News

Billie and Jeff Cowell stand outside their “sugar shack” where they make maple syrup every spring.

Maple syrup time at Cowell’s home

The sap was cooking and the steam rolling out of the vents in the roof of the sugar shack at Jeff and Billie Cowell’s home in rural Claremont, where they produce an average of 40 gallons of maple syrup each year. In late winter, the Cowells start watching the warming temperatures, knowing that soon...

Johannes Marsland started the TAC (Teach a Child) Center in Kasson to provide parents an opportunity for a Christian education for their children.

Kasson pastor’s life gives hope to others

Johannes Marsland’s life is a story that gives hope to people who find themselves confined by the cords of their own bad choices. Johannes Marsland lived in Rochester, N.Y. until he was 12 where his mother was a pastor and his father worked as a teacher in a reform school. His mother was from...

ZED ready to start construction on new facility

After months of delays and uncertainty, the Zumbro Education District (ZED) is ready to begin construction on its new facility in Kasson. ZED Executive Director Patrick Gordon said that construction of the 61,000 sq. ft., $16 million building in Kasson will begin this summer and be ready for the...

Ethan Slaathaug hangs on to the basketball during Hayfield’s Class A quarterfinal game against Legacy Christian Academy.

Hayfield advances to semifinals in State Tournament

Hayfield’s Vikings advanced to the semifinals of the Minnesota State Boys Basketball Tournament last Friday when they defeated Legacy Christian Academy 62-43 at Rochester Mayo High School. Hayfield initially fell behind 7-0 but recovered to lead by 3 points at the end of the first half. They...

Wildcat Goalie Isaac Dale prepares to deflect a shot on goal.

Wildcats reach state finals; end season at 19-4-1

Dodge County’s Wildcats clawed their way to the top of Minnesota Class A hockey, defeating the No. 1 seed Hermantown at last week’s state hockey tournament. They then finished off Little Falls before running into a buzz saw in Saturday’s finale and fell to undefeated Gentry Academy (19-0). Looking...

Ali Knox continues to operate hair salon at her home

Alice (Schultz) Knox was the third youngest of six girls and five boys and grew up on a farm in the Henrytown area, north of Canton, Minn. Ali said she went to the Elstad country school for a half year of kindergarten where her older siblings attended. Growing up in a big family, one of her older...

Jobs available throughout region as unemployment rate ticks up

It seems everyone is hiring, with unemployment rates high and employers in need of workers throughout Dodge County, according to area experts. The unemployment rate for Dodge County in February was 5.2 percent, a slight increase from January and a jump from 4.2 percent in February of last year....

Superintendents weigh in on the academic year

Looking back on a year of disrupted learning, two area school superintendents shared their observations and ideas on how things are going and what’s in the future. Craig Schlichting, superintendent at Triton in Dodge Center, is upbeat about how things are progressing in his district. “The pandemic...

Kaiden Beliveau ‘serves’ Lucy Anderson in a segment of the play “Little Shop of Horrors.”

KM’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ swings for the fences

Kasson-Mantorville High School is putting on “Little Shop of Horrors” April 23 through May 9. Play director Mel Ferris said because of COVID-19, she and her drama team selected a play that could be done with fewer actors than their normal cast of 65 kids, 25 in the stage crew, backstage parents and...

BREAKING: Olmsted Sheriff investigating stabbing near Byron Middle School

Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an altercation and stabbing Thursday evening near Byron Middle School. One person was stabbed and transported to Mayo Clinic-Saint Marys Campus and two individuals are in custody, according to reports. Byron Public Schools Supt. Joey Page said in an...