Opinions

Helping grandma with technology

I am back home in Rhode Island for the holidays and about halfway through my trip my grandmother came down from New Hampshire to visit. She was born over eight decades ago, so she’s seen a lot in her lifetime, and I was reminded she’s seen a lot of technological advances. When my sister and I,...

Deafening silence from K-M

Over the past several weeks, this newspaper has worked diligently to get to the bottom of what exactly has been going on behind the scenes with the Kasson-Mantorville school district. Meanwhile, school district leaders seem perfectly content saying nothing. Through just one month of examining...

Engaging you with hyper-local news

There’s a phrase in the journalism world that best describes what we’re all about at the Dodge County Independent. As the phrase goes, “We’re hyper-local news.” And that’s a good thing for you. We’re able to provide a niche that can be very difficult to find anywhere else. Journalism has certainly...

Even in dark times, there is good in humanity

After a decade in the news business, primarily writing hard news stories, I’ve seen, written about, and heard a lot of negative stories. No complaints, I love what I do. But sometimes it can be hard to see the good in humanity, especially intoday’s polarizing climate. Then, the other day, I saw the...

Dodge County shows its generosity

Even though the holiday season for many doesn’t officially begin until Thanksgiving, already Dodge County residents are showing just how generous they can be during this time of year. Kasson-Mantorville residents turned out on November 7 to help the Care & Share organization raise funds to help...

An eye-popping DWI arrest

Police officers are always on the lookout for intoxicated drivers, especially around certain holiday periods like Labor Day back in September and now the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s holidays. From mid-August through the Labor Day weekend, officers, troopers and deputies from 250 agencies...

With 3 new veterans homes in 1 year, Minnesota is stepping up to support its veterans

As a 24-year veteran of the Minnesota National Guard, I know that when you raise your hand to serve, you’re not just sacrificing your time. You’re sacrificing your health, safety, personal freedoms, and time with family in service to your country. Minnesota is home to more than 285,000 veterans who...

Local co-op assists to help with cruel trick

Halloween has been known to be the source of some pretty good pranks over the years. Long-time residents of southeastern Minnesota may recall the great Halloween ice storm of 1991 when power was knocked out in some parts for a week or more. I remember working as a cub reporter at KAAL-TV when the...

Bogus invoice by K-M doesn’t stop DCI from finding the truth

About a month ago, this newspaper began investigating the abrupt resignation of Kasson-Mantorville School Board member Amy Olson. Olson in her resignation letter cited a family crisis that had caused her to be distracted from the work. Right away, we knew there was more to the story. We were...

Supporting Our First Responders

Last month, Hurricanes Milton and Helene devastated parts of the southern United States. As families evacuated and started to rebuild, firefighters, police officers, and emergency personnel were a constant presence including the Minnesota National Guard who went down to help. This is what our first...