The Le Sueur County Board announced the finalists selected for the position of County Administrator.
On April 6, 2021, the Board selected four individuals to participate in an interview process that will take place on May 3, 2021. Liza Donabauer of DDA Human Resources, Inc., is the consultant hired to assist the County in the selection process.
Joseph Hatch
Joseph Hatch is currently serving as the Director of Human Resource Business Operations for the City of Minneapolis where he has served for approximately 13 months.

A 26-year-old woman from Kilkenny was flown to Mayo Clinic in Rochester after her vehicle rolled over in Shieldsville, Friday morning, April 23.
According to Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn, Phoenix Plaskett, 26, of Kilkenny was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester by Mayo helicopter with serious injuries. Dunn said Plaskett was driving a 2004 Mazda Tribute eastbound on Dodd Road by Le Sueur Avenue when the accident occurred at 7:29 a.m.

Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague has more than 200 available COVID-19 vaccine appointment slots available Thursday and Friday, April 22 and 23.
The vaccination site is located at the Mayo Clinic Health System clinic, 212 10th Ave. NE, New Prague.

The City of Elysian has become a resting spot for Canadian geese.
This hasn’t been a positive thing for city parks and other local properties. They have actually become quite a nuisance.
Elysian has been blessed with...
To read more of this article, pick up the April 22, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

His son died of an opoid overdose. Now, he’s fighting to save others.
Noah Goodwin should be celebrating his 23rd birthday this week.
But, the young man, who loved his dog and bowling, died from a drug overdose last year. He was found unresponsive in his Waterville apartment on Sunday morning, June 7.
In his grief, Noah’s father, Paul Purfeest of Waseca, began...
To see more of this article, pick up the April 22, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

Morristown native Paula (Schwichtenberg) Meskan has been named the CEO of River’s Edge Hospital and Clinic in St. Peter.
The 1987 Morristown High School grad earned her four-year Bachelor of Nursing Degree from the College of St. Catherine.

The WEM Speech team competed in the Section 2A North Sub-Subsection Meet on Tuesday, April 5th. Five of the girls will be moving on to Section 2A meet on Friday, April 16th. Paige Atherton and Kiri Kerekes placed second in Dramatic Duo. Alex Heuss took second place in Great Speeches. Emma McGraw competed in Dramatic Interpretation and placed sixth. Madeline Balfe placed third in Creative Expression. Maddie Heuss competed in Original Oratory. Left to right: Paige Atherton, Kiri Kerekes, Alex Heuss, Emma McGraw, Madeline Balfe, and Maddie Heuss.

A settlement was approved between the City of Waterville and MacQueen Equipment of St. Paul for a purchase made by the city which, once delivered, was not what they had initially ordered.
MacQueen delivered an off-colored fire truck to the Waterville Fire Department last year and the city debated whether they should send the truck back to be repainted or keep the truck since it was not the color they ordered.
City attorney Jason Moran worked on...
To read more on this article, pick up the April 15, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

The Rice County Master Gardener volunteers are hosting their annual Arbor Day tree and shrub giveaway on Friday, April 30, at the Rice County Fairgrounds in Faribault. The giveaway will take place from 3:30-5:30 p.m., while supplies last.
The giveaway will take place as a drive-through, minimal contact event. Everyone is welcome to drive through the fairgrounds and select a free tree or shrub seedling. Participants should enter the fairgrounds from Second Avenue NW and there will be signs indicating the flow of traffic.

He should be graduating this year.
He should be walking across that stage that’s set up in the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School gymnasium each year to receive his high school diploma in May, but his life was cut short.
Eighteen-year-old Travis Van Houdt, a young man who...
To read more on this article, pick up the April 8, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

There will be some changes to this year’s Waterville Bullhead Days.
The most noticeable will be the lack of a carnival. The carnival which had been used is Crescent City Amusements and they are from Louisiana.
With COVID19 restrictions, many of the communities this carnival contracts with have...
To see more about this story, pick up the April 8, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

The Le Sueur County Commissioners cast their votes Tuesday, April 6 for their top candidates for the county administrator position.
The board was presented a list of nine candidates by DDA Human Resources Management Consultant Liza M. Donabauer, who has been working on the hiring process for the county.
The position was posted February 17 and four weeks later 30 individuals had applied. 14 of those applicants were selected as semifinalists. Of those, five withdrew their applications.

Two local college students will serve as Rice County Dairy Princesses for 2021.
Kelsey Kuball, a WEM graduate who attends the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, and Madelyn Wehe, who attends the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, were named 2021 Dairy Princesses for Rice County.
The Rice County American Dairy Association (ADA) held a candidate dinner Saturday, March 27 at the Morristown American Legion. This event was held in place of the traditional banquet, which was not held due to COVID.
WEM student Ava Quast.....

The students at Trinity Lutheran School in North Morristown reenacted Jesus Palm Sunday Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem with palm branches and clothing. They gathered on the church steps with the church doors wide open to praise our heavenly king, Jesus. The week would conclude with Jesus celebrating the Last Supper, Jesus being arrested, crucified, and burried. Fortunately, we know the happy ending when Jesus rises from the dead on Easter, announcing victory over sin, death, and the devil. Because of Jesus great love for us, we, too, will live forever with Him in heaven.

The 2020-2021 WEM Teachers of the Year were announced last week after a vote of their colleagues.
Winners are Sandy Mielke (Elementary), Ashley Landru (Middle School), and Janet Jones (High School).
Also nominated were...
To read more on this story, pick up the March 25, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will conduct aerial mapping of several locations in south central Minnesota this spring.
The mapping will create a record of existing infrastructure and landscape along, and adjacent to, MnDOT right of way for transportation planning and operations. This work must be conducted after the snow has melted and before the trees leaf out.
Work will begin in late March, weather permitting, in the following locations:
- Highway 21, from Highway 13 south of Montgomery to the intersection of Highway 21 and Highway 99