BROOKLYN CENTER (LEARFIELD/KMHL)  --  The Minnesota State High School League has called a special meeting next week to reconsider fall sports. The MSHSL Board of Directors will meet virtually Monday at 9 a-m.  The meeting was set on the same day the Big Ten Conference announced it will allow a fall football season in late October. Executive director Erich Martens says they will continue their work of providing the safest possible way for students to participate in all league activities and athletics for the 2020-2021 school year. Momentum about the return of football and volleyball started to build last week when [...]

  UNDATED (LEARFIELD) - The Minnesota Department of Health is conducting a voluntary statewide survey between now and September 30th, as part of an ongoing effort to better understand the prevalence of COVID-19 in Minnesota. "There are a total of 180 areas throughout the state our teams will be visiting and they'll be going door-to-door," said spokeswoman Stephanie Yendell. "If they come to the door than people will be welcome to participate." She says after agreeing to participate, one member of the household will complete a questionnaire. All household members who consent can receive a COVID-19 test using a swab to test [...]

MARSHALL (KMHL) – Lyon County Commissioners yesterday voted to approve an EDA partnership with the Marshall EDA and dedicated $75,000 in funding the partnership for the next three years. Commissioners had previously heard the proposal from Marshall EDA Director Lauren Deutz, but hadn’t acted on it. Yesterday, they heard from Marshall EDA officials and area community EDA directors about the need for the communities to work together, so Lyon County can compete with South Dakota.

SLEEPY EYE (LEARFIELD) --   Authorities in south-central Minnesota are warning about a scam involving the online sale of boats, A-T-Vs, and other items through a fake website. The Brown County Sheriff's Office says the scammers created a false webpage for Helget Enterprise in rural Sleepy Eye and advertised them as the trucking company delivering the merchandise. More than 20 people from across the U-S have responded and deputies are investigating the origin of the scams. Helget Enterprise and a rural Sleepy Eye address are among the victims of the scheme.

ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) -- The Minnesota Department of Health reported the lowest number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations in more than two months Monday. The 233 people hospitalized are the lowest number since July 10th. M-D-H added just under 650 new cases and over 17-thousand tests to the state's totals. For the length of the pandemic the more than 95-percent of the completed tests have not resulted in a confirmed case of COVID-19.

WILLMAR (KMHL) – The Minnesota Department of Transportation will be installing road weather information system stations on a few highways in southwest Minnesota. MnDOT says it will spend $3.5 million to install the systems on highways statewide. Locally, the systems will be installed along: U.S. Highway 212 near Dawson Highway 75 near Canby Highway 68 near Taunton and Milroy Highway 14 near Florence Highway 75 near Trosky. The system helps MnDOT gather information and images on weather and pavement conditions and feeds images to the National Weather Service and Minnesota’s 511 system as well.

HECTOR (KMHL) – A 15-year-old boy is hospitalized at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis after he became entangled in an auger while working on a grain dryer. The Renville County Sheriff’s Office says the incident occurred south of Hector shortly after 10:30 yesterday. Sheriff’s officials say the boy had to be extricated from the dryer and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. There is no further information available on his condition at this point. The incident remains under investigation with the Renville County Sheriff’s Office.

UNDATED (LEARFIELD) - As we head into the fall season, the experts are watching to see what happens with COVID-19 cases. Minnesota Medical Association President Dr. Keith Stelter says... "We are concerned about the potential of what we would call a twindemic," said Dr. Stelter. "That's when influenza virus comes along and a person gets both of those illnesses, that would be very serious." Dr. Stelter says another concern is filling up hospitals with flu patients, which he says could have an impact on treating coronavirus patients.

MADISON (KMHL) – A team member who tested positive for COVID-19 is forcing team members from the Lac Qui Parle Valley Cross Country team to quarantine for 14 days. According to a statement from the school, they learned of the positive test last week. https://www.facebook.com/lqpv.org/posts/589326178430550 The last contact between team members and the individual was Sept. 4. School officials say after consulting with the Minnesota Department of Health and Countryside Public Health, all students and coaches were sent home.

ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD)  --  Governor Tim Walz says Minnesota has received a 22-million-dollar federal grant for the Highway 14 Nicollet to New Ulm Mobility and Safety Improvement Project. Walz says he's been pushing for completing the final expansion of Highway 14—the 12 miles of two-lane traffic between Nicollet and New Ulm—since his time in Congress and the death of his neighbor in Mankato. The state also received a 15-million-dollar grant for the Highway 10 Rum River Bridge Replacement and Intersection Improvements project. Work on the projects is expected to begin in 2022.