Raymond Alvin Six, 87, of West Concord, died Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, at Benedictine Living Madonna Towers, Rochester.
Ray was born Aug. 5, 1938, in Knoxville, Iowa, while his parents Harold Alvin Six and Mary Belle (Wright) Six were visiting his grandparents in Dallas and Melcher, Iowa.

Douglas Alan Eayrs, 71, of Maple Grove, died peacefully at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis on Jan. 1, 2026, surrounded by loved ones. Douglas was recently diagnosed with a rare leukemia and faced other challenging complications.
Douglas was born May 21, 1954, to Stewart and Ruth Eayrs. Douglas grew up on the family farm near the Swiss settlement of Berne. He graduated from West Concord High School in 1972.

 
Paul T. Musolf, 85, of Rochester, passed away on Dec. 22, 2025, at his home with family at his side.

 
With the number of fitness facilities that have popped up over the last number of years, you would think Americans are in better shape than ever before. But maybe the abundance of workout places is rather a sign of just the opposite; we are in terrible shape and need lots of help. I do know one thing for sure: It is a lot harder to eat healthy than it is to load up on junk food.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the difficulties I had traveling home for Christmas.
When I came back to Minnesota, things got worse: We were traveling into a blizzard.
Last Sunday rolled around, and our alarm went off before 3 a.m., meaning it was time to finish packing up our stuff and get in the Uber to travel an hour and 15 minutes north from my parents’ house in Warwick, R.I., to Logan Airport in Boston.

I wanted to share a brief update regarding transportation services for the month of January.
For this short period, I will be stepping in as the Interim Transportation Director while we transition to our new Director. This is a temporary plan for the month of January only, and we have a strong team in place to ensure routes, schedules, and communication continue as smoothly as possible.

On the same day Gov. Tim Walz dropped out of the governor’s race, state Rep. Peggy Bennett, a Republican from Albert Lea, formally announced her campaign at Albert Lea High School.
Bennett, a six-term state representative, first elected in 2015, said during her campaign rally that she would also be retiring from her seat.

The Minnesota State Court of Appeals judge from Owatonna who was charged with drunk driving pleaded guilty last week and was immediately sentenced in the case.
Renee Lee Worke, 67, originally faced two counts of gross misdemeanor third-degree DWI; one of the counts was amended to a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge.
That’s the count Worke pled guilty to; the gross misdemeanor count was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

A resolution to make the Dodge County Attorney position full-time is expected on the agenda for the Jan. 13 Board of Commissioners meeting.
County Attorney Paul Kiltinen, who has suggested the move in the past, brought it forward again at the December Committee of the Whole meeting, prior to the full board session.