March 26, 2025
A Slayton man was injured in a two-vehicle accident in Watonwan County on Tuesday morning. A Ford Trans Connect van driven by Scott Thomas Paukner, 58, of Slayton, collided with a GMC Sierra pickup driven by Wyatt Bryan Wentland, 21, of Trimont at the intersection of State Highway 4 and County Road 8 in Ormsby. Paukner was taken to the St. James Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Wentland was not injured according to the Minnesota State Patrol report.
At a special meeting on Tuesday, the Martin County Commissioners voted 4-1 to terminate the Martin County Justice Center project. The action ends putting the project out for bid, disbands the core committee and stops work with all contractors. The effort to build a new jail in Martin County goes back nearly twenty years, with more than $3 million spent on the design and land acquisition process since 2017.
The Fairmont School Board, in regular session on Tuesday, approved next year’s school calendar with a graduation date of Sunday, May 31st, approved the hiring of Ryan Adams as 8th Grade Physical Science teacher at Fairmont Jr. High for the coming school year, and Alicia Brandt as 7th Grade Life Science teacher for next school year. Retirements of Elementary School aides Jill Christensen and Cindy Bankson were approved. Donations from Dan & Mary Ann Kehrberg for the Anne Frank Tree Project and Kwik Trip for the 4th Grade Field Trip were also accepted.