MARSHALL, MN — Bluepeak has announced a $35 million investment to expand and upgrade its fiber-optic broadband network in southwest Minnesota. The project will overbuild the company’s existing infrastructure with Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) technology, providing internet speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second for residential customers and up to 10 gigabits per second for businesses. The expansion is intended to improve reliability and increase network capacity across the region. Bluepeak has also expanded backbone capacity, upgraded key network components and strengthened overall infrastructure across its Minnesota footprint to support growing digital demands. “We’re proud to continue our investment of expanding access [...]

IVANHOE, MN — The Lincoln County Corn & Soybean Growers Association will hold its annual meeting on Saturday, February 7, at the VFW in Ivanhoe. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by supper at 6 p.m. The meeting is open to Lincoln County corn and soybean growers, and new members are welcome. The evening will include a live scholarship auction to help support local youth, along with a drawing for door prizes. The event is brought to the community by the Lincoln County Corn & Soybean Growers and their checkoffs, with support from the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and the Minnesota [...]

MARSHALL, MN — United Way of Southwest Minnesota is seeking volunteer readers for Jumpstart’s annual Read for the Record event on February 26,  a nationwide reading celebration that highlights the importance of quality early childhood education.  Read for the Record will attempt to set a global record for the largest shared reading experience. Over the past 20 years, more than 30 million people have participated nationwide. Locally, more than 1,100 volunteers have read to over 26,000 children during the past 11 years. UWSWMN coordinates the event across elementary schools (kindergarten through second grade), preschools, childcare centers, and libraries in Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Yellow Medicine, and parts [...]

MARSHALL, MN — The campaign season moved into its next phase following Tuesday night’s precinct caucuses across Minnesota, where voters gathered to select delegates and signal early preferences in several high-profile races. DFL Chairman Richard Carlbom said the caucuses marked the first step toward party endorsements later this spring. “You know our state convention will be in Rochester, Minnesota at the end of May. And so the road to Rochester launches for all these candidates whether you're running for the U-S Senate, the state auditor's race, the governor's race.” The DFL and GOP state conventions are scheduled for May 29–31. Democrats [...]