Meet the Locals – Ron & Kathy Grobeck

When Ron Grobeck was a kid growing up in Omaha, Neb., his family came “up north” to spend two weeks each summer at resorts on Otter
Tail Lake. Ron was drawn to the area and dreamed of someday moving to Ottertail city.

Ron and his wife, Kathy, realized that dream when they moved to Ottertail on Donalds Lake full time after they retired nearly a decade ago. Kathy worked as a pharmacy technician and Ron worked 38 years at Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha. They had vacationed in the Ottertail area since 1976.

Ron and Kathy are both active in the Ottertail community. They helped start events and have grown others as members of the Ottertail Lions Club, the Ottertail Rod and Gun Club and St. John’s Lutheran Church.

Ron has been a member of the Ottertail City Council since 2014 and currently serves as Mayor. Ron started the summer event “Music in the Park” as a member of the Ottertail Business and Community Association, an organization that also runs Otterfest and Otterdazzle. He’s also on the board of directors at the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

Getting involved is so fun and easy to do, Ron said.“I think it’s one way that we really got to know the people,” Kathy said, “and to have some good friends.”

For recreational fun, the Grobecks ride their snowmobile in the winter and walk on hiking trails in the summer, along with enjoying fishing, kayaking and water skiing on the lake. They also take their pontoon out nightly in the summer “just because it’s so peaceful,” Kathy said.

Their four children still live in Nebraska but enjoy visiting Ottertail, and the Grobecks host their grandchildren for weeks in the summers.
“It’s very rewarding up here,” Ron said. “It’s just really a neat environment.”