The Le Sueur County Historical Society will suffer two big body blows in 2024 when two long-time officers step down from their positions. Dr. Ruth Collins is ending a fouryear run as LCHS secretary, and Bonnie Reak is wrapping up a similar four-year stint as the organization's treasurer.
LCHS bylaws dictate no one can serve more than four consecutive years in the same office. Both Collins and Reak have reached that plateau.

It is kind of ironic that a benefit about the winter weather will be returning during the nicest winter weather in the past number of decades.
After four years without, the Waterville Chamber of Commerce Whine About Winter event will be held Saturday, Feb. 3 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Waterville Event Center.
The event will feature a Craft Beer and Wine Tasting, 50/50 Raffle and Meat Raffle.
There will be a short presentation by J & L Bottles, local restaurant owners, and food vendors at 5:30 p.m. Wine and Beer Tasting begins at 6 p.m.

Any way you divide it, four million miles is a huge number. That is 160 trips around the Earth, that is traveling to the moon and back eight times, and that is the number Jeff Geyer has driven his tractor-trailer without accident over the last three decades.
That monumental achievement was recognized on Jan. 23, when Geyer was named the Minnesota Trucking Association (MTA) Driver of the Year for 2023.

The WEM girls basketball team gave the Class A No. 6 rated Hayfield squad all they could handle Thursday, Jan. 25 in Waterville.
The Bucs used an eightpoint scoring run to eliminate a nine point deficit midway through the second half against the Vikings.
Alayna Atherton scored a pair of baskets and Addison Condon and Ashlyn Pelant added baskets during the eight-point run.

With 507 numbers expected to run out of numbers by early 2025, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved 924 as an additional area code for the current geographic region that covers the current 507 area code.
The new 924 area code is an overlay area code or an area code that covers the exact same region as another existing area code. This means that there will be no change to existing numbers within the 507 area code.
In preparation for the addition of the 924 area code, all customers located within the current 507 area code should prepare for 10-digit dialing.

One of social media’s beautiful features is that it quickly reminds you of whatyou were doing a year ago.
My posts from last January feature disgruntled sel-fies of me standing in mydriveway with salt and a pitiful electric snowblower that I thought would be enough. It was not.
By the end of last winter, there was a solid two feet of snow in my yard. The ice walls that formed from shoveling my driveway were so formative, that I began reading George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series to seek a suitable comparison
in literature.

Frank Louis Hoehn, age 95 yrs was called home to Jesus on January 8, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. He was born July 30, 928 to Clare Hoehn and Marie Loeffler of Eagle Lake, Minnesota.
 Frank met his sweetheart, Marlene Theresa Phillips, at a church dance in Los Angeles. They were married May 14, 1960.
 A loving husband, father, and provider, Frank worked in the aerospace industry and retired from Rockwell Industries. His passions were cars, reading westerns, going to polka dances, as well as road-tripping across the U.S.

Jill Lynn Roemhildt, age 56 formerly of Elysian died on Thursday, January 18, 2024, in Maple Grove, MN.

Darlene P. Spitzack, age 91 of North Morristown, died on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at Suite Living Senior Care, Lakeville.
Funeral services will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, North Morristown on Friday, January 26, 2024, at 10 a.m. with the Reverend Juan Palm officiating. Interment will be at Concordia Cemetery, North Morristown.
Visitation will be at Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault on Thursday, January 25, 2024, from 4 to 7 p.m. and at church for one hour prior to the service on Friday.

Theresa E. Hazard, age 70 of Elysian, died on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at Mayo Health, Mankato.
Memorial services will be held at Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at 2 p.m. with a visitation for one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery, Morristown at a later date.

Loretta Gene (Brown) Jones age 93, of Waterville, Minnesota died peacefully on Monday, January 22, 2024, in Osceola, Wisconsin, surrounded by family.

Every time it gets extremely cold, and I mean every time, I forget to bring liquids in from my car.
My son Jayson looked at me Sunday as he got into the car and sternly said,” Will you ever learn?”
Well, apparently I will not.
During Christmas Eve my wife received a number of bottles of wine as a present.
They were all placed in a box and were loaded into my vehicle for our return trip from Le Center to Waterville.
It was late so we just grabbed the food we had in the vehicle and left other items for the next day. Or the next day. Or the next day…

The WEM girls basketball team split a pair of Gopher Conference games last week.
They began their week with a 68-61 loss to league-leading NRHEG Tuesday, Jan. 9 in Waterville. They ended the week with a 70-38 rout of Randolph.
With the split, WEM remains tied for second place in the West Division of the c o n f e r e n c e with a 5-1 record, one half game behind NRHEG and tied with Maple River, a team they have already defeated.

Donations continue to come in to the City of Elysian to help pay for the Sunset Park LifeEnterprise Sports Courts Renovation.
The approximate cost for the project, which was close to completion late last fall, is $54,000. Thus far, a little more than $44,000 has been donated.
Two years ago the City of Elysian came to an agreement with the WEM School District to take over the tennis courts and baseball field located at the Elysian School.

Eight top six finishes and one championship helped the WEM/JWP wrestling team to a third place finish in the St. Croix Lutheran Crusader Invitational Saturday, Jan. 13.
Avery Fall claimed the 215 pound championship in dominating fashion and the Grizzlies scored 140 points in placing third.
Ogilvie won the 15 team event with 192.5 points. Second place went to Chisago Lakes with 153 points. Fourth through seventh went to Hopkins (127.5), North Branch (116.5), Roseville Area (116), and St. Paul Humboldt-Open World Learning (87.5).

More than 30 years after being decommissioned, a fire truck has returned to the New Ulm Fire Department thanks to Waterville resident and councilman Tim Smith. Smith acquired the 1969 Pirsch fire truck in 2006 from the defunct Minneapolis Fire Museum.