MARSHALL (KMHL) – Members of the House Capital Investment Committee will be in Marshall this evening as they wrap up their first day of a three-day listening tour, hearing proposals for state-backed construction projects ahead of the legislative session. Lawmakers will hear the proposals this evening at Southwest Minnesota State University, beginning around 6 p.m. Legislators will hear several different proposals including one from city of Tyler on sanitary sewer reconstruction and a project to replace runway lights at the Redwood Falls airport. The committee’s three-day tour will also take them through Willmar, Olivia, Pipestone, Luverne and Worthington as well.

The holiday season is maybe two months away, but experts are advising shoppers to start making their lists now, due to transportation supply chain issues.  John Hauslauden with the Minnesota Truckers Association says they continue reeling with a shortage of drivers. He says it's important to remember "if you got it, a truck brought it": "Everything that we count on for our quality of life and our very survival spends some time on a truck. Whether it's coming to or from a distribution center, or retail store, delivery to your home, coming from a port. It all spends time on a [...]

The author behind 'Hatchet,' and Minnesota native, Gary Paulsen, is dead.  Publisher Pan Macmillan Children's announced Thursday that Paulsen died suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 82.  Paulsen was born in Minneapolis and graduated from Thief River Falls High School before attending Bemidji State.  He is survived by his wife and son.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is hosting an open house to share the layout for the Highway 60 Lake Crystal reconstruction project. The open house will take place on Wednesday, October 20 from 5 – 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Crystal City Hall (100 East Robinson Street, Lake Crystal). For those unable to attend, the Highway 60 layout can be viewed online at mndot.gov/d7/projects/hwy60lakecrystal/ Staff will be available to answer questions and share overall updates on the project, which is planned for 2025 construction. No formal presentation is planned, and attendees are welcome to arrive anytime. The open house format will [...]

First-arriving Renville County Sheriff’s Office personnel discovered a male, Nickolas Kubesh, age 25 of Olivia, MN, seated inside a tractor, which was off of the roadway and in a field of standing corn.  Further investigation revealed that the tractor, a 4-wheel drive John Deere pulling an empty grain cart, had been northbound on 330th Street.  At some point, Kubesh lost control of the tractor and cart, which eventually entered the west ditch and came to rest in the field.  As the tractor left the road, traveled through the ditch and entered the field, the unbelted Kubesh was thrown about inside the tractor [...]

OLIVIA (KMHL) – One man was serious hurt in a tractor accident that occurred just southwest of Olivia Monday morning. The Renville County Sheriff’s Office said a man was driving the John Deere tractor pulling an empty grain cart northbound on a rural road southwest of Olivia when the driver lost control of the tractor and ended up in the ditch. Authorities say the driver of the tractor was thrown about inside the cab and suffered significant injuries. Sheriff’s officials say the man was flown from the scene to North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale with serious, but non-life-threatening agencies.

A third school staff member in Minnesota has died from COVID-19 this year.  Yesterday, Education Minnesota announced the case, saying it's the 11th staff member to die from the coronavirus since the pandemic began.  Few other details have been released, but those from the education group say all schools should be following COVID-19 measures to limit the possibility of infections and deaths.  One unidentified student has also died from the virus in 2021.

COTTONWOOD (KMHL) – Two men have been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $1 million dollars in restitution for shooting at and rupturing a pipeline near Cottonwood in April of 2019. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Eric Weckworth-Pineda, 25, of Cottonwood, and 21-year-old Tanner Sik (sheek) of Ivanhoe caused the pipeline to rupture after firing several shots at it on April 24, 2019. Magellan Midstream Partners L.P., who owns the pipeline says the rupture caused more than 3,900 gallons of diesel fuel to spill into the Yellow Medicine River and cost more than $1.1 million to clean up [...]

Photo courtesy: Southwest Minnesota State University, smsu.edu MARSHALL (KMHL) – Southwest Minnesota State University students are dedicating today to a day of service. SMSU says the day is called “Mustangs Give” and the university says its an opportunity for students and staff to give back to the communities and organizations that support SMSU. SMSU President Kumara (coo-MAR-ah) Jayasuriya (jai-AH-suh-REE-ah) says it’s a new initiative this year and he adds there are 250 students and faculty volunteering. "I want us to be able to partner with the community, so we can get to the next level," said Jayasuriya. "It is [...]

Schools across Minnesota are getting more time to apply for grants that will help fund COVID-19 testing programs for students and staff.  Education Commissioner Heather Mueller says schools now have until October 15th to apply for the grants.  To find more information about the program, the grants and how to apply, visit the Minnesota Department of Education's website.