Another year is upon us and we’re excited to see it here. There aren’t too many updates to provide at the moment. Apart from inventory and other year-end processes, not too much happens at the windmill this time of year.

We’re still waiting on the official Welcome Center numbers, but it looks like we experienced at least a 12-13% increase in visitor traffic this year. We had visitors from all 50 states again in addition to a number of foreign countries including every continent besides Antarctica. We’re optimistic about our gift shop revenue as well, with sales figures that will likely be our highest on record since 2009. We hope to have all of the official numbers soon.

In the meantime, planning for the annual meeting is underway. This year we’re rebranding the event as the “Windmill Expo” in an attempt to make the event more appealing to the community and encourage attendance. The usual annual meeting and election of board members will take place, but we hope to encourage the public to attend this event and learn about everything we do as an organization over the course of the year. This event also typically doubles as a membership drive, and as usual, we encourage everyone not already part of our membership program to consider getting involved this year. We need all of the support we can get from our community and hope to have a strong showing when we gather together at the end of this month.

The Expo will be held on Tuesday, January 30^th at 5:30PM in the Elk Horn Town Hall. Food and drinks will be provided and the event will feature a presentation by Shaun on everything the organization accomplished in 2023 and what our projected plans are for foreseeable future including 2024. This is a great opportunity to come and talk with our staff and Board of Directors about everything our organization does and what else you might like to see us get involved with in the future. As always, this event is free to attend and open to the public. We hope everyone can make it.

Finally, we are seeking volunteers this year for a number of different projects. The windmill is sitting on a large archive of photographs, newspaper clippings, and documents that need to be digitized. This work can be done on site using our own equipment. Anyone interested in helping us document these records is welcome to do so, only basic proficiency of operating a computer is required. To learn more or express interest, get in touch with Shaun at 712-764-7472 or via email at mgr@danishwindmill.com.