Holmes Art Show, ABBA tribute bringing action-packed weekend to DL Nov. 9-11

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – In a uniquely perfect combination of art and music, the Holmes Art Show gets underway next Thursday through Saturday, but this year’s free arts and crafts meander will also feature the movie Mama Mia and ABBAsolutely FAB, a tribute to the music of ABBA on Saturday night.

The Holmes Art Show features more than 30 regional artists from the area showcasing their handcrafted jewelry, paintings, photography, pottery and woodwork, among other mediums.

Elle LaMere, marketing director for the Holmes Theatre, said, following the Art Show on Thursday night, the Holmes Theatre will be debuting their newly installed 26-foot movie screen to the public with the film Mama Mia at 7:30 p.m.

“The Art Show is packed with so many fun things,” said LaMere. “We’re actually playing for the first time Mama Mia the movie on our big screen. So we had a 26-foot movie screen installed in our theatre and this is going to be the first time breaking it out for the public. So, we’re really excited to be showing this movie. It features all of ABBA’s music, so it’s really a nice pre-show to our ABBA tibute that’s happening on Saturday.”

Tickets to Mama Mia will be $5.

On Friday, the art show begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 7:30 p.m., and then capping Friday night’s festivities will be a free short film premiere of “Rising” directed by artist Tiffany Besonen.

“Tiffany Besonen and some other Minnesota artists all came together during the pandemic and created this short film,” she said. “It’s featuring Minnesota dancers from Frazee, a Minnesota composer and musician from the cities, and then Tiffany Besonen, it features her sculptures and she directed the film. It’s going to be really exciting.”

On Saturday, the art show will again be open from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and following the show, ABBAsolutely FAB: A Tribute to ABBA, will hit the Holmes Theatre stage.

The group includes seven musicians from the Twin Cities and Great Britain who will perform the greatest hits from the legendary Swedish pop group.

“They are going to be performing hits like, Dancing Queen, SOS, Mama Mia and more,” said LaMere. “Tickets are $30 for adults. $15 for students and this is part of another power weekend.”

Tickets to” ABBAsolutely FAB: A Tribute To ABBA” can be purchased at the Holmes Theatre box office or through their website.

2 injured during two-vehicle crash in Hubbard County Wednesday afternoon

Two people were injured during a two-vehicle crash on Highway 64 in Hubbard County Wednesday afternoon.

On Nov. 1 at 1:51 p.m., a 2014 Jeep Limited 4X4, driven by 66-year-old Douglas Dale Trogstad of Sioux Falls, S.D., was turning southbound on Highway 64 in Hendrickson Township when it collided with a 2007 Chevy Tahoe, driven by 44-year-old Brandon Richard Martin of Bagley, at the Highway 200 intersection.

Airbags deployed in both vehicles during the collision.

Martin and Trogstad both suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the crash and were transported to Sanford Medical Center in Bemidji for treatment.

Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash and law enforcement believes alcohol did not factor into the incident.

Lake Region Electric Cooperative donates $20k to community organizations through Operation Round Up

Members of the Lake Region Electric Cooperative recently awarded more than $20,000 to various community organizations across the lakes area through Operation Round Up, which rounds up customers utility bills up to the nearest dollar and donates the proceeds to local charities and organizations.

 The Humane Society of Otter Tail County (HSOTC) received a generous contribution of $10,000 for their building expansion project, fondly referred to as expanding their “pawprint.”

The animal shelter believes expanding their “pawprint” will enhance their capacity to care for more animals efficiently.

Other organizations that received funding during the quarterly Operation Round Up meeting included:

• $2,500 to the Henning Fire Department Relief Association for wildland fire response equipment.
• $2,500 to the Pelican Rapids Community Theatre for the production of The Music Man, the musical.
• $1,500 to Tonseth Lutheran Church for the purchase of an AED machine.
• $1,000 to LongView Carbon Farms for the creation of educational materials.
• $1,000 to Save the Trinity for their Trinity Center Kids Quilt Camp.
• $750 to Save the Trinity for their Santa Days.
• $500 for the Antrim Family Foundation’s annual Memorial Kids Fishing Tournament, which raises awareness for connective disorders.
• $500 to the New York Mills Arts Retreat for the Longest Night Music Festival.

Since 2007, Operation Round Up’s charitable fundraising program has awarded $626,370 to various causes.

If you would like to learn more about ORU or have a community project in need of funding, please complete the ORU Request for Funding form and submit it with supporting documentation at lrec.coop/ORU. 

The next ORU application deadline is March 15, 2024.

Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC) is a member-owned, member-controlled electric utility serving more than 24,000 member-consumers in Otter Tail, Wilkin, Grant, Douglas, Clay and Becker Counties.

Story by Zakk Daniels / KBRF

Hoffman’s Meat Market in Detroit Lakes set to receive deer donations from hunters; will donate to local food pantries

Hoffman’s Meat Market in Detroit Lakes is ready for another deer hunting season and they will also be continuing the generous tradition of processing donated deer from hunters free of charge and giving hundreds of pounds of venison to lakes area food pantries.

Cole Gravelle, a manager at Hoffmans, said it’s just a good donation program that can really help lakes area residents.

“We’ve been doing it for probably three or four years,” said Gravelle. “And it just kinda helps out the community. We donate the meat to the food pantries and it’s a good donation program.”

Hoffman’s Meat Market will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday for deer drop offs and, Gravelle said, if a hunter wants to donate a deer, they just need to fill out a little paperwork and make sure the animal is field dressed and clean.

“It just has to be field dressed and keep the meat clean,” he said. “Nothing contaminated. Nothing rotten. Otherwise, we can’t accept it. It has to be in good condition. And they can just bring it here and they can leave the hide on, and they just got to fill out a little paperwork and that’s about it.”  

Gravelle said in years past the meat market usually receives between 10-20 donated deer, which can yield at least a couple hundred pound of meat for the area food shelves.

He also said Hoffman’s Meat Market will only be focusing on deer processing over the next week.

“We get everything nice and stocked up in the front case so we don’t have to really worry about it throughout the week,” said Gravelle. “And then it’s just deer for a week straight. The first week is the busiest and we’re just straight cutting in the back. Taking in deer, skinning deer, and then cutting them all up.”

He added, over the entire deer hunting season, Hoffman’s Meat Market will process between 200 to 300 deer, depending on the luck of area hunters.

Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation predicts lower heating costs this winter due to surplus natural gas

Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation (MERC) says customer heating costs will be down this winter due to an increase in the supply of gas compared to last season.

Spokesperson Alison Trouy said: ”if we have typical winter weather our analysis shows that the typical residential customer is going to pay about $23 less a month this winter compared to last year.”

Trouy says ways to keep your heating bills down further include: lowering the thermostat when going away for the day or going to sleep; opening the blinds to let sunlight into rooms; and sealing any cracks or gaps in your house.

Minnesota Energy Resources delivers natural gas to nearly a quarter million customers in 179 communities across the state.

Story by Dave Bishop / KBRF

Otter Tail Power requests 8% rate increase from North Dakota Public Service Commission

Otter Tail Power Company is asking the North Dakota Public Service Commission for an increase in its electric rates.  

Otter Tail wants a more-than 8% increase that would total more than $40 million.  

The company said the request is a result of increased costs to maintain a safe and reliable system while meeting a growing demand for electricity. 

“We recognize our customers’ costs have gone up in many parts of their lives,” president Tim Rogelstad said. “While we’ve successfully managed expenses and continue to choose low-cost options to meet our customers’ needs, the cost of providing service is more than we can recover through our current base rates. Reviewing and updating our rates through rate cases allows us to continue to cost-effectively provide the reliable electricity our customers depend on.”

The utility said a portion of the amount, about $23 million, is already being billed to customers through riders, which allows it to recover some costs between rate cases.  

While the request is under consideration, the company has asked for an interim rate increase of more than $12 million.  

Otter Tail’s most recent electric rate base increase for North Dakota customers was in 2017.  

The company has about 133,000 customers in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Concordia College to offer free tuition next year to families making under $90k

Concordia College in Moorhead has announced what the private, liberal arts school is calling the “Concordia Promise.”  

Starting in the fall of next year, Concordia will cover full tuition-costs for new students whose family has an adjusted gross income of under $90,000 a year. 

The tuition costs are also renewable for up to four years.  

Concordia College President Dr. Colin Irvine said: “Reducing the financial burden of education through the Concordia Promise will allow our students to better focus on their mission, their dedication, and their potential to influence the affairs of the world. This is a game-changer for families in our region and across the country who may have thought a private college education was out of their reach.”

“Concordia Promise” includes 100% of standard full-time tuition using a combination of federal and state aid along with existing Concordia scholarships. 

Housing, food, fees, and other associated costs are not included in the tuition program

There is no GPA requirement for the “Concordia Promise.”

Story by Ryan Janke / KFGO

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