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NRHEG's All-Conference pitcher Sophie Stork practices her pitching with her long-time catcher senior Cloie Arndt on Thursday, April 8.

NRHEG’s softball team leans on returning All-Conference athletes

Unlike most spring sports teams, the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (NRHEG) softball team has four varsity starters returning and all of them have competed at the varsity level for at least three seasons. Not only do the Panthers have a good quantity of starters returning, but they also...

Center fielder Alex Miller, one of the two returning starters from Blooming Prairie's 2019 team, works on his hitting in the batting cage on Thursday, April 8.

Miller, Larkoski return to lead the Blossoms’ baseball

In 2019, Blooming Prairie baseball went 8-13, but with a large group of seniors and two returning starters, the Blossoms believe they can do much better this season. Even though there’s just two returning starters and he’s one of them, senior center fielder/pitcher Alex Miller said that doesn’t put...

Cases spike again in Steele County

After a reprieve from excessive COVID-19 cases in Steele County, things are heading in the wrong direction. Public Health Director Amy Caron said Steele County saw 111 new cases over the past week, including 53 over this past weekend. “There are some workplace outbreaks right now,” said Caron. “...

Steele County Deputy Emergency Management Director Tom Karnauskas checks the map used track the placement of spotters throughout the county during severe weather.

Statewide drill readies residents for severe weather

Steele County Emergency Manager Mike Johnson wants area residents to participate in the statewide tornado drill slated for Thursday, April 15. During the afternoon and evening drills, local sirens and all NOAA Weather Radios in Minnesota will sound with a simulated tornado warning. Johnson said...

Work on Habitat house beginning

Single dad Gatluak Jerweng wants to give his kids something that he hasn’t had for years: a stable and happy home. And thanks to a partnership between two Owatonna businesses and Two Rivers Habitat for Humanity and the Kottke family of Owatonna, Jerweng’s dream is about six months from reality....

Flames rip through the Brian Seykora dairy barn south of Owatonna Thursday night as black smoke could be seen for miles. The blaze destroyed the century-old structure, as well as a newer addition built in the mid-1990s and eight dairy cows.

‘I was numb at the time’

Even two days after a devastating fire knocked out his dairy operation, Brian Seykora was overcome by emotion while sharing about how his life has been upended. “It’s a surreal scene out there. I don’t believe it is happening,” said Seykora, who has produced one of the top dairy herds in Minnesota...

NRHEG freshman guard Daxter Lee (3) tries to drive past Blooming Prairie forward Mitchell Fiebiger. Lee led the Panthers with 16 points, but it wasn’t enough; the Awesome Blossoms won 63-60.

A freshman rarity

New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (NRHEG) boys basketball Head Coach Isaiah Lundberg believes his team can be a top three team in its subsection next season. A big reason for his optimism is the play of freshman guard Daxter Lee, who was the Panthers’ leading scorer with an average of...

Blooming Prairie point guard Bobbie Bruns gets ready to pass the ball to an open Megan Oswald during the opening minutes of the Awesome Blossoms’ Section 1A semifinal game against Kingsland.

Rewriting the record books

Before the Blooming Prairie girls basketball season concluded, junior point guard Bobbie Bruns had already achieved a pair of distinguished honors. She’d broken the girls career assists record and she was one of only 17 girls basketball players from around the state to be named Class A Honorable...

Nearly 100 vehicles containing almost 300 people drove through the Good Friday service at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna. There were 10 stations revealing the story of Easter with volunteers portraying Jesus Christ and other biblical characters.

Trinity offers a drive-thru Easter message

For people wanting to get the real story of the suffering of Jesus Christ dying on the cross, a drive-thru experience made all the difference in the world. About 80 adult and children volunteers at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna presented the Easter story in 10 stations scattered throughout...

‘A win for students, staff and parents’

It’s been a long time coming, but the Zumbro Education District’s (ZED) new facility is finally on the home stretch. ZED Executive Director Patrick Gordon said the district is currently finalizing the new facilities’ construction timeline and gathering contractor bids. “We’re working on finances in...