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At West Lake Johanna and Trinity Lutheran churches of Brooten, Minister Linda Summerlet provides a Thought for the Week at the end of every worship service. In the attached video, you can see her comments at the end of worship on Sunday, November 8. Summerlet is a Synod Authorizes Minister, or SAM, which is a program in the Lutheran church for lay staff. The video concludes with worshipers singing "Soon, and Very Soon, We are Going to See the King" to wrap up worship....
Reinhard 'Wesley' Norby passed away peacefully on October 24, 2026 at the Glenwood Retirement Village. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, November 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ka-De Shack in Brooten, MN. Come for lunch and share your stories. Reinhard ‘Wesley’ Norby was born in Glenwood, MN on February 15, 1947 to Gilbert and Geneva (Gulbranson) Norby. He was the youngest of 15 children and talked often of growing up on the farm north of Terrace. Even at a young age he was int...
In just a short amount of time studying General Election results in the Bonanza Valley area, it becomes quickly apparent that the "Blue Wave" that struck many parts of the United States did not materialize here. This was readily seen in the city of Brooten as follows. In the city of Brooten on election day Incumbent U.S. Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach of Regal received 166 votes in Brooten (62.4%) compared to Democrat challenger Erik Osberg's 100 votes (37.59%). For the U.S. Senate seat up...
Sunburg Free Lutheran Church held Reformation Sunday worship on October 25. Following worship, a pot luck dinner was held in the Fellowship Hall. The attached video features part of the Reformation Sunday worship, including the delivery of the Holy Gospel and Sermon by Pastor Ron Knutson. Sunburg Free Lutheran is located in Norway Lake Township in the heart of the "Sunburg Hills" territory of northwestern Kandiyohi County. Regular attendance varies between 40 and 50 people, and some weeks they...
The Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church will hold their fall ham and egg breakfast on Sunday, November 1. They will serve a hearty breakfast in their spacious church basement from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Come one, come all! During this time, you can also take in a bake sale and sign up for the Elrosa Christian Mothers quilt raffle. Pricing: adults $11, children ages 4-12 are $7, and kids ages 3 and under eat free. All tickets are available at the door. Menu: ham, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes,...
West of Brooten on Sunday, Anderson Farms sugar beets were lifted and transported to the Renville Sugar Beet Co-ops Colfax Township pile this past weekend. The weather finally became "just right" for sugar beet harvest with cool temperatures, but almost 2 inches of rain on Monday this week (October 26) that wreaked havoc on harvesting efforts....
Reinhard 'Wesley' Norby passed away peacefully on October 24, 2026 at the Glenwood Retirement Village. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, November 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ka-De Shack in Brooten, MN. Come for lunch and share your stories. Reinhard ‘Wesley’ Norby was born in Glenwood, MN on February 15, 1947 to Gilbert and Geneva (Gulbranson) Norby. He was the youngest of 15 children and talked often of growing up on the farm north of Terrace. Even at a young age he was int...
U.S. Representative Michelle Fischbach of Regal issued the following statement in reaction to tonight's general election victory in Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District. "Western Minnesotans made their voices heard loud and clear," she said. "They want communities built on strong family values, safe neighborhoods, a secure border, lower costs, and America First leaders who will fight for those priorities. I am honored by the trust voters have placed in me to continue delivering results...
In the October 22 issue, the mayor candidates for the city of Belgrade provided information about themselves on their mayoral bid. The candidates are Betty Braegelman and Leah Fernelius. The Voice contacted Leah on Monday while seeking to provide fair coverage, and that should have occurred last week. With plenty of time to publish and not make mistakes, a mistake was nonetheless made on page 5. The October 29 issue will include them published in full on one page (page 5 is the goal!). Leah...
The Belgrade VFW will host a Halloween Party Night event from 7 to 11 p.m. on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, at the Belgrade VFW Post 1825. This event includes a costume contest, and music will be provided by Beach's Entertainment. The VFW will conduct a meat raffle starting at 7 p.m. Costume contest entrants must dress and be at the VFW one hour before judging takes place, and that time is set for 10 p.m.. The Belgrade VFW is located at 321 Morrison Street. Phone number 320-254-8895....
The Crow River Lutheran church community hosted their WELCA fall soup supper and live auction on Saturday, October 10. Following the supper, the live auction took place beginning with a prayer that was led by Pastor Becca Krogstad. The live auction was directed by auctioneers Mark Ziemer and Brian Ziemer of New London. Local Lutherans have another night coming up in which they can enjoy a live church auction led by the Ziemers. Big Grove Lutheran church will host their supper and auction on...
Big Grove Lutheran church hosted their fall sandwich supper and auction on Friday, October 16. A total of 44 bidders were put to work by Mark Ziemer and Brian Ziemer on dozens of donated items. The auction lasted about 1 hour, 40 minutes. Numerous families had three generations present, which is a hallmark of these fall auction events held at both Big Grove and Crow River Lutheran churches. Additional coverage of the auction will be published in the October 24 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice...
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,...
