How Memorial Day is celebrated across Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS— Memorial Day may be the unofficial start of summer, but it’s important to remember the true meaning behind the day.

There will be numerous events happening throughout Minnesota to honor the service and sacrifice of our fallen soldiers.

Governor Tim Walz will celebrate the day at an annual event at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

More than a thousand people are expected to attend the ceremony. Volunteers spent the weekend hanging about 200,000 flags at the cemetery where service members and their spouses are buried in preparation for Monday morning’s event, which starts at 9:45 a.m.

A ceremony will also be held at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis at 10:30 a.m. This will be followed by free refreshments and activities for the whole family, including writing a postcard for a veteran and ribbons for the living memory tree.

At the capital in St. Paul, the Anoka County chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America will also hold a Memorial Day service at 3 p.m.

Many communities outside of Minneapolis and St. Paul will also hold their own Memorial Day events.

In Hastings the annual March for Them starts at 7.30am. Every year, community members gather to take a 10-mile scenic walk along the river trail to remember the fallen.

In White Bear Lake, a parade from City Hall to Union Cemetery begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by a memorial service. There will also be refreshments at the American Legion after the ceremony.

In Excelsior, a program will begin in the Excelsior Elementary Auditorium at 10 a.m. and will be followed by a parade at 11 a.m. down Water Street to Oak Hill Cemetery. There will also be a community lunch from 11:30 am to 12 noon.

In Eden Prairie, the ceremony starts at 11 a.m. at Purgatory Creek Park.

First lieutenant Jim Rasmussen will be the keynote speaker this year. He was a member of the 349th Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group during World War II. The story of the 100th Bomb Group was recently featured in the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ miniseries “Masters of the Air.”

Many of these events are free and open to the public, and organizers encourage you to bring the whole family.