The Hokah City Council met on Tuesday, October 3, at the Hokah Fire Station. Council members present included Mayor Lee Tippery, City Clerk Lindsey Martell, and Council Members Mike Walsh, Jerry Martell and Tom Bernsdorf. Not present was Corey Lorenz. Mayor Tippery called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. A motion was made, seconded and … [Read more...]
Fravel Facing First-Degree Murder
Adam Fravel, age 29, facing charges for the murder of Madeline Kingsbury, appeared in Winona County District Court on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Madeline, who had two children, ages five and two, with Adam, went missing on Friday, March 31, 2023. More than 2,000 volunteers, law enforcements, first responders, and firefighters scoured the countryside between Rushford and … [Read more...]
Rushford Gets Good News From Legislative Update
At the September 25 meeting, the Rushford, Minn., council learned from the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) legislative attorney and lobbyist Elizabeth Wefel that more funding will be in the cities’ coffers. While not quite to the extent hoped, Wefel said state legislators approved a Local Government Aid (LGA) increase. “We were pushing for a lot this time,” she … [Read more...]
Strong Start to Fillmore Central’s School Year
At the September 26th Fillmore Central School Board meeting, Superintendent Heath Olstad gave a report to the board on the school year so far. “It’s been a great start,” he said. Both the high school and the elementary school are preparing for homecoming next week. Bus and school evacuations have been held at the elementary school. AimsWeb testing was done early this year to … [Read more...]
Lanesboro Schools’ New Teachers
Lanesboro Public School welcomed five new teachers to its staff with the beginning of this school year: Alexa Horihan, Emily Goodnow, Lori Crum, Michelle Leon, and Kirsten Bakke. Alexa Horihan, originally from Houston, Minn., graduated from Houston High School, and went to college at RCTC and later WSU, Rochester. After graduating in 2020, she chose not to teach her first … [Read more...]
Caledonia School Board Approves Joint Powers Agreement with HVED
Caledonia Area Public Schools’ board members met Monday, September 26 at Caledonia Elementary School in room #162. Board member Mike Peterson called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. and led with the pledge of allegiance. Board members present included Derek Adamson, Tim Gunn, Leigh King, Melissa Marschall, Peterson, Daniel Small and Spencer Yohe. Also, in attendance were … [Read more...]
Houston’s New Teachers
Houston Public School located in Houston, Minn., has a total seven new members on their teaching staff this year. Because Houston no longer is a member of HVED and has chosen to provide their own services, more special education staff was needed. Danielle Bosshart joins the Houston education team as an occupational therapist; not as a teacher. She always knew she wanted … [Read more...]
Chatfield Certifies Levy for Taxes Payable in 2024
The 2024 preliminary budget and tax levy was adopted in the amount of $2,588,325 at the Chatfield, Minn., city council’s September 25 meeting. Councilors David Frank and Paul Novotny were absent. The preliminary levy for 2024 represents a 5.873% increase over 2023. The final levy to be adopted in December can be lower but not higher than preliminary numbers. The Truth in … [Read more...]
Houston County Adopts 7% Levy
The Houston, Minn., County Board of Commissioners thoroughly discussed the proposed tax levy for the county at their September 26 meeting. Originally a proposed levy of 8.7% was suggested once the proposed budget for the year had been presented. Bob Burns, District 3 Commissioner, presented a list of possible changes to the board which would have resulted in a net levy of … [Read more...]
Welcome Mr. Storlie and Mrs. Farnen!
Students, staff, teachers and school board members at Mabel-Canton welcome two new teachers, Mr. Blaine Storlie and Mrs. Katie Farnen to the Cougar family. Both teachers are passionate about teaching at Mabel-Canton. Mrs. Katie Farnen - Many of the students are already familiar with Mrs. Farnen because her husband, Samuel Farnen, is the school’s band teacher. Mrs. Farnen … [Read more...]
Brownsville Fire District – What’s Fair?
The City of Brownsville, Minn., held a special public meeting September 26 to share information about the history of the fire service for Brownsville and parts of Brownsville and Crooked Creek Townships. Brandon Frank, training officer for the Brownsville Fire Department started off the meeting with a brief history of the fire service since 2014. The city recorded the meeting … [Read more...]
SMIF Thanks Spring Valley Council for Support, Preliminary Tax Levy Set
Andi Arnold, of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), addressed the Spring Valley City Council at their September 25 meeting. “We wanted to thank you guys for your continued support. Spring Valley is a huge supporter and we are grateful to you guys,” Arnold expressed. “You are just a great community.” SMIF serves a 20-county region within Southern Minnesota … [Read more...]
Fillmore County Hires Land Use Director
At the September 26 meeting of the county board, Blake Lea was hired to fill the newly created position of Land Use Director, effective September 29. In August the board voted to restructure the Zoning Department, which was supported by the current Zoning Administrator Cristal Adkins. This day, the new job classification for Assistant Land Use Director was approved. Approval … [Read more...]
Uffda Fest is Back
The community of Spring Grove, Minn., has come together to resurrect the town’s former festival, Uffda Fest. The fall festival celebrates the town’s Norwegian heritage and promotes the town’s vibrant downtown. The festival takes place October 6-8. Trivia question. What does uffda mean? The word uffda as defined by Wikipedia is “of Norwegian origin, the phrase was brought by … [Read more...]
Annual Cooking Contest To Be Held at Rushford Foods on October 14
Are you ready to show-off your cooking skills and share some great recipes with more than 57,000 readers of this newspaper? You’re in luck! For the 14th annual Tasty Temptations Cookbook, the event will be held at Rushford Foods in Rushford, Minn., on October 14. The judges will begin taste testing at 11 a.m. with plans to conclude the contest by noon that day. We have … [Read more...]