February 25, 2026

 

The month started off with a faith and fun gathering at the home of Johnny and Jeannine Iverson. It was labeled as “Testimony Cake.” The local youth and leaders were invited to attend.

The Syringa camp of the DUP held their monthly meeting at Ramona Lower's home in Riverdale. This camp has members who live in Riverdale, Mink Creek and Preston. Colleen Wilde and Karen Erickson were hostesses and furnished a nice pasta salad lunch, wrapping it up with Colleen's specialty of homemade candy, pioneer style.

Jordan and Kassidie Gunnell are now full-time residents of Mink Creek. Jordan is the son of Jill Peterson and the Gunnells are living in the home on Brian and Jilll's ranch. It is a good arrangement with the Petersons having one home in Mink Creek and another in Utah to maintain with livestock and ranch chores.

Jeremy Christensen and his children have been at his parents home, that of Kim and Wally Christensen. It is always startling to see how fast those kids are growing up.

If you run into Stuart Ostler of Mink Creek, ask him how the fishing has been. He recently did a trip and came home with a big grin on his face. Ice and cold were the surroundings but the catch totally offset any discomfort he may have felt.

A two day snow storm that really happened! We have waited all winter! Shovels, snowblowers, snowplows were alert and in action. Newcomers to our village who came thinking this would be their first winter and wondered where it went are now getting a taste of the real thing. The moisture is needed and the sparkling scenery is beautiful. There may even be enough for sleigh riding in some areas.

And then it melted, we have had rain,  sun and the snow is scheduled to return according to the nightly news.  I think this season must be Sprinter, and that has nothing to do with speed or racing.  One thing is certain, we have no idea what to expect.

February 18, 2026

 

Usually one thinks of vacation time in the brightness of summer but we have had several of our residents take some time recently for a cruise with their families. Kent and Tammy Beardall joined their son Shawn and Cassie Beardall and their children for a cruise out of Florida. The ocean beckoned they did some snorkeling, found treasures and made lots of memories. A visit to Gatorland and becoming acquainted with the ways of alligators was a highlight of this trip.

Robert and Phee Crosland combined with their son Marco and Christina Crosland and their little girls on a Caribbean cruise. Marco and Christina live in Texas. On their return Robert and Phee spent some time with their daughter Arianna and Ben Hostetter and family, taking advantage of being in Texas. The Hostetter family recently moved from Colorado to Texas with an employment advancement. Trying to get flights that were not canceled on their journey back to Idaho was a challenge and they spent numerous hours in the Houston airport before finally getting a connection to get home. The motto from this experience, “There's No Place like Home.”

With the strange winter weather of this year the outside construction of two houses was finished. Both Darron and Tracee Pulsipher and Logan and Emma Shurtz were able to move into their homes. The finishing work continues from the inside, but it is ok to be inside out in this situation.

Generally we think of “winter camp” as something the young men tackle, building snow caves for a campout. Recently the Young Women of the LDS Ward and their leaders had a winter camp held at a cabin in Island Park. The activities differed from those held in warmer months, but they enjoyed every minute of learning and friendship.

Preston High basketball has quite a few dedicated fans from the Mink Creek population. Some of them had played on the high school team when they were students at PHS, or had a sibling or friend with that connection. Whatever the reason, for the girls and boys teams, it make for good entertainment on winter nights.

February 11, 2026

 

Elder Jeff Olson and Sister Barbara Olson have returned from their year of service at the Oakland Temple Visitors' Center of the San Francisco Mission. They spoke of their experiences to the Mink Creek Ward and described the beauty of Temple Hill that attracts many people from all over the world to come to the Visitors' Center. It was a day of family togetherness with relatives from both sides congregating, along with many friends to welcome them back.

Youth of the LDS Ward and their leaders made a drive to participate in work at the Star Valley Temple in Afton, WY. It is a beautiful place in beautiful surroundings. It is the first temple to be built in Wyoming by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serves members in both Wyoming and Idaho.

A fun learning culinary activity for the Mink Creek youth was entitles “Chopped”, with similar activities to the televised show of that title. They were given ingredients and then needed to prepare food in the categories of appetizers, main dish and dessert. This involved about eleven young people and took place at the home of Per and Cassie Danfors. Cassie is the president of the Young Women's organization. Hopefully some of the attendees were also part of the cleanup crew.

David and Melanie Law brought some friends from Utah for a weekend at their place here. Bill Despain, former Mink Creeker, drove over from his present residence in Fielding, UT. His ties to our village bring him home every so often.

Keeping close tabs on weather forecasts, we were hoping for some storm this past week. However the storm at the village level was more of a skiff during the early morning hours. At this point the beginning of February looks like the normal end of March. Don't forget Valentine's Day, it is a day worth remembering, we all need to feel valued. From me—thanks for checking out the blog on this great spot on the map. Recently circumstances caused me to skip a couple of weeks. I so appreciated it when one of you called to see if all was well. Friends mean so much.

February 4, 2026

 

Wes Hansen has been up at the Hansen House for a weekend. It is a good break from his job in Ogden and will always answer that call of “home.” His sister, Roxann, married Wes Beutler of Dayton and so there are two Wes connections with the Hansen bunch. A son of the Beutlers came to have some down time in Mink Creek as well.

Greenlee Christensen, daughter of Kerry and Lacey Christensen, is a member of the Preston High Phi Dels performing group. These girls put in many hours learning dance routines and performing. As the school year moves along they also have competition events. The performances are beautiful.

Elsie McKague was barely returned from her studies at BYU/I in Rexburg before she was off on a cruise with a friend, Natalie Heki, of Providence, UT. They went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and . loved the warm ocean, scenery, relaxation following this fall session of school

The warmer temperatures of southern Utah have attracted some of our residents. ReNae Egley attended an annual Widow/Widowers Conference where she could reconnect with friends in similar situations and make plans for future gatherings. Candy Longhurst was off on a hiking adventure down around Moab, UT, on a Retreat. With her friends she traveled the Delicate Arch trail. They found some snow, did some hard hiking, and soaked up some winter sunshine.

Mink Creek got some snow this past week to put smiles on our faces. Following the snow some hours later came the winter fog, smiling not so much.

These warmer days are waking up our nocturnal wildlife. We are especially aware that the skunks are out and waddling here and there. When they meet with traffic in the night hours the whole neighborhood is affected in all directions.Aromatic!

January 29, 2026

 

With the winter sports programs at Preston High School in full swing the lives of two of our youth are pretty busy. Josie Christensen, daughter of Dan and Casey Christensen, and Conner Iverson, son of Kurt and Margret Iverson, are both part of the PHS Cheer Squad. Practices and performances take up quite a few hours each week. Competitions for cheering are also part of these programs.

Charles and Sarah Swann and their children have been making frequent trips to Mink Creek lately to give support to his sister Penny and their father Reed Swann who has been recently hospitalized. Charles and Sarah live in Donnelly, ID.

Jay and Kristin Collins were able to have all three of their children in Mink Creek for a visit at the same time. With the three scattered: Davis in Logan, Claire in Boise, Bailey in Salt Lake City, schedules with jobs make this an event for the Collins family.

The Young Women group have been collecting cake mixes, disposable baking pans, frosting mixes and all such things as needed to combine for assembling Birthday Cake Packages to be available at local food pantries. Their philosophy is that everyone needs a celebration when it comes to being one year older.

A brief snowstorm, unexpected, moved through and brought enough to whiten the landscape.  The following morning Mink Creek woke to heavy winter fog that took several hours before lifting.  Things were white-- sky, mountains, backyards, sidewalks.  What a winter this has been!

January 21, 2026

 

The family of Kurt and Margret Iverson made a trip to Provo, UT, to witness the sustaining of their son Charles Iverson as a counselor in his Provo ward bishopric of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of a sudden Charles has taken on a new maturity, as it goes with this calling.

Mink Creek basketball fans are having fun attending the PHS boys games and cheering for two players with Mink Creek connections. Elliot Keller, son of Jesse and Shawna Keller is playing on the JV team. Porter Galloway, grandson of ReNae and the late Kent Egley, is a starter on the Varsity squad.

The youth of the LDS Ward and their adult leaders gathered at the Per and Cassie Danfors home in this month of January, 2026. It was a great way to start the new year with a testimony fireside.

Kent and Tammy Beardall drove down to Spanish Fork, UT. Grandson Kaysen Beardall, the son of Shawn and Callie  Beardall was being ordained to the office of a priest.

The Syringa Camp of the DUP met this month in Preston at the home of Linda Carlson. Nearly all members of the camp were able to start the new year together. Julie Westerberg gave a lesson on the Iron of Iron County in Utah and how the early pioneers had given some thought of mining in that area

The flu bug, new or old version, is not through with our village yet. There are others with serious health issues as well. Nate and Dana Olson went to Utah to be with family during the holidays. While there Nate suffered with a heart attack and they are still in Utah while he recuperates. Eldon Wilcox had some shoulder surgery and now, along with his sling he is wearing a heart monitor. We are happy to have him home.

It has been reported that people are hiking in this mid January dryness. Granted it is cold, but dressed appropriately for the outdoors, hiking is a warm activity. The scenery is still beautiful, the views amazing.

January 14, 2026

 

There is nothing like the holidays to having residents on the move. Wayne and Jackie Olsen drove down to Morgan, UT, for some good family time. Mike and MaryAnn Jepsen went to Coalville, UT, to be with their son and family. Jeremy Christensen and his children came home to Mink Creek to be with his parents, Wally and Kim Christensen

Steve and Terry Mainini  had their kids come home. Angelina and Iyar Koren and their two girls live in the Salt Lake City area. Tony Mainini came down from Pocatello where he is employed with his computer skills at Idaho State University.

Beverly and Doug Bruderer celebrated their 30^th wedding anniversary in Hawaii recently. They came home with tanned complexions and loved soaking up the real warmth of the islands as opposed to the strange winter warm around here.

Adam and Camene Haws and family of SolVang, CA, were able to spend a couple of weeks at the Haws central home. Now that two Haws siblings, Kasey and Julia Haws and Lauren and Ken Nash, have relocated to Franklin County from California, this was a lengthy family reunion type holiday.

Phee and Robert Crosland went to Rigby, ID, to the home of their daughter Malia and Jason Kunde. Their daughter Kaylee Kunde was speaking in their LDS Ward, prior to her leaving to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic.

Four young men in the Mink Creek Ward of the LDS Church have recently been ordained to priesthood offices. Conner Iverson to the office of an Elder, Jared Cheney to the office of a Priest, Isaac Cheney as a Teacher, and Timber Christensen as a Deacon. Timber is the newest member of the Aaronic Priesthood Quorum.

We have been given enough snow to attract the snowmobiling enthusiasts and are receiving happy reports. One caution is to be careful of snow-covered lumps and humps—there could be boulders or tree stumps lying in wait for your machine.