Sharon Holtz, 75, of Litchfield, died Monday at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn. Funeral service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Litchfield. Visitaiton will be Friday evening from 5-8 p.m. at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Marian (Kittelson) Foster, 88, of Hudson, Fla., formerly of Litchfield, died Friday in Hudson. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Ness Lutheran Church. Visitation will be Thursday from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Gary Dahlberg, 57, of Acoma Township, McLeod County, Minn., passed away July 26, 2008 at his home in Acoma Township. Funeral services were Friday at Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson. Dobratz-Hantge Chapel in Hutchinson was in charge of arrangements.

Douglas Hamilton, 86, of Atwater, passed away July 30 at Bethesda Pleasant View in Willmar. Funeral services were Saturday at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Atwater.

Ethel Boller, 89, of Anoka, died July 31, 2008. Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Church of St. Stephen in Anoka. Visitation will be Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. with a vigil prayer service at 7 p.m. at Gearhart Anoka Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to Mass on Thursday at the church.

David M. Miller, 85, of rural Grove City died Monday at his home. Funeral will be 10 a.m. Friday at Evangelical Free Church in rural Paynesville.  Interment will be at Burr Oak Cemetery in rural Grove City. A visitation will be from 4 to 8:30 p.m. today (Thursday) at Evangelical Free Church in rural Paynesville and continue one hour prior to the service.
Arrangements are with Johnson and Harvey Anderson Funeral Homes of Paynesville.

Janet Kjellerson, 86, of Litchfield, died Thursday at the Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield. Services are pending with Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home, Litchfield. Please sign our on-line guestbook at www.johnsonhagglund.com

With the first human cases of West Nile
virus disease for 2008 confirmed in three Minnesota residents,
state health officials today urged Minnesotans to protect themselves
from mosquitoes from now through September.

The Horticulture team at University of Minnesota Extension has launched a new weed identification and management tool. The Web site can be accessed from University of Minnesota Extension’s Gardening Info page, or directly at www.extension.umn.edu/gardeninfo/weedid/.

Elmer Lundstrom, 84, died Saturday after a brief illness. A memorial service will be at Camano Lutheran Church in Washington State on Aug. 2 at 1 p.m. He was the son of the late Leonard and Minnie Lundstrom of Litchfield.

Gordon "Gordy" Heuring, 65, of Litchfield, died at his home in Litchfield on Monday. Memorial services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Church of St. Philip. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Friday at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home with a 7:30 p.m. prayer service. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

David Ruzicka, 79, of Lake MinnieBelle and formerly of Glencoe, died Friday at Lake MinnieBelle. Mass of Christian burial will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Church of St. Pius X in Glencoe. A time of gathering for family and friends will be at 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service on Wednesday. Johnson-McBride Funeral Chapel in Glencoe is in charge of arrangements.

Lyle Larsen, 79, of Dassel, died July 10, 2008 at the Lakeside Health Care Center of Dassel. A funeral service will be Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Dassel. A time to gather with family and friends will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorial arrangements are being handled by the Johnson Funeral Home in Dassel.

A 21-year-old Annandale man died from injuries suffered in a traffic accident July 16 on Minnesota Highway 15 near Dassel.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Brett Thompson was driving his 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix at about 7:30 a.m. July 16 when it crossed the centerline and struck a semi-trailer. The accident happened one mile north of County State Aid Highway 21.

Thompson was taken to St. Cloud Hospital and later transported to Hennepin County Medical Center where he died later that day.

Mark Meyer, 37, formerly of Litchfield, fied Thursday, July 17. Funeral was at East Side Community Lutheran Church in St. Paul. His parents are Ed and Mary Lou Meyer of Clearwater, Minn., former long-time Litchfield residents.

Levi Joseph Fallon, 97, died Friday, July 21, at Cedar Crest Residence in Cosmos. Funeral will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at Church of St. John in Darwin. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church, with burial in St. Anastasia Catholic Cemetery in Hutchinson. Arrangements are with Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield.

Mother Nature gave us an early, threatening indication that this year’s Watercade would not go off as planned.

Less than two hours into the weekend’s first big night of celebrations, the skies turned threatening and sent everyone scurrying from the beach at Memorial Park —  leaving behind the planned beach party and hundreds of cooked and uncooked brats and other festival food.

Enjoy a whirlwind review of Watercade 2008 through the lens of Independent Review staff members.

Emma Jensen, 95, of Willmar and formerly of Atwater died July 8 at the Altera Sterling House in Willmar. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Atwater. Arrangements with the Atwater Funeral Home.

The B-17 Flying Fortress Sentimental Journey will be on display July 25-27 at St. Cloud Regional Airport.

Sentimental Journey is the most fully restored B-17 Flying Fortress, a vintage World War II bomber airplane. Visitors will get an up-close look at the piece of aviation history during its visit to St. Cloud.

Pope Benedict XVI has named Rev. John M. LeVoir, 62, as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm,. The announcement was made today in Washington by Msgr. Martin Krebs, charge d'affaires of the Apostolic nunciature to the Holy See.

Gavin Robert Grack, age 25 days, of Litchfield died on Tuesday, July 8, at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. A private family funeral was held on July 11 at Zion Lutheran Church in Litchfield with Pastor Harvey Nelson officiating.

The son of Amy Lawrence and Wesley Grack was born on June 13 in Minneapolis.

Litchfield’s annual Watercade celebration continues today and Sunday with a full slate of events.

Today’s activities started early, with a Kids’ 1-Mile Run at Lake Ripley Memorial Park at 7 a.m., followed by the 4-Mile Run.

Also today will be the kiddie parade and Art in the Park, where there will be many interesting things to buy, good food to eat, and entertainment all day long. At noon on Lake Ripley beach, the annual sand sculpture building contest takes place. A lip sync contest starts at 1:30 p.m. The Grande Day Parade begins at 6 p.m.

With a name like Watercade, it’s hard to forget the key element of Litchfield’s annual community celebration, which takes place today through Sunday.

Water — specifically Lake Ripley — plays an important role in this weekend’s events. Moves made by the Watercade Board of Directors last year gave Lake Ripley an even more prominent place in the activities.

While decisions to move events like Art in the Park and the lip sync contest from Central Park to the shores of Lake Ripley faced some objections, the moves are easily defended.

Ron Christensen does not dwell on the latest cancer research, nor does he try to figure out just where his personal battle with the disease fits into the myriad of statistics concerning survival rates.

Emma Geneva Jensen, 95, of Willmar and formerly of Atwater, died Tuesday, July 8, at Altera Sterling House in Willmar. Funeral will be 10 a.m. Thursday, July 17, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Atwater with the Rev. Grant O. Fischer officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Arrangements are with the Atwater Funeral Home.

Greater Litchfield Opera House Association Inc., Litchfield Public Library and the G.A.R. Hall will stage a Watercade Block Party from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 12. Each of the three locations will have displays and events.

Litchfield Public Library plans a book sale, while refreshments and a display are planned at the G.A.R. Hall. Litchfield Opera House will have a display promoting Meeker County's dairy and meat industries. Foot-long hot dogs, chips and beverages also will be sold at the Opera House.