The 2025 legislative session opens January 14, and it will be unlike any that we have ever seen.

We are right around the halfway mark of the new school year, and there have been a number of controversies taking place within the walls of Kasson-Mantorville schools.
As we previously reported, a longtime school board member quit the board in October, citing personal reasons. A few short weeks later, voters re-elected her.

As this week’s edition of the Dodge County Independent comes in your mailbox, Americans are taking time to remember President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29, age 100, at his home in Plains, Ga.
His state funeral is being held today at the National Cathedral in Washington DC.

Every year since 2017, during the holidays, I have flown either from Minnesota to the east coast for the holidays to visit my family, or vice versa to visit my in-laws.
I’ve run into some hiccups, during those years, with the worst situation to date, being a few hours late, while my wife was stuck at her parents — sick, during Covid as I traveled back to Rhode Island for work.

Wishing all our readers a very Happy New Year.
To start off on a positive note, it looks like the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign was a success. Dodge County Salvation Army Coordinator Tanya Young said that as of this past weekend, the Kettles had collected $34,044.38. That’s not necessarily the final total as they are still waiting for any additional checks to arrive before posting a final amount.

I’ve had some in-depth discussions lately with family and friends about immigration and ICE. Rosie and I have a pretty diverse family — we have cousins who are African American, Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese — then we have our Canadian, South American, and Australian relatives. We also have an amazing daughter-in-law who is Guatemalan. My Mom’s side came from Norway. Dad’s side came from Scotland.