Gail Loree Paulson, 65, of Austin, died Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, at Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Marys Campus in Rochester.
She was born July 29, 1955, in Owatonna, the daughter of Gustav “LeRoy” and Helen (Knippel) Paulson. Gail loved her family, getting together for holidays and birthdays. Her smile and contagious joy always lit up the room.

Betty Louise Hunter Reecy, 78, passed away Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020, following a spirited battle with cancer.
Betty was born August 25, 1942, in Merced, California to Al and Lyda (nee: Cox) Hunter. She grew up in rural Oregon and Washington until she graduated from Silverton High School, Silverton, Oregon in 1960.

Students from area schools were recently announced as recipients of Blue Jacket Scholarships from the Minnesota FFA Foundation providing some of the organizations newest members the familiar blue FFA jackets.
A total of 420 students from Minnesota earned the jackets including eight from Triton, seven from Hayfield and three from Byron.

College students are among those filling in in area classrooms, taking on the job of classroom supervisor for in-person learners when teachers are teaching from home.
This trend is unfolding around the country, reports ABC News, with college students recruited to oversee classrooms during a pandemic when educators are sidelined.

When Rochester’s Rick Utley decided to get sober, he started attending recovery meetings and one day was called upon to share his story. He did.
After the meeting, a couple approached Utley and said they had a heroin addiction. Could Utley help them, they asked.

Olmsted County’s first baby was born to Paul and Sara Bailey of Kasson at 12:50 a.m. on Jan. 1. The baby, Payton Mary, delayed her arrival until the New Year.

The Anytime Fitness operations in Byron and Kasson are seeing an uptick in new memberships as they typically do at the start of a new year. What they’re still recovering from are previous business shut downs due to COVID-19.
The latest shutdown was from Nov. 17 through Dec. 19, said Zach Hodgson, general manager with Anytime Fitness in Byron. “It was a big hit,” he said.