Sunday, November 23, 2025

By: David Philips

 

The Frozen Feet 4k fun run and walk will return for another year during Christmas on Historic Broadway Avenue in Spring Valley Saturday, Dec. 13, with a drawing for prizes and free drinks at Stellar 181.

The Kingsland Youth Football group will sponsor the event again this year, handling organization of the run set for 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 13. All proceeds will go to the program, which is the training ground for varsity players who have had much success in recent years.

The Mundfrom Building, 124 North Broadway Avenue, will be the meeting place and finishing location again this year. Baked goodies and other treats will be available at the end of the event.

During the post-event festivities, awards will be presented to the overall male winner, overall female winner and the runner with the most festive outfit. The awards are being made by students in the metal art program at Kingsland High School.

Once again, the event will have several gifts available to participants through a drawing at the conclusion of the run/walk through a festive Spring Valley that is decorated for the annual Christmas event. Several local businesses have generously donated gift cards and other goodies that will be distributed through the drawing.

Participants in this year’s event will receive one free drink from Stellar 181. Those under 21 years of age will get a virgin Stellar Punch while people 21 and older will get their choice of a virgin or regular Stellar Punch. The drinks will be available at Stellar 181 after the post-run awards.

Participants will be able to join the run for a $15 entry fee. There is also an option to contribute additional dollars to the Kingsland Youth Football program. Donors will get extra tickets for the drawing of prizes.

Advance registration is encouraged online at springvalleyeda.org or https://runsignup.com/Race/MN/SpringValley/FrozenFeet4k. People can also donate to the group online. Paper forms are available at City Hall. Same-day registration is an option at the Mundfrom Building starting at 10:30 a.m.

During the event, runners will leave downtown Spring Valley, run south on Washington Avenue, head west on Sample Road, then head back north on Territorial Road before hitting the trail off of Church Street, crossing the creek and continuing through the Trail of Trees and back to downtown. The route is just short of 2.5 miles. Walkers can traverse the entire route or take a shortened jaunt around and through the beautiful Trail of Trees.

The event is part of Christmas on Historic Broadway put on by the Spring Valley Chamber of Commerce and Brave Community Theatre. Other events include a supper with Santa Claus and a light parade in the evening of Dec. 13. The entire list of events is at springvalleychamberofcommerce.com.

 

REGISTER ONLINE HERE 

The Spring Valley Kiwanis Club is seeking volunteers to sign up as bell ringers for the 2025 Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign.

 

All donations received will remain in Fillmore County to support local & county-wide Salvation Army activities.

 

Shifts are 2 hours long, daily from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Sunshine Foods located at 501 North Park Dr.  in Spring Valley.  The Red Kettle Campaign officially begins Monday November 24th, and runs through Tuesday, December 30th, ending at 3:00 p.m.  (There are no shifts scheduled for Thanksgiving Day!)

 

Bells and aprons for each shift can be picked up at the service desk at Sunshine Foods.

 

Please take a minute, click on the link below, and sign-up for a bell ringing shift this holiday season!

 

SIGN-UP HERE! 

 

RSVPs are requested. To RSVP or ask questions, contact Senior Lending Director Marcia Haley at marciah@smifoundation.org.

If you would like to receive a text reminder, please provide your phone number.

Registration closes Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m.

 

Published November 5, 2025 

 

Originally Published art rootrivercurrent.org

By David Phillips, October 27, 2025

 

At the time of publishing this article, the United States was within days of hundreds of thousands of families losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the federal government’s shutdown. In Minnesota alone, according to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’ office, thousands of Minnesotans could lose access to nutrition assistance beginning November 1 which will only exacerbate an already difficult time for families in need. To help bridge the gap, he announced, the state will allocate $4 million in new funding for Minnesota food shelves.

In visiting local food shelves, Root River Current contributor David Phillips has discovered, families across the greater Root River Valley are finding circumstances here just as challenging as across the rest of the state. Here’s his story.

SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA – Local food shelves are reporting increased, even record, numbers of visits in 2025. That aligns with statewide data that shows one in five Minnesota households – more than one in four that have children – is food insecure, according to a study by Second Harvest Heartland, a Minnesota hunger relief organization. The study showed that 18 percent of the state’s population is already supported by the emergency food system.

Several of the region’s cities, even as small as Wykoff, operate food shelves to help those in need. Most rely on volunteers for staffing with funds from donations and grants to stock the shelves.

Food shelf supplies for area communities largely come from Channel One, a regional food bank in Rochester that serves more than 100 programs in southeastern Minnesota.

Although the amount of food insecurity in this region is slightly lower than the state as a whole, Channel One reports that food shelf visits in the area continue to increase rapidly, mirroring state and national trends. The regional food bank served 296,000 households in 2023 and more than 390,000 in 2024.

Record visits to area food shelves in 2025

The Spring Valley Area Food Shelf has seen a 20 percent increase in average household visits through the first nine months of 2025 compared to 2024.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE AT THE ROOT RIVER CURRENT