By Bruce Karnick

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Just a few short months ago, the United Heroes League announced a fundraising campaign aimed at honoring military families for their continued sacrifices. The monument will be one the largest of its kind in the Twin Cities area and it will be located right here in Hastings at the UHL properly located at 15211 Ravenna Trail near Extreme Sandbox.

The Heroes Monument is in the shape of the UHL’s shield logo and will feature three walls that are 60 feet in length. The monument was designed to be large enough to see from aircraft as they fly in and out of MSP International. When complete, it will have red flowers in the middle shaped as the star with a giant flagpole and a monstrous US flag donated by Perkins.

The monument is still under construction and the area is not open to the public, which is a good thing at this stage in the process. The area surrounding the monument is not safe for the public, it is in the traditional messy stage of construction, but Shane Hudella, UHL President and Founder cannot hide his enthusiasm for the project. Hudella invited the media out to the property for a check presentation and to give folks a sneak peak at the size of the project.

The check presentation included Maddie Rowe of the MN Whitecaps National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and Nick Bjugstad of the MN Wild. The check for $15,000 was presented by Tom Patnode of Northwestern Mutual to help UHL continue to support military families and the kids desires to play the sport they love. The Thorstad Family, originally from International Falls, MN, was in town to pick up their gear and visit friends and family that are state side.

Hudella explained the importance of the donation in more detail. “It allows us to provide more grants. Military members don’t make a lot of money. Your average sergeant, who’s been in military six years and likely deployed one or more times makes about $34,000. So, it’s really tough and we’ve got a tremendous family here from Abu Dhabi, that was here at our facility today. They have a couple of goaltenders as kids and for them to acquire goaltender equipment was just out of reach. They had heard of our organization and we’re proud to say that even just this one family is on the ice, because of our mission, so, contributions like this from Northwestern Mutual directly allow us to help more military kids play the game they love. That’s just absolutely critical when you think about kids and the struggles they have sometimes being able to cope with the stress of having a parent deployed or injured or separated due to training or military activities. Getting those kids out on a playing field, whether it’s a sheet of ice a baseball diamond, or a football field is absolutely critical for them to cope and process stress and be able to mitigate some of the challenges that go along with being in the military.”

The Thorstad’s were deployed to Abu Dahbi, United Arab Emirates and have been stuck there for over a year and a half due to COVID related travel restrictions. This trip was supposed to be a fun one for the family, including getting the two boys, Eli and Ari, some hockey gear, and it turned into much more. The boys were invited to participate in the quick ceremony where they got to meet Rowe and Bjugstad, two professional hockey players. The interaction between the kids and the pros was fun to watch. Both Rowe and Bjugstad joked around with the boys and made them feel right at home with them. Pictures were taken, autographs signed, their first trip home in a year and a half will be much more special for them with the random timing that connected them to the ceremony.

UHL is always accepting donations to help provide sports equipment for US military families. If you would like to donate or learn more about the Heroes Monument, visit www. unitedheroesleague.org

The United Heroes League ‘Heroes Monument’ construction has begun at the United Heroes League campus located at 15211 Ravenna Trail in Hastings. The monument will feature thousands of memorial bricks for military members that have lost their lives in service. This memorial is a fundraiser that will allow UHL to continue their mission of helping military kids across the nation participate in youth athletics. Photo by Bruce Karnick

Northwestern Mutual presented United Heroes League with a check for $15,000 to help further the assistance to US military kids playing the game they love around the globe. Left to right: Maddie Rowe – MN Whitecaps, Ari Thorstad, Tom Patnode – Northwestern Mutual, Shane Hudella – UHL President, Eli Thorstad, Nick Bjugstad – MN Wild. Photo by Bruce Karnick