Arts and Culture

Wadena County's creative spirit celebrates peole, places, and traditions

Perhaps the first artistic waypoint local residents point to for the area’s artistic displays is the Murals of Minnesota, considered the largest picture puzzle in the world. More than 20 murals painted by local artists decorate buildings in downtown Wadena that reflect the cultural history of the area. The murals have various themes of famous characters, wildlife, scenery, immigrants to America and more in several styles, including paintings, mosaics, and mixed media art.

Green Island Preserve is an outdoor nature preserve built on artist Kent Scheer’s childhood family farm. The preserve includes several nature trails weaving through the landscape with artistic pieces like sculptures, experimental orchards, wildflowers and a special hut for meditation, termed a Kuti, located throughout the property and open to the public.

Five Wings Art Council
The New York Mills Arts Retreat and Regional Center is a multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to expanding the cultural and creative opportunities for rural Americans for three decades. Its notable events include the Great American Think-Off, a philosophy essay contest and live debate held on the second Saturday of June annually, the July Fish House Festival, an annual large-scale street theater Puppet Pageant in August and the Longest Night Music Festival celebrating the Winter Solstice. Other attractions include a year-round performing arts series, historic gallery, classes, workshops and The Arts Retreat, an artist residency program which offers 2-6 week stays for artists of all disciplines.

Wadena’s Northern Pacific Passenger Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was a railway station operated by Northern Pacific Railway from 1915 to 1971. It was restored in 2008 to include a visitor center, railroad museum and event venue.

The Wadena County Historical Society operates a museum in Wadena with Native American, railroad, military and other historical displays. It also includes a research library and genealogy center for the area.
Constructed in 1934, the Wadena Memorial Auditorium is utilized by the Wadena Madhatters Community Theater group, Wadena-Deer Creek High School Drama, Wadena Concert Association, Community Concert Band and Choir and more. The Auditorium has been renovated to showcase the original motif of the Native American design art-deco painting proscenium, walls and lobby ceilings in combination with new seating, curtains, lighting, sound systems, thrust stage, carpeted floor treatments, public restrooms, dressing rooms for the performing artists, storage and stage construction rooms.

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Wadena County DAC

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Education

Wadena-Deer Creek Public Schools

Name of HR Contact Person: Tracy Zaske

HR Phone: 218-632-2314

HR Email: tzaske@wdc2155.k12.mn.us

Brief Description: Welcome to Wadena-Deer Creek Public Schools, where it's a great day to be a Wolverine! WDC proudly serves the communities of Wadena, Deer Creek and Bluffton.

Located in the city of Wadena, WDC employs 225 people who work together to encourage, support, and engage our students throughout their educational journey. From IT to bus drivers to teachers and beyond, each one of our staff members has an opportunity to make a positive impact on our students. If you’d like to learn more about how you can become a part of WDC’s enriching environment, stop by, give us a call, or visit our website. We’d love for you to join the Wolverine Family!

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Minnesota State Community and Technical College

Name of HR Contact Person: Amy Hochgraber

HR Phone: 218-846-3766

HR Email: amy.hochgraber@minnesota.edu

Brief Description: I have the privilege to offer training opportunities for various business sectors through M State’s Workforce Development Solutions (WDS). We focus on helping businesses overcome the challenges faced with our results driven customized trainings.

We deliver over 100,000 hours of interactive training annually to over 6,000 students and employees. We work with more than 500 business and industry partners throughout the region. Our approach is to listen to the needs of our partners and then design and deliver customized curriculum to meet the specific needs of the adult working learner. We are one of the largest providers of non-credit training in Minnesota, offering training in the areas of Business Technology, Electrical, Health, Fire, Leadership Development, Mechanical/Technical, Safety and Compliance, Transportation and Welding.

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Central Lakes College

Name of Human Resources Contact Person: Kayla Johnson

HR Phone: 218-855-8055

HR Email: kayla.johnson@clcmn.edu

Central Lakes College – Brainerd and Staples is one of 37 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (www.minnstate.edu), offering excellent, affordable education in 54 communities across the state. We are a comprehensive community and technical college serving about 5,500 students per year. With a knowledgeable, caring faculty and modern, results-oriented programs in comfortable facilities, CLC is the college of choice for seekers of success. Our roots are deep in a tradition dating to 1938 in Brainerd and 1950 in Staples. Communities across central Minnesota are filled with our graduates.

Follow us on social media: Twitter: @clcmnedu Instagram: @centrallakescollege Snapchat: @clcmnedu TikTok: @centrallakescollege

Mission: Our mission is to provide services to all Central Lakes College employees in support of the college’s strategic plan by creating a supportive environment to hire and retain high-quality well educated faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds who will provide students with a quality educational experience.

Our Goal: To create an atmosphere of respect, fairness, and dignity through an effective and efficient personnel program that focuses on quality customer service and equitable treatment for all employees.

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