MiEnergy Cooperative’s Operation Round Up Trust Board met in September and elected to donate $5,300 to the following local organizations:
•$1,000, St. Lucas Fire Association, Iowa, to support the building of a new fire station.
•$750, Fillmore Central Public Schools, Preston, Minn., for a take-home science experiment backpack program.
•$750, St. Charles Public Library, Minn., to help purchase a speaker system.
•$750, Winona County Emergency Management, Winona, Minn., for a winter survival kits for children program.
•$500, Lawler Lions Club, Iowa, to support building a new shelter and Croell Park improvements.
•$500, Wykoff Fire Department, Minn., to help purchase road safety equipment.
•$300, Empty Bowls of Harmony, Minn., to purchase event supplies that support Fillmore County food shelves.
•$300, Peace Lutheran Church, Ridgeway, Iowa, to purchase an automatic external defibrillator.
•$250, Mobile Mamma, Cresco, Iowa., to support educational materials for online safety program.
•$200, Decorah Quilts of Valor, Iowa, to purchase fabric for quilts for veterans.
Operation Round Up is funded by donations made by members of MiEnergy Cooperative who voluntarily have their electric bill round up to the next dollar. About 1,800 members currently participate with the average donation being $6 a year per member.
The program is based on the idea that small change adds up. Currently, the program gives away about $10,000 each year to local organizations.
The Operation Round Up Trust Board chooses where the funds get donated and the amount of the donation based on an application process. The trust board members include: John Bronk, of Winona, Minn., president; Janelle Mahr, of Lime Springs, Iowa, vice president; Margaret Knutson, of Houston, Minn., secretary/treasurer; Larry Hafner, of La Crescent, Minn.; Allen Hanson, of Preston, Minn.; Arlene Hegge, of La Crescent, Minn.; Shannon Schmelzer, of Cresco, Iowa; and Perry-O Sliwa, Decorah, Iowa.
Donations to Operation Round Up are tax deductible. Organizations receive grants through an application process. The next application deadline is February 15. To learn more about Operation Round Up or to round up your electric bill, visit www.MiEnergy.coop or call 1 (800) 432-2285.
MiEnergy Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative and is the result of a merger between Hawkeye REC, of Cresco, Iowa and Tri-County Electric Cooperative, of Rushford, Minn. in 2017. It maintains 5,500 miles of power lines covering most of Fillmore, Houston and Winona counties in Minnesota and Chickasaw, Howard and Winneshiek counties in Iowa. The cooperative also serves small pockets bordering those counties. It provides electricity to more than 18,700 members in northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. MiEnergy is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative.