Sleepy Eye Area Chamber of Commerce

 

Sleepy Eye has come a long way since it officially became a town in 1864. It has been home to the Sleepy Eye Flour Milling Company, the Berg Hotel, and the Chicago & North Western Railroad. It is the current home for Del Monte Foods, Norwood Promotional Products, Christensen Farms, and so many more important businesses and services that the citizens of Sleepy Eye have created that make this community a wonderful place to live, to work and to raise a family.

 

Sleepy Eye has also been a place for famous faces - one of Jesse James' gang members stayed here for a night, Babe Ruth played in a baseball game against the home team in 1922, and the Harlem Globetrotters played a pick-up game here. Sleepy Eye has also raised a few famous faces including Linus Maurer, the inspiration behind Charles Schultz's Peanuts character, and Ralph Jon Fritz, a former WCCO sports reporter.

 

Sleepy Eye has been home to the Buttered Corn Days Celebration for more than 45 years, thanks in part to Del Monte Foods, Anderson Custom Processing Inc., AMPI, the City of Sleepy Eye and the Sleepy Eye Area Chamber of Commerce. This tradition of celebrating what is grown in our own backyards has become a summer staple for many families throughout Minnesota.

 

Sleepy Eye has many other traditions, ranging from the annual fireworks display over Sleepy Eye Lake, the Great Grassroots Gathering, the Miss Sleepy Eye Pageant, the Sleepy Eye Jaycees Annual Flight Breakfast, the annual ice fishing contest at Sleepy Eye Lake, July's Crazy Daze, and the Community Theatre productions. Every year, the citizens and visitors of Sleepy Eye can count on these traditions and look forward to participating in the fun!

 

Sleepy Eye has many things to be proud of, especially when it comes to their academics, athletics and arts! Sleepy Eye is proud of the education the three schools provide the students of Sleepy Eye with. Each year, the basic skills test scores have shown that the education given at St. John's Lutheran School, St. Mary's Catholic School and Sleepy Eye Public School rank our students in the top brackets for reading, math and writing. Aside from academics, these three schools also excel in the arts and athletics. Each year, St. John's holds an art fair, displaying various projects and paintings done by the students in Pre-K through 8th grade. St. Mary's and Sleepy Eye Public hold musicals each year, displaying the range of singing, acting and dancing talents that these local students possess. Also, St. Mary's and Sleepy Eye Public have been had multiple state championships and tournament participants in football, volleyball, basketball, softball, baseball, track and field, and golf for many years. For a town the size of Sleepy Eye, not only is it impressive that they can support three schools, but that these schools are excelling and exceeding expectations!