MARSHALL/MINNEOTA — Recently the Otto Bremer Trust awarded 137 grants totaling $10 million — $1 million of which was awarded to organizations in western and south-central Minnesota. Two of these grants were awarded locally to the city of Minneota and the United Community Action Partnership in Marshall.

“We are very pleased that we were able to receive this as it makes a significant impact on the residents of the community,” Minneota Mayor John Rolbiecki said.

The city of Minneota received a $60,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Trust to replace critical safety equipment for the Minneota fire department. Rolbiecki said the fire department will be using the grant to replace the SCBA units that are no longer usable. The grant will cover half the cost and the department will be covering the other half.

“These will ensure that the fire department has proper and up to date safety equipment,” Rolbiecki said, “We are able to make our dollars stretch further and utilize some money that would have been spent here on other safety and/or capital improvement.”

Rolbiecki said the newer technology will allow the fire department to continue to provide safer interior firefighting duties.

“We’d like to thank the Otto Bremer Foundation for their commitment to the areas that they do business in. They made the process relatively fast and easy and we can’t say enough about the importance they put on investing in the communities where they are located,” Rolbiecki said.

The other grant was given to the United Community Action Partnership, Inc. for $250,000 to provide help with the construction of its new Early Head Start and Head Start building.

Nancy Straw, executive director at United Community Action Partnership, said the Head Start program has been leasing space at the Grace Life Church but it got a notice that it couldn’t have classes there anymore.

It got the notice in 2017, but the program couldn’t find a new building before 2018 so Grace Life Church let it stay.

“We looked at places in Marshall for renovation but it was the same amount to renovate as building a new place,” Straw said.

“For the first time in Marshall Head Start will have a visible place,” Straw said.

Straw said they also received the Early Head Start Expansion grant totally nearly $2 million that will help with the construction and expanding what the program offers.

Mary Lockhart-Findling, the UCAP Head Start director, said there will be 72 new spots, and 24 of those spots will be in Marshall — 16 toddlers and eight infants.

“It will be a full-day, full-year of services,” Lockhart-Findling said.

“This building will be able to house 85 and the additional 24 other kids,” Lockhart-Findling said.

“We are thrilled we had a really good experience with the program,” Straw said.