The Fourcast
February 9, 2026 Edition
It's time to pick up your household's fundraiser orders! All orders are ready for pick up at the Hubbard County Extension Office! Remember that families are be responsible for picking up the orders submitted through them and delivering to the individuals who ordered the items.
The office will be open for order pickups during the following times this week:
- Tuesday, February 10, until 4:30 PM
- Wednesday, February 11, from 8:30-12:30, 1:30-3:00, 4:00-4:30
- Thursday, February 12, from 8:30-6:00 (when our special Leaders Council meeting begins)
- Friday, February 13, from 8:30-4:30
Thank you for your efforts to support your club and Hubbard County 4-H through this fundraiser!
Is your 4-H’er in grade 3+ interested in participating in the 4-H Premium Auction Fundraiser with a 4-H market animal - or simply want to learn more about the opportunity? Then plan to attend the informational meeting on Monday, February 16, 2026, at 6:00 PM at the Hubbard County Extension Office.
Even if you are not sure if your 4-H’er will be participating in this year’s 4-H Premium Auction Fundraiser, it is important that a member of your family attends this meeting, as attendance by a family member is the first of the pre-auction fundraiser requirements in order to participate!
It is suggested that households download the 'Google Docs' application on their phones or bring a laptop with them to this meeting to be used to sign up for businesses/individuals to be invited to participate as bidders. The Extension Office will have 1-2 laptops available for those who do not have the app or their own laptop to use.
If someone from your family cannot attend this meeting, please connect with 4-H Educator Brooke Remer at the Hubbard County Extension Office to set up an alternative time to meet and complete your household’s first participation requirement. Alternative meetings must be set up before this February 16 meeting.
For more information on the 4-H Premium Auction Fundraiser, please contact 4-H Educator Brooke Remer at piepe056@umn.edu or 218-732-3391 or review the 2026 Youth Auction Information and Requirements document.
As youth begin work with their 2026 market beef and dairy steer project animals, please remember to identify all 4-H market beef projects including market steers, market heifers and dairy steers in 4-H Online. These animals MUST be owned, tagged with a MN 4-H RFID ear tag (available at the Hubbard County Extension Office), and identified in 4-H Online by 11:59 pm on February 17, 2026. For more details on how to identify animals in 4-H Online, please check out this letter with included guides.
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.
February 14 - Cloverbud Project Explorers Series
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. The Cloverbud Project Explorers sessions will be held on the second Saturday of each month, October through April, 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!
February 17 - LEGO Lab: Mega Makers Series
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!
RESCHEDULED - February 24 - Winter Garden College with Hubbard County Extension's Agriculture and Natural Resources
Hubbard County 4-H has been asked to partner with Hubbard County Extension's Agriculture and Natural Resources to facilitate the youth portion of their 2026 Winter Garden College on the rescheduled February 24, 2026, date from 5:00-7:00 PM in Park Rapids, and we couldn't be more excited to join youth in grades K-8 as they explore the 'dirt on soil' as we look at soil composition and layers through hands-on activities (and snacks!) before joining the adult group for a winter sowing project! More information and registration for both the adult and youth portions of the Winter Garden College will be available soon through Park Rapids Community Education.
February 26, March 5, March 12 and March 19 - Gross Science with Nevis Community Education
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND - Explore the slimy, stinky, stomach-turning world of the human body as we take a deep dive with hands-on projects that make science disgustingly tangible with topics like tooth decay, saliva, boogers, burps and farts, body odor, the digestive system, and more! Gross Science sessions are open to youth in grades 1-5 and will meet from 3:30-4:30 PM at Nevis Public School on Thursdays from February 26-March 19. Registration for Gross Science can be found through Nevis Community Education.
The Minnesota State Fair is committed to showcasing our state’s finest agriculture, and they recognize the importance of cultivating youth experiences in the livestock industry. They also understand that exhibiting at the Minnesota State Fair can stretch the family budget. Thanks to support from the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, they are proud to provide the Minnesota State Fair Beginning Exhibitor Livestock Learning Experience (BELLE) Grant! This grant program will gift $500 each to large-animal exhibitors (beef cattle, dairy cattle, goats, horse, llama, sheep or swine) and $250 each to small-animal exhibitors (poultry and rabbits) who commit to participating in the Minnesota State Fair for the first time in 2026. To learn more and apply, visit the Minnesota State Fair Beginning Exhibitor Livestock Learning Experience (BELLE) Grant webpage!
Calling all 4-H’ers in grades 7–12, get ready for a night you won’t want to sleep through! 🎉 The East Otter Tail 4-H ambassadors are hosting a 4-H Lock-In, and you’re invited. Spend the night hanging out with other 4-H youth while diving into swimming, cruising at roller skating, hearing from a guest speaker, playing group games, yelling “BINGO!”, and enjoying plenty of surprises along the way.
📅 March 7–8
⏰ 7:00 PM–7:00 AM
📍 PACC, Perham MN (620 3rd Ave SE)
💵 $20
🥫 Bring a canned good for the Perham food shelf
🔗 Register by March 2: https://z.umn.edu/EOTLockIn
✨ Come for the fun, stay for the memories! 🤩
Taste the adventure! ✈️ Join Tasty Traditions on February 28 for a hands-on cooking experience for youth in grades 6-12. We'll be celebrating African-American History Month with incredible African continent dishes. Space is limited, so register soon! Link to register: https://z.umn.edu/TastyTraditions2026 if you are a 4-H member. If enrolling in 4-H Online is not working, you may use this mobile-friendly form (no login required): z.umn.edu/4h-mobile-enroll.
Come test your skills with archery where you will have the opportunity to showcase your archery and wildlife skills and learn from peers, coaches, and volunteers in a positive environment! This invitational will take place on April 11, 2026, at the Morris Area Elementary School. Registration is open to youth grades 4+ in 4-H Online and is due by April 1, 2026. The cost to register is $20 ($25 for walk-ins or late registrations). Medals will be awarded to the top individuals in the archery competition!
Find more details and to register, visit extension.umn.edu/event/stevens-county-archery-invitational. For questions, please connect with Stevens County 4-H Extension Staff at next-stevens@umn.edu or call the Stevens County Extension Office at (320) 208-6575
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 January 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!
The decision to cancel a planned 4-H activity or meeting is no simple matter. The safety and well-being of 4-H members, volunteers and Extension employees is always our top priority!
In general, 4-H programs, activities, meetings and outings will be cancelled if
- The outdoor wind chill is -20 Fahrenheit or lower,
- Travel advisories are in place due to ice, snow or visibility,
- Local area schools are cancelled or released early
In the event that there is a cancellation with 4-H, it will be communicated to all enrolled families through an e-blast message via 4-H Online and the Hubbard County Extension Facebook Page.
