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Category: Success Stories
The Redwood area is home to many exciting entertainment and recreational opportunities, including endless gaming action at the Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel in Morton, only seven miles east of Redwood Falls. Casino play, live entertainment, a renowned golf experience and abundant dining options are only a few of the excellent amenities awaiting guests at this lively Minnesota establishment.
Space to Play
Jackpot Junction is Minnesota’s first and friendliest casino with 440,000 square feet and two floors of gaming and gambling space! The casino offers 1,250 of the latest video slot machines, with a variety of themes ranging in denomination from one cent to twenty five dollars. The casino has new machines arriving frequently. All of Jackpot’s machines are outfitted with the newest technology and state of the art features. Table games are also available with Blackjack, 3-Card Poker, 21+3, Free Bet Blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold’em as options to choose from. Visitors also enjoy Bingo games and pull tabs.
Luxury Amenities
The Lower Sioux Lodge, adjacent to the casino is a AAA, three diamond rated hotel with 379 luxury rooms. The Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel offers a variety of delectable food options including:
- Dacotah Dining, a full service restaurant
- Full Deck Grill
- Wabasha Creek Restaurant at the Dacotah Ridge Golf Course
Full beverage service is also available throughout the Casino, including full service bars with all your favorite drinks. The nightclub offers a variety of music as well as country bands every weekend.
The Jackpot Junction is managed by the Lower Sioux Indian Tribe and is operated by 859 employees. It’s a large employer in the area. High quality management provides first rate service to casino guests. Some of the key management figures include:
- General Manager – Brian Pendleton
- Finance Director – Jim Koerner
- Director of Sales and Marketing – Markeela Toreen
- Director of Human Resources – Anne O’Keefe-Jackson
- Director of Security – Brian Lehnhoff
- Director of Food and Beverage – Michael Bernaek
These leaders keep Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel running strongly and smoothly.
COVID-19 Changes
While Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel is still encouraging fun, the establishment has put into place some safety precautions to keep guests healthy. Table games now feature dividers as well as front facing staff dividers. The buffet, pool and bingo hall remain closed for the time being. Jackpot utilized the PPE program to further prepare for employee and visitor safety during the pandemic.
Community Camaraderie
The community has shown support to Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel during the uncertain times of the pandemic. Jackpot gives back by housing the Cansayapi Food Pantry in the Dacotah Exposition Center. This food pantry was started shortly after the pandemic took full force in April of 2020, and it is a vital source of nourishment for many.
Other Exciting Opportunities at Jackpot
Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel is also home to a 18-hole championship golf course designed by world renowned golf architect Rees Jones. Dacotah Ridge Golf Club is owned and operated by the Lower Sioux Community. The course is located on 240 acres located 4 miles east of the casino on the West Side of County Highway 2. It features beautiful landscaping, natural wetlands, Wabasha Creek and a 14-acre lake.
Stay & Play Packages will be available during the golf season. Check for promotions and event schedules on the Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel website before your next staycation! To learn more about the unique Redwood area businesses that make our community great, visit our RADC Success Stories
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The Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority (MVRRA) faithfully serves the businesses of Redwood County. 2020 was a tough year for many businesses, but MVRRA stayed busy, completing projects and shipping goods and commodities. MVRRA Administrator, Julie Rath, shares what the team at MVRRA has been up to and what their plans for 2021 will look like.
“The TC&W, in the form of its Minnesota Prairie Line, Inc. subsidiary (MPLI), operates and maintains the rail line that MVRRA owns,” says Rath.
The tracks were originally built in 1880 and were acquired by the MVRRA in 1982. The Minnesota Prairie Line runs 94 miles and serves 16 communities. MVRRA is headquartered here in Redwood Falls.
MVRRA Wraps up 2020 Projects
“At the end of 2020, I am proud to say that Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority wrapped up some of our larger projects we had been working to complete from 2019 and our $1M bonding project,” Rath says.
“During 2020, MVRRA had a record year for carloads shipped on its line – just over 7,000! Each carload is equivalent to 3 semi-trucks NOT going down the highway! We moved and received goods and commodities for our shippers to their end customers all over the US. That is the beauty of being a short line railroad,” she says.
MVRRA has also experienced an increase in railroad car traffic in Redwood Falls as a result of Midwest Protein expanding here a few years ago. Midwest Protein is experiencing success being in such an excellent area to serve organic grain producers. Soon they will be expanding their existing site with additional bins for storage and shipping on the MVRRA line.
The line will also be expanding in nearby communities, with another major expansion this spring at Echo, Minnesota.
“Farmers Cooperative Elevator intends to remove and replace the majority of their facility in Echo. A new steel facility is being constructed and will consist of covered unload pits, loadout bins, bulk weighing system for rail loadout, steel building and office, all necessary fill and empty equipment, and a new 700,000 bushel steel bin will be erected in its place. In addition to the new rail loadout bulk weighing system, track rehabilitation and reconstruction will take place to facilitate rail loadout. Approximately 400 feet of track (including a switch) adjacent to the new facility will be rehabilitated,” reports Rath.
Rail cars have not been loaded from this facility since 2009, and they will begin shipping on our track this fall.
Rath also reports that Redwood Falls Railroad Depot in the Sears Park saw major renovations over the summer of 2020.
“Thank you to the City of Redwood Falls Park Department for taking the initiative to give this small structure an overdue makeover! It looks much better, and it is mentioned on the Sears website under history that their company started here in North Redwood with Mr. Richard Sears selling the excess pocket watches while he worked at the Depot here!” Rath says.
MVRRA Looks Ahead For 2021
Rath gave several more exciting updates.
“During the past 5 years some out of service rail cars on the MPLI and TCW line have been in storage, but on February 5, 2021, the first 66 of 170 cars went back into service. Train traffic will increase as the cars move east to connections in the Cities,” she reports.
In July of 2021, COVID-permitting, the North American Rail Car Operators will be riding our track with their rail speeder cars.
“They travel all over the USA with their cars and still like to ride our track and visit our area and community!” Rath says.
Two more projects are planned for the MVRRA track.
“This summer, the Region 8 DOT has partnered with us to complete east of Morton a silt mitigation project to deal with the excess runoff water that comes down from the bluff. This project will help control the water flow and the amount of silt on the Highway and tracks,” says Rath.
“On October 15, 2020, we were awarded $10M in the State bonding bill for continued rail rehabilitation and restoration of our track from Gibbon west to Delhi, Minnesota,” she continues.
The MVRRA also has plans to use funds through the Federal Railroad Administration and/or Federal EDA for continued infrastructure improvements. The next phase of track replacement planned is from 1912! To date, MVRRA has completed 44 miles of track replacements, including the replacement of bridges with culverts as well as rail crossings and tie upgrades.
“We now safely move unit trains, 110 carloads at a time, with the 4 large North American railroads with connections in St. Paul,” Rath says.
The MVRRA is happy to report that the railroad has never been in better shape, and it will continue to faithfully serve farmers and industries for years to come.
“This is an incredibly unique transportation infrastructure that we are so fortunate to have located here in our region,” says Rath.
Follow MVRRA on Facebook, check www.mvrra.org for more updates and visit the MVRRA in person at 200 S Mill Street, Redwood Falls, MN 56283.
Redwood Area Development Corporation is proud to work with such an important landmark and pillar of infrastructure. For more success stories, click here.
Category: Success Stories
The Redwood Area Communities Foundation (RACF) is a core community developer. The support offered to the community by RACF is unrivaled in impact. Don Yrjo, Chairman of RACF, gave insight as to what makes the foundation special and vital to the Redwood area.
The Redwood Area Communities Foundation Defined
The Redwood Area Communities Foundation is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit entity organized for the welfare and benefit of Redwood County residents and organizations. The RACF’s focus is on those who live or have their principal place of business in Redwood County or within a 10 mile radius. The RACF was established in 1988.
The Redwood Area Communities Foundation Impact
Redwood Area Communities Foundation works hand in hand with the Redwood Area Development Corporation to improve the quality of life for local communities and their residents, to benefit public school districts and any charitable organizations operating in Redwood County and to provide scholarships and loans to students living here.
“Looking at all of the diverse groups served in itself is a success story. The groups benefited by RACF include different spectrums across the board, from youth to senior citizens and the healthy to those in need,” says Don Yrjo, Chairman of RACF.
The RACF supports civic, charitable, benevolent, educational and cultural purposes in Redwood County. The foundation has more than 30 subsidiaries and over three million dollars in assets that are managed for these groups. The foundation’s current designated accounts are listed as follows and continue to expand.
- Apple Gourd Project
- Celebrate Redwood Falls
- Country Sno Riders
- Dominick Bruns Memorial Fund
- Ehlers Student Loan Fund
- Erik’s Memorial Fund
- Ernie Werner Ag Scholarship
- Friends of the County Fair
- Friends of the Park
- Giving Back – Redwood Lions & Rotarians
- GRASP – Greater Redwood Area Suicide Prevention
- Hinterland Art Crawl
- Leave a Legacy-SW MN
- LINC Redwood County
- Minnesota Indigenous Women Society
- Minnesota Valley ATV Riders
- Orrin Estebo Foundation
- Friends of Parkview Senior Living - Belview, MN
- Redwood Area Community Youth Foundation
- Redwood Area Hospital Foundation
- Redwood Area Junior Golf Association
- Redwood Chamber Community Partners
- Redwood County Purple Ribbon Club
- Redwood Electric Trust
- Redwood County Warrior Foundation
- Redwood Valley Baseball Association
- Redwood Westside Center
- Share the Spirit
- Technology and Trades on the Prairie
- Wanda Cemetery
A cornerstone program of RACF is the Ehlers Student Loan Fund.The cost of a college education continues to rise, and, for some, those costs can hinder their goal of earning a degree. Those who do pursue post-secondary education quickly discover the costs associated with furthering their education result in taking out loans at a high rate of interest. In an effort to help address those financial realities a program was established in Redwood Falls by a benefactor named Martin Ehlers. The program provides interest-free funds for students living in Redwood County or attending school in Redwood County. Next deadline is May 4, 2020.
These groups are able to receive grants and tax deductible gifts from individuals due to the 501(c)(3) status of RACF. They can receive these grants and tax deductions as both short term subsidiaries and long term subsidiaries. The financial help received by the 501(c)(3) status allows these accounts to put more of their finances into their missions for the community.
The Redwood Area Communities Foundation Future Growth
The RACF plans to continue providing scholarships for youth to adults, encouraging the expansion of community youth activities as well as mental and physical health activities, progressing technology in the area, assisting civic organizations, helping veterans, benefiting the arts and providing leadership. Countless opportunities exist for growth in Redwood County.
“The RACF has been serving many diverse needs for more than 30 years in our communities,” explains Yrjo. “I believe it will continue to grow and serve the needs of many more groups as time and needs change in the future,” he finishes.
To learn more about establishing a subsidiary of Redwood Area Communities Foundation, contact Redwood Area Development Corporation at 507-637-4004.
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