Republicans and Democrats in Scott, Le Sueur and Rice counties interested in participating in the early stages of the process of selecting their respective party’s candidates and platforms can do so at upcoming precinct caucuses Tuesday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m. at various locations.

The WEM One Act Play actors put together a fantastic performance Saturday, Jan. 22, placing second in the Sub-Section Competition.

That effort has advanced them into the six school Section 2A competition which will be held Saturday, January 31 at Waseca High School.

Performing a piece called "Nellie," based on the true story of Nellie Bly, the WEM students brought to life the real hardship of woman at a New York Insane Asylum. Audience members could feel the grief, anger and frustration from the performance of the students.  

An outdoors enthusiast, Aidan Oldenburg speaks fondly of time in the woods as he hunted, fished, and explored along the Little Cobb River by his home near Pemberton, Minnesota. Pemberton is a small town of 229 people (2020 census) about 90 miles southwest of Minneapolis but a mere 17 miles from the regional city of Mankato where Aidan was born in 2001.

Faced with a deteriorating infrastructure, the City of Kilkenny is looking to rehabilitate and modernize its water systems.

The city met with Kyle Renneke of the engineering firm ISG Monday to go over details of the project. Particular focus is given to the well house. The 90-year old structure is in critical disrepair.

“It has a concrete roof that could collapse at any time,” said Kilkenny Mayor Tammy Holicky said.

Approximately one month ago, the JWP girls basketball team handed the WEM girls a 70-29 defeat December 16, 2025.

Thirty-four days later the Buccaneers held the Bulldogs to 57 points in a 57-52 win for JWP in Gopher Conference action.

WEM took a 28-21 halftime lead only to see the Bulldogs outscore them 36- 24 in the second half.

WEM limited the Bulldogs to one of their lowest scoring games of the season. They held a 44-35 rebounding advantage and a 16-9 offensive rebounding advantage.

The WEM/JWP wrestling team opened up a 48-0 lead on their way to a 57-15 win over Medford Thursday, January 22 in Waterville.

Medford forfeited six of their first seven matches allowing the Grizzlies to open up an insurmountable lead.

Seventh grader Otto Root improved to 16-7 this season with a pin of eighth grader Kyle Witter in 3:54 at 114 pounds.

Junior Parker James improved to 11-13 with a 36 second pin of sophomore Grayson Burr at 152 pounds.

Junior Trenton Huber decisioned junior Chase Baler, 10-3, to improve to 17-9 at 189 pounds.

Roger Dean Howland, age 87, of Forest City, IA, passed away peacefully on January 21, 2026, at his home with his wife by his side under the care of hospice.

William C. Hoehn, age 93, longtime resident of Good Thunder, died Wednesday, January 21, 2026.

Funeral Mass will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, January 29, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Good Thunder with visitation starting at 11 a.m. Military honors will follow at church. Complete obituary and livestreaming: www.mankatomortuary.com

Five of the seven WEM/ JWP girls wrestlers made their way onto the podium at the Saturday, Jan. 17 St. Croix Lutheran Invitational.

The Grizzlies placed fourth in the 17-team invitational. scoring 96 points. Apple Valley won the event with 187.5 points. Roseville Area placed second with 128 points, Placing third was St. Paul Como Park with 96 points.

Junior Bre’Ana Masso led the team with a...

To see more on this story pick up the January 22, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

Last season, the WEM/ JWP wrestling team squeezed out a 1.5 point advantage over Ogilivie to win the St. Croix Lutheran Invitational.

The Grizzlies repeated as team champions, winning the title Saturday, Jan. 17 by more than 40 points over runner-up Cannon Falls. WEM/ JWP scored 215 team points in finishing ahead of Cannon Falls (172.5), Ogilvie (135), Chisago Lakes (126), and Robbinsdale Armstrong (106.5).

The 7th Annual Fishing Derby sponsored by the Southern Lakes Angling and Spearing Organization, which was established eight years ago, was held Saturday, Jan. 17 on area lakes.

The weigh-in for the fish caught was held at the Waterville Event Center from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. that evening.

Anglers and spearers, who were required to be members of the organization in order to fish, had a chance to win prizes for their catch which featured three different categories.

WEM sophomore Miley Anderson had her design selected for the 2026 Waterville Bullhead Days celebration button.

Anderson received the most votes in a Facebook contest which featured the four best designs from WEM High School students among more than two dozen entered. She designed her button during Foundations Class.

The other three finalists included:...

To see more on this story pick up the January 22, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise paper. 

The WEM One Act Play will have a chance to perform in front of the masses Saturday, January 24 at the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School Auditorium.

The Sub-Section 5 competition for WEM will begin at 2:50 p.m. The event itself starts at 10 a.m. with the first show, which features teams from throughout the area. There is an admission fee for the event.

WEM will perform the play Nellie by Robbie Steltz.

William “Bill” Allen Warner, age 81, of Mankato, passed away on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at Hillcrest Senior Living in Mankato.

Kimberly Schwenke-Cram, 59, Madison, SD, passed away at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD, on Saturday, January 10, 2026 after battling pneumonia, blood clots, and Valley Fever. 

A Celebration of Life for Kim will be from 5 - 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at Victory Life Church, (701 E 60th St North, Sioux Falls, SD) with a short time of sharing at 6:30 p.m.

Ron and Laura Romnes decided to take a chance on starting an archery business.

So far, the customers have flocked in as quickly as the arrows have flown throughout their building in Elysian.

“It’s been awesome seeing people in here shooting their bows and arrows and socializing with each other,” Laura mentioned. “We’re building a community here.”

With how many have welcomed the Romneses and Elysian Archery, you would have thought they had been here for a while. Although they haven’t lived in Elysian for many years, they’ve been in the area.