STAFF PHOTO BY KAREN M. JORGENSEN

A row of flags lined the path from the road to the site of the West Concord Memorial Day program.

Following the abrupt retirement announcement from state Sen. Carla Nelson, a Republican who has represented parts of Dodge and Olmsted counties since 2010, four candidates have entered the race for the GOP nomination.
The list includes former Mantorville Mayor Chuck Bradford, former state Rep. Nels T. Pierson, Jesse O’Driscoll and Dan Sepeda.

The owner of a Kasson childcare center has been charged in federal court, where she is accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $425,000 in funding from a state program.
Jillaine Ann Mertens, of Hamel, is scheduled to be arraigned June 4 in Minneapolis. She operated Creative Stars I and Creative Stars II, which provided childcare for families in Rochester and Kasson, respectively.

Like most students, Madilyn Ross was looking to find classes to fulfill her requirements.
Then a sophomore at Byron High School, she got involved with the yearbook because of it — and hasn’t looked back.

Carly Halder, third from left, poses with friends during this spring’s prom at Byron High School. Also pictured are Ella Nelson, Marin Radke, Halder, Eden Hemminger, Zoe Dearborn, Madison Ohm and Tallie Behrens. Halder was named the Most Outstanding Senior Letter award for females in the class of 2026.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Ben Nelson, who will graduate Friday from Hayfield High School, took his senior photos with some of the jerseys he’s worn throughout his high school career. He plans to attend RCTC to play baseball, then become a special education teacher.