Vivian E. Hjelmen-Eggert, 81, of West Fargo, passed away Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017, at Sanford Hospital in Fargo.

James “Jim” Robert Schumacher, 35, of Hollandale, died Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 at his residence.

Lawrence Allen Ingvaldson, 86, Ellendale, passed away peacefully Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018 at Koda Living Community in Owatonna. 
Lawrence was born on March 2, 1931 to Melvin and Alma (Hendrickson) Ingvaldson in Newry Township near Blooming Prairie. He attended Newry Township country school. Lawrence was united in marriage to Marian Jean Hensrud on Feb. 24, 1952 and raised their family and farmed in Steele County. 

Tamara “Tami” Marie Miller (Louks), 62, of Dodge Center, passed away Jan. 16, 2018 at her residence.  
 
Tamara was born Nov. 4, 1955 in Faribault, to Arthur and Marian Heggedahl.
 
Tami was united in marriage to Kevin Louks in 1974 and they later divorced. In September, 2007 she married Jeremy Miller in Pine Island, where they shared their home until moving to Dodge Center. They were divorced in 2016.  
 

Belen (Zuniga) Calderón, 82, of the Albert Lea area, passed away Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 at her residence in Brownsville, Texas.  
She was born on Aug. 15, 1935, in Valle Hermoso, Tamualipas, Mexico, the daughter of Aurelio and Aurora (Perez) Zuniga. Belen came to the United States while in her 20s. She settled in Minnesota where she worked for the Hollandale Marketing Association for many years.  

The Westfield Razorbacks (7-5) took the title at the annual Dave Erickson Hall of Fame Tournament at Hayfield on Saturday. 
The Razorbacks finished first at the 12-team festivals. Byron placed second and Rochester Mayo earned third. They were followed by Cannon Falls, Waseca, Dover-Eyota, Austin, Saint Charles, Rochester John Marshall, Triton and Saint Thomas Academy. 

Five teachers in the Kasson-Mantorville school district have gone through three stages of contract grievances and could enter into arbitration against the district. The difficulty is that Education Minnesota, the state entity representing public school teachers and educationals support professionals, wants to change the interpretation of contract language, K-M Superintendent Mark Matuska said. 

School is... Stressful.
And I’m not just saying that because the next quarter and semester are peeking their heads around the corner. No. It’s always like this. 
Anyone who is in school, young or old, knows that there are highs and lows to getting up so early in the morning. These are one of my low points.

Gosh, but the flu is ever so much fun.
And it seems like about every other person  is suffering from it here in our corner of the world.
We are the hacking, sneezing, going-back-to-bed Walking Dead.
This is not the “flu” flu, which entertains our stomachs. It’s the coughing flu, featuring the chills, the hots, rumbling lungs, occasionally a sore throat, and the ol’ runny nose.