Windom installs new veterans memorial at Lommen Park

WINDOM — Windom City Councilman Marv Grunig, a retired manager with Windom Electric Utility manager, spearheaded an effort to construct a veterans memorial at Lommen Park on Highway 60/71 in his community.

The idea for the memorial came out of a strategic planning session held by the City Council early in 2020, where, when Grunig mentioned his thoughts about a memorial, city officials supported the idea. Grunig went forward with the effort to develop the vision further.

With support from the City Council and Windom American Legion Post 206 members, and permission from the Park and Recreation Department to construct the memorial in Lommen Park, the effort then turned to fundraising.

Being Grunig is on the City Council, the fundraising had to be done by a private entity and with the newly created Windom Area Foundation as the “bucket” to collect tax-deductible donations, a matching fund drive by Bank Midwest, lots of advertising by the local newspaper (the Cottonwood County Citizen), funds came in quite fast.

Having traveled though the state looking at different memorials, Grunig then created a model of a possible memorial for Windom, just to give people an idea of what it might look like.

The model was met with approval, so a print was developed by DGR Engineering from Rock Rapids, Iowa, for concrete contractors to bid on.  Local funeral director Joel Lacanne engaged his vender in St. Cloud (Sunburst Memorials) to develop monument options. A vender for the flagpoles and flags was chosen from Gaylord (Flagpole Solutions), and the project was coming together.

With a great spirit of giving, Windom area citizens and businesses stepped up with donations. With discounts from venders like Cemstone Concrete, the funding goal was reached.

The concrete was poured and jet-black monuments held by limestock blocks were installed late last summer.