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The attached video is from Sunday, October 4 at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church, which is located in Gilchrist Township in Pope County. Included in the video are the reading of the lessons and Psalm, plus Minister Linda Summerlet providing the Holy Gospel and sermon. West Lake Johanna and Trinity Lutheran of Brooten have had a parish agreement in place since the 1960s. Their pastoral needs are currently served by Linda Summerlet, who works for the ELCA Southwest Minnesota Synod in the...
The Elrosa Fire Department's fall steak fry and cash raffle fundraiser is coming on Saturday, October 10 at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, where they will be serving in the church's spacious basement. The steak fry, which includes a take-out option, runs from 4 to 8 p.m. The cash raffle starts at 8 p.m. Tickets for the steak fry are $20 per person. The address is 302 State Road, Elrosa, MN. (Cash raffle winners need not be present to win.)...
The Elrosa Fire Department steak fry on Saturday, October 10 drew a record turnout of support. Not only did the steak fry serve over 1,000 customers in a span of just four hours, but the community support was overwhelming for the Joslyn and Brandon Deters family. Joslyn Deters is currently at the beginning stages of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She was diagnosed with this cancer one month ago, September 11. During the steak fry, a free will offering was taken by the fire...
Due to the rainfall of Thursday, September 24, the Brooten Farmers Market will be held in the park shelter from 4 to 7 p.m. Please park on the southern end of the parking lot by the softball field, on what is the original tennis court pad. There's plenty of room in the shelter to keep everyone dry. Also, the rain is supposed to end by 3 p.m. according to the forecast. Who know is coming: Carol Sanders with her applesauce and baked goods; Pastor Mitch Wall and his wife, Kim, with sourdough bread...
The Brooten city council met in regular session on Monday, September 14 with a main order of business being a detachment request for city land in Pope County. A request by the landowner of Parcel #30-0175-001, which is in the farthest northwest corner of the city, allow annexation of the property to Bangor Township. This land is on the north side of the railroad. Currently, the land is zoned as commercial, and annexation may lead to it being rezoned residential. With no concrete plan for its...
Let's get a few more miles out of the Cedar Creek Gospel Band! This group performed at the Brooten Pavilion on Sunday, August 30 with a joint worship of local Lutheran churches. The attached video features one song performed that morning....
The Brooten Farmers Market, which still invites vendors to join, continues the 2026 season on Thursday, Sept. 17 at the city park. The Farmers Market runs from 4 to 7 p.m., and this will be the 11th Farmers Market session of the season in Brooten. The hope is to operate the Farmers Market one additional night, September 24. That will likely be the final one as garden produce supplies begin their retreat. Available this evening are baked goods plus other vendors with flowers, green beans,...
On Sunday, August 30, the Brooten Pavilion was the site of a two-parish Lutheran worship service led by the Cedar Creek Gospel Band. The Big Grove-Crow River-Grace and Trinity-West Lake Johanna parishes were hosts for over 160 who attended worship. Following worship, a hot dog and hamburger meal was served at the Pavilion. The attached video features part of worship that morning....
On Tuesday September 8, 2026, agents with the West Central Minnesota Drug and Violent Crime Task Force executed a search warrant at an apartment located at 185 Central Avenue, Apartment Unit 3, in Brooten. This occurred following a lengthy investigation into the trafficking of cocaine. As part of the investigation, task force agents conducted undercover controlled purchases of cocaine from the suspected drug trafficking organization. During the execution of the search warrant, agents located a...
Shown is the last part of the worship service held at the Brooten Pavilion on Sunday, August 30, where the Cedar Creek Gospel Band performed. They are a group of musicians from Kandiyohi County. The worship service was hosted by the Big Grove-Crow River-Grace and Trinity-West Lake Johanna Lutheran parishes. Coverage from this worship service will be published in the September 10 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper....
Paul Greene of Glenwood, a well-known musician and singer in our area, preached at West Lake Johanna and Trinity Lutheran churches on Sunday, August 23. The lesson, Holy Gospel and Greene's sermon is featured in the attached video. Greene is a regular performer at Central Square and Civic Center at various performances throughout the year. Greene begins reading the Holy Gospel from the book of Matthew, chapter 16, at about the 5-minute mark in the video....
The Belgrade Commercial Club arranged a new event for the Belgrade August Fest celebration. On Saturday night, August 16, the Mixed Nuts Comedy Show was held on main street. It drew strong attendance with multiple generations, young and old, with audience participation included. Part of the show is featured in the attached video....
On Saturday night of August Fest (August 16), the Belgrade Royal Ambassador program was held on main street. Earning the titles of Belgrade Royal Ambassadors were Ellan Fischer and Paighton Oeltjenbruns. Out of five candidates for Junior Royal Ambassadors, new royalty are Mallory Imdieke, Jenna Gruber and Olivia Grundseth. The attached video features the full coronation video clip recorded that evening by the Bonanza Valley Voice. Providing the beautiful flower displays was Earthy Elements,...
The Brooten Farmers Market will operate for the seventh night of the 2026 season on Thursday, August 20 at the Brooten city park from 4 to 7 p.m. depending on the weather (gazebo and shelter if it is raining). Please pass the word! Local craftsmen, craftswomen, bakers and artists are welcome to join! Contact the Bonanza Valley Voice with any questions at 320-346-2400. The Brooten Farmers Market will run weekly on Thursdays through at least September. More tomatoes will be on sale at the August...
With volunteer assistance provided by two Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa graduates, the Belgrade August Fest kids pedal pull contest was held on Saturday, August 15 during the town's four-day celebration. Mark Struthers, Class of 1993, and Greg Evenson, Class of 2000, assisted with the announcing throughout the pedal pull. Over 60 kids participated, including 10 in the eight-year old division. The attached video features children in the 8-year old division, including Strykar Ampe and Abe Weller....
The band Whiskey Stone performed live music on Saturday night, August 15 during the Belgrade August Fest celebration. It brought a large crowd to Main Street, with music playing until midnight. It capped a wonderful day of activities for all ages. The attached video features Whiskey Stone performing in the final hour of the street dance. The song in the video is Absolutely (Story of a Girl), a song released in 2000 by the American rock band Nine Days....
The Belgrade August Fest featured a family-friendly comedy show on Saturday evening, August 15. The attached video features the first part of the show after they were introduced by Belgrade Commercial Club member Julie Loe....
The annual Belgrade August Fest is coming on August 13-16 (Thursday to Sunday) this weekend with a full variety of events beginning Thursday with a free concert in the park, youth activities, a community meal and more. The big event Friday night is the Belgrade Fire Department chicken BBQ, Kensington Bank ice cream social and Kentucky Thunder at the VFW. The 2026 August Fest grand parade starts at 4 p.m. in Belgrade on Saturday, August 15. The parade is followed by the Belgrade Royal Ambassador...
The Belgrade August Fest celebration is underway. The fun kicked off on Thursday, August 13 with multiple activities at the city park on South Highway 71. Erickson Farm hosted a petting zoo on the north side of the park while children enjoyed the playground. The Belgrade Lions helped serve a hot dog/hamburger meal at the city park, which was catered by The Spot. Members of the Belgrade Fire Department and the Belgrade-Brooten Police Department hosted a Touch-a-Truck event at the same time. Live...
Leona M. Schwinghammer, 104 of Belgrade, died on Monday, August 17, 2026 at the Belgrade Nursing Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 21 at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Belgrade followed by burial in the church cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Johnson Funeral Home in Belgrade. Visitation will continue on Friday for one hour prior to the service at church with a Christian Women's Rosary at 9:30...
On August 4, State Senator Torrey Westrom applauded the announcement that the Appleton correctional facility will reopen under a federal contract, bringing back great jobs and economic opportunity to Senate District 12 and West Central Minnesota. "The announcement that the Prairie Correctional Facility will reopen under a federal contract is welcome news for Senate District 12 and West Central Minnesota. For years, I have worked to highlight the value of this facility and encouraged state and...
Spencer Otteson, a 2006 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa graduate, was the son of Glenn Otteson and the late Vicki Otteson of Colfax Township. He was a three-sport Jaguar student-athlete, a husband, father, a science teacher and basketball and golf coach and an all-around terrific young man who passed away at age 33 on May 25, 2021 after a courageous battle with colon cancer. The Otteson family is once again hosting the Spencer Otteson Memorial Golf tournament, which is a 3-person scramble this...
The third Brooten Farmers Market night of the season will be held on Thursday, July 23 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the city park. The farmers market vendors have had success set up in the northeast side of the park, under nice shade, while tables face the tennis courts. They look forward to seeing you stop by. Garden produce, homemade crafts, fresh-baked bread, homemade jams and jellies plus art work have been sold so far this summer at the Brooten Farmers Market. The attached video features a glimpse...
Over 80 units were on display for the Bonanza Valley Days Classic Car, Truck and Tractor show in Brooten on Saturday, July 11. This display featured over 50 classic cars and trucks, one as old as a 1931 model. A more modern car on display was a 2005 Lamborghini. This show of automobiles and tractors continues to be an enormous draw of people to Bonanza Valley Days....
Don't miss out on this! This Belgrade Lions event will run from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Belgrade Crow Memorial Park on South Highway 71 in Crow Lake Township. The attached video features a view from the same event that was held one year ago. The Belgrade Lions is hosting this event for the second straight year. It features a free-will-donation meal including burgers, hot dogs, beans, chips and cookies. For children, bounce houses will be set up. For kids and adults, old-fashioned yard games will be...
