LAKE BENTON — In preparing for her role as Shelby in the play “Steel Magnolias,” Lacey Barke said she learned a little from watching Julia Roberts play the character in the movie. “Steel Magnolias” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. today-Saturday, and April 13-14, and 2 p.m. Sunday and ...

  COTTONWOOD — Cottonwood Area Sportsmen’s Club is synonymous with its leader Paul Geihl. Geihl is active in a number of Cottonwood area organizations that help the community in a variety of ways. For the past several years, the Cottonwood Area Sportsmen’s Club has been taking ...

MARSHALL — Being thrown into a new environment as a student taking classes at Southwest Minnesota State University, freshman Amber Engels found help at the Western Mental Health Center. Attending the SMSU Wellness Fair at the student center Wednesday, Engels stopped at the Western Mental ...

MARSHALL — As the number of inmates spending time inside the Lyon County Jail rises, more is being done to deal with mental illness and drug and alcohol dependency issues, according to Jail Administrator Brad Marks. During his presentation to the noon Marshall Rotary Club last week, Marks ...

IVANHOE — The Lincoln County Board unanimously approved Tuesday to go ahead with an energy audit. Environmental Administrator Robert Olsen said he had proposed to the board that the county work with Great Plains Institute on an energy audit in hopes to promote energy efficiency and ...

Photo by Deb Gau This week’s winter storm didn’t just interfere with human travel plans. On Wednesday, a flock of swans could be seen resting in a field in Grandview Township in Lyon County. The birds mostly appeared to be tundra swans, said Dan Ruiter, regional information officer for ...

TYLER — Korean War Veteran Dennis Jensen was one of the lucky ones. Not only did he return from service in Korea, but he had won a coin flip to stay in camp on the day that one of his buddies step on a roadside bomb on the excursion. “We flipped a nickel and I won,” Jensen said. “He ...

MARSHALL — The turnout was small. But at a public comment session held Tuesday morning, Lyon County commissioners did get some of the feedback they were hoping for on proposed interchanges on Minnesota Highway 23. Commissioners heard from representatives of Marshall schools, Southwest ...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A storm expected to dump 10 inches of snow Tuesday in central Wisconsin and southern Minnesota was making April feel more like January. Unrelenting snowfall fell all day and forced the closures of many schools. Marshall, Lakeview, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and several ...

VESTA — Farmers filled the Vesta Cafe meeting room Monday morning to hear presentations on cover crops increasing soil health. Grant and Dawn Breitkreutz of Redwood County, Allen Deutz of Lyon County and Brian Ryberg of Renville County each shared their experiences. Grant Breitkreutz ...

MARSHALL — At the work session meeting on Monday, Marshall School Board members learned that Marshall is one of six locations that Southwest West Central Service Cooperative identified for potential capital investment projects. Cliff Carmody, executive director for SWWC, presented ...

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota State University professor Mark Goodenow was driving around in New Ulm enjoying his hobby of looking at Victorian-style houses when he came across exactly what he needed for his latest restoration project. His Victorian house at the corner of Sixth and Lyon ...

MARSHALL — The calendar may say it’s April, but it looks like winter will still be lingering in southwest Minnesota this week. Lyon County is one of several area counties that will be under a winter weather advisory today. “We’re looking at four to six inches of snow,” said Brad ...

SLAYTON — The Murray County Board will be deliberating the approval of three conditional use permits today. Environmental Administrator Jean Christoffels will present conditional use permits for approval for Chandler Co-op, Ty and Bruce Van Peursem and Levi and Jeff Zins. All three had ...

MARSHALL — Marilyn Leach of Marshall thinks her children played a role in getting her involved with the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council in the first place. Her daughter is involved with dance, and her son is involved with theater, and Leach herself has done art with her medieval brass ...

MARSHALL — Fifty years’ worth of Mustang memories are thoughtfully and creatively packed into a hardcover book commemorating Southwest Minnesota State University’s 50th anniversary. Along with countless photos spanning the past five decades, the “Southwest Story as told by the Mustang ...

Lisa and Nathan Towne stand close by as their daughter, Shyanne Towne, looks up at the Easter Bunny during the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday morning at Hy-Vee. Like others in attendance, the Townes were bundled up to the max because of the bitterly-cold temperature ─ it was 20 degrees but the ...

MONTEVIDEO — Shahram Hadian of Spokane, Washington, has been called many things in his life just for speaking the truth in love, but the strangest one is “White Supremacist,” he said. Hadian will be sharing his story and “truth in love” about the differences between the Islamic ...

Copies of the book will also be available at “A Celebration of Southwest Stories” event scheduled for 5 p.m. April 23 in the conference center ballroom. SMSU communications and marketing director Jim Tate said the dinner will feature five speakers, all of which were contributors to ...

HANLEY FALLS – J.P. Pringle is the chief executive officer of the Firemen’s Relief Association for one of the tiniest towns in southwest Minnesota with a fire department, Hanley Falls.  The Hanley Falls Fire Department has about 22 members most of whom are also active in the relief ...