Kevin Garnett, NBA Celtics star and former Timberwolves star, at P & A Security in Willmar on Tuesday, July 31.
Kevin Garnett, NBA Celtics star and former Timberwolves star, stopped at P & A Security in Willmar Tuesday for training. He signed some autographs while he was there.
Did you happen to see Garnett in the area yesterday? If you could meet any sports star in the world, who would it be?
Did you know there are some 73 manufacturing firms in Kandiyohi County, and 234 in our seven-county region of Minnesota?
“Made with Pride … in West Central Minnesota” is the theme of the West Central Tribune’s annual Focus edition, publishing today!
The advertising and editorial staff have been working since early February to put together three Focus sections that do just that – focus on firms manufacturing/making products right here in our own backyard.
Everything from Major League bats and flagpoles to farm sprayers and and chocolates are made in this area – and shipped around the world!
No kidding, many items made by our friends and neighbors right here in west central Minnesota have a huge impact on people’s jobs and lives around the globe.
Those items also add to our recreational fun, whether it’s custom exhaust for a muscle car made in Litchfield or an Ice Castle fish house constructed more to the west in Montevideo.
Our only regret is that we aren’t able to bring you all 234 stories, but we tried to get a good sampling of what’s going on in your neighborhood!
The culmination of all the hard work put in by our staff – while maintaining our daily print product, online products and social media chatter – is what you see in your paper today.
A huge “thank you” to all of our staff at the West Central Tribune for their efforts in making today’s Focus project another huge success.
And, we hope our readers enjoy reading all the fun and unique stories, as much as our staff enjoyed bringing them to you – both in the way of editorial articles and personalized ads.
Reporters and the rest of the news staff at the West Central Tribune are gearing up for the annual Focus edition – a showcase piece published early each spring by the West Central Tribune centered around a certain theme.
Over the years, the Tribune staff has taken a look back at history, a look ahead to the future, a look at interesting aspects of area communities and people within those communities, as well as a look at the more traditional “progress” aspects of the region.
“Made with Pride” – or some variation on that theme – has been selected by the news staff as the focus of this year’s project.
We are going to stick with actual physical items that are produced across the region, as opposed to, say, services.
We will include fact sheets on what goes into producing the product, where the product goes, etc., while taking a closer look at one of the more interesting aspects of the production process.
Statistics are available on the number and type of production manufacturers in the region, and we will tell the stories behind some of that production.
If you know of a product made across the west central region of rural Minnesota, give us a call at 320-235-1150, drop us a line at Box 839, Willmar MN 56201, tweet it to @wctrib, tell us on Facebook or stop in our offices at 2202 Trott Ave S.W. in Willmar’s Industrial Park. You can also leave your suggestions in the comments below.
While we, obviously, won’t be able to tell every story, we will strive for a good cross-section that covers the region and its offerings.
Watch for Focus 2012 coming out in April in the West Central Tribune.
-Sharon Bomstad, features editor
The Warm the Children program is at 89 percent of its 2011 goal of $40,000.
Warm the Children
To date, a total of $35,522 has been taken in from just over 500 contributors from the area. Shopping has been completed for an estimated 475 children from across the region.
Now it its 18th year, the annual Warm the Children campaign is run by employees of the West Central Tribune in Willmar, Minn., with assistance from Main Street Willmar, area social services agencies, school social workers and numerous volunteers.
The volunteers help by taking families shopping. Priority for the shopping is to provide warm coat, boots, snowpants, hat and gloves for the children, especially those elementary-age children who need warm clothing for recess and waiting for the bus. But, the program allows for the purchase of ANY type of clothing needs – everything from socks and underwear to warm winter pajamas, shoes and school clothing. Each child is allotted an estimated $80 for the purchase of clothing. The families meet a volunteer shopper at the designated store to complete the shopping. All purchases are then charged to the Warm the Children program and paid through the community donations collected throughout the season.
Families from throughout the Tribune’s coverage area – 7 counties – are served through the program. Referrals are received through regional social service agencies, schools, public health and other agencies in the communities served through the program.
Donations are solicited through house ads and newspaper articles – thus making Warm the Children a fitting program for newspaper organizations across the nation.
And, what makes the program somewhat unique is the West Central Tribune covers all administrative fees associated with the program. That means 100 percent of all donations received go back into the community to help the children.
Stores also provide discounts for the Warm the Children shopping, and Main Street Willmar has lent a hand by allowing the Warm the Children program to utilize a local partner for 501(c) 3 tax exempt status.
The program has grown immensely over the years, and helped provide new warm winter clothing for more than 6,420 children from more than 2,360 families.
Donations may be sent to: Warm the Children, West Central Tribune, PO Box 839, Willmar MN 56201.
Anyone interested in being a volunteer shopper in the future may contact Sharon or Donna at the Tribune at 320-235-1150.
