Information meeting on justice circles set Monday in Willmar

WILLMAR -- There will be an information meeting about Kandiyohi County Community Justice Circles at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Rice Auditorium at Lakeland Health Center in Willmar.

Citizens interested in building community strengths, helping those affected by crime and supporting and holding youthful offenders accountable are invited to attend the meeting and learn how they can make a difference in the criminal justice system and in the lives of young people.

The county attorney's office, which runs the circle program, is looking to substantially increase the number of circles and the number of juveniles in the circle program, according to County Attorney Jenna Fischer.

A circle usually includes the juvenile, their parents or guardians and two to three citizens and a circle keeper, who could be a community member.

There will also be four evening training sessions on Sept. 19 and 26 and Oct. 3 and 10, also at the Rice Auditorium, for those seeking to become involved in the local restorative justice process. The schedule for the training sessions includes a meal served at 5 p.m. followed by training from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Citizens are still encouraged to get involved, even if they cannot attend the informational meeting or all of the training sessions, Fischer says.

For more information on either the informational meeting or the training sessions, contact Sharon Hendrichs at 231-2440 ext. 5828 or Sharon_h@

co.kandiyohi.mn.us.