ROCHESTER — On a 7-acre plot just south of Rochester, construction on a new emergency youth center — set to replace the current Von Wald Youth Center on the same property — is underway.

The new facility “will be a national model for kids who need help,” said Dan Pfarr, CEO of 180 Degrees, the supportive housing and social services organization that operates the center.

“The whole idea is to really build a facility where you can thrive, and where they’re just not put in a place to be,” Pfarr said.

Staff from 180 Degrees, project benefactors and other community guests toured the new building on Thursday, June 5. Most of its walls and windows are in place, but appliances, doors and other furnishings are yet to be installed.

The center serves 12- to 19-year-olds in Southeast Minnesota who are dealing with housing insecurity, a family crisis, mental health, behavioral health and/or substance abuse. Depending on their situation, they might stay at Von Wald for a few nights, a few weeks or several months.

The current Von Wald building, Pfarr said, has been used as an emergency center for youth since the 1980s. Previously, it was a day care, and before that, it was a farmhouse. With eight bedrooms, a few living areas and a small office for staff, privacy and space for both staff and clients are a present concern.

Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin

“I knew from day one that we needed to do something different, both for the health of our kids and the safety of our kids,” said Pfarr, who joined 180 Degrees in 2015. “This building had served its purpose.”

Youth will continue to use the current building up until the point the new building is ready to be lived in, which Pfarr said could happen in November. A grand opening is anticipated in early 2026.

The new building is divided into two halves: business and home, Pfarr said. The front half of the building designates space for staff offices, a staff break room, a donation room, classrooms and a wellness room where, for example, a teen can be administered their medicine.

“We can have family meetings, we can have community convenings … we can host workshops,” Pfarr said. “We’re able to have the kids separated so they can have privacy.”

Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin

A large, open dining space bridges the “business” and “home” ends of the building. It will feature floor-to-ceiling windows on its north and south walls that can open up, which “allows for nature to come inside,” said Sara Marquardt, a youth case manager at the center.

A kitchen is located off the dining area. In the current center, Marquardt said meals are prepared on-site, and youth can help cook and bake if they wish. That tradition will continue in the new building, she said.

Accommodating up to 12 youth at one time, the “home” half of the new center will feature individual bedrooms with big windows and closets. Each “pod” of four bedrooms will have its own shared bathroom and laundry room.

Besides bedrooms, there are multiple rooms designated as music, art and gaming spaces, a fitness room, a big living area and two calming rooms. Those rooms, Marquardt said, can be used when a client is overwhelmed and needs a quiet, private spot to calm down. They can also be used for prayer or meditation.

Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin

“In our current building, we don’t have a space for that,” Marquardt said. “Kids just have to go to their rooms, and it feels like a punishment.”

Outside, after the new building is complete, Pfarr said 180 Degrees will restore prairie and build trails on the grounds, along with setting up solar panels to reduce the facility’s emissions.

Opportunities to sponsor rooms in the new center are available on 180 Degrees’

project webpage.

Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin

Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin

ESCANABA — Kids Fishing Day — a day of fun, fishing and families will be held Saturday, June 7 at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Pocket Park, located on the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds in Escanaba.

Registration for Kids Fishing Day will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. and the event will run until 3 p.m. All activities are free of charge and open to youth ages 16 years old and younger.

“We are excited to again hold our fishing event at the Pocket Park,” said Brenda Madden, longtime Kids Fishing Day team member and organizer. “It offers plenty of space for most all the traditional fun favorites at Kids Fishing Day events, plus some new activities, and the Pocket Park offers a beautiful natural-like setting right in the middle of Escanaba.”

Familiar activities returning include bluegill fishing, minnow races and face painting, along with free food and raffle prizes.

Greg Karch, certified angler instructor and founder of the non-profit organization Learn 2 Fish with Us, will be returning to the event this year to teach kids how to cast a fishing line and tie fishing knots.

Karch’s organization has educated more than 50,000 anglers in Wisconsin since 2006 and has hosted nearly 300 fishing workshops, including Kids Fishing Day at Camp 7 where he offered Backyard Bass for youngsters.

In addition, Smokey Bear will be wandering the grounds. There will also be a scavenger hunt and opportunities for kids to learn how to shoot at the Pocket Park’s archery and pellet gun ranges.

This year’s Kids Fishing Day event will be held in conjunction with the DNR’s free fishing weekend. Camping is available on the fairgrounds (Contact the Delta County Chamber of Commerce).

The DNR Pocket Park is located nearest Gate No. 1 at the fairgrounds, which can be accessed from 12th Avenue North.

Partners include the Bay de Noc Great Lakes Sports Fishermen, Inc., Michigan DNR and the U.S. Forest Service’s Hiawatha National Forest.

The Kids Fishing Day team extends a special thank you to all the volunteers as this event would not be possible without them.

For more information, or if you would like to volunteer to help at the event, contact Brenda at 906-286-1348.

A programme focused on sharing, collaborating and confirming action

The IOC Young Leaders also met their colleagues from the 2021-2025 cohort during the “Been There, Learnt That” session, where they exchanged solutions and were offered practical tips on delivering their projects.

Two Worldwide Olympic Partners, Samsung and Visa, were actively involved in the programme at the IOC Youth Summit.

Samsung presented to the IOC Young Leaders the vision of Solve for Tomorrow, a programme on which Samsung is collaborating with the IOC to inspire young people around the world to drive positive social change through technology and sport, as part of the company’s global youth education programme.

Participants also took part in a hackathon. The IOC Young Leaders were challenged to design products, services, digital tools and campaigns to expand access to secure and user-friendly financial services. The aim was to propose solutions that are sport-based, scalable and relevant to the IOC’s target groups. The IOC will move forward the winning proposals to design tangible solutions.

Jaqueline Simoneau, an IOC Young Leader and four-time Olympian, concluded: “The Olympism365 Summit was a powerful convergence of vision and action where we had the opportunity to engage with global changemakers. We witnessed bold commitments from the international community and strengthened our collective resolve to drive positive impact through sport, every day of the year. As IOC Young Leaders, and through the IOC Youth Summit, we are committed to supporting this vision through our collective action.”

When Ben Urso approached Glenn Mills several years ago about taking over his B&J Sports store in Harrison, Mills turned him down, lamenting that “some day” he’ll be ready to retire.

That day has come.

“I’m delighted to be able to do it,” Urso said. “I feel wonderful when, mostly children, get the rewards of having a new uniform or new practice gear or new trophies because they won an award — just to see how happy it makes them.

“That’s really the duty of sports.”

Mills, now 88, has been a pillar in the local sports community for decades — even before he started his business part time in 1969, going full time in 1998.

From founding the Highland Hornets Youth Football and Cheerleading in 1969 to coaching Tarentum-Brackenridge Little League, Mills has contributed a lot to the local youth sports community.

He remains humble regarding his accomplishments and tries to stay in the background, barely accepting Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame induction in 2020.

He attributes most of the store’s success to his wife, Rose Mills.