WILLMAR — A multi-year effort to designate a portion of Minnesota Highway 23 in Willmar in memory of fallen soldier Joshua Schmit, of Willmar, appears to be on the verge of success.
The Minnesota House of Representatives on April 10 unanimously approved a standalone bill authored by Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar, designating the Sergeant Joshua A. Schmit Memorial Highway on a section of Highway 23 from Willmar to Point Lake north of Willmar. Point Lake near where U.S. Highway 71 and Minnesota Highway 23 split.
State Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, is hopeful that an identical bill that he authored will be on the floor of the Senate within a week or two. Lang said he is optimistic it will receive a vote of concurrence that will move it forward for enactment with a signature from Gov. Tim Walz.
Transportation committee chairs are usually not receptive to hearing bills that designate a highway in someone’s memory, according to Baker, who has introduced bills for this designation for the last four years.
This year’s success in the House came after Joshua Schmit’s mother, Kim, was able to offer virtual testimony to the committee. Baker said her testimony included some “very tender moments.” When you have a soldier lost in battle, and the designation is something the family supports, along with active local legislative support, the pieces needed to turn the bill into law appear to be coming together, Baker said.
Army Sgt. Joshua Schmit was killed April 14, 2007, at age 26 outside of Fallujah, Iraq. He was 10 days from returning home after an extended deployment when his Humvee struck an improvised explosive device.
Schmit's father, Greg, was in training for deployment to the Middle East at the time. Greg Schmit lost his battle with post-traumatic stress and depression at age 56 on July 21, 2015.
Joshua Schmit served both in the Minnesota National Guard and the United States Army. He deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lang was preparing for his own deployment to the Middle East when Joshua Schmit was killed. They were only two years apart when attending Willmar Senior High School, and the two played hockey together.
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Ron Mackedanz, of Kandiyohi, a Vietnam veteran who has long worked to remember those from the area who have sacrificed their lives for our country, has been promoting the designation in memory of Schmit for about eight years.
Mackedanz is now in the process of contacting the leaders of local veterans and service organizations asking for donations toward the costs of erecting signs to designate the route. He needs to raise $4,000 as the cost for the sign project is the local area’s responsibility, he explained.
Mackedanz said the Willmar area has been very supportive of its veterans and those who have given their lives. The area was able to designate the portion of Highway 23 between New London and Spicer the “Ryane Clark Memorial Highway” in 2015. U.S. Army Pfc. Clark, of New London, was killed at age 22 when his convoy was ambushed in Shekhabad, Afghanistan, on Oct. 4, 2010.
Mackedanz said he is hoping that signs to remember Schmit will be located for eastbound traffic leaving Willmar near the Willmar National Guard Armory, and for westbound traffic into Willmar after Highways 71 and 23 join. The location is essentially in the backyard of where Schmit lived on Long Lake, he noted.
Lang said the highway designation serves to provide at least some measure of public recognition for the sacrifice made by the soldier as well as his surviving family. “A small gesture tangibly; intangibly it means a lot more,” he said.
Mackedanz is working with the Blue Star Mothers, which has a nonprofit status, to accept donations for the highway signs project. Contributions can be mailed to: Ron Mackedanz, 9705 37th Ave. S.E., Kandiyohi, MN 56251. Please include the notation “Joshua Schmit Memorial” on checks. Any funds raised over the amount needed will be applied to another project to recognize the service of area veterans, he said.
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