After struggling with their offense through six innings, the Waterville Indians amateur baseball team exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning and five in the eighth in their 12-4 win over Minnesota Lake Sunday, June 2 in Waterville.
The Indians only had two hits through six innings before collecting six hits in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth inning of this 13-60 League game.

At the end of the Bullhead Days celebration Sunday, June 9 the ring binder which has everything you need to know about the event will be handed to another chairman.
Long-time Bullhead Days chairman Del Point will be retiring from this position.
He and his wife Gail have been involved with the annual festival for more than 20 years and the Waterville Chamber of Commerce recognized them for their effort by naming them the Bullhead Days Grand Marshals.

WEM freshman Gavin Atherton placed in two events, winning one, at the Class A Section 2 Track and Field Championship held Saturday, June 1 at Mankato West.
Atherton ran in two races and was within four hundreths of a second of advancing to State in both events.
He ended up winning the 400-meter dash in a time of 50.71, which is a personal best. He edged Madelia-Truman senior Ryan Koberoski by one hundreths of a second for the title. GFW junior Justin Messner finished with a time of 50.98 and he along with the other two runners, will also advance to State.

For more than half a century, the second full weekend in June is dedicated to the annual Waterville Bullhead Days celebration.
There are a number of new musical events this year, the return of a carnival, and some of the regular events have been super-sized for the June 7 thru 9 festival.
Midwest Rides will be providing some games, rides, and new food this year.

New Prague’s Orioles and the Waterville Indians will offer their efforts representing area town baseball when TV station Fox 9 brings its town ball tour to Memorial Park tomorrow, Wednesday, June 5.
The behind-the-scenes planning has been in the works for several weeks. Orioles manager Nick Schoenecker received a call from the TV station earlier this spring asking if his team would be interested in the opening round of the station’s seventh annual Town Ball Tour.

Josh David Landrum, born on January 14, 1980, in Mankato, Josh was the son of Mike and Kay (Meister) Landrum. He attended Waterville-Elysian-Morristown school along with Waseca High School. Josh married Angie Rosenthal on April 30, 2005, and together they had two beautiful daughters, Kiera (17) and Kayla (11).  They later divorced. Josh worked for Hy-Vee Grocery Stores for over 25 years, filling multiple positions at their locations in Waseca, Owatonna, and Mankato. Most recently, he was a baker at the Mankato location.

A total of 55 seniors will don caps, gowns, and tassels in anticipation of graduating from Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School at 7 p.m. Friday, May 24 in the Waterville gymnasium.
Of these 55 seniors, 29 have been named honor students.
The Class of 2024 will honor their top two students, Josephine Volkmann (Valedictorian) and Kylie LaFrance (Salutatorian).
Volkmann will graduate with a cumulative grade point average of 3.931. She is the daughter of Todd and Amy Volkmann.

Elysian, Kilkenny, Morristown, and Waterville have scheduled Memorial Day Ceremonies for Monday, May 27.
Elysian Ceremony The Elysian Ceremony will start with stops at Greenland Cemetery (7 a.m.), German Lake Cemetery (7:20 a.m.), St. Peter (Bell) Cemetery (7:55 a.m.), Cannonville Cemetery (8:20 a.m.), and the Waterville Veterans Memorial (8:45 a.m.). Due to road construction, the Memorial Day Program in Elysian will be held at Elysian Cedar Hill Cemetery starting at 9:30 a.m.

Douglas Walter Labs passed away Monday afternoon, May 13, 2024, at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, Minnesota.
Douglas was born in Waseca, Minnesota, on January 4, 1948, to Walter and Alice (Tollefson) Labs. He spent his childhood and school years in Waterville, Minnesota, graduating in 1967.
He was inducted into the U.S. Army on August 9, 1967, earning the rank of Specialist 4, and serving in Vietnam. Doug was awarded the National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. He was honorably discharged on July 31, 1969.

Friday night into Saturday morning was a spectacle of the skies, even those within the city limits and outside of direct light, as the aurora borealis or northern lights put on a show for all to see.
People as far south as the Bahamas and southern California were able to see them outside of light polluted areas. Even within the Twin Cities metropolitan area the aurora was visible to the naked eye.

Air quality is expected to reach the red AQI category in southern Minnesota, which is unhealthy for everyone
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has extended the air quality alert for southern Minnesota. The alert now remains in effect until 11 p.m. on Monday, May 13. The affected area includes the Twin Cities metro, Albert Lea, Marshall, Worthington, Rochester, Winona, Mankato, and the tribal nation of Prairie Island.

Ione Martha Eustice, 85, of Waterville, died on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at her home.
Ione was born on November 28, 1938, to Herbert and Martha (Knish) Dehn. Ione was united in marriage to Charles Stangler in 1956 and later divorced. They had three children Michael, Daniel, and Kelly. She married Paul Eustice in 1969 and they had many good years together. Ione worked as a cook for many years at Meyer’s Campground, Gilligan’s, and The Bear’s Den until her retirement. She enjoyed visiting with friends and family, reading, playing cards, and listening to music.

Joann “Joanie” Hattie Skluzacek, age 80, of Montgomery, passed away suddenly on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian burial will be held on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour prior at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Burial will be held at a later date.

Joann “Joanie” Hattie Skluzacek, age 80, of Montgomery, passed away suddenly on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian burial will be held on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour prior at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Montgomery with Fr. Tom Niehaus officiating. Burial will be held at a later date.

Submitted by: Sarah Stultz, Managing Editor, Albert Lea Tribune
A significant discussion is taking place at the state Legislature in reaction to the recent announcement that eight community newspapers will close at the end of the month.
Under a proposal in the Senate Education Policy Omnibus bill (SF 3567), school districts would no longer be required to publish their proceedings in newspapers and could instead move them to their own websites.

Taking public notices for schools out of newspapers would hurt public
A significant discussion is taking place at the state legislature in reaction to the recent announcement that eight community newspapers will close at the end of the month.
Under a proposal in the Senate Education Policy Omnibus bill (SF 3567), school districts would no longer be required to publish their proceedings in newspapers and could instead move them to their own websites.