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.
• There will be a Federation Executive Committee meeting on December 13th at 7pm in the Extension Office Conference Room.
• The Extension Office will be closed on December 24th and 25th for Christmas.
• The Extension Office will be closed on December 31st and January 1st for New Years.
• 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 2026 Fillmore County Fair will be July 20th - 26th.

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.

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.

Greetings Southeastern Minnesota—

As we head into the final month of 2025, University of Minnesota Extension staff are launching educational information for 2026.

Pull up a chair and join in, or bring the conversation with you as you go about your day. Whatever works best for you, join us this winter to discuss some of the key issues and questions around commodity crop production facing Minnesota farmers today through the Strategic Farming: Let’s Talk Crops webinar series.

Minnesota’s Paid Leave program starts in January. Get ready with a new video about Paid Leave from Ag Business Management educators Rob Holcomb and Susanne Hinrichs, covering logistics and updates. Find more details in the Employer Resource Toolkit on the Minnesota Paid Leave site.

And while the snow has barely started, it’s time to start thinking about summer interns. Do you know an undergrad college student seeking work experience in the youth development field? We have 4-H summer intern positions available throughout Minnesota for summer 2026. These positions are designed to provide meaningful professional youth development work experience for the student intern working alongside an Extension educator. Positions will begin in mid-May to early June and range from 8 to 13 weeks. The next round of applications will be accepted starting mid-December. Be sure to check our Careers page to apply.

Have a wonderful end of the year!

Lisa Dierks

Regional Director, Southeast

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!

Video: Southeast data center development impact project

A community-University partnership in southeast Minnesota supported by the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships is researching the water and energy use implications of data centers in their region. The goal of the project is to provide evaluation and decision-making tools for small towns to assess the potential impact of data centers and initiate conversations among stakeholders about managing the energy and water demands of data centers. Fill out this short form to receive southeast MN data center project updates.

Coping with rural stress

Extension's rural stress task force applies programming and expertise from across Extension to help families and small towns respond to current economic, environmental and societal challenges that overwhelmingly affect rural Minnesota and farming communities.

Become a certified COMET facilitator

Are you concerned about mental health in your community? We invite you to join a statewide network dedicated to promoting mental and emotional well-being. The University of Minnesota Extension, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Health, invites you to an in-person training to become a certified Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) facilitator. View upcoming training locations and dates at the link above.

Introducing Elevate Extraordinary 2030

It's official! The University of Minnesota's new strategic roadmap, Elevate Extraordinary 2030, is approved by the Board of Regents. This roadmap was created by our University community, for our University community, and is deeply rooted in our mission. Join us in championing the University of Minnesota's exciting next chapter.

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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