Students from area schools were recently announced as recipients of Blue Jacket Scholarships from the Minnesota FFA Foundation providing some of the organizations newest members the familiar blue FFA jackets.
A total of 420 students from Minnesota earned the jackets including eight from Triton, seven from Hayfield and three from Byron.

College students are among those filling in in area classrooms, taking on the job of classroom supervisor for in-person learners when teachers are teaching from home.
This trend is unfolding around the country, reports ABC News, with college students recruited to oversee classrooms during a pandemic when educators are sidelined.

When Rochester’s Rick Utley decided to get sober, he started attending recovery meetings and one day was called upon to share his story. He did.
After the meeting, a couple approached Utley and said they had a heroin addiction. Could Utley help them, they asked.

Olmsted County’s first baby was born to Paul and Sara Bailey of Kasson at 12:50 a.m. on Jan. 1. The baby, Payton Mary, delayed her arrival until the New Year.

The Anytime Fitness operations in Byron and Kasson are seeing an uptick in new memberships as they typically do at the start of a new year. What they’re still recovering from are previous business shut downs due to COVID-19.
The latest shutdown was from Nov. 17 through Dec. 19, said Zach Hodgson, general manager with Anytime Fitness in Byron. “It was a big hit,” he said.

Stephanie French says she “never planned on being a cop.” She may never have planned it but earlier this month she became the first female sergeant for the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.
French has actually been part of the department since March of 2008 when she began working as a part-time transit officer. She became a part-time deputy in 2013 and later was promoted to a full-time position.