Summer is here which means families are finally able to enjoy the outdoors after a long winter. 
As campfires burn out and kids get ready for bed, many parents will pull out a book and read a bedtime story. This is important because studies consistently show that reading at a young age drastically improves a child’s educational trajectory. 

For years I’ve often quietly used the phrase, “Don’t shoot the messenger,” when disgruntled readers have voiced their frustration over something that has been published they didn’t want to see. 

As hundreds flock to tiny Berne every Wednesday for a mid-week pizza party, dozens of people behind the scenes are making the novelty event enjoyable for everyone.
From cashiers to pizza makers to people manning the hot ovens and serving the freshly fired pizzas, volunteers are needed to serve as many as 800 pizzas each week. It’s no easy task and takes 60 volunteers each night to pull off. 

Visitors to Mantorville’s Stagecoach Days got an extra bonus Saturday afternoon when a pair of mini-horses showed up for a surprise visit. 
Bruce Ebnet of West Concord dazzled spectators with his mini-horses in between the draft horse pull. The mini-horses weren’t actually a part of the competition, but rather as a side show. “They have never pulled before,” he said. 

Donning a bright red 1850s day dress, Carla Webster fit right in as she took in the festivities of Mantorville’s Stagecoach Days this past weekend.
Webster, who was one of several committee members that planned the weekend of fun activities for all ages, got a chance herself to relax and enjoy music by the Root River Jam Saturday afternoon.

A Dodge County man has died in a two-vehicle crash in Goodhue County.
The State Patrol has identified the victim as Roger Ray Herrick, 64, of West Concord. He was driving a 2004 Chevy Silverado that collided with a 2008 Ford F150 driven by Trent Wayne Hinkel, 46, of Lancaster, Calif.
A 47-year-old passenger in Hinkel’s vehicle received non-life threatening injuries. 

After a close call with Mother Nature during the opening day of last year’s Dodge County Fair, county safety officials are tweaking the fair’s emergency plan.
Matt Maas, emergency management director for Dodge County, has worked personally with Kasson EMTs, first responders, and other emergency personnel to reform the Emergency Management Plan for the Dodge County Fair. 

A Kasson Police Officer accused of years of sexual abuse is being held on $1 Million bail in Olmsted County Detention Center.
Julio Baez, 51, was arraigned in Olmsted County District Court Thursday morning on three felony charges of criminal sexual conduct. If convicted, he faces 30 years in prison and a $40,000 fine.
The judge ordered Baez held on $1 million bond without conditions or $500,000 with conditions.

The Olmsted County Sheriff, along with Kasson Police Chief Kent Berghuis and Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose, revealed that Kasson police officer Juan Baez has been involved in alleged misconduct for more than 25 years at a press conference in Rochester Thursday morning.