Parking spaces were virtually non-existent Saturday morning as Dodge County residents came to the 21st annual Dodge County Expo.
The yearly event gives local businesses and organizations a chance to meet with residents and show what they have to offer. There is also plenty of food and free entertainment to be enjoyed.

At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we sometimes joke that we are our region’s “best kept secret.” But it is true that despite the fact that we are regularly out in our 20-county region visiting with partners and facilitating trainings, we find that there are still many people who do not know about SMIF.

A former Kasson police officer will be spending the next 18 years behind bars for his
role in sexually assaulting three family members over a 20-year period.
On Wednesday morning, an Olmsted County District Court Judge sentenced Julio
Baez to 18 years in prison. Baez will first serve 90 days at the St. Cloud Correctional
Facility before corrections officials determine where he will spend the rest of his

"Don't take your organs to heaven -- heaven knows we need them here!"
There's a wonderful organization out there that gives many renewed life.

Ever since he was adopted at eight weeks old by his owner, Derek Severson, the 8-year-old bassador, named Diesel, has been a loving dog.
That's why a few weeks ago, the Dodge County family got the worst news imaginable when they were told that Diesel has cancer.
On March 4, Severson found a large mass in Diesel’s mouth and immediately took a photo and contacted their vet.

The Dodge Center City Council held a short emergency meeting Monday night at which time they dealt with two personnel items.
City Administrator Joshua Tetzlaff requested the city council give its approval to offering the position of finance analyst/clerk to Jeremiah Wadley. They also accepted the resignation of administrative clerk Daphne Roberts.

BY ALEX MALM
NEWS EDITOR
Across the country each year, thousands of people are trained in First Aid and CPR.
The goal of the courses is for people in the community to be trained on what to do if someone has a medical emergency.
For many, this is just a routine part in order to get a job or to continue working in a current job.

Giving back to the community, and agriculture are two of the pillars that the FFA is founded on.
That’s why it was so fitting, that the Byron FFA, was able to not only able to help the agriculture community, but also people in need as well, through their recent community service project.
That project was raising money, in order to buy and donate local dairy to the Channel One Food Bank.

The Byron girls track and field team took it inside to open their season as they went all the way up to Menomonie, Wisc. To take part in the Northern Badger Invitational. The meet, which was held at the University of Wisconsin-Stout on Mar. 23, was the first meet for the Bears as they looked to set the bar high for the upcoming season.