Community Builders toured Leigh on April 22. Tour stops included Leigh Community Schools, Leigh Acres Subdivision, REDSTAR, and C&L Acres. Visitors also learned about the Leigh Legacy Fund and Youth Advisory Committee.
Community Builders is a group that supports local communities and businesses by sharing ideas and resources. Partners are Central Community College, Cornhusker Public Power District, and Loup Power District. All tours are open to the public.
Stories by Stacy Wemhoff
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Leigh Legacy Fund
Leigh Community Schools
Leigh Acres Subdivision
REDSTAR
C&L Acres
LEIGH LEGACY FUND
Justine Fischer says there’s a contagion in Leigh that just keeps spreading: excitement, energy, and enthusiasm.
“There are lots of things happening all the time and we’re all just really proud of it,” she said. “Everybody’s doing their thing and making it happen.”
Fischer, a native of Leigh and teacher at Leigh Community Schools, helped organize the Leigh Legacy Fund (LLF) and spoke about it at the Community Builders tour on April 22. LLF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening and enriching the community.
The Leigh Area Foundation started off strong in the 1980s, but stagnated several decades later. So, in 2015, a new group came together with the goal of investing money in their community. Five years later, they affiliated with Nebraska Community Foundation (NCF) and became Leigh Legacy Fund.
In the beginning, LLF had only $20,000. That meant members had to do a lot with a little. They held community visioning sessions to learn what residents wanted.
“We started small, doing beautification projects here and there,” Fischer said.
New signs by the lake. Banners along Main Street.
Then, in 2021, LLF received a gift of $264,000 from the estate of Bill and Theresa Eggers.
“To be entrusted with that sum when we were just getting our feet wet was very humbling for us and we were very grateful,” Fischer said.
Bill Eggers loved baseball and his family wanted LLF to use $100,000 to improve the baseball field. Those projects included concrete dugouts, underground sprinklers, and renovation of the concession stand and restrooms.
The rest of the gift jumpstarted an endowment fund. That fund grew significantly following a fundraising campaign beginning in January 2023.
An alumni group challenged Leigh to raise $500,000 and pledged $200,000 of their own. The NCF pledged $50,000. LLF had three years to get the pledges and five years to collect.
Leigh met that goal in just 15 months.
The campaign ended in December 2025 with a total of $838,000 plus the $250,000 match. That meant LLF added more than $1 million to its initial endowment in just three years. Today’s $1.25 endowment means $55,000 can be used throughout Leigh each year.
LLF published donor names without dollar amounts, focusing instead on the quantity of donations. There were 270 donors in a town of about 400.
“We wanted everybody to feel like they were a part of it,” Fischer said. “It’s not about the amount. It’s about being part of something bigger than yourself.”
Evidence of the community’s enthusiasm and improvement is all around town.
LLF serves about 40 senior meals once per month. The food is often prepared by the school’s culinary arts class.
LLF funds a portion of wages for summer interns who have revamped the town’s website, created a community garden, and built a dock at Centennial Lake. All interns donated part or some of their pay back to the LLF or used their own money for purchases.
Other projects include golf course renovations, school improvements, community youth camp, blood drive, pool renovation, AED purchase, and more.
Fischer said many improvements center around the city’s park that includes a baseball field, pool, lake, playground, campground, and walking trails. The golf course and a restaurant are nearby.
“I feel like that’s where Leigh really shines,” she said. “It’s a great feeling to be a part of that and see all the people enjoying our amenities because I don’t know that every town of 400 has that.”
Fischer said LLF has a hand in most improvement projects, but it is not the only group working to better the community. She said the town is thriving because of collaboration between the city, Leigh Community Club, and Investment Club (members pay a membership fee to invest in the community and get a return on that investment).
“There’s a lot of buy-in from a lot of different groups,” she said. “We might not have the most money, but we’re going to work together and we’re going to stretch those resources as far as we can.”
LLF hosted a community meal and pool party after it raised the initial $500,000 for the endowment fund. It is planning another appreciation event on June 13. Events will include community storytelling, bands, a drone show, bounce houses, and a multi-generational cornhole tournament.
Fischer said it was initially hard to spend money on celebrations, but she’s learned how important that is.
“You have to take time to celebrate because at the end of the day, it’s not about capital projects,” she said. “It’s about people.”
Learn more about the Leigh Legacy Fund
LEIGH COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
For years, enrollment at Leigh Community Schools continued to decline.
Then, the trend started to reverse.
“The kids are coming and it’s fantastic,” said Superintendent Cole Fischer.
Enrollment increased from 226 to 314 over the last seven years. Some elementary classes have nearly 30 students
That is causing some congestion in a building that is just a few years old.
“We’re going to have to change something when we get these large elementary classes into high school because the classroom sizes are not large enough to host that many students,” Fischer said.
Leigh passed a $2.5 million bond issue in 1997 for a new elementary school to replace an aging Quonset that housed students since the 1950s. The new elementary opened in 1999.
Just as enrollment numbers were rising, the 7-12 facility, built in 1907, was continuing to decline. This prompted voters to approve 2018 bond issue to add a 7-12 wing on to the elementary school. The $10 million bond passed with 70% approval.
Students moved to the new facility in 2020 and another four classrooms were added on in 2024.
Fischer said the increasing enrollment is due to several factors. More Leigh alumni are moving back to their hometowns and beginning families. Other families are moving to the area because they want to enjoy small-town life. The school also has about 47 option enrollment students from nearby school districts.
The new building also helps attract families and students.
“If you build it, they will come,” Fischer said.
Fischer emphasized that the school belongs to the community. The auxiliary gym hosts taekwondo and Zumba classes. Residents can access a community weight room after school hours for $10/month.
“If you’re a taxpayer in the district, you have full access to the school,” he said.
Fischer said that dual credit courses are priority at the high school level. Some students are graduating with more than 30 college credit hours at no cost. Most have at least 15 hours.
“That’s the name of the game now,” Fischer said. “We try to offer as many dual credit classes as we can.”
Leigh also has a class that helps students earn their Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) degree. Central Community College and CHI Health help fund and teach the program.
Fischer said a lot of students express interest in the healthcare field and a CNA license is a stepping stone to that goal.
Industrial technology is also a focus at Leigh. The school received a $90,000 grant to get a CNC laser machine and new welders.
These skills are important as more and more students are entering trades after a decades-long push toward four-year degrees.
“There are so many opportunities now to get a CTE (career and technical education) and make great money,” he said. “So we’re trying to do everything we can for those kids to be successful.”
Fischer said there were some people with hesitation about putting Pre-K through 12th grade in one building. Those fears were unwarranted. Fischer said the older students sometimes read to the elementary students. The elementary students look up to the high schoolers.
“It’s been great for us,” he said.
LEIGH ACRES SUBDIVISION
Small towns have small budgets.
But Leigh Village Chairman Scott Kurpgeweit said there is one large expense that is a big win for Leigh.
“Everybody wants to see housing,” he said.
That’s why the village has purchased land along its south side and annexed it. Then it added city water and sewer at a cost of $250,000.
Kurpgeweit said the board knew they were making the right decisions because of community feedback. Leigh wants to attract and retain residents.
Leigh’s first housing development is located near the ballfield and has nine homes.
The newest subdivision has 13 lots. Three of those lots have been sold and the property has two new homes.
Kurpgeweit said the purchase agreements include a clause that the property owner must build a house within a certain timeframe or sell the lot back to Leigh.
A lot costs $20,000. Kurpgeweit said the village isn’t making money, but it’s ensuring a vibrant future.
“We’re grateful that the community wants houses and approves of how we’re getting them,” he said.
REDSTAR
Back in 2004, Ryan and Kristin Mullenhoff decided to start a small seed company. They weren’t sure if it would take off.
“We had a handful of customers, and we only sold seed out of a tiny little shed,” Kristin Mullenhoff said.
But the business did take off. Soon, the couple was selling fertilizers. The services and products kept expanding. In 2020, Ryan Mullenhoff Sales became REDSTAR.
“We’re a full-service ag dealership,” Mullenhoff said.
Nestled into the REDSTAR brand are several companies: REDSTAR RED RISK Strategies (crop and livestock insurance), REDSTAR Apply (ground application) RED AIR (drone application), REDSTAR Fertilizer (crop fertilizer products), REDSTAR Lawn (lawn care), and RED Solutions (drone and drone trailer sales).
“We brand, manufacture, and test almost all of our products at REDSTAR here in Leigh,” Mullenhoff said.
She said they source raw ingredients from seven countries.
The product catalog includes more than 60 REDSTAR-branded biologicals, seed treatments, liquid starters, micronutrients, fertilizer, and more.
And a lot of those products are red.
“We are obsessed with the color red,” Mullenhoff said.
The buildings, trucks, seed treatment coating, and fertilizers are red.
The home base in Leigh includes a full lab, offices, dry facility, 24/7 load out, seed/treatment facility, chemical facility, distribution building, and manufacturing building.
In addition to Leigh, REDSTAR has locations in Columbus, Osceola, Cedar Rapids, Laurel, and Fairmont, Minn.
REDSTAR employs about 70 full-time employees in peak season. Mullenhoff said they employe a cook and employees get a full meal Monday through Saturday in season and three days a week in the off season.
In addition to direct consumer sales, REDSTAR also works with Star Partner Dealers who sell REDSTAR-branded products. They may also work with REDSTAR to build products with their brand.
Mullenhoff said REDSTAR also has a great relationship with local cooperatives. They often work together to build products for customers.
Mullenhoff said she credits REDSTAR’s success not only to her husband, who likes to research and learn, but to their great employees.
“There are years and years of experience and you put it all together and it creates this,” she said.
Learn more about REDSTAR.
C&L ACRES
Four years ago, Rachel Koch was browsing Pinterest board to get new ideas for her vegetable garden when she spotted information about growing cut flowers. She wasn’t even sure what cut flowers were.
“I looked into and thought, ‘We can totally do this,’” she said. “And that’s when I brought it up to my husband and he thought I was crazy.”
Today, it’s her husband, Jarrett, who’s suggesting they grow more flowers.
“I sold a lot of flowers to florists and I think he was surprised,” she said.
Koch, who works as a speech therapist at Leigh Community Schools, named her blooming business C&L Acres in honor of her children, Cru and Lucy.
She grows about 20 different flowers throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
Once the spring flowers are done blooming, the pair tills the land, lay down landscaping fabric, and plants the summer and fall flowers.
Koch said they till the tulips each year because they treat them like an annual flower. The shading encourages long stem growth and they are cut right above the bulb.
“They’re going to reach for the light,” she said.
In addition to selling directly to florists, Koch said she offers a seasonal bouquet subscription with weekly bouquets. The pickup locations are in Leigh, Lindsay, Clarkson, Howells, Schuyler, Columbus, and Stanton. She emails subscribers the delivery dates so they know when to pick them up.
This year, Koch has about 40 spring subscriptions, with 30 in the summer and 50 in the fall.
C&L Acres has also prepared flowers for several weddings.
Koch said her children, aged 9 and 7, are big helpers in the family business, helping to weed and water the flowers.
Cru planted 400 pumpkins last year to sell on his own. His foray into horticulture went so well, he’s planning to plant another 400 seeds this year.
Koch said she’s applied for a grant to add a high tunnel to her operation and is hoping that will help her continue to grow.