When my wife and I were expecting our first child, one of the most challenging tasks was selecting a name we both could agree upon. Since we both had been teaching for several years, some names were quickly eliminated because they reminded us of some kids we had had in class.

The Dodge County Independent is honored to introduce a new editorial cartoonist beginning this week.
The DCI will now run cartoons created by Joe Heller, an award-winning cartoonist from Green Bay, Wis. He replaces Ed Fischer, who died earlier this year. In recent months, the DCI had been running Fischer’s cartoons from the archives.

Assistant Dodge County Attorney Kailee Thompson on Tuesday filed to run for the top job.
Longtime County Attorney Paul Kiltinen told the DCI earlier this year he would not seek re-election following a decision by the Dodge County Commissioners to move the part-time position to full-time beginning in January.

After news of the potential closing of CHS Inc. in Kasson leaked, an official released a statement about a plan to “optimize its assets.”
The Kasson location, along with the grain elevators in Ostrander and Wykoff, were named in an internal email to employees as the sites that will close.

STAFF PHOTO BY KAREN M. JORGENSEN

Cori Kennedy was the Friday night headliner at the “Spring into Summer” event at the Steele County Fairgrounds. She will return to Owatonna in August to perform at the Steele County Free Fair. 

STAFF PHOTO BY KAREN M. JORGENSEN

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith sits in the driver’s seat of a 1927 Model T that Jim Checkel is storing at his home. The federal lawmaker visited the Dodge County farm last week to discuss issues relevant to rural constituents.