For the Kaplan, Grannes and Williams families, the From the Heart Run/Walk is not just a race, it is an event that brings friends, family, co-workers and other community members together to support each other during hard times. 
Since the race’s inception in 2009 it has raised over $250,000, all of which has been given directly to local families to help with the piling up medical bills. 

Members of the Blooming Prairie Police Department won’t just be patrolling the streets in SUVs this summer.
Last Wednesday, Minimizer owner Craig Kruckeberg presented Police Chief Greg Skillestad and Sgt. Mark Lang with one of two police bicycles the department is receiving, the result of a $5,000 donation from Kruckeberg. The bike was handed over during a brief ceremony in front of Minimizer’s office.

The target date is April 25 for many farmers and producers in southern Minnesota to start planting this year’s crops. The goal is to be done by May 1. And so far the weather is playing its part.

The Medford Tigers have played six games so far this season. They have won all of them. 
Last year, the Tigers won three of their first six. The season before, they won two. Three years ago, they had a single at this point. 

Eight couples from around Steele County will show off their newly found dancing skills with hopes of impressing both the judges and the audience at the fifth annual Dancing With Our Steele County Stars event this Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m. in the Medford High School Auditorium. 

Now that spring planting is here, many farmers and producers will be moving big equipment from fields to fields and down roads across southern Minnesota. With spring planting underway, it is also important to keep safety as a priority.

I have a confession. 
I recently was locked up behind prison bars in a facility that once was deemed the bloodiest 47 acres in America. In fact, it was a family affair as three other members of my family joined me in prison. 
It was short lived, however. After three hours of confinement, my family was allowed to leave on good behavior. 
I got a taste of a lifestyle that I would never want to ever experience. 

It’s hard to imagine that May 1 will be here in the next two weeks. That means the first four months of 2015 will be history. Where has it gone?

The bright orange cones along Interstate 35 in Owatonna signify one thing: the start of the summer road construction season in Minnesota and around the country.
And it is going to be a busy road construction season in Steele County. Medford will be completing its work, while Blooming Prairie will be starting a massive main street project after its annual Fourth of July celebration.