Spring Valley EDA News

Emergency Manager/Deputy Don Kullot described the damage resulting from the April 12 storm at a special meeting of the Fillmore County Board held on April 19.

Already, damage estimates that qualify for public assistance have exceeded the necessary threshold of $43,500 required by the state. Preliminary numbers from MiEnergy are at least $50,000. MiEnergy and other damages in Spring Valley area now total more than $78,000. Kullot expects another $25,000 in possible damages are yet to be evaluated.

MiEnergy power poles along CSAH 1 southwest of Spring Valley that were new construction this past January are leaning. Several power poles throughout this area were affected. Damage to electric transmission and distribution lines is an eligible cost.

 

Click to read the full story by Karen Reisner from April 25, 2022 in the Fillmore County Journal 

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, April 21,2022.   Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy 

 

What’s the most heavenly new camp chorus?

“Overnight is back, baby.”

“We’re open and back to our traditional, time-tested, time-honored format … I’m looking forward to having a lot of people around, hiking the trails until they’re well-worn paths– it was amazing to me during 2020 and 2021 how much nature was taking back the trails– so I’m looking forward to the well-worn paths, smelling like a campfire … I’m looking forward to the joy of God’s love and blessings,” declared Good Earth Village (GEV) Executive Director Dianna Parks, long anticipating the arrival of sleeping bag-toting youngsters returning to the Lutheran camp northeast of Spring Valley after two whole lonely years without overnight summer campers or the late-hour campfire smoke curling toward the star-encrusted sky.

Parks recalled the pivot that GEV, a destination for hundreds of children and families each summer, had to make when the COVID pandemic began in March 2020, leaving the camp’s administration lost as to how to navigate a season without eager young adventurers ready to sleep in cabin bunk beds and explore the great out- doors.

“In 2020, we did what we called ‘Virtual Village,’ and we did six weeks online–we have seven core values–and we did a Bible study, song, and craft on one of those each week. It was all online so churches could build around it. In 2021, we had Adventure Days where we did online camp, and it was much smaller than 2020.”

The long, silent springtime of 2020 left Parks and GEV staff trying to figure out what to do with the open-sky sanctuary that has served campers since its founding in 1978, even as Sunday schools and churches held online and drive-in church services and people were generally confined to home unless they had essential business to conduct.

Parks shared that GEV retreat director Tyler Anderson saw opportunity to welcome groups, such as families, church circles and others who did not feel comfortable meeting in their homes, to use the large lodges and outdoor amphitheater overlooking the valley once isolation mandates were lifted.

She remarked, “The other thing we did was we reached out to our ministry partners and congregations and offered our services for special music and online worship pieces. At Our Savior Lutheran (OSL) in Spring Valley, we did their entire services … we did that with a couple of our partners. We turned the tables and asked, ‘How can we help you?’” She noted that while GEV’s 2020 and 2021 outreach programming “didn’t look like so much on paper, it was (a lot of work and rewards) because it was brand new.”

No matter whether there were tall or small people with muddy or clean feet traipsing GEV’s hillsides and splashing in the Spring Valley Creek, GEV sought to serve its congregations and communities because “it’s what we’re meant to do.” However, even as the Bible camp’s staff restored some of its programming–such as the Lunch and Learn events that it hosts to highlight the re- treat’s diverse uses–it could not immediately repair what dam- age had been done to its annual summer camps, and the effects are still evident as registration opened for the new summer season.

Parks explained, “A lot of churches suffered loss of kids and families, because they were and are not ready to come back, and that’s broken the cycle of the church year and summer camp. We’re actively working to rebuild that. It’s the tension we feel most as we’re working toward a full summer of campers and struggle to find staff. We’re praying to find both … and living into our faith.”

The camp’s 2022 invitation to join for its wide range of sessions cites from Job 12:7-10, reading, “What is this summer’s theme? ‘But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In God’s hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all humankind.’

“The summer theme for 2022 is ‘Created Good.’ Campers will be exploring the daily themes of ‘Created to Create,’ ‘Created to Wonder,’ ‘Created to Care,’ ‘Created to Flourish,’ and ‘Created to Share.’ Through worship, songs, spiritual practices, environmental education, and more, campers will be encouraged to reflect on how they are called to nurture and care for all of God’s creation.”

Parks firmly believes that “kids need to be outside, they need to be on actual dirt and grass, get fresh air, have campfires, go on hikes, go splashing in the creek, be building community with other kids that they may not go to school with but will be best friends with by the end of the week.” Her favorite part of watching church vans, buses and parents arrive on Monday filled with wiggly, but per- haps uncomfortable, children is that “it’s amazing to see the chemistry … a week feels like a lifetime, and the amount of contact we have, like a church year … the amount of faith-building built into that time is extraordinary, and by Friday morning, they’re crying because they don’t want to go home.”

That means that somewhere, there are young adults who need a summer job and who are called to be counselors who lead campers who arrive uncertain but leave a week later with connections and faith grown as tall as the trees. She stated that GEV usually has its counselors’ positions filled, or nearly so, by mid- to late-March, but this year’s pandemic recovery leaves her concerned that the individuals who may be best for taking GEV Adventurers, Village Kids, Trailblazers, Settlers, Pathfinders, and other attendees to tramp down trails and get their feet wet in the stream won’t appear.

“I truly know that this is the best job that young adults can have, working at a camp, and it’s especially true of anyone who is pursuing a teaching or ministry job, truly for anyone who will be leading teams, who has to be self-sufficient … there’s no better job than being a counselor.”

GEV’s new program director, Erik Dahl, a Wisconsin native hailing from the capital city of Madison, agreed with Parks that getting to guide others in faith is an unforgettable endeavor, and it’s one that he looks forward to doing at GEV after four summers spent as a counselor, village leader and assistant program director at Sugar Creek Bible Camp near La Crosse, following that up with becoming GEV’s summer property director last year.

“I’m incredibly excited to be here. I went to school at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to get my degree in recreational management with an outdoor emphasis to learn how to do this job, and I feel very prepared, very excited to be working with kids. It’s the impact we can have on a camper’s life–I’m a camper, too. I love anything outdoors … hiking, soccer, all sports. I’m looking forward to going on the Outback canoe trip to the Apostle Islands.”

The cat-loving former counselor cited that while he’s just beginning his work as a pro- gram director, he’s glad to have had experience as a counselor because once inexperienced staff arrives, “it helps to know that everybody is in the same boat this summer … that all of us, collectively, have never done this before” and he enjoys the “shared space … the sense of camaraderie” intrinsic to leadership. “I love team-building activities. I’m excited to bring that to Good Earth Village. I’ve learned from some of the best. It’s putting people in a controlled environment, and it’s how they work together as a team.”

He cited the tenets that remain from his own overnight camp experiences. “My favorite part is probably making new friends of people I didn’t know before. By the end of the week, we were best friends, and there are some I’m still in contact with.”

Parks highlighted that in addition to welcoming Dahl as its program director this season, GEV has “one camp that’s different every year, an offsite camp to the Apostle Is[1]lands, and we have the Spring Valley Creek that runs through our property which is prized for fishing … we give permits for people to come here to fish, and we have a Go Fish, a camp that was supposed to be brand new in 2020. We partner with an organization to teach kids how to fish.” She remarked that that camp is part of the rebuilding process as GEV returns to its literal and figurative summer camp roots this June through August with the “traditional, time-honored format” of unrolling one’s sleeping bag and getting comfortable in nature.

And Dahl concluded, “Camp is a unique place where you can be your authentic and genuine self. The sole purpose is to have fun, connect with each other.” Good Earth Village is located approximately five miles north of Spring Valley at 25303 Old Town Drive, Spring Valley.

For more information, log onto the Good Earth Village website at www.goodearthvillage.org, or call the GEV welcome center at 507-346- 2494.

 

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday March 24th, 2022.   Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy 

 

Emily Miner’s FFA’ed out of her zone.

For that, she’s forever thankful.

“I have not been anywhere special because of FFA, but it has encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone,” said the Kingsland senior FFA member who is proud to be claiming her FFA State Degree at the Minnesota FFA state convention next month. She is as a member of the Spring Valley-Wykoff FFA chapter advised by Ag instructor Kristal Brogan.

Miner joined FFA as a seventh grader in 2017 “because all of my siblings had been in it, and it looked fun.” She explained, “I like the opportunities and challenges that it gives me. It has influenced me to do more in my community and to help others. I enjoy that we work together in groups outside of the classroom and get involved in the community and that I get to compete with my friends.”

She elaborated, “I have been on the Horse team, Nursery and Landscape team, and Small Animals team. I joined the Horse team because I’ve always been interested in horses. I joined the others just as something to do as a time-passer. My favorite event is competing in my horse career development event (CDE).” Also, she’s gotten to lend a hand during FFA service projects, such as making blankets for the local nursing homes, along with participation in the chapter’s other efforts to fulfill its mission to work toward bettering community through leadership.

Miner highlighted that her FFA membership has been both challenging and rewarding.

“A challenge was trying to find time between school and sports to get to work. It’s been rewarding to learn all of the things that I did. It has helped me succeed in my work experience—it’s hard work to try and juggle so many things, but it’s rewarding in the end. Being in FFA has helped me learn to do my job better, and it will help my future by allowing me to better learn in my career…and [it] helped me learn things that I may not have learned.”

Miner is excited to attend the state FFA convention to receive her degree.

“It’s knowing that I was able to get my degree before I graduated. It’s an honor and an award that I had the ability to receive … I look forward to going on stage and walking in front of everyone and knowing what I accomplished.”

She shared that she is “enlisted in the Army and hope to make a career out of it,” but that if she has a chance to help future FFA members find their way, she’d gladly do so, concluding, “I am always willing to help someone if they are in need. Just join FFA. The opportunities are endless, and it helps you grow as a person.”

Fellow Kingsland senior Emma Kuisle is also receiving her FFA State Degree, and Brogan honored her work as a member with an announcement on the chapter’s Facebook page, stating, “Emma Kuisle participated in the Small Animals competition on Feb. 8 at P-E-M High School. She was interested in trying this event because she is planning to go to South Dakota State University (SDSU) to major in Vet Science. She really enjoyed the competition and thought the information is helpful to further her career goals.”

Kuisle joined FFA in 2018 because she “had friends in it and wanted to show my animals.” She’s learned leadership skills and determined her career choice through her FFA experiences. “I have realized that I want to be a vet and currently work at Spring Valley Vet Clinic. I am going to SDSU to major in Animal Science.”

As an FFA’er, she’s also gotten to be chapter sentinel, meet “friends from other schools,” has participated in the job interview and veterinary science CDEs, been part of the floriculture team—finding that she’s preparing for her future through the Veterinary Science CDE, and that she enjoys horticulture—and been able to make a difference in her community through the chapter’s contributions to the Christmas in Fillmore County Christmas gift family assistance program. She’s also been on hand for the chapter’s corn drive, taught others about farming through the Little Farmhands and Miracle of Birth educational opportunities and taken part in FFA Week activities. Additionally, she’s been part of the goat and dairy shows at the Fillmore County Fair.

Kuisle named “recording hours and completing work” as her personal FFA challenges, but that she enjoys getting “to show off my hard work as an FFA member.”

She anticipates going to the state convention because it will be her first and only chance to attend, as the previous conventions were canceled due to the COVID pandemic. Having her FFA State Degree in hand will be to Kuisle like getting a bucket filled with kittens … almost.

“It is a good way to show your hard work and show your dedication to agriculture,” she commented, inviting others to consider FFA membership for the potential it holds, even if they don’t pursue their degrees.

“Do it! You will not regret it! You will make lifelong skills and meet friends.”

Kuisle and Miner will be among the numerous Spring Valley-Wykoff FFA members attending the state convention, as Brogan’s lineup of deserving students has grown since the first event in October through the most recent held in mid-February. The Soils team took fourth place at competition, with an announcement posted on the FFA Facebook page boasts, “Great job to the soils team on placing fourth at the Soils competition … they will advance to state in April!” followed by a list of the team’s membership— Ryley Guy, Kensie Heusinkveld, Jacob Warren and Emily Mlinar.

The Fish and Wildlife team hooked a second-place win at competition Feb. 8, with members Carson Wolfgram, Courtland Drury DeBoer, Connor Tangen, Dylan Schultz and Sam Snitker celebrating their individual placings, as well as their advancement to State.

Forestry team members—seniors Maddie Snitker, Hannah Lange, Becca Hanson and Lexi Harwood—have competed together for quite some time and also have the State convention on their calendars, readying themselves to show their knowledge about identifying the trees in a glen, as well as best management practices.

Also, a Feb. 16 meats competition at Stinson’s Meat Locker in Houston, Minn., garnered the Spring Valley-Wykoff FFA’s team a third place on the bracket and a trip to match their grading skills at State convention. Participating in this year’s team are Sam Howard, Ira Schmidt, Seth Howard, Gavin Hubka and Parker Johnson.

Brogan then posted just this past week that she’s “super proud of the members that competed on Friday in Cannon Falls,” as the Farm Management team placed third and is set to advance to State—including Audrey Webster, Anika Reiland and Kennedy Fenske.

Finally, Brogan extended her congratulations to the Ag Mechanics team, comprised of Max Erdman, Landan Hunemuller, William Arndorfer and Zach Reiland, who “placed fourth and missed going to State by seven points, as State competitions only take the top three teams … William placed third individually and is able to advance to the State competition by himself.” And a young Dairy Foods team gave it their best go at knowing what’s a good gallon of milk and chunk of cheese during the Dairy Foods meet, with Mylah Montgomery, Gretchen Hubka, Blake Krahn and Cody Howard taking close inspection of the calcium collection before them.

Throughout the 2021-2022 school year, Brogan’s FFA’ers have been found living to serve—gathering gifts for Christmas in Fillmore County; bringing small presents to Spring Valley Living (SVL), making Valentines for elementary students, carrying out annual fruit and bread braid sales; hosting FFA Week (including offering their fellow students the opportunity to pet farm animals during the FFA barnyard, held in the ag shop); testing their metal cutting skills using the department’s new plasma table to make trees for the elementary special education program for which the elementary “students will use magnets to manipulate the tree and work on various skills,” and collecting new hats, mittens and gloves to “help keep Kingsland cozy this winter.”

That’s not all the FFA’ers conquered, as another announcement posted explained, “Early October, these 14 members collected monetary and corn donations to raise a total of $9,000. ALL of the money was donated to True Friends (special needs camp), the Spring Valley Area Food Shelf, the Wykoff food shelf, and the Kingsland backpack (food) program.” And yet another post acknowledged the “24 FFA members who spent Friday making nine fleece tie blankets and hanging out.” Ultimately, the chapter’s membership entertains a very busy schedule each school year.

For more information on what’s getting students out of their zones on agriculture, log onto the Spring Valley-Wykoff FFA Facebook page.

 

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325