schools on its successful $33.8 million bond referendum in 2019, described a “pretty elaborate” five-step planning process. The city-school effort currently is midway through the second, or development, phase, he said, following a discovery step during which the two entities formed a list of priorities for a wellness/recreation facility.
- When it comes to ambitions, one of the biggest for the Litchfield gymnastics team the past couple of seasons has involved an almost mystical number.
137.
That number, achieved by the Dragons’ 2008 team, stood as a meet points record for more than a decade. And then, Jan. 28, Litchfield’s 2022 squad set a new standard, posting a 137.725 during a triangular meet at Litchfield Armory.
“It feels great to finally break the school record,” Litchfield head coach Sara Holmgren said. “We set that goal for ourselves last year, and we have most of the same girls back this year, so we made it our goal again. It was fun to see how excited the girls got when it was announced – I loved watching their reaction.”
- When the Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato and Hutchinson boys hockey teams met, they would be playing for more than bragging rights and conference points. Thanks to a gift from The 1Foundation, they played for a new rivalry trophy called “The Tendy.”
The 1Foundation was established by the family of Dylan Falling, a Litchfield 16-year-old who died in an automobile crash on June 5, 2020. Falling was a goalie for the Dragons boys hockey team, and the trophy memorializes him and his competitive spirit.
The trophy itself, crafted by Brodin Studios, includes a sculpted replica of Dylan’s personalized goalie helmet, as well as a photo of him and a short aphorism by Dylan called “Tough on Life.” The same saying hangs in the Litchfield High School locker room hallway.
According to Dustin Falling, Dylan’s father, the idea for the rivalry trophy came from Brian Johnson and Matt Telecky, coaches for the LDC and Hutchinson teams.
“I thought it was a great idea. I was surprised something like this had never been done,” Dustin said. “There’s been the Cream Can between Willmar and Litchfield forever. I went to school (in Litchfield) and it was around then. So I thought it was a fantastic idea and a great way to memorialize our son.”
- Do you love cold, fresh milk? If so, you have reason to envy middle and high school students in the Hutchinson, Litchfield and Dassel-Cokato school districts. Instead of grabbing the usual carton of milk, students in the meal line starting Feb. 1 had the option to pick up a glass and fill it from new bulk dispensers full of milk from Stony Creek Dairy of Melrose. The farm has been in the Schoenberg family for seven generations.
Nathan Terres with Stone Creek Dairy said the operation began bottling milk in its own facility in 2008. It milks around 500 cows and bottles about 3,500 gallons daily. Surplus milk is sent to First District Association in Litchfield.
The schools didn’t make the switch just to give a tastier lunch. According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture, almost 30% of milk from cartons is wasted. Not to mention the cartons themselves, which account for nearly half of lunchroom trash by volume. Some cartons are never even opened before they are tossed out.
Dispensers cut down on that waste when students only take what they plan to drink, and they’re more energy efficient than carton coolers. Reusable glasses are also considered more sanitary.
- Danelle Erickson, 42, started her new position as executive director Jan. 11 at Meeker County Museum and G.A.R. Hall. She immediately immersed herself in local history by looking through a file or two or checking out an exhibit.
Taking the job at the Meeker County Museum brings Erickson back to her roots in Dassel. Her family moved there when she was in second grade. Looking back, she says history has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. Highlights include summer vacations that included visits to historic sites such as Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
After graduating from Dassel-Cokato High School in 1998, Erickson headed to St. Paul where she attended the University of Northwestern. It’s not surprising she majored in what she knew best — history with a minor in accounting.
- Litchfield senior Grace Borowicz made a bit of history when her six-year high school gymnastics career peaked with her qualifying for her first state meet by finishing in a tie for fifth place on balance beam during the Section 6A meet.
Borowicz scored an 8.8 on beam, tying New London-Spicer’s Ciera Anderson for fifth. Libby McGeary of Benson/Kerhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, the section individual all-around champion, and Maple Lake’s Elizabeth Borgert finished in a tie for first on the balance beam, each scoring 9.225.
- It was cold, but it didn’t seem to matter to the hundreds of people gathered on frozen Lake Ripley. In fact, recent history indicates that if temperatures aren’t hovering around the 0-degree mark, with subzero windchills, it just wouldn’t be the Wintercade Veterans Appreciation Ice Fishing Contest.
And with thousands of dollars in prizes — and more importantly, thousands of dollars of support for community programs — at stake, the temperature is a minor consideration. As long as you’re properly attired, which was not an issue for the ice fishing veterans who crowded onto the west side of the lake where about 800 holes had been drilled in the ice serving as the contest area.
Though final totals were not yet available at press time, the Wintercade Veterans Appreciaton Ice Fishing Contest has raised more than $120,000 since its inception in 2011, with proceeds donated to area non-profit groups, youth groups, and veterans’ needs.
- A Brainerd man involved in an early-morning exchange of gunfire with police died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Stephen Chris Poissant, 34, and his cause of death.
According to a Minnesota Department of Public Safety news release, Poissant exchanged gunfire with Eden Valley police officer Evan Borscheid, and suffered a “graze injury” to his knee during the incident west of the city. The news release did not say at what point Poissant shot himself.
Borscheid, who has been in law enforcement for five years, according to the news release, was not injured. He has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such cases.
The incident began at approximately 2:20 a.m. in Eden Valley when Borscheid attempted a traffic stop for speeding and a headlight violation. But when he tried to pull over the vehicle Poissant was driving, Poissant took off on Highway 55. The chase ended when the vehicle drove into a ditch about one mile west of Eden Valley, Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze said in a statement.
MARCH
- Everything had been running smoothly for school bus drivers until about March 2020. Since then, the pandemic has brought new duties, regulations, challenges and fears for this key component of any city’s infrastructure.
“I think very few people realized that our bus drivers were delivering meals and learning packets to kids’ homes,” Paul Meyer, general manager of Hutchinson Bus Line, said of the first half of 2020 when local students learned from home. “That ran into, I think 17 buses running through the summer months delivering food to everybody.”
Hicks Bus Line of Litchfield, which owns Hutchinson Bus Line, also kept busy helping deliver meals to students, and others for the Nutrition Assistance Programs for Seniors.
Students returned to school in the later part of 2020, and on into 2021.
“Right now, we’re down to 40,” Meyer said, from a regular team of 50. “We are so short-handed almost every driver drives every day.”
While regular bus routes and a diminished count of field trips were covered, sports and after school activities proved more challenging. Meyer recalled combining a middle school and high school wrestling team onto one bus, which meant each team had to wait around an extra hour, one before their event, one after.
- Litchfield School Board approved during its Feb. 28 meeting the concept for a legacy garden that will memorialize students who die while students in the district.
High school Principal Jason Michels told the board that he worekd with a group of parents whose children had died, along with local landscaping contractor Brandon Nagel and high school art teacher Charles Banks on a vision for the garden.cThe group determined a spot near the main entrance to the high school would be appropriate, and the theme would be “Forever a Dragon.”
Parents with whom Michels consulted included Michelle Falling, Heather Bednarek, Tina Driver and Terry Driver.
Falling, whose son Dylan died in a car crash in June 2020, made the initial request for the Legacy Garden, Michels said in a memo to the School Board and Superintendent Beckie Simenson. During several meetings since the initial suggestion, the committee of parents has determined the “vision, location and design” of the garden, Michels wrote.
- Litchfield High School special education and alternative learning program students teamed up to create pillows that became popular items given away during high school events. But more than a gimmicky giveaway, the pillows represent an academic and social collaboration that has paid dividends for students responsible for their creation.
It all started with a conversation between special education teacher Jim Jackman and Terri Orzolek, who is coordinator/teacher for the alternative learning program. Orzolek wanted to establish a unit on volunteering for her students, while Jackman sought continued training in a variety of social and physical skills areas for his students.
The social communications class taught by Jackman typically devotes Wednesdays to vocational skills.
“We’ve been doing it probably for the last 12 to 14 years, since I got here,” Jackman said. “It’s a combination of kids with different abilities and different skills, and it’s working on communication skills, advocacy, connecting with their community, work skills.”
When Orzolek contacted Jackman about teaming up with the alternative learning program on a service learning project, she saw a chance to build connections and provide a different perspective for some of her students.
First, it was an opportunity to volunteer — something she says many of her students didn’t really understand before the program.
“When I started, I wanted to do a service project, so they learned how to give back to their community, where they did not have to be paid,” Orzolek said. “I started noticing, even inside (the high school), when I would talk to kids about volunteering … I heard, ‘I’m not volunteering. If I don’t get paid for it, I’m not doing it.’”
- Atwater-Grove City-Cosmos School District hired a new superintendent, John Regan, who had been serving as finance director for the Staples-Motley School District. Regan wold take over the reins at ACGC in the summer.
Following the unexpected resignation of Nels Onstad in October, the ACGC School Board conducted a rigorous search, while retired New London-Spicer Superintendent Paul Carlson provided interim administrative support for the district on a contract effective through June 30.
- What started with about 20 students nine years ago has grown into a can’t-miss tradition for hundreds of Litchfield students.
The tradition continued as 140 students and a small group of teachers from Litchfield Middle School and High School leaped into the frigid waters of Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis, part of the Cool School Polar Plunge event. Beyond just a fun field trip to test one’s courage against the cold, this Polar Plunge raises money for Special Olympics of Minnesota. And that fundraising aspect has become quite a tradition at Litchfield Public Schools, as well. To participate, students must raise funds for Special Olympics, and this year’s group brought in $20,241.
“It’s not a record, but this is definitely in the top three,” Litchfield Middle School math teacher Katie McGraw said.
- A Meeker County poultry flock was one of three in the state afflicted with confirmed cases of the bird flu, according to the Board of Animal Health.
The Meeker County case involved a commercial turkey flock of almost 300,000 birds, where mortality and signs of depression were reported. That report led to samples being collected and tested at the Minnesota Poultry Test Laboratory in Willmar.
Jennie-O Turkey Store in Willmar announced that highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in its supply chain, on one Minnesota farm operation.
“These are the first cases of HPAI in the state of Minnesota since 2015,” said Dr. Dale Lauer, poultry program director for the Board of Animal Health. “Poultry producers and backyard flock owners need to be on alert and contact their veterinarian immediately if they see any changes in their flocks. Everyone in poultry facilities needs to follow the site’s biosecurity protocols every time to prevent the spread of disease.”
APRIL
- Nearly everywhere he goes, Jim Curry feels like he’s among family. On vacation in Hawaii several years ago, he ran into and chatted up a brother. Working as a member of a pit crew at a drag race in Topeka, Kansas? Another brother struck up a conversation with him. Such are the benefits of being a member of the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world.
“Brothers” are fellow members of the Freemasons, or simply Masons, an international organization whose roots stretch back to the 13th century. While an international organization with an estimated 1.5 million members worldwide, the Masons are governed more locally, with a Grand Lodge of Minnesota being the parent of the local Golden Fleece Lodge based in Litchfield.
Golden Fleece Lodge No. 89 and its current roster of 92 members marked its 150th anniversary during 2022. Recognized with a mayor’s proclamation during a Litchfield City Council meeting in January, local lodge members are planning other events throughout the year to celebrate the Golden Fleece Lodge’s contributions to Litchfield and surrounding area during the past century and a half.
The Golden Fleece Lodge was chartered Jan. 11, 1872. Among its past members are some well-known names, including Dr. Noah Ripley, W.H. Greenleaf, B.B. Meeker, John Brandt, Frank Daggett, N.Y. Taylor and H.A. Jewett. In addition, local lodge member J.C. Braden rose to Grand Master of the Minnesota Masons.
- Dave Keeling’s phone was uncharacteristically silent on April 1. After nearly 50 years in the heating and air conditioning profession — during which the phone might ring at all hours of the day and night, and weekends and holidays — the sound of silence is going to take some getting used to.
But Keeling, who retired March 31 when he sold the heating and air conditioning portion of his Meeker Mechanical business, said he will adapt to the phone ringing less frequently. After all, it will mean more time to do other things he enjoys, especially spending more time with family.
“It has been a privilege to serve my customers in Litchfield and the surrounding area,” Keeling said. “I am kind of sad. Some of those customers are like family. I mean, some of them, I did their first house they built, I did their second house they built, and now you’re doing their son’s house …. You know the kids; you know the grandkids. Over 40 years … some of them are like family.”
- Some might have found it unlucky, maybe even a bit intimidating. But Morgan Beronius saw an opportunity. And she and her partner Gavin Molina turned that opportunity — created when they drew Sitting Bull as the subject of their American History March Madness project — into a title.
Beronius and Molina emerged from the American History March Madness tournament, an annual competition in Bill King’s seventh-grade social studies classes at Litchfield Middle School, as champions among 64 teams of students.
This was the ninth year that King has staged American History March Madness. A takeoff of the NCAA basketball tournament, the project sees individuals and teams of students research and create multimedia presentations about famous and influential Americans. Since its inception, the tournament has been an academic event students look forward to when entering seventh grade. This year was no exception.
“I mean, yeah, it’s just the competition level is the fun part,” said Judah Allen, who teamed up with Andreas Castellon for a presentation about President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with which they advanced to the “final four.” “You’ve known everybody in the grade for forever, so it’s like, ‘yeah, we’re talking about this in high school. I beat you second round of March Madness. How’s it feel?’ And then, like, I swear, I’m gonna be able to recite a bunch of Franklin D. Roosevelt stuff when I’m 50.”
- More people than ever are seeking assistance from the Meeker Area Food Shelf. That’s why efforts like the Litchfield Lions Club’s one-day food drive meant so much, according to Jayme Revermann, executive director of the local food shelf.
“We have been serving more families than we have in years, so we were running pretty low on things,” Revermann said. “So it’s been such a blessing to have, you know, 2,500 pounds of food to be able to put on the shelves to help the families. It’s been really nice.”
That 2,500 pounds of food — or as Lions Club food drive coordinator Larry Jensen corrected, 2,462 pounds — all was collected during the Litchfield club’s drive in late March, during which members were stationed at Family Fare and Walmart stores from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accept donations. In addition to food and nonperishable items donated, club members also received $3,806 in cash donations.
- When the avian flu hit Minnesota farms in 2015 it was the worst outbreak of the disease farmers had ever seen. The danger for farms and wild birds seems worse now.
"In 2015, normally you thought young birds are safe," said Greg Langmo, owner of Litchfield-based Langmo Farms. "(But) broilers are getting hit. And the common age is 45 days old. They're not even two months old and dying. It's different than last time."
Now his and other operations are going to great lengths to keep their operations safe and healthy as the United States Department of Agriculture reports more than 23 million bird deaths across the county. A tracker kept by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health shows 2.47 million deaths in the state. While there are no reports of site infections in McLeod County, three site infections in Meeker County add up to 441,207 birds as of Monday morning, making it one of the most heavily impacted counties in the state. While Langmo lost flocks in 2015, he has not so far this year.
"We're trying everything we can think of. We are going to measures that you couldn't even imagine in 2015," Langmo said. "I can tell you this: The Minnesota turkey and ag industries are doing everything imaginable. And it certainly isn't for lack of effort that this damn disease is raising so much cane around here. We're a very large industry, and so there is a lot of exposure."
MAY
- Meeker Cooperative announced plans to install fiber optic cable throughout the city of Litchfield. Work began in the northeast quadrant late last month and is expected to continue through September.
Cooperative Director Tim Mergen and Luke Johnson appeared before the Litchfield City Council to explain the project. Council members appeared most concerned about the disruption to city streets, alleys and front yards caused by laying the cable and installing access boxes.
- Deacon Nathan Hansen, 27, of Darwin joined Deacon Tanner Thooft, 26, and Deacon Joshua Bot, 26, in ordination May 28, at Church of St. Mary in Sleepy Eye.
Hansen is a graduate of Dassel-Cokato High School and University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He attended St. Paul Seminary from 2018 to the present. Hansen is the son of Dean John and Ruthann Hansen of Dassel. His home parish is Church of St. John in Darwin.
- The changing of the guard in Litchfield Public Schools' instrumental music program took another step May 9 as the School Board approved hiring of a new band teacher.
Bailey Benoit, a Sauk Rapids-Rice High School graduate, who recently received her master's degree from Oklahoma State University, was hired to fill the position, which includes the high-profile role of director of the LHS Marching Dragons.
Benoit will replace David Ceasar, who has spent 21 years as band teacher and director at LHS. Ceasar's requested two-year leave of absence received School Board approval in late April. He said he would pursue his interest in audio-visual production — skills that were on display during many concerts and school events, most notably the indoor marching band concert every November.
- Members of Litchfield High School’s class of 2022 made their final academic steps at the school — FINALLY, as one mortarboard proclaimed — during commencement before a packed crowd in the gymnasium.
It was a ceremony of celebration and of remembrance as 102 members of the class received diplomas — 100 graduates walked the stage, while classmates Gage Driver and Dylan Falling received diplomas in memoriam.
The program included a welcome from senior class president Logan King, and addresses by seniors Britney Prahl, Matthew Pofahl and Greta Hulterstrum.
“As I reflect, I think about watching each and every one of you — through your adolescence middle school, into high school, and now into adulthood,” Superintendent Beckie Simenson said. “ I’m very, very proud of you. The struggles you’ve overcome molded you into the individuals you are today.”
JUNE
- On a day earlier in the school year, David Jones and Ruby Provost worked at the stove making lunch for themselves. For David, that meant Flamin’ Hot Cheetos macaroni and cheese. Ruby also prepared macaroni and cheese, though a milder version.
Their cooking provided a filling meal, but perhaps more importantly, it gave both of the Litchfield Middle School students an opportunity to build basic living skills and expand their reading and math abilities in an environment that until this year didn’t exist.
It’s a reality that would have made Sue McCoy smile, according to those who worked with her at the school. McCoy, who worked for 16 years at Litchfield Middle School, first as a paraprofessional and later as a member of the food service staff, died in September 2020. In her obituary, family members asked that memorials be made in her honor to the Litchfield school district “where the funds will be distributed to programs for children with special needs and Community Education scholarships for local children.”
In December 2020, McCoy’s family gave $1,000 to the middle school, to be used by the special education teaching team. It didn’t take long for the teachers and paraprofessionals to decide to use the funds to purchase supplies for the new kitchen that was constructed as part of the district’s extensive building renovation project, which included remodeling special education spaces at the middle school
- The general election was still five months away, but changes to local representation were already assured as Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, did not file for election in Senate District 17 after 12 years serving Senate District 18. The newly drawn 2022 Senate District maps place District 17 over Hutchinson, with a roughly similar geographic area to the old District 18.
In a farewell speech to his Senate colleagues this past month, Newman asked lawmakers to remember the humanity of everyone they work with.
“I regret I did not take as much time as I should have to work collaboratively with my fellow senators,” he said. “I just learned too slowly, I guess. But it’s absolutely necessary. You get nothing done unless you work together. ... The greatest satisfaction I have as a senator is what we were able to do collaboratively within my caucus and without, and to work with the folks on both sides of the aisle.”
- Litchfield High School’s Marching Dragons opened the 2022 summer parade season at Friendly City Days in Albertville, earning an “excellent” rating from judges, who also reviewed high school bands from St. Michael-Albertville, Benson and Maple Lake. The Marching Dragons earned a score of 71.6 out of 100 points. No placing was announced, as part of a change in band judging in place since last season, following the COVID pandemic that wiped out the 2019 marching season. “Superior” is the highest rating a band can receive under this judging system.
The 2022 show — “Camelot” — was named after the musical piece the band played, a lively tune with medieval theme. The band’s performances included a solo by flutist Greta Hulterstrum, who played while standing atop one of two 14-foot towers reminiscent of castle turrets, which roll down the street with the band.
- Dom Dietel saved his best for last. The Litchfield senior, who graduated with the class of 2022 three weeks earlier, wrapped up his high school athletic career by finishing second in the shot put at the State Class AA Track and Field Meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School.
“It was awesome,” Dietel said of participating in his first state meet. “The atmosphere there was so much different than any other meets during the year. It was, like, so professional. It was not just a regular meet. Everything meant something.”
Dietel went out on a high note, etching his name into fourth place on the LHS all-time records list with a toss of 56-feet, 2-inches. His teammate, sophomore T.J. Christensen, with whom he has waged some tremendous battles this past season, finished seventh in the shot put with a toss of 50-feet, ¼-inch.
Jackson Weston of Grand Rapids won the Class AA championship with a throw of 58-2, better than the winning throws in both the Class A and AAA state meets.
“It was kind of crazy to think about,” Dietel said. “Afterward, I was giving him the, ‘Wow, I just lost to the best shot putter in the state.’ It was cool to see, for sure.”
JULY
- Claudia Toenjes prepared to end her history-making reign as Miss Litchfield, looking back on the year and forward to crowning her successor. Toenjes, 17, was crowned Miss Litchfield on July 11, 2021, a dream-come-true and a Litchfield royalty first. She succeeded her sister, Cecilia, who served two years as Miss Litchfield, also a first, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Claudia said she learned a lot about the community and the people, and a lot about herself through her Miss Litchfield experience. Before she left for college in Arizona, Toenjes had one more experience with royal glitz as she participated in the Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of Lakes ambassador program later in July.
- Like other members of the Litchfield Police Department, Gary Gruenke was used to pulling extra duty during Watercade week. From traffic control after the fireworks Friday night and during the Grand Day Parade Saturday, to providing a security presence at various other events, the weekend community celebration usually means extra work for local law enforcement.
But Gruenke got a pass from parade patrol in 2022. Rather than manning a barricade somewhere along the route, the 34-year veteran of the Litchfield Police Department rode the entire route in the back of a convertible, as the parade’s grand marshal.
“It is a very big honor to be chosen as grand marshal of Watercade,” he said. “You know, I’m glad that they chose me this year.”
- In their final competitive parade of the season, Litchfield High School marching band members found their best performance of the year, capturing grand champion honors June 27 night at the Roseville parade. The Marching Dragons finished atop an 11-band field that included both Waconia and 728 Cadets — rivals who have proven difficult foes to overcome in recent years. Both Waconia and the 728 Cadets (the Rogers, Elk River, Zimmerman school district) had finished ahead of Litchfield in other parades this season.
“This is an example of what you guys can do when you put your heart and soul into what you’re doing and you don’t ever stop trying,” director David Ceasar told band members as they gathered around him following the awards presentation at the Oval Skate Park in Roseville. “You work harder and harder and harder, and you go to the very last one. If you ever question whether you are good enough to do something, the answer is YES!”
Litchfield received a score of 88.9 points, a point clear of 728 Cadets, who earned an 87.9. Waconia was third with 87. The Marching Dragons took first place in Class A, in addition to receiving honors for Best Color Guard and Best Winds.
Litchfield’s performance gave it the two best scores of the season among all high school marching bands in the state, according to the MinnesotaParades.com website, which lists competition results from parades through the summer season.
- Sure, it might sound a little cliché, but for Raina Kaping, it’s the truth. Wearing the crown of Miss Litchfield is something she’s dreamed about for a long time.
“It’s always been something I really wanted to do, to represent Litchfield, and be Miss Litchfield,” Kaping said after being crowned Miss Litchfield. “Yeah, I started crying. It’s just so many emotions. I was very excited. Very happy.
“But I didn’t think all this was going to happen,” Kaping added with a smile, looking at the three young women surrounding her.
“All this” was a historical day in Miss Litchfield program history. For the first time ever, three princesses will be part of the community’s royal court. Traditionally, Miss Litchfield is joined by two princesses. And in years when there have been only four candidates — like this year — just one princess has been selected.
All that went by the wayside during the 2022 coronation, however, as the other three candidates — Kaylee Sundve, Britney Prahl and Claire Loch — received princess crowns in a turn of events that seemed to stun not only the candidates but the large crowd inside Bernie Aaker Auditorium.
- Months of observances culminated with a weekend of celebration at Zion Lutheran Church in Litchfield, as the congregation celebrated the church’s 100th anniversary.
Zion Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation, began in 1917 as an offshoot of Ness Lutheran Church in rural Litchfield Township, and it was incorporated in 1922. The congregation’s first gatherings were in people’s homes and often spoken in Norwegian.
- It's not surprising with the soaring price of gas and groceries that business is booming at area food shelves.
“We are seeing more families in years since before the pandemic started,” said Jayme Revermann, executive director of the Meeker Area Food Shelf. “This year, April and May, we served 100 more families each month over the previous year same time frame, and during the first two weeks of June this year, we have served more than the entire month of June 2021.”
Lennie Albers, executive director of the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf, said that January through June 17, 2019, the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf had 3,967 distributions. During the same time frame in 2022 the food shelf saw 4,289 distributions.
- Meeker County Sheriff’s Office investigated the death of a Dassel man, who was an inmate in the jail. Brady Schmidt, 28, of Dassel was found unresponsive in his cell, according to a sheriff’s office news release. Jail personnel took lifesaving measures, and Litchfield Rescue Squad and Mayo Ambulance were dispatched to the jail to assist. Schmidt was transported to Meeker Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Litchfield Police Department also were called for assistance. The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine a cause of death, according to the news release, which also stated that there was no evidence of foul play.
AUGUST
- After years of discussion, the Litchfield Area Recreation Center went on the ballot in November. Voters would decide on whether to approve a half-cent sales tax and a proposed school bond that would fund a new field house, walking track and eight-lane swimming pool will become a reality.
If city voters approve the sales tax, but not the school bond, they would get a four-station field house and walking track, minus the pool and other school facility improvements. If they approved the school bond, but not the half-cent sales tax, they would get the pool and school improvements, but not a community field house and indoor track and fitness center. If voters turned down both questions, the recreation center won’t happen.
Whether additional amenities, like a separate, warmer-water aquatics area, become part of the complex will be up to local donations, fundraising and partnerships with the county board and the county hospital, which have been approached for contributions. An additional pool area would add about $1.8 million to the total cost of the $26-$27 million joint project.
- Meeker County Fair opened for its four-day run this week with a full slate of activities and events — some “old familiars” mixed with new attractions — in celebration of its 150th year.
Among the highest-profile events on the fair schedule was the country music concert featuring Neal McCoy Friday in the grandstand.
- A booming housing market and reputation for a quality product earned the best price ever for Litchfield High School’s construction trade house. The house, constructed by students during the 2021-22 school year, drew a winning bid of $162,000 during an online auction in July. That’s $57,000 more than the next-highest sale ($105,000 in 2020) and should result in the largest profit ever.
Business Manager Jesse Johnson was waiting for some bills for supplies and service, but expected the district could see a profit of $50,000 or more — which would be nearly double the previous best ($27,457 in 2020). Proceeds from the sale of the house go back into the construction trade program, Johnson said.
- Meeker County Sheriff's Office investigated the death of a Hutchinson man, who was found dead in a vehicle in Greenleaf Township. According to a news release, the Sheriff's Office received a report of a deceased male in a vehicle on the roadside in the 61000 block of 620th Avenue.
Deputies and detectives responded to the scene, and the body was identified as that of Jason Sutter, 39, of Hutchinson. The body was transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
- The Roberg family was recognized as the 2022 Meeker County Farm Family of the Year by the University of Minnesota. The Roberg family is a six-generation farm, started in 1876 by Andrew and Mary Roberg. Throughout the years of operation, the farm has seen many changes. Starting with chicks, pigs, and dairy cattle, it is now a crop and turkey raising operation.
Their commitment to agriculture was highlighted — along with one farm family from each county around the state — during FarmFest last week at the Gilfillan Estate near Redwood Falls.
- “If you build it, they will come.”
It might be cliché, but the line inspired by the 1989 film “Field of Dreams” seemed appropriate when discussing changes at Litchfield’s Optimist Park, which played host to the Region 12C amateur baseball tournament during two weekends in August.
Collaboration between the city of Litchfield and Litchfield Baseball Association saw six-figure improvements made to the local ballpark during the past few years. From a new grandstand roof and a new sound system, to backstop, dugout and other upgrades, the field which already was an idyllic town ball setting has become a kind of showpiece. And just in time.
Because they — baseball players and their fans, that is — came in big numbers for the region tournament. The eight-team regional tournament saw 14 games played over two weekends, with more than 2,600 paid admissions. That despite a rainy first weekend that saw games delayed and one suspended and completed the next day.
- Litchfield’s downtown received a welcoming upgrade as city crews installed new banners on 18 light poles lining North Sibley Avenue that offered a red-white-and-blue message of “Welcome to Litchfield.”
The banners were first proposed last year by Mayor Keith Johnson, who says he got the idea from Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, a city he and his wife have visited during annual winter vacations. “They had horizontal banners attached to their light poles that proclaim ‘Daytona Beach Shores, A Nice Place to Live,’” Johnson said. “I thought this would be a great welcoming addition to our downtown historic district.”
The vinyl banners, including mounting hardware, cost $4,800, and Johnson proposed seeking donations to cover the cost.
SEPTEMBER
- To hear Gerry Kulzer tell it, life has never been butter. Well, OK, those weren’t quite the words he used during numerous interviews with local and national news outlets during the past two weeks. But it was similar.
“I can’t describe how much fun this is,” Kulzer told WCCO-TV. “This is the ultimate ... .”
“This,” of course, is Kulzer’s part-time gig as the butter sculptor at the Minnesota State Fair, where he transforms 90-pound blocks of butter into likenesses of Princess Kay of the Milky Way and nine other Princess Kay finalists.
Kulzer was chosen over five other sculptors to become the official butter sculptor. He served a sort of apprenticeship under Linda Christensen, who held the job for 50 years. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, which limited Christensen’s travel from her home in California, he actually began work early, sculpting the princesses in 2020.
- Joe Tacheny remembers the day his older brothers went to war. They were among several dozen young men from Litchfield and surrounding area who boarded a troop train on a brutally cold night in January 1951 that eventually brought them to Camp Rucker, Alabama. It was a kind of raucous occasion at the Litchfield Depot, Joe recalls, as a large crowd gathered to send off members of the town’s National Guard unit.
“The next time I went to the depot, it wasn’t quite so happy,” Joe said, recalling how he and his sister accompanied their parents when they picked up the remains of his brother Ralph Tacheny in February 1952. “That’s when his body came back. I’ll never forget the rail car door rolling open and seeing that coffin.”
Those memories and many others — a mixture of pride and sadness — flooded back for Joe when he traveled to Washington, D.C., in late July for the dedication of the Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Joe and his sister, Carole Mueller, along with several other family members were among the Gold Star families who participated in the Wall of Remembrance dedication events, which included a private ceremony July 26 and the public dedication the following day. Joe and Carole also went to the Library of Congress after the public event, where they were interviewed about their family’s connection to the Korean War.
- The Forest City Stockade draws thousands of visitors from around the area every August to walk through, observe and participate in reenactment of Minnesota pioneer life of the 1860s. Sometime next year, the site could have an even larger audience in the scenes of a movie adaptation of a novel written by local author and state Rep. Dean Urdahl.
That’s because, beyond being a popular attraction as part of the Forest City Stockade Rendezvous the third weekend of August, it also works well as a movie set, according to Christopher Forbes, who is directing the film version of “Uprising,” the story of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Forbes, who has directed more than 40 movies, said he was impressed by what he first heard from Urdahl about the Forest City Stockade, and even more certain that he wanted to use it as a location for shooting parts of the film when he visited in person.
“(Urdahl) sent a number of photographs and whatnot, and I thought this place is wonderful,” Forbes said. “We came up and scouted two months ago. We looked around here and said, ‘yeah, let’s make this work.’
“This is a set. This is — I don’t mean just the stockade itself, but the whole village — is very well prepared interior and exterior,” Forbes added. “I couldn’t ask for better. I couldn’t build it better.”
- Litchfield City Council agreed to purchase two trailers that will contain kayaks and paddleboards the public will be able to rent for use at Lake Ripley.
The trailers, which carry a cost of about $37,000 each, will be placed at Memorial Park on Lake Ripley next spring and summer. Administrator Dave Cziok and other city officials met with a watercraft rental vendor and were impressed with operation. The cost estimate came from System Services, an Albert Lea-based company, which offers rental services for a wide variety of equipment, from ping pong to bicycles to ice fishing shelters.
Councilor Darlene Kotelnicki moved to spend up to $75,000 to set up a rental operation. The motion received unanimous support, with some suggesting that a service organization could help the city with the expense of setting up the new service.
OCTOBER
- She’s not offering them skill critiques or tips, drawing up plays, or giving pregame pep talks, but Brooke Hubert is getting to know Litchfield High School athletes about as well as any coaches on the Dragons staff. Hubert, 23, was hired in June by Meeker Memorial Hospital, and through a contractual agreement with the school district, began serving as the high school’s first full-time athletic trainer. In the first couple of months of the fall sports season, Hubert’s made contact with dozens of athletes, doing everything from taping ankles and wrists, to working on injury therapy, to initial diagnosis and referral to Meeker Memorial for more serious injuries.
“It’s been going really well,” Huber said. “The students seem receptive. There are new kids coming up to me every day, and the coaches for the most part seem very thankful to have someone take care of the injury side so they can do their job as a coach.”
- Meeker County Board of Commissioners approved the Mississippi River-St. Cloud One Watershed One Plan Projects Agreement for the specific goal of developing a watershed management plan, also known as One Watershed, One Plan. The program is designed to foster collaboration between upstream and downstream neighbors to work where it’s most important in the watershed, not limited by county or other jurisdictional boundaries.
The counties of Benton, Meeker, Stearns, Sherburne and Wright, along with the Benton, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Stearns, Sherburne, and Wright Soil and Water Conservation Districts are all part of the agreement. On a side note, the Clearwater River Watershed district is not joining the agreement due to concerns about local authority being superseded by the agreement.
- Voting by mail has its advantages, but if you want that vote to count, it’s important to complete your ballot the correct way. That was the message from Meeker County Auditor Barb Loch, who said her office, which oversees local elections, had seen a troubling trend among early voters.
“Our county is seeing a number of rejections on the return envelopes for their voted absentee and mail ballots,” Loch said in a news release. “These voters are not carefully completing each required ‘square’ on the signature envelopes.”
Meeker County has 10 vote-by-mail precincts, in which residents receive their ballot in the mail and can either drop off the completed ballot at the auditor’s office or return via the U.S. Postal Service. Other eligible voters can request an absentee ballot be mailed to them, and return it in the same ways. But Loch says some of those mail ballots are coming back improperly completed. She said the county has experienced a 4.3% overall ballot rejection rate as of Monday morning. A state report said that 40.13% of rejected ballots statewide were due to no witness signature, while 6.68% have been rejected because the voter themself had not signed.
- Wages for coaches and other staff members sparked discussion about pay equity during the Litchfield School Board meeting. The board heard proposals for pay increases and hiring wage for three different positions, and board members generally agreed that higher pay was a necessity to hire and retain employees throughout the district.
Litchfield High School Activities Director Justin Brown asked the board to increase pay for danceline coaches. Currently danceline head coach is paid $3,865 for the season, which runs 17 weeks, while the assistant coach position earns $1,978. Those pay rates rank danceline among the lowest-paid coaches on the Litchfield staff, Brown said, with the head coaching position receiving the lowest among all head coaches, and the assistant being paid less than some middle school coaching positions.
“As activities director, I want to ensure that my coaches are paid a fair wage,” Brown said in a memo to the board and Superintendent Beckie Simenson. “Most importantly, I want my dance coaches to feel valued and appreciated.”
- Litchfield City Council approved a moratorium on expanding the sale, research or distribution of cannabis-based edibles within city limits. To the council’s knowledge, only one local business had decided to take advantage of the recent legalization of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol — which is the active ingredient in marijuana), and the council decided that it would be wise to develop a local ordinance to at least regulate and/or tax the sale of these products within city limits. The problem was, developing an ordinance takes time, and the council, not being familiar with pitfalls related to THC edibles, decided it should restrict sales until such an ordinance could be composed.
Council members also expressed their opinion that the state Legislature would probably develop a statewide law on THC products during the 2023 legislative session, and that it would likely be wise for Litchfield to follow that lead.
NOVEMBER
- When it comes to the state tennis tournament, there’s not much margin of error. Litchfield’s girls tennis team found that out when despite playing solid matches, the Dragons missed a return appearance to the Class A championship match.
The Dragons claimed third place in the State Class A Tennis Tournament with a 7-0 win over Providence Academy Oct. 26 at Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
Litchfield, which opened the tournament with a 5-2 win over Staples-Motley, fell into the third-place contest when it lost to defending state champion Breck 4-3 in the semifinals. Breck beat the Dragons in the state title match last season.
- Litchfield Rescue Squad members and Litchfield firefighters received a sweet thank you for their work during a meeting in late October. During an hour-long presentation Sophina Merry Jane Lindquist, 13, of St. Cloud gave each of the first responders a fresh-baked cookie and a commemorative coin during their meeting Oct. 25 at the fire-rescue hall.
Lindquist has been sharing the cookies — baked by her mother — for eight years with firefighters, rescue squads and law enforcement. It all began with bringing the cookies to one fire department in St Cloud. Through word of mouth, Lindquist’s cookies and cheer spread to others in the area, then the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. The coin presentation was added in January 2020.
The so-called “Life Coin” is intended to offer a lifeline to the first responder community, an increasing number of whom have dealt with emotional issues and suicide.
- Strong support from voters in the city of Litchfield was not quite enough to overcome overwhelming opposition in other precincts throughout Litchfield School District. And that left some uncertainty about the future of the proposed Litchfield Area Recreation Center.
The school district’s referendum question, which asked voters to approve a $13.5 million bond that would be used to construct a swimming pool and public space that would be part of a joint city-school recreation center, failed by 174 votes, with 2,578 “no” votes to 2,404 “yes” in the Nov. 8 general election.
The school’s referendum was part of a two-pronged approach to create funding for the LARC. The other was the city’s referendum question asking voters to support a half-percent local option sales tax. The city’s referendum passed with 1,431 (55.68%) “yes” votes to 1,139 (44.32%) “no.”
The proposed center — given the name of Litchfield Area Recreation Center, or LARC, by a joint powers committee including city council and school board members — would include a four-section field house with an elevated walking track, an eight-lane indoor swimming pool, exercise rooms, dressing rooms, bathrooms and locker room.
It was hoped the two efforts, combined with a $5 million state grant, would provide the bulk of funding for construction of a facility that carries an estimated $27.2 million price tag. Though the two entities worked on two separate funding packages, it would be one facility, possibly operated under the Litchfield Community Education program, but open to use for school events as well as the general public.
- Litchfield will have a new mayor with a familiar face come January. Ron Dingmann, who has served as at-large City Council member for 14 years, will move into the mayor’s seat at the council’s first meeting in January after having emerged from the Nov. 8 general election as winner of a contest against fellow City Council member Darlene Kotelnicki.
Dingmann received 1,687 votes to 877 for Kotelnicki. He will succeed Keith Johnson, who opted not to run for reelection this year.
“I’m happy for the result in my race,” Dingmann said. “It feels good. I worked hard at it. My competitor put up a good challenge. I feel good about it; I’ve got a lot of support in this community.”
The mayoral campaign was a familiar one. Four years ago, Dingmann and Kotelnicki challenged Johnson for the seat. Dingmann finished second in that race, garnering 38% of the vote to Johnson’s 42%, while Kotenicki took third with 19%.
- Shoppers in Litchfield will begin paying a slightly higher tax on some purchases by July of next years. That’s the end result of voters’ approval during the Nov. 8 election of a local option half-percent sales tax. Proceeds of the sales tax will help fund construction of the city wellness and recreation center.
While there are still many questions to be answered in regard to the Litchfield Area Recreation Center, passage of the Nov. 8 referendum question regarding the sales tax will allow the city to begin collecting the tax on July 1, 2023. Prior to collection beginning, however, Litchfield City Council must adopt a sales tax ordinance, which could take a couple of months, according to City Administrator Dave Cziok, who discussed the tax during the council’s Nov. 21 meeting.
The new tax will fund much of the city’s portion of the proposed recreation center project, including a four-station field house, along with an elevated walking track and public dressing rooms and parking.
DECEMBER
- Homelessness. It’s assumed it is a large city problem, associated with images of encampments sprawled around downtown Minneapolis. Depictions include the filth and debris scattered along with the disturbances caused in public places. These are real issues happening, but homelessness is not about garbage and being transient in a large city. It’s about people — individuals or families who have been overwhelmed with many obstacles in their lives that have caused them to be without a home. This is not just a concern for large communities, but is also real in towns like Hutchinson and Litchfield. It’s just not as obvious.
Examples of homelessness in Meeker and McLeod counties are as varied as the people and their reasons for it. It could be a person parked at Walmart who has everything they own in their car. Another could be a family in a camper at a campground. These people may be employed, but their paycheck doesn’t afford them the option of renting an apartment or house — or there may not be one available, as demand is higher than availability. Other examples could be a senior veteran who didn’t understand how to fill out the government paperwork to get his benefits for housing, or the teen who suffered sexual abuse from a family member and so is staying with a friend to escape.
Help for the homeless is available. One of the agencies offering assistance is United Community Action Partnership, also known as UCAP. Most counties in the United States have a community action agency. Meeker County’s is in Litchfield and McLeod has offices in Hutchinson and Glencoe. Community Action Partnerships is a nonprofit membership organization that provides technical assistance, training and other resources to Community Action Agencies, nonprofit and public groups. Its purpose is to stay up to date on the latest appropriate practices to empower individuals, families and communities to succeed. As Justin Opheim, self-sufficiency case manager at McLeod County UCAP said, “It only takes a phone call!”
- Healthcare workers across the nation, including in Minnesota, have faced a surge in COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus amidst a heavy flu season. According to the mostly recent report from the Minnesota Department of Health this past week, the state has so far recorded 1,857 flu-related hospitalizations in the 2022-2023 season.
Those hospitalizations have already outnumbered the 2021-2022 (901) and 2020-2021 (35) hospitalizations. By comparison, there were 4,022 cases in the 2019-20 season, 2,543 in the 2018-19 season and 6,446 in the 2017-18 season.
"The last two years there was barely any influenza activity in most places in the country," said Dr. Brian Pollmann, vice president of medical affairs at Hutchinson Health. "That's because of all the masking and social distancing."
Meeker County was listed as having a "medium" COVID-19 level, which means residents are advised to wear masks on public transportation, and if they have symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. The CDC reports Meeker County has 124.88 cases per 100,000 people, with 10.2 new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 people. Staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed cases was reported to be 6.1%.
- Christmas Eve — one of two of the most popular worship services in the Christian calendar — is near. Services at Christian churches will be well attended everywhere. Looking back, it was quite different two years ago — even last year — with the COVID-19 pandemic influencing how worship was to be done. This year there is anticipation that the service will be able to be back to the way it used to be.
The pandemic affected the church worshiping experience as a whole. According to data collected in April/May of 2020 by Barna Group, one in three practicing Christians dropped out of church completely during COVID-19. Membership dropped by 50%. Since then, according to a survey put out by the Pew Institute, the share of regular church goers is down 6 percentage points from 34% in 2019 to 28% in 2021. Using information from an American Family Survey in 2022, it suggests that religious attendance has declined significantly in the past two years. According to another survey published in Christianity Today, two-thirds of people — 67% were back to being in church in March 2022. Evangelical Protestants had the highest rate of returning in person members than other denominations.
This was also the case in the communities of Hutchinson and Litchfield. In a recent survey done with a cross section of churches/denominations in the area, it was found the pandemic affected them as well. The good news is that all are close to or at normal levels of in-person attendance at this time. Hutchinson Evangelical Free Church has gained more in their in-person attendance. New Journey UCC Church, Oak Heights Covenant Church, both of Hutchinson, and Cornerstone Church in Litchfield have noticed a shuffle — people have left and new faces have shown up.
“This isn’t the first time the church faced such dark times,” said The Rev. Jill Warner, pastor at New Journey UCC Church in Hutchinson. “Christianity is going through a transition. The pandemic accelerated that.”
