On Monday, the Crookston City Council heard from eight non-profit organizations that requested city grant funds for their organizations.
The total of the requests was $228,000. The City has a budget of $125,000. The city awarded grant funds to six of the eight organizations, making decisions based on which organizations provide the most service to the citizens of Crookston. Below are the six organizations that were awarded grant funds, with their original request amount, the amount awarded, and comments on what each organization will use the funds for in 2025.
Golden Link Senior Center’s request was $97,000, and they will receive $75,000.
Shirley Nielsen, Golden Link Manager, made a presentation to the council grant funds in the amount of $97,000. Shirley explains what these funds would be used for at the Golden Link. “I represent the Golden Link Senior Center in Crookston. We are asking for $97,000, and we would use it for the running of the link,” says Shirley. “It pays utilities, manager’s salary, anything and everything we need to keep the building open and running.”
Tri-Valley Opportunity Council is requesting $16,000, and they received $16,000.
Elizabeth Hensrud from Tri-Valley Opportunity Council Transportation Department or the B.U.S. explains what Tri-Valleys requested funds would cover. “We are asking for $16,000 and that would go towards operating budget and capital projects like the bus.”
Crookston Aquatic Boosters/OxCart Days requested $20,000, and they will receive $6,000.
The Crookston Aquatic Boosters asked for grant funds in the amount of $20,000. Board President James Pogatchnik says that that would both cover the cost of Fireworks during Ox Cart Days and the cost of entry for all attendees. What they were proposing is that they do away with the Ox Cart Buttons, and all events would be free for all to attend, leaving families to be able to spend more on vendors, food, and such.
Get Kids Outdoors – Adam Parnow Memorial Inc. requested $5,000 and will receive $5,000
Fred Parnow gave a presentation and told the council why he requested $5,000. “We have different events we support through the course of the year, but specifically, coming up, we are going to put a fish house on the river here this winter for kids, parents, and their families to use at no charge,” says Parnow. “So, our request is for funds that would go towards the purchase of that fish house.”
Downtown Crookston Development Partnership requested $20,000 and will receive $15,000.
Shirley Iverson represented the DCDP. “We put in a grant request for $20,000,” says Iverson. “We have done the downtown Tuesday Tunes; we are also looking at having the Fiesta De Crookston again; we also do Broadway at the Grand and will be doing free movie Mondays at the Grand. Finally, in our grant, we are looking at Way Finding signs, and we want to fill in some of our vacant building windows with public art and advertising and allow that to become more picturesque.”
Scruffy Tails Humane Society requested $15,000 and will receive $8,000.
Val Tuseth represented Scruffy Tails. “We are looking to replace our current washer and dryer with a commercial set,” says Tuseth. “We do a lot of laundry, dog beds, towels, things like that.” Tuseth says they would use the funds for one other item: “We are hoping to get a professional dog wash station. You can put a little dog in the sink, but it’s kind of hard to do that with a German Sheppard.”
The two organizations that submitted grant requests but were not given funds by the council were Prairie Skyline Foundation, which requested $25,000, and Care and Share, which requested $30,000.
