Community helps Isabelle Aho, family fulfill vision By Matthew Johnson Reporter Years ago Isabelle Aho, 2025 Menahga High School (MHS) graduate and daughter of Rodney and Hannah Aho of Wolf Lake, envisioned a Little Free Library (LFL) being installed in Wolf Lake. The vision was brought to fruition on Monday, Aug. 3 as the support… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent In 1898 a group of black families known as the “First 85” moved from Kentucky to Otter Tail County and settled in Fergus Falls. They left the Jim Crow South and sought a better way of life in Minnesota. This past month members of the Tate family boarded… Read More

Centers housed in NY Mills, Pelican Rapids By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent County commissioners, on Aug. 11, heard reviews of upgrades to buildings in Pelican Rapids and New York Mills which house Family Resource Centers. One of them is the Bridge Center, a former church building in Pelican Rapids, and the other is a… Read More

Annual festival to kick off Saturday in rural NYM By Chad Koenen Publisher Finn Creek Open Air Museum will turn back the clock of time during the annual Finn Creek Summer Folk Festival.  The festival will kick off Saturday morning with the pancake/pannukakku breakfast beginning at 8 a.m., before Maamme and Star Spangled Banner will… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent County commissioners, in late July, passed resolutions in support of programs in both Rothsay and Pelican Rapids. The five-person county board authorized county government participation in the City of Rothsay Single-Family Tax Rebate Program as requested by the City of Rothsay. This will support housing goals within their… Read More

First show set for Friday night at NY Mills Corn Feed By Chad Koenen Publisher Larger than life puppets will come alive for a pair of performances in the New York Mills area this weekend. The 17th annual Kalevala Puppet Pageant will feature a lively, large-scale street theater production inspired by Finland’s national epic, “The… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher A Henning woman died when her home exploded on Tuesday morning.  Paulette Venzke, age 77 of Henning, was unaccounted for after her home exploded around 9:38 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Her body was later discovered with the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office formally identifying her as the victim on Thursday… Read More

Free corn to be served to the community while supplies last By Chad Koenen Publisher Bibs and napkins will become a useful fashion statement as piping hot ears of corn will be dripping with warm butter on Friday night. The annual New York Mills Civic and Commerce Association is gearing up for its annual corn feed,… Read More

Stewart won primary with 992 votes By Chad Koenen Publisher A pair of challengers have advanced to the general election ballot after receiving nearly 73 percent of the vote in the Otter Tail County District 4 primary election last week. Jim Stewart received 992 votes, or 42.12 percent of the primary vote, to lead the… Read More

Paul Revere and the Raiders performed at Balmoral Pavilion By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent The first wave of baby boomers in Otter Tail County who were born from 1946 to 1954 recall the good old days during the 1960s when rock bands came to this area to perform their hit songs. Among them… Read More