News

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

Memory loss is one of the most painful afflictions suffered by families and individuals. To see a loved one’s memories slowly erased while there seems to the untrained eye and ear so little difference about them creates deep feelings of helplessness, stress and loss.

To help not only families with loved ones suffering from memory loss, but to help the community as well, the Benson Area Memory Loss Network is providing virtual performances of “In the Garden.” It is the second of three plays that make up the Remember Project.  

The plays are set for Monday, March 15, at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 16, at 9 a.m. and Tuesday, March 23, at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required.

Tickets are available through Eventbrite at:  https://benson-garden2021.eventbrite.com...

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

Over the past couple weeks volunteers spent hours on the second floor of the Benson Armory sorting through a room densely packed with clothing.  In some ways, it was a trip through the area’s fashion history.

A constant figure among the piles of clothes, hanging hats, and racks of dresses, was Marti Benson. Over the past decades, she had been central to the gathering and storing many of the items now being packed away to be moved.

Some of the clothing was going into storage for future Benson High School plays. Other bits and pieces of apparel history were being donated to other schools or given away...

For more on this story, and to keep up on all the latest in area sports, subscribe to the Swift County Monitor-News print edition or our PDF internet edition. Call 320-843-4111 and you can get all the local news and sports delivered to you!

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

It looked as if February 2021 was on its way to being the coldest on record after 15 straight days of below zero lows.

The eight days with below zero highs through the first 15 days of February also set a record. The most days with highs below zero between 1953 and 2020 was just four, recorded in both 1982 and 1988.

Four consecutive mornings where the temperature fell to between 22 and 29 below zero. The minus 29 reading Feb. 15 was the coldest low of the 2020-2021 winter season...

For more on this story, and to keep up on all the latest in area sports, subscribe to the Swift County Monitor-News print edition or our PDF internet edition. Call 320-843-4111 and you can get all the local news and sports delivered to you!

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

Monday afternoon senior Stacy Johnson sat the new Yamaha C6X grand piano in the Benson High School Performing Arts Center giving a taste of depth of sound provided by the new instrument.

The $50,000 grand piano was purchased through donations from individuals in the community and the Benson Area Community Foundation. Donations received prior to Jan. 1, 2021 are being recognized on a plaque to be displayed in the Performing Arts Center.

“It is wonderful!” Director of Bands Brock Duncan said of the new grand piano. “It has a very rich, full sound and will fill the PAC without a problem.  It also has 2021 technology which allows it to be used as an organ, harpsichord, strings, etc...”

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

While an estimated one-third of Americans say they won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine when their turn comes around, others anxiously await notice of an appointment.

At Swift County-Benson Health Services they have had no problem finding those who want the vaccine. However, the problem has been getting enough of it.

“We have exciting news. We can start giving first doses again this week,” Co-CEO and Chief Nursing Office Melissa McGinty-Thompson of SCBHS said at Monday evening’s governing board meeting. “We had been on pause for the first doses of the vaccine due to some distribution allocation issues. It was not unique to us. It has been somewhat statewide...”

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

Renovations with the primary goal of improving safety for employees of Swift County Human Services and 6W Community Corrections were approved by the board of commissioners at their Tuesday, Feb. 16 meeting.

Renovations to make the entry of the human services building safer have been estimated at $124,800. Funding for the projects is coming from county reserves.

The renovations required for basement offices of the Swift County Law Enforcement Center (LEC) are far more extensive and costly. They involve not only adding office space for 6W but also replacing the aged heating, cooling and air conditioning system...

For more on this story, and to keep up on all the latest in area sports, subscribe to the Swift County Monitor-News print edition or our PDF internet edition. Call 320-843-4111 and you can get all the local news and sports delivered to you!

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

“I don’t know quite where to start,” Swift County Treasurer Ron Vadnais told the County Board of Commissioners  at their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 16.

“I have been in this position for a number of years and I guess when I first came on board, the interest rate structure was in double digits to the point of it being almost loan-shark rates. Now here we are in 2021…” Vadnais said.

Vadnais was being modest when he said he had been the county’s treasurer for “a number of years.” He has been the county’s treasurer for 38 years, serving since 1982. In June 1982, interest rates peaked 21.5 percent...

For more on this story, and to keep up on all the latest in area sports, subscribe to the Swift County Monitor-News print edition or our PDF internet edition. Call 320-843-4111 and you can get all the local news and sports delivered to you!

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

Just what the new District 777 facilities constructed over the past two years mean to the community and its children is best illustrated in the words of those of who work with those children and work to make the area a better place to live.

The Swift County Monitor-New collected the comments of community and school leaders to give our readers insight into the immediate and lasting value of an investment of more than $30 million in our schools. Here are their thoughts:

Superintendent Dennis Laumeyer

Benson Public Schools has become a regional leader in equipping students for college and their future careers. The new spaces have provided high quality learning spaces that begin at birth...

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

An investment of more than $30 million in Benson Public Schools over the past two years has positioned the community not only to meet the needs of its students but also to make it more attractive to those considering moving here.

It has been an investment in families, school children, education, the arts, athletic opportunities, student safety, and economic development.

“Good schools and healthcare are vital to community economic health and economic development,” Corey Claussen, president of the Benson Industrial Development Corp., said. The building projects at Benson schools show the community’s commitment to its future, he said...

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News

February 2019 was the coldest on record in the Benson area based on statistics that go back to 1953. That record may last just two years. So far, 2021 is on pace to set a new record for the coldest February unless we see a significant warming trend.

For 11 straight days the National Weather Service has issued Wind Chill Watches and Warnings for western Minnesota. For the most part, the area has been fortunate that there have been no strong winds.

With the wind at just 9 mph out of the north early Sunday morning and the temperature at a minus 26 degrees, the wind chill was a biting, dangerous minus 47 degrees. Throughout the past 10 days the wind chill has frequently fallen below a minus 30 degrees...