By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent Gift card scams, despite repeated warnings, continue in Otter Tail County. The most recent scam was reported by sheriff deputies on Jan. 6. A county resident, near Rush Lake, lost close to $5,000 in this latest scam. Sheriff deputies said the scam victim had originally been contacted through Facebook by a person… Read More

By Tucker Henderson Reporter A three-year old child was killed on the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 11 after an attack by an adult American Bulldog at his grandmother’s home west of New York Mills. According to a report from the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, the child, who had climbed into an outside enclosure where the dog… Read More

Otter Tail County has welcomed Liz Mickelson as Deputy Administrator of the Finance, Property and License Management Services Team, as County Administrator Nicole Hansen introduced her to the County Commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting. Kris Vipond administered the oath of office to Mickelson as County Auditor-Treasurer, as required by Minnesota statute. Mickelson brings 10 years of public… Read More

Picture this: Your house is on fire. You grab your phone, dial 911, and your mind goes blank. What’s your address? How many people are inside? Where are the kids’ bedrooms? In that terrifying moment, you don’t have to remember. If you’ve signed up for Smart911, first responders already know. “When someone calls 911, they’re often at… Read More

Jesse and Bethany Mitchell, of Perham, are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Quinn Beth Mitchell. Quinn was born on January 2, 2026, at 5:22 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  Quinn is welcomed home by siblings Emery, Hayden, Sutton, Lennox and Warren; and grandparents Charlie and Mary… Read More

January in Minnesota may feel like a gardening lull, but it’s actually prime time for one important task: dormant pruning. When trees and shrubs are bare, it’s easier to see their structure and make clean cuts that promote health and productivity. But before you grab the pruners, here’s what you need to know about what… Read More

NYM Regional Cultural Center launches a glowing new fundraiser on January 24 The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is turning down the lights and turning up the fun with GLOW BINGO, an all-new winter fundraiser coming to the NYM City Hall Ballroom on Saturday, Jan. 24, from 5:30-10 p.m. GLOW BINGO combines classic bingo with… Read More

Homelessness affects communities across Minnesota— including Greater Minnesota.  The West Central Minnesota Continuum of Care (CoC) is tasked with working in partnership with regional partners (local governments, housing and human services agencies, faith partners, schools, law enforcement, and persons with lived experience) to make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time.  Data is essential to meeting this goal. One… Read More

Nelson starts new ULV business in Ottertail By Chad Koenen Publisher When you think of the home for luxury low-speed vehicles and golf carts, one doesn’t typically think of a tiny community on the shores of Otter Tail Lake—but that may be changing in the near future. What began as an idea from Kenny Nelson at bringing… Read More

By Tucker Henderson Reporter The New York Mills Public Library recently opened a Canned Food Exchange shelf in their front entryway. The concept is akin to a food bank outpost location where those who have canned food to share are able to leave them on the shelf and those who are in need of the canned… Read More