The WEM Board of Education offered a contract to Mark Winter to become the new WEM Superintendent during a special meeting Thursday, April 3.
Winter and current WEM High School Principal Dr. Jennifer Wilson were the finalists for the position and both interviewed Thursday, a week after being named the top two candidates for the district’s top position.
Following the interviews, the board held approximately 25 minutes of discussion before voting to offer the position to Winter. The roll call vote was 6-1, with board member Jeff Stangler voting against.

Every two years the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) places teams in competitive Sections for all extra curricular activities.
For the most part, there aren’t many changes. Most teams stay in the same class and the same Section.
According to the MSHSL, the competitive section placement process includes:
• Determining league enrollments by using enrollment and free/reduced lunch information provided by the Minnesota Department of Education.
• Creating classification cut-offs for each activity to determine the class of competition for each team.

Nearly eight decades ago Marian Bemis Johnson graduated from Waterville High School.
When she attended school there were no girls sports in any high schools in Minnesota.
Johnson recently wrote a letter to the WEM girls basketball players explaining the some of her findings when it came to girls basketball in Minnesota.
“That was the life of most Minnesota girls and women in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and why was it that way?” Johnson said in her letter. “Why did anyone think that girls should not be athletes and play on teams and reach their personal goals?”

Candidates for the WEM Superintendent position were selected by the WEM Board of Education during their Monday, March 24 regular meeting.
Five candidates were selected from a total of 11 applicants. 12 individuals initially applied, with one rescinding their application. Two others started applications but did not complete them. Two others called with interest but did not submit an application.

For way more than a decade, the Elysian Area Community Foundation (EACF) has been working to provide grants to support programs and projects that improve the quality of life and build stronger communities in the greater Elysian area.
EACF is dedicated to serving the Elysian area by providing opportunities, addressing community needs, and working toward a progressive future.

Hundreds fo people braved the cold weather Sunday, Feb. 16 and took part in the Silver Lakers 37th Annual Ice Fishing Contest.
This annual event included many different raffles, merchandise prizes, and of course fishing.
Tim Mohrbacher of Shakopee won the top prize of $150 in the fishing contest for his 6.3 pound northern he caught.
There was a second place tie between Mohrbacher and Tanner Ernsting of Cleveland, who each caught .25 pound pumpkinseed and crappie, respectively.

Jaden Lang of Morristown has been dancing as long as she can remember…16 years to be exact.
Now she has become a National Champion after competing last month with the Championship Minnesota State University, Mankato Pom Team in Florida.
The Nationals were held January 17 through 19 in Orlando, Florida at the ESPN Wide World of LifeEnterprise Sports Complex.
The Mavericks were among more than 20 teams competing in the Open Division of the Division 2 and Division 3 schools.

Le Sueur County is updating its comprehensive land use and zoning code, titled “Vision 2050,” and held a public meeting Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Le Center American Legion. According to a survey provided to a large crowd the update is to better serve and guide the county’s growth. The work over this year is to “create a plan that balances its rich historical past and resources,” said the beginning of the survey. The new comprehensive plan is to grow the county’s tax base and guide the county over the next 25 years.

Write-in votes will settle who takes at least two open seats on Rice County’s townships boards.
No affidavits for candidacy were filed in the 2025 race for Northfield Township treasurer, or to fill the term of the remaining year of the term for the Morristown Township clerk.
The treasurer’s seat, a two-year term, is up in all every township except Forest Township where the treasurer is appointed, rather than elected.

After a vehicle was driven into open water on Lake Washington this weekend, the Le Sueur County Sheriff's Office is warning visitors to the lake in Le Sueur County to use caution, advising a large area of open water has developed in the area referred to as the Narrows. Sunday, Feb. 9, Capt. Bruce Collins confirmed the people in the vehicle escaped without injury.
The vehicle is now submerged in about 6 feet of water. The open water starts at the north shoreline and goes almost all the way across, to the south shore.

An award ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 2 honoring Waterville resident Dalton Grose.
Grose will be presented with the Carnegie Medal for Heroism at 1 p.m. at the Waterville Event Center.
There will be a short program, featuring the events which led him to saving the life of a man in September of 2023 and thus being selected to receive this highest of honors.

The City of Waterville and Waterville Police Civil Service Commission has received three complaints January 9 against a pair of city employees.
The complaints were directed at Waterville Chief of Police John Manning and Public Works employee Jordan Edwards. Manning received two complaints against him and Edwards one.

Churches around the nation have been struggling and closing in rather large numbers. The attendance at churches has dropped significantly. A Gallup poll published in 2024 showed that 43 percent of adults said they attended religious services in their 2000-2003 poll to just 30 percent in their 2021-2023 poll, dropping 12 percent.
St. John Lutheran Church in Kilkenny is no exception to this decline in attendance. Husband and wife Daryl and Alice Bosacker, long-time members of the church, have seen the change personally.

The first hat trick, the first overtime, the first shootout, and first-time winners highlighted a fantastic night for a fantastic cause.
More than $2,500 and many toys and gifts were collected Saturday, Dec. 14 during the 2nd Annual Waterville Fire Fighter Floor Hockey Tournament.
The tournament featured firefighters from Elysian, Kilkenny, Morristown, and Waterville.

Three WEM High School students were inducted into the Minnesota Honor Society Friday, Dec. 13 at 7:45 a.m. in the Waterville auditorium.
Newly inducted members include junior Kayla Bronk, daughter of William and Lidia Bronk, and sophomores Grace Bartz, daughter of Joe and Heather Bartz and Natalie Elness, daughter of Troy and Aubrey Wetzel and Alec Elness.