As part of our commitment to the communities we serve, Great River Energy is involved in a variety of sponsorships. These sponsorships are spread throughout our service territory and are aimed at reaching the greatest number of our cooperatives’ members.

Great River Energy has committed its time and resources to a number of key initiatives, including:

The GreenTouch Program

GreenTouch is a collaborative effort between Minnesota's Touchstone Energy cooperatives and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. This year's GreenTouch Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 3.

Each year, on the first Saturday in May, volunteers from over 25 Touchstone Energy cooperatives across the state get together to spruce up their local state parks.

In addition to the GreenTouch program, Minnesota's Touchstone Energy cooperatives sponsor the annual State Park Guide and Junior Park Naturalist program.

Interested in volunteering for next year’s GreenTouch day? Call the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at 1-888-MINN-DNR or contact your local Touchstone Energy cooperative.

Minnesota Historical Society Great River Energy is a strong supporter of the Minnesota Historical Society and its mission to "...foster among people an awareness of Minnesota history so that they may draw strength and perspective from the past and find purpose for the future." As such, we fund the Historical Society’s annual guide to historic sites. More than 600,000 of these free travel guides are distributed each year through tourist information centers, mailings to the Historical Society’s membership and inserts in selected newspapers. The effort, which is sponsored under the Touchstone Energy banner, represents our commitment to the Minnesota Historical Society.

Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation

Great River Energy supports activities of the Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation.

The foundation is a non-profit organization which manages and maintains the North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretative Center and Fort Mandan.

The center and fort, both located near Washburn, N.D., display a number of historically significant artifacts and reconstructions of the Lewis and Clark era, as well as the very land upon which so many of their experiences took place. The foundation works to further the area’s unique sense of place, including the stories of the people, the land and the Missouri River, beginning with the Lewis & Clark Expedition at Fort Mandan. Of special interest is the Headwaters Fort Mandan Visitors Center.

The center was constructed using innovative materials manufactured with coal combustion products. Great River Energy's Coal Creek Station and Stanton Station are located within a short drive of the center.

Thousands of visitors are traveling to the Interpretative Center and Fort Mandan during the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, as both sites are prominently featured during this great national commemoration that began in 2003 and will run through 2006. Since the center opened in 1997, visitors have represented all 50 states, every Canadian province and more than 50 foreign countries.

The Great River Energy Bicycle Festival

Now in its 10th year, the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival is a five-day celebration of cycling that includes professional racing and community events. The centerpiece of the festival is the five-event professional stage race which has become one of the premier professional cycling races in the U.S., attracting top racing teams from the U.S. and around the world. This year the festival runs from Wednesday, June 18, through Sunday, June 15.

In addition to the racing, the festival features stunt riders, music, food and family events. Proceeds from the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival benefit programs at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the largest children’s health care organization in the upper Midwest.

For complete information on the 2006 Great River Energy Bicycle Festival visit the event website at www.minnbikefestival.com.

Great River Energy - Mesabi Trail Tour

The Great River Energy - Mesabi Trail Tour is a day-long cycling event designed for both families and serious trail riders. 2008 will mark the fourth year of this exciting event on the Iron Range’s Mesabi bike trail.

Optional starting points allowed riders to customize their route from eight to 50+ miles. The day culminates in an outdoor barbeque, artisan performances and a free concert. Along the way, riders encounter historic and scenic points of interest, with plenty of fun things to see and do.

Registration is $35 for individuals and $75 for families and includes the concert, a BBQ dinner, a t-shirt for each participant, transportation back to your starting point, shower facilities, secure bike lockup, and interpretive stops along the trail with food and refreshments.

For more information visit the Mesabi Trail Tour website.

Touchstone Energy Get Charged! Electricity and You program

Touchstone Energy cooperatives and Discovery Channel School have teamed up to offer a unique educational tool that provides a real-world understanding of the power and purpose of electricity, as well as the importance of electric cooperatives in bringing power to rural America. These kits provide the tools educators need to teach middle/junior high school (grades 5-9) students about electricity.

The kits contain a wealth of materials including videos, CD-ROMs, a teachers resource guide, student activity books and other collateral pieces.

Drawing on Discovery’s award-winning programming for much of its content, the curriculum and materials used in the Get Charged! program were developed specifically by Discovery Channel School for classroom use and comply with National Science Education Standards.

If you would like a kit(s) for your school, please contact Great River Energy or your Touchstone Energy cooperative.

Other Events

In addition to these key sponsorships, Great River Energy is active in many more projects throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. These projects include Twin Cities Public Television, the Pepsi Challenge ski race, Minnesota Public Radio, the KidsPlus conference, Marketplace for Kids, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Sherburne County Historical Society and The Two Harbors Kayak Festival.