Upcoming Marshall Community Services’ activities

Dec. 7: I’m Alone

Dec. 14: Candlelight Gentle Yoga

For more information about these activities and more: https://bit.ly/MCS2021Registration.

MCS Red Baron Arena Open Skate will be on select Friday and Saturday evenings from 7-9:30 p.m., Sunday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. and Sunday evenings from 7-9 p.m. Open Adult Hockey will be on Wednesday evenings from 7-9 p.m. Admission for open skate and open hockey is $5 per skater with rental skates available for $3. Please visit marshallcommunitycalendar.org for up-to-date Open Skate hours.

Are you looking for a unique gift this holiday season? By giving a gift of memorialization, you can honor a special veteran, firefighter or public safety personnel in a lasting way with a permanent tribute. Memorial Park bricks are still available for purchase. Individuals, and/or families interested in purchasing a memorial brick can fill out an online fillable PDF or contact (507) 537-6767 with questions. Please visit the link for more information: https://bit.ly/MemorialParkBricks.

Community Services and City Hall offices will be closed today because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Marshall Community Services Advisory Board meets for the last time in 2021 on Wednesday, Dec. 1, at City Hall beginning at 4:45 p.m.

Registration for winter & spring 2022 MCS offerings will be made available to the public on Dec. 15.

Many give thanks to Minnesota for producing the most turkeys

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Production numbers show there’s a good chance that a Thanksgiving turkey came from Minnesota, especially if you live in the Midwest.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Americans should eat about 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving. Minnesota farmers generally grow about 45 million turkeys a year on more than 500 farms, or nearly 18% of the country’s turkey supply, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Minnesota was the nation’s leader in turkey production in 2020 with 40 million birds, the USDA said. That was nine million more than North Carolina, which was No. 2 in production.

The price of the birds has steadily increased this year. Demand has gone up after being tamped down by the pandemic last year when fewer families gathered and restaurants were empty.

“USDA is actually predicting this year to be a record high price for turkeys,” said Tim Petry, a livestock marketing economist with the North Dakota State University Extension Service. “From a price standpoint, these are the best prices they’ve seen for a number of years. So you know, that’s good news for producers.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz earlier this week lauded turkey growers for their work in a billion-dollar industry that employs thousands of people in the state.

“Many our producers are truly family farms, generations of family farms that make a difference,” he said.

South Dakota produces about 5 million turkeys a year and North Dakota about 1 million, according to USDA figures.

Looking to beat freeze, Minnesota man lands record muskie

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man rushing to sneak in a final fishing expedition before the freeze on one of the state’s largest lakes appears to have broken a 64-year-old state record.

Nolan Sprengeler, of Plymouth, landed a muskie on Lake Mille Lacs Monday night that tipped the scales at 55 pounds, 14.8 ounces. The previous Minnesota record for heaviest muskie, 54 pounds, was set in 1957 on Lake Winnibigoshish.

Sprengeler and two other friends had to break ice for about 100 yards to find open water.

“We had thought about fishing after Thanksgiving, but looking at the temperatures we figured we better go Monday night,” Sprengeler said. “We weren’t sure we could get on the lake after that.”