Fillmore County 4-H News

• New 4-H Year began on October 1st. Remember to re-enroll.
• When re-enrolling, please enter the youth's email, if they have one, (preferably not a school email) as the member email so they also receive the information we send out.
• The January Ambassador Meeting will be on January 10 at 6pm in Room 108 of the extension Office.
• The January Federation Meeting will be on January 10 at 7pm in Room 108 of the extension Office.
• The January Auction Committee Meeting will be on January 14th at 7 pm in Room 108 of the Extension Office.
• The 2026 Fillmore County Fair will be July 20th - 26th.

Dairy Quiz Bowl Practice starts at 1:30 pm January 11th at the Extension office. Contact Randi Wingert or Alex with questions.

What is Project Bowl?

Project Bowl is a long-standing program in Minnesota 4-H and is the second most attended event of the year.

In Project Bowl, teams of three to six youth members build skills working and thinking together while testing their knowledge in these 4-H areas: dairy, dog, general livestock, horse, llama-alpaca, poultry and rabbit.

Watch this 4-H Project Bowl YouTube video to learn more and see the program in action.

For more information about Project Bowl see the U of M Extension website for

4-H Regional and State Project Bowls.

Olmsted County will be hosting a Poultry Clinic on Saturday, January 3rd from 10 am-12 pm. This event is free to attend if you can promote it with your poultry project. The sign up on 4-H Online is active.

We would like to invite you to register a 4-H Project Bowl Team for the 2026 SE Invitational 4-H Project Bowl on Saturday, February 21 at the Byron High School in Byron, MN.

Tentative times for the day are:

8:45AM: Team Registration

9:15AM: Team Orientation

9:30AM: Contest Starts

Pre-entry is required. Registration must be postmarked by February 9, 2026, with a registration fee of $50/team. Please make checks out to University of Minnesota, Memo: Project Bowl Invitational Registration.

Team registration payments should be sent to:
Rochester Regional Office
Attn: Deb Sveen
140 Elton Hills Lane NW #201
Rochester MN 55901

A confirmation email with contest specifics including morning check-in time will be sent to listed team coaches approximately one week before the contest.

Team Question Submission: each participating team needs to provide 5 questions from the listed references by February 9, 2026. If there are multiple teams from the same county, questions must be different. These questions will help build our bank of questions for the 2026 SE Invitational Project Bowl. Questions should be submitted at the above link.

Important reminder: All listed team members must be currently enrolled in 4-H. Coaches must be approved screened Minnesota 4-H Volunteers. Each team will need to provide two volunteers to help the day of the contest as scorekeepers or timers.

Rules and references for 2026 project bowls

If you haven’t already seen the video produced about MN 4-H Project Bowls, here is a direct link to it: https://youtu.be/ZUI1132Rgt4; it can be a great promotional piece to introduce Project Bowl to those who have not experienced it.

If you have any questions, please contact one of these 4-H Extension Educators:
Aly Kloeckner - Goodhue County (651.385.3100 / schw1348@umn.edu)
Adam Stevermer - Mower County (507.438.2394 / stev0421@umn.edu)
Alex Coe - Fillmore County (507.765.3896/ coexx049@umn.edu)
Amy Nelson - Waseca County (507.835.0600/ dobbe007@umn.edu)
Kelsey Brandt - Nicollet County (507.934.7831/ brand785@umn.edu)
Sydney Mitchell - Le Sueur County (507-357-8525/ mitc1123@umn.edu)

Megan Wilson - Olmsted County (507-328-6217/ brads160@umn.edu)

The SE Regional Camp at Whitewater State Park seeks a qualified candidate to serve as Camp Director for the 2026 season. This position will be expected to attend two pre-season camp counselor training sessions, as well as remain on site the entirety of the camp week. This position will direct camp supervision schedules, work with regional staff to ensure payment of bills and submit reporting. This position will be assisted by local and regional 4-H staff.

Responsibilities include:

• Pre-camp planning meetings (in person or via zoom)

• Supervision of Camp (overnights required)

• Staff Scheduling

• Oversee budget & track finances

• Attend counselor training dates to work with counselors on educational plans

• Submit evaluations and final reporting to local and regional 4-H staff

Important Dates

Camp Counselor Training 1 - April 10-11th, 2026, Times TBD

Camp Counselor Training 2 - May 3rd, 2026, Approximately 1-8PM

Camp Week - Sunday, June 14th - Saturday, June 20th, 2026

Compensation and Hours

This position will require approximately 150 hours over the spring and into June. This includes time on site for both the counselor training dates and camp week itself.

Pay scale is determined by qualifications and experience, not to exceed $20/hr. Mileage to and from events will be reimbursed.

To Apply:

To submit interest in this position please email a cover letter and resume that speaks to your qualifications for this position to Aly Kloeckner (schw1348@umn.edu). Interest should be submitted no later than January 16th, 2026 for consideration.

If you're in 9th grade or above and would like to use your leadership skills, make friends, and work with youth this summer, we need you as a camp counselor! Apply to be a camp counselor for the 2026 SE Regional 4-H Summer Camp at Whitewater State Park (on Highway 74 between Elba and St. Charles).

SE MN 4-H Camp Counselor applications are now open for youth in grades 9 and older. Serving as a camp counselor is a key leadership activity for many 4-H youth. Camp counselors learn important leadership skills like persistence and teamwork. Camp counselors support younger youth in their learning and help them have an affirming and fun experience. Counselors work with staff to create and lead camp activities.

CAMP INFORMATION

• Regional 4-H Camp at Whitewater State Park in St. Charles, MN will take place June 14-20, 2026.

• 6-8th grade youth will attend June 15-17th

• 3-5th grade youth will attend June 17-19th

CAMP COUNSELOR TRAINING -Camp Counselor Trainings are tentatively set to take place April 10 -11th at Good Earth Village and May 3rd at Whitewater State Park. If you have conflicts on any of the dates we encourage you to apply anyway! Returning counselors will share experiences and assist with training new counselors.

Application available at: Counselor Application Here

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 2, 2026

Contact Camp Counselor Planning Committee with Questions:

Rebecca Paulson: 507-725-5807, rpaulson@umn.edu
Carrie O’Reilly: 507-635-6327, oreil175@umn.edu
Adam Stevermer: 507-437-9439, stev0421@umn.edu
Megan Wilson: 507-328-6217, brads160@umn.edu
Amanda Gebhart: 651-385-3100, gebha162@umn.edu

4-H Camp Counselor applications will be reviewed by Extension staff. You will be notified by March 1st, if you have been selected as a Camp Counselor.

This year's Southeast Regional Project Day will be on Saturday, March 7th at Byron Middle School from 9:00a.m. - 2:00p.m! Youth will be able to select up to three workshops from a variety of project areas. By the end of these workshops, youth will have a project ready for the fair and/or gain the skills needed to create their project! Watch for more details and registration information coming soon.

It is time again to send in nominations for the Farm Family of the Year, which is awarded in each of our 87 counties. Is there someone in your community who is deserving? Use the form at this weblink to send in a nomination!

We are seeking members for County Extension Committees in Fillmore, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, and Wabasha counties. Please consider sharing your experience with others and encourage them to apply. Please share my contact information if they would like to learn more.

The Department of Youth Development is seeking applicants for the educator position in Wabasha County, as well as undergraduate student applicants for its summer internship positions offered across the state. Interested applicants can find more details on the UMN Extension Careers page.

As you prepare for 2026, a goal could be to attend an in-person or virtual Extension educational offering. There are certainly many to choose from in the newsletter below!

Lisa Dierks

Providing leadership to Dodge, Fillmore, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Winona Counties, and the Rochester Regional Office.

If you have any questions or requests for resources to share in future newsletters, please reach out to me at dierksl@umn.edu. To learn more about a topic, click on the title of the article!

Leading Economic Transformation

Join an applied learning cohort for public sector leaders from communities of all sizes. The cohort will help prepare you to navigate the evolving landscape of community economic development. The cohort will meet Wednesday afternoons 12:30-2:30 p.m. (CST) from Feb. 4 through March 11.

2026 Extension Women in Agriculture Network Conference

Registration is open for the 2026 Extension Women in Agriculture Conference! The conference will be held at The Park Event Center in Waite Park on Feb. 3. Registration, hotel information, the agenda, session descriptions and more can be found on the conference website, linked above.

5th Annual Pollinator Series

This year’s three-part webinar series from University of Minnesota Extension brings together expert educators, researchers, and Master Gardeners to highlight keystone plants and “Soft Landings” designs, share the latest findings from the UMN Bee Lab, and showcase successful pollinator projects from across the state. Learn practical, science-based steps you can take to help pollinators thrive in any space — large or small. The webinars will take place daily from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 26-28. Learn more and register at the link above.

3 ways to support food shelves in Minnesota

Food shelves are vital community resource hubs for people experiencing hunger. Check out three ways you can support Minnesota food shelves.

RSDP call for ideas

Do you have an idea to improve the sustainability of your Greater Minnesota community? All five Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships’ regional boards are inviting project ideas through Feb. 14. Award decisions will be made this spring. We'd love to hear your idea!

This scholarship is intended for an active, enrolled 4-H member from one of the following Minnesota Counties: Olmsted, Fillmore, Goodhue, Mower, Wabasha, & Winona. Youth eligible to apply are high school seniors (class of 2026) or college freshman pursuing a secondary education at a two year or four-year college majoring in animal science, agriculture, or environmental science. Youth should demonstrate involvement in 4-H and be active in their school and community and show scholastic proficiency. Youth are not able to be awarded the scholarship twice, although they can apply for it more than once.

Alexander Coe

Fillmore County 4-H Extension Educator

902 Houston St NW # 3, Preston, MN 55965

University of Minnesota

Email: coexx049@umn.edu

Office Phone: 507-765-3896

M - F 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Cell: 507-216-2999

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