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With the sun shinning bright, the sky blue, and the winds blowing gently, the turtles were all smiles on this turtle racing day in Longville. The racers, also all smiling, were eager to hear the starting gun for each racing heat. Each of the 368 racers were hoping that their steed would cross the finishing line first.

Pre-race activities were again very popular. The Chicken Dance singers were especially melodic this week. They were Nick of Chillichothe, Ill; Emilee of Apple Valley, Minn.; Carly of Savage, Minn., and Peyton of Des Moines, Iowa. Leading the YMCA dances were four outstanding dancers. They were Sean from Amery, Wis.; Kelsey from Lino Lakes, Minn.; Riley and Devyn from Des Moines, Iowa.

Sixteen resorts competed in the Resort Turtle Race. They were Camp O' My Dreams Resort, Minne Teepee Resort, Kee Nee Moo Sha Resort, Green Roof Lodge, Maple Trails Resort, Thunder Lake Lodge, Broadwater Lodge, Idle-A-While Resort, Thielen's Rainbow Bay Resort, Family Tradition Resort, Woman Lake Lodge, Long Birch Lodge, Sandy Pines Resort, Speer's Point Resort, Pine Haven Resort, and Little Boy Resort. The winner of the Resort Turtle Race was 12-year-old LaKota Plafcan of St. Cloud, Minn., who with her family was vacationing at Idle-A-While Resort in Backus.



[[In-content Ad]]Winner of four tickets to Valley Fair was 13-year-old Tommy Costello of Chaska, Minn. The tickets are provided by BL Broadcasting of Brainerd. They operate WJJY FM ,106.7: B93.3, Country; Power Loon, 107.5 FM; Cool 103.5, Oldies; Business Radio KVBR 1340 AM; and The Fan, 1380 AM.

Grand Racing Winner was five-year-old Ivy Wells from San Diego Calif. The Grand Slowpoke Racing Winner was two-year-old Zack Baay from Forest Lake, Minn.

On this very warm summer day, a great group of volunteers made a lot of vacationers happy. Ryan and Marisa Skajewski helped Pat Boen, representing Gallery of Homes with judging. Rose Franta and Dodee Colberg registered racers. Jan Elliott and Char Olson sold tickets and souvenirs. Marge McDonald and Diane Kutshied handled the prize table. Game operators from Longville businesses were Alex Fawkner, representing Frosty's; Kathy Sweeney, representing Woodland Ins.; and Ed Lammers, representing Lakeland Promotions. Community game operators included: Amanda Mix, Kendyll Week, Elin Limburg, David Limburg, and Laura Limburg, Peg Atzen and the Atzen Clan, Chuck Colberg, Steve Oates, Mary Ann Straley, and Judy Blue.

Set up and tear-down were handled by Gerry Broshar, Steve Shallbetter, Don Shurtleff, Tony Ozark, and a great team from Camp Olson. Announcing duties were handled by Gerry Broshar, Steve Shallbetter and John and Sandy Weins. The next race is Wednesday, July 28.

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