WASECA — When Ken Borgmann came on the scene about 35 years ago, the Waseca Sleigh and Cutter Festival was struggling. The Waseca-based fundraiser, now in its 75th year, needed help.
And help arrived.
“He resurrected it, kept it going,” said Jennifer Burt, a fellow committee member for the festival. “It was kind of dying down and he took the reins.”
Borgmann is festival president and oversees the event’s gambling pursuits. He’s retiring. His contributions are so vast, the Waseca Sleigh and Cutter organizers decided to split his duties off to a handful of people rather than designating one person to handle what Borgmann did.
Burt said it’ll be pretty hard to replace Borgmann.
“We don’t have any one person to dedicate to doing everything that Ken did,” she said. “He’s got a lot of history in his brain that we’re going to try to get out before he moves.”
Borgmann and his wife, nicknamed Pug, are moving to their hometown of Sauk Centre. The couple has two adult daughters, Monique and Michon, and adult son Chad, and seven grandkids.
He got involved with the Sleigh and Cutter festival all those 35 years ago in part because he loved horses, but also because his daughter asked for his help with it.
“She was involved with horse groups and came to me with this project and said this thing is going to die if you don’t take it over,” Borgmann said. “Been at if for over 30 years now.”
The festival was “down on its last leg,” he said, “and now is a big attraction. We’re the longest-running Sleigh and Cutter festival in the nation. About 35 years ago I did some research and I found a lot of sleigh and cutter festival parades, but the vast majority of them have disbanded.”
Why is Waseca’s still around?
“I think it’s just because I’m persistent,” Borgmann said.
Back when it all started, he had some free time and liked horses. His own horse, Shaka, died in October and now that he’s 80 years old, he doubts he’ll get another one.
As for the Waseca Sleigh and Cutter Festival, it’s a fundraiser that spans five to six weeks each winter with various events. The highlight this year was the Feb. 22 parade.
Borgmann’s duties include organizing and fundraising, he said. He declined to say how much the festival raised this winter or during its 75-year lifespan. All proceeds go back into the event.
He’s been retired from his career for 18 years. He worked for Brown Printing in Waseca, which at one time was the fifth largest printer in the U.S. with Waseca as its headquarters. The plant, which became Quad Graphics, closed in 2017.
“Now we’ve decided to sell our property, which is 22 acres in the country, and downsize,” he said. “We are doing that and we decided that we’re going to move.”
Borgmann’s house and property will be listed for sale in April, he said.
“My sister-in-law in Sauk Centre is on the Chamber of Commerce and she is involved with different community events,” he said. “She said when I get up there she’s going to put me to work. I told her no, I’m retiring. I’ll support you on some things, but I’m not going to get involved in something as involved as this Waseca Sleigh and Cutter festival is.”
He thanks the community of Waseca for the festival’s success.
“The support of the community over these last 75 years has enabled us to continue with this wonderful event,” he said. “And volunteers have stepped forward, which is a huge help. We get great support from the community business area. I appreciate the community and volunteers.”