By Mari Radtke
During preparations for the Zion Lutheran Church Fall Fest in the fall of 2023 Keith Ewoldt suffered a fall while carrying large, bulky items downstairs. A loud crash from the fall brought others to the sound of the crash. There they found Keith Ewoldt at the bottom of the stairs. There were no witnesses to the fall so there is only speculation as to the cause of the fall. Ewoldt suffered a head injury. The Paullina Ambulance made a quick response, taking him to Orange City Area Hospital. From there Ewoldt was sent to Sanford in Sioux Falls. According to Pastor Don Meyer of Zion Lutheran Church, he received excellent care at both facilities. When Ewoldt was stable enough he was transferred from Sioux Falls to Madonna Rehabilitation in Lincoln, NE. on January 2, 2024. Ewoldt, with his wife, Lori, spent two weeks working toward milestones to enable them to both come home to Paullina. Keith and Lori returned home on January 16, 2024. Pastor Meyer remarked how significant an achievement all of this was, noting that after the accident, “things looked pretty dire.”
January 16 added a special touch of community for the Ewoldts. A benefit was held to assist them with medical bills. Several organizations joined together to create a full community response.
Several people came to Pastor asking, “What can we do to help?” Pastor was clear, it was not just the congregation wanting to help. Zion Lutheran Church in Paullina did some outreach early on, but over time there was more and more expressed interest in helping. The first effort was for gift cards to aid Lori with transportation and other expenses while Keith was in Sioux Falls. Another person asked about a meal. Cindy Simm and Jodi Johannsen, both Paullina American Legion Auxiliary members with Lori, wanted to do a meal but didn’t have enough people. Soon the interest and the questions brought employers of both Lori and Keith into the conversation, AgState and South O’Brien Community School, respectively. A meeting brought out a joint venture. School Superintendent Wade Riley was credited with suggesting a meal during the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn rivalry basketball game as the date, time and place for a meal. The generally high attendance of that game made a perfect enhancement to create a successful fundraiser. A second location, the Paullina Legion was added to provide access for those who want to join the relief effort without fighting the parking and the crowd – and on January 16, the extreme cold. AgState was able to gather a workforce to help with the cooking, cleanup, advertising and other duties to make the event a standout effort. Pastor approached Brian Tuttle about O’Brien County Cattlemen’s Association doing the grilling, which did happen.
Pastor Meyer said they planned for 650 meals. They estimate they served 500. He added that Prairie Market was very helpful. He also explained the church is serving only as a funnel and taking on record-keeping duties to Lori.

AgState officials said, “This benefit was a community event that AgState was glad to participate in. We were honored to help and lend a hand for an event that helps one of our teammates in their time of need. Ag State takes pride in fostering a caring and supportimve work environment. As part of our commitment to the success and happiness of our team members, we have rallied around employees during times of need through a multitude of ways including flexible work arrangements, paid and/or extended leave, and employee sponsored events to raise support.”
According to Cindy Simm, each location had a 5-gallon bucket for donations, and both were full!
Pastor extends a huge thank you to all who worked at the meal and to everyone who donated.