United Way hits $850K in fundraising for 2025

United Way of Steele County celebrated the past year and its successes and thanked those who helped throughout 2025 Feb. 17 at the Mineral Springs Brewery. The brewery was the 2025 Community Partner.

Bill Cronin, who along with Mark Sebring and Rod Baker owns MSB, announced that the campaign raised $850,044. He also announced that the community partner for 2026 is the Owatonna Eagles Club.

Cronin said it had been an honor to be selected as a United Way Partner. The brewery, he said, sponsored United Way one Sunday a month. He said they worked well with the United Way and “I don’t think we said no to a single idea.”

He also had a chance to introduce the community partner for 2026, the Owatonna Eagles Club.

Eagles manager Danielle Wilson said she was thrilled when Duncan reached out to her and asked if the Eagles would be the partner for 2026. The Eagles model is about people helping people, she said, and that fits well with United Way.

A part of the evening was for those attending to experience what some households experience if they are “Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed,” through an activity called the ALICE Experience.

These households, she said, are one crisis away going into poverty. They are not quite there but make a little too much to get assistance but not enough to make ends meet.

Twenty-four percent of people in the county can be considered in the ALICE demographic, Duncan said. This number includes 79% of single mothers and 50% of single fathers. They must make the decisions about going without dinner so the children can eat, gas bill spikes, choosing to pay the rent or utilities, finding affordable after school care, or what to do when the school calls and says a child has a fever and it may be that the child needs dental work. And then maybe the car breaks down.

These things are when life unravels.

But there are resources in Steele County that can help, she said.

“It takes all of us working together to meet the needs of Steele County,” she said. “There is hope in Steele County.”

The ALICE Experience had Angie Noble sit down and demonstrate the issues a single mother might face.  As Duncan read off a list of possible situations, she was handed something to hold while sitting as gradually the number of items she held was becoming more and more. The final straw was to stand up because of a needed car repair as the items she held started to tumble to the floor as the situation started to unravel.

At that point audience members came up with a slip of paper that contained a resource available in the county. As a resource was read, one of the things “ALICE” held was removed. And finally, she was able to feel less overwhelmed.

Several awards and recognitions were also given.

Stephanie Olson received the Above and Beyond award for her work with United Way of Steele County as well as recognition for seven years on the United Way Board.  Others receiving board service awards were Jeffrey Elstad, eight years, Warren Simons, four years, and Rachel Boss, three years.

Also given recognition for their service were the Volunteers United including the VITA Tax Preparation Team, the Power of the Purse Team, the Steele County Free Fair Grandstand, Booth and Fairway Team as well as anyone who had ever volunteered for any nonprofit organization through the Volunteers United.