By Pailey Gordon Graphic Designer Fillmore County Journal In late January 2026, the Minnesota Newspaper Association hosted their 159th Annual Awards Banquet and Conference in Brooklyn Park. Ellen Whalen and I had the privilege to represent our newspaper and attend the three day conference. Big conversations over the weekend were about how important local news is and … [Read more...]
Honoring the Past, Building the Future
By Benya Kraus President & CEO Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation January 22, 2026 – Our state is going through a lot right now. Crisis after crisis has put Minnesota in the national spotlight. What feels even more fraught is the way these crises seem to be tearing apart much of the social fabric that has knitted us together as Minnesotans for decades: a … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project – Is Modern Culture Ruining Childhood?
By Alleen Erchoff-Costet Whether you’re an adult or a teenager, are you aware of how often you check your phone every day? According to a study by Adolescent Brain Cognitive Devel-opment (ABCD), teens pick up their phone 100 times a day, which is far more than what adults do. As new generations grow up, we can see the excessive amount of screen time and its impact on how … [Read more...]
Vote YES for the Rushford-Peterson School Referendum
By Kristin Gudmundson Peterson, MN Living in rural Minnesota, we often hear about the challenges of declining population when a school referendum is discussed. But according to the website https://center-for-rural-policy.shinyapps.io/Atlas_2025/ it is projected that Fillmore County’s population will remain basically steady looking out as far as 2035, with a change of +0.0 … [Read more...]
Letter about immigration…
To the Editor, Whatever your stand on immigration, there’s probably another aspect worth considering. I just finished reading the book “Milked,” by Ruth Conniff, which gave me a new perspective on the global economic forces affecting the Midwest farm bankruptcies and the contentious politics around immigration. What’s so captivating about the book is the stories. Stories from … [Read more...]
Letter about Rushford school referendum…
To the Editor, Hello, my name is Greg Smith. I am a graduate of Rushford High School. I was on the Board of Directors of the Rushford-Peterson School District. I was on the Board for eight years prior to building the new school. We qualified for state cost share on building a new school because of the damage from the August 2007 Flood to our tax base. As part of the … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project – Teen Stress is Taken Less Seriously Than Adult Stress
By Savanah Huffman When the topic of stress is brought up, people usually think of adults. Adults get stressed over jobs, bills, and responsibilities, and that stress is almost always taken seriously. Teen stress is often brushed off as “just being dramatic” or “part of growing up.” Many adults believe that because teenagers are younger and have fewer responsibilities, their … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project – Balancing Your Time Helps You Live Life To The Fullest
By Roland Bjerke Have you ever wanted to just drop everything and only do what you want to do for the rest of your life? Well, I want you to know that you can do things you don’t like and still live life to the fullest. I know that you might not want to have to do your job or clean your room, but all it takes is balancing your time. I used to be the biggest worry bug about … [Read more...]
Same Problems, Different Paths: GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Make Their Case in Mabel
By Zech Sindt On January 13, my wife and I attended a Fillmore and Houston County Republicans event in Mabel featuring several Republican candidates seeking the party’s endorsement for governor. The event gave voters an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates, without sound bites, commercials, or filtered messaging. What stood out was not that the candidates … [Read more...]
BCA Statement Regarding Investigation of ICE Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis
By Drew Evans Superintendent, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension On January 7, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was notified that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel were involved in a shooting in Minneapolis that resulted in a woman’s death. That morning, after consultation with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the … [Read more...]