The Lanesboro School Board met on September 16. Board members Sarah Peterson and Steve Snyder were not present. Superintendent Matt Schultz reported that the 2021-22 school year was off to a good start. “It’s nice to be in a finished building,” he commented. Transportation is also going well with buses running at full capacity. The school is still in need of bus drivers though. … [Read more...]
Mabel-Canton updates COVID guidelines
The Mabel-Canton school board met in regular session on September 21. In attendance were Mark Wiedemann, Jason Marquardt, Traci Livingood, Cristal Adkins, Chris Miller, Superintendent Gary Kuphal, Diane Wilder, and Dustin Tollefsrud. Lisa Halverson, Aimee Lake, and Michelle Wiedemann also participated. Matt McClimon (student representative to the board) was unable to … [Read more...]
Preston accepts transfer of Lanesboro ambulance service license
At the city council’s September 22 meeting, Preston ambulance director Ryan Throckmorton explained that the Lanesboro Ambulance Service was no longer able to provide 24/7 coverage. He described two options that Lanesboro had considered: forfeiting the license and becoming a first responder group, in which case the state would review the area and divide it among other … [Read more...]
Spring Grove receives City of Excellence award from the League of Minnesota Cities
The Spring Grove City Council met Tuesday, September 21, from 6-7:14 p.m. at the Spring Grove Communications meeting room. Council members in attendance were Mayor Scott Solberg, Travis Torgerson, Karen Folstad, and Chad Rohland. Trent Turner was absent. The council unanimously approved the Consent Agenda. Mayor Solberg led the council and audience in the Pledge of … [Read more...]
Valley Design in Fountain celebrates 35 years of business
It started in 1986 as a small powder coating business run out of the old Fountain Body Shop building with less than 3,500 square feet of space. Thirty-five years later, Valley Design still operates out of Fountain, but has grown to a 100,000 square foot facility across the road from where it originally sat, that serves the entire United States into Canada. “Most people don’t … [Read more...]
2021 Houston County Fair Open Class grand and reserve placings
Department 1: Game Horses: Jumping Figure 8 (11-13 yrs.): Else Plzak, Reserve Jumping Figure 8 (14-17 yrs.): Madison Winjum, Grand Barrel Racing (11-13 yrs.) :Tegan Dahlstrom, Grand Barrel Racing (18 & Over): Christine Novak, Reserve Pole Weaving (11-13 yrs.) Elese Plzak, Grand Pole weaving (14-17 yrs.): Ava Hoscheit, Reserve Key races (11-13 yrs.): Breelyn … [Read more...]
History plays feature local World War 2 veterans’ tales
After months of oral interviews, Pop-up Plays: Lanesboro WW II and Beyond brings to the stage local accounts of soldiers in D-Day, German prison camp, the Norwegian Resistance, Japanese nurses in Rochester, and farmers growing food for Europe. Area veterans Orval Amdahl, Don Ward, Bob Earley, Dr. Westrup, Paul Abrahamson, Ruby Nelson, Signe Soma will come to life again on … [Read more...]
Canton family loses everything in devastating house fire
“You hear about people having fires and getting out with just the clothes on their back. We didn’t even have that,” Jamie Knutson said. He and his family lost their home in Canton to a house fire in the early morning hours of September 10. As it happened around 3:30 a.m., the family members were still in their pajamas and didn’t have time to grab anything on the way out. Due … [Read more...]
Kingsland staff shortages create challenges
Kingsland School Board held a regular meeting on September 20 with all members participating (Jackie Horsman, Natasha Howard, Gwen Howard, Maranda Emig, Pamela Freet, and Superintendent James Hecimovich). Business Manager Amber Herbrand, Kyle Rader, and Activity Director Mark Fitzpatrick participated via remote technology. No members of the general public attended to speak … [Read more...]
R-P changes close contact and quarantine policies
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...]