For aquaculture farmer Paul Damhof, putting up the “sold out” placard along his roadside billboard has become almost as much of a daily chore as checking the pH levels of his shrimp tanks.
With customers across a 150-mile radius and few industry competitors to contend with, Blomkest shrimp farm Simply Shrimp LLC continues with meeting demand.
“On weekends, holidays, it’s nothing to have 20, 30, 40 people driving up on the yard, “Damhof said. “It’s gone as soon as we get (shrimp) up
WILLMAR—A unique poultry education program created by the University of Minnesota, Ridgewater College in Willmar and industry leaders will be launched this fall.
The multi-tiered program includes a series of courses at Ridgewater and the U of M that are designed to provide training to undergraduates and graduate students as well as those already working in the poultry industry.
It’s hoped the program will help create a better-educated workforce, ranging from on-the-farm employees to those who
WILLMAR—Staff and patients are settling into the new children’s psychiatric hospital that opened earlier this month in Willmar.
The Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Services hospital is the only state-owned and -operated facility of its type in Minnesota.
The hospital is designed for Minnesota children 4 to 18 years of age who have complex mental illness and behavioral disorders that are so severe the children cannot be treated in their home communities.
Construction of the $10 million,
As of Tuesday morning, Johnny O’Neil’s in Spicer is now under new ownership.
Michelle Kastel-Olson and her husband, John, sold the restaurant and bar to Donovan and Keisha Frauendienst, who own Kegger’s in Clara City, and Finley Bridal Co. in New London, respectively.
Kastel-Olson said she was originally planning to sell the business on March 16, but due to COVID-19 shutdown, held off on the sale until this week.
After owning and operating O’Neil’s for 20 years, Kastel-Olson said she is
With a crunch, a heave and a groan, the hydraulic arms of heavy machinery sank their jaws into the Spicer Castle Tuesday morning. And just like that, 125 years of history toppled in a heap.
Constructed in 1895 by Spicer founder John Spicer and long since operating as a bed and breakfast owned by the Latham family, the structure had fallen into disrepair after it had been put up for sale in 2018.
Although attempts were made by local entities to explore funding options for preserving the Castle,
SPICER—The camping season at the Kandiyohi County parks usually begins May 1 and the county opened up online reservations for its sites at five parks all the way back in mid-January. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shutdown of unessential businesses drastically changed the 2020 camping season.
All reservations for the month of May were canceled, as the governor’s executive order initially kept all public campgrounds closed. That changed Monday, as the county parks reopened
WILLMAR—The JCPenney store in the Kandi Mall in Willmar is one of 154 stores the company is closing, it was announced Thursday. The company filed for bankruptcy last month.
J.C. Penney Company Inc. announced Thursday the first step in its “store optimization strategy,” and identified the first phase of 154 store closures, including Willmar’s. Other Midwest closings include Coon Rapids, Eden Prairie and Maple Grove in Minnesota, Brookings, South Dakota, and Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. No
WILLMAR—Eleven months after construction began on the Willmar Wye project, progress continues to be made on several aspects of the project, according to the weekly update from the Minnesota Department of Transportation District 8, based in Willmar.
The bridges that will one day span the new rail track are starting to rise, with construction on the pier caps ongoing for the U.S. Highway 12 bridge. Also, work was done last week on embankments on Kandiyohi County Road 55 north and south of state Highway
WILLMAR — The Renaissance has arrived in downtown Willmar. With the Willmar City Council approval of the zoning ordinance establishing the Renaissance Zone District, economic development professionals hope it will usher in an era of rebirth for the zone, including new commercial and residential projects.
“We are hoping this new overlay will encourage investment and activity in the area,” said Dave Ramstad, Willmar Planning and Development director, at the May 4 meeting of the Willmar
Businesses in the region that have been shuttered for weeks by the pandemic are gearing up to reopen their doors, but they don’t expect things will suddenly be back to normal Monday morning.
To say that the owners of Mill Pond Mercantile in New London are eager to reopen their gift and home decor shop would be an understatement.
“I cannot tell you how thrilled and relieved we are,” said Ginny Knapp, who owns the popular store with co-owner Anita Stulen.
“This is our livelihood. This is how
