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Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, January 22, 2026.   Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink-Lovejoy

The Spring Valley Kiwanis Club has honored Emily Sar­gent, daughter of Leah and Greg Sargent, as a recipient of its Academic Excellence Award.

The Kingsland senior is ac­tive in HOSA, One Act Play, Drama Club, Knowledge Bowl, golf, and Art Club. “Of them, HOSA is my favorite,” she noted, going on to list that “in the past, I’ve also done Key Club and Game Club.” She at­tends Post-Secondary Educa­tion Options (PSEO) classes while also remaining close to Kingsland. “My favorite sub­ject has to be any subject that is history-based. My least favor­ite is any class that’s math-based.”

She’s busy enough with school that she doesn’t have a job just yet. “Outside of school, I don’t do many activ­ities besides my hobbies since a lot of my PSEO work takes up a lot of my time. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, baking and doing arts and crafts – painting and making book­marks from pressed flowers are my favorites. One of my other hobbies is biking on trails dur­ing the summer and fall time when it’s warm and dry enough that you can enjoy the colors and scenery in peace.” She added, “My favorite movie is probably ‘Secondhand Lions.’ It’s wholesome and has a lot of great life lessons, in my opin­ion. My favorite book is prob­ably ‘Les Miserables.’ I am a fan of old classics, and it’s set during a very busy time in his­tory, so it’s just fun to read. I can listen to just about any music, but I prefer indie music, and I could live on crispy chicken sandwiches for the rest of my life but find Spam abso­lutely gross. My biggest pet peeve is when people throw trash on the ground and don’t pick it up.”

If she were given free air­fare to any country in the world, she’d travel to Germany. “If I could go to any country in the world, I would go to Ger­many. I would want to go to see a lot of the medieval archi­tecture and the World War II historical sites. If I could go to any state, I’d probably go to Hawaii just to see the coast­lines.”

The 17-year-old has others in mind as she considered what she’d do if she could change the world. “If I could change one thing about the world, I’d probably change it to make ev­eryone else more understanding and empathetic of other people’s situations. I’d pick that because it would quite lit­erally make a world of differ­ence for everything else. Three people I admire would defi­nitely be my mom and dad. They’ve helped me through ev­erything and made sure I could have the time and means to do things I wanted to do. Another person I admire would be my grandpa because of all of the work he’s done and sacrifices he’s made to get through life.”

She shared her plans after high school and PSEO. “When I graduate, I want to become a medical laboratory scientist and a researcher. I want to because I’ve always wanted to work in the sciences in some shape or form, and I’ve loved lab work the best. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an architect.”

The Kiwanis recognized Emily and her parents at a re­cent meeting. The club con­venes on Wednesdays at noon at the Spring Valley Com­munity Center and welcomes visitors who would like to learn more about the organization’s mission and membership.

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, December 12, 2025.   Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

“The best part of Christmas on Historic Broadway is seeing our community come together during the most magical time of the year. This celebration brings people of all ages together to support many local nonprofit organizations at a time when many feel inspired to give back, help their neighbors, and invest in meaningful community projects,” stated Spring Valley Area Chamber of Commerce President and Director of Christmas on Historic Broadway Angie Gensmer, sharing why talls and smalls alike should pause this Saturday, Dec. 13 to touch the snow, slide downhill at top speeds, snack on something sweet, stand outside in the cold to watch a grand parade and hear singing and Santa Claus’s hearty “Ho-ho-ho” during the 20th annual Christmas on Historic Broadway celebration, a collab oration between the Spring Val ley Chamber of Commerce and Brave Community Theatre (BCT) begun in 2005 as a lighted parade skating down Broadway Avenue.

The second decade of the Chamber and BCT gathering to present the gift that is Christmas on Historic Broadway promises a merry day filled with events and activities that have evolved since that first-ever holiday hurrah. Gensmer elaborated, “Visitors can enjoy fellowship, beautiful decorations, festive crafts, a large sledding hill, the Frozen Feet 4K, the grand lighted parade, a vendor market, bake sale, cookbook walk, holiday classes, tea party, a nativity display, Christmas lights and tree displays, Santa Supper with delicious food donated and made by local businesses and community members, and a silent auction and wreath auction. This year, we’re excited to offer an ex tended timeframe for the Trail of Trees, along with after-hours holiday parties hosted at the local brewery and bowling alley. There are activities for all ages and abilities, offering experiences people might not otherwise have the chance to enjoy unless they were close to home.”

The day’s delights include the Trail of Trees lighted tree grove in Spring Creek Park throughout the entire celebration, along with all-day sledding down the south hill of Broadway Avenue – sponsored by O’Connell Excavating and requiring a helmet for all participants, an all-day Mitten Tree and a food donation box at the Spring Valley Community Center to benefit those who might need their season brightened by a hand up, the 11:00 a.m. Frozen Feet 4K run starting at the Mundfrom Building, and the 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Kings land Athletic Booster Club (KABC) vendor market at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Hall on the second block of Broadway. And First English Lutheran Church, the little church on Grant Street, is again welcoming visitors into its basement fellowship hall to visit the collection of nativity scenes belonging to First English members and friends of the congregation, starting at 10:00 a.m. and lasting until 4:00 p.m., when the sky darkens and freezes, showing the stars as they begin to glow overhead.

The VFW Hall is where the thirsty can take a moment to try cocktails poured by the Isle of Dreams Bar and Event Center’s bartending staff – they’ll be mixing from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For those who prefer their drinks cozy, the Costa Rica Kids are fundraising with hot drinks during the same hours. Tea’s on at Some Like It Hot Cakes & Catering on the west side of the first block of Broadway – proprietor Suzanne Gardner has set tables for 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. holiday tea times. Rochelle Esther’s taking Christmas photo graphs from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and again between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to help preserve memories for Christmas on Broadway attendees. Children’s crafts at Valley Christian Center between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., as well as Christmas cards for veterans being tucked together at the VFW during those three hours, will make a note of the holiday cheer for young and old.

The wreath and silent auction at the community center opens at 1:00 p.m. and lasts until 5:00 p.m. when bids are tallied and winners notified, and there’s also Supper with Santa from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. inside the busy meeting place. St. Johns Lutheran Church and School members are hosting a bake sale at the Mundfrom Building between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and up the street just a little, Kara Denner’s flower shop, Kalla Lily, will offer hands-on classes between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The Spring Valley Public Library (SVPL) is now open every single Saturday – a fact about which director Melissa Vander Plas is very proud after several years of SVPL being closed most Saturdays – and that means that it can welcome patrons and visitors to a cookbook walk starting at 1:00 p.m., with time to gather pages of delectable recipes until 4:00 p.m. on this special-occasion day.

BCT, the partner organization that made Christmas on Broad way possible in its early years, is experimenting with a new Christmas pageant format through 3:00 p.m. and post parade Christmas pageant open auditions. Community-minded students at the community center – the Kingsland Key Club’s members – are putting the icing on the cookies and dec orating ornaments with attendees from 4:00 p.m. and until the 6:00 p.m. grand parade just outside the door. At dusk, Spring Valley lights up as residents participating in a home lighting display plug in and glow up the town. Gensmer pointed out that a map is available for anyone who would like to tour the twinkling. Valley Lanes is planning a Christmas party beginning after the parade, and at 8:00 p.m., the Ag Days Committee presents karaoke night at Bluff Brothers on the north end of town, toasting to two decades of Christmastime camaraderie.

Gensmer reiterated her invitation to everyone to take a moment and spend it in downtown Spring Valley this Saturday as “sparkle” and “shine” become the words that describe just about everything and every feeling. She concluded, “As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we know this year’s event will be one to remember.”

For more information, log onto the Spring Valley MN Christmas on Historic Broad way Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/christmasonhistoricbroadway.

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

Published September 24, 2025 

by Jeff Thauwald

The Kiwanis Club of Spring Valley has selected Spring Valley’s EMS Coordinators Lucy Drinkall, Sue Puffer and Mike Zimmer as their 2025 Citizens-of-the Year. Club co-presidents Jay Webster and Rita Bezdicek said many great nominations were submitted but that Spring Valley’s EMS Coordinators stood out because of their long service to the community.

Lucy, Sue and Mike will be recognized by the Kiwanis Club, Sunday, October 12, at the Spring Valley Community Center. There will be a reception starting at 1:00 pm with the program to start at 1:30.

Kiwanis International is a world-wide service organization with its’ guiding principle being, “improving the world one child and one community at a time”. As such, the public has traditionally donated money to the club in honor of the selected Citizen-of-the-Year to be used for the clubs yearly Citizen-of-the-Year Scholarship which is given to a graduating Kingsland senior. Donations this year may be brought to the community center on the 12th or sent to: Kiwanis Club of Spring Valley, P.O. Box 133, Spring Valley, MN 55975, in recognition of Spring Valley’s EMS Coordinators.

Jeff Thauwald
Member of the In Support of Spiritual Aims Committee
Kiwanis Club of Spring Valley
507.937.3212

The Friends of the Spring Valley Public Library is holding their Annual Spring Book Sale on Saturday, April 26. The sale will be held at the Spring Valley VFW from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00. Come and check out the many books, DVDs, LPs, and puzzles. Volunteer opportunities are also available.

There is something for everyone!

The Friends of the Spring Valley Public Library is a non-profit organization whose goals are to promote excellence in the library by supporting their services and programs through advocacy, volunteering, and fundraising.