Fillmore County Journal

"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"

Disaster recovery resources and information

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Parts of southeastern Minnesota were hit hard this weekend by severe weather, including three possible tornadoes in Fillmore County. Thankfully, there haven’t been any reports of injuries to people or livestock losses. Next comes the recovery process. Recovering from a natural disaster can be confusing and stressful, but these resources might help. First, be sure to … [Read more...]

James Stanley Johnson

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James Stanley Johnson passed away on May 24, 2019, in Mesa, Ariz. Jim was born in Rochester, Minn., to Stanley and Ruth Johnson. Jim worked with his dad at the Johnson Funeral Home and Johnson Furniture Store in Lanesboro, Minn. He opened his own business, the Lanesboro Body Shop, and was a volunteer fire fighter, also in Lanesboro. Jim married Marlys (Rye) on September 3, … [Read more...]

Paul Lavern Kiger

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Paul L. Kiger, 85, of Rushford, Minn., passed away on May 23, 2019, at his home, surrounded by family. Paul was born on November 12, 1933, to Ethmer and Blanche Kiger in Boswell, Ind. He had three siblings: Louise Kunkle, Linda McGhee, and Duane Kiger. He was united in marriage to Loreta Fletcher on July 22, 1952. During their 66 years of marriage they raised four children: … [Read more...]

Donna Ione Becker

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Donna Ione Becker, 73, of rural Houston, died Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at Mayo Clinic Hospital – St. Marys Campus. Donna was born January 21, 1946, in Devils Lake, N. Dak., to Walter and Ione (Osland) Youngmark.  On January 29, 1962, she married the love of her life, David Becker.  She worked at About the Horse in Spring Grove for many years and ran the Semcac Dining site in … [Read more...]

Observations from “The Old Soldier”

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By Ron Scheevel Preston, MN After weeks of enduring cold weather and countless hours of snowplowing, we finally made the great escape from the endless winter to travel to the southwest for a short vacation. Before we left we were bragging to others about how easy it would be to get to Mesa, Ariz., using our recently aquired smartphones. As we hit the road we realized … [Read more...]

Legislation seeks to limit public say on factory farms

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To the Editor, This fall, one of the largest dairies in Minnesota, in my county, proposed to expand by 3,000 cows. We had just 30 days to read thousands of pages of material and submit public comments on top of our normal responsibilities. That’s why we pushed for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to extend the public comment period by a month. They ended up … [Read more...]

Journal Writing Project: Paintings of the sky

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By Katrina Bergey Auroras are natural, vibrant lights that appear in the sky. Recently, you were able to view the northern lights in Minnesota; therefore, I found it fitting to give a little background of the lights. There are northern lights known as Aurora Borealis and southern lights known as Aurora Australis that many people find captivating. These lights have an … [Read more...]

Call for emerging artists of all media for place-based Lanesboro Artist Residency Program

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Lanesboro Arts invites emerging artists of any discipline living in Minnesota or one of the five boroughs of New York City to apply to the place-based Lanesboro Artist Residency Program, generously supported by the Jerome Foundation. Applications are due at 12 p.m. (noon) CST on Wednesday, July 31, 2019, for residencies taking place in 2020. The Lanesboro Artist Residency … [Read more...]

SEMAC Awards Arts Grants

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On May 21, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) awarded 42 grants for a total of $269,205 in funding to applicants throughout southeastern Minnesota.  This included 24 Arts & Cultural Heritage grants for $217,935, nine Presenter/Production Assistance grants for $25,520, and nine Small Towns/Rural Areas grants for $25,750. SEMAC … [Read more...]