Judge Jeremy Clinefelter sentenced Samantha Jo Petersen, 37, to four years in prison for criminal vehicular homicide and 23 months for criminal vehicular operation causing great bodily harm. He issued the sentence on October 16 after nearly two years of hearings that followed a September 2023 crash that killed two Amish children and injured two others in Fillmore County. The … [Read more...]
Two New Positions Created at Rushford-Peterson
The Rushford-Peterson School Board approved the creation of two new staff positions at their regular meeting on October 20. The first was a track meet manager position. According to Activities Director Clay Olstad, the school has been holding more and larger track events in recent years. This coming year, eight events will be held at R-P including the True Team meet and … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Schools Share Data and Construction Updates
Spring Grove School District’s school board members met Monday, October 20 at Spring Grove Public Schools in the library. The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. with all board members present. The Consent Agenda received unanimous approval. Laura Moen was hired as a Special Education and Language Arts teacher for the 2025-2026 school year. Principal Matt Rosaaen added … [Read more...]
Houston County Commissioners Hold Regularly Scheduled Commission Meeting
The Houston County Board of Commissioners held its regularly scheduled meeting on October 21, 2025. Chairman Eric Johnson called the meeting to order at 9 a.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioners present included Cindy Wright, Eric Johnson, Kurt Zehnder, Robert (Bob) Schuldt, and Greg Myhre. The meeting agenda, minutes from the October 7 board meeting and … [Read more...]
Preston Fills Council Vacancy
At the October 20 city council meeting, unanimous approval was given for Jonathan Wood to fill the recent council vacancy, due to the resignation of Flossie Schultz. The term will expire December 31, 2026. It was noted that two people filled out forms expressing their interest in the position. Wood attended the city council meeting and later spoke before the council. He … [Read more...]
Mabel-Canton Receives Clean Audit Report
Riley Knutson with Smith Schafer presented the Mabel-Canton school’s financial summary for the school year ending June 30, 2025, at the October 21 school board meeting. Board members present included Jason Marquardt, Dustin Tollefsrud, Traci Livingood, Amber Tripp, and Mark Weidemann. Diane Wilder was absent. Knutson announced that the school received an unmodified “Clean” … [Read more...]
Kingsland Board Questions if Standardized Tests are Keeping Up With the Times
During their October 20 meeting, the Kingsland School Board reviewed the 2024-2025 Comprehensive Achievement and Civic Report, which details various goals set by the district based on standardized test assessments. The first goal was to have all 4-year-old preschool students achieve 80% kindergarten readiness on 60 skills sets. The school surpassed this with 100% … [Read more...]
Village Considers Business and Housing Options
At the October 21 meeting, the Rushford Village council welcomed Community Economic Development Associates’ community and business development specialist Jayme Longmire. Along with City Attorney Joe O’Koren, they discussed options for using the Revolving Loan Fund to bolster business and housing needs. The fund currently sits at over $200,000 and is not being utilized by … [Read more...]
Chatfield Welcomes Three New Elementary Teachers
Jessica Kral is a 2020 graduate of New Ulm Public High School and graduated from Winona State University in December 2024 with an Academic and Behavioral Strategist (ABS) Special Education degree. In Chatfield, she is teaching special education in grades 4-6. This is Jessica’s first full-time teaching assignment but she worked in other local districts, including Chatfield, as a … [Read more...]
Caledonia Public Schools Approve Coaching Contracts
Caledonia Public School District’s school board members met Monday, October 20. Boardmember Mike Peterson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. then led with the Pledge of Allegiance. All board members were present. District employees present included Superintendent Craig Ihrke, Middle/High School Principal Nathan Boler, and Community Education Director Gretchen Juan. … [Read more...]