Photos by Bradley Hastings Strong wind and warm temperatures force some large ice heaves by the Pelican Bay access on Otter Tail Lake on Tuesday. The ice heaves formed just off of shore. Some people even took a chance to walk out onto the ice (above), before it melted for good later last week.

Ottertail Bakery distributes free donuts in town By Chad Koenen Publisher With a box full of donuts in her arms, Julie Johnson made work a little “sweeter” at several Ottertail businesses last week. The longtime Ottertail Bakery owner delivered free donuts to just about every Ottertail business last week as she got ready to officially reopen her… Read More

Area children left with a bit of a sugar rush following a pair of Easter egg hunts on Saturday morning. The annual Bluffton egg hunt, as well as the New York Mills egg hunt featured thousands of colorful eggs hidden throughout the area. Children used buckets, and even a shopping cart, to collect eggs filled… Read More

Salo wins true section match at super section By Chad Koenen Publisher When Bren Salo watched the clock hit zero on March 20, the New York Mills junior pointed to the sky. It’s been a whirlwind year for the NY Mills 170 lbs. wrestler, and Salo knew there was someone watching from above to give him… Read More

Students could get out before Memorial Day By Chad Koenen Publisher New York Mills School District students could get out of school before Memorial Day next year—provided the district doesn’t use up all of its snow days. During its regularly scheduled meeting last Monday night, the NY Mills School Board approved its 2021-22 school calendar. The calendar… Read More

NYM, Bluffton, Ottertail to host egg hunts on Saturday By Chad Koenen Publisher On Saturday the New York Mills Civic and Commerce group will sponsor its annual Easter egg hunt at Smith Park.  The Easter egg hunt will begin at 10 a.m. and feature three age groups to allow children of all ages to search for colorful… Read More

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.