The Rice County Master Gardener volunteers are hosting their annual Arbor Day tree and shrub giveaway on Friday, April 30, at the Rice County Fairgrounds in Faribault. The giveaway will take place from 3:30-5:30 p.m., while supplies last.
The giveaway will take place as a drive-through, minimal contact event. Everyone is welcome to drive through the fairgrounds and select a free tree or shrub seedling. Participants should enter the fairgrounds from Second Avenue NW and there will be signs indicating the flow of traffic.
He should be graduating this year.
He should be walking across that stage that’s set up in the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School gymnasium each year to receive his high school diploma in May, but his life was cut short.
Eighteen-year-old Travis Van Houdt, a young man who...
To read more on this article, pick up the April 8, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
There will be some changes to this year’s Waterville Bullhead Days.
The most noticeable will be the lack of a carnival. The carnival which had been used is Crescent City Amusements and they are from Louisiana.
With COVID19 restrictions, many of the communities this carnival contracts with have...
To see more about this story, pick up the April 8, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
The Le Sueur County Commissioners cast their votes Tuesday, April 6 for their top candidates for the county administrator position.
The board was presented a list of nine candidates by DDA Human Resources Management Consultant Liza M. Donabauer, who has been working on the hiring process for the county.
The position was posted February 17 and four weeks later 30 individuals had applied. 14 of those applicants were selected as semifinalists. Of those, five withdrew their applications.
Two local college students will serve as Rice County Dairy Princesses for 2021.
Kelsey Kuball, a WEM graduate who attends the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, and Madelyn Wehe, who attends the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, were named 2021 Dairy Princesses for Rice County.
The Rice County American Dairy Association (ADA) held a candidate dinner Saturday, March 27 at the Morristown American Legion. This event was held in place of the traditional banquet, which was not held due to COVID.
WEM student Ava Quast.....
The students at Trinity Lutheran School in North Morristown reenacted Jesus Palm Sunday Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem with palm branches and clothing. They gathered on the church steps with the church doors wide open to praise our heavenly king, Jesus. The week would conclude with Jesus celebrating the Last Supper, Jesus being arrested, crucified, and burried. Fortunately, we know the happy ending when Jesus rises from the dead on Easter, announcing victory over sin, death, and the devil. Because of Jesus great love for us, we, too, will live forever with Him in heaven.
The 2020-2021 WEM Teachers of the Year were announced last week after a vote of their colleagues.
Winners are Sandy Mielke (Elementary), Ashley Landru (Middle School), and Janet Jones (High School).
Also nominated were...
To read more on this story, pick up the March 25, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation will conduct aerial mapping of several locations in south central Minnesota this spring.
The mapping will create a record of existing infrastructure and landscape along, and adjacent to, MnDOT right of way for transportation planning and operations. This work must be conducted after the snow has melted and before the trees leaf out.
Work will begin in late March, weather permitting, in the following locations:
- Highway 21, from Highway 13 south of Montgomery to the intersection of Highway 21 and Highway 99
There will be fireworks, everything else is tentative
Elysian will celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks this year. Beyond that, things are tentative.
“There’s not much to report. It’s just too early to know how to proceed—what the CDC guidelines will be in July,” explained Elysian Chamber of Commerce member Pat Nusbaum.
The Elysian City Council held a special meeting March 3 to discuss the Chamber’s plans for the Fourth of July and the city’s new event, Elysian Days.
This program is for children living in the Waterville-Elysian area who are 1-18 years of age.
Program is sponsored on the third Saturday of each month between the hour of 10 and 11:30 a.m. Next distribution is Saturday, March 20.
Pickup occurs in front of the food shelf, volunteers will be there to ask how many children in the family, bags of kid friendly food will be given to each car.
There is no income eligibility for anyone. All families with children will be accommodated, until supplies for that day are exhausted.
Young mother’s death leaves father, kids piecing together new life
It has been six months since Troy Brekke lost his wife, Audrey, to a pulmonary anuerism.
The shock of her death and the thought of being a single parent of three children was overwhelming at times for Troy and his family.
According to the autopsy report the 41-year-old was in good health when the...
To read more on this story, pick up the March 18, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
While northern Minnesota experienced snow and high winds, the local area experienced rain, large hail, and tornado warnings, Wednesday, March 10.
The early season storm came just a day after local temperatures topped 60ºF, placing Waterville, Elysian, Morristown, Kilkenny, Janesville, and Warsaw under a tornado warning in the late afternoon.
A tornado watch was issued for southeastern Le Sueur County and Rice, Waseca, Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona Counties.
They don’t work silently.
There’s lots of chatter and laughter.
But, their hands remain busy—tying quilts, stuffing pillows, and sewing “comfort kits.”
Each kit includes a soft quilt, a small pillow, and a stuffed animal and will be given to members of law enforcement who will give the kits to kids experiencing a time of crisis.
Since fall, the ladies have made around...
To see more on this story, pick up the March 11, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
Locally restored WWII high-speed artillery tractor rolls on
A piece of military history extensively restored by a local family has a new home on the east coast.
Janesville residents Murray Carlson and his son, Brad Carlson, spent a decade working on a M4 High Speed Tractor, a unique World War II military vehicle built by Allis-Chalmers in...
To see more on this story, pick up the March 11, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
A free Community Easter Egg Hunt will be held at The Village in Waterville on Saturday, March 27 at 1 p.m. Donations to the local food shelf will be collected.
There will be a few games for kids, and the Easter Bunny will be attending!
Anyone who has small animals—chicks, bunnies, goat kids, sheep, puppies, kittens, etc.—is welcome to bring them to the event.
This event will be held rain or shine.
Contact Betty Deno at 507-362-8807 for more information.
The Le Sueur County Historical Society has remained busy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The society recently finished repairs of the old Cleveland Methodist Church, which currently houses many of the society’s artifacts.
In late fall, the large, overgrown lilac hedge on the building’s west side was removed to give better visibility to the building’s exterior in an attempt to deter people from breaking in. According to LCHS, several breaches have occurred at the church in recent years, but none of the artifacts appear to have been taken or damaged.