Submit a 4-H story to be considered for inclusion in the renovated building's 4-H history display

For everyone

4-H Building: 1940 Minnesota State Fair

Do you remember your "moment" in the 4-H Building?

Whether it was the pride of holding your ribbon or watching a child find their voice, that building has been the heart of the 4-H experience for nearly a century. Now, University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota 4-H, and the Minnesota State Fair are ready to write its next chapter – and we want you to be part of it. Share a story about your 4-H Building experience. You may share as much or as little as you'd like. We may reach out to you if you are interested in taking part in a longer story. Each submission will be considered to be featured in the renovated building's 4-H history display.

Submit your story.

Thank you for helping us build the future of 4-H!

Rebecca Froehlich

Communications specialist in donor relations

Learn about recent changes in 4-H Online

For local educators, county and regional support staff

The past weeks have included several nice updates to 4-H Online. Join this training to review and learn more about the most relevant updates.

Join this training from 11 a.m. until noon on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Todd Mehrkens

Academic technologist

Race question updated in 4-H Online

For everyone

Families who are enrolling will no longer see the question asking about Hispanic ethnicity (yes or no). Instead, "Hispanic or Latino" is now included in the list of race options, along with the newly added option of "Middle Eastern or North African" (sometimes abbreviated as MENA). These changes bring 4-H enrollment into alignment with the US Census Bureau.

All current and previous years' enrollments that had selected yes for Hispanic, (along with, as previously required, one of the race options), have been updated to have only the "Hispanic or Latino" race option selected.

4-H Online and alternative Minnesota 4-H enrollment options have been updated to reflect this change.

Todd Mehrkens

Academic technologist

Encourage change-makers to attend YETI Fest at Camp Friendship

For educators, county and regional support staff

Get ready for a weekend that’s all about creativity, connection, and change-making! Invite youth to join us Nov. 21-22 at True Friends Camp Friendship in Annandale.

At YETI Fest, we’re diving into what supports youth thriving and understanding our physical, social, mental and emotional selves. Open to youth in grades 6+, YETI Fest brings together teens across the state for hands-on art, meaningful conversations, wellness exploration, and collaboration. Through this leadership style summit, youth will have plenty of time to create, connect, and build lasting friendships with people who spark ideas for change!

Register by Friday, Nov. 6.

Contact me or Kathryn Sharpe with questions.

Promotional flier: YETI Fest 2026.

Bri Hall
Extension educator

Time sensitive request: GSOS call for small and medium T-shirts: Bring them with you to All-Extension Conference!

For everyone

Got any unwanted 4-H T-shirts? Green Superheroes of Science will upcycle them!

Do you have extra 4-H T-shirts that are taking up space in your office? The Green Superheroes of Science is in need of T-shirts (adult small/medium or youth L/XL only please) for GSOS program kits. If you can help, please bring shirts to the YD Department meeting at All-Extension Conference and give them to Heidi Wyatt (wyat0003@umn.edu) or Anne Stevenson (steve020@umn.edu) Thank you!

Heidi Wyatt

Cloverbud program development assistant

Promote 4-H youth leadership with the Helping Hands and Food Partner Challenges

For everyone

Get ready to empower Minnesota 4-H youth to lead real change in their communities! Applications for both the Helping Hands Challenge and the Food Partner Challenge are live. Start sharing this exciting news with your local clubs, leaders, and youth now so they can begin brainstorming ideas.

These two distinct funding opportunities give 4-H members the resources to turn ideas into action and address pressing community needs. The Helping Hands Challenge offers $300 to $2,000 for broad, youth-led service projects across focus areas like STEM, environmental stewardship, arts, and mental health. The Food Partner Challenge provides $500 for youth-led groups to partner with local food shelves, food assistance programs, or community organizations to tackle food insecurity, with a focus on going beyond simple donations to create deeper, sustainable local impact. Both initiatives emphasize youth leadership, hands-on community engagement, and storytelling.

Mark your calendars for key program deadlines:

• Applications for both challenges close Nov. 6.
• Volunteer teams will review submissions through November.
• Award decisions will be announced in December.
• Funding checks will reach local clubs in January. 

Encourage your 4-H members to dream big and start drafting their project proposals today! You can access general program information on 4-H scholarships, grants and awards page under the awards section, or go directly to the applications:

• Helping Hands Challenge application
• Food Partner Challenge application

Miriam Huebner
Extension development stewardship coordinator

4-H Week promotional plan and toolkit

For everyone

National 4-H Week is coming up quickly: Oct. 4-10!

The promotional plan and toolkit includes our designated themes for each day, promotional materials and templates you can use to share your 4-H pride for the week and encourage enrollment.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Anna Wagner Schliep

Senior communications specialist

BLU leadership skill-builder dates, locations, and some changes

For educators and county support staff

Building Leadership and Understanding (BLU) is an engaging leadership skill-builder designed for youth in grades 6-10. Planned and led by the Minnesota 4-H State Ambassadors, BLU brings together hands-on activities, team-building challenges, and meaningful conversations that help young people discover their strengths and grow their leadership skills.

In February, five BLU events will be held in locations across the state. Contracting for all locations is nearly complete, but we aim to be confirmed by the time registration opens in November. 

Overnight retreats:

• Feb. 6-7 at Concordia Language Villages, Bemidji
• Feb. 6-7 at Camp Victory, Zumbro Falls
• Feb. 13-14 at Camp Courage, Maple Lake
• Feb. 20-21 at Long Lake Conservation Center, Palisade

Single-day workshops:

• Feb. 20 at Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall 

Important changes for 2027:

The civic engagement and leadership team regularly reviews feedback from youth, families, volunteers, staff, and our own observations to improve our experiences. Based on the past few years, we’re making these changes for the 2027 BLU experiences:

• Youth participation: BLU will be open to youth in grades 6-10. Participation among grades 11+ has been minimal, while participation among younger youth has grown. Providing relevant content across such a wide age range has also been challenging. Older youth are encouraged to participate as youth program facilitators (YPFs), taking on leadership roles during the event.
• Chaperone fees: Chaperone registration fees will be included in the participant rate. This reduces administrative work and eliminates the confusion of a separate billing process for chaperone expenses. It also aligns with our approach for the YELLO state leadership conference. Volunteer chaperones are still needed! We encourage local programs to promote this opportunity to adults who enjoy connecting with teens.

Stay tuned for more information!

Meg Clark & Jacquie Lonning
On behalf of the civic engagement and leadership team

New volunteer orientation course is live

For everyone

The volunteer orientation course is one of three required steps to become a screened volunteer with Minnesota 4-H. This training provides a general overview of 4-H history, its mission, the nature of a public organization, and its connection to the University. It includes information about our approach to youth development, how we do our work, equal opportunity mandates, stewardship and risk management policies, including our safety of minors.

As of Sept. 15, the course has been updated and now includes five modules (it was previously six). The total length of the training has been reduced from 45 minutes to 35 minutes. The orientation course can be accessed in two ways on the apply page for new applicants to complete:

• Through the video modules within the Qualtrics link
• Through a printable Google Doc

In order to record the completion of the course, applicants must complete the survey at the end of the Qualtrics form or submit an orientation reporting form. 

If you have printed copies of these materials in your office, please ensure that the updated Google Doc and reporting form are used.

Special thanks to Kathryn Sharpe, Abby Wagner and our producer Lisa Anderson for bringing this fresh and engaging update to volunteer orientation. 

For further questions or information, please contact 4-H Volunteer Systems Director Jeremy Freeman at jeremyf@umn.edu.

Jeremy Freeman
4-H volunteer systems director

Annual volunteer training (AVT) webinar recap and resources

For everyone

In 2026, annual volunteer training (AVT) will build upon the success of a hybrid model, using a variety of delivery methods, providing regions and counties a choose-your-training approach. 

The volunteer systems team has compiled a variety of training pieces in a menu of lesson plans. The menu contains previous successfully vetted AVTs, audience-specific training as well as the volunteer core skills video training series for local counties to use to train volunteers this year using a variety of formats that best meet the needs of the intended audience.

Each county will be encouraged to build a volunteer training plan and deliver training to a volunteer audience (or several) in their program. 

All of the resources shared during last week's webinar are available on the YD Intranet, volunteer systems-training-AVT page including:

• Training plan worksheet
• Menu of lesson plans
• Staff webinar recording (Kaltura MediaSpace)

When you have completed your training plan, be sure to record your training on the statewide spreadsheet and follow up with participants trained using these evaluation tools:

• Participant training evaluation template (print copy) - Use and adapt as needed.
• Participant training evaluation template (digital copy) - Copy and adapt as needed.
• Core Skills training evaluation (Qualtrics) - To be used when participants view a video from the core skills training series.

If you have questions around creating your training plan, contact your regional extension educator in volunteer systems.

Carrie Olson, Karyn Santl, and Jeremy Freeman

On behalf of the volunteer systems team

Update: Hands in service: 4-H T-shirt quilt project

For everyone

For the second year of this activity, eleven quilt tops were completed by 30 youth and adults from 10 local programs (Anoka, Crow Wing, Douglas, Fillmore, Goodhue, Lake of the Woods, Olmsted, Redwood, Roseau and Wright) over four days on the second floor of the 4-H Building during state fair general encampment.

Youth and adults were able to sew, iron, cut, design, and assemble the quilt tops. The quilt tops were created from past event t-shirts and are in the process of being quilted, bound, and ready for distribution. Once quilts are completed, they will be distributed through Bridging and Project Linus programs.

Pictured is a completed quilt top created by Willow from Goodhue County.

Jodi Hintzen
Extension educator

Your YIPA membership and online training library

For everyone 

UMN Extension is a standard access YIPA member and that means our staff, interns and volunteers have access to hundreds of online learning opportunities through The Professional Youth Worker, YIPA's training platform for youth-serving professionals.

Email Samantha Schindler (schin143@umn.edu) to be added to YIPA’s Learning Management System (LMS). Once you've created an account, start with the E-library for video tutorials and the user guide. Browse the full training catalog and filter by topic, skill, or format to find exactly what you need. Your membership unlocks a wide range of learning formats:

• Recorded webinar courses: Watch sessions from experienced youth workers.
• Live webinar courses: Join interactive, youth work expert-led sessions in real time.
• Blended interactive courses: Engaging courses that mix video, digital media, and interactive activities.
• Quick takes blogs: Short, practical reads when you only have a few minutes.

Learn about topics that matter to your work—trauma-informed care, mental health, youth development, ethics, intercultural engagement, crisis intervention, self-care, leadership, and much more.

Kate Walker
Extension specialist, youth work practice

Resource available: Z-link and QR codes staff guide

For everyone

To help keep our communications consistent, Minnesota 4-H has centralized our most frequently used short URLs and QR codes. Z.umn.edu is a URL shortening service that allows longer URLs to be shortened. Shortening a URL keeps links easy to understand in print and online materials.

New internal resources

• Minnesota 4-H Z-link staff guide: Use this resource on the YD Intranet to find commonly used Z-links created for statewide programs and project pages.
• QR code folder: Access a library of pre-made QR codes from Minnesota 4-H Z-links for your flyers, posters, and other communications.

To provide feedback, suggest a new Z-link guide addition or QR code, complete this feedback form.

Kate Holland

Interim and onboarding coordinator

Promote Minnesota 4-H treasurer trainings

For local educators and county support staff

Help promote virtual statewide Minnesota 4-H treasurer trainings within your local programs. These trainings are for youth treasurers, parents of youth treasurers, and any adults on 4-H bank accounts. Training sessions will cover best practices and policies, roles of the financial team, the importance of youth treasurers, how to make everyone’s roles meaningful, how to help treasurers develop financial management life skills, hands-on practice in completing our treasurer’s book, and tips for mentoring and supporting youth treasurers.

Training dates:

• Nov. 5 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Nov. 19 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., with a bonus session for adult treasurers from 7:30 to 8 p.m.

Please help promote these valuable trainings to potential participants using this promotional graphic, newsletter blurb and/or event page.

Register.

Darcy Cole, Lori Hall, and Michelle Anderson
4-H program operations specialists

Chartering webinar recording available

For educators and county support staff

Thank you to everyone who joined the Sept. 10 chartering webinar. The recording is now available.

Equipment inspections

We received questions regarding shooting sports equipment inspections:

• Inspections for county-owned firearms are needed every two years, by a professional gunsmith. This long-time policy is outlined in the SS/W risk management policies.
• Upload completed 4-H firearm safety inspection forms to the county Google folder for the past two years. 
• Archery equipment should be inspected by a 4-H archery instructor at the county level, using the archery inspection forms. 

What is a professional gunsmith and how do we find one? A professional gunsmith is trained to work on firearms. Because there is no centralized registry, reach out to your local gun shops or ask local 4-H families, who often know trusted gunsmiths in your areas.

As you are working on the inspections, review the SS/W risk management policies on inventory and safe storage of all equipment. Reach out to Nicole Pokorney with additional questions. 

General charter reminders

Annually, 4-H clubs must submit a charter application by Oct. 31 to keep their status and benefits. The updated 2026-2027 4-H club charter documents are available on the leading a 4-H club page and ready for you to share with 4-H clubs.

All 4-H federations/councils must submit the 2026-2027 charter application by Nov. 15. 4-H federation/council charter documents are available on the YD chartering, pausing and dissolution page. Please make sure to use the current year’s charter materials.

For more information on the club charter process, review 4-H club chartering staff roles and responsibilities and contact the 4-H program operations specialist in your region.

Darcy Cole, Lori Hall, and Michelle Anderson

Don't forget to request an ambassador by filling out the request form

For local educators

We'd like to remind you to fill out the ambassador request form for all of your ambassador needs.

Are you using a Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador or Agriculture Ambassador in your county or regional programming? Do you want to use one? We encourage you to think about using ambassadors to assist with your programming needs.

We've created this form that allows you to request an ambassador for any of your events or activities -- bookmark the form in your browser for easy access when you need it. Even if you are using an ambassador from your local county, we ask that you put in a request to let us know that you are already working with them. We're trying to track how ambassadors are being used throughout the state. The form will let you select either a Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador or a Minnesota 4-H Agriculture Ambassador.

Please make sure to submit your request at least two weeks prior to your event to allow us time to communicate with the appropriate ambassador group to hopefully accommodate your request.

Questions?

• Reach out to Jacquie Lonning or Meg Clark for the state ambassadors.
• Reach out to Brian Mc Neill or Anja Johnson for the agriculture ambassadors.

Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador/Agriculture Ambassador advisors

Plan for volunteer turnover

For local educators

Do you have a volunteer in a club/project who will be transitioning out? How prepared are you and the group to manage the transition? Fall is a common time in 4-H to welcome in wonderful new volunteers who bring fresh energy and ideas and say goodbye to volunteers who have contributed richly and now are moving on to other things. Yet these transitions work much better when we plan ahead for them. Staying in regular communication with your clubs and committees and checking in with volunteers about their future intentions will often enable you to anticipate these changes and be proactive about them. Yet there will always be unforeseen circumstances - an illness, a new job, a move. 

As a local educator, you are a key player in this change. You can provide support, reassurance, and should play a central role in identifying or recruiting and placing a volunteer (or multiple) in the role that a volunteer is resigning from.

On the YD Intranet and the Minnesota 4-H volunteer resource center, we have assembled tools to support you and your 4-H clubs and projects in navigating these changes.

• Succession planning: The succession planning model includes an exit conversation with the club leader(s) transitioning out to capture their essential knowledge, a summary of inventory and finances, an entrance conversation with incoming leader(s), and a SOAR process with the club to identify their own needs and desires for the club/project. This is important for engaging youth in shaping the future of their experience. 
• Engage youth voice: For a game-based approach to engaging youth involvement in shaping the process, you could offer to facilitate the sky’s the limit activity with their club or committee.
• Plan a shared leadership model: Minnesota 4-H programs are largely moving toward shared leadership, where two or more volunteers lead collaboratively. We are also finding frequently that when one volunteer steps down, they are often replaced by two or more people sharing the work. We can build resilience into our clubs and projects by using a team leadership model that includes built-in rotation of leadership with mentorship for incoming volunteers.
• Expand the volunteer pool: If you want to find new ways to engage people who are already involved in your 4-H program, you can use the sharing your time and talents survey. This may offer you new insights into the people and resources already within your circle. 
• Create manageable opportunities: Use the club opportunities template to help a club or project identify the specific leadership roles that they want in their program.
• You can find additional resources on the YD Intranet in volunteer utilization under “succession planning”. 

4-H at its best is highly collaborative, teaching young people how to work as a team in positive ways. Adult volunteers are in the best position to role model how this can work. And as always, your regional volunteer systems Extension educators are here to support you in helping this to happen!

Kathryn Sharpe

Extension educator

Create and submit program agreements for the new 4-H year

For local educators

Program agreements (PAs) provide an avenue for youth to participate in the 4-H program. Partnerships within our communities are crucial to providing these opportunities for youth that might not otherwise be able to access the 4-H program. While fall program planning, continue to support your existing partnerships and consider building new partners to increase the number of youth who can access 4-H.

All program agreement clubs do need a new program agreement each year.

Use this program agreement worksheet as a guide for your conversations with program partners. Creating a program agreement is a collaborative process, and this worksheet should be used to facilitate your conversation rather than being sent to a partner to fill out on their own. It includes all the key questions needed to build a strong 4-H program agreement. The worksheet has been updated for the 2026 - 2027 4-H year to provide greater clarity and reader accessibility.

If you are continuing or creating a new partnership, submit your program agreement information via your regional Google Form for the 2026 - 2027 4-H year! Each partnership should be submitted at least two weeks before the first programming date.

Links to your regional Google Form to input information:

• Central: z.umn.edu/Central-PA
• Northwest: z.umn.edu/NW-PA
• Northeast: z.umn.edu/NE-PA
• Southeast: z.umn.edu/SE-PA
• Southwest: z.umn.edu/SW-PA

If you have any questions about program agreements, connect with your regional quality 4-H programs and systems specialist.

Karen Beranek

Extension educator

A word of thanks from the Extension Development team

For everyone

Earlier this summer, the Extension development team invited University of Minnesota employees to consider a gift to the 4-H Building through a payroll deduction and pledge. We are thrilled to announce that $25,618.00 has been pledged to the 4-H Building renovation in payroll gifts! Individuals who pledged more than $1,000 by July 31 will be recognized on the donor wall in the 4-H Building on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Come see the temporary donor wall (with its list of more than 400 names!) to learn who has shown their support for the campaign so far.

If you missed the first deadline, it's not too late to be recognized at the 2027 Minnesota State Fair when the remodeled building opens. See instructions for setting up a payroll deduction gift.

Thank you for leading by example and all you have done to make the 4-H Building campaign successful so far! Please reach out to mnextdev@umn.edu if you have any questions concerning payroll gifts.

Rebecca Froehlich

Communications specialist in donor relations

Help promote 4-H Camera Camp: Oct. 15 - 16

For local educators and county support staff

Help us promote 4‑H Camera Camp using this communications toolkit, which includes a ready‑to‑use social media post, broadcast email language, and newsletter copy to make sharing quick and easy.

Youth in grades 7+ who want to explore photography are invited to join us for 4‑H Camera Camp Oct. 15-16 at beautiful Camp Eden Wood in Eden Prairie. Participants will build skills and confidence as they learn about different types of cameras, manual settings, photography elements, lighting and special effects, drone photography, taking professional‑quality cell phone photos, and potential careers in photography. Youth will spend time outdoors practicing photography concepts with guidance from experienced photographers.

A camera is not required, but participants are encouraged to bring a camera or cell phone camera if they have one. Cost is $50. This covers one night lodging, three meals, snacks, and all materials. Register on 4-H Online by Sept. 28. Registration is limited to 15 youth participants; a wait list will be created if registration exceeds this.

Learn more and register.

Questions? Contact Carol Skelly at kell001@umn.edu or Linda Houglum at hougl011@umn.edu.

Cora Rost

Extension educator