Jeanette Emma (Kokoschke) Stiller, age 81, of Waseca, died, Saturday, September 23, 2023, at her home.
Born, December 1, 1941, in Morristown, a daughter of the late Gerhardt and Mildred (Poehler) Kokoschke. She graduated from Morristown High School and was united in marriage to Gary Stiller on August 27, 1960, in Waterville. He preceded her in death on February 11, 2019.

Minnesota’s regular waterfowl season opens a half-hour before sunrise on Saturday, Sept. 23, with the same regulations as last year. Minnesota has three waterfowl hunting zones — north, central and south — that share the Sept. 23 season opener but have varying end dates. The central and south zones also have a mid-season closure Oct. 2-6.

Public health workers in Scott and Le Sueur counties are encouraging people who haven’t recently been vaccinated to consider receiving the latest vaccines aimed at minimizing the impacts of COVID and fighting its spread.

The WEM volleyball team pulled off a huge upset Friday, Sept. 15 when they traveled to Cannon Falls and defeated the Class A 3rd Rated Bombers in four sets.
The win ended a solid week for the Bucs. They picked up a sweep of NRHEG Thursday, Sept. 14 and were defeated by undefeated Kenyon-Wanamingo Tuesday, Sept. 12.

It was quite a weekend for Travis Kimbro.
Travis and his wife Jillian and their two children recently moved to Delano from Waterville. Last week their home located just west of Waterville was sold.
Kimbro and his fishing partner Jared LaFrance won the fishing derby Saturday, Sept. 16 on Lake Washington and the duo claimed $2,000 for their efforts.
The following day the inaugural Winner Takes All Bass Brawl was held in Waterville on Lake Tetonka and Lake Sakatah, with the winner claiming the lone prize of $10,000.

Ronald “Ron” Morris of Waterville and formerly of Faribault died Saturday, Sept.16, 2023 after an extended struggle with a degenerative neurological disorder.
Funeral services will be held at First English Lutheran Church, Faribault Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Mark Johnson, officiating.
Visitation will be held at the church for one and a half hours prior to the service Saturday.
Arrangements are being completed by Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.

Ronald “Ron” Morris of Waterville and formerly of Faribault died Saturday, Sept.16, 2023 after an extended struggle with a degenerative neurological disorder.
Funeral services will be held at First English Lutheran Church, Faribault Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Mark Johnson, officiating.
Visitation will be held at the church for one and a half hours prior to the service Saturday.
Arrangements are being completed by Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault.

The WEM football team scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to defeat Cleveland, 16-6, Thursday, Sept. 7 at Cleveland in a Mid Southeast West District game.
The Bucs trailed 6-0 early after Cleveland scored on their second drive of the game on a 6-yard pass from Blake Lyons to Carson Lyons.
Turnovers and penalties stopped a pair of Buccaneer drives in the first half, including one at the one-yard line.

The WEM volleyball team won their opening Gopher Conference match of the season and placed third in their home invitational this past week.
The Bucs swept JWP 25-11, 25-20, 25-15 Thursday, Sept. 7 in Waterville. Two days later they hosted the 45th annual WEM Invitational and split four matches.
WEM defeated Minnesota Valley Lutheran (MVL) 25-20, 25-15 and TriCity United 25-14, 15-13, and were defeated by Cleveland 17-25, 25-19, 15- 12 in pool play.

At the ripe old age of 10, Medford student Ella Bettner founded a company which supports local school district’s kids and families who may have negative lunch balances or cannot afford lunch.
Bettner, who lives in Faribault and is a 7th grade student at Medford, established No Tummies Left Behind two years ago after she learned about food insecurity in schools and decided she wanted to help. She started this non-profit organization in October of 2021 after a 1 1/2 year delay due to the pandemic.

The DFL Rural Caucus is hosting a legislative meeting Thursday, Sept. 21, 5 -7 p.m., at the New Prague Public Library, 400 Main St E, New Prague. Featured speakers are Rep. Kristi Pursell (D - Northfield) and Rep. Luke Frederick (D-Mankato).

The annual Halfway to St. Patty’s Day celebration this past weekend was a family-fun event.
Kids enjoyed barrel-train rides, playing in a bounce house, and games complete with prizes. The kids-at-heart and of any age could partake in the daily offerings of music through most of the festivities, fireworks at dusk on Saturday, the vehicles on display at the car show Sunday, or any number of food and beverage options available.

JoAnne Lynne Haslip, age 73, of Waterville died on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato.

Construction of the roundabout on Highway 13/Le Sueur County Road 28 is nearly complete and expected to partially open to traffic Friday evening, September 1, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The south segment of the roundabout will remain closed to traffic as Highway 13 south of County Road 28 remains under construction.
Paving on Highway 13 from Lexington Avenue to Tri-City United High School is expected to be complete Saturday evening, September 2. Lexington Avenue is open to motorists for crossing.

It will be a fun-filled weekend in Kilkenny Sept. 9 and 10.
The annual Half-Way to St. Paddy’s Day Celebration has been extended to a two-day event this year.
The events start Saturday, Sept. 9 with a Shamwalk 5K Fun Run/Walk at 10 a.m. There will be prizes for the first place finisher 13 and younger and 14 and older. There will also be a prize for the male and female with the most Irish spirit.

The opening game for the WEM football team ended in a loss, with Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop picking up a 22-6 victory Thursday, Aug. 31 in Waterville.
A pair of early touchdowns by the Thunderbirds gave the visitors a 14-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game.
The two teams played a very evenly matched game for much of the final three quarters. Penalties hurt the Bucs in the second half. They started a pair of drives with successive penalties, forcing the team into some longer possessions.