4-H youth connect and grow at BLU workshops
4-H State Ambassadors work hard to make Building Leadership and Understanding (BLU) workshops a great learning experience for nearly 300 young people. Participants came from 60 counties or tribal nations to four BLU locations in Minnesota. Camp Victory in Zumbro Falls packed in the most in 2025.
Young people learned about each other, found out what they have in common and also shared how it’s a positive thing to have some different perspectives. They worked on STEM projects, learned about disabilities from a 4-H member who has epilepsy (Alena Skinner, pictured here) and shared ideas about how to manage mental health and wellbeing.
Trained adult volunteers, meanwhile, are an essential part of any 4-H experience and ensure the safety and wellbeing of all participants, while providing a foundation for making each event a success.
Highlights
- The Wabasha County Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention Program partnered with the Minnesota DNR to install seven self-cleaning tool stations at public water access points at Clear Lake, Maple Springs, Prichard Lake, West Newton, Wilcox, Lake Zumbro Ponderosa Access and Zumbro Falls Public Access.
- Southeast Minnesota Together partnered with Extension on a research project to explore a regional development organization, convening 11 counties in Southeast Minnesota, including Wabasha County.
- People don’t have to be mental health professionals to support friends, neighbors and colleagues in times of need. But they may not know how. Extension helped bridge this gap by providing in-person Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) training in Plainview.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Jostock family (2026)
- Minnesota Master Naturalist training: Big Rivers, Big Woods biome (Lake City)
- SuperShelf: Wabasha Area Food Shelf
Wabasha County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Wabasha 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.