Westfield Township residents met last week to discuss whether the township should establish its own zoning ordinance. But the meeting generated more questions than answers as the two sides now debate whether the meeting that was held was the one that was advertised.

Steele County businesses now are required to collect a new sales-and-use tax.
The 10-year, 0.5 percent Steele County tax took effect April 1. It’s in addition to the 6.875 percent state sales tax and is aimed at funding road improvements.

A body was found Monday afternoon near interstates 35 and 90 at Albert Lea, and authorities say foul play might be involved.A property owner found the body shortly after 6 p.m. off I-90 just east of Highway 13 and called 911, said Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag.

Whether it is glasses, braces, red hair or freckles, Medford students performed the musical “Freckleface Strawberry” to show kids that they are special just the way they are. 

Medford students and staff members donated 61 pints of blood during last week’s American Red Cross blood drive sponsored by the National Honor Society. Those units have the potential to save up to 183 lives, as one pint can save up to three lives. 
Senior Matthew Anderson knows the importance of donating all too well. Recently his brother had to undergo a blood transfusion after he suffered complications from weight-loss surgery. 

Tears of love for her coach were turned into a fundraising project for Blooming Prairie seventh grade volleyball player Riauna Bishop.
Riauna came home from school one day and couldn’t hold back her tears, telling her parents, Benji and Nicole Bishop, that her junior high school volleyball coach, Lisa Poe, was having a life battle with colon cancer. She informed them that she wished to help the family.

To some, running is simply the rotation of one leg pasing the other while the sound of huffing and puffing exits the lungs. To Kenzie Schroeder and her family, running is so much more.
Motivation

A man who groomed himself for government and public affairs at a young age is stepping down believing he has left Steele County’s government in a good place. 

It has always been about educating students for John Worke.
On July 1, Worke, the Blooming Prairie activities director and facilities manager, will become the high school principal. Whether he will continue coaching the girls basketball team and performing other current duties has yet to be determined.