The outstanding pedal pull season for 10-year old Remy Sampson of Waterville has come to a very successful end.
Sampson competed in the National Pedal Pull Saturday, Sept. 28 in the Corn Palace at Mitchell, South Dakota. He placed second in his age group. Last year he placed 15th overall.
In order to advance, pullers need to place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th at a State Sanctioned Pull and have a State voucher.
Remy had accomplished both of these and he and his parents Will and Alyssa Sampson headed out west for the competition. This was his second National competition.

Give me a B! Give me a U! Give me a C! Give me an S! “What’s that spell?”
If you have ever been to a WEM volleyball game during the past decade-plus, there has been a familiar person who gets the crowd fired up with this chant.
Mitch Tegmeier has been a fan favorite and a very important person within the WEM volleyball program since he graduated from the WEM approximately a decade ago.
Tegmeier, who has Down Syndrome, was recognized Monday, Oct. 21 following the Buccaneer volleyball game against Le Sueur-Henderson.

Minnesota’s Paid Leave Law was passed by the Minnesota legislature in 2023, and it will go fully into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. A multi-chamber of commerce event, including New Prague, Montgomery and Lonsdale, was held on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Next Chapter Winery in Lanesburg Township to discuss the changes coming forward regarding the new law.
Minnesota Director of Paid Leave Greg Norfleet presented to a capacity group of about 40 registered area business owners, sole proprietors, and employees about what that means for them.

Many times assistant coaches in high school go unnoticed.
They may coach the junior varsity and might have minimal contact with the varsity programs.
In the case of WEM Assistant Volleyball Coach Ken Trnka, he is a very important part of a program which has been among the best in Class A for the better part of the past decade.
The Minnesota State Coaches Association has decided that the recognition of these pivotal assistant coaches should be recognized and an award has been created for these special coaches.

WEM Homecoming Coronation 2024 will be held Friday, October 4 at the high school gymnasium in Waterville.
This year the majority of the Homecoming activities will be held on Friday. The coronation is scheduled for 9 a.m. with a parade through the downtown streets set for 10 a.m.
Juniors and seniors will battle at 11 a.m. in volleyball and kickball events. Lunch will be held at 12:05 p.m. and a pepfest will follow at 12:35 p.m.

One of the passengers was partially ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the other car had facial lacerations. Both drivers were incapacitated until emergency services could extract them.
As the scene unfolded, the student body of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (WEM) and Tri-City United (TCU) High Schools watched. The mock crash was held at the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds on Thursday morning.

In August, Molter’s Fresh Market announced that it would be ceasing business in Montgomery and would be out of the building by the end of Sept. 30, making it the second time the town was faced with having no grocery store. It was just a year prior that Mackenthun’s Fine Foods pulled their grocery business out of town.
People were surprised that the doors to Molters were already locked and with carts of free items outside the doors on Thursday, Sept. 26, which was a few days earlier than stated that they would close. Many were left wondering the future of the location.

The Rice & Steele 911 Center, the emergency communications center serving Rice and Steele counties, has implemented Spark, an online reporting tool designed to streamline the process of reporting non-emergency incidents.
This tool enables residents to easily and securely report issues such as thefts, vandalism, parking complaints and other non-urgent matters directly through their website.

A resolution to execute a Quit Claim was approved by the Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners during their regular meeting on Aug. 26. The land in question is the Le Sueur County Fairgrounds.
The approval to take action on the parcels was first approved at the Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 6.
The resolution transfers ownership of the fairgrounds from Le Sueur County to the Le Sueur County Fair Association.

Less than 12 hours after their season opening football victory over Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, members of the WEM football team provided some much needed community service to a Waterville resident in need.
Charlotte Hager has been experiencing a health issue and because of her health, she could no longer live in her apartment alone. She needed to be moved to an assisted living facility.
When this was determined, Hager knew she needed some help moving her belongings from her current apartment in Waterville to Traditions in Waterville, which was only a couple of blocks away.

Extreme heat and humidity will preside over the area today and an excessive heat warning has been issued by the National Weather Service in Chanhassen until 8 p.m. this evening. Severe storms are also possible late this afternoon into this evening.
The following locations have been designated by Rice County Emergency Management & Rice County Public Health as community cooling shelters during extreme heat events.
Please contact the facility regarding hours of operation.
• Faribault Community Center
o 15 Division St W, Faribault, MN 55021
o 507-334-2064

Tyler Fellows won the grand prize of 2025 100 Polaris Ranger which was purchased at LaCanne’s Marine during the Kilkenny Fire Department ATV Raffle last week.
There were 136 vehicles registered and 260 people who attended the event.
More than three dozen prizes were included in this raffle. The winners are as follows:
Jake Powers won $500 donated from Ti-Zack Concrete, Inc.
Tom Hermel won $500 donated from the Toy Box Saloon.
Karissa Judd won a $555 Faribault Harley Davison Gift Pack.

The Waterville Area Fisheries Office staff has been recognized with a couple of awards for excellence.
The Minnesota Commissioner’s Awards provide an opportunity to honor and celebrate the exceptional accomplishments of DNR employees across all disciplines and all areas of the state.
Winning the Team Award were the Waterville Area Fisheries Office, State Fish Hatchery, and Waterville Research Unit Staff Brandon Eder, Tyler Fellows, Tanya Hankins, Nicholas Heseltine, Dale Logsdon, Nancy Morris, Peter Muggli, Andrew Scholten, Steve Shroyer, and Sky Wigen.

This year is the 32nd year of Ahlman's Shooter's Round Up, one of the nation's top events for outdoor and gun enthusiasts.
This year's two-day event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24 and Sunday, Aug. 25 on the Ahlman's Gun Shop site north of Morristown.
The Round-Up is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. There is an admission fee for this event, which is billed as the Greatest Shooting Show on Earth.
The Round Up started in 1992 as S & W Days then gun manufacturers Colt and Browning joined in and others weren’t far behind.

Beyond the hard work that those exhibiting animals have put in, fair foods and beverages, amusement rides, live music, and other events, the Le Sueur County Free Fair is also host to — drum roll please — the Ag Olympics!
The University of Minnesota Le Sueur County 4-H’ers pack in a fun time on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 1 p.m. in the show arena at the fair hosting the Ag Olympics. Events will include wheelbarrow races, feed sack relays, egg tosses, bobbing for corn, roping, and hog calling.

New Prague resident Phyllis Smith has been selected the Outstanding Senior Citizen in Le Sueur County.
Smith will be recognized at the Le Sueur County Fair during the Senior Citizens/Farm Family of the Year Program on Sunday, Aug. 18 at 1 p.m.
The individual that nominated Smith said this about the former elementary school secretary: