Public Input Wanted as Fillmore County Updates Hazard Mitigation Plan
Fillmore County Relay for Life raises over $65,000
Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, August 1, 2024. Reprinted with permission and gratitude
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy
There was worry and frustration when the rains came down and the floods came up.
But add $66,375.58 and a deluge of hope.
“$66,375.58. Fillmore County Relay for Life 2024. This grand total number keeps increasing because of the generosity of individuals, and businesses, and teams, that are continuing their fundraising/donations,” reads a July post on the Fillmore County Relay for Life-Spring Valley Facebook page, summarizing the results of the American Cancer Society (ACS) Relay for Life held in Spring Valley on Friday, July 12, an event that at one point co-organizer Brenda Stier was entirely discouraged would not happen on the expected level due to flooding on Saturday, June 22 that filled the basement of the Spring Valley Carnegie Library building, Spring Valley’s city hall, with brown water and soaked the Relay supplies stored there.
Enter the Spring Valley city crew and a handful of volunteers who helped muck out the basement and rescue the totes of supplies that could be salvaged, and then include more than a trickle of resilience. Ultimately, the organizers – Stier, Rita Bezdicek and those assisting from other communities – rose to the occasion and met the commitment they’d made to hosting the Relay for all of Fillmore County just over three weeks ago, welcoming survivors and families to the Survivors’ Tea, to dinner and to hear speakers share about the work of conquering cancer, and later, to the Relay track in Spring Creek Park to walk among the luminarias lining the trail, all the while being amazed at the efforts to reach the $100,000 fundraising goal for cancer research.
The ACS website pointed out that “every dollar makes a difference…at Relay for Life, no donation is too small…each and every dollar counts…donations help fund groundbreaking cancer research, patient care programs, and can make a difference in communities like ours…with every donation, you are helping the American Cancer Society save lives.” Even before anyone set foot on the Relay track, the top Fillmore County team raised $14,815, and the end total on the morning of July 13 stood at $62,149.68, “not including credit card payments to be processed…thank you to everyone that helped the Fillmore County Relay for Life 2024 to be such a success.” A July 18 post on the Fillmore County page showed that the total at that time was $65,485.58, and that “there are still donations coming in…but it is amazing to see the grand total that has been raised so far by the Fillmore County Relay for Life 2024…thank you for your generosity that made this possible.”
A notice from Up All Night team member Jim Stennes, who invited anyone who’d like to continue contributing to join him and his teammates at the Southeast Minnesota Bluegrass Association (SEMBA) Bluegrass Festival, shared that the flow of fun and fundraising isn’t over just yet. “My team, Up All Night, still has a fundraiser the third weekend in August. We will be doing the concessions at the SEMBA Bluegrass Festival between Rushford and Houston. We usually raise around $5,000 to add to the total. Come down to Cushon’s Peak Campground and visit our food stand and listen to the great music that weekend.”
Spring Valley will again host the Relay in 2025 – with anticipation that the rains won’t come down and cause floods to come up – as Stier and Bezdicek had their own invitation for potential Spring Valley area Relay volunteers, writing, “We will be having a follow-up planning meeting in a few weeks. If you would like to be part of Fillmore County Relay for Life 2025, which will once again be held in Spring Valley, please respond on this (Facebook) post or private message Brenda Stier with your contact information. We would love to add you to our list of volunteers, or maybe you would like to have a fundraising team of your own next year!”
For more information on the 2024 and 2025 Fillmore County Relay for Life hosted by Spring Valley’s residents, log onto www.facebook.com/relayforlifespringvalleymn/.
Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
SVPL busy throughout summertime, preparing for fall
Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy
Summertime, and the living’s busy at the Spring Valley Public Library (SVPL), as noted by conversations held during the July 18 board of trustees’ meeting.
Spring Valley Public Library Director Melissa Vander Plas submitted a written report that summarized the summer, sharing that there remained only one week of the children’s reading program and that it would be an opportunity for all 125 registered participants to have a good time at the final event set for this Wednesday, July 24. “Our programs have averaged an attendance of 80 kids and 20 parents/adults. We’ve had some fun crafts the kids can do after each program, and they’ve been very eager to do the weekly photo find, ‘I Spy,’ and golden book challenges.” She added that the library has scheduled “several programs for this fall” to further engage the community’s children and adults, ranging from author visits to community enrichment classes. Her report also outlined that the
Friends of the Spring Valley Public Library have been instrumental in helping manage the crafts and crowds during the summer reading program so that everything proceeds smoothly and those who attend enjoy the experience. Friends president Sarah Hansen added her own report to the conversation, relaying that the Friends have been selling ice cream at Wednesdays on Broadway, raising funds for the library to have whatever it needs when a request is registered. She asked whether there might be volunteers in the community who might like to spend a few hours scooping for the Friends, then extended that ask to encompass one for volunteers who would like to join the Friends and become the new Friends president or fill another officer’s role as necessary once 2025 elections arrive.
Library staffing and hours were the next subjects of interest. The library operated with a skeleton crew of two people following the departure of the previous director, but prior to that, there was perusal of hiring a third staff member to serve as additional hands and a substitute on days that other staff are unavailable. The matter was tabled over the winter, but Van der Plas reintroduced it shortly after her hiring as director. She spoke of establishing a library clerk’s position that would also include substituting and cleaning duties, and it was during last week’s meeting that she announced the candidate that she felt most suited to the job. The board gave Vander Plas leeway to determine that, and she informed the members that she would be contacting the candidate as soon as possible.
In further staffing news, Van[1]der Plas listed the goals that the library staff has identified for the remainder of 2024, including “planning programming, complete with marketing and reporting; develop adult reading program for January, February and March; continue to prepare for software migration by weeding collections, cleaning up borrower records, and cleaning up item records; evaluate summer reading program and wrap up prizes an reorganize materials; clean up bookshelves for better appearance and organization; launch and publicize STEM kits; continue to promote games, puzzles and other items we have beyond books; continue community outreach, including storytime at Ag Days in the park; complete ongoing projects such as picnic table and framing project; hopefully – working with the grant and preparing for a construction project; and create a holiday experience with the Friends group (and other organizations as needed) to have a Christmas tea, a tour of homes, a holiday recital, a Christmas card work[1]shop or recycled book class.”
Library hours will be changing slightly as the summer ends – the board debated about Van der Plas’s request for Friday hours to be shortened by one and an extra Saturday added to the schedule as SVPL attempts to return to its previous open Saturdays. She explained that patrons do not generally arrive at the library within the last hour on Friday, meaning that the 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. hour could be reallocated to opening on the third Saturday of each month so that SVPL is open both the first and third Saturday of each month instead of just on the first Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The board concurred that the opportunity would be useful for patrons and visitors who wish to stop in but can’t do so on Friday evenings, and members registered their consensus that the return to Saturday operation should happen. The board extended its appreciation to the generous donors who have given monetary gifts and volunteer support over the past month, including Stuart and Carol Gross, Mrs. Roland Matson and various donors giving in memory of Bev Plaehn, Vincent and Laura Mangan honoring retired Kingsland teacher Scott Mul[1]holland, Mrs. Roland Matson in memory of Arlene Oeltjen, Pat and Harlan Bucknell for their donation, Jacki Faulhaber and Larry and Marilyn Kappers CHECK for their donation, Brandon Scheevel and Thrivent Financial for a donation related to the library’s presence at Wednesdays on Broadway, Charlotte O’Connor in memory of Kevin Brady, and Carol Himle, Angela Zeimetz and Rita Hartert for their respective donations.
The Spring Valley Public Library, on Jefferson Street, is currently open Monday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 7:00 p.m., and the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The friendly library staff is available to assist with just about any question that a patron or visitor may have. For more information, stop in or call 507- 346-2100.
Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
View the 2024 Ag Days Schedule of Events
Spring Valley cratebox derby tradition continues uphill…and downhill
Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, July 25, 2024. Reprinted with permission and gratitude.
By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy
Uphill. Uphill. Uphill some more. Uphill. Even further uphill. Uphill. Uphill…uphill.
DOWNHILL!!!!!!!!!!!
“This is currently the ‘Top of the Hill Cratebox Derby, and it was originally the ‘King of the Hill Cratebox Derby’ run by Ron Merkel, Jayson Smith and Todd Jones and multiple volunteers, then it was the ‘Ron Merkel Cratebox Derby’ when Fins and Films brought back the cratebox derby three years ago,” recounted Megan Merkel, speaking of the long uphill-downhill-uphill-again history of Spring Valley’s wooden wonder race, the cratebox derby, a thrilling miles-per hour kiddo ride in a homebuilt racecar on a hill on the south end of town, once again a part of Spring Valley’s Ag Days.
Merkel explained how the derby was towed back to be part of Ag Days after the Fins and Films board of directors sponsored the fast-forward fun for a few years, citing that “this spring, the people at Fins and Films contacted us about the Ron Merkel Cratebox Derby because they didn’t have enough volunteers to make it happen, and they asked if we wanted to take it over.” She continued, “My husband, Shawn, wanted to continue this event, but unfortunately, we were always on vacation. We thought about asking the people at Ag Days if we could do it… it’s Saturday, August 17, and we have about a dozen kids already registered.”
After registration online, the derby begins – if one wants to build a car from the kits available at Ace Hardware in Spring Valley – with constructing a wooden vehicle that can be decorated with everything from standard racing stripes to rainbows and unicorns but most importantly must be roadworthy. Merkel shared, “You do not have to build your own cars. We have the original cars and have kept them in good condition, so kids can borrow a car. The registration fee is $20, and that’s really because we can’t race 100 cars. There are two classes of racers – one for kids six to nine years old and another for kids ten and up. Kids need to bring a helmet… there are flyers around town and at the banks, and on the economic development authority’s website where you can register and pay. We want people to know that registration is continuing to be accepted and that if kids are on the hill and have a helmet, they can participate.”
She pointed out that the young drivers will encounter at least one “whee-eee” moment as they’re launched from the starting trailer on South Washington Avenue, a street over from where Fins and Films held it on the equally steep South Broadway slope, and their departure from that trailer will include a speedometer-clocking rate that just might scare or embolden them and terrify their spectating parents and grandparents. “We’re working together with the Little Huskers race and the fishing contest, which are at the same time, and we will move them in their bracket and continue racing after the parade. The other reason we moved it was that the vendor market is in Spring Creek Park, and there’s the Little Huskers race, and so we’re creating a funnel all the way to Ag Days fun. They’re guaranteed at least two races down the hill because it’s double elimination, so the first time, they can sort of get their nerves sorted out, and the second, they can race. There will be volunteers at the bottom of the hill to help them slow down, and they do not have to pull themselves back up the hill because we will have side-by-sides to do that.”
Merkel commented that racing in the Top of the Hill is more than just an event for the junior drivers. “I think it’s just the fun, the fun of racing. It’s the thrill of racing and to see if you won.” It’s also being cheered by “parents and grandparents” who may be rooting for a youngster, offering a family experience. “It’s making memories, fun summer experiences. Kids can be the talk of the town and have their five seconds of fame.” For more information on the Top of the Hill Cratebox Derby, log onto the derby’s Facebook page or the Spring Valley Economic Development Authority’s website at www.springvalleyeda.org.
Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325
