The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center made a surprise announcement at their Fish House Festival on Friday, July 11. Betsy Roder, the Center’s Executive Director, was presented with a $500,000 check toward a major building renovation project. Making the presentation were Clay Hestdalen from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, along with Nick Roder and Latham Hetland from Farmers & Merchants State Bank in New York Mills.

The donation comes from the Member Impact Fund, a matching grant program that partners FHLB Des Moines with local financial institutions. This fund will award a total of $20 million in support of affordable housing and community development across Minnesota this year. The $500,000 total includes a $125,000 contribution from Farmers & Merchants, matched 3-to-1 by $375,000 from the Member Impact Fund.

Farmers & Merchants State Bank, a locally owned community bank serving New York Mills since 1916, has a long-standing tradition of financial and community support. Bank President Nick Roder explained, “As a community bank, Farmers & Merchants is dedicated to keeping New York Mills thriving. As our community slogan says, ‘Small town, big life!’ Partnering with FHLB Des Moines to bring this amazing donation to New York Mills fits perfectly with our mission.”

Executive Director Betsy Roder shared more about the planned renovations: “It’s been more than 30 years since this historic building’s last renovation, and there are many basic structural issues we need to address—such as the brick façade, windows, and front doors—as well as the HVAC system and other ‘behind-the-walls’ infrastructure needs. By adding on to the back of the Center during construction, we’ll also alleviate some of our space constraints to serve more people and expand our programs, as well as provide a larger multi-purpose space for community events. Most importantly, we’ll be able to add an elevator and improve our entrances to make the building more accessible for all visitors.”

Over the past several years, the Center has undergone a strategic planning process to identify and prioritize its needs, gathering input from community members along the way. The board concluded that, now that the Center is in a more financially stable position, this is the ideal time to launch a full capital campaign to address all of the issues at once. “Our goal is to do it right and make this a once-in-a-generation investment that will serve the community for the next 30 years or more,” said Cultural Center Board Chair Latham Hetland.

Center staff and board have worked with Widseth Architects to develop conceptual plans that incorporate the community’s desired features. These high-level plans are now on display at the Cultural Center, where the public is invited to stop in, take a look, and share input on what they’d like to see for the future.

The $500,000 grant puts the Center over $1 million toward its $2.3 million goal. “We’ve been working hard internally on these plans for some time,” Hetland said. “This generous grant enables us to emerge from our quiet planning phase. We’re calling this a ‘soft launch’ because we’ll still be holding listening sessions and seeking input from the community—but we wanted to share this exciting news with everyone, especially as the community will start to see a few improvement projects begin at the Center in the coming months.”

The Cultural Center welcomes community input and invites the public to stop by or learn more online at: www.kulcher.org/about/the-future/.