News

It's Homecoming week at Fairmont High School. Dress up days for the students this week include Music Day on Monday, Bikers vs. Surfers on Tuesday, Wednesday the Seniors dress up as Senior Citizens and Grades 7-11 dress up as their younger selvers, Thursday is Class Color Day,  and Friday is Red and White Day. Coronation of the King And Queen will be Friday at 1:20 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Ironman Volleyball, the Candidate Games, and Powder Puff Football are Thursday night beginning at 7. The Parade will take its traditional route through Downtown Plaza beginning Friday afternoon. Homecoming buttons [...]

Martin County will be holding a public informational meeting in Thursday, September 28th at 5:30 p.m. at the Martin County Courthouse. This meeting will be regarding the rezoning application submitted to the City of Fairmont for property located at 800 East Margaret Street in Fairmont for the proposed Public Safety and Justice Center. This meeting is open to the public and may be attended by members of the Fairmont City Council and Fairmont Planning Commission.

PUBLIC NOTICE Description of Proposed School Construction Project Martin County West Public School District, ISD #2448-01 is proposing a two question bond referendum on November 7, 2023. The first ballot question would authorize $63 million in bonding authority to finance the construction of a new, PK-12 facility and the replacement of outdoor athletic facilities on the two existing school sites in Sherburn. The existing middle/high school in Sherburn, along with the two existing elementary schools (in Sherburn & Trimont), would all be demolished. The second ballot question would authorize an additional $9 million in bonding authority to finance a 400 seat [...]

ALGONA, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa police officer died after being shot while trying to arrest a man who was later captured in Minnesota, officials said Thursday. Algona Police officer Kevin Cram was shot just before 8 p.m. Wednesday as he tried to serve an arrest warrant on 43-year-old Kyle Ricke, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Cram, a 33-year-old husband and father who had been an officer in Algona since 2015, was pronounced dead at a hospital. The shooting prompted a Blue Alert to let the public know a suspect who posed a potential [...]

MADELIA, Minn. (AP) — A meat processing company in Minnesota on Friday agreed to pay $300,000 in penalties after an investigation found it employed children as young as 13 to work in hazardous conditions, such as operating meat grinders, while they worked overnight shifts and longer hours than allowed by law. Tony Downs Food Company, based in Mankato, also agreed to obey child labor laws and hire a compliance specialist as part of a consent order with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. “In this case, Tony Downs has agreed to take important steps to prevent child labor violations,” department Commissioner Nicole [...]

On Friday, District Judge John Sandy filed a scheduling order to set a plea and sentencing hearing for 42yo Nathaniel Kassel of Rock Rapids in connection with the fatal shooting of his mother, 62yo Jody Duskin, last March in Sheldon. The hearing is scheduled to take place on September 18th at 8:30 am in O'Brien County District Court, with details of the plea agreement yet to be publicly released.   Kassel had initially pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge and was scheduled to stand trial next month. He was arrested two days after the shooting while in South Dakota, [...]

A man has died while in the custody of the Faribault Police Department and State authorities are conducting an investigation into the case. The department said that officers performed a traffic stop late on Saturday, Sept. 2, after the driver was in and out of consciousness. The driver was taken into custody without incident and an ambulance was called. However, he became unresponsive while being transported to Rice County jail pending DWI charges. The officers attempted life-saving efforts and Narcan was administered, but he was pronounced deceased at Allina Health Faribault Medical Center. Faribault Police Chief John Sherwin issued a statement, [...]

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has expanded the current air quality alert to include the western half of Minnesota. The alert now runs until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6. The affected area includes Brainerd, Alexandria, Albert Lea, Marshall, Worthington, Ortonville, Mankato, Bemidji, East Grand Forks, Moorhead, International Falls, Hibbing, Ely, Roseau, and the tribal nations of Upper Sioux, Mille Lacs, Leech Lake, and Red Lake. The alert has also been upgraded to Red AQI for western Minnesota.

The next deadline is September 22  for Operation Round Up funds from Federated Rural Electric’s Trust Board. Operation Round Up involves 77 percent of Federated's members in Jackson and Martin Counties; they allow their monthly electric bills to be rounded up to the nearest dollar amount. The "rounded up" change goes into a trust fund. An independent Trust Board, which consists of Federated members, evaluates local funding requests and distributes the funds. The application form can be downloaded from Federated’s website: www.federatedrea.coop. You can also call Federated at 507-847-3520 or 1-800-321-3520. Ask for Andrea to request an application (or e-mail: info@federatedrea.coop). [...]

North Mankato Police have charged a 14yo male suspect with multiple counts in connection with a string of incidents this summer. In Nicollet County District Court, the juvenile is accused of possessing burglary tools, motor vehicle theft, driving without a license, possession of drug paraphernalia and four counts of tampering with motor vehicles.   In response to the string of criminal activity, North Mankato Police are urging the community to ensure their property is secure and immediately report any suspicious activity by dialing 911.   Investigations into the incidents are ongoing.