Monday morning brought rain and thunderstorms into Steele County and the surrounding counties. Although the majority of Steele County did not see any flooding the southern portion of the county had some problem areas arise. 
Owatonna Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Mike Johnson said the heaviest rainfall was in the New Richland area, however there were also some isolated flood spots in Ellendale. 

For the most part, with the exception of some heavy showers at mid-week, the weather has cooperated with the beginning of work on the reconstruction of Main Street in Blooming Prairie.
Major construction officially began on Monday, June 15, with some street pavement removal being done on the east side of Main Street to 5th Avenue. Directional drilling also began under Highway 218 and the railroad.

Dairy cows eat about 102 pounds of wet feed every day. 
That’s one of the more interesting facts people walked away with after touring a Steele County dairy operation as part of last Saturday’s Breakfast on the Farm event. More than 900 people attended the dairy month promotion at Clover Glen Farms located near Claremont.

Two young women from Dodge Center were crowned Miss Dodge Center last Saturday evening.
Haley Yankowiak and Emmily Wilson will both have the title Miss Dodge Center for the coming year. Alamae Gutierrez and Paityn Sackett were named Little Miss Dodge Center and Adam Vacura was named Mr. Ambassador.

Eating out for breakfast has never been as such a flippin good time as last Saturday’s Breakfast on the Farm event in Steele County.

Shirley A. Burton of Albert Lea, formerly of Blooming Prairie and New Richland, died on Monday, June 15, 2015, at Good Samaritan Society in Albert Lea. She was 62.
She was born on Jan. 15, 1953, in Albert Lea, the daughter of Ralph and Margella (Bakken) Besser. Shirley was baptized and confirmed at the First Congregation Church in New Richland, where she was still a member. 

Adela Ochoa-Dominguez, 87 of Blooming Prairie, died peacefully on Wednesday afternoon, June 17, 2015 at her daughter’s home in Bricelyn, Minn.  
She was surrounded by her loving family. 
Adela was born Oct. 20, 1927 in Goliad, Texas to Facundo and Florentina (Garcia) Ochoa. She grew up near San Antonio before her marriage to Juan Dominguez, Sr. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Geneva.  

There were plenty of reasons why the 2015 Medford baseball team should not have won 13 games. 
For one thing, the school had only won 16 games in the past three seasons combined. For another, the varsity had only nine players, the bare requirement for a team, and one shy of having a single substitute. Having only two seniors could also have been a problem.

One hundred and ten women gathered to enjoy appetizers, cocktails, desserts, and purses to support a good cause at the second annual Power of the Purse event held last Tuesday, June 16 at the Owaotnna Country Club.