OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
VETERANS CEMETARY
Last week the Mascot included a story about a new Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery being constructed in Redwood Falls. I had some business in that area this weekend, so I decided to try and locate the area to see how far along the project was.
The cemetery is east of town along Highway 71 and Noble Avenue.
The cemetery is enormous and impressive. It was much further along than I anticipated. The front brick walls are beautifully designed while the rest of the cemetery will be enclosed in black wrought-iron fencing.
This will be only the fourth State Veterans Cemetery, along with Little Falls, Preston and Duluth. If you are near Redwood Falls, it's worth the time to have a look at it now and then again upon completion sometime this summer.
A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 2 p.m.
The State Veterans Cemetery near Redwood Falls is being built on nearly 21.7 acres and will serve approximately 22,300 veterans and eligible family members who reside in southwestern Minnesota.
The State of Minnesota received an $11,193,840 grant from the National Cemetery Association under the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program to establish this cemetery. The grant will cover the construction costs, as well as the placement of 150 pre-placed crypts, 750 in-ground cremains burial area, over 1,000 columbarium niches, 50 standard burial plots, a combined Administration/Maintenance building, committal service shelter, flag assembly area, entry feature and wayfinding signs, landscaping, irrigation, equipment and supporting infrastructure.
The cemetery will be hiring five full-time and one part-time, and two seasonal employees to start, as well as seven full-time administrative and grounds staff.
The groundbreaking began on Oct. 13, 2021. The project has been more than a decade in the making. The goal was to provide a cemetery option closer to home for veterans living in southwestern Minnesota. Currently, the closest veterans' cemetery is Fort Snelling, which is more than 100 miles away.
Several area county Veterans Service Officers were on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony, including Heidi Fier of Lyon County.
Burial is open to all veterans discharged from the active military service under conditions other than dishonorable. Their spouses, minor children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children, are also eligible for burial here. Eligible spouses may be buried, even if they predecease the veteran.
Veterans interested in pre-planning their funerals or applying for a burial site should contact their CVSO.
MINNEOTA AREA PHOTOS
We always enjoy when someone drops off or sends us a photo from years gone by that we can include in our Minneota Area Memory section each week.
Look through some of your old photos and pick out a few that you feel others would enjoy seeing in the paper.
Drop them off at the Mascot office during business hours on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday; mail them to us at Minneota Mascot, P.O. Box 9, Minneota, MN 56264; or email them to office@minneotamascot.com.
Include the date and/or year the photo was taken and identify what is happening in the photo, as well as any individual’s names.
CAPTION THIS WINNERS
Our “Caption This” contest was fun and entertaining. The photo of a penguin peering over a man’s clipboard made for some interesting captions.
We had over a dozen entries and we chose three winners, each who won a modest cash prize.
David Differding of San Francisco, a former Taunton resident, won first prize of $15 for his caption “And how many in your Colony for brunch?”
Brisbyn Traen of Taunton won $10 for second prize with the caption “You’re saying my tux ain’t appropriate but his is?”, and Mike Tillemans of Minneota was third and received $5 for his caption “Swim Meet Today: “Are you sure you’re registered?” The prizes were mailed out last week.
Congratulations to each of our winners and thanks to all those who participated.