Star Tribune
Check out the llamas all summer long at Hennepin County libraries
Hennepin County issued more library cards last year than it had in years.
Library visits have been declining nationwide for the past decade, so any reversal of that trend — even a 6% uptick in card-carrying library patrons in one Minnesota county — is cause to celebrate. Even if the librarians can’t quite pinpoint why.
Giggles filled the air and llamas filled the Washburn Library parking lot in south Minneapolis on a recent Saturday afternoon. The line to meet the llamas stretched down and around the building, past the llama story-time tent and tables filled with llama-themed games and activities.
Five llamas mingled with library patrons, eyelashes fluttering. Wide-eyed children and adults reached out to stroke the animals’ soft fur. Volunteers distributed treats that llamas nibbled delicately off dozens of outstretched palms.
There are llamas at the library for the same reason there are books on the shelves. To amuse us, to delight us and maybe even teach us something new. Llamas are there because — in the words of one small girl who met one at the Penn Lake Library — llamas are llamazing.
Llamas have been circulating at libraries in and around Minneapolis for two summers now, drawing bigger and happier crowds each year. Almost every weekend, llamas make an appearance at a different library in the system. The program runs this summer until Aug. 3.
“Discovery is part of the DNA of a library and the invitation to come discover something exciting or delightful at the library. Llamas really help bring that in,” said Hennepin County spokesman Joshua Yetman. “This is for all ages. Young, old — folks who are just looking for a reason to get out of the house.”
As Minnesotans check out the llamas, they are checked out by the llamas in return.
“They’re checking you out because they’re curious,” said Rick Carlson, founder of Carlson’s Llovable Llamas in Waconia — your source for llama encounters, llama camp, llama yoga, llama-themed birthday parties and, of course, llamas at the library.
At a time when most of us are generations removed from life on a farm, a chance to spend time with a barnyard animal is a treat. Especially an animal that looks like someone tried to build a camel out of cotton candy.
“I grew up on a dairy farm, so I see this as an opportunity to get kids interested in animals,” said Carlson, who finds that these events are good socialization for llamas that also work with 4-H kids and as therapy animals. “Any kind of animal contact they can have is a good thing … and llamas are so people-friendly and curious.”
At Washburn, the llamas drifted around the parking lot like puffy clouds, pausing for frequent pats and hugs from the 800-plus people who came out to meet them that day. A few lowered themselves to the ground and knelt at eye level with the milling children.
“Llamas just draw people in,” said Alison Reiter, youth services librarian and summer learning project manager for the Hennepin County Library system.
When the llamas visited the Arvonne Fraser Library in Dinkytown, college students flocked to greet them. At the Cedar-Riverside Opportunity Center, some of the neighborhood’s Somali seniors were as excited as their grandchildren were to meet the llamas.
“The elders loved the llamas,” Reiter said. “It brought back memories of their experience with camels back in Somalia.
“Llamas,” Reiter added, “are for everyone.”
The dream team of llamas and llibraries started two years ago, when an inspired group of librarians at the Franklin Library in the Ventura Village neighborhood invited Carlson’s Llovable Llamas over for a very fluffy, very educational afternoon.
In 2023, the llamas visited 15 neighborhood libraries, drawing crowds of hundreds each time. And the number of library cardholders in Hennepin County increased.
Hennepin County isn’t saying it was the llamas. But they’re not saying it wasn’t the llamas. And this summer, they upped the number of llama visits to 16.
You can find a schedule of upcoming library llama visits at hclib.bibliocommons.com/v2/events?q=llamas.
Two people from Minnetonka were killed late Friday afternoon when their GMC Suburban ran a stop sign and was struck by a GMC Yukon headed north on Hwy. 169 west of Palisade, Minn.
According to the State Patrol, Marlo Dean Baldwin, 92, and Elizabeth Jane Baldwin, 61, were dead at the scene. The driver of the Suburban, a 61-year-old Minnetonka man, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The Suburban, pulling a trailer, was headed east on Grove Street/County Rd. 3 at about 5:15 p.m. when it failed to stop at Hwy. 169 and was struck by the northbound Yukon. The Yukon then struck two westbound vehicles stopped at the intersection.
Four people from Zimmerman, Minn., in the Yukon, including the driver, were taken to HCMC with life-threatening injuries, while two passengers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Three girls in the Yukon ranged in age from 11 to 15.
The drivers of the two vehicles struck by the Yukon were not injured, the State Patrol said. Road conditions were dry at the time of the accident, and alcohol was not believed to have been a factor. All involved in the accident were wearing a seat belt except for Elizabeth Baldwin.
Hill City police and the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.
Amid the cacophony and chaos of the pregame preparation before a recent Minnetonka High School football game, an exceptional group of six girls is gathered together among the school’s deep and talented cheerleading and dance teams.
The cheerleaders, a national championship-winning program of 40 girls, dot the track around the football field. As the clock ticks down to kickoff and their night of choreographed routines begins, the six girls, proudly wearing Minnetonka blue T-shirts emblazoned with “Skippers Nation” and shaking shiny pom-poms, swirl around the track, bristling with excited energy.
Their circumstances are no different from any of the other cheerleaders with one notable exception: The girls on this team have special needs.
They’re members of the Minnetonka Sparklers, a squad of cheerleaders made up solely of girls with special needs.
A football game at Minnetonka High School is an elaborate production. The Skippers’ recent homecoming victory over Shakopee brought an announced crowd of 8,145. And that is just paying attendees; it doesn’t include school staffers, coaches, dance team, marching band, concession workers, media members and others going about their business attached to the game.
The Sparklers program, now in its 12th season, was the brainchild of Marcy Adams, a former Minnetonka cheerleader who initiated the program in her senior year of high school. Adams has been coach of the team since its inception, staying on through her tenure as a cheerleader at the University of Minnesota.
She started the program after experiencing the Unified Sports program at Minnetonka. The unified sports movement at high schools brings together student-athletes with cognitive or physical disabilities and athletes with no disabilities to foster relationships, understanding and compassion through athletics. Many Minnesota schools offer unified sports.
“I grew up in a household that valued students with special needs and valued inclusion,” Adams said. “I saw a need to give to those students. At Minnetonka, we have a strong Unified program, and this was a great opportunity to build relationships and offer mentorship opportunities.”
Elite runners are in a league of their own.
To get a sense of how far ahead elite runners are compared to the rest of us, the Minnesota Star Tribune took a look at how their times compare to the average marathon participant.
The 2022 Twin Cities Marathon men’s winner was Japanese competitor Yuya Yoshida, who ran the marathon in a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes and 28 seconds, for an average speed of 11.96 mph. He averaged 5 minutes and 2 seconds per mile.
That’s more than twice the speed of the average competitor across both the men’s and women’s categories, of 5.89 mph, according to race results site Mtec. The average participant finished in 4 hours, 26 minutes and 56 seconds. That comes out to an average time of 10 minutes and 11 seconds per mile.
And taking it to the most extreme, the fastest-ever marathon runner, Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya, finished the 2023 Chicago Marathon in 2 hours and 35 seconds, for an average pace of about 13 mph. Kiptum averaged 4 minutes and 36 seconds per mile.
Here is a graphic showing these differences in average marathon speed.
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