Best Fourth of July Destinations in Minnesota

The Fourth of July is all about spending time with your family, enjoying the weather, eating hamburgers and hot dogs, and of course….watching fireworks! There are many firework shows that are sprinkled across the state of Minnesota. If you are looking for a change of scenery or want to see a different show, here are the best destinations!

Delano

Delano provides the oldest and largest Fourth of July celebration. There is a parade that starts at 10:30 in the morning to get your spirits up! Twelve hours later the real fun begins…the fireworks! Find a spot near Central Park and enjoy the free 30-minute firework show. With the excellent work of Northern Lighter Pyrotechnics, be prepared to be amazed!

Minneapolis

The Red, White and Boom Festival attracts over 60,000 people each year! The site is along the downtown Minneapolis riverfront, features live music, great food, fun activities for the whole family, and fireworks! On July 3^rd, there is the Hot Dam 5k and live music along with a movie at the Nicollet Island Amphitheater at 7pm. On the Fourth, the Red, White & Boom! TC Half Marathon takes place in the morning followed by a day filled with live music, family activities, and fireworks to cap it all off. The festival is a great time for people of all ages!

Brainerd Lakes Area

If you are all about fireworks, this is the area for you! There are multiple shows: July 2^nd at the Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, on the 4^th in Brainerd, and on the 5^th over the Sand Island in Cross Lake. You get a full slate of action and get to be in an area full of lakes!

St. Cloud Area

If you’re looking to stay around Central Minnesota, the St. Cloud area provides a great day of action too! The festivities all begin on July 3^rd in St. Joseph for the JoeTown Rocks Festival. The fun starts with bingo, games, food and refreshments at 5pm followed by fireworks! The next day, there is a parade in St. Joe as well at 10am. That night, head over to the banks of the Mississippi River in the heart of St. Cloud for an amazing firework show! Don’t forget to stop by our St. Joseph location for snacks and refreshments during the festival and our multiple St. Cloud locations before the firework show!

These are only a few of the festivities going on in Minnesota for the Fourth of July. We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday! 

Things to do in Minnesota this summer!

Schools are out, the sun is shining, and there is no more snow is sight (we hope). It’s time to fill up that tank and explore the beautiful state of Minnesota! What events are going on this summer? Here is a fun list of events going on around the state and locally:

Play ball! Take in a baseball game.

Summertime and baseball go hand in hand! Check out the St. Cloud Rox play for some family fun at great prices. There creative in-game promotions and entertainment will keep your attention even if you’re not a baseball fan. If you are looking to hit the road, head to beautiful Target Field to watch the Minnesota Twins. They are hosting the MLB All-Star Game this summer on July 15^th. It is a huge event and is a great opportunity to watch the best players in the world. Of course, don’t forget to stop by our stores to stock up on all your ballgame needs!

Rock out at a concert.

The summer provides a full slate of concerts for music lovers! If you enjoy country music, Minnesota is host to two huge festivals. Winsted is host to Winstock Country Music Festival on June 13^th and 14^th! Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, and Billy Currington are just a few names that are playing. We are proud to have given away some tickets to this great event. Another great country festival is WE Fest in Detroit Lakes which is August 7-9^th. That concert features some of the biggest names in country music including Jason Aldean! If you are looking to stay in Central Minnesota and still see some country music stars there is Firefest in Cold Spring. This concert is on July 26^th and features Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett. 

More music: Summertime by George.

Summertime by George! is a free concert and festival put on by the Rotary Club of St. Cloud at the newly renovated Lake George! The area will be transformed into a fun and active place every Wednesday with free live music from local and regional bands, local vendors, artisians, and a kid's zone for the entire family to enjoy. This free 12-week event will be held every Wednesday starting June 11^th, 2014 and running through August 27^th. Don’t forget to stop by our location nearby for refreshments and snacks!

More Central Minnesota fun.

There is so much to do in the summertime! There is the Art Crawl which has two events this summer and is downtown St. Cloud (June 13^th and August 22^nd). Granite City Days is a 4 day event (June 26^th-29^th) and features a Lemonade Concert, a block party, a parade, and much much more! In Sauk Rapids, they have Rapid River Days (June 26^th-28^th) and features a pageant, parade, and a food fest.

There is so much to do in Central Minnesota and beyond! We wish you safe travels this summer on your way to all these adventures.

Break Out the Boat...It's Fishing Time!

It goes without saying that fishing is one of THE great Minnesota pastimes. In fact, the Minnesota DNR reports that, year over year, more people in our state buy fishing licenses than in any other. 

It makes sense; with well over 5,000 fishable lakes, teeming with prized species like walleye and northern pike, Minnesota’s anglers don’t really have to venture too far away from their backyards to catch the big one.  

With that being said, we here at the Pequot Lakes SpeedStop invite you to explore everything we have on hand to make fishing season a success. 

Located conveniently along State Highway 371, in and around a great many fishing destinations, SpeedStop Pequot Lakes is your one-stop shop for, well, everything:

THE ESSENTIALS

Naturally, we invite you to fill up your gas tank and load up on all the essential snacks and beverages, but don’t skip over the Oasis Liquor Shop. SpeedStop Pequot Lakes offers a full range of beers in our Beer Cave, along with an extensive selection of wine and spirits. Of course, we want to remind you to drink responsibly this weekend - and all year long. 

BAIT, TACKLE AND MORE

Maybe there’s something you forgot while packing up the car, or you realize you’d like to pick up a map to explore new waters? Not to worry. Our Pequot Lakes location boasts a fully-loaded Pro Shop, complete with a wide variety of bait and tackle, rods and reels, nets, and more. Don’t forget the most important accessory of opening weekend - your license. Pick one up here or at any nearby SpeedStop location! 

THE EXTRAS

The weather can change in a second here in Minnesota, so don’t forget to browse our full collection of high-quality sweatshirts, tees, sweatpants and hats, and have the layers you might seriously need on hand. Plus, with a collection of gifts, you can pick out a memento for friends and family, highlighting your time here in Lake Country!

That’s just a snapshot of what we’ve got here at SpeedStop Pequot Lakes; if you find yourself a little further south, you can drop into our St. Joseph location for the very same services.

Visit us en route to wherever your fishing adventures may take you, and let us help you get yourself prepped for a successful weekend on the water!

The Luck of SpeedStop

When the month of March rolls around, many people begin the countdown to the luckiest day of the year - St. Patrick’s Day. At SpeedStop, however, we started the “luck” earlier this year when the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve. Why do we say this? Because since the start of 2014, we have sold some pretty lucky lottery tickets. If you don’t believe us, ask two individuals who bought winning tickets at two of our SpeedStop locations!

Our first big lottery winner in 2014 was Cold Spring resident Carlos Vega Vega who won one of the two $1-million Minnesota Millionaire Raffle tickets in January. He bought his ticket at our Waite Park store, and when he went to claim his winnings at the Lottery headquarters in Roseville with his wife and son, he was quoted with a smile on his face saying: “Hopefully this won’t be the last time I’m here,”…and we hope he is right.

Our second, and most recent winner, bought his ticket at our Sartell store. David Calson of St. Cloud won the Northstar Cash lottery that was valued at $26,000 on February 18th when his ticket matched the winning numbers 1-9-11-13-31. When the lottery representative came to take pictures after it was announced that Carlson had bought his ticket at the Sartell SpeedStop, our store manager excitedly represented SpeedStop by taking a photo announcing the good news!

At SpeedStop, we want nothing more than to make each and every customer happy. We are beyond excited to be a part these amazing moments in these winners lives. So far this year, we have had a winner each month at one of our locations. Yes, the lottery is based on luck, but never think that you aren’t lucky enough to win. You never know what the future holds. Stop into one of our stores, because with the luck we’ve already had this year, you’re chances of winning could be higher than you think. We haven’t had a winner yet this month, but it could be YOU! May the luck of the Irish be with you the rest of this month and all year long - and maybe, just maybe, it will bring you the big bucks!

Giving Back: A Day at the Ronald McDonald House

Giving back, whether it is to customers or the community, has always been something that Speedstop Gas and Goods has supported. Our wonderful employees go above and beyond not only at work, but also on their own time outside of work. Recently, one of our employees, Pequot Lakes Store Manager Greg Larson, took time out of his day to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House with his family.

Having never volunteered at the Ronald McDonald house, this was a new experience for Greg. After visiting their website and gaining a better understanding of the great work they do for families, and the hardship these families are facing, Greg decided he wanted to get involved. When asked what the day was like, Greg stated:

“It was one of the most profound, rewarding things I had ever done. It was well out of my comfort zone, but Amy, my daughter-in-law who spear headed this event, and surrounded herself with good cooks and some people who could take direction (not so much me) got us all together in this nice commercial kitchen, and off to work we went. JM Speedstop and Deerwood Bank’s monetary donations helped pay for most of the groceries, so all we needed was the ambition to get 100 plus people fed. You can't imagine the feeling of having people from all over the world visiting your eating facility, largely with heavy hearts as they are experiencing life changing/threating events. People that entered sad or crying left feeling a little better and fuller and that is what we set out to do. As much as it seemed that we were giving, I feel we truly got more than we gave and because of this, we plan to raise money and volunteer twice a year for the Ronald McDonald Cooks for Kids program and serve more families!”

            The Ronald McDonald House has an extremely rich history and has touched the lives of millions. Starting in 1974, the charity has now grown to 58 countries and regions across the world with one mission in mind: “create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and wellbeing of children.” Greg did just that, and said that no volunteering he’s ever done has been as rewarding than what he experienced at the Ronald McDonald House. The balance of a day spent with family and friends while helping people feel better for a few hours made it special.

            We are so happy that Greg and his family had such a wonderful experience while giving back to such a great cause. His experience is truly inspiring, and we are proud to have such a great individual on our Speedstop team.

Our HWY 10 Location Got A Makeover!

At Speedstop, we take pride in having the best facilities for our customers! This is why we decided to expand the interior of our HYW 10 location so we would have enough room for a walk in cooler. This added space will benefit our customers because we are now able to expand product lines and stay current with new products. Unfortunately in order to do this, it was necessary to take out the car wash at this location. If this was your go-to spot for giving your car a good scrub, get the same touch free washes at our nearby Sauk Rapids or Central locations. Here are the before and after shots of our new space:

Before

After

 Comment below and let us know if you like the fresh look!

Helpful Fuel Finding Apps

No one likes to pay high prices for gas. Whether you're on a business trip, a road trip vacation, or just doing your day-to-day driving, you'll want to pay the lowest price possible for your gas. Gas prices rise all around the world on a consistent basis. Luckily, iPhone and Smartphone users have access to very helpful fuel finding apps. These apps can help you find the lowest prices in your area without emptying your bank account.

GasBuddy

Perhaps the most notable app for finding the best prices is GasBuddy. This app has an easy to use interface and allows the user to access a large database of gas prices in your area by entering your city, state, or zip code. GasBuddy also gives you useful information about each station, such as the address and phone number, and it will even give you directions to the station of your choice. You can earn points and awards for reporting gas prices, and even have a chance to win $250 in gas every week.

Gas Guru: Cheap gas prices

This app is a good alternative to GasBuddy. Gas Guru pulls its prices from the Oil Price Information Service, making it one of the most accurate free apps available. The user interface is stunning, updates quickly, and lets you view not only the price changes, but the times they were updated. You can filter your search the type of gas you use (unleaded, regular, diesel, etc.) and label stations you visit most frequently. Gas Guru even gives you the locations and reviews of nearest ATM's, roadside assistance, restaurants, or places to grab a cup of coffee, then you can share your finds on Facebook.

YP Local Search & Gas Prices

If you are looking for something a little more all-inclusive, try the Yellow pages (YP) Local Search & Gas Prices App. Not only is it great for finding local gas prices, but it is also able to locate all sorts of deals and discounts in your area- from phone numbers and hours of operation to maps and directions, to photos- you can even upload your own! This app is powered by Yellowpages.com, putting over eighteen million businesses right in the palm of your hand. You'll save money on trips by going to other places that have cheap deals on your way to fuel up.

All three of these apps are free. If you travel a lot, you may want to try apps with a more polished interface like Fuel Finder ($2.99), or Smartfuel (which has a 30-day free trial period). These apps have all the same amenities as the other three, but are a bit more comprehensive and usually more accurate. Either way, gas station apps have the ability to help you harness the internet quickly and save you money each time you fill up. For more ways to save locally, take a look at the Speedstop’s reward offerings here.