It was the fifth annual in Albert Lea and the fourth annual in Austin for the Hotel Halloween Carnivals. What a turnout!

Thanks for making our Halloween carnivals a huge success again this year. We estimate that we had nearly 1,500 kids in Albert Lea and more than 2,000 kids in Austin! Austin’s carnival lasted an hour longer then scheduled to get all of the kids through.

We collected 360 pounds of food donations for the Albert Lea Food Shelf, and 383 pounds in Austin. Thanks to everyone who responded to this plea for helping others!

A very special thank you to Country Inn & Suites in Albert Lea and AmericInn in Austin for partnering with us on this every year so our kids have a safe trick-or-treating environment. We could not do it with out them!

A thank you to the local law enforcement, and fire departments for always being there for our kids every year!

And a very special thank you to all of our room sponsors who put so much effort into their rooms, and make this happen for the kids.

Congrats to our Austin room winners. First place went to Hormel, second place to Americ-Inn and third place to Christopher Lee Photography. Congrats to Kimberly Herrera and Parker Medina, both of Austin, who each won a dozen John Deere Ertl Toys from SEMA Equipment.

Congrats to our Albert Lea room winners. First place went to the Big Island Rendezvous, second place to Dirty Dog Skate Shop and third place to St. John’s Lutheran Home. Congrats to the Cloe Oakland and Brandyn Jascha, who each won a toddler bike with training wheels from Martin’s Cycling & Fitness.

The first 15 families in Austin, and the first 15 families in Albert Lea also won a Mall of America family fun pack valued at $168 each! We had some people wait in line many hours to get these! (I truly apologize to those families who may have unfairly missed out due to some families that cut in line to get these tickets. We feel badly for this, and are working on a better plan for next year to avoid this from happening again. )

We appreciate the parents’ patience and hope to see you again next year!

Anna Rahn

Power 96 and KQAQ