MARSHALL (KMHL) – Its largest class since 2016 – that’s how Southwest Minnesota State University is talking about the new class of first year students at the university. According to a press release from SMSU, the school is welcoming in 349 first-year students to campus this fall – an increase of 17.5 percent from last year. SMSU notes that it’s one of the few four-year institutions to show an overall enrollment increase amid COVID-19. SMSU President Kumara Jayasuriya says the numbers are very positive and a tribute to the hard work and commitment of faculty and staff, led by the Office [...]

ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) --  Senate Republicans are criticizing the Minnesota Department of Health for removing daily information about COVID-19 hospitalizations. Senator Michelle Benson of Ham Lake said intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy and hospitalization rates were removed from the webpage for no identifiable reason. G-O-P members sent a letter to State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm requesting a reversal of the decision.   B enson says they're requesting transparency and "the data should be made available public once more."

MARSHALL (KMHL) – Nearly 800 people turned out to be tested during a three-day COVID-19 testing event in Marshall last week. Local organizers said they were satisfied with the turnout. The testing event was held at Red Baron Arena and Expo and health officials say a total of 42 people at the event were found to test positive for COVID-19. The results mean roughly 5 percent of the people tested, tested positive for COVID-19.

MARSHALL (KMHL) – Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center in Marshall announces the addition Avera eCARE Behavioral Health. In a press release, Avera says  eCARE Behavioral Health is a virtual health service that supports community hospitals with access to a variety of behavioral health services. eCARE Behavioral Health gives Avera real-time access to psychiatrists, medical social workers and behavioral health nurses at the eCARE hub in Sioux Falls. "We are proud to offer eCARE services to our community," said Avera Marshall Chief Nursing Officer Dodie Derynck. "We have a trusted team right here in Marshall who offer excellent care. Yet we also [...]

MANKATO (LEARFIELD) --  A debate in Minnesota's First Congressional District was scrapped Tuesday night due to concerns about Representative Jim Hagedorn's exposure to COVID-19. The Republican incumbent  flew on Air Force One in Minnesota last week with President Trump before he tested positive for the virus. Hagedorn and Democratic challenger Dan Feehan were scheduled to meet last night, but the campaigns were unable to agree on accommodations for production and COVID-19 safety concerns. The Feehan campaign wanted to debate virtually.  Hagedorn says he never had close contact with the president and has tested negative twice for COVID.

MARSHALL (KMHL) – The Marshall School District will hire an additional full-time school nurse's assistant to help with the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and tracking. While the district has only had four or five positive COVID-19 cases district wide, there are a lot of kids that have been forced to quarantine because of close contact. The new position will serve all schools across the district and will be funded through the federal CARES Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LEARFIELD)  -- Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota) is calling on House leadership to come up with a bipartisan COVID relief package. Peterson voted  against the updated two-point-two-trillion dollar Heroes Act that passed Thursday. Peterson says he voted no because he knew it wasn't going anywhere and was a waste of time.  He says small businesses, restaurants, resorts, farmers and families need relief from the pandemic hardships they face. Peterson notes that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been making progress in negotiations with the Trump administration on unemployment insurance, funding for local governments and the Paycheck Protection Program.

ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) - The Minnesota Department of Health released their first round of data on public school re-openings across the state. Infectious disease director Kris Ehresman says they don't see evidence of in-person learning driving the spread of COVID-19 among children or adults. "We're just a month in and thankfully we have not seen many schools with more than 5 cases, just 7" said Ehresman. "I think that will be an important indicator." Ehresman says so far more than 70 percent of the schools have 1 or 0 cases. "So obviously in that scenario we know there has been no [...]

SLAYTON (KMHL) – A third person has died from COVID-19 in Murray County. The Minnesota Department of Health announced the individual’s death on Friday- when there were 10 fatalities from the virus reported in the state. Health officials also said a Pipestone County resident was among those 10 deaths. Pipestone County now has a total of 13 fatalities from the virus since the pandemic began. Cases in Lyon County are also climbing, there were 756 cases reported in Lyon County on Friday, that number has now climbed to 779 – some of the increase in cases could be due to Marshall’s [...]

REDWOOD FALLS (KMHL) – Farmers Union Industries LLC, has been fined $130,000 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for wastewater overflow and other violations at the Central Bi-Products plants in Redwood Falls and Long Prairie. In a news release, the MPCA says the primary violation was for operating wastewater treatment ponds above the permitted maximum level. The Central Bi-Products plants processes animal carcasses into feed and fat products – according to the MPCA, both plants processed significantly more material in 2018 than amounts submitted in their permit applications. The additional materials turned into excess wastewater volume and elevated pond levels.