Do you know of someone who took advantage of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) program in the 1930s? Maybe your father or grandfather or great uncle? Did you know there was a camp situated in our county?
Background On March 31, 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt received Senate Bill S. 598 on his desk to be signed. The bill was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and quickly moved forward to the President. Roosevelt then signed an executive order on April 5.
Bernadine “Bernie” Carla Morris, age 64, of Mankato, died on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at MCHS in Mankato.
Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative (MVEC), which serves much of our readership area, held its annual meeting at Jordan High School on Tuesday, April 7, where over 200 members gathered.
A total of 20 $1,500 scholarships to high school seniors were given out or a total of $30,000. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have a parent or legal guardian who are MVEC members, be enrolled to attend an accredited post-secondary institution as a full-time student, and have at minimum GPA of 2.0.
Three members of the WEM Speech team have advanced to the Class A State Speech Meet, which will be held Saturday, April 25 at Park Center High School.
Seniors Kayla Bronk and Abby Crosby and sophomore Lacey Reysack advanced by placing in the top three of their individual events at the Section 2A Meet held Friday, April 10 at JWP High School.
The JWP/WEM girls track and field team is starting to show people why they are among the best teams in Class A.
JWP was the 2025 Class A State Champion. Now with the majority of their athletes back and the addition of some very good WEM athletes, the Bulldogs will again be a force to reckon with this season.
They competed in a pair of invitationals last week and claimed the championship in both of those.
The annual MSHSL 2A North Sections competition for the Visual Arts took place over the course of two days last week. Each school is limited to a maximum of 18 entries over 12 different art categories. No school is allowed to have more than six entries in a single category. And, no student may enter more than one piece in a single category; but students may compete in more than one category.
Last month the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its women’s basketball awards for the 2025-26 season.
Brianna Nusbaum (Spring Lake Park) collected her second consecutive All-Conference selection following another record-breaking season. She was also the only conference player named to the All-Playoff team for a 2nd consecutive year, which recognizes the top nine performers from the conference tournament.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will begin lowering water levels on Willis Lake in Waseca County, prompted by a decline in wildlife use and habitat quality.
Willis Lake is a 116-acre shallow lake located in Waseca County. Because of its importance to resident and migratory wildlife, Willis Lake was designated as a wildlife lake in 2001. It is one of only 61 such lakes in the state. This designation allows DNR staff to manage water levels through temporary drawdowns to address factors that affect water and habitat quality.
Rene Erwin Greenwald, age 82, of Waterville, passed away on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato from heart failure.
Funeral Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 19, 2026, at Waterville Evangelical United Methodist Church with Pastor Kathy King and Pastor Dean Wolf officiating. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until the time of service at the church on Friday.
Robert “Bob” Dean Morris, age 92, of Waterville, died peacefully on Monday, April 13, 2026 at Traditions in Waterville.
Funeral Service will be 11 a.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Elysian with Pastor John Pasche officiating. Interment will be at Sakatah Cemetery in Waterville. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday.
DSOFuneral.com
Montgomery Streets
Most of the streets in the area between the railroad tracks and Le Sueur County 3/5th Street, and north of Le Sueur County 56/Oak Avenue and south of Boulevard Avenue will receive partial surface milling and a full overlay of pavement this summer.
Le Sueur County Emergency Management Director Tammy Stewig said that dispatchers accidentally sounded off the county's sirens today, Thursday, April 9, at 1:45 p.m. thinking it was Severe Weather Awareness Week (SWAW), which is actually April 13-17, 2026.
On Thursday, April 16, of SWAW, almost every corner of the state will have two rounds of sirens sounding, one at 1:45 p.m. and one at 6:45 p.m., for businesses and residents to practice tornado safety procedures.
Bruce James Schwartz, age 70, of Morristown, died at his home in the early morning hours of Friday, April 3, 2026.
The Le Sueur County Officials meeting at the American Bar & Grill in Montgomery on Wednesday, March 25, was host to two state nonprofit representatives that assist smaller governments — Cap O’Rourke and Maddie Cash.
Cap O’Rourke is the executive director for the Minnesota Association of Small Cities (MAOSC), which is a nonprofit that exclusively serves cities of a population of 5,000 or less, and is also the owner of O’Rourke Strategic Consulting.
With 10 returning letterwinners the WEM softball team will be looking to improve in both the Gopher Conference and Section this spring.
Under 12th year head coach Crystal Lamont (135-98 overall record) the Bucs were 3-7 in a very good Gopher Conference and 7-10 overall.
Last year the conference had three teams which placed in the top three at State.
With All-Gopher Conference senior Robynn Schwichtenberg (catcher) and junior Alix Velzke (pitcher) the Bucs return two of the best players in the league.
