By Norma Dittman Friday, August 14th, was the annual meeting of the Murray County Foundation. At the meeting, the foundation awarded funds to five local groups, including Murray County Central 2026 Scholarships, Murray County Central 2026 Fall Play, Shetek Lutheran Ministries, Slayton Community Christmas, and the Murray County Food Shelf.
Kathy (Onken) Rehbein, the founder of the Murray County Foundation, was present. A former Slayton resident, she now lives in Woodbury, MN.
When asked about the founding of the organization, Rehbein said, “In 1984, my husband, Wayne Onken, a Slayton farmer, died in a car crash. I started a memorial fund to offer a scholarship to a Murray County Central senior who was going to be in agriculture. The first scholarship amount was $100.00.”
Then Wayne’s classmates started a larger committee and the Murray County Foundation continued to grow, with an annual Wayne Onken scholarship offered each year.
“After 25 years, Steve Laible (current foundation president) stepped in, and he contacted classmates and friends, and others, and this is what the Murray County Foundation can do now,” Rehbein stated.
“My son Matt was on the foundation board for a time, and now my daughter, Hope Cline, is on the board. She lives in Elgin, Iowa.”
“We wanted to award the scholarships to someone who was going into ag, but we have now opened the application so that anyone who is going into an ag-related profession can apply for the scholarship,” Rehbein continued.
“We have our annual meeting around Murray County Fair time every year,” she stated. “It’s nice to be able to come to the meeting and then spend time at the fair.”
Rehbein’s son, Matt, owns a coffee and E-bike shop in Stillwater, MN. Daughter Hope works for a farm coop and seed dealer in Elgin. She andher husband operate a small ranch.
During the meeting, Laible announced that Murray County Foundation has applied to become Murray County Future - a 501(c)(3) public charity. “We are broadening the public contributions to include parks, literacy and much more,” Laible said. “The funding is coming from Murray County Central alumni and friends. My wife, Nancy, is the president of Murray County Future.”
Presenting award funds to Murray County Central’s Christina Walker for the 2026 Scholarships was Pam Johnson. $8,000 was awarded to six students.
Dixi Degidio presented a $2,000 award to the MCC Student Ensemble of Lilly Gertsema, Caroline Stoel, Morgan Heezen and Logan Stoel for the Murray County Central 2026 Fall Play which will be “Newsies” - a play that has the rare distinction of being a movie first and then moving to the Broadway stage. (MCC Fall play dates are November 13, 14, and 15.)
A foundation gift was presented to Marv and Theresa Nysetvold of Shetek Lutheran Ministries. The gift is to be used in December for a visit to a restaurant (no camp food!). The tribute also thanked Marv for 18 summers at the camp. He will be retiring in December.
Laible, and his wife, Nancy, do literacy work in Bangledesh. “Along the way, Marv contacted us and told us that campers at Shetek Lutheran ministries donate to the camp each year. They were asking about donating one-half of those donations to other students of like age in Bangledesh and Costa Rica,” Laible said. “Those donations of $1,000 to $1,400 each year gets a student one whole year of college.”
Nancy Laible presented $500 to Lisa Ackerman for the Slayton Community Christmas Dinner.
Judy LaBoda presented Deanna Konkol with a grant award in the amount of $1,000 designated to Murray County Food Shelf.
As the meeting came to a close, Kathy Rehbein thanked Wayne Onken’s graduating class and the foundation members for their continued support of Murray County Foundation - soon to be Murray County Future.
