Mary Leppert, age 87, of Morristown, died Saturday, October 21, 2023, at Mercy Hospital – Unity Campus, Fridley.  
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Waterville on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at 10:30 a.m.  The Reverend Andrew Stueve will officiate.  Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery, Waterville.  
Visitation will be held at Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault on Friday, October 27,  from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. and for one hour prior to the service at the church. 

Two wins in the Gopher Conference moved the WEM volleyball team into third place in the Gopher Conference.
The Bucs dropped a fiveset thriller to Faribault BA Tuesday, Oct. 10 but rebounded with a four-set win over Blooming Prairie Friday, Oct. 13 and a 25-11, 25-21, 25-14 win over Triton Monday, Oct. 16.
The wins improved WEM’s conference record to 7-3 and 20-8 overall, the 12th time in school history the team has won 20 or more matches.

Elysian City Council member Bobby Houlihan presented a request for funding for the Water Treatment Plant at the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee’s bonding tour bus stop at South Central College in Mankato on Thursday, October 12.
The city has already received $3.5 million in special appropriation funds this year to be used towards a water treatment plant. They are requesting another 4.86 million through the 2024 bonding bill.

In year’s past, Homecoming Week has included students toilet papering of homes.
This year a number of students allegedly took this Homecoming toilet papering “tradition” to an unacceptable level.
Security cameras at the Chad Alladin residence in rural Le Sueur County showed a number of young people with toilet paper and some writing on Alladin’s son’s car. His son was a student at WEM but is attending another school this year.
Those things written on the car depicted racist, homophobic, hate-filled language, and other graphic graffiti, including a swastica.

Rita M. (Sevcik) Jasan, age 91, of Lonsdale, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis after a heart attack the previous Saturday. Rita was able to spend her last days visiting with all of her children and grandchildren. Her family and special friend Brenda took shifts sitting with her so she was never alone. When asked if she was ready to go to Heaven, she nodded and smiled.

Aurora Blank, age 89, of Wells, Minnesota, passed away on September 13, 2023. She was born on October 8, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas, to her late parents, Fransisco & Simona Echevarria. She later married Clifford Blank on Aug. 15, 1953 and made their home in Wells. 
Aurora worked many jobs in her life.  Banquet Foods, Del Monte, her last being Parkview Nursing Home.  
Aurora was a beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

Rita M. (Sevcik) Jasan, age 91, of Lonsdale, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis after a heart attack the previous Saturday. Rita was able to spend her last days visiting with all of her children and grandchildren. Her family and special friend Brenda took shifts sitting with her so she was never alone. When asked if she was ready to go to Heaven, she nodded and smiled.

That was scheduled for Saturday, October 14, 2023.

Connor and Claire Bohlen, twins of Brad and Amy Bohlen, were crowned WEM Homecoming King and Queen Monday, Oct. 9 in Waterville.

Douglas Lee “Doug” Christiansen, age 80, of Waterville, died Friday, October 6, 2023, at his home.

James “Jim” Matthew Skluzacek, age 84, of Montgomery passed away on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, peacefully at home. Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 8 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, October 9, at 10:30 a.m. with visitation one and half hour prior at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Burial will be held at a later date. Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery Area Veterans Honor Guard. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.

According to a press release from the Montgomery Police Department, a worker at Seneca Foods plant in Montgomery died early Thursday morning.
The release said that a call came in at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5 for “a report of an employee that had been trapped by falling items located in a warehouse.” The release said the employee died from the injuries sustained in the incident.
Montgomery Police, Le Sueur County Sheriff, Montgomery Area EMS, and Montgomery Fire Department were all dispatched to the scene.

James “Jim” Matthew Skluzacek, age 84, of Montgomery passed away on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, peacefully at home. Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 8 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Schoenbauer Funeral Home in Montgomery. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, October 9, at 10:30 a.m. with visitation one and half hour prior at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery with Father Tom Niehaus officiating. Burial will be held at a later date. Military Honors will be provided by the Montgomery Area Veterans Honor Guard. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred.

When Dalton Grose of Waterville went to work Wednesday morning the last thing he thought he would be doing is saving someone’s life.
But thanks to his quick thinking and subsequent actions, Grose saved the life of a Blue Earth senior citizen Sept. 19.
According to the Albert Lea Police Department, they were contacted at approximately 9:49 a.m. concerning a vehicle involved in a crash in Fountain Lake.
Once they arrived on the scene, officers observed a pickup truck sinking approximately 30 feet off the shore, according to information they had on their Facebook page.

The first Saturday of every month members of the North Mankato American Legion Post 518 gather to pay a month-long tribute to a deceased veteran. This will take place at 10 a.m. October 7 for Wendell Edward Stark, former Elysian resident and father of Kelly Kauss of Elysian. The event is set for Wheeler Park in North Mankato.
At the request of the family, a veteran’s coffin flag is raised and flown for one month. A short tribute of the veteran is read and then placed in a display stand in the front of the flagpole.

Welcome to the Kingdom of Crescendo, a musical place to live! You’ve arrived just in time for the Mourning of the Lost Voice. King and Queen Coda’s daughter Rapunzel was stolen away by the Evil Witch long ago, and Crescendo has never been the same since. When King and Queen Coda develop a taste for a magical fruit, Bradley Baker must save the day! Alongside Bart the Bard, he travels into the woods to find the sought-after berries and meets Unicorns, rock-obsessed Witches in Training, and the awfully noisy Punk Rocks.