By Tucker Henderson Reporter In 1970, at age 19, Jerry Anderson was drafted into the United States Army right out of tech school. He went through eight weeks of basic training at Ft. Lewis, Washington and then 26 weeks of artillery training at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.  ¶  Anderson shipped out in August of 1971 and spent… Read More

School board updated on facilities survey By Chad Koenen Publisher Enrollment at New York Mills School remains strong as the school district continues to flirt with an average daily enrollment of 800 students.  According to the school district’s 2025 year end audit, the NY Mills School District had an ADM of 793 students in grades K-12 last year,… Read More

DC Lions want to remain as charitable gambling group By Chad Koenen Publisher Gambling was once again at the forefront of the Deer Creek City Council.  During its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night, the Deer Creek City Council heard from Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub owners Rod and Cathy Woodward concerning a request to change their current gambling… Read More

Local non-profit purchases Otter Fitness Garage By Tucker Henderson Reporter The “Ottertail Community Project” has been a development in the works for the past three years and has just recently purchased the Otter Fitness Garage in Ottertail, as part of Phase I of their overarching plan. “This all started about three years ago,” said Executive Director, Alex… Read More

Program to be held at NY Mills School auditorium By Tucker Henderson Reporter The New York Mills Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3289 will be hosting this year’s Veterans Day program in the NY Mills School Auditorium at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The program is organized by both the VFW Post and the VFW… Read More

A Horace, N.D. man has pleaded guilty and been sentenced for stealing a skid steer in late 2024 from Carr’s Tree Service in Ottertail. The sentencing was part of a plea deal with charges of theft and receiving stolen property related to a string of thefts across Otter Tail and Clay Counties in Minnesota and Cass… Read More

Floral Antler Watercolor Workshop set for Saturday The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center has announced the launch of a brand-new creative workshop series this fall: “Morning with Megan.”  Join the Cultural Center for the first session on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., featuring Floral Antler Watercolor Workshop led by new Artistic… Read More

PR dispensary denied on 500-foot park buffer By Robert Williams Editor There are some towns in Minnesota that will struggle trying to fit retail cannabis businesses into their business districts without falling under the restrictive buffer zones of 500 and 1,000-feet designated by state statute. A New York Mills business was denied in August as its location of… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent On Oct. 8 Otter Tail County lost historian and former Vergas area resident David Asleson. He was a retired U.S. Forest Service employee in Idaho, Montana and the state of Washington who retired to rural Vergas in 2014. In his latter years he resided at an assisted living facility in Moorhead…. Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent Otter Tail County, according to a press release issued by the Minnesota division  of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), has agreed to pay a former inmate $200,000. This follows the inmate dropping a lawsuit which cited, in December 2024, “extreme, punitive treatment” at the county detention center in Fergus… Read More