Shyanne Belzer/MDN Scheels announced their largest ever corporate donation earlier this week as they donated $500,000 to the Magic City Discovery Center. Mark Lyman spoke to the crowd that arrived for the event along with Randy Burkard and Minot Scheels store leader, Luca Hachmeister.

Minot Scheels made the largest corporate donation to the Magic City Discovery Center’s capital campaign earlier this week. The donation of $500,000 may also be the largest single donation for the region.

The capital campagin began earlier this year as the Magic City Discovery Center began the road to raising at least $7 million to construct a 21,000 square foot building on Minot Park District land on North Hill. The Discovery Center will use funds from the campaign to design and build four to five exhibit galleries, set up a fund for a museum endowment and more.

“This is a legacy gift from Scheels and by all accounts is the largest donation of its kind from the company in the Minot region,” said Mark Lyman, president of the MCDC Board of Directors, in a press release. “We couldn’t be more grateful to the Scheels corporation, and the local store leaders and employees who are showing their support for the Magic City Discovery Center through this enormous corporate donation.”

Minot store leader, Lucas Hachmeister, spoke at the donation ceremony, giving a special recognition to the leadership in the store, who played a large role in helping raise the money for the large donation.

“Scheels believes strongly in positively impacting the families in our region,” Hachmeister said. “The Magic City Discovery Center is going to be a world class facility and will have something for everyone.”

According to Lyman, Scheels has stood with the MCDC board for more than just the campaign. They have helped run their temporary site at the Air Museum through volunteer work and donations. Hachmeister is even on the board itself.

“Scheels has been part of the Minot community for over 40 years, and although our stores may have changed over time, our commitment to supporting our local communities has remained steadfast,” said Hachmeister.