Local schools were working this week to accommodate students and their families following Gov. Tim Walz’ order on Sunday closing all public and private K-12 schools statewide for at least eight days in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Darin Steffl, who owns Minnesota WiFi in Kasson, is the new ownerof the State Theatre on Main Street in downtown Kasson.
The sale was first an- nounced last week when previous owners Heidi and Nicole, made a final poston the theatre’s Facebook page saying their goodbyes.

Any military service member that loses their life while serving their country posthumously receives a purple heart, the hole they leave in their family isn’t forgotten as their family also receives an honor, a Gold Star, for their sacrifice.
One local Gold Star family, Dave and Kay Swenson, lost their son, Curtis, when he was killed in action on April 2, 2010.

Nowadays it seems like fewer and fewer farms are family operations, but one family that’s proud to be running its farm as a family operation is the Herbsts.
Brian Herbst is in partnership with his son who represents the sixth generation of farmers in their family and the third generation on their farm near Kasson, established by Brian’s father in 1958.

Don Pappas has announced that the family is selling Mantorville’s Hubbell House to
Rochester-based Powers Ventures.
The Hubbell House has been owned since 1946 by the Pappas family and has been a
fixture in southeastern Minnesota since 1846. The family says that they were not
actively looking to sell the restaurant but that circumstances just happened that
made it the right thing to do.

For the second time in as many years, Dodge County’s Matt Maas is the state’s top emergency professional.