Two wins in the Gopher Conference last week has moved the WEM/JWP wrestling team into second place.
The Grizzlies edged previously undefeated Maple River/United South Central, 32-31, Friday, Jan. 17 in Janesville. They traveled to Medford Thursday, Jan. 23 and returned with a 42-29 win over the Tigers.
WEM/JWP is now 3-1 in the Gopher Conference and 10-6 overall. They trail Kenyon-Wanamingo in the conference and have two duals left against NRHEG and Triton.

An award ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 2 honoring Waterville resident Dalton Grose.
Grose will be presented with the Carnegie Medal for Heroism at 1 p.m. at the Waterville Event Center.
There will be a short program, featuring the events which led him to saving the life of a man in September of 2023 and thus being selected to receive this highest of honors.

The City of Waterville and Waterville Police Civil Service Commission has received three complaints January 9 against a pair of city employees.
The complaints were directed at Waterville Chief of Police John Manning and Public Works employee Jordan Edwards. Manning received two complaints against him and Edwards one.

Mahlon Charles Grubish, age 95, of Waterville, died peacefully on Friday, January 24, 2025, in Faribault

Mike Milbrath, 77, of North Mankato, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on Friday, January 24, 2025.
Please join the family for visitation from 3:30-4:30 p.m., on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at Northview – North Mankato Mortuary, with Memorial Service to follow. www.mankatomortuary.com.

Randy E. Coon, age 68, of Waterville, died on Sunday, January 12, 2025, at Allina Medical Center, Faribault, after a lengthy hospital stay surrounded by family.
Memorial services was held at River Valley Church, Faribault, on Friday, January 17, 2025, at 3 p.m. with memorial visitation at church for one hour prior to the service on Friday. Arrangements are with Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.

Donald William Wolff, age 85, passed away peacefully on January 4, 2025, in Mankato, MN. He was born on March 17, 1939, in Mankato; grew up in Madison Lake; and attended Loyola Catholic School in Mankato. After graduation, he trained with the Minnesota National Guard. He married Harriet on April 28, 1962, and lived in Elysian where he farmed. He was employed by Brown Printing in Waseca. After retiring, he volunteered at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Donald was a member of St. Andrew Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus and was strong in faith. 

Margaret J. Matz, age 93, passed away in the early morning of Jan. 6, at Thorncrest Nursing Home in Albert Lea, MN.
Margaret was born March 19, 1930, to Harold Faltersack and Delores Whipps in Elysian. She married Merlyn Matz in 1950 and together they had a son, David. Throughout her life she worked at Larson’s Cafe, Johnson’s, Munsingware, and Waterville Good Samaritan. She also was a long member of the Episcopal St. Andrew’s Church in Waterville. She lived by Lake Tetonka most of her life. She loved her cats and dogs.

Mary Ann Bauman, age 84, of Morristown, died on Thursday, January 2, 2025, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis.
Memorial services will be held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Morristown, on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. with the Reverend Weslie Odom officiating. Memorial visitation will be at church for one hour prior to the service on Saturday. Interment will be at Meadow Ridge Memorial Park, Faribault at a later date. Arrangements are being completed by Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.

Churches around the nation have been struggling and closing in rather large numbers. The attendance at churches has dropped significantly. A Gallup poll published in 2024 showed that 43 percent of adults said they attended religious services in their 2000-2003 poll to just 30 percent in their 2021-2023 poll, dropping 12 percent.
St. John Lutheran Church in Kilkenny is no exception to this decline in attendance. Husband and wife Daryl and Alice Bosacker, long-time members of the church, have seen the change personally.

Arlene Mae Wehr, age 87, of Waterville, died Saturday, December 21, 2024, at the New Richland Care Center in New Richland.
She was born on May 28, 1937, in Faribault. She was the daughter of George and Elsie (Schuler) Drinken. On April 9, 1955, she was united in marriage to Merle Edwin Wehr. She loved traveling, and spending winters with Merle in Arizona before his passing. She enjoyed yard sales, thrift shopping, supporting local food shelves, and a good time at a casino. Above all else, she loved spending time with her family.

The first hat trick, the first overtime, the first shootout, and first-time winners highlighted a fantastic night for a fantastic cause.
More than $2,500 and many toys and gifts were collected Saturday, Dec. 14 during the 2nd Annual Waterville Fire Fighter Floor Hockey Tournament.
The tournament featured firefighters from Elysian, Kilkenny, Morristown, and Waterville.

Three WEM High School students were inducted into the Minnesota Honor Society Friday, Dec. 13 at 7:45 a.m. in the Waterville auditorium.
Newly inducted members include junior Kayla Bronk, daughter of William and Lidia Bronk, and sophomores Grace Bartz, daughter of Joe and Heather Bartz and Natalie Elness, daughter of Troy and Aubrey Wetzel and Alec Elness.

The WEM/JWP wrestling team improved to 4-2 this season with two wins in three duals at the Byron Invitational Saturday, Dec. 14.
The Grizzlies defeated Dover-Eyota (53-17) and Byron (52-20) and lost to Rochester Mayo (43-21).
Five wrestlers finished the day undefeated and three others won two of their three matches.
Winning three straight matches included Jacksten Knish (107), Carsen Petry (133), Brady Murphy (139), Lucas Morsching (160), and Keegan Kuball (285).
Knish pinned Derek Bye of Dover-Eyota in 1:07 and also received a pair of forfeits.

Patsy Dorrene Culhane, age 74, of Waterville, passed away on the night of Tuesday, December 11, 2024, at Mayo Clinic Health Systems - St. Mary’s Campus in Rochester.