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For those who are unable to make it to church service each week, the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper utilizes the full extent of its resources to attend local church services. This allows for the sharing of the Gospel with the greater public. The attached video is from West Lake Johanna Lutheran church in Gilchrist Township on Sunday, March 22. That morning, Pastor Kathy Terpstra provided a children's sermon and regular sermon. The parish of Trinity and West Lake Johanna is currently seeking a new pastor. They are fortunate to receive...
Everyone invited! Please pass the word on. The Brooten Ambulance service will hold their annual pancake breakfast fundraiser on Sunday, March 22, at the Bucky's Pickles building, the former American Legion Hall, on Central Avenue South in Brooten. They will serve from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Price: Free Will Donation. Take-outs available....
The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Cub Scouts Pack No. 667 recently announced the winners of their annual Pinewood Derby, held February 8 at the Belgrade Municipal Hall community room. Pack 667 enjoyed use of a brand new, modern track, which was purchased by donated funds from the Brooten Fire Relief Association. Local businesses also participated in a business division, which included Brooten Auto Value, R.D. Offutt Farms, Precision Manufacturing of Brooten and ATA Heating and Air Conditioning of...
Everyone invited! Please pass the word on. The Brooten Ambulance service will hold their annual pancake breakfast fundraiser on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at the Bucky's Pickles building, the former American Legion Hall, on Central Avenue South in Brooten. They will serve from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Price: Free Will Donation. Take-outs available. To view a photo gallery of pictures from the Brooten Ambulance pancake feed in March 2024, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug gallery:...
The Knights of Columbus is serving from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 13 at the KaDe Shack in Brooten. The Father Vincent Santo Council No. 13284, serving the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa communities, invite everyone to come to Brooten. All you can eat! Serving fish, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, beans, dinner rolls and Lois Wesbur's brownies. Takeouts are available! The price is $14 for adults. Thank you in advance for your support!...
The recording is from Trinity Lutheran Church of Brooten during the Mid-Week Lenten worship service on Wednesday, March 11. The Trinity Lutheran and West Lake Johanna Lutheran church parish hosts these worship services on Wednesdays during Lent. The final Wednesday worship will be held Wednesday, March 25 ahead of Palm Sunday....
For the 5th annual event, the Belgrade Lions hosted their chili cook-off contest on Saturday, February 28 at the Belgrade VFW. The chili cook-off is held each year in support of the B-B-E Area Food Shelf. The Lions were grateful for a showing of 66 guests who purchased tickets and voted. First place went to Paynesville Fire Department, and the Jenniges' entry got second. In third was Belgrade Fire Department. Coverage has appeared and will appear in the March 5 and March 12 issues of the...
Here's a video recorded on the overpass on Highway 71 east of Belgrade on Tuesday, February 24 as crews worked to clear the site of a truck/semi accident that occurred that morning at the Highway 71 and Highway 55 intersection around 8 a.m. Terribly icy conditions were present at the time, but fortunately, the drivers of both vehicles did not sustain serious injuries. The video was recorded without a tripod....
The attached video here is from West Lake Johanna Lutheran church's Sunday worship on February 22 in Gilchrist Township. The West Lake Johanna and Trinity Lutheran Parish is currently seeking a full-time pastor. While that's taking place, many of their pastoral needs are being served by Linda Summerlet, a Synod Authorized Minister (SAM) with the ELCA's Southwest Minnesota Synod. Linda has worked in this capacity at Trinity and West Lake Johanna since last September. The ELCA's Synod Authorized...
The first Lenten season fish fry is being held on Friday, February 27 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the KaDe Shack in Brooten. Each Lenten season, the B-B-E Knights of Columbus hosts 3 fish fry nights at the KaDe Shack as both a fundraiser and also a terrific social gathering for area residents....
The public is invited with great encouragement to attend the fifth annual Belgrade Lions chili cook-off on Saturday, February 28 at the Belgrade VFW. Proceeds from this event will be donated to the B-B-E Area Food Shelf. As of Friday, February 27, five teams have signed up to provide chili. The chili crock pots will be unveiled at 5:30 p.m., and between that time and 7 p.m., guests can sample the various chilis before voting. The votes will be added up at 7 p.m., and awards will follow that. If...
The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Area Food Shelf is joining forces with Minnesota Foodshare from March 1 to April 6, 2026. Money and pounds of food collected during the campaign are reported to Minnesota Foodshare and the totals allow the food shelf to secure extra dollars depending on collection totals. The B-B-E Area Food Shelf is a 501 ( 3 ) (c) charitable organization and donations are tax deductible. Please consider a donation during March and mail to BBE Area Food Shelf, P.O. 136 Brooten, MN...
While Trinity and West Lake Johanna Lutheran churches are seeking a new full-time pastor, many of their pastoral needs are being served by Linda Summerlet, a Synod Authorized Minister (SAM). Linda has worked in this capacity at Trinity and West Lake Johanna since last September. The ELCA's Synod Authorized Minister (SAM) program trains and authorizes laypeople to lead congregations, offering pastoral care, preaching, and sacramental ministry (communion/baptism) where ordained clergy are...
An alleged shooting took place shortly before noon on Saturday, February 21 on the outskirts of Belgrade. Shortly after 12 p.m., emergency responders arrived at a mobile home located just off of School Street east of the Crow River Township hall. At 12:21 p.m., a male victim was loaded onto a Glacial Ridge ambulance and transported to a nearby hospital. Within 20 minutes of the ambulance leaving, the law enforcement response surpassed 12 squad vehicles. At 12:40 p.m., a black, unmarked...
This accident took place shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, February 24 on Highway 71 in Crow River Township. At the intersection of Highway 71 and Highway 55, a Cintas uniform truck collided with a semi tractor and trailer. The semi tractor ended up in the ditch south of Highway 71 facing straight south. Its trailer was parallel to the road in the ditch about 20 yards off of the shoulder. The Belgrade Fire and Rescue arrived at the scene of the accident at 8:17 a.m. The Glacial Ridge Ambulance...
The Minnesota Newspaper Association held its 159th Annual MNA Convention and Trade Show at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest, Brooklyn Park from January 28-30. The closing keynote address on Friday was presented by Rufus Friday of the Center for Integrity in News Reporting. He presented data documenting the loss of trust in journalism in the U.S. and outlined strategies to help rebuild it. The central message provided by Friday in his keynote speech was that news organizations need to remove...
Sunburg Free Lutheran church held worship on Sunday, January 25. The attached video features most of the worship service held that morning. After worship, a potluck dinner was held in the fellowship hall....
By Randy Olson, newspaper publisher, written on Thursday, January 22 The Post Office continues to lose my newspapers. For 6 straight days this past week, the Post Office failed to deliver my Willmar/Benson/Spicer/New London newspapers. Multiple subscribers from those communities all received the January 15 issue in today's mail - today! Thursday, January 22. In November, the Post Office did the same thing the week before B-B-E's fall two-act play took place. I am still quite sore about that!...
The Brooten city council met on Monday, January 12 for their first regular meeting of the new year. During the report by Brooten Fire Chief Mark Torkelson, discussion began about setting a financial fee for illegal burning within city limits. Currently, the Brooten Fire Department does not bill for fire calls within the city limits. The city is exploring what it could charge in the case of the fire department responding to an illegal burn. Also at Monday's meeting, the city council set the 2026...
Lucky Shots Bowling Alley in Brooten hosted a jigsaw puzzle contest that included a total of 8 teams on Saturday, January 10. It was part of a busy weekend in Brooten with a high level of foot and auto traffic for early January. The top two teams in the competition were featured on page one of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's January 15 issue. The attached video was recorded later in the evening after most of the teams had completed their puzzles....
The joint parish Christmas Eve worship for Trinity and West Lake Johanna Lutheran churches was held in Brooten on Wednesday, December 24. A near-full house of children and adults gathered and heard a Christmas message from Synodically Authorized Minister Linda Simms, who has helped guide Trinity and WLJ since September as the parish seeks a new full-time minister. The attached video begins with Simms providing her children's sermon....
Sunday School children and teachers at Big Grove Lutheran Church in North Fork Township held their Christmas program on Sunday, December 21. The attached video features most of the Christmas program. The video has a rough beginning while the tripod was adjusted at the rear of the church sanctuary. During that part, two students gave welcoming comments to worshipers and asked that cell phones be turned off. Finally, 44 seconds into the video, the rough part ends. (You may want to just skip the...
The God Squad students of Trinity and West Lake Johanna Lutheran churches of Brooten held their Christmas program on Sunday, December 7 at Trinity. The attached video includes video from the program that morning. The parish God Squad students performed Christmas carols on Saturday, December 6 as part of the Brooten Santa Day events. They were featured on one of the units in the Brooten lighted Christmas parade that evening....
Here's a video from the upper deck of East Norway Lake Lutheran church in Arctander Township on Saturday, December 20. The ENL church hosted the Sunburg Community Players, who performed an hour's worth of Christmas songs. They were directed by Joyce Rudningen. This video begins with the song We Three Kings being performed....
A cozy group of over 70 children and adults gathered in the warm confines of the South Lake Johanna Lutheran church sanctuary on Wednesday, December 24 for a Christmas Eve worship. The service was led by Pastor Ron Knutson, who currently preaches at Sunburg Free Lutheran and Scandia Lutheran churches. The attached video, which begins while worshipers are singing It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, features most of the worship service. Pastor Ron graduated from Brooten in 1958. This is his 55th year...