Judy Seidl (back) with Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota leads the Stay Active & Independent for Life (SAIL) exercise program Friday at the New Ulm Community Center. SAIL is one of the most popular programs offered by CAST with 25-30 attendees every session. Lynn Henle (front) practices balanced stretches.

NEW ULM – In 1984, a new nonprofit was formed in New Ulm called Community and Seniors Together (CAST) with the idea of creating more activities for senior citizens to do.

Now, 41 years later, CAST is flourishing with dozens of members and every month is filled with activities ranging from board games and exercise, to classes on cooking and educational lecture series.

Program Director Cara Knauf said CAST programs are open to anyone 55 and older. There are no monthly dues. Most of programming is free, except for Bingo night; which cost $1 per Bingo card.

The majority of CAST activities are held at the New Ulm Community Center. CAST is a non-profit organization, but has a lease agreement with the city to use the community center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Every weekday there is a schedule of different events from boards games and cards to movie screenings and guest speaker programs. There are occasional day trips to places of interest in the community. Knauf said CAST recently hosted trips to the Betsy Tacy Houses in Mankato, the Sleepy Eye Depot and the Kiesling House. The next day trip is a stop over at the Wanda Gag House.

Knauf said a lot of CAST programming is educational. Every Tuesday, they host a screening of a documentary program followed by a group discussion. Recently they screened a documentary on “Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.” With the Silent Spring documentary CAST members talk about the role of chemicals on the natural environment, both good and bad.

CAST also has a subscription to the Great Course Plus series, which are educational programs led by college professors on a wide range of topics. These series are held every Thursday. Currently, Cast is going through a series on Native People of North America.

Asked which of CAST’s dozen of programs was most popular, Knauf said the Stay

Judy Seidl (back) with Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota leads the Stay Active & Independent for Life (SAIL) exercise program Friday at the New Ulm Community Center. SAIL is one of the most popular programs offered by CAST with 25-30 attendees every session. Lynn Henle (front) practices balanced stretches.

Active & Independent for Life (SAIL) exercise program. The exercise program is free and is offered by Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota. The SAIL exercise class, held Tuesdays and Friday, regularly brings in 25-30 participants. Knauf said the program is not over-strenuous but partici-pants feel the results.

LeAnn Mieheve from Catholic Charities said SAIL is an evidence-based exercise program that include cardio, balance and strength exercises. Though it is a workout, they try to keep SAIL activities fun for participants.

Knauf said Wednesday night Bingo is the next most popular CAST. It is an old standard but CAST members love it.

Friends in the Kitchen cooking class also brings many attendees. The class is taught by Chef Renee Retzlaff every month. Each class Retzlaff teaches the class how to prepare three healthy, easy-to-make dishes. At the end of the class everyone is able to sample the food and take home a copy of the recipes. The previous month’s recipes are available by request.

The last class was taught on Aug. 13 and the theme was cottage cheese. Retzlaff showed the class how to create an Alfredo sauce, veggie dip and an ice cream using cottage cheese.

Every year, CAST makes changes to its schedule based on need. New this year, CAST has added an Alzheimer’s Caregiver Group the second Tuesday of every month. There are free blood pressure checks the third Tuesday of the month.

The Greeting Card Recycling program was moved to 8 a.m. to noon every Monday. Also on Monday, Scrabble has returned to the calendar. Knauf said the was a brief break from Scrabble after some additional card games, but it’s back on the calendar.

Knauf said of the most unique additions to the game calendars is Mahjong. Earlier this summer there were requests from multiple CAST member to have a Mahjong day. Since the start of August, Mahjong has been available at the community center at 10:30 a.m. every Wednesday. There is already a dedicated group playing.

Looking to the future, Knauf said she would like to add more games, to monthly activities including, Dominos and Euchre.

After over four decades, CAST continues to go strong with new seniors joining every month. Knauf said that is the secret tot he CAST’s longevity.

“It is a place for seniors to come and make friends,” she said.