By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent At one time, Otter Tail County’s 289 rural schools were the most of any county in Minnesota. Many kids who grew up on farms formed their basis for life while attending one-room schools. They learned the basics with reading, writing and arithmetic (the three Rs). Penmanship, particularly the Palmer method with… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent Board members of the Lake Lida Property Owners Association (LLPOA), after meeting on March 23 with members of the county board of commissioners, came away feeling good about the establishment of a Lake Improvement District (LID) for Lake Lida. Thus far the LLPOA board has signatures from more than 450 lake… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent The five-person county board of commissioners, on March 9, again emphasized support for the business community in Otter Tail County, especially with the response to COVID-19. To that end, they heard from County Community Development Director Amy Baldwin who provided an update on applications for COVID-19 relief.  She and fellow county employees… Read More

Contributed photo Jan Hill, of the Ottertail Business and Community Association, presented Jessica Thompson and family a plant to welcome them and their new business, Soda Shop and Lollipops to Ottertail city. The new business is located on Main Street.   

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent  Sheriff deputies reported injuries in a two-vehicle traffic accident northeast of Bluffton, at 4:42 p.m. on March 22. The accident took place in eastern Otter Tail County at the intersection of Highways 144 and 75. One vehicle ended up in the ditch, according to sheriff deputies. There were no further details. Fire… Read More

Council looks at condemning house in town By Lori Newman Correspondent The Deer Creek City Council held their regular monthly meeting on March 22. Acting Mayor Bob Lund filled in for Mayor Troy Beiswenger who was unable to attend. New York Mills Police Chief Bobby Berndt gave the Police Report for February and led a discussion about properties… Read More

Contributed photo New York Mills and Menahga students hosted the Finnish folk ensemble Kardemimmit last week as part of a digital residency. The program was part of Folkefest, a program of Minneapolis-based Arts Midwest. The digital residency was presented in partnership with the NY Mills Regional Cultural Center, who was selected to participate in Arts… Read More

NYM residents start building a house in Mexico By Chad Koenen Publisher Some people see things and say “why.” Bonnie Dykhoff looks at something and says “why not.” That’s probably the easiest way to describe why she decided to build a little tropical paradise south of the border in Mexico.  “You ask me why? I say why not,”… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher An East Leaf Lake family is hoping to make 2021 a little bit sweeter with the opening of their new candy shop in downtown Ottertail.  Jessica Thompson and Dan Ostrander, along with Huntter Thompson, have opened Soda Pop and Lollipops in the former Shawna Marie clothing store building on Ottertail’s Main Street. The… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher With another potential housing development on the horizon, as well as several lots that remain to be sold, the New York Mills EDA is taking a look at the base price of properties in the Countryview housing development. During its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday morning, the NY Mills EDA heard from city… Read More