Seeing art and culture’s impact on community
You don’t have to go into a big city to experience art. The Madison Mercantile in Madison has made it easier by showcasing local arts and crafts.
Kris Shelstad opened the community-oriented space in a repurposed lumber yard — more recently a hardware store — after moving home from life in the military and in Austin, Texas. “There is no place I would rather be than this, my hometown.” The space also hosts a variety of local foods distribution and grower networking opportunities.
In fall 2024, Extension Community Economics Educators Neil Linscheid and Becca Leys hosted a day for leaders from across Minnesota at “the Merc” to discuss what they learned from Shelstad and other community leaders and members. A tour explored storefront design, murals and sculptures; the Prairie Arts Center; and examples of affordable housing.
Highlights
- Young people in the county are committed to getting their 4-H clubs moving outside in the wintertime, including snowshoeing, nature walks to look for owl nests and walking around town to identify community needs for service projects.
- Sustainable farming advocate and Extension supporter Carmen Fernholz was a 2025 recipient of the Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture, awarded by the U of M College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.
- RSDP impact: In partnership with the Madison Art and Innovation Center, a local foods project will provide new markets, spawn new food-related businesses and spur economic development opportunities.
- Extension is an active partner in the Lac qui Parle-Yellow Bank Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan.
- Extension provides financial capability education for participants in the judicial district’s treatment courts, including adult and juvenile drug courts, and courts for mental health, veterans, family dependency and DWI/DUI.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Stratmoen family (2026)
Lac qui Parle County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Lac qui Parle 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.