Gov. Tim Walz announced Sunday that all of Minnesota’s K-12 schools will close for eight school days starting Wednesday to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Walz and state Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker made the announcement Sunday morning in St. Paul.

The Minnesota State High School League put out an announcement Friday regarding cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic:
Effective Immediately:
The Minnesota State High School League is immediately cancelling the Girls Basketball State Tournament.
Additionally, all Boys Section and State Basketball Tournaments have been cancelled.
Section Speech Tournament events for the week of March 15-21 have been postponed indefinitely.
The Adapted Floor Hockey games scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14 will NOT be played either.

The WEM Girls' Basketball team won the state tournament quarterfinal game against Heritage Christian Academy, 58-46!
The Bucs will play Minneota High School tomorrow, Friday, March 13 at noon at Williams Arena.

UPDATED March 13, 2020- The Adapted Floor Hockey games scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14 will NOT be played.

Thursday, March 12, 2020 UPDATE
MANKATO, Minn. – (3 p.m.) Highway 93 from Highway 169 to Henderson is expected to reopen by 6 p.m. this evening, Thursday, March 12, after being closed since March 8 due to flooding on the Rush River.  Crews have been working to clear debris off the road and make repairs to shoulders and culverts.
 The shoulders of southbound Highway 93 are extremely soft due to exposure to the floodwaters. MnDOT is advising no travel on the shoulders until they dry out and repairs can be made.

The WEM girls' basketball team defeated Sleepy Eye-St. Mary's, 79-68, to win the Section 2A Championship Friday, March 6 at MSU-Mankato. The Lady Bucs will now play in the Class A State Tournament, starting Thursday, March 12 at the University of Minnesota. The Bucs will play Heritage Christian Academy at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at Maturi Pavillion at the University of Minnesota.

A Las Vegas homicide suspect is in police custody after being located in Rice County.
Mark Doocy, 60, of Blooming Prairie, was arrested on March 4 at the Flying J Truck Stop at I-35 and Highway 19. According to Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn, Doocy was arrested and forced to leave his vehicle after he refused to cooperate with officials.

The Le Sueur County Board cruised through a very light agenda Tuesday, March 3.
The regular meeting lasted approximately 40 minutes, but was followed by a special road and bridge work session.
A number of items which were dealt with during the regular meeting involved the highway department.
A couple of final payments were approved for work done this past year.
Crane Creek Asphalt received final payments of $148,200.72 for the CSAH 15 project from CSAH 22 to CSAH 26, and a payment of $69,056.47 for the CSAH project near Heidelberg.

Spring Load Restrictions on Rice, Le Sueur and Scott County State Aid Highways and County roadways will go in to effect at 12:01 a.m., Friday, March 6, 2020.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has issued a notice that Spring Load Restrictions on the state highway system in the south, southeast and metro frost zones go in to effect on Friday, March 6, 2020.
Ending dates for spring load restrictions are variable and based on how weather is affecting roadway strength.
The Spring Load Restriction map is posted on the MNDOT website at mndot.gov/loadlimits.

Merle Warner is retiring after working over 38 years with the US Postal Service as a Rural Carrier.
Warner delivered Route 1 which includes addresses south and west of Waterville as well as all rural Elysian addresses.

Minnesota will join Super Tuesday this year — and 13 other states, including Texas and California, in perhaps the most consequential day of the presidential primary season.
It’s new in Minnesota. It’s our first presidential primary since 1992 and only the fourth in state history. Here are some rules.

The water was cold. They jumped in because of their warm, generous hearts.
Approximately 80 people-- including 44 new plungers-- participated in Camp Omega's 2020 Plunge event that was held on Saturday, Feb. 22 behind the Morristown Community Center.
The third annual event raised funds to build a new adult and family retreat center at Camp Omega, a Christian camp located on Horseshoe Lake in rural Waterville. The future facility will offer higher comfort with 25 hotel- style rooms, personal bathrooms, and a large group gathering space.

The Le Sueur/Rice County Drug Task Force was very busy in 2019.
Le Sueur County Chief Deputy Nick Greenig presented information about the work completed by the drug task force within the county during the Elysian City Council meeting Feb. 11.
Last year there were 64 cases opened, 55 search warrants were issued, and there were 61 arrests made.
A total of $18,020 in cash was seized as were nine firearms.
More than 3.4 million dollars in street value worth of controlled substances were seized.

Waterville’s little Heart Warrior is breathing easier this Valentine’s Day.
Three-year-old Alex Ahlbrecht, son of Craig and Stephanie Ahlbrecht, recently returned from a three-week stay at Standford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, California, where he underwent an intricate open-heart surgery to repair his heart and expand 20 small vessels in hopes of increasing the blood flow to his lungs.
Thankfully, the 20-hour surgery was successful.

A Waterville man faces a second-degree felony assault charge for allegedly driving on a sidewalk, nearly striking a pedestrian.
Clint Weston Sellers, 24, was charged in Le Sueur County Court for the alleged assault that occurred near the Corner Bar in Waterville, early Monday morning, Feb. 3.
Police responded to the scene and took a report from a 26-year-old man, the alleged victim, who said he was walking from Bullheads to the Corner Bar when he saw Sellers speeding toward him in a pickup.
The victim said when he...

WHAT...Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 40 below zero. * WHERE...Le Sueur County. * WHEN...From 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Thursday. * IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.