By Sheriff Dan Marx Winneshiek County, IA To the people of Winneshiek County, With the recent news, chatter and happenings surrounding federal agents from three letter agencies including ICE, FBI and others, I have fielded a fair number of concerns about their tactics and questions regarding the level of involvement or role the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office would play … [Read more...]

To the Editor, For any new public building, it is important to learn how the payoff would be structured. Let us take the proposed Chatfield gymnasium bond referendum vote scheduled for February 11, 2025. If the referendum passes, it will be paid for using a technique called a wrap-around bond. That is, it would be wrapped around the current two bonds for the elementary … [Read more...]

By Ron Scheevel Preston, MN With the holidays in the rearview mirror, and the new year ahead, I feel the need to discuss a few things that we can do to make our great nation better.  First, most of us can do a much better job of listening. Someone once said, “If you’re talking, you’re probably not listening very well.” As a result, any alternate ideas are not heard or … [Read more...]

To the Editor, The greatest tragedy is the appalling silence of good people. This is a quote by M.L.K. I have seen the greed and hate around me, but have thought about silence only recently.  But as I have thought more about it, I realize what a tragedy it is. Even in my time, many “good” people in Germany were silent during the rise of Hitler.  I believe if the “good” … [Read more...]

By Jason Sethre Publisher Fillmore County Journal  jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com At first I thought it was an April Fools’ joke, but then I checked the calendar and it was still mid-January. Over the past week, there’s been a buzz hitting mainstream media about the idea of Iowa buying all nine southern-most Minnesota counties bordering the Hawkeye … [Read more...]

By Scott Chirpich Chatfield, MN In less than one month our community will have the opportunity to help impact the growth of our students outside of the classroom. Is there ever a right time to say yes to a Bond or Referendum? It is never easy to ask for community members to shell out more tax dollars, especially when budget cuts are currently needed. However I am willing … [Read more...]

By Lynn Selness Spring Grove, MN Recently I attended a court hearing in Fillmore County. I was honored to support a friend who had grown up in this Amish community. From her earliest memories as a child, she was often molested by her relatives. Then she was raped repeatedly by an Amish deacon whose farm she worked on as a maid. No one protected her. No one helped her. Why … [Read more...]

By Emily Sinn Chatfield, MN The proposed gym expansion at the high school is something our community has contemplated for years.  As a parent of a junior and eighth grader, I have experienced firsthand the challenges of the lack of space for practices, competitions, school day activities, and fine arts events.  This has resulted in late-night practices, crowded competitions … [Read more...]

To the Editor, I simply want to thank Daniel Leisen of Rushford for writing his honest editorial about himself as a vet and listing the “shameful” statements Trump made about vets. It’s called “Oath of a Veteran.” He states that 65% of vets voted for this golden boy who never grew up to be a real man. I find this baffling and rather hypocritical knowing Trump never served … [Read more...]

By Ron Scheevel Preston, MN As Veterans Day has passed for another year, this Old Soldier has a lot of thank yous to convey. As I had the privilege of partic-ipating in several programs, I must thank all those that helped make Veterans Day very meaningful to me.  I’ll start with the administrators, teachers and staff at both Harmony and Preston schools. In addition, … [Read more...]