The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announces new testing requirements for lactating dairy cows effective Tuesday, June 18. All lactating (currently producing milk) dairy cows must have both a negative H5N1 test result and Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) to attend any exhibition in Minnesota. The requirements are effective until December 31, 2024. “While H5N1 influenza… Read More

Photo by Chad Koenen Popular Minnesota author Kevin Lovegreen shared his passion for reading and the outdoors with a packed group of children and adults at the city hall ballroom in New York Mills on Wednesday afternoon. Lovegreen is best known for his children’s book series “Lucky Luke’s Hunting Adventures.” On Wednesday Lovegreen spent quite a… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent County commissioners, on  June 11, learned more about the rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) financial assistance from the state of Minnesota. Providing an overview was County Administrator Nicole Hansen. State legislation provides $24 million in emergency aid for EMS providers who primarily serve Greater Minnesota communities. The EMS aid package also… Read More

Meeting set for June 20 in Ottertail The featured speaker for the Otter Tail County Coalition of Lake Associations (OTC COLA) June 20, lake property owner meeting will be Chuck Becker of SafeWakes.org.    The latest craze in lake recreation is wake boats. Coming on the scene in Minnesota in 2018 they offer a new and unique… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher Freedom of Speech is worth the cost, at least that was the decision of the more-than 100 people who attended the 31st annual Great American Think-Off at the New York Mills High School on Saturday night.  Michelle Mellon, a New Mexico resident, was crowned as America’s greatest thinker and winner of the Great… Read More

By Tucker Henderson Reporter A new salon and spa recently opened up in New York Mills in what was once the Paws & Claws building at 16 North Main Ave. The building was purchased by Sheila Overland in May of 2023 and she set to work renovating the building to be a workable salon. Overland officially opened… Read More

By Tucker Henderson Reporter It was almost 30 years ago when Markku Mäkelä, a resident of Haapajärvi, Finland, first met his relatives from America: Tina Barkes and her daughters, Ruth and Martha, while they were on a sightseeing trip to Tina’s homeland of Finland. Ruth Koehler is a native of the New York Mills area and has… Read More

Otter Tail Power transforms Hoot Lake Plant to solar energy By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent Customers of Otter Tail Power Company, on May 22 and May 23, attended an open house at the Hoot Lake Solar facility east of Fergus Falls.  The 49-megawatt solar generation complex has nearly 130,000 solar panels that generate enough energy to… Read More

Photos by Tucker Henderson The annual Celebrating Cultures event, which was sponsored by the Cultural Center in New York Mills, was held on Wednesday, May 22 at the Sculpture Park. The event featured Buffalo River Dance Troupe (pictured above), Scottish Bagpipes by Ian Durkin, Taste of Colombia (traditional Colombian dance), Finnish music by Kip Peltoniemi, and… Read More

Contributed photos Avery Brooks found a way to beat last weekend’s warm temperatures by hosting a lemonade stand in New York Mills. Brooks served a number of customers last weekend, including members of the local police department.