Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Hayfield Economic Development Authority was one of several southeastern Minnesota communities receiving a grant from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.

The grant, to the tune of $10,000, will be used to host a bicycle rodeo and to make bikes more accessible in an effort to encourage trail usage and promote volunteerism. Part of that is to gain more community input on trails and trail development.

A total of $190,215 was handed out in this round of grants from SMIF, which supports towns under 10,000 in population.

“The interest in this program has greatly expanded since its start in 2017,” said Tim Penny, president and CEO of SMIF. “There are so many people who want to make a difference in the place they call home, and this grant can help them achieve that. We are grateful to Paul Johnson’s family for continuing his legacy and giving SMIF an opportunity to leverage additional funding for small town support.”