Gudmundson wins Outdoor News writing contest By Chad Koenen Publisher One of the most important parts about fishing is not necessarily the fish you catch, but the story you can tell after the excursion.  New York Mills seventh grader Ben Gudmundson checked off that important to do with a story that included everything from a Dora the… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher Tara Baune comes from a large family that supported education and values children. It’s those same values she not only shares with her three children, but all of the students that walk through her door, or say hello on the computer screen each day.  After spending much of the past two months learning… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher When the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve, one of the oldest businesses in New York Mills began writing the final chapter in its book. For nearly 100 years Coop Services has been serving the needs of the greater NY Mills area, but on Friday morning the large coop officially sold… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent Many kids who grew up in Otter Tail County enjoyed ice skating during the winter months. There were good times at public skating rinks and also home-made ice rinks at various lakes where families would shovel off the snow and make smaller rinks. Fortunately, ice skating remains popular today in many… Read More

The Cultural Center in New York Mills is now accepting essays answering the 2021 Great American Think-Off question: Which is more important: to win or to play by the rules?  This year’s question was chosen for the 2020 debate, which was canceled due to COVID-19. After a year of deep political and civil divides in the… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher Rising from an otherwise vacant lot in-between Deer Creek and Wadena, the new Joyful Spirit Church is beginning to take shape.  The possibilities are endless and the plans are still being finalized about what the new church could look like for another generation.  Perhaps it’s a bit symbolic that just the foundation of the… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher Technology has never been more important for school districts than during the days of COVID-19. With students learning remotely and staff members utilizing new technology to reach their students, a renewed emphasis has been put on making sure students have the devices and information needed to be successful in the classroom—wherever that… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher Perham Health and Tri-County Healthcare began vaccinating front line staff members and first responders last Monday. The facilities received their first shipment of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine and over the course of the next several weeks will continue to vaccinate its employees. “While this process is just starting, a safe and effective vaccine… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher Two of New York Mills’ longest serving school board members attended their final meeting last week. With a combined 28 years between them, Tim Kupfer and Julie Adams were recognized for their years of service to not only the school district, but the community as well. “Just really a lot of appreciation for… Read More

Two familiar faces at Farmers & Merchants State Bank will soon have new responsibilities.  Latham Hetland and Sam Slieter have been promoted to officer positions beginning Jan. 1.  Hetland will be a Loan Officer while Slieter will be the Operations Officer.   Slieter first worked at the bank as an intern during the summer after he… Read More