MiEnergy Cooperative members give $5,250 in local donations

Posted: April 25, 2019

Cresco, IA | Rushford, MN (12:30 p.m. April 25, 2019)— MiEnergy Cooperative’s Operation Round Up Trust Board met in March and elected to donate $5,250 to the following local organizations:

• $500, Commonweal Theatre Company, Lanesboro, Minn., to support the Student Matinee performances which make field trips to the theatre accessible for all area schools.
• $500, Quilters for Veterans, Castalia, Iowa, for long-arm quilting of quilts to honor veterans.
• $500, Quilts of Honor, Spring Grove, Minn., for long-arm quilting of quilts to honor veterans.
• $450, Horse and Soul Ranch, Decorah, Iowa, to help provide program assistance to those in need.
• $450, Thunder Rode Inc., Decorah, Iowa, to help purchase a weatherproof, portable mounting block that helps wheelchair bound veterans get on to horses.
• $400, Bundles of Love, Chatfield, Minn., to help basic supplies for diaper bags given to families in need in Fillmore, Houston and Winona counties.
• $400, Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation, Cresco, Iowa, to provide educational opportunities for high school students with a focus on environment and agriculture.
• $400, Riceville WA TAN YE, to assist with the removal of trees that are at risk of damaging the historic one-room schoolhouse.
• $300, Fillmore County DAC, Preston, Minn., to purchase supplies for an enrichment program.
• $300, Kindred Family Focus, Rochester, Minn., to help foster families in Fillmore and Winona counties with basic needs.
• $300, Lanesboro Arts, to support Surprise Sculpture, a summer art educational opportunity, for students.
• $300, Root Prairie Lutheran Church, Fountain, Minn., to help purchase an automated external defibrillator.
• $250, City of Spring Grove, to support the Spring Grove Area Active Living Trail Planning Project.
• $100, Howard County Energy District, Cresco, Iowa, to support energy efficiency related events.
• $100, St. Charles Trap Team, to help with expenses for establishing a team for students.

Operation Round Up is funded by donations made by members of MiEnergy Cooperative who voluntarily have their electric bill round up to the next dollar. About 1,800 members currently participate with the average donation being $6 a year per member.

The program is based on the idea that small change adds up. Currently, the program gives away about $10,000 each year to local organizations.

The Operation Round Up Trust Board chooses where the funds get donated and the amount of the donation based on an application process. The trust board members include: John Bronk, of Winona, Minn., president; Janelle Mahr, of Lime Springs, Iowa, vice president; Margaret Knutson, of Houston, Minn., secretary/treasurer; Larry Hafner, of La Crescent, Minn.; Allen Hanson, of Preston, Minn.; Arlene Hegge, of La Crescent, Minn.; Shannon Schmelzer, of Cresco, Iowa; and PerryO Sliwa, Decorah, Iowa.

Donations to Operation Round Up are tax deductible. Organizations receive grants through an application process. The next application deadline is August 15. To learn more about Operation Round Up or to round up your electric bill, visit www.MiEnergy.coop or call 1-800-432-2285.

MiEnergy Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative and is the result of a merger between Hawkeye REC, of Cresco, Iowa and Tri-County Electric Cooperative, of Rushford, Minn. in 2017. It maintains 5,500 miles of power lines covering most of Fillmore, Houston and Winona counties in Minnesota and Chickasaw, Howard and Winneshiek counties in Iowa. The cooperative also serves small pockets bordering those counties. It provides electricity to more than 18,700 members in northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. MiEnergy is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative.