A Kasson man has been sentenced to 261 months in prison for the killing of an Olmsted County man in 2022.
William Isaac Shillingford, 33, was sentenced last week in Olmsted County District Court for the May 8, 2022, killing of John Colbert, 70, in Kalmar Township. He had pleaded guilty to felony second-degree murder with intent in November 2023.

West Concord residents were advised earlier this week to boil their water due to a loss of pressure in the city’s water system.

The Hayfield area was a focus point for the Dodge County Historical Society in 2023, and we found many details of life in that area in times past.
“Conversations are important,” noted Lois Hancock, organizer of the events. “When you have conversations with people, all sorts of interesting things come to light.”

As Minnesota families celebrate the new year, I want to reflect on everything we achieved together in 2023 and look forward to the year ahead. Despite a divided Congress, we worked across the aisle and made progress on a range of issues impacting our state. Through my visits to all of Minnesota’s 87 counties last year, I got to see that progress firsthand. I’m going to build on that momentum in 2024.

I remember when relatives had been visiting and as they were about to leave, my aunt would tell my mother, drop me a line. To those of you as old as I am, that might make sense, but to anyone younger, it was probably lost in translation. What my aunt was telling my mother was to write her a letter sometime. At one time, that was actually an accepted form of communication.

It’s the eternal question, right? How do you find and keep love? We’d love to report on that for a Valentine’s Day article featuring local couples. So if you’ve managed to find and keep love, please email Dodge County Independent reporter Renee Berg at ReneeDCI@kmtel.com or by texting or calling her at 507-529-9086.