News

Bobbie Bruns, left, her sister Maggie and the Blooming Prairie girls basketball team have developed a close bond due to playing together for the past few years. The Bruns sisters have been playing together on varsity for the past four years, but this will be their last season playing together since Maggie will graduate this spring.

Bound by basketball… and sisterhood

Sisters Maggie and Bobbie Bruns have been playing basketball together for most of their lives yet their bond with their Blooming Prairie teammates might be just as strong. The Awesome Blossoms’ strong bond started early. Four of the five starters are seniors, so they all grew up playing together....

Hess earns statewide award

Owatonna junior Ava Hess said she was completely surprised when she learned she’d been nominated for the Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership (ExCEL) Award, which recognizes high school juniors who are model citizens in their communities, who are active in fine arts and/or athletic...

BP City Council annexes of land for Dollar General

The Blooming Prairie City Council unanimously approved an annexation agreement with Blooming Prairie Township, bringing 1.35 acres into the city limits. The property will be used as the site of a future Dollar General store. Before the annexation was discussed by the council, a public hearing was...

Benedictine employees Heidi Jirele, left, and Tanya Amundson celebrate with balloons and cookies as the facility achieved a five-star rating, the highest offered in the industry. It is the first time Benedictine, formerly known as KODA Living, has achieved such a milestone.

Benedictine achieves highest rating in industry

For Lisa Kern, achieving a five-star rating is a milestone that is especially gratifying. Kern has been with the same care center organization that has gone through many changes over her 28-year career and never before has reached a five-star status. That’s until last week. The Benedictine Living...

The home of Daniel Reese family in Owatonna was extensively damaged by fire on Feb.11.

‘I knew it was fire instantly’

Daniel Reese was working in his home office in Owatonna late Thursday morning when his wife, Sandra, texted him to come over to another part of the house immediately. He thought maybe there were some deer in the back yard like often happens, but Sandra was hearing strange noises coming from the...

Even though COVID-19 has curtailed business at the State Capitol, Gene Dornink of Hayfield has begun his legislative career in the Minnesota Senate. On Thursday, Dornink’s 12-year-old son, Josiah, joined him on the Senate floor to learn about his dad’s new job as a senator. Dornink earned the District 27 Senate seat after defeating veteran Sen. Dan Sparks of Austin in last fall’s election.

A FRESH START

For freshman Sen. Gene Dornink, inexperience isn’t keeping him from staying active and getting to work in the Minnesota Senate. Only a month into the legislative session, Dornink, R-Hayfield, has authored 11 bills and co-authored several others. And Dornink is paying particular attention to his own...

BEHIND THE BADGE

We’ve had a lot of people sending messages asking why the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office wasn’t on the Dateline show. First of all, our staff did an INCREDIBLE job with this case and it’s investigation. I would put them up against any big city or county investigations team, and I couldn’t be more...

Woman accused of hitting man with a vehicle

A woman faces multiple felonies in connection with a domestic assault involving a motor vehicle in Owatonna. Dezirae Leigha Huff, 19, of Austin has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of first-degree damage to property in connection with the...

NRHEG grad joins Mavericks’ coaching staff

Sam Lundberg’s journey as a football coach has taken him from New Richland to New Mexico and now back to southern Minnesota as he was named the Minnesota State University-Mankato’s (MSU) tight ends coach on Thursday, Jan. 28. MSU Head Coach Todd Hoffner stated, in a press release, that he was...

Huskies’ Seykora picks SMSU

Another week, another Steele County student-athlete committing to continue their athletic and academic careers at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU). This week it’s Matt Seykora, Owatonna’s star shortstop, who received a scholarship to play Division II baseball. Turning one of his dreams...