News – North Branch American Legion Post 85

Post 85 Upcoming Events

Things are starting to ramp up at your post. It kicks off with our annual Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner, tomorrow starting at 5pm. You can get meals to go too. Additional help is always appreciated by chief chef and Past Commander, Kevan Swenson. We will be working on the beef, peeling carrots and spuds, and getting the tables set up, starting at 8AM. Please help out if you have some time to spare.

At 10AM tomorrow we will be hosting a Midsummer Festival planning meeting. This year will be the 100th anniversary of the community event and the 250th celebration of the founding of our country, so we want to make this something to be remembered.

The Lions Club will be offering breakfast in our hall the next morning too.

Our Pickleball Tourney at the High School 21st of February raised nearly $2,000 towards the Circle of Honor Veterans Memorial project slated for Central Park in North Branch.

On Saturday March 21st, the Special Olympics volunteers will be holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in our hall from 4 -7pm. Great cause and community support goes a long way.

Our April 14th regular membership meeting will feature a Dave Reider special spaghetti dinner followed by our annual awards night presentation. Social hour is from 5 to 6, followed by the meeting. All are invited.

We will be participating in the NB annual garage sale on Saturday, May 2nd. All proceeds will go to benefit the food shelf. Please consider taking up a table in our hall to relieve some clutter in your home and help a good cause.

We are also gearing up for our annual visits to 5 local cemeteries and Central Park for Memorial Day. It’s a good time to see our Honor Guard at work. We are always looking for more members of that squad. Please leave your contact info at the Legion if you are interested in joining the Honor Guard.

This year marks the 9th year for our cemetery headstone cleaning project. Please see the attached photos taken at Sunrise Cemetery to see the difference that the annual application of chemical D/2, a soft bristle brush, and a little elbow grease can make in just a few years time. Again, please leave your contact info if you are interested in joining the group. We are currently servicing about a dozen local cemeteries.

As mentioned earlier, Midsummer is just around the corner. We are always in need of help at different events and suggestions to make it better. And again, please leave contact info at the Legion.

We have been asked once again by the Turkey Federation to man the registration desk at their annual shooting event in Harris. Anyone interested in lending a hand, please contact Carene at the Post.

Your Legion Post has been making a difference in our community. Come and join in!
Post 85 Leadership Team

nbl-admin2026-03-13T20:46:50-05:00News|

Veteran’s Day Events

It’s a full slate of programs again for Veterans Day. First of all, the Legion Auxiliary will be hosting three events at the senior facilities in NB.

Monday Nov 10th, 2:00 at Encore
Tuesday Nov 11th, 2:00 at Ecumen
Wednesday Nov12th 2:00 at BokaHaven

I will have the county veterans van to transport as many as possible to the following events on Tuesday, November 11th, Veterans Day.

We will meet at the Legion and those that want to participate, we will be leaving there at 07:00 to raise the large flag at the Lutheran Cemetery in NB. We will return to the Legion to pick up those remaining on our way to the Middle School to greet the students as they arrive to school. There will be some open time to grab a quick breakfast if needed. Last year we stopped at Denny’s, or you are all free to choose your preferred café.

Depart the Legion at 09:45 to arrive at the High School for the Sunrise School kids program at 10:00. I’m assuming that it will be held in the auditorium like previous years.

The Culinary class will be serving us lunch at 11:00 at the High School, then return to the Legion.

We will depart the Legion at 12:45 to arrive at the District Office for the preschool program at 13:00. We may have to split our members to cover these events as their timeline is too close to call.

Phoenix Academy has requested vets that want to attend their program to be held at 13:30, to contact Mia Rollins at mia.rollins@phxacademy.org or call 651-955-1072.

The final program for the day is back at the High School at 14:00. It’s the AF Jr. ROTC performing their POW/MIA ceremony. A must see!

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Midsummer Days 2025

2025 Midsummer Dates will be June 18th thru June 22nd.

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Thank YOU!

The North Branch American Legion Post 85 would like to thank all of those that supported our Annual Midsummer Days Celebration. This event would not be possible without the support of the City of North Branch, North Branch Fire Department, North Branch Police Department, North Branch Boy Scouts, American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion, American Legion Riders, Post 85 Members and Employees, the VFW, and the North Branch Lions. A special thank you to the Highway 95 Construction Crew for their efforts in opening up Main Street for the Parade route to remain the same as previous years! Also, a huge thank you to the “Family Fun Shows” for bringing their Carnival and supporting our home town celebration for over 25 years! We would like to thank our major sponsors; Branch Manufacturing, County Market, Kwik Trip, Nu Cara Pharmacy, Kaffe Stuga, Anderson & Koch Ford, Grandstrand Funeral Homes, and Hermann Insurance for their financial assistance in supporting this 98-year-old tradition.

The North Branch Businesses providing advance carnival ticket sales this year were Ace Main Street Hardware, Associated Bank, Casey’s General Store, County Market, Olde Brick Inn, Post Haste, Neighborhood National Bank, North Branch Barbers, Merchants Café, Petersons Mill, and Tailgaters. The Harris businesses were the Kaffe Stuga and The Fuse. Our Almelund business was Rod’s Country Corner. These businesses provided a valuable service to the young and young-at-heart. Our special thanks also go out to the North Branch Dairy Queen who furnished all the prizes for the Kiddie Bingo sessions.

If you enjoyed the street dances, the golf tournament, any of our bingo sessions, the carnival rides, the kiddie events, the free lunch, the parade, and the Vintage Jets flyover, please join me in thanking those listed above who made this all possible!

Thank you all for the success of our 2024 Midsummer Days!

Rick Hals– Commander Post 85