Meet the Locals, New York Mills: Rick and Linda Grotheer

By Heather Rule

Rick Grotheer grew up in Deer Creek. He and his wife, Linda, moved to the Twin Cities area in 1990 before moving back to Otter Tail County – to New York Mills – in 2017 after they “got tired of the city life,” Rick said.

“The people are so much nicer here,” Rick said. “There’s more opportunities to do stuff, recreational type things, without having to worry about encroaching on somebody else’s feelings. It’s just overall, this area is much more prettier than the metro is.”

Rick works remotely in the IT industry for Optum, a health insurance company, while Linda works for Esser Plumbing and heating in Perham.

Rick has also served on the New York Mills city council for two years. He was approached by a couple of citizens because they wanted “someone that can bring outside ideas to a small city with big expectations.” Reading about the apartment complex in South Point also got him excited about the opportunity to be on the council.

“New York Mills really wanted to grow its community to the next level, and I wanted to participate in it,” Rick said.

Along with joining council two years ago, Rick also joined the New York Mills Lions where he’s gone from third chair to second vice chair before eventually becoming president in two more years.

The Grotheers love winter – their favorite time of year – in Otter Tail County. They love ice fishing and deer hunting. In the summers, they enjoy camping, fishing and taking in the scenes of state parks like Glendalough. They check out Inspiration Point and walk the trails north of New York Mills.

They enjoy the community of going to a store in New York Mills and being able to chat with anybody who’s there.

Rick said he thought they’d spend retirement down in the Twin Cities. They lived in the suburbs of Maple Grove and then Elk River. But they grew tired of the city life after 27 years as developments kept moving further and further out. They looked at other cities in Otter Tail County before moving back, but New York Mills was “just the right size for us,” Rick said.

“That’s why we chose Mills,” he added. “We are very happy with the move back.”