At the April 5 Lanesboro City Council meeting, Public Works Director David Haugen noted that there’s been a lot of concern from the public about potholes in the city streets. He explained that potholes tend to develop while plowing snow during the winter. They will be patched with hot mix, but the plant that makes that isn’t open until May so he and the city crew have been … [Read more...]
Hobby: Shawn Hoff stays busy with guitar hobby
Shawn Hoff bought his first guitar at the age of 16, but it wasn’t until he came to Harmony many years later that he actually started playing it. About 10 years ago, he moved from Hastings to Harmony, but Becky, his wife, wasn’t able to move with him for about six months and so he spent his first winter in the area living alone and so bored that he finally picked up his guitar … [Read more...]
Lanesboro museum welcomes Dan Rooney as new director
It’s been a great 10 years, but Sandy Webb is ready for retirement. Webb started working at the Lanesboro Historical Museum in 2011 and became the director just one year later. Now, she’s turning the reins over to Dan Rooney, who was recently hired as the new museum director. Webb moved to Lanesboro from New Mexico in 2010, but her roots are in the Midwest. “I felt like I was … [Read more...]
Two-year-old Bailee Stackhouse bravely fights cancer
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. “She’s our everything,” Brandon Stackhouse said about his two-year-old daughter Bailee. “To be told she has cancer, it’s been devastating. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.” Brandon and his wife Sara live in Spring Valley with Bailee. In January, they received a phone call from their daycare provider telling them that she had noticed blood … [Read more...]
Hobby: A lifelong love of woodworking helps Andy Walsh relax
When most people think of relaxing after a long day at work, they might think of sitting down on the couch and catching up on a TV show or going for a walk. Not Andy Walsh. His relaxing hobby is woodworking, which incidentally is also his day job. The two are not the same though. “All day, I work on big stuff,” Walsh said about his job as a union carpenter in the Mayo Clinic … [Read more...]
Lanesboro school going forward with senior class trip
At the March 18 Lanesboro School Board meeting, Superintendent Matt Schultz updated the board on the upcoming senior class trip. The tour bus company canceled the original trip to Washington, D.C., as the city is mostly shut down right now. After looking into different options, it was decided to book a trip to Florida with the same company. The trip will include various stops … [Read more...]
New owner, same great service at Matt’s Body Shop
“Business ownership was kind of always in the back of my mind as something I wanted to do,” Greg Melartin said. Melartin recently purchased Matt’s Body Shop and Tire Service in Spring Valley and fulfilled his dream of owning his own business. It started back in the fall of 2020 when Melartin stopped into the body shop for some business and noticed a “For Sale” sign. He didn’t … [Read more...]
Harmony council votes to move forward with Dairyland Power project
The Harmony City Council received an update on the Dairyland Power project at their March 9 meeting, from Chris Giesen and Mike Bubany. The EDA recommends that the city provide water and sewer services to the site. Giesen noted that a state grant may help with some of the costs for that. The total costs for the entire project to the city are projected to be $630,000, but … [Read more...]
Lanesboro Historical Museum welcomes new director
Jon Willford gave a report for the Lanesboro Historical Museum at the March 1 Lanesboro City Council meeting. Sandy Webb has been the museum director for 10 years now, but is stepping down to retire and will transition out of the role. “She’s done a tremendous job,” Willford noted. “We’re really fortunate for a small community to have such a great museum.” Dan Rooney was hired … [Read more...]
Fillmore Central to continue with four-period days in 2021-22
At the February 23 Fillmore Central School Board meeting, Superintendent Heath Olstad asked the board if they would like to continue with the four-period days at the high school in the upcoming school year or change back to eight-period days. For the last seven or eight years, the high school had operated with eight periods in their school day, but that was switched to four … [Read more...]

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