The world gets a little smaller this Wednesday when 90 young adults from 20 different countries present “A Song to the World” at the Montevideo Fine Arts Center.
Passion, inspiration and positivity are a promise of the performance collective that goes by: Up with People.
Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, there’s a good chance that you’ve come across the Denver-based non-profit, which has performed all over the world, including in four Super Bowls and in front of the Pope.

An unsustainable Minnesota budget suggests that the services provided by the state will have to change – the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) is taking a proactive approach to ensure that it has a say in the matter.
Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures and the AMC: Redesign project is hailing its 10-point PACT plan as an audacious out-of-the-box approach.

   Registration conference appointments for YME High School students and parents are scheduled for Monday, March 8, They will be able to meet with the student’s advisor and also register for 2010-2011 classes and receive 3rd quarter midterm report cards. Information is being mailed out  this week.  Parents are encouraged to attend the registration and midterm conference appointment to review course registration materials.

The Sixth Annual Project Turnabout "Appetite for Life" Gala was held Friday, February 12, at the Metropolitan Ballroom & Clubroom in Minneapolis. This interactive, all-star cooking class, silent auction and culinary event raises funds for the Another Chance for Life Fund, which provides scholarships to individuals and families seeking treatment, recovery and a better quality of life from their gambling addiction. 100 percent of the event proceeds solely benefit patient and family aid.

The Upper Sioux Community will receive financing for the proposed expansion for the Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Prior Lake, according to a press release issued by the Shakopee Mdewakanton tribe.
The $9 million loan and $1 million grant is expected go towards the addition of approximately 80 additional hotel rooms, 15,000 square feet of adjunct meeting and gaming space, plus renovations to existing areas such as the buffet and bar.

River otters, those playful creatures sometimes known for their child-like personalities, are the subject of a public meeting to be held at 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 9 at the Kilowatt Community Center.

Feelings on the subject of allowing them to be trapped in the Minnesota River Watershed and Southwest Minnesota run from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Currently, river otters may only be trapped in other parts of the state.

Bootlegger’s Supper Club owner John Berends has seen a lot of musician’s in his day, so when he refers to a musician as a savant, it’s probably good reason to take notice.
A few weeks ago, Luther Cole traveled from his home in Pipestone and made his Bootlegger’s musical debut during a mid-February performance as a part of Berends popular local musician Fridays. He will make his much anticipated return this Friday when he again claims the stage from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Granite Falls residents Gunval Knudson, 81, and Daryl Roschild, 44, walked away from what appeared to be a violent head on collision with two pickup trucks that occurred just past Highway 23 on Highway 212 on Thursday at approximately 9:00 a.m.

Having now entered the month of March and following the largest amount of snowfall since the winter of 1997, discussion at the Clarkfield City Council meeting naturally turned to dealing with what could possible be a difficult spring thaw.

The Yellow Medicine East school district has some questions to answer thanks to a summons and complaint that was delivered to YME school board member Tim Opdahl last Wednesday. The legal paperwork was prepared by attorney Dustin Cross from the New Ulm-based law firm of Gislason & Hunter LLP, on behalf of Scott Wintz and Patrick McCoy, both of Clarkfield. The Yellow Medicine East school district is required to answer the complaint within 20 calendar days.
    YME Superintendent Al Stoeckman indicated that he did not have prior knowledge of the summons being served; however, it was not totally unexpected.

Perhaps dams divided opinions long before the late Edward Abbey pinned his classic novel, “The Monkey Wrench Gang.”
That division of opinion was apparent yet again Saturday night during a presentation by DNR fisheries biologist Chris Domeier on the safety and environmental issues surrounding dams within the upper Minnesota River basin at the CURE (Clean Up the River Enviro-nment) in Montevideo.
Domeier and his agency were among the primary proponents of the recent removal of low head, overflow dams in Appleton and Dawson, and seemingly eyes are now focused on some other dams within the watershed. Among the possibilities are those  at Marsh Lake, Montevideo and Minnesota Falls (also known as Pete’s Point).

If you compare architectural renderings for an expanded senior center at its existing site, with recently developed renderings for an expanded senior center on the ground floor of the Riverview Apartments, the first thing you may notice is that they’re quite a bit alike.
“Basically, it’s the ingredients from the expanded library senior center made to fit [the Riverview Apartments] building,” commented  Riverview Apartment board member Jerry Ostensoe. “There is the same amount of space, and it’s very similar to what they proposed for the bonding bill.”

To help current students and interested public figure out where it is that they may want to apply their efforts, Minnesota West is offering a free computer aided career test called, CareerScope.
What makes CareerScope unique and particularly useful is that it is used “to see where career interest and aptitude line up,”  Minn. West Technical Advisor Laurel Smiglewski. And by matching ability with desire, one can be pointed toward a particular career and informed of what sort of educational background it will take to arrive there.

“To say Ron Fagen built America’s ethanol industry would be an understatement,” said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen.  “Ron’s commitment to rural America and his belief in its ability to feed and fuel the nation is truly inspirational. Without his dedication, and that of his family and staff, we would not be standing on the verge of replacing 10% of the nation’s gasoline demand with a clean, renewable fuel. Nor would the industry be on the precipice of exciting new breakthroughs that will dramatically expand the reach of ethanol from all sources.

After rumors began to swirl that Montevideo was receiving a lower rate on flood insurance while Granite Falls was inundated with higher costs, Granite Falls City Manager Bill Lavin proactively contacted his Montevideo counterpart, Steve Jones.
According to Lavin, Montevideo is not yet receiving a better deal as has been rumored, but Jones is working on an application that should help lower their costs in the near future.