Prairie Music Concert Association Announcement
Prairie Music Concert Association proudly presents two concerts early this spring: Tapestry, musical tribute to Carole King, on March 7, 2019 and Doo-Wah Riders, country band with a Cajun twist, on March 29, 2019. Both concerts are at 7:30 pm in the Murray County High School Auditorium, Slayton, Mn. Please plan to attend and help honor a 40 year history of excellent professional, musical and artistic entertainment in Murray County, Minnesota and surrounding communities.
This will be the final season of the organization. With great regret, the volunteer Prairie Music board has made the decision to discontinue. As all volunteer organizations realize, finances are challenging and recruiting new board members and workers is very difficult.
With abundant appreciation, the board thanks all Prairie Music members, sponsors, and patrons, including our loyal reciprocity guests from Windom and Worthington. We also wish to recognize in appreciation all present and past board members and workers for your faithful support, hard work, and encouragement. The quality of entertainment, planning and scheduling are a direct result of our contracts and guidance of Allied Concert Services, the Folin family, and Vi Ranney, Allied sales representative. Thank you, we will miss you! We also extend our appreciation to Murray County Central for the ability to rent auditorium space and the assistance of the Community Education office. The availability of KJOE radio, local cable television announcements, news releases and advertising with the Fulda Free Press, Murray County News, and the Wheel Herald have been so helpful in “getting the word out” !
Again, we thank you for your membership and patronage over the years! We urge you to continue supporting the arts on a local level and also through the excellent professional concerts presented by the Windom Concert Association, the Worthington Concert Association, the Pipestone Performing Arts, and the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council.
Prairie Music Concert Association Board Members: Christie Gergen, Donna Groebner, Ruth Hoyme, Lorie and Leon Kruse, Nancy and Greg Moberg, Cindi Pavlis, Sandy Stokesbary, Karen Torbert, Jan Van Oort, Joan and Chuck Vasgaard, and Linda Wing.
Riley Reminisces Of Her Time Working At The Us Capitol For Dinehart Lecture
The Murray County Historical Society’s February Dinehart Lunchbox Lecture Series will host Murray County’s Community Relations Coordinator Christy Riley on Thursday, February 14. She will speak of the adventures and behind the scenes stories of working for the third highest ranking office in the United States. Her presentation will begin at noon in the 4-H building on the Murray County Fairgrounds. There is a $3.00 charge for the event or members of the Murray County Historical Society get in free [Interested in becoming a member? Contact the museum for details] You’re welcome to bring your own lunch, but coffee, tea, hot drinks and snacks are also provided.
Christy Surprenant Riley grew up in Slayton and moved to Washington, D.C. to work for then local Congressman Vin Weber who was also a Slayton native. After Vin retired, she stayed in Washington and moved up the leadership ladder eventually becoming the Director of Administration/Deputy Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives. She worked through one of the biggest transitions of government in over 40 years and worked for two different Speakers. From coordinating visits from foreign heads of state, traveling with the Speaker overseas, overseeing all events in the US Capitol Building and helping plan the State of the Unions, Inaugurations, and Ronald Reagan’s Funeral she had plenty of fun behind the scenes and stories to tell. Being a small-town Midwesterner, she decided it was time to move back to the country and enjoy real life ‘out of politics. She enjoys staying out of the limelight back here in SW Minnesota and working in her hometown.
For more information or questions, contact the Murray County Historical Museum at 507-836-6533 or jtimmerman@co.murray.mn.us or by visiting www.murraycountyhistoricalsociety.org/
Local Support Needed for Blood Supply
Slayton, MN- Murray County Medical Center needs your help to maintain an adequate blood supply for local patients in need. Please join MCMC and Community Blood Bank as they host a community blood drive on Tuesday, February 5 from 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm at Murray County Medical Center. All blood donations will stay local for local use with all blood types in immediate need.
“Volunteers coming forward to donate blood is the only way to secure the blood supply for the Slayton area. Giving blood with Community Blood Bank will directly impact the lives of patients in need at Murray County Medical Center. Community Blood Bank is the only local blood source and is not associated with other blood bank entities,” states Ken Versteeg, Executive Director, Community Blood Bank. “With people being treated for cancer, surgery cases and unexpected traumas occurring, blood usage continues to increase and place us into a Critical needs status.”
Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with a signed parent consent form), weigh 110 lbs or more and be in good general health. It is recommended that a person eat and drink plenty of fluids prior to donating blood. Please bring an ID with you at the time of donation. For more information log onto www.cbblifeblood.org, call Community Blood Bank at 1-877-877-3070 or call MCMC Lab at 507-836-1286.
Community Blood Bank is not affiliated with other blood bank organizations and takes pride in being a self-sufficient organization, thanks to the generosity of our local blood donors.
USDA Farm Service Agency Announces Program Deadline Extension
USDA’s Farm Service Agency extended deadlines on many of its programs because of the government shutdown and the emergency nature of many of the programs. Below are updated deadlines:
Farm Programs
• Market Facilitation Program
o Deadline to apply extended to Feb. 14, 2019
• Marketing Assistance Loans
o If loan matured in December 2018, settlement date extended to Feb. 14, 2019
o Peanut loans or Loan Deficiency Payments - loan availability date now Feb. 28, 2019
• Emergency Conservation Program
o Performance reporting due Feb. 14, 2019
• Livestock Forage Disaster
o 2018 application for payment due Feb. 28, 2019
• Emergency Assistance Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program
o Notice of loss due Feb. 14, 2019
• Livestock Indemnity Program
o Notice of loss due Feb. 14, 2019
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program
o Submitting 2019 application for coverage due Feb. 14, 2019
o Notice of loss for 72-hour harvest and grazing (as applicable) due Feb. 14, 2019
o Notice of loss for prevented planting and failed acres due Feb. 14, 2019
o Applications for payment for 2018 covered losses due Feb. 14, 2019
• Tree Assistance Program
o Notice of loss due Feb. 14, 2019
• Acreage Reporting
o January reporting deadlines extended to Feb. 14, 2019
For inquiries related to these programs or any not listed above, please contact your local USDA Service Center.
Good News
By John Stenen
Serving in Viet-Nam as a Scout Sniper, my partner and I were often way out in the ‘boonies’ by ourselves, gathering information on enemy troop movements and taking out the enemy whenever possible; sometimes simply by calling in artillery on them. It was scary to say the least and often we had times when both of us thought we would not make it back alive.
One day we came onto a relatively ‘secure’ hill occupied by a company of Marines. There was a tiny Chapel about ten feet by twelve feet that we chose to sleep in that night. It was my first time in a ‘church’ for many years. As I lay on the floor to go to sleep, I was overwhelmed with emotion and silently had tears flowing from my eyes, enough to wet the floor. Having been taught ‘evolution’ all through school and not being raised in a Christian home, I didn’t know God or much about Him. As I lay on the floor, I silently cried out to God and said, “God, I don’t even know if You are real. I’ve heard some things about Jesus but I don’t know if He is real either; but if You are real, please reveal Yourself to me”. I also thanked Him if He was real for keeping me alive up to that point.
I finished my tour of duty without ever having one Christian tell me the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how to be ‘saved’. If I had been killed, I would have gone to hell as sinful as I was. It was over a year later that a guy who himself was a brand new Christian who had just been instantly delivered of drugs and saved began witnessing to me about Jesus. Thankfully, because of his boldness to tell me the ‘Good News’ I became a Christian. I have found this out – that no Church, no person, no good work, or any ritual can save you. Only through Jesus can you be saved.(John 14:6.)
God’s command to all Christians is to go into this world and proclaim what is the greatest news that any person could possibly hear; and that is that our sins can all be forgiven because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. I personally find it to be a privilege and a great joy to tell others this wonderful truth.
