BREAKING NEWS: Residents of Claremont evacuated due to gas main due to broken gas line
 
More than two dozen people were evacuated from buildings in the 200 block of Front Street in Claremont Friday afternoon after a worker struck a gas main while working in the alley.

The driver killed in an Olmsted County head-on crash on Thanksgiving morning, has been identified as a Byron resident, 24-year-old Casey Beach.
 
According to the state patrol, witnesses reported that a Honda Civic was traveling northbound on Hwy 52 north of Chatfield, when it crossed the centerline several times before colliding with a southbound GMC Acadia.

Beginning with next week’s edition of the Dodge County Independent, the newspaper will have a new print schedule. 
The DCI will now be printed on Wednesdays instead of the previous schedule of Tuesdays. That means subscribers will receive their newspaper one day later than what they have been accustomed to in the past. 

Although budget discussions are still ongoing, Dodge County officials are anticipating a 2016 budget increase in the neighborhood of 5.2 percent, county board members were told last week.

Now that school is back in session, Kasson-Mantorville students have to adjust to the construction. Even though a good portion of the project is complete, there is still a fair amount of work left to do before the entire high school project is complete.