Belen (Zuniga) Calderón, 82, of the Albert Lea area, passed away Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 at her residence in Brownsville, Texas.  
She was born on Aug. 15, 1935, in Valle Hermoso, Tamualipas, Mexico, the daughter of Aurelio and Aurora (Perez) Zuniga. Belen came to the United States while in her 20s. She settled in Minnesota where she worked for the Hollandale Marketing Association for many years.  

The Westfield Razorbacks (7-5) took the title at the annual Dave Erickson Hall of Fame Tournament at Hayfield on Saturday. 
The Razorbacks finished first at the 12-team festivals. Byron placed second and Rochester Mayo earned third. They were followed by Cannon Falls, Waseca, Dover-Eyota, Austin, Saint Charles, Rochester John Marshall, Triton and Saint Thomas Academy. 

Five teachers in the Kasson-Mantorville school district have gone through three stages of contract grievances and could enter into arbitration against the district. The difficulty is that Education Minnesota, the state entity representing public school teachers and educationals support professionals, wants to change the interpretation of contract language, K-M Superintendent Mark Matuska said. 

School is... Stressful.
And I’m not just saying that because the next quarter and semester are peeking their heads around the corner. No. It’s always like this. 
Anyone who is in school, young or old, knows that there are highs and lows to getting up so early in the morning. These are one of my low points.

Gosh, but the flu is ever so much fun.
And it seems like about every other person  is suffering from it here in our corner of the world.
We are the hacking, sneezing, going-back-to-bed Walking Dead.
This is not the “flu” flu, which entertains our stomachs. It’s the coughing flu, featuring the chills, the hots, rumbling lungs, occasionally a sore throat, and the ol’ runny nose.

Now that we’re in mid-January, it can be easy to fall into the winter blues. 
After three weeks to recover from the holidays, we’re back into our normal routines of school or work. 
Meanwhile, the sub-zero temperatures of this past weekend have kept most people cooped up inside, and that can quickly lead to cabin fever. 

The new year always provides poeple with the opportunity to make resolutions for making changes in their lives.
I’ve never been real crazy about resolutions, but it seems like most people break them within weeks, or in some cases days, of making them.
I know we’re already a few weeks into the new year, but there is one resolution I’d like everyone to consider this year. It’s giving the gift of life. 

The Kasson-Mantorville girls basketball team is going through a learning process. With plenty of youth on the roster and lone senior Lexie Worden out with an injury, the KoMets have had to throw plenty of younger players into the deep end as they navigate through the Hiawatha Valley League.

American Red Cross volunteers are helping two adults and one child following a single family home fire Friday, Jan. 12, in the 700 block of Center Ave. S. in Hayfield.  
No one was injured in the trailer fire.