Ronald “Ron” Morris of Waterville and formerly of Faribault died Saturday, Sept.16, 2023 after an extended struggle with a degenerative neurological disorder.
Funeral services will be held at First English Lutheran Church, Faribault Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Mark Johnson, officiating.
Visitation will be held at the church for one and a half hours prior to the service Saturday.
Arrangements are being completed by Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.

The WEM football team scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to defeat Cleveland, 16-6, Thursday, Sept. 7 at Cleveland in a Mid Southeast West District game.
The Bucs trailed 6-0 early after Cleveland scored on their second drive of the game on a 6-yard pass from Blake Lyons to Carson Lyons.
Turnovers and penalties stopped a pair of Buccaneer drives in the first half, including one at the one-yard line.

At the ripe old age of 10, Medford student Ella Bettner founded a company which supports local school district’s kids and families who may have negative lunch balances or cannot afford lunch.
Bettner, who lives in Faribault and is a 7th grade student at Medford, established No Tummies Left Behind two years ago after she learned about food insecurity in schools and decided she wanted to help. She started this non-profit organization in October of 2021 after a 1 1/2 year delay due to the pandemic.

The WEM volleyball team won their opening Gopher Conference match of the season and placed third in their home invitational this past week.
The Bucs swept JWP 25-11, 25-20, 25-15 Thursday, Sept. 7 in Waterville. Two days later they hosted the 45th annual WEM Invitational and split four matches.
WEM defeated Minnesota Valley Lutheran (MVL) 25-20, 25-15 and TriCity United 25-14, 15-13, and were defeated by Cleveland 17-25, 25-19, 15- 12 in pool play.

The DFL Rural Caucus is hosting a legislative meeting Thursday, Sept. 21, 5 -7 p.m., at the New Prague Public Library, 400 Main St E, New Prague. Featured speakers are Rep. Kristi Pursell (D - Northfield) and Rep. Luke Frederick (D-Mankato).

The annual Halfway to St. Patty’s Day celebration this past weekend was a family-fun event.
Kids enjoyed barrel-train rides, playing in a bounce house, and games complete with prizes. The kids-at-heart and of any age could partake in the daily offerings of music through most of the festivities, fireworks at dusk on Saturday, the vehicles on display at the car show Sunday, or any number of food and beverage options available.

JoAnne Lynne Haslip, age 73, of Waterville died on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato.

The opening game for the WEM football team ended in a loss, with Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop picking up a 22-6 victory Thursday, Aug. 31 in Waterville.
A pair of early touchdowns by the Thunderbirds gave the visitors a 14-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game.
The two teams played a very evenly matched game for much of the final three quarters. Penalties hurt the Bucs in the second half. They started a pair of drives with successive penalties, forcing the team into some longer possessions.

Construction of the roundabout on Highway 13/Le Sueur County Road 28 is nearly complete and expected to partially open to traffic Friday evening, September 1, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The south segment of the roundabout will remain closed to traffic as Highway 13 south of County Road 28 remains under construction.
Paving on Highway 13 from Lexington Avenue to Tri-City United High School is expected to be complete Saturday evening, September 2. Lexington Avenue is open to motorists for crossing.

It will be a fun-filled weekend in Kilkenny Sept. 9 and 10.
The annual Half-Way to St. Paddy’s Day Celebration has been extended to a two-day event this year.
The events start Saturday, Sept. 9 with a Shamwalk 5K Fun Run/Walk at 10 a.m. There will be prizes for the first place finisher 13 and younger and 14 and older. There will also be a prize for the male and female with the most Irish spirit.

19-year-old Emma Kuball of rural Morristown has had a lot of experience speaking in front of crowds. Whether it be as an officer in the FFA organization or as Miss Morristown 2021, Kuball is an outstanding, outgoing, accomplished speaker.
Her personality and knowledge of the dairy industry has led to her achieving a life-long goal…becoming Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

The Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously August 15 to discontinue the county’s Home Health Care, citing a number of issues. The program will be phased out and is scheduled to end by November 1.
Home Care Supervisor Laura Guddal said, “Our commissioners decided that it’s time to close. There are six counties offering home care practitioners in the state now and there were nine at the beginning of the year.”

I walked by a long-time friend of mine Sunday afternoon and he asked me if I had always had a beard.
I said yes, for many, many years, only this version of my beard has a different color to it….gray.
I guess he didn’t recognize the new, older, more gray Jay.
I am becoming relegated to the fact that sooner or later my head of hair will turn from dark brown to gray.
It was approximately 10 years ago when my then 13-year-old son Jayson and wife Jayne decided they were going to make me aware of the impending gray hair scenario.

New WEM football coach Sam Stier will be starting the 2023 season with a number of returning players from the Buccaneers team which finished 1-8 last season.
With a new coaching staff and more than 15 players returning with varsity experience, the Bucs should be able to show some improvement.
Stier has nine seniors, nine juniors, and 16 sophomores on his varsity team. A number of freshmen will also get a chance to see some action this season.

This year is the 31st 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. 26 and Sunday, Aug. 27 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.

Jeff and Sue Stangler of rural Waterville have a safe full of interesting paperwork which go back more than 150 years.
The papers include the original deeds of their current farm, which was recently recognized as a Century Farm and a Sesquicentennial Farm by Farm Bureau and the Minnesota State Fair.