The Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP) staff gathered stories from watershed residents about how their community and lakes are doing.
This project of the CRWP dealt with “Lake Stories” from the Waterville Creek Watershed.
The CRWP staff interviewed eight community members about the following:
* Concerns for the future and their local lakes;
* Ideas for how partners can work together to strengthen communities;
* Recommendations for improving water in our lakes, rivers, and wells.
Among the community concerns were:

A Waterville woman sustained non-life threatening injuries after a one-vehicle crash Monday morning, October 29, in Elysian Township.
Christina Kepner, 50, of Waterville was driving a 2008 Mazda 6 westbound on Highway 60 in Le Sueur County when the vehicle drifted off the roadway to the left and continued down the south ditch. The vehicle vaulted and rolled, landing on its side.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol incident report, the accident occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m.

The Lake Area Historians hosted local speaker Chester "Chet" Hrdlicka of Elysian during the organization's October 15 meeting that was held at the Elysian American Legion. Hrdlicka shared "Part 2" of his historic tales of Elysian.
Hrdlicka's grandfather, an immigrant from the Czech Republic, settled in the Elysian area when there was no electricity and Park Street was the Main Street of the British/English community that was called Logan at the time.

Le Sueur County and the State of Minnesota have entered into a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) pertaining to Sanborn Lake.
This JPA was approved during the Tuesday. Oct. 23 Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners meeting in Le Center. Tim Koppelman, an assistant manager with the Minnesota DNR in Nicollet County, presented the agreement which makes the county the drainage authority for County Ditch 54 which is located near this lake which is 1.5 miles northeast of Montgomery.

Local history was alive and well, Saturday morning, October 20, at the Waterville Public Library. Four Waterville "historians" shared facts, stories, and a few giggle-worthy tales about when they were growing up in Waterville during a Local History Panel event that was sponsored by the Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System.
Will Wesley shared memories of his formative years growing up in Waterville. He began his story with when the lights first came on in town, in the late 1930s.

The WEM football team, the No. 4 rated team in Class AA, scored eight touchdowns in their 54-20 win over Blue Earth Area in the Section 2AA Quarterfinals played Tuesday, Oct. 23 in Waterville. The Bucs will host St. Clair/Mankato Loyola Saturday, oct. 27 at 2 p.m. in the Section 2AA Semifinals. The Spartans defeated Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 28-7 Tuesday. They are 8-1 this year, with their lone loss to undefeated United South Central. NRHEG and Le Sueur-Henderson will play in the other semifinal game Saturday. The winners will play Friday, Nov.

The 2018 Homecoming Coronation was held Monday, Oct. 8 in Waterville. Dawson Bauer and Morgan Nusbaum were named Homecoming King and Queen that evening. The rest of the week there were a handful of events for the students. Friday, Oct. 12 is the annual parade (1:45 p.m.), pepfest (2;15 p.m.), Music Arts Booster Tailgate event (5 p.m.), WEM football game vs. Maple River (7 p.m.), and the Homecoming dance (9:30 p.m.). For more on the Homecoming Court check out the Oct. 11 edition of the LIFE/Enterprise.

Morgan Nusbaum, daughter of Dave and Tammy Nusbaum, and Dawson Bauer, son of Darren and Lori Bauer, were crowned the 2018 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Queen and King during the annual  Homecoming Coronation held in Waterville Monday, Oct.

Due to the significant amount of property and agricultural damage after the Sept. 20 storm, the Le Sueur County Board has entered into a resolution which will help county residents.
The commissioners declared Le Sueur County in a State of Emergency Sept. 24 for the high wind storm event of Sept. 20.
During the Oct. 2 meeting, the county board signed a resolution which will waive zoning permit fees and grant administrative variances.
The resolution deals with affected properties as documented in the damage assessment from the storm damage.

The 2018 WEM Homecoming Candidates were announced Wednesday, Sept. 26. Five senior girls and five senior boys have been chosen by their classmates as Homecoming Royalty. The Queen and King will be voted on by the high school students next week. The winners will be announced during the WEM Homecoming Coronation Monday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m. Queen candidates are Addie Atherton, Sarah Best, Claire Buscho, Morgan Nusbaum, and Kayleen Stangler. King candidates are Collin Adank, Dawson Bauer, Gabe Malecha, Devin Morris, and Jayson Schneider.

A detour will be going into effect at the intersection of New Prague’s Main Street (Highway 19) and Union Pacific Railroad’s crossings beginning next week. While the sign says it will be Monday, Oct. 1, a press release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) says the detour begins Wednesday, Oct. 3, as crews will be working to replace two railroad crossings for the Union Pacific Railroad located between Highway 21 and Third Avenue Northwest.

As officials continue to assess the damages throughout Rice County, they are encountering a significant amount traffic congestion due to high volumes of on lookers in the damaged areas. In a press release to area news outlets, they would like people to stay away from the areas.
 

A tornado ripped thru the Lake Region area Thursday night, Sept. 20. Numerous trees are down and some damage to buildings has been reported.

George Alan Vanzee, previously of the Owatonna area, is currently being held in the Ottertail County Jail in Fergus Falls. Vanvee, age 51, has been identified as the individual involved in the January 7th, 2018 break-ins at Tucker's Tavern, Fischer's Corner Bar, and the Thirsty Beaver, all in Elysian. On September 5th, a Le Sueur County Sheriff's Office investigator interviewed Vanzee, who admitted to breaking into the three Elysian bars, looking for money.

A new playground has been constructed at Babe Nordmeier Baseball Field in Morristown. Funds for this new play area was donated by the Morristown Commercial Club, Morristown Fire Department, and Morristown Sons of American Legion. A play structure, swing sets, monkey bars, spring riders, and a merry-go-round are among the new items added. Check out the Sept. 20 edition of the LIFE/Enterprise for more on the new playgound.

More than 200 households were served during the Thursday, Sept. 13 Tri County Solid Waste Household Disposal event held in Waterville. Nine boxes of latex paint, two boxes of aerosols, six boxes of oil, 3,800 pounds of farm chemicals, and more than 800 light bulbs were among the items collected. The size of the collection boxes were three cubic yards. For more on the collection, check out the Sept. 20 edition of the LIFE/Enterprise.