The monthly meeting for the Mankato Chamber of Commerce took place last Wednesday at Bob’s of Mankato with nine members present.

There was a discussion about the Community Garden. There weren’t any new updates given. It was reported everything still looks nice and everyone who rented a plot is doing a good job at maintaining their plots. 

The threshing bee took place July 17. The chamber did a watermelon popping contest again this year with 20 teams participating in the contest. The winners of the $10 Chamber Bucks were Breckyn Shulda and Autumn McCormick. 

The chamber continued discussing the Community Calendar. The photo contest has been completed. The winning photo was photo no. 1, submitted by Mindy Ost with the credit to “Curt Rafferty Postcard Collection.”  The current income for the calendars is $1,023 and the current expense is $32 for ads in the paper. There are currently 105 calendars ordered but the chamber agreed to still order 225 and sell the extra calendars that weren’t pre ordered. There was discussion about coming up with a system to make reordering for next year easier for those who ordered this year. The chamber also will place an ad on the calendar and list all monthly meetings and the 150th celebration on the calendar.

The Highway 36 Garage Sale Mall will take place Sept. 16 through 18. Flyers have been made and an advertisement will be placed in the paper. Further details will be discussed at next month’s meeting. 

The chamber continued discussing the two travel bloggers who will be traveling along Highway 36 in the spring. They will be in Mankato Saturday, April 9. The chamber is required to provide lodging, up to six meals, snacks and a list of restaurants. They will review the town on their blogs. A motion was approved for the chamber to start finding donations for lodging and meals for the bloggers.

The next meeting will take place Sept. 8, at the Buffalo Roam Steakhouse.