With board members Matt Helgemoe and Jeff Michel joining via Zoom, the Rushford-Peterson School Board met Monday, September 20, 2021. The board looked at current school COVID data and made a change to their definition of close contact at school and required quarantines. If students were wearing masks, they would not be considered a close contact nor would they need to … [Read more...]
Noise test completed for Houston OHV trail
The long-awaited noise test for Houston’s potential OHV trail has been completed, and Alex Bud presented a preliminary report to the Houston City Council at their regular meeting September 13. Bud, a former engineer at Harley Davidson for 33 years, retired in 2009 and began his own business which tests noise levels at race tracks and off-road systems. He is a master track and … [Read more...]
Back to school COVID procedures update
With local school boards making the decision on masking and COVID policies for their schools, there are now a variety of policies regarding COVID. One constant is the federally mandated policy for masking on buses and reporting of positive COVID cases. Here are the most recent policies of each of the eleven local schools: • Caledonia: Masks are strongly recommended. Mask … [Read more...]
Houston Schools’ health and safety measures approved
After a failed resolution at the previous board meeting, the Houston School Board approved a revised health and safety plan for the 2021-2022 year, at their September 2 meeting. Before the approval, several members of the public commented once again on the masking and Covid procedures of the school. Tara Klinski spoke against contract tracing; Kendra Van Grundy wanted the … [Read more...]
Taste of the Trail is back!
The Root River Trail Towns will once again be presenting the Taste of the Trail after last year’s pause for the COVID pandemic. Using the same format they’ve used since the event’s inception in 2012, Taste of the Trail will be held three successive weekends with different towns highlighted each weekend. Lanesboro, Whalan, and Peterson will be the stars on Saturday, September … [Read more...]
Houston Schools stay with “recommended” masks
The public comment period at the regular Houston School Board meeting on August 19 brought a group of parents opposed to mandatory mask wearing at Houston Schools. Tara Klinski informed the board that neither they or any other governmental entity were coparenting her children and that their family would not be going back to masks. Klinski declared, “Our children are not shields … [Read more...]
Announcing – Whalan Auto Body, LLC
As of September 1, 2021, Whalan’s number one auto body shop, Doc’s Auto Body and Repair, will have a new name: Whalan Auto Body, LLC. New owner Jon VanMinsel will officially take over the shop from former owner Dale Peterson. Peterson owned the shop for almost 19 years; VanMinsel worked for Peterson for over 11 of those years. The transition had been in the works for several … [Read more...]
Emily Thompson’s Alpine wins Champion at ADGA nationals
GCH Kara Kahl PGW Akebono, a six-year-old French Alpine owned and shown by Emily Thompson, earned champion Alpine in the open class at the recent ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) national show in Louisville, Ky. Akebono beat out a field of 200–300 other Alpines to win the national champion award from the judges. This was the first champion win in the Alpine class at … [Read more...]
Masks “recommended” at all R-P events
After a 2 1⁄2 hour meeting in the people-filled Forum Room, the R-P school board passed a resolution to “recommend” (not require) masks at a school and all events and activities; this leaves the decision on wearing a mask to the parents of each student. Any change to this policy will be made by the school board. In addition, the board passed a separate resolution that … [Read more...]
Vintage base ball with the Fungis
The Fillmore Fungis are a bunch of guys ranging in age from 74 to 16 who like to have fun playing vintage base ball – hence the name Fungis (fun guys). The Fungis play according to the vintage rules of 1860, the first real set of rules written down. The biggest difference between their base ball and our current baseball is that no gloves were used until the 1870s. At that … [Read more...]









