News

Blooming Prairie forward Allison Krohnberg tries to drive past her Bethlehem Academy defender during the second half of the Awesome Blossoms’ dominant win.

BP girls earn dominant win over BA

The Blooming Prairie girls basketball team didn’t allow Bethlehem Academy to score its 10th point until the second half and never let the Cardinals get closer than 16 points in the second half, cruising to a 46-28 win on Saturday, Jan. 16. The Awesome Blossoms got off to a fast start and led 20-8...

New season, same Sarah. This time she rises up for a high-percentage shot during the final five minutes of Owatonna’s 61-46 win over Rochester Century. Kingland led the Huskies with 16 points. Her ability to play for a competitive team and stay close to home were a couple reasons she chose to commit to play for the MSU-Moorhead Dragons next winter.

A school fit for a King-land

Making a big life decision is never easy and finding the right university for academics and athletics makes it even harder, but despite those obstacles Owatonna girls basketball star Sarah Kingland has found the right school for both of her passions. She recently announced she’ll be continuing her...

Owatonna assistant coach named the state’s best

The Owatonna football team has won five straight section championships and recently the Huskies’ coaching staff members have started to receive recognition for their team’s success. A couple seasons ago, Head Coach Jeff Williams was named the Minnesota High School Coach of the Year, and this...

Public hearing set for proposed Dollar General annexation

The Blooming Prairie City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed annexation of land for a Dollar General store for Monday, Feb. 8. The proposed annexation has become a hot button issue because not everyone is on board with a national corporation coming to Blooming Prairie. During last...

Bon Appétit! Torey Statlander, owner and head chef of Torey’s Restaurant and Bar in Owatonna, puts some finishing touches on a dish.

Come on in!

Bars and restaurants across Minnesota opened their doors to the public last week after a mandated six-week pause due to COVID-19 restrictions. “We’ve been ready to open for weeks,” Torey Statlander, owner and head chef at Torey’s Restaurant and Bar in downtown Owatonna said. “We had a little...

The Rev. Michael Wilker, senior pastor at Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, DC, is a 1982 graduate of Owatonna High School. On Sunday, he was the only person in the church’s sanctuary during the worship service.

Violence in DC angers pastor and OHS grad

The Rev. Michael Wilker, senior pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C., was upset Friday afternoon. Wilker, a 1982 graduate of Owatonna High School, had just received word that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and his local bishop were asking churches not to meet in their...

Connie Wocelka of Owatonna receives a COVID-19 shot from a Public Health worker during a drive-thru vaccination clinic at the Steele County Public Works Building in Owatonna Jan. 13. She was one of about 110 healthcare and EMS workers to receive the shot during the county’s third clinic since the vaccination began arriving in late December. Public Health workers typically administer shots to three people every five minutes during the three-hour clinic.

COVID-19: The drive-thru difference

What a difference a drive-thru experience makes in the battle of COVID-19. On Jan. 13, about 110 people rolled through a drive-thru vaccine clinic at the Steele County Public Works Building in Owatonna in an effort to prevent contracting the coronavirus, a deadly killer that has taken thousands of...

Blooming Prairie sophomore middle hitter Sierra Larson was named Honorable Mention All-Conference by opposing Gopher Conference coaches for making plays such as this one, hitting the ball past two Medford blockers, including First-Team All-Conference player Kinsey Cronin, right.

BP’s Trihus, Larson receive Gopher Conference honors

Even during a shortened season, the play of Blooming Prairie’s Micalyn Trihus and Sierra Larson stood out to opposing Gopher Conference volleyball coaches who voted them Second-Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-Conference, respectively. Trihus was awarded Second-Team All-Conference in...

Owatonna’s Landen Johnson wrestled his way to state runner-up title last season. He hopes to make another run for the state tourney again this year.

Huskies look to repeat last season’s success

By all accounts, the Owatonna wrestling team had a very successful 2019-2020 season, winning the section championship via a dramatic last-period pin and winning fourth place at the team state tournament. Now, the question this season’s team will have to answer is: Can they achieve the same level of...

Teamwork is new Medford mayor’s mantra

Newly elected Mayor Danny Thomas is counting on teamwork – from the council, from city employees and from city residents – to get the city through the controversial Main Street project, the search for an administrative director of operations and a projected 2020 deficit in the city’s municipal...