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Spikin’ in the Street

is back

New Ulm’s Spikin’ in the Street volleyball tournament is back for its second year and it looks to be twice as big. After the success of last year’s tournament, it is hard not see this year’s event as a victory lap. Ahead of the 2023 tournament, there were a lot of nay-sayers expressing doubt about a sand volleyball tournament downtown. The doubters were wrong. New Ulm is clearly well suited for this. To prove it, Spikin’ in the Street has expanded to two city blocks with double the amount of sand courts. Last year 600 tons of sand was poured onto Minnesota Street, this year it will be closer to 1,200 tons. The number teams playing on these courts has more than doubled, going from 44 teams to 91 teams. There will also be more food trucks downtown during the event. It is always exciting to see another New Ulm festival grow.

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Dedicated citizens keeping hate-speech out of Art Wall Park

In 2020, racist graffiti at The Art Wall Park inspired citizens to take action and cover up the hateful messages. Four years later, the racist graffiti has become a problem again and thankfully citizens are taken action, but this time around a formal group called The Art Wall Peace Keepers was formed to monitor the park. Similar to a Neighborhood watch, this approach should ensure the park remains dedicated to art instead of hateful messages. The Art Wall Park reflects the community as a whole. It’s great to see people take action to ensure the park reflects a positive message.

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Angel Fountain is back on at last

The German Park angel fountain is flowing again as of this week. Typically the fountain is turned on in late spring, but this year’s start date was delayed due to needed maintenance. The interior surface needed repairs to prevent leaks into the structural masonry. This maintenance project would have been completed earlier, but frequent rains delayed the cement work. Despite the delays, the project is done and the fountain looks better than ever. The previously white interior to the fountain basin is now an appealing sky blue.