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Outdoor music events return

The return of the summer season also means the return of outdoor concerts. The New Ulm Municipal Band held its first German Park performance of the summer Wednesday. The municipal band will continue to hold Wednesday night concerts in German Park throughout the summer, with a few notable exceptions. The Wednesday, June 24 concert will be at Oak Hills as part of their annual Ice Cream Social.

Thursday, the Concord Singers performed in German Park to kick off New Ulm Music in the Park Series. The Thursday Music in the Park series will continue through the summer with a new musical act performing each Thursday. Classic rock cover band On Maryland will perform Thursday, June 11. For anyone who enjoys live music, the summer season is a great time to be in New Ulm.

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River Valley BMX track is revamped

The River Valley BMX track is back in operation after a complete revamp. The new track features a new starting gate and an overall wider track to increase safety. A special ribbon cutting was held to officially open the track Monday followed by the first night of BMX racing in New Ulm for the season. The River Valley BMX track typically hosts races at 7 p.m. Monday all through the summer and into the fall. Typically, the BMX season continues until the first snowfall.

The revamp of New Ulm’s BMX track is a big deal for the community. The track has been part of New Ulm since the early ’90s and it pulls in a large crowd. There are only a handful of BMX tracks in Minnesota. The New Ulm track brings in riders from all over southwest Minnesota. In addition to the redesign, River Valley BMX will be hosting a Gold Cup qualifier on Saturday, June 13, and a state qualifier Sunday, June 14. Both qualifiers are expected to bring hundreds of riders and their families to New Ulm.

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No candidacy filing in Ward 4

The election filing period for Minnesota ended Tuesday without a single person filing for New Ulm’s Ward 4 City Council seat. In New Ulm, this is extremely odd. New Ulm Ward 4 City Councilor Larry Mack served three terms as councilor for Ward 4. Each year he ran for election, it was a contentious election with at least one other candidate filing for the seat.

Ward 4 might be the most fought over seat on New Ulm’s city council. It is not unusual for only a single candidate to file for the other council seats. This year only the incumbents filed for the mayor and Ward 2, but at least someone filed. With no one filing for Ward 4, the election will be decided by write-in votes. It has been nearly 16 years since New Ulm has filled a seat through write-in. It is impossible to predict how this will turnout, but hopefully some citizen of Ward 4 decides to take the initiative.