St. James celebrates community through culture
Once home to predominantly white European descendants, the city of St. James has experienced a remarkable demographic shift over the past 25 years. In celebration of the expanding community, the city has launched an annual fiesta. Residents from all backgrounds are invited to gather and take part in the flavors, music, dance and stories of their neighbors.
The fiesta was launched by Uniendo Culturas or Uniting Cultures, a community organization dedicated to fostering connections in St. James. Extension’s Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership is proud to support this ongoing work.
“The festival is a community event, but it is also an individual practice. It is an invitation to look within oneself — one’s own culture — and share it,” said Julio Zelaya, event organizer. “We all have a culture. Those patterns and practices are powerful things we carry. Each person’s culture not only shapes the individual but also those around us.”
Highlights
- A silvopasture workshop at the Wyatt farm in St. James connected 21 diverse stakeholders, including farmers, landowners and conservation professionals, with practical, hands-on demonstrations in agroforestry. A whopping 100% of surveyed participants said they can use what they learned, and 84% said they are likely to implement a new silvopasture practice.
- Madelia’s True Leaders in Equity Team won the 2025 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Diversity and Inclusion. Teamwork among Extension Youth Development staff, Madelia Public Schools and the young people in the Equity Club helped build a program that will have a lasting impact.
- The 4-H Pollinator Ambassadors of Watonwan County won an Association of Minnesota Counties award in recognition of their project “Meadowlark Prairies Pollinator Pathway.”
- Luella B., a Watonwan County 4-H’er, is a Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador who enjoys projects in fine arts, flower gardening, sheep and swine.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Koval family
- SuperShelf: Watonwan County Food Shelf
- Aquatic Invasive Species Detector volunteers spot-checked five lakes during Starry Trek events in the last couple of years, where starry stonewort was not detected.
- In collaboration with the Region 9 Development Commission, the Climate Adaptation Partnership enabled the creation of a new staff position focused on community preparedness and resiliency.
Watonwan County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Watonwan County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.