City of White & McKnight Community Center

06/11/2026

Hello.
Depending on which source you look in, 60-ish years ago our Nation was engaged in a conflict which divided the nation and helped fuel social changes which still affect us today.

Vietnam was a far-off place in Southeast Asia which few people knew existed until the television news brought the conflict into our living rooms exposing the public to the reality of war that was never possible in previous conflicts where newspapers and then much later newsreels were the main carriers of news. Experiencing a conflict in near real time changed how we thought about military conflict.

No matter what side of the conflict you sit on, somebody has to go enact the will of the Nation's leaders - the service members who swore to stand up and do the hard work of bringing the hope of the idea which is "America" to others. Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines did their duty in Vietnam and came home to a Nation which was significantly different to them.

It was a difficult time. Finding a way to make peace with the conflict and its affects on our society is something that our Nation is still working on.

The first step in the process from the Veterans who served in Vietnam was the creation of "The Wall". A simple and elegant piece of granite that put the truth of the 58,281 service members who did what they could in service to our Nation.

It is a place to reflect on the price we pay to enjoy the freedoms we enjoy.

It is a place to remember those who went out and didn't come back.

It is a place to start healing wounds within ourselves that we didn't want but were given through our experiences as our Nation tries to be the example of what humanity is capable of.

Our Nation is not perfect... we admit that in our first sentence of the Constitution... we seek "to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."
.. The Wall is a simple yet powerful reminder that sometimes our goal of a better world will be difficult and messy, but it is also a symbol of hope that despite the difficult times in our lives, we can recover and move forward.

The [traveling] Wall is currently in Brookings at the Fishbach Soccer Complex on 20th Street South. Please figure out a way to visit it and reflect on what it means to you. It will be there and open to the public 24-hours a day through Sunday afternoon on the 14th of June.

Your trip and time with the people memorialized on it will be well worth it.

Be well,
Mayor Lagerstrom

06/10/2026

Greetings,
Enjoying an evening with family and friends is one of the best ways to enjoy the summer.

The City of White in conjunction with our hometown Legion Post & Auxiliary, working with the Community Club, are putting together a fun night with "Root Beer, Burgers, and BINGO" the evening of Saturday June 27, 2026, and we are looking forward to seeing you there.

The meal starts at 5:oo PM and you can enjoy a pass through the burger bar for $10 to get a hamburger, chips, a sidedish, dessert, and a drink - a good bargain and a great meal. Additional food and drinks will be available for purchase on an "a la carte" basis.

At 7:oo PM the BINGO game starts. We will play three rounds of ten games - each round will cost $10 for one card, and we will be paying for cash prizes to each game's winner. There will be eight $20 prizes and two $100 prizes each round.

The 31st and final round of the evening will be paying out $250 to the winner... you must play three rounds to qualify for this prize.

Afterwards, we will be hosting our community funded fireworks show at the ballpark.

I sincerely look forward to seeing you there.

Be well,
Mayor Lagerstrom

06/09/2026

Greetings,
After two successful open forums with the community, we have gathered a good deal of information to help the City plan its development into the future.

We are aware that there are members of the community who were not able to attend and would like to share their observations with us.

If you are reading this post and would like to help our community develop a plan to face the future, please visit the appropriate survey through one of these links:

English:
https://qualtricsxmz56rfl4w9.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4HCGH8U5answOoK

Spanish: https://qualtricsxmz56rfl4w9.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b8gM3EXPLc4ZQA6

These surveys will be available through Friday, June 12, 2026 at 7:00pm.

We appreciate your input and look forward to hearing from you.

Be well,
Mayor Lagerstrom

The City of White is launching an economic development initiative. This survey seeks to gain valuable community input to guide the City's efforts.

06/08/2026

A FEW UPDATES: LONG POST WARNING!

The City Finance Office will be closed the rest of the week for Finance Officer training. I will be able to answer emails and return voicemails between meetings.

The Maintenance Shop will be closed Friday 6/12/2026.

Construction update:
Asphalt removals will begin tomorrow morning! They should have all trees cleaned by today. For garbage pick up tomorrow the new spots for garbage pickup will start tomorrow. The alley north of 4th street (the one behind the bank) please put your blue cans in the alley this week for pick up. The big dumpster should be delivered sometime tomorrow. If you have any questions on this please feel free to reach out. Cedric from Banner will also be in town tomorrow morning to make sure everyone’s garbage is picked up.

Monthly ACH Billing:
Since June 19th is a bank holiday and the 20th falls on a Saturday I didn’t want to pull payments on the 18th. I have your payment coming out of your account on Monday June 22nd. Please reach out if you have any questions.

This was a long post with a lot of information. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. With this construction project starting for sure tomorrow please be patient and respectful of your neighbors. This is only temporary chaos and not permanent. We thank everyone for their patience! Have a great rest of your day. 

06/04/2026

ATTENTION:

Road removals will start the beginning of next week! I have attached the garbage map along with the road construction map. If you have items that need to me moved out of the area this weekend will be your last chance before construction is in full swing. Please reach out to me with any questions you may have. I will also have printed copies of the map in my office. We appreciate your cooperation during this next phase of the construction season.

06/04/2026

UPDATE:

I have added he posters to this post for people who can’t make it in during the day.

Greetings,
This Wednesday, 3June2026, we had a very good opening discussion on the future of our City's economy and amenities which make our City a desirable place to live. The crowd in attendance provided some great input which will help guide not just the City, but also a potential much needed business developing services that will make our City even better into the future.

If you missed the meeting, you have two more opportunities to engage with this process:

First, we will be hosting a second public forum this coming Monday, 8JUNE2026, at the McKnight Hall starting at 7:00pm. This meeting is open to all who are interested in helping the future of The City of White, and your input will be considered as we look to the next 10 years-and-beyond for our Community.

The second option if you can't make the next meeting is to visit the Legion Room during the daytime working hours, Thursday (6/4), Friday (6/5) and Monday (6/8) to contribute your input to the posters on the walls of the Legion Room.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Be well,
Mayor Lagerstrom

06/03/2026

ATTENTION:

With entering into storm season and the possibility of bad storms tonight I wanted to remind residents of the storm shelter available.
The Catholic Church on 5th and Ho**er Ave will be open. The basement door will be unlocked. That door is located on the east side of the church. We thank the members St. Paul’s Catholic Church for having this available for residents to be able to stay safe during bad weather.

06/03/2026

Quick reminder...
We will be hosting the initial community gathering for the future of commerce in the City of White tonight, 3June2026, at 7pm in the Community Center's Legion Room.

We look forward to seeing you there and gathering your input on how future businesses can meet your needs in town.

For those of you unable to attend, we will have a follow up meeting(s), but please make an effort to attend this one.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Be well,
Mayor Lagerstrom

06/03/2026

The City Finance Office will be closed tomorrow. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Office will be open normal hours on Thursday and Friday. Thanks

06/02/2026

June is Americas 250th birthday! Please look at our webpage. It has all of the activities that are planned for June 27th celebration. I have also attached the poster’s below.
Reminder that we are still taking donations for fireworks as well as selling raffle tickets. Stop in at the City Finance Office with any questions you may have.