Local fields have 75-100 games host each year

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

If it seems like there is a baseball or softball game in Henning just about every night of the week during the spring and summer there is a good reason for that—because there is a good chance one is going on.

During its regularly scheduled meeting last Monday night, the Henning City Council heard from Otter Tail Central baseball coach Ryan Hendrickson concerning the need for a different infield groomer at Tony Kawlewski Field. Hendrickson walked the city through the decision to move nearly every varsity baseball game from Battle Lake to Henning in 2021 and the transformation that occurred from what Tony Kawlewski Field was to what it is today.

Hendrickson said he spoke with Henning Activities Director Randy Misegades in 2019 about the unsafe playing conditions at the Henning baseball field in 2019 and the potential need to stop playing games in Henning, even on a limited basis.

“Randy’s response was simple, and he said to put together a five year plan, including our needs and wants,” said Hendrickson.

A plan was put in place and in 2021 the OTC baseball program moved nearly every varsity game to Henning, while a new town team was also formed a few years ago as well. 

“Today Tony Kawlewski Field is much more than just our home field, it has become one of the premier amateur baseball facilities in western Minnesota,” said Hendrickson. “Those improvements have allowed us to not only host our regular season home games as we have in the past…but now we are able to host youth tournaments and we are able to host different levels of Babe Ruth baseball from nine-year-olds all the way to 16s, as well as section playoff games, state and regional tournaments in the summer.”

Hendrickson said the large tournaments and home games have resulted in an increase in business from people who support local restaurants, put gas in their vehicles and stop by Henning during the games. 

In fact, some of the larger regional Babe Ruth and state Babe Ruth tournaments are multi-day events that keep people in the community throughout the weekend. This past year was the first time that Henning did not host a regional or state Babe Ruth tournament in a number of years, which Hendrickson said was due largely to volunteer fatigue.

In 2027 Henning will host a Babe Ruthe state tournament. The tournament will likely be hosted entirely in Henning, as opposed to other regional sites like in Urbank. 

Hendrickson said OTC now plays the majority of its youth through varsity baseball games in Henning, while also utilizing the Battle Lake baseball field occasionally to give the local field a break when needed. 

“Our goal is 75 to 100 baseball games at Tony Kawlewski Field alone and we have reached that at least the last six years and put baseball on our more quality fields at this point,” said Hendrickson. 

Due to the dramatic increase in usage, Hendrickson said the infield groomer was in need of being replaced and asked for the city’s help in purchasing a used groomer. 

“Our current equipment has served us well, but it is getting to the point where it is in need of being replaced,” he said.

The plan is to purchase a used field groomer for $5,100 of which half has already been raised for the project. The city agreed, at the request of Hendrickson, to fund the remaining $2,100 of the cost to purchase the field groomer. 

In other news

• Heard that construction on the 2026 utility and surface improvement project will likely not begin until 2027. Sam Ruppert, from Apex Engineering, said there is a chance some of the work on the project could begin in late 2026, but a bulk of the project will not begin until next year. He also asked the council about concerns the city staff has with moving forward with the larger option three that could hook up and provide infrastructure, which would be ready to utilize should future development occur along Balmoral Ave. in Henning. Staff members said they were concerned about the cost of the project and not having a building or construction project in place that would result in additional utilities hooking up to the city’s infrastructure. After already approving the larger project at an earlier meeting, citing a desire to seek future development along Balmoral Ave. and past the catholic church, the council said it will consider the staff input and discuss the project further at its August 17 meeting.

• Heard the Highway 108/Douglas Ave. project will likely be pushed up to 2030 after originally being scheduled for 2031. The change came after MnDOT reexamined some of the highway projects in the region and shuffled some of them around for 2030 and 2031. 

• Approved granting an extension to Eagle Construction for a final completion date of the water treatment facility rehab project. As part of the project, Eagle Construction avoided using a temporary system, which saved the city $290,000, but this also prolonged the completion of work on the three water softeners. In addition to completing the work without having to install a temporary treatment system, a water line break also resulted in additional repairs and work for Eagle Construction that led to the delay. The city also agreed to cover 1/3 of the cost of the main water line repair up to $25,000, a bulk of which would be covered by the original grant of the water treatment project. 

• Discussed the paint/logo options for the water tower when it is refurbished. The council has expressed an interest in sticking with a similar design to what is currently being used, as well as potentially adding a Henning Hornet or Otter Tail Central Bulldog logo to the stem of the water tower. No decision was made and the design will be discussed at a later time. 

• Discussed nuisance properties in the community and need to continue to have property owners clean up their properties. The council also heard from Henning Police Chief Mike Helle who stated he was approached by a property owner who stated some of the city’s buildings, including a fuel storage building, is in need of also being cleaned up. Utility Supervisor Adam Schwartz said the building may not be able to be repaired in a cost-effective manner and asked the council to consider potentially building a new fuel storage shop that could also be used for storage. He will bring potential options for an additional storage building to a future council meeting. 

• Heard the fire department received a grant for approximately $21,000 to purchase equipment for the grass rig.