A corporate culture of indifference permeates America. A crash earlier this month that resulted in the death of 43 pigs near our family farm in Dodge County is illustrative of this indifference. Disposal of the dead pigs was easy. Within hours, the euthanized pigs were added to dead boxes or composting stations in area swine factory farms, heaped a little higher with pig piles of dead pigs.

Friends and neighbors,
The 2025 regular legislative session came to a disappointing conclusion at midnight on May 20. The Constitution requires us to write a new state budget this year. Unfortunately, despite my hope and optimism, we were unable to finish our work.

The boys Triton Track and Field team won the Section 1A — Sub-Section 2 meet last week.
In the 100 meter Triton’s Pierce Petersohn ran a 11.48 to win the race, with Garet Jensen 11.87 to come in second.
Hayfield’s Easton Johnson finished third in the 100 meter with a time of 12.10, and Triton’s Christian Valdez Miranda Jr finished fifth with a time of 12.21.

Dodge County Renovation ReUse will have a Drop Off Day this Saturday, May 31, from 8 a.m. to noon at their facility 62770 240th St., Kasson. Renovation ReUse is a Dodge County operation to provide a facility filled with good reusable materials available for all community members at an affordable purchase price and to keep items out of landfills.

The criminal case against a former Minnesota State Trooper will continue after an Olmsted County judge denied a motion to dismiss the charges against him.
Shane Roper, 33, Hayfield, was charged after a fatal car crash on May 18, 2024, that killed an Owatonna High School senior three weeks before graduation.

At a joint meeting in Waseca on May 20, representatives from Dodge and Waseca Counties expressed their support for continuing with the Minnesota Prairie County Alliance (MNPrairie).
On March 25, Steele County commissioners passed a resolution in favor of terminating the three-county Joint Powers Agreement and dissolving the human services provider. That would have required either Dodge or Waseca County to do the same.

Area school superintendents expressed relief that the Minnesota Legislature provided funds for the summer unemployment insurance program for school districts but said that the legislation will not solve the problem long term.