St. Paul (KMHL) - On Thursday, the Minnesota Senate passed legislation establishing a 2021 Polar Vortex Loan Account for municipal utilities that purchased natural gas in February during the extreme cold weather that occurred. The bill provides $15 million from the state general fund for zero interest loans for utility providers. "When we think energy, I'm sure hardly any Minnesotans believes that a cold front down in Texas could have a disastrous impact on Minnesota, said Luverne Republican Senator Bill Weber. "Unfortunately, as a result of the vortex and consequential gas market fluctuations, we're seeing just that. Today's bill provides much [...]

St. Paul (LEARFIELD)  --  Governor Tim Walz made it official today that all Minnesotans age 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID vaccine starting next Tuesday.  The governor's spokesman says it comes as the federal government has promised an increased supply of vaccines by April.  The State Health Department's Kris Ehresmann says that would mean for us in terms of new people that could get vaccinated each week, it ends up being about 304 thousand doses coming in, both through our federal retail pharmacy streams as well as the allocation that comes to Minnesota.  The Walz-administration will direct providers [...]

St. Paul (LEARFIELD) - State lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow rural electric cooperatives to use existing and future held easements for broadband. Brian Krambeer is President and CEO of My Energy Cooperative and he says there are 44 electric co-ops in Minnesota, and also states, "...and many of the electric co-ops are putting fiber in the ground themselves just to operate their electric distribution systems and what we're hoping to do is be able to utilize some of the resources that the electric co-ops have to be able to offer that to other retail providers to deliver broadband" [...]

St. Paul (LEARFIELD)  --  Governor Tim Walz says Minnesota ranks first in the nation for the percentage of vaccines distributed administered to patients.  The state has administered 88-and-a-half percent of the vaccine doses it has received which is number-one, according to the C-D-C. The governor said, "we won't stop until every Minnesotan who wants a shot gets one." State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Tuesday that  two-million-250-thousand people have been vaccinated.  More than one-point-four million have had the first shot and  854-thousand Minnesotans have had a complete series of vaccinations. North Dakota ranks second in the nation for vaccinations administered, says [...]

St. Paul (LEARFIELD)  --  State health officials are hosting two temporary COVID-19 vaccination events this week in southwestern Minnesota.   The clinics are aimed at workers in food processing and agriculture and other eligible Minnesotans.  The doses are being administered at the MERIT Center in Marshall and the Worthington Events Center.    Marshall and Worthington join the seven large-scale sites in the state's Community Vaccination Program. Governor Tim Walz says these new locations provide even more opportunities for people to get their shots.

Russell (KMHL) - The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has identified a suspected involved vehicle in last Thursday night’s hit and run incident that left a Russell man dead. Individuals associated with the suspected vehicle have been located and identified. Further forensic examination and analysis of the vehicle is underway, and the questioning of the suspected involved individuals and witnesses is continuing. Anyone that may have relevant information involving this investigation or who were in or around the city of Russell the night of Thursday, March 18th shortly before midnight and have not spoken to Lyon County Sheriff’s Office investigators are encouraged [...]

Morton (KMHL) - On Friday, March 19th, at 2:58 p.m. the Renville county sheriff’s office received several 911 calls reporting a loader on fire inside of a shop on the 200 block of North Main street in the city of Morton. Fire crews found the building to be engulfed in flames upon arrival. The loader, a pickup, and several other pieces of equipment were lost in the fire. The building later collapsed due to the damage and was considered a total loss. There were no injuries reported and as of right now the cause of the fire is under investigation. Responding [...]

Russell, MN (KMHL) - On Thursday, March 18th, at 11:48 PM the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call indicating that an adult male was found unresponsive within the roadway in Russell, MN. First responders were dispatched to the scene, and upon arrival located a 50 year old adult male who was unresponsive and was not breathing. The condition of the male was assessed, and he was found to have suffered severe traumatic injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene and was later identified as Shane Alan Sanow of Russel. Located a short distance from Sanow, was a [...]

Granite Falls (KMHL) - On Monday evening law enforcement was notified of a possible domestic dispute in the parking lot at Prairies Edge Casino Resort. During the investigation, officers determined that a 31-year-old female victim from Willmar and her 41 - year-old boyfriend from Morton were the ones involved in a physical domestic dispute in the parking lot. According to the victim, the suspect threatened her with the gun then panicked when he saw officers approaching. He then forced the victim into a vehicle and drove from the scene. While they were traveling the victim was shot in the leg. Multiple [...]

Marshall (KMHL) - Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center is inviting people who meet Minnesota’s newly expanded criteria for COVID-19 vaccination to call the organization’s call center. People who are already on Avera Marshall’s waiting list do not need to call again. The call center will reach out to individuals on the list who meet current guidelines to schedule appointments. “With the efforts of all of the organizations administering vaccine in our region, collectively we’ve been able to vaccinate more than 80% of people over age 65 in Lyon County,” said Debbie Streier, Regional President and CEO, Avera Marshall. “Our team has [...]