Betty Hellickson, age 86, of Preston, Minn., passed away on Sunday, May 1, 2022, at the Gundersen St. Elizabeth’s Care Center in Wabasha, Minn. Betty Ann Roos was born February 4, 1936 in Alton, Iowa, to Edward and Esther (Hyink) Roos. She grew up in the Alton area attending a country school most of the time, until a tornado took their farm in 1944. She then moved to town … [Read more...]
Ervin “Pinkie” Russel Barth
Ervin Russel Barth “Pinkie,” age 96, passed away on Sunday April 17, 2022, at the Buckley Assisted Living Apartments in Caledonia Minn. He was born on June 24, 1925, in Preston, Minn., to Elmer Hennen Barth and Wilhelmina Agusta Barth. Pinkie grew up seven miles southwest of Preston, Minn., on the family farm. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1946 and served two years. He … [Read more...]
City of Preston celebrates Arbor Day
Arbor Day was on Friday, April 29, 2022, and the City of Preston and students from Fillmore Central Elementary celebrated with a tree planting in Preston. Pictured above, left to right, are Brandt Miller – 6th grade, Rick Grooters – Preston Tree Board member, Jax Heibel – 6th grade, Jim Bakken – Preston Public Works director and city tree inspector, Dean Schumacher – Preston … [Read more...]
Preston seats two new council members
The Preston City Council now has five members seated. Two new members were appointed at the May 3 meeting. Three residents had offered their services through letters of interest. Flossie Schultz and Steve Hall were appointed to fill the seats, until the end of 2022. The seats were left vacant by the passing of David Collett and the resignation of Robert Maust. Jon Ebner had … [Read more...]
Richard H. Kyllo
Richard H Kyllo, 94, of rural Preston, Minn., died on Thursday, April 21, 2022, at his home, of natural causes. Richard was born in Salem Township, Minn., on March 15, 1928, to Justin and Lillian (Severson) Kyllo. He grew up on the family farm in rural Byron, Minn., attended country school and graduated from Byron H.S. in 1945. He enlisted into the U.S. Navy serving as a … [Read more...]
Preston approves infrastructure construction and repairs
Several agenda items to be considered at the April 18 Preston City Council meeting were related to upgrades of city infrastructure. The first infrastructure improvement considered was the street storm sewer project. City Engineer Brett Grabau reported that he has now received verbal commitments from three property owners (Wood, Amdahl, and Johnston) to allow stormwater … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Planting the seed
By Rev. Deanna Woodward Maple Leaf Parish United Methodist Churches of Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston and Spring Valley Have you ever had this experience? You walk up to someone you know and ask “How are you?” The person answers, “Well, I lost my job last week. My spouse left me. I haven’t been able to sleep lately. My daughter fell and broke her arm in two places, and my … [Read more...]
Preston City Council has two open seats
Councilman Robert Maust submitted his resignation, due his health and age, effective April 30. At the April 4 meeting two resolutions each declaring a vacancy on the city council were approved, one for councilman David Collett who passed on March 14 and the other for Maust. City hall is accepting letters of application from city residents who are interested in serving as a … [Read more...]
Hawkins spoke of future for region at PACF event
On Monday, March 28, 2022, with a crowd of more than 100 attendees at the Branding Iron in Preston, Minn., the (PACF) Preston Area Community Foundation celebrated 25 years of making a difference in the county seat. The evening started out with casual conversations, bids on the silent auction items, and then a first class dinner was served for a first class event. PACF … [Read more...]
Dawson D. Grabau
Dawson D. Grabau, age 70, of Preston, Minn., passed Thursday March 31, 2022, at his home. Dawson Duaine Grabau was born in Rochester, Minn., on May 2, 1951, to Everett and Lois (Schunke) Grabau. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rochester, Minn. He was united in marriage to Linda Schmidt on July 17, 1971, in Eyota, Minn., and later separated in … [Read more...]
George D. Pickett
George D. Pickett, 92, passed away at his home in Waukon, Iowa, on March 28, 2022. Memorial services will be held Friday, April 8, at 11 a.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukon, with Pastor Bryan Robertson officiating. Services will be live-streamed on the Martin – Grau Funeral Home Facebook page. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, at St. John’s … [Read more...]
Preston appoints Charles Sparks as mayor pro-tem
The first order of business at the March 21 Preston City Council meeting was to appoint a mayor pro-tem. Councilman David Collett, who had been serving as mayor pro-tem, passed away on March 14. Mayor Kurt Reicks was absent. Sparks then presided over the meeting. As mayor pro-tem, Sparks was approved to sign checks for the city at F & M Community Bank for checking/savings … [Read more...]
Preston Veterans Home on schedule
ST. PAUL, MN – Veterans seeking skilled nursing care in southeastern Minnesota can look forward to a summer 2023 opening of the future Minnesota Veterans Home in Preston. Officials from the Minnesota epartment of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) shared that good news during a virtual meeting with Preston community stakeholders last week. Indeed, the most common questions MDVA leaders … [Read more...]
David William Collett
David William Collett (aka Cool Kitty or DC) “sucked his last breath” the morning of March 14, 2022, at Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Marys Campus. David was born May 30, 1944, in Preston, Minn., the oldest of three sons to William and Christie Collett. He graduated from Harmony High School in 1962. After graduation he was employed placing underground telephone lines. Most … [Read more...]
Peterson digs into city projects
After months of discussion, the Peterson City Council, at its March 9 meeting, voted unanimously to move forward with several projects which will give the city fresh appeal. Following the replacement of the welcome sign on the Root River State Trail last year, the city is replacing the outdated city sign on the Highway 16 corridor. The new sign will be manufactured by the … [Read more...]