Community

Area school boards welcome new officers

Area school boards are welcoming new officers this month, with incoming chairs, vice chairs, clerks and treasurers reporting for duty. School board officers have turned over at Kasson-Mantorville, Byron and Hayfield. At Triton, the school board officers remained the same for 2021-22, with Rebecca...

Gov. Tim Walz spoke to Dodge County Historical Society members and the media last week at the Wasioja Seminary grounds.

WALZ TALKS HISTORY AT WASIOJA

Calling for calm, civility and peace, Gov. Tim Walz talked about Minnesota’s participation in the Civil War and reflected on today’s political climate last week in a visit to the Wasioja Historic District in Dodge County. He was at the historic Wasioja Seminary and the Civil War Recruiting station...

Dave and Deborah of Dodge Center enjoy their two pups Bentley and Stella, but prefer the dogs kennel sleep at night rather than be in bed with them.

Pros and cons of sleeping with your pet

Catharine Bliss enjoys sleeping with her eight-month-old Aussie, Phoebe, and says she loves the warm snuggles the dog offers. “But she will sometimes wake up and bark at deer or turkeys,” Bliss said. “She also sleeps hard and won’t move so I can’t move.” Phoebe typically divides her time between...

High school winter sports getting back on track

Area high school athletes are hitting the court and mats to shoot hoops and wrestle, as winter sports get off to a late start because of Covid-19. According to the governor’s orders, winter sports were delayed until Jan. 4, with teams starting practicing that day and first games being held in...

Allison Roe of Mindful Movement with Allison is a yoga teacher and mindset coach based in Rochester with clients throughout southeast Minnesota. Roe urges people to avoid being lofty or non-specific with their resolutions for change.

Position yourself for success with New Year’s resolutions

Like scores of others, Shanna McCann has set some goals for 2021 as the owner of goat milk soap business Simple Soaps for Simple Folks in Byron. “My goals for 2021 are to be more mindful of the things that cause me stress, and to address the root causes of the stress,” McCann said. Lots of people...

Big Bog State Recreation Area is located at Wakish. The mile-long walk along the boardwalk features lady slippers and a variety of other flora on the peat bog.

Minnesota State Parks offer beautiful views of nature

(Editor’s Note: Karen Hendrickson is a Kasson native and graduate of Kasson-Mantorville High School. She teaches ESL in the Rochester Public School System. She previously wrote a series of stories on her trip to Southeast Asia for the DCI.) Northern Minnesota-the known and unknown spaces “Forget...

Dodge County has a group of 10 pastors who serve as Sheriff’s Office chaplains.

Sheriff’s chaplains help deal with traumatic events

In cases of deaths, conflicts and dealing with stresses of law enforcement, the chaplains of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office are there to offer help and comfort. A group of 10 specially trained pastors are on call in Dodge County to help residents deal with traumatic situations and to help law...

Kasson-Mantorville school board takes massive pay cut

Kasson-Mantorville School Board members elected to take a massive pay cut for 2021, reducing their salaries to $1 per month and $1 per special meeting. In 2020, the board chairperson made $1,300 annually and the other school board members pocketed $1,000 each annually. On Monday, Jan. 4, during its...

Owners of Smiling Moose and Gift, Kim and Steve White, plan to open a gift and coffee shop in the former HyVee Pharmacy building. They are also owners of Alaska Shoppe, Skagway, Alaska. The White’s purchased the building earlier this month.

‘Smiling Moose’ coffee, gift shop to open in Kasson

Smiling Moose Gifts is planning to open this April at 408 Main Street in Kasson, which is the former Hy-Vee Pharmacy location. Owners Kim and Steve White plan to offer a general gift store and a drive-through coffee shop. The Whites are excited to offer the community a drive-through coffee option...

Troy Arnold places a pistol in the display case.

Kasson’s County Line Firearms serves Dodge County

Troy Arnold has operated County Line Firearms in the Mantorville Court Building, along Mantorville Avenue north of the stoplight, in Kasson for the last couple of years. Troy grew up living in Hayfield and later moved south of Oslo along County Road 13 next to the Dodge - Mower County line so that...