History

• The City of Buffalo Lake was founded in the year 1876 by John Riebe, who worked for the railroad.
• The City of Hector was founded two years after Buffalo Lake, in the year 1878.
• Highway 212 runs through Buffalo Lake and Hector. Highway 4 also runs through Hector.
• Buffalo Lake is near Lake Allie.
• Stewart is in McLeod County, right off Highway 212
• Buffalo Lake was named after a lake of the same name in town. Before it was drained, Buffalo Lake was a popular watering hole for herds of buffalo. It was also reputed to contain a lot of buffalo fish.
• Much of the City of Buffalo Lake was devastated by a tornado in 2003. The town has been busy rebuilding itself the past few years and is better than ever before.
• In 1996, Hector native Gloria Slocum was selected as 1 out of 75 women from around the world whose faces were melded together to create the new look of Betty Crocker. The updated face was in honor of Betty Crocker’s 75th anniversary.
• The City of Stewart was founded in the year 1878 by Dr. DA Stewart.
• Stewart has a lake just a little ways out of town called Round Grove Lake.
• Stewart was named after Dr. DA Stewart, who came from Winona to help found the town.
• Stewart had a major fire in the middle of town in the 1930′s.

Businesses

• Buffalo Lake and Hector share a school district, ISD 2159. The mascot of B-L-H is the Mustangs. Students from the Stewart area began attending school with the BLH District in the Fall of 2009 following the closure of the McLeod West School District, and the name was changed to Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart.
• Buffalo Lake is home to several ag-related industries. These include: the Farmer’s Co-Op, a branch of Form-A-Feed; and K-N-S Millwrights, which repairs grain bins and dryers. Other major employers in Buffalo Lake include: Kottke Trucking; the Buffalo Lake Nursery Home; and Minnesota Energy.
• Major employers in Hector include: C-S-I Communications; and South Central Grain and Energy, which was known as United Grain and Energy until merging with South Central Co-Op at the start of 2006.
• The City of Buffalo Lake has a grocery store and a bakery again after the previous store was destroyed by a tornado in 2003. Main Street Market opened for business in November 2006 and is owned by Mark and Tammy Almich. The Down Home Bakery is in the same building, and is owned by Heidi Anderson. The bakery features a coffee shop as well.
• Stewart is the home of Form-A-Feed, a rendering plant which provides feed to area farmers.
• Right off Highway 212 in the middle of Stewart is Cactus Jack’s. This well-known bar and grill features special events throughout the year.
• The City of Stewart got a new bar in 2005. “Juggs Bar and Grill” is located off Highway 212 on the west end of town. It is owned by Tammy Schaufler.
• The Stewart satellite of Feeding Children International was started in April of 2003 to enable everyone in the surrounding area and outstate Minnesota to participate in packaging food for starving children. With the leadership of Feeding Children International in New Hope, MN., they have enhanced their Kids Against Hunger Campaign by adding a mobile packaging unit. This mobility enables Stewart’s Kids Against Hunger to offer the opportunity of producing the fully nutritious meal supplement by letting the mobile unit volunteers transport the supplies and ingredients needed to any community location within 50 miles (or more) of Stewart. Feeding Children International Stewart is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Festivals & Events

• Buffalo Lake’s summer festival is called “Buffalo Lake days.” It is held the 3rd weekend of July and features plenty of fun for the entire family. A highlight of Buffalo Lake Days is the “Moveable Feast.” Fest-goers travel from place to place, partaking of different food-stuffs at every start.
• Hector’s summer festival is called “Corn Chaff Days.” It is held the 2nd weekend of July, and has numerous events throughout the weekend. There is corn as well.
• Stewartfest is held every July. It features softball games, live entertainment, good food, and fireworks. There is also a street dance for the fest held at Cactus Jack’s, with more live bands and good food.

People

• The City of Buffalo Lake has a population of about 800 people and the Mayor is Joyce Nyhus.
• The City of Hector has a population of about 1,200 people and the Mayor is Jeff Heerdt.
• The Cities of Buffalo Lake and Hector are both located in Renville County.
• The City of Stewart’s Mayor is Jeff Erkenbrack and the population is about 550.
• The Buffalo Lake/Hector/School District added Stewart to its name in 2010. They are now the Mustangs of Buffalo Lake/Hector/Stewart. The name change gave the new students, as well as the town, an identity in the new School District since the closure of the McLeod West District.
• In 2010 Buffalo Lake Hector High School Principal David Hansen dyed his hair blue after his students raised more than $2400 for a BLH graduate and his family during the school’s Snow Week festivities. The funds were for BLH graduate Michael Jensen. Sadly, Michael lost his battle with brain cancer on November 8th, 2010 at the age of 21.
• The Stewart branch of Kids Against Hunger, Feeding Children International of Stewart, moved into a new facility in 2010. The organization bought the former McLeod West Elementary School building and the grounds for $36,500 from the City of Stewart. Remodeling has been done and Organization Chair John Neisen said the new 60,000 square foot facility will provide for nearly unlimited expansion in the future.
• In 2010 the Stewart City Council finalized plans for improvements to the city’s community center. A new floor as well as new ceiling tiles for the community room, and the cleaning of the furnace duct work were done.
• A rural Buffalo Lake girl was selected by Governor Mark Dayton to sing the National Anthem at his inauguration ceremony in 2011. Dayton’s office reportedly contacted 11 year old McKaia Ryberg and her family during the week before Christmas to ask if she would do the honors. Ryberg is the daughter of Brian and Sandy Ryberg, and a sixth grade student at St. Mary’s Elementary in Bird Island. Ryberg was “discovered” by Dayton when she sang the National Anthem for a Tim Orth benefit that he had attended. Dayton was so impressed that he invited Ryberg to sing during President Obama’s visit to Minneapolis in October, as well as his inauguration in St. Paul.
• Buffalo Lake-Hector student Cole Witter earned a medal at the state Class A Speech Tournament in 2011.
• KNUJ’s Hometown Hero for April 2011 was Jean and Charles Grimm of rural Stewart. The Grimms were driving to St. Cloud when they spotted a rural Hutchinson woman lying in her driveway. The woman had slipped on the ice and was unable to get back up. She had been out in the sub-zero temperatures in only a light jacket for over two hours when the Grimms spotted her. They called 911 and covered her in blankets until medical personnel arrived. The Grimms were presented a McLeod County Civilian Life-Saving Award for their efforts. The Hometown Hero recognition is sponsored by KNUJ AM and FM and select Thrivent Financial For Lutherans agents.

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