Walk down the sidewalks of Litchfield’s downtown and the city’s history looms large. Many of the historic buildings that frame the city’s main street were built as early as the 1800s.

More than 100 years later, the city’s downtown was designated a Historic Commercial District by the National Park Service and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Winning a trip to Florida is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for 11 Litchfield Middle Schoolers, they plan to take full advantage of the beaches, ocean and, of course, Disney World.

The middle school students will travel to Orlando, Fla., in July to participate in the national Family, Career and Community Leaders of America convention. The students received bids to the competition after earning the top scores at the state convention two weeks ago.

“We’re pumped. It’s really exciting,” eighth-grader Kaitlyn Johnson said.

Litchfield Post Office and the National Association of Letter carriers will have their annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive this Saturday.

To participate, Litchfield residents simply need to leave nonperishable food and home care items in a bag by their mailbox. Letter carriers will pick up the bags and at the end of the day will deliver them to the Meeker County Emergency Food Shelf.

Looking for a bargain? Shop nearly 40 garage sales this weekend during Litchfield Citywide Garage Sales May 10.

View a map of the citywide sales below, or check out the May 8 Independent Review or May 4 Meeker County Advertiser for a complete listing. Listings can also be found online here.

Seniors Emily Veto and Jordan Lecher were named the winners of the Student Athlete Awards during the LHS Senior Athletic Banquet May 7 at the Church of St. Philip.

Molly Hansvick and Taylor Berry were the recipients of the Student Scholar Athlete Awards.

Nominees for the Student Athlete Awards must be 3-sport letterwinners during their senior year.

Student Scholar Athlete Award finalists must letter in two sports and sport a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

This year's Distinguished Service Award went to Randy Quitney.