It was the first school board meeting of 2019 for the Kasson-Mantorville School Board on Monday night which meant it was also their annual organizational  meeting.
During the meeting it was a chance for new school board members Zakh Peterson and Mark Torkelson to be sworn in as the newest members of the board after being elected in November.

As a local news reporter one of the things that I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to do is see local elected officials being sworn into office.
Usually for people being sworn into local office this takes place during regularly scheduled government meetings but last week I got to see it done a little differently.

During the Lewiston Auto Holiday Classic, Kasson-Mantorville senior Logan Bigelow earned a distinct honor by being named the recipient of the 2018 Bob Welch Memorial Award. The two-day tournament, which the K-M boys basketball team participated in on December 27 and 28, gives out the award for a student’s leadership on the court and being a great member in the community off of it.

Imagine that you could go to school, stop by your homeroom and pick up a schedule of what is being taught that day and then head out to the classes you choose. 
Not only that, but the teachers were able to teach whatever class they chose.

The Hayfield Fire Department responded to a house fire in Blooming Prairie on New Year’s Day.
As a result of the fire a man facing several medical problems is now staring at another challenge— finding a new place to live.

In 2010 Matt Stradtman moved to Kasson with his wife after she got a teaching job out of college at Triton Elementary School.
Now about nine years later Stradtman joined the Kasson Police Department as a full- time officer, the department where he began his career.

For 20 years Byron High School FACS Teacher, Ryan Radke, has been looking for innovative hands on learning experiences for his students.
Then one day while eating at a food truck he realized that it would be a good idea to one day have his students run one.
That idea will soon be a reality as Byron High School has been awarded a $45,000 Bush Foundation Grant to buy and to have it’s students run a fully operational food truck.

One of our Commissioners
asked me this week why our
deputies often leave our squad
cars running. He explained he’s
been asked this question by
voters in his district. It’s a great
question. Here are the reasons:
 
Squad cars today are way
different than they were back in
the day. When my dad (Bob Rose)
worked for the Kasson Police
Department and later with the

The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is urging the public to report any suspicious activity and/or vehicles and to make sure you lock up your vehicles, garages, outbuildings and homes after an arrest of two suspects early Wednesday morning who had just burglarized a rural residence in Milton Township in the NE corner of the county.