The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced this week more than $2 million for five business expansion projects across Minnesota. The projects are expected to create or retain 141 jobs and leverage more than $19 million in private investment.

    The Rice & Steele 911 Center moves into its new facility at 118 Third St. NW, Faribault on Nov. 4, 2026. With this move, the center’s administrative/non-emergency/public phone number will change to 507-209-0380.
    The new number will not be in effect until Nov. 4, 2026. You can continue using the current numbers until that date, and current numbers will forward to the new number for 30 days following the move.
    For emergencies, continue to call 911 as this change does not affect 911 service.

Monday, Oct. 19

•     Assisted (Asst.) with a dog at larger, owner located and issued a citation.
•     Asst. with locating an individual on an outstanding warrant.
•     Traffic stop (TS) and arrested an individual for driving after cancellation inimical to public safety, registration violations, and no proof of insurance.

Tuesday, Oct. 20

    Earlier this year in January, Verizon bought Frontier Communications and absorbed its network, which included about 20,000 land lines in Minnesota.
    Rebecca Carson is one of those customers, who lives southwest of Montgomery on Lake Mazaska near Shieldsville and a property that is near the Le Sueur County and Rice County border by Highway 99. It’s that second property that is a huge issue for Carson. She contacted us this weekend with her concerns about it.

    Bravo Zulu House and Trinity Sober Homes annual benefit dinner on Thursday, Oct. 22, in Golden Valley held a special guest of honor among the approximately 250 guests present, Montgomery’s own Jean Keogh, Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Department (VFW) of Minnesota president.
    Keogh was presented with the Bravo Zulu House’s Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her lifetime of work as well as her support of Bravo Zulu House’s mission.

    The Lonsdale Lions Pancake Breakfast & Halloween Party on Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Lonsdale American Legion left plenty of full tummies and smiling faces.
    Many showed up in costume, although not required. After filling their tummies, people could play a handful of set-up games, color, crafting with stickers, get their faces painted, and win prizes.
    The Lonsdale Ambassadors, Lonsdale Girl Scouts, Lonsdale Boy Scouts, and Lonsdale’s Poppy Princess were all on hand as a part of the occasion, lending a helping hand to the Lions.

    With the mid-term elections approaching us on Tuesday, Nov. 3, some residents are seeking out more information directly from the sources to make an informed decision this year.
    Last Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Lonsdale Chamber of Commerce held a Candidate Forum at the American Legion in Lonsdale. 
    Candidates hoping to win elections for the Lonsdale mayor and city council races, State Senate District 58, State Representative District 58A, Tri-City United School Board, and New Prague School Board all participated.

    As cannabis availability increases, the Le Sueur-Waseca Community Health Board reminds community members about essential steps to keep families, teenagers, and roadways safe. The focus is on locking up cannabis away from children, engaging teenagers in open conversations about cannabis use, and preventing impaired driving.

    The new playground equipment in Memorial Park is going up at a fast pace. Workers from Midwest Wisconsin Playgrounds (MWP) began installing it last week and should be finished with installing the equipment this week.
    This doesn’t mean that the equipment will be ready to be played on just yet. The rubberized chip will need to be placed in the play area and the poured-in-place surface for the concrete areas needs to be installed before it can be open to the public.

Monday, Oct. 12

•     Traffic stop (TS) for possible cancelled driver, unfounded and all clear.
•     TS and issued a warning for speed.
•     Assisted (Asst.) with a domestic dispute.
•     Arrested an individual on an outstanding warrant.
•     Asst. with found property on the roadway.

Tuesday, Oct. 13

    Montgomery’s main wastewater lift station pump failed, which carries all the sewage from town and is a critical component. According to Public Utilities Supervisor Adam Jirak, crews installed a backup pump in the meantime. 
    Jirak said that the failed pump was inspected but could not economically rebuilt. He also stated that the station’s pumps are not a standard size, so most companies do not carry a spare that would fit, which necessitates the city to have its own spare/back-up pump.

Question
    I have a slow moving emblem for my vehicle. Can I use that when I am driving at normal speed limits or must I take that off?

Answer
    Vehicles designed to operate at 35 miles per hour or less must display a slow-moving vehicle emblem. The use of this emblem is restricted to the slow-moving vehicles specified in state statute and its use on any other type of vehicle or stationary object on the highway is prohibited.

Vehicles That Need the Emblem

    This summer a new local food insecurity nonprofit was started by Caitlin Huiras called 507 Food Share. Over the summer months, the entity helped provide nutritious food at no cost to those who needed it weekly at Tri-City United High School through pop-up markets.
    Huiras has much further ambitions with the organization though and some of those are playing out in the inaugural Miles for Meals 5k Run/Walk and Kids 1K to be held at Next Chapter Winery, between New Prague and Montgomery in Lanesburg Township, on Sunday, Nov. 1. 

    Montgomery City Council approved the hiring of Brennen Construction Inc. as the construction manager at risk (CMAR) Monday evening, contingent upon them accepting the contract sent to them without any major changes.

    Le Sueur County court filings show that Jeffrey Allen Wolf, 37, of Montgomery, was sentenced on Oct. 13 for the case involving a 14-year-old girl in with whom he had multiple instances of criminal sexual conduct (CSC) and shared a significant relationship with, which allegedly resulted in the victim becoming pregnant.

    Rounding up a series of local towns’ Fire Prevention Week, was Lonsdale Fire Department’s Fire Safety Night, which was held in coordination with Tri-City United Early Childhood Education.
    This event, which has happened for many years, gave an opportunity for the younger children to explore all of the fire equipment and apparatus the department has, meet real firefighters, get a cool vacuum-formed fire hat, fire safety-related coloring books, have some refreshments, and listen to a presentation by Fire Safety Officer Adam Vycital of the Lonsdale Fire Department.