The lights went out in Willmar at approximately 11:28 p.m. July 25 and power was not restored for 56 minutes due to permanent damage to the power lines in the New London area.
Willmar City Council on July 17 made the official decision to allow Willmar Municipal Utilities to pursue constructing new facilities without a new city hall building at the same location.
An overnight power outage in Willmar on Feb. 28 was caused by equipment failure at the Willmar Substation. Willmar Municipal Utilities crews were able to get power back up within 40 minutes. Willmar Municipal Utilities is also asking that customers not call 911 to report an outage, but instead call the utilities.
Willmar rings in the 2021 holiday season with the return of Holidaze in downtown. The evening starts with a showing of The Grinch at the Barn Theatre and ends with the Holidaze lighted parade.