Readers’ Views

January 31, 2020

Community has PERKS To the Editor: We at Kinship are thankful for our partnership with our community. We are supported financially by our community. We partner with different organizations to host events and seek opportunities for our mentors and mentees. We are also able to work with different areas of our community to provide resources for our families. And, we have an awesome partnership with local businesses, literally called our PERKs Program — Professionals Encouraging Relationships with Kids. We have spoken to many businesses and organizations in our area and worked with ...

Readers’ Views

January 28, 2020

Fun events upcoming To the Editor: Kids Just Want to Have Fun would appreciate any individual or business sponsors to assist in funding our upcoming community events. Our 3rd annual Father/Daughter Sweetheart dance will be held 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at Fairmont Bethel Evangelical Free Church. It will include a dance with music by a professional DJ, professional photo booth, games, door prizes and Pizza Ranch pizza supper. Suggested donation ticket price is $15/family pre-sale from the Fairmont library or $20/ family at the door. The 2nd annual Mother/Son superhero event ...

Love Where You Live

January 24, 2020

OWATONNA At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, we are proud of our ability to adapt and address the needs in our region. We know there is no one-size-fits-all solution to economic development, early childhood and community vitality. But, responding to the needs of southern Minnesota depends on the longevity and financial stability of our organization. Through our foundation’s endowment funds, a key part of our financial stability, we can address the emerging needs of our region. For example, we supported the creation of the Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) program, ...

Readers’ Views

January 23, 2020

A simple message of love To the Editor: I am writing to thank Fairmont residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season. Because of the generosity of donors in Fairmont and across the United States, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, collected more than 8.9 million shoebox gifts in 2019. Combined with those collected from partnering countries in 2019, the ministry is now sending 10.6 million shoebox gifts to children worldwide. Through shoeboxes-packed with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items, ...

Readers’ Views

January 21, 2020

Working together To the Editor: Being together with friends and family is a hallmark of the holiday season. For Kinship, its mentors and families, another key part of the holidays is working together to make the holiday the best it can be for everyone. This year was no exception. We were fortunate to be able to partner with others in our community as we celebrated the Christmas season. On Dec. 1, we held our annual Kinship Christmas party with our mentors and mentees. For the first time, we had our party at St. John’s United Church of Christ. For those who are unaware, ...

Readers’ Views

January 17, 2020

Appreciating the good things To the Editor: With all the negativity this past year regarding the city of Fairmont, we have experienced some of the goodness that comes from living in this city and the people who are often behind the scenes. We recently had some difficulties with our water supply in our home. A call was made to Day Plumbing and they were at our house within an hour. In the next hour, the city crew headed by Neil Becker was examining the problem. In the next few days, they were working to restore our water and Neil and his crew worked above and beyond to accommodate us ...