By Bruce Karnick

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The United Heroes League in Hastings broke ground on a huge monument at the corporate offices on Saturday, May 15th. The monument is shaped like the UHL logo and will feature three walls. Each wall will be 60 feet long and six feet high able to hold 2,160 4” x 8” bricks.

The north and east walls will hold 4,320 bricks exclusively reserved and dedicated to military service members. Military bricks will denote the service member’s: Rank-Name, Branch of service and years of service, Conflicts/wars served in and any significant awards or accomplishments. The west wall will highlight project partners and donors to the project.

According to UHL President, Shane Hudella, “UHL took a heavy hit with the pandemic: donations dropped almost 40% in 2020 but we’re very proud that we charged ahead with our charitable giving, and did not need to lay off any employees, most of which are military Veterans. A unique aspect of the monument is that we are not only able honor over 4,300 Veterans, but it’s also generating revenue for United Heroes League to positively impact more military families with their programs.”

The groundbreaking ceremony featured veterans from a variety of campaigns in US history, local vendors involved with the project and MN Senator Karen Housley.

UHL would like to thank the following individuals and companies for donating their time, resources, and talents to the monument: General contractor Greg Stotko, Mike Nadeau – BNR Excavating, HTG Architects, Hille Development, Perkins – donated a giant flag for the center of the star, Ryan Companies, Keith Colvard – Hunt Electric who is donating power to the monument to illuminate the flag and walls at night, Jerry Harrington for earthwork, Former NFL player Mark Setterstrom & Amcon who is donating the concrete block.

After the event, Senator Housley shared her enjoyment of the event on Twitter. “It was truly an honor to join United Heroes League on Armed Forces Day in breaking ground of the Heroes Monument! Special guests included WWII Veteran Lou Chicquette, members of the Minnesota National Guard & many other veterans & their families. Thank a veteran today!”

Hudella was also thankful for Senator Housley’s participation, “It was a huge honor to have Senator Housley help us break ground at the site, and an immense privilege to have a group of heroic Veterans from WWII to present day attend as well.”

Military bricks are available to purchase for less than $9 per month, it is a great way to honor the Veteran in your life, and replica bricks are available as well that you can gift to the family of the honoree to display in their home. To learn more about purchasing a brick, visit www.UnitedHeroesLeague.org/Pledge

The UHL monument will have three walls, each 60 feet long and six feet high. The top point of the star will point due north and the monument will be visible from flights that are on the south east flight path from Minneapolis/St. Paul International. Rendering Courtesy of United Heroes League.