The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center’s 2026 Concert Series continues with a live performance by Erik Keranen on Saturday, Aug. 29, at 7:30 p.m. Held in the Cultural Center’s intimate listening-room-style gallery space, the concert will feature an evening of original music from a songwriter with deep roots in West Central Minnesota. Doors open… Read More

Photos by Chad Koenen The annual New York Mills Regional Cultural Center Puppet Pageant and Finn Creek Festival were held over the weekend. The puppet pageant was held on both Friday night following the corn feed and Saturday at Finn Creek Festival and featured a record 25 participants this year. The Finn Creek Festival were… Read More

In other news • Heard from Kaitlyn Shaefer concerning the open position for a third full-time police officer for the NY Mills Police Department. Shaefer said there has been more crime reported in the community this year and having a third full-time officer would help provide additional police coverage, as well as relief for the… Read More

NYM council vote ends in 2-2 stalemate regarding city-owned liquor store A potential move of the city-owned off-sale liquor store to the Highway 10 corridor has been put on hold—at least for now. During its regularly meeting last Tuesday night, the New York Mills City Council found itself in a rare 2-2 tied vote concerning… Read More

Hammers Construction awarded the lowest bid By Chad Koenen Publisher There is good news and then there is what the Ottertail City Council received last week concerning the low bid for the Ottertail Fire Hall Expansion.  During its regularly scheduled meeting last week the Ottertail City Council approved a low bid of $1,873,827 from Hammers… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher Steve Dunrud has a passion for volleyball and wants to share his love of the game with a new generation of New York Mills Eagles. That’s what drove him to apply for the open head coach position after spending the previous seven years away from coaching varsity-level volleyball. “I thought I… Read More

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