• If you haven't cashed your 4-H county fair premium check, please do so ASAP!!! This is important so the Douglas County Fair Board can close their books for the year.
• If you haven't picked up your county or state fair exhibit, please do so ASAP. Exhibits can be picked up in the Extension office located in the Douglas County Courthouse.
• If you haven't cashed your market livestock auction check, please do so ASAP.

If you haven't checked out SmugMug you're missing out! 4-H photos are downloaded to this site for 4-H families to access and save photos of their 4-H'er. You might find photos to include in your 4-H record! We're still in the process of downloading so if you don't see what you're looking for, check back later as we continue to download new photos.

As we head into fall, it's that time of year to renew your 4-H enrollment for the 2024-2025 program year! Don't delay, it's so much easier if you re-enroll before registering for an event and there are several coming up soon. For those that enroll/re-enroll by October 31, your name will be entered into a drawing for a fun prizes; this is for both youth and adult volunteers so get in on the fun!

Project Bowl is a long-standing program in Minnesota 4-H and is the second most attended event of the year. In Project Bowl, teams of 3-6 youth members build skills working and thinking together while testing their knowledge in these 4-H areas: dairy, dog, general livestock, horse, llama-alpaca, plant science, poultry and rabbit. This happens in a quiz bowl type setting with buzzers and two rounds of questions. There are teams for youth 3rd grade and up. Practice usually begins at the end of December or beginning of January. In the previous year, we had teams in general livestock, dog and plant science. If you are interested please contact the office or email mnext-douglas@umn.edu.

Annual Volunteer Training November 25! The topic this year is Amplifying Youth Voice. Center the vision of 4-H where youth and adults learn, grow and work together, define youth voice, youth adult partnership and empower youth to use their voice in 4-H and beyond. Check out the flyer for full details, a light meal will be served.

All 4-H youth and adult volunteers are encouraged and invited to attend our free annual volunteer training on Monday, November 25 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Douglas County Public Works Meeting Room (526 Willow Drive, Alexandria). Leader's Council to follow.

To register, visit mn.4honline.com, login, select events on the left and search for Douglas County 4-H Annual Volunteer Training. You may refer to this event registration guide to walk you through the process. If you need assistance, please contact the Extension office.

The Extension office will be closed for the holidays these dates:

• November 11 (Veteran's Day)
• November 28 -29 (Thanksgiving)
• December 24-25 (Christmas)
• January 1 (New Year's Day)
• January 20 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
• February 17 (Presidents Day)

It can be confusing as to what is available to do or learn about in the many different project areas that Minnesota 4-H offers, and how that might connect to creating an exhibit for the county fair to showcase what you learned. To discover more about a specific category check out the Douglas County 4-H project guide to learn more.

Jodi Hintzen, Extension Educator, hintz010@umn.edu

Jackie Kokett, Extension Educator, jkokett@umn.edu

Douglas County Extension

Email: mnext-douglas@umn.edu

Website: extension.umn.edu/douglas

Address: 305 8th Ave W, Alexandria, MN 56308 (Courthouse, 2nd floor)

Phone: 320-762-3890

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MNDouglasCounty4H/

Twitter: @UMNExt

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