With five minutes left in the game, Blooming Prairie was up by 20 and sending in the substitutes for some varsity playing time. The Medford Tigers, on the other hand, were still trying to win. With a full-court press, and their best shooting in the night, the Tigers managed to pull the game within eight points with over a minute left. Blooming Prairie was forced to send their varsity back in to stop the improbable comeback.

With a keen interest in law enforcement, Laura Isenor had a strong desire to become an FBI agent. In fact, she recently had the opportunity to join the FBI’s hiring process, but something more important got in the way.

One of the most coveted journalism awards in Minnesota has found its way to Steele County. 
The Steele County Times received the Lynn Smith Community Leadership award Thursday night at the annual awards banquet of the Minnesota Newspaper Association in Bloomington. The leadership award is one of the top four awards given out to Minnesota newspapers. 

A settlement has been reached in a federal civil lawsuit against the Blooming Prairie Police Department and Steele County Sheriff’s Office. The settlement came during a conference in U.S. Federal Court in Minneapolis last Wednesday. Details of the settlement are not being disclosed until all sides have signed the agreement, which is expected within the next seven days. 

As the cost of solar energy goes down, interest in solar energy projects is going up. The city of Claremont is considering contracting with a company to provide a “solar garden” for community residents, and Steele Waseca Cooperative Electric is planning for a community solar project for its members.

Wins and losses

To say I was the least bit dumbfounded at our successful run in this year’s Minnesota Newspaper Association awards contest may be a gross understatement.

It is funny how sometimes stories just appear when you least expect them. I recently stopped over at Triton Middle School to talk to Principal Mark Raymond about the robotics program that he hopes to start at Triton.

Brant Hemingway, of Ellendale, has been taking pictures full time for the past 20 years, but the interest started long before that. Hemingway fell in love with photography at age 13, after he purchased his first professional camera with money he earned from working on the farm.