There will be fireworks, everything else is tentative
Elysian will celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks this year. Beyond that, things are tentative.
“There’s not much to report. It’s just too early to know how to proceed—what the CDC guidelines will be in July,” explained Elysian Chamber of Commerce member Pat Nusbaum.
The Elysian City Council held a special meeting March 3 to discuss the Chamber’s plans for the Fourth of July and the city’s new event, Elysian Days.
This program is for children living in the Waterville-Elysian area who are 1-18 years of age.
Program is sponsored on the third Saturday of each month between the hour of 10 and 11:30 a.m. Next distribution is Saturday, March 20.
Pickup occurs in front of the food shelf, volunteers will be there to ask how many children in the family, bags of kid friendly food will be given to each car.
There is no income eligibility for anyone. All families with children will be accommodated, until supplies for that day are exhausted.
Young mother’s death leaves father, kids piecing together new life
It has been six months since Troy Brekke lost his wife, Audrey, to a pulmonary anuerism.
The shock of her death and the thought of being a single parent of three children was overwhelming at times for Troy and his family.
According to the autopsy report the 41-year-old was in good health when the...
To read more on this story, pick up the March 18, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
While northern Minnesota experienced snow and high winds, the local area experienced rain, large hail, and tornado warnings, Wednesday, March 10.
The early season storm came just a day after local temperatures topped 60ºF, placing Waterville, Elysian, Morristown, Kilkenny, Janesville, and Warsaw under a tornado warning in the late afternoon.
A tornado watch was issued for southeastern Le Sueur County and Rice, Waseca, Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona Counties.
They don’t work silently.
There’s lots of chatter and laughter.
But, their hands remain busy—tying quilts, stuffing pillows, and sewing “comfort kits.”
Each kit includes a soft quilt, a small pillow, and a stuffed animal and will be given to members of law enforcement who will give the kits to kids experiencing a time of crisis.
Since fall, the ladies have made around...
To see more on this story, pick up the March 11, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
Locally restored WWII high-speed artillery tractor rolls on
A piece of military history extensively restored by a local family has a new home on the east coast.
Janesville residents Murray Carlson and his son, Brad Carlson, spent a decade working on a M4 High Speed Tractor, a unique World War II military vehicle built by Allis-Chalmers in...
To see more on this story, pick up the March 11, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
A free Community Easter Egg Hunt will be held at The Village in Waterville on Saturday, March 27 at 1 p.m. Donations to the local food shelf will be collected.
There will be a few games for kids, and the Easter Bunny will be attending!
Anyone who has small animals—chicks, bunnies, goat kids, sheep, puppies, kittens, etc.—is welcome to bring them to the event.
This event will be held rain or shine.
Contact Betty Deno at 507-362-8807 for more information.
The Le Sueur County Historical Society has remained busy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The society recently finished repairs of the old Cleveland Methodist Church, which currently houses many of the society’s artifacts.
In late fall, the large, overgrown lilac hedge on the building’s west side was removed to give better visibility to the building’s exterior in an attempt to deter people from breaking in. According to LCHS, several breaches have occurred at the church in recent years, but none of the artifacts appear to have been taken or damaged.
For 38 years, the WE Share Food Shelf in Elysian has provided food to those in need in the Waterville and Elysian area.
While the year-long COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the need for food assistance, the local food shelf’s numbers have remained steady.
“The need has definitely gone up, but we are serving about the same number of families—between 40 and 50—we did at this time last year,” stated food shelf coordinator Pat Nusbaum.
This conundrum is explained by a change of clients.
An Elysian man has been charged with a felony after he fled a police officer in a motor vehicle.
Bryan William Fries, 37, of Elysian faces a felony charge in Le Sueur County Court for fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. Four misdemeanor charges, all tied to the same incident, have also been filed against Fries for having violated a domestic abuse no-contact order, domestic assault, possession of more than 1.4 grams of marijuana in a vehicle, and having an open bottle of alcohol in a vehicle. The charges were filed February 16.
The record-setting high school basketball career of WEM senior Brielle Bartelt will be coming to an end in April.
The Class A State Tournament is scheduled for the second weekend in April.
Bartelt would love to have her team advance, as they did last year, only to have the tourney end due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the Bucs do advance, this wouldn’t be the final high school game for Bartelt, who has signed to play at Iowa Lakes Community College in the fall.
The 2021 FFA/Snow Week Royalty were crowned Friday, Feb. 19 in Waterville. The Queen was Lindsay Condon and the King was Kolin Rients. Princesses were Paige Atherton, Jessica Hilpipre, and Lindy Caldwell. Princes were Kyle Schmitz, Gavin Krantz, and Ahmad Alladin.
Feb. 22 through 26 WEM students will feature a ton of activities and dress up days.
A respected Czech Country supper club has become the latest victim of the COVID-19 pandemic, announcing its permanent closure on Thursday.
The Lakeside Supper Club, located on Lake Pepin on Highway 13/21 between Montgomery and New Prague, has been closed since the initial COVID-19 "stay at home" order in March last year, and will not be re-opening.
In a Facebook post to its patrons, owner George Kukacka and Catering Manager, Jayne Hirdler, made the decision with “heavy hearts and profound sadness” not to re-open.
This program is for children living in the Waterville-Elysian area who are 1-18 years of age.
Program is sponsored on the third Saturday of each month between the hour of 10 and 11:30 a.m. Next distribution is Saturday, February 20.
Pickup occurs in front of the food shelf, volunteers will be there to ask how many children in the family, bags of kid friendly food will be given to each car.
There is no income eligibility for anyone. All families with children will be accommodated, until supplies for that day are exhausted.
For about 20 years, Laura (Borneke) Allen worked as a speech language pathologist at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown schools.
A few years ago, Laura’s chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia started to make it difficult to keep up with a full-time...
To see more on this story, pick up the February 18, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
For about 20 years, Laura (Borneke) Allen worked as a speech language pathologist at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown schools.
A few years ago, Laura’s chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia started to make it difficult to keep up with a full-time...
To see more on this story, pick up the February 18, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.