(Minneapolis, MN) - Coronavirus vaccination will be optional for students and staff returning to University of Minnesota campuses this fall. The University of Minnesota won't require COVID-19 vaccinations at any of its five campuses. On Monday, university president Joan Gabel announced the decision, saying staff, students, and faculty don't need to be vaccinated to return to campus this fall. Gabel said that officials consulted with public health experts, school members, and considered vaccination rates and infection data in making the decision. The university is pushing a public information campaign to encourage vaccinations, but says getting the vaccine is a "complex and [...]

On Wednesday evening, Redwood Falls police were dispatched to a fight happening in the front yard of a residence. Several people were involved in the fight and by the time police arrived one person had been stabbed. The Redwood County Sheriff's Department and Centra Care Amublance assisted at the scene. Two of the persons involved tried to flea on foot, but the two were apprehended by police and later determined to have fled because they were drinking underage. As a result, Jose Silverio of Willmar, Demetri Means of Redwood Falls, and a juvenile from Morton were cited for underage consumption. This [...]

On Monday evening, multiple fire departments were paged to Christensen Hog Farm, located near Ivanhoe, MN. The Lincoln County Dispatch Center received a 911 call of a fire at 8:49 pm. Luckily, no personal injuries were reported due to the fire; however, the building received fire damage and numerous animals were injured or deceased. Fire departments paged to the scene included Ivanhoe, Arco, Tyler, Hendricks, Lake Benton, Minneota, Porter, Taunton, and Ghent, along with the Ivanhoe Ambulance. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Ivanhoe Police Department, and Minnesota State Patrol also responded assisting with traffic control. Lincoln/Pipestone Rural Water assisted with sourcing [...]

In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 6th, the Redwood County Sheriff's office was dispatched to a residence south of Belview, MN. When they arrived, they discovered a young man with a single gunshot wound. Deputies provided life saving measures until ambulance arrived on the scene to transport the victim to the hospital. The victim was later flown to North Memorial Hospital. The incident is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Redwood County Sheriff's Office at 507-637-4036. UPDATE:  The victim of the shooting is identified as Austin Beran, age 22, of Morton, MN. Mr. [...]

(Worthington, MN)  - The JBS plant in Worthington had to close Tuesday following a cyber-attack on the world's largest meat supplier.  Reports say hackers out of Russia targeted JBS servers in North America and Australia in a ransomware attack, disrupting operations for the company.  In Worthington, some shifts have also been canceled today. Officials say they will continue to work to resolve the incident as transactions suffer some delays. “Our systems are coming back online and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat," Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA, said in a statement. JBS is the second-largest producer [...]

(Marshall, MN) - On May 24th at 1:02 AM the Marshall Police Department received a report of a single male suspect slashing tires and damaging multiple vehicles in the 500 block of Village Dr. Marshall, MN. The suspect was identified and officers that responded located him at the scene. A 52-year-old Marshall man was taken into custody without incident.  Through further investigation, 45 vehicles throughout the 500 and 600 block of Village Dr. were found to have damage consisting of slashed tires and broken side mirrors.  The suspect was arrested and brought to the Lyon County Jail.

(Willmar, MN) – Eastbound Highway 19/East College Drive has been reduced to one lane in Marshall, just east of Mustang Trail, while crews investigate and repair a sink hole. Road work is expected to take a full day. Watch for orange cones MnDOT asks drivers to: Slow down when approaching every work zone Never enter a roadway that has been blocked with barriers or cones Stay alert; watch for workers and slow-moving equipment Obey posted speed limits; fine for a work zone violation is $300 Minimize distractions behind the wheel Be patient and expect delays, especially during peak travel times Join [...]

According to the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office, a man was electrocuted on May 24th in Clarkfield. The Sheriff’s Office received a call that the victim was in a lift bucket trimming trees on Monday afternoon and had come in contact with an electrical line causing electrocution. Emergency personal responded to the scene to render aid once the power was off. Those responding to the scene were the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office, Clarkfield Ambulance, Clarkfield Fire/rescue, Granite Falls Ambulance, Renville tactical rescue team, and North Memorial Air Care transported the victim to Hennepin County Medical Center. At this time no name [...]

MINNEAPOLIS — A fire chief in southern Minnesota says more than 12,000 pigs are dead after a fire broke out at a pork farm near Waseca. Around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, nine different fire departments were called to Woodville Pork to supply water. At one point there were more than 20 tankers on scene. Two buildings were destroyed, but firefighters put in a fire break to save a third. While no people were hurt, thousands of hogs were killed. “At this point I want to say around 12,000. We had 3,000 sows and 9,000 piglets I believe at this time. That’s just [...]