Every time it gets extremely cold, and I mean every time, I forget to bring liquids in from my car.
My son Jayson looked at me Sunday as he got into the car and sternly said,” Will you ever learn?”
Well, apparently I will not.
During Christmas Eve my wife received a number of bottles of wine as a present.
They were all placed in a box and were loaded into my vehicle for our return trip from Le Center to Waterville.
It was late so we just grabbed the food we had in the vehicle and left other items for the next day. Or the next day. Or the next day…

Donations continue to come in to the City of Elysian to help pay for the Sunset Park LifeEnterprise Sports Courts Renovation.
The approximate cost for the project, which was close to completion late last fall, is $54,000. Thus far, a little more than $44,000 has been donated.
Two years ago the City of Elysian came to an agreement with the WEM School District to take over the tennis courts and baseball field located at the Elysian School.

More than 30 years after being decommissioned, a fire truck has returned to the New Ulm Fire Department thanks to Waterville resident and councilman Tim Smith. Smith acquired the 1969 Pirsch fire truck in 2006 from the defunct Minneapolis Fire Museum.

The WEM girls basketball team split a pair of Gopher Conference games last week.
They began their week with a 68-61 loss to league-leading NRHEG Tuesday, Jan. 9 in Waterville. They ended the week with a 70-38 rout of Randolph.
With the split, WEM remains tied for second place in the West Division of the c o n f e r e n c e with a 5-1 record, one half game behind NRHEG and tied with Maple River, a team they have already defeated.

Elvin Leigh Wehking, age 57, of rural Janesville, died in a single vehicle crash on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
    The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s dispatch center received a 911 call at 5:33 p.m. of a vehicle crash near a residence on Tetonka Lake Road in Elysian Township. Le Sueur County Sheriff’s deputies and Elysian Fire and Rescue were initially dispatched to the scene. 
    Sheriff’s deputies noted that a 2003 Ford Taurus, driven by Wehking, had left the roadway, travelled through a ditch and collided with a large tree — which caused extensive front end damage to the vehicle. 

There was a motion on the floor to disband the Waterville Police Civil Service Commission, but it never received a second, so the Commission will remain.
Waterville City Council member Jennifer Grobe voiced her concerns about why the city has this Commission and she made the motion to end the Commission during the December 5 council meeting.
The motion died for lack of a second so the Police Civil Service Commission will not be abolished. It would have taken a unanimous vote of the council to end the commission.

The Tri-City United (TCU) boys basketball team outscored WEM 34-16 over the final nine minutes of their game Thursday, Dec. 28 to pull out a 72-68 nonconference win in Waterville.
After leading 27-25 at halftime, the Bucs increased their lead to 52-38 on a rebound basket by senior Caleb Caron with 9:13 remaining.
The TCU defense held the Bucs to five field goals over the next nine minutes while their offense did much of their damage at the free throw line, scoring 14 from the charity stripe, including the final four of the game.

Joan Clara Hermel, age 92, of Waterville passed away surrounded by her family on Sunday, December 31, 2023, at Traditions of Waterville.
Born on September 30, 1931, in Waterville, Joan was the daughter of Ben and Clara (Frodl) Gregor. She graduated from Waterville High School with the Class of 1949. On November 21, 1950, she was united in marriage to Milo Hermel at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Waterville. Joan was a homemaker and held various administrative jobs throughout her career. She retired from her working career at Le Sueur County. 

Thomas “Tom” Frederick Graham, 61, of Elysian, MN died at his home on December 23, 2023.

Merlyn H. Bruns, age 91, of New Ulm passed away peacefully on January 1, 2024, at the Sleepy Eye Care Center in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.
 Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Ulm.  Pastor Jeffrey Bovee will officiate, and burial will follow in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in New Ulm where the New Ulm Area Comrades of Valor will provide full military honors.
 Visitation will be from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. on Saturday at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church prior to the service.

Lee Ann Baumgarten, age 83, of Morristown, died Saturday, December 23, 2023, at Traditions of Waterville.

Thomas "Tom" Frederick Graham, age 61, of rural Elysian, died on Saturday, December 23, 2023 at his home.
Full obituary to follow. Arrangements are with Dennis-Steffel-Omtvedt Funeral and Cremation Service in Waterville. DSOFuneral.com

Lee Ann Baumgarten, age 83, of Morristown, died, Saturday, December 23, 2023, at Traditions of Waterville.
Full obituary to follow next week.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date. Dennis-Steffel-Omtvedt Funeral and Cremation Service is handling the arrangements. dsofuneral.com

Diana Turek, age 65 of Montgomery, was found deceased in her vehicle in front of Edel’s Meat Market at 116 1st Street North in Montgomery Thursday, Dec. 21.
A female customer arriving at the meat market noticed Turek in the vehicle and knocked on the window but got no response. She made a call to 911 at about 3:22 p.m.
Montgomery Police Officer Sladek was dispatched, arrived on scene and advised dispatch to send Montgomery Area EMS. Officer Sladek found Turek in her vehicle. He checked for vital signs and advised dispatch to cancel EMS as she was deceased.

I am so thankful I don’t have to drive more than a couple of blocks to work every day after a Thursday morning trip to Mankato.
I have come to the conclusion the older I get the more I don’t really like to drive.
Night driving is becoming increasingly difficult. This was part of what made my Thursday early morning trip that much more frustrating.
I left the house at 6:30ish, which is 30 minutes or more behind my wife, who makes a trip to Mankato every day.
I know there are others who travel much farther and I don’t envy you at all.