Julia Beth Oswald passed away unexpectedly on Sept. 8, 2015, at the age of 23.
Julia was a vivacious, feisty and bright young woman. She brought light and happiness to everyone she met. She could be whatever you needed at any given time; an advocate, a defender, a shoulder to cry on, a truly rare great friend. She will be sorely missed by all.

Harriet Orlanda Carlson, age 86 of Goodhue, died peacefully at home on Friday morning, Sept. 11, 2015. Harriet was born on January 15, 1929 in Albert Lea, MN the daughter of Martin and Emma (Fremo) Westing.  She graduated from Blooming Prairie High School in 1947, and married Elmer Carlson on July 20, 1957, in Blooming Prairie. They farmed together and raised two children, Keith and Tamara.

Lorene V. Gosewisch died Tuesday evening, Sept. 8, 2015, at Maple Manor Nursing Home after a short and sudden battle with Leukemia. She was born to Adena and J.R. Christenson in Blooming Prairie on Jan. 3, 1925. Lorene began a 35 year career with Prudential Insurance Company in the Twin Cities. She later moved to Mankato where she met and married her husband Edgar Gosewisch and was an auxiliary member of the American Legion.

Despite a physical disability, Craig Aarsvold carries on with life just like anyone else, and he’s using the 4-H program to prove it.
The Dodge Center teenager operates with only one arm as he was born without a right arm. He’s actually pretty handy when it comes to making things as he made a shop project in 4-H and won a trip for the first time to the Minnesota State Fair last week. 

By now most of you have likely heard or read about Cecil the Lion. While I feel for the lion, the reaction it has caused is outrageous. 

Members of the West Concord Legion Post 295 and Auxiliary gathered in the backyard of the Legion Hall last week for a ceremony to dispose of American flags no longer in a condition to be used.
After collecting more than 50 flags from local residents, Post Commander Myron Ehrich read the appropriate words and asked if the flags had been inspected and deemed to be unusable.

Being a truck driver seems like a lonely profession. There are tons of hours spent on the road traveling from town to town and dock to dock. After millions of miles of asphalt, it doesn’t seem like a driver would have much social interaction.

Triton High School inducted their fourth annual Hall of Fame class over the weekend as several former athletes from Dodge Center, Claremont and West Concord were honored for their stellar careers. While they were honored at Friday night’s football game against Caledonia, the highlight of their weekend had to be the induction ceremony which took place at the High School’s auditorium Saturday night.

The Huskies 34-23 win over Northfield on Friday was made even a little sweeter for fans with the induction of five former athletes into the Owatonna High School Athletics Hall of Fame. 
Among the inductees were former Huskies Coach Ed Draheim, 1982 graduate Jody Neuleib-Young, 1986 graduate Scott Kostelecky, 2000 graduate Mike Lundstrom and 1999 graduate and current Running Backs Coach Matt Skala.