Mansfield 4-H

The Mansfield 4-H meeting was 1 p.m. Feb. 18 at Mansfield town hall. The meeting was called to order by Vice President Tage Sahr. Roll call was given. Four members and two adults were present.

The secretary report was given and accepted by Ravon Suhr. The treasurer’s report was given and accepted by Caleb Songstad.

The club helped with a fish fry for the Kiester firefighters in February, and the group discussed if they would like to do the same for next year.

Dates for the 4-H camp were given. The youth camp is in June and the teen camp is in July. The meeting was adjourned.

The next Mansfield 4-H meeting will be the bowling party, which will be at 2:30 p.m. March 10 at the bowling alley in Forest City, Iowa.

Women Veterans of Freeborn County

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Women Veterans of Freeborn County was Feb. 7 at the American Legion Post No. 56.

Women veterans present included Judi Olson, Sandy Maiden, Julie Hamson, Barb Babb, Deanna Luedtke, Pat Johannson, Ruth Perry and Joan Paczkowski.

Paczkowski shared honey bell fruits with the group. The fruit is a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine.

Hamson spoke about her holiday in Texas.

Maiden said there would be a Zumba class for all to try out at the Senior Center.

The treasurer’s report was given.

The Legion commander’s five-year plan was read. The group felt he had some very ambitious thoughts and ideas.

A number of articles were read and discussed.

Maiden took the food donations to the food pantry.

First Lutheran Church Women

First Lutheran Church Women met on at 1:15 p.m. Jan. 10 in Bethany Hall. President Donna Ludtke presided. Joan Holt provided the prelude music.

Ludtke welcomed members and guests. She referenced Philippians 4:13”, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” as her support for the day.

Cindy Gandrud gave the devotions from “Joy Every Morning” and focused on Philippians 4:4-9. As Paul was in prison, it seems strange he would tell a church to rejoice, but Paul knew that whatever happened to him, Jesus Christ was with him. She said everyone needed to practice thanking the Lord each new day no matter what our circumstances. As a group, the First Lutheran Church Women purpose statement was read.

Jo Hanson introduced the speaker, Joel Erickson of the Save Our Hospital committee. Erickson said on June 12, Mayo Clinic Health System announced it would be moving inpatient services, including overnight hospital stay, intensive care and baby delivery, to the Austin campus in the near future. Erickson said inpatient surgery and birthing are the moneymakers for a hospital. This announcement led to an open meeting on June 29 at the local high school auditorium, which was attended by over 700 residents. Out of the dissatisfaction of this announcement and how it was handled, the Save Our Hospital committee was formed.

Erickson said the issues aren’t with the doctors, nurses or health care, but with the Mayo Clinic Health System leadership. Mayo has claimed it is losing money and finding staffing is difficult. The SOH committee found losing money to be inaccurate, as Mayo has significant profits every year. According to Erickson, it is viable to have a successful hospital in Albert Lea through research done by Quorom Health Resources of Tennessee.

According to Erickson, Mayo gets $285 million from the state of Minnesota for Destination Rochester. Erickson said area residents pay triple or quadruple for health care in Albert Lea because Mayo has a southern Minnesota monopoly. A coalition for rural health care has been formed as seven out of 14 southern Minnesota cities are in a health shortage area. There are county health boards in each Minnesota county. The need for hospital beds is dwindling, so changes have to be addressed. Many area doctors no longer have a community connection as many do not reside in the community. The SOH committee is actively pursuing alternate providers for the hospital.

In closing, Erickson encouraged the group to attend a meeting on Jan. 28 at the American Legion to hear Colleen Spike, retired administrator of the St. Peter Hospital. According to a press release, she shared her experiences with the Mayo system.

Erickson also referenced an article by Dan Diamond of Politico magazine, written on Nov. 16 entitled “Tax-exempt Mayo Clinic grows, but rural patients pay a price.” Time for questions and answers followed.

The group then sang the hymn, “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” The memorial service commemorating the deceased members of 2017 followed.

Ludtke called the business meeting to order. The secretary’s report was approved by a motion made by Shirley Strand and seconded by Bonnie Trampel. Motion carried. Gandrud presented the treasurer’s report. The quarterly report from October through December was also presented in print form.

Correspondence Secretary Bonnie Trampel reported a note of thanks from Jane Maiden for the staff Advent luncheon and the poinsettia. The First Lutheran Radio Fund thanked the group for the donation.

Monetary requests were received from St. Jude and Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. Newsletters were received from the Evangelical Lutheran Church Association Interchange and Good Earth Village. These are available in the library or on the bulletin board near the library.

Jo Hanson presented the information on the Herberger’s Community Days coupon booklets for Thursday through today to be sold for $5 with $10 worth of coupons inside. Booklets are available, and Hanson will keep a weekly report of booklets sold. These sold booklets are total profit for the group’s mission project.

The distribution of proceeds proposals from the Holidays Ahead were presented to the membership for review. The local mission was divided between the pay back on the Scrip loan and SEMCAC. Bonnie Schneider made a motion to accept the proposals and Hazel Senske seconded.

The church council asked the FLCW Board if they wished to again designate a special outreach offering to be collected in a selected month. The FLCW Board chose SEMCAC to receive that offering.

The Lenten soup and sandwich luncheons began Feb. 14.  Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. followed by a worship service at 12:15 p.m.

Recipes are needed for the church centennial cookbook. The group is  looking for recipes from each family in the congregation.

In the spring, the group will be doing a shut-in service as the weather is more favorable for the residents involved.

The group sang “I Love to Tell the Story” during the offering. Gandrud gave an offertory prayer.

Ludtke thanked ushers Hanson and Schneider; greeters Marian Ahnemann and Hanson; hostesses co-chairwomen Helen Lovik and Arlis Smith and their committee, Ahnemann, Deb Hanson, Sharon Johnson and Janice Lestrud.

Caring and Sharing Co-chairwomen Carol Frydenlund and Joni Rowe and their committee served no funerals in December.

The meeting closed with the Lord’s Prayer and singing of the table prayer.