The Fourcast

Minnesota 4-H is still looking to hire an Interim 4-H Program Associate for Hubbard County to support the 4-H program while Educator Brooke Remer is on maternity leave!

This Interim 4-H Program Associate will manage the day to day coordination and delivery of local 4-H programming in partnership with the Summer 4-H Intern and County Administrative Assistant. This temporary position has a flexible start date from May-early June 2026. View the job description (z.umn.edu/interimapp). To be considered for the position, applicants must complete the application (z.umn.edu/interimapp) and an intake survey (z.umn.edu/interimscreening).

Please send questions to Kate Holland, 4-H Interim Hires and Onboarding Coordinator, at kharring@umn.edu.

As youth begin work with their 2026 project animals, please remember to identify project animals in 4-H Online! While we have passed the February 17 market beef and dairy steer ID deadline, we still have the 'All Other Animals' ID deadline coming up on May 15, 2026!

All other animals, including breeding heifers, cow/calf pairs, prospect calves (steers and heifers), dairy, dairy goats, dog, horse, llama-alpaca, meat goats, poultry (doves and pigeons), rabbits, sheep, and swine must be owned or leased, tagged or tattooed and identified in 4-H Online by May 15, 2026. While there is plenty of time to get these additional animal IDs completed, please remember that you can always get started now if you already have your animals and are ready to complete the ID process. This letter has more information and guides on the ID process for all other animals.

Please note that Cloverbuds in grades K-2 do not need to ID animals in 4-H Online, but their animals attending the fair need to meet all Board of Animal Health exhibition requirements.

Join the Hubbard County 4-H Livestock Project Development Committee (PDC) as they host monthly trivia events the hour prior to PDC meetings! Trivia nights will be held from 5:00-6:00 PM at the Hubbard County Extension Office (201 Fair Ave, Park Rapids, MN 56470) on January 5, February 2, March 30, and June 1, 2026, and will cover a variety of animal science trivia knowledge at each session. There is no cost to attend, and all 4-H youth members in grades 3-13 are welcome to register to attend one or all sessions throughout the year! There will be pizza and water available for those who pre-register in 4-H Online.

Be sure to join the Livestock Project Development Committee (PDC) on Monday, March 30, at 6:00 PM to discuss happenings for the livestock project area in Hubbard County 4-H! The meeting will be at the Hubbard County Extension Office (201 Fair Ave, Park Rapids), but, if you aren't able to be at the meeting in-person, members are welcome to join virtually via Zoom (joining instructions will be emailed to 4-H households the day of the meeting). Be sure to come prepared for discussions with fresh ideas and feedback to continue to improve the Livestock Project for our 4-H members!

Note: This March 30 meeting is in place of the regular first Monday of the month meeting, as the first Monday of April is Easter Monday.

Explore the buzz about pollinators, the dirt on soil, minibeasts in the garden and how to create insect homes to support pollinators in our own gardens! Garden DiscoverBEE sessions are open to youth in grades 1-5 and will meet from 3:30-4:30 PM at Nevis Public School on March 31, April 2, April 9 and April 16, 2026. Registration for Garden DiscoverBEE can be found through Nevis Community Education.

Based off of scheduling feedback, the next 4-H County Fair Planning Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, April 7, at 6:00 PM at the Hubbard County Extension Office (201 Fair Ave, Park Rapids). Remember, even if you missed the first few committee meetings, all 4-H members are invited to join to share their voice! This committee was formed to provide youth from all aspects of the 4-H program to have a voice in the planning of 4-H happenings at the fair - whether that be from the general project areas, livestock or horse, or even those just participating in the other 4-H opportunities being provided like MN Meats, Shooting Sports or Dog Demonstrations, and more!

At this meeting, we will be selecting awards to be purchased by the Leaders Council, create a definition for the "Outstanding" awards, discuss exhibitor shirt designs, and identify volunteer opportunities to support the 4-H showcases!

Calling all 4-H youth interested in the Dog Project! The Hubbard County 4-H Dog Project will be having their kick-off informational meeting on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 6:00 PM at the Park Rapids Library! If you may be interested in joining in the project’s training sessions, or would be interested in simply getting more information about what you can all do in the 4-H dog project, please attend!

At this meeting, youth will be able to meet the project leaders and dog trainers that they will be working alongside this spring and summer as well as review key dog project topics like who is eligible to participate, what’s required to participate, and get a preview of the 2026 weekly training schedule.

The next Ambassador Program gathering will be this Saturday, April 11, from 9:00-10:30 AM at the Hubbard County Extension Office (201 Fair Ave, Park Rapids, MN). At this gatherings, we'll be learning about team dynamics with a Leadership Scramble and finalize summer 2026 Ambassador activities and plans!

Get ready for adventures with Cloverbud Project Explorers! Each month, Cloverbuds in grades K–2 will dive into a brand-new 4-H project area—exploring topics like science, health and wellness, horticulture, and more! Every session includes hands-on, exciting lessons and activities designed especially for our youngest 4-H’ers, and will be co-led by our 4-H Ambassador youth leaders. Because the February 14 session was postponed due to 4-H Educator Brooke being ill, we will instead meet on February 28 from 10:30 AM–12:00 PM (noon) at the Hubbard County Extension Office (201 Fair Ave, Park Rapids). This program is a great opportunity for our youngest 4-H’ers to discover what 4-H is all about while learning new skills—you won’t want to miss it! Pre-registration is required in 4-H Online and is open to all enrolled 4-H youth in grades K–2. There is no cost to attend, and youth may register for one session or join us for all! Even if your 4-H'er missed the first few sessions, there is still room for more registrations, and we'd love to welcome them to the group of explorers!

If your 4-H'er loves building, creating and using their imagination with LEGOs? Then the LEGO Lab: Mega Makers with 4-H program is for them! At each monthly program session, youth will tackle exciting building challenges, explore STEM in a fun way as they design their own creations, and learn new skills - brick by brick. Whether they are a master builder or just starting out, all 4-H youth in grades 3-7 are welcome to register to attend! We will see what amazing things we can create together on the third Tuesday of the month from October through April from 6:00-7:00 PM at the Hubbard County Extension Office (201 Fair Ave, Park Rapids). Pre-registration for LEGO Lab: Mega Makers with 4-H is required in 4-H Online and will be open to all enrolled 4-H youth in grades 3-7.There will be no cost to attend these project days, and youth can opt to register for one or all program sessions! Even if your 4-H'er missed the first few sessions, there is still room for more registrations, and we'd love to welcome them to the group of Mega Makers!

The Hubbard County 4-H Dog Project leaders invite those interested in participating in the 2026 Dog Project Training Sessions to join them on Tuesdays beginning April 21, 2026, at the Hubbard County Fairgrounds at 6:00 PM in the grand stand pavilion area. Each training will build upon the last, so attendance is strongly encouraged each week! For more information on the 2026 Dog Project Training Session requirements for participation, please check out the 2026 Dog Project Information or connect with one of the listed project leaders!

All 4-H members and their families are invited to join us at the Leaders Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 6:30 PM at the Hubbard County Extension Office (201 Fair Ave, Park Rapids). For those who will not be able to attend in-person, a Zoom link to join virtually will be shared with all 4-H households the day of the meeting.

We hope you can join us to provide your voice, guidance and feedback for events and programming happening in 4-H. Remember: when you attend, you are able to help drive the direction of the 4-H program in Hubbard County by sharing your input and ideas!

Ruby's Pantry of Menahga is inviting 4-H youth to participate in a creative Earth Day Challenge this spring! What's the challenge you ask? Why it's to create something fun, colorful and Earth-loving out of coffee filters! When creating, the coffee filters should be your main focus/material, but other items can be used minimally.

Coffee filters can be picked up at the Hubbard County Extension Office during our regular hours, and photographs of entries are due to be submitted via email to the Ruby's Pantry board of directors by April 18th for judging! Submission details will be shared with those who pick up coffee filters and sign up to participate!

PS - 4-H youth can then enter their creation as an exhibit at the 2026 4-H Showcase at the Hubbard County Fair this summer, so make sure to add them to your project bin for safe-keeping!

Registration is now open for all three NW MN 4-H overnight camps! Whether you’re a returning camper, or trying overnight camp for the first time, you’ll be surrounded by friendly counselors, enthusiastic staff and a community of peers excited to make new memories together. Learn more about each by clicking the links below.

z.umn.edu/CampAtSandHillLake

z.umn.edu/JuniorCamp

z.umn.edu/4HOutdoorAdventuresCamp

Want to take your leadership to the next? Apply to be a Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador! Applications for the Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors are now open! Applications are due April 15. Learn more about the State Ambassadors and apply at https://z.umn.edu/stateambieappinfo.

Step right up! Join us for the 2026 4-H Engineering Design Challenge Kickoff! This year’s theme? Midway Madness! Design a Rube Goldberg™ machine that can win a carnival game EVERY time And celebrate the win! April 29 | 5:00–5:45 PM. Register by: April 28, 2026.

To sign up, visit: https://z.umn.edu/EDCwebinar

Join Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Timothy A. Sejba as he shares how his journey—from a University of Minnesota–Duluth student to a top U.S. Space Force leader, took him to the forefront of space operations.

Discover how curiosity, STEM, and leadership can take you beyond ready! Registration closes: May 1. To learn more about this opportunity and to register, visit https://z.umn.edu/beyondready4hstem

Are you new, or newer, to the 4-H Livestock Project or want to explore a new species this year in 4-H? Check out the 'Barn Buddy' Mentor Program with Hubbard County 4-H!

The Barn Buddy Mentor Program allows 4-H youth who are new(er) to the Livestock Project to jumpstart their 4-H Livestock Project journey in any species and to dive into knowledge and skill development in order to have a positive experience from selecting an animal to work with all the way to showing at the fair! 4-H youth in the Barn Buddy Mentor Program will be paired with an experienced 4-H youth or alumni member to receive one-on-one support and guidance in their species of interest. Youth participating in the Barn Buddy Mentor Program can expect to get hands-on experiences as they learn about animal care, showmanship skills, and project management. To request a barn buddy, please complete this short survey!

If your family is looking for more opportunities with 4-H, be sure to check out the April 4-H Clover Update Newsletter! It’s filled with additional regional and state-wide program opportunities open to 4-H’ers. As you think about registering for regional or state-wide programs, don’t forget to apply for scholarships to cover 50% or more of the registration fee as well as to reimburse mileage for families carpooling!