Local farmers raise over $25,000 for wildfire relief

GRUNDY CENTER – After hearing about the devastating wildfires that wiped out thousands of acres of farmland in places like Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado earlier last month, two Grundy County natives decided they needed to find a way to help.
“Being cattle people, our hearts really went out to those ranchers and farmers [affected by the fires],” said Allyson Dinsdale, a Reinbeck-native. “We felt it was important to do something to help, and just to let people know what’s going on.”
Dinsdale said that she and Justin Graves, another Grundy County native, put their heads together to come up with a plan.
Ultimately, they decided to hold a banquet and auction to raise money for those affected by the fires.
“At first, we were hoping to raise $5,000, and then the week of the event  we upped the goal to $10,000,” Dinsdale said. “But we ended up raising $27,000. It just blew us out of the water.”
Meanwhile, Dinsdale and Graves had been in contact with a rancher from Sterling, Colorado.
“This man and his neighbor had lost a combined total of 6,000 acres, and his neighbor lost 200 head of cattle,” Dinsdale said. “A lot of people lost livestock, barns and even houses. We wanted to find a way to help them rebuild.”
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register.