MiEnergy Cooperative’s Operation Round Up Trust Board met in March and elected to donate $5,300 to the following local organizations:
• $800, Minnesota food shelves in Racine, Rushford, St. Charles and Wykoff ($200 per food shelf), to provide food for households in need as part of Minnesota FoodShare Month.
• $500, Chatfield Fire Department, Chatfield, Minn., to help purchase Nomex hoods to help keep firefighters safe.
• $500, Fillmore Central Community Education, Preston, Minn., to help build an early childhood playground.
• $500, Lime Springs Fire Department, Lime Springs, Iowa, to help purchase an inverter generator.
• $500, Mission 66 Playground Project, Houston, Minn., to help build a new playground for the community that provides inclusive equipment for children with special needs.
• $500, Sew Blessed Quilter, Caledonia, Minn., for long-arm quilting of quilts to honor Korean War veterans.
• $500, Sheriff’s Posse of Houston County, Caledonia, Minn., to help purchase an infrared drone camera.
• $500, Winneshiek County Conservation, Calmar, Iowa, to build a shelter at Lake Meyer Park.
• $300, City of Houston, Minn., to support the YES (Youth, Engagement and Skill Building) Houston program.
• $300, Lanesboro Arts, Lanesboro, Minn., to support Surprise Sculpture, a free arts educational program.
• $200, Fillmore County DAC, Preston, Minn., to help purchase braille items.
• $100, Cresco-Area Clay Crushers Trap Team, Cresco, Iowa, to support startup expenses for a community youth team.
• $100, Friends of Peterson, Peterson, Minn., to bring in Scandinavian folk dancers for the Gammel Dag Fest.
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 $9,000 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: Tom Tibor, of Minnesota City, Minn., president; John Bronk, of Winona, Minn., vice president; Margaret Knutson, of Houston, Minn., secretary/treasurer; Larry Hafner, of La Crescent, Minn.; Allen Hanson, of Preston, Minn.; Miriam Harstad, of Harmony, Minn.; Arlene Hegge, of La Crescent, Minn.; Janelle Mahr, of Lime Springs, Iowa; and Shannon Schmelzer, of Cresco, Iowa.
Donations to Operation Round Up are tax deductible. Organizations receive grants through an application process. The next application deadline is August 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.