'Murder' solved in Elma

A murdered magician, about a dozen suspects and about 150 local sleuths dined out, solved a crime and shared a lot of laughs Saturday night at the Elma Memorial Hall.
It was all a part of Elma's first-ever Murder Mystery Dinner, which served to raise money for future community events as well as provide a fun night out for locals and out-of-towners alike.
"I think it's an outstanding event for the community, it's bringing in a lot of people from out of town," said lifetime Elma resident Andy Lentz. "It's been great, I didn't expect this many people, but it's going to get bigger and bigger, it's going to grow I think."
The BRIDGE (Building Relationships In the Development of Greater Elma) Organization put the event together with just under seven weeks of preparation. The interactive mystery was brought to Elma by players from the Murder Mystery Company out of Minneapolis, who recruited a handful of locals to temporarily join their troupe as they performed "Of Sound Mind And Dead Body." The evening was also sponsored by the local American Legion post.
Dinner included a choice of Prime Rib or Chicken Cordon Bleu with all the fixin's, catered by Elma Locker and Grocery. The fundraising effort to benefit future events and activities in Elma far exceeded what the organizers had imagined.
"We didn't know. We've never done this," Elma City Clerk Shannon Gebel said.  "This will pay for the Johnny Holm Band," for Old Roundhouse Trail Days.
The sold-out event filled 150 seats — the community had initially set its sights on selling 100 tickets, and those went fast, so 50 more seats were added.
"We sold out within three or four days after we decided we would sell another 50," said Elma resident Laura Zenner. "We really haven't had anything in this area like this. We pulled a large radius around Elma of people to attend. We wanted something fun and different for people to do in Elma.”
 
For more of this article, see Friday's Tribune.

*/