Students in Byron and Kasson-Mantorville walked out of classes Tuesday to protest the activities of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in Minnesota and throughout the nation.
The Byron protest was organized by Jay, a senior at the high school who did not want their last name revealed.
“I heard about what happened to Renee Good,” Jay said, “and was frustrated by what ICE is doing.”

On the same day Gov. Tim Walz dropped out of the governor’s race, state Rep. Peggy Bennett, a Republican from Albert Lea, formally announced her campaign at Albert Lea High School.
Bennett, a six-term state representative, first elected in 2015, said during her campaign rally that she would also be retiring from her seat.

The Minnesota State Court of Appeals judge from Owatonna who was charged with drunk driving pleaded guilty last week and was immediately sentenced in the case.
Renee Lee Worke, 67, originally faced two counts of gross misdemeanor third-degree DWI; one of the counts was amended to a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge.
That’s the count Worke pled guilty to; the gross misdemeanor count was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

A resolution to make the Dodge County Attorney position full-time is expected on the agenda for the Jan. 13 Board of Commissioners meeting.
County Attorney Paul Kiltinen, who has suggested the move in the past, brought it forward again at the December Committee of the Whole meeting, prior to the full board session.

 
A Rochester couple whose son underwent lengthy cancer treatment at Mayo Clinic is expanding their effort to help families of hospitalized kids find long-term, temporary housing. 
In 2007, Randy and Ree Erickson were living in Williston, N.D., when their young son, Silas, fell ill. Doctors in Williston determined he had cancer, and he was sent to Mayo.
There, doctors found he had Stage 4 cancer. 

The 2026 Ride for Wyatt is scheduled for Jan. 31 , 2026, at Riverside Park in Mantorville. 
The snowmobile ride and other events of the day raise funds for the Wyatt M. Coy Memorial Scholarship, an endowed (perpetual) fund to support graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a career related to mental health with a special focus on treatment of depression and suicide prevention.