BENSON – The Benson School Board held a special meeting on Monday to accept a letter of resignation from Roger Ebnet. The resignation was unanimously accepted by the board. Ebnet was arraigned on sex charges in Swift County District Court in December. Ebnet was a 2nd grade teacher at Northside Elementary in Benson. According to court records, on November 30th and December 1st, Ebnet was seen on video appearing to molest three students in his classroom. He was arrested Friday, December 2nd and was charged with three counts of 2nd Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Victim Under the Age of 14. The alleged [...]

ADRIAN – A Luverne man and woman were injured when their vehicle lost control on Interstate 90 Thursday evening. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, at approximately 11:06 Thursday evening, a 2012 Toyota Prius was traveling westbound on Interstate 90 in Olney Township of Nobles County. The vehicle left the road, struck the median cable barrier, then crossed both lanes before coming to rest on the westbound shoulder.    The driver of the Prius, 49-year-old Randi Denise Berghorst of Luverne, and her passenger, 19-year-old Brandon Samuel Berghorst of Luverne, received non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to the Sanford-Luverne Hospital.   Assistance was [...]

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Voting is now open for the 2022-23 “Name a Snowplow” contest, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced today. The top eight vote-getters will become MnDOT snowplow names – one named snowplow for each MnDOT district. Minnesotans can see all the finalist names and vote now at mndot.gov/nameasnowplow. Voting will be open through Friday, Feb. 3. Individuals will be able to vote once and select up to eight of their favorite names. MnDOT received more than 10,400 snowplow name submissions in December. MnDOT staff and leadership reviewed the ideas and selected 60 finalists for public voting. The agency [...]

GARVIN – A Walnut Grove man was injured after his vehicle lost control and rolled this (Wed.) morning. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, at approximately 7:55 Wednesday morning, a 2000 GMC Sierra was traveling northbound on Highway 59. At mile marker 62, the vehicle lost control, entered the ditch, and rolled.   The driver of the GMC, 34-year-old Anthony Charles Gielczyk of Walnut Grove, received non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to the Tracy hospital.   Assistance was provided by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and Tracy Ambulance. 

BELVIEW – Two people were injured after their vehicles collided west of Redwood Falls Tuesday evening. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, at approximately 6:21 Tuesday evening, a silver 2017 Ford Edge was traveling northbound on County Road 7 in Redwood County and a red 2008 Ford Edge was traveling westbound on Highway 19 when the vehicles collided in the intersection.  The driver of the silver Ford, 60-year-old Howard Roy Mansfield of Kerkhoven, received non-life-threatening injuries, but refused transportation to the hospital.  The driver of the red Ford, 47-year-old Sara Beth Weiss-Dunphy of Echo, received non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to [...]

ST. PAUL  — Minnesota State, the system of 26 state colleges and seven state universities, released today the results of a study that estimates the impact of Southwest Minnesota State University on the regional economy to be $286.5 million and 2,248 jobs. “At Southwest Minnesota State University, our top priority is the success of our students and through that SMSU is able to play a vital role in both the state and the regional economies,” said Bill Mulso, Vice-President for Government Relations, Communications and Marketing. “Our operations and the economic activity generated by our faculty, staff, and students touch virtually every [...]

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has created a new online tool, called the Watershed Health Assessment Framework for Lakes (WHAF for Lakes), providing easy access to water quality and health information for thousands of Minnesota lakes. WHAF for Lakes is part of the DNR's Watershed Health Assessment Framework and is funded by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. "Our staff did very innovative work over the past year to create this valuable new tool," Ecological and Water Resources Division Director Katie Smith said. "WHAF for Lakes will benefit anyone who wants to know more about a particular lake's water quality and [...]

SLAYTON, MN – A farm tractor was rear-ended by a semi-truck Monday morning on Highway 59 north of Slayton. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, at approximately 6:40 Monday morning, a 1990 International Hydro-186 Tractor and a 2006 Peterbilt 549 Semi-truck were traveling northbound on Highway 59 in Murray County north of Slayton. Near the intersection with 141st Street, the tractor was rear-ended by the semi.   The driver of the semi, 77-year-old Dennis Eugene Clark of Little Rock, Iowa, was not injured.   The driver of the tractor, 32-year-old Jed Lee Woitaszewski of Currie was also not injured, however he [...]

ROSCOE, MN -- A Windom woman has died, and four other people were injured in a head-on collision Saturday morning in Stearns County. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, at approximately 8:20 Saturday morning, a 2010 Chevy Express Cargo Van was traveling westbound on Highway 23 and a 2013 Toyota Sienna Minivan was traveling eastbound on Highway 23 when they collided head-on near the intersection with County Road 123 in Munson Township of Stearns County.   The driver of the Toyota, 50-year-old Lana Renae Tibodeau of Windom died from injuries sustained in the accident. Her passenger, a 15-year-old boy received non-life-threatening [...]

ST. PAUL --The owner of a few restaurants in Southern Minnesota has been charged with 29 tax-related felonies. According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Juan Manuel Ocampa-Bunola of New Ulm is accused of fraudulently filing sales and individual income tax returns.  Ocampo-Bunola is the CEO of Las Loma Incorporated, which runs three restaurants, Plaza Garibaldi in Redwood Falls and New Ulm, and La Terraza in Mankato. The Department of Revenue says Ocampo-Bunola is “intimately involved in the operations” of the restaurant, however the company is registered in his wife’s name.   The MN Department of Revenue alleges that between January of [...]