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SE City Council approves ambulance rate hike

SLEEPY EYE — In an effort to offset increasing ambulance runs and a high percentage of patients on Medicare that pays about 38% of run costs, the Sleepy Eye City Council unanimously approved 2025 ambulance rate increases Tuesday. “There are many variables with this,” said Sleepy Eye ...

Hewitt Manufacturing request Nicollet vacate 9th Street

NICOLLET - Troy Hewitt and Kent Evans, two of the owners of Hewitt Manufacturing, attended Monday’s Nicollet City Council meeting to continue their discussion from last month regarding their expansion plans. Since last month’s council meeting, Hewitt and Evans met with Council Members ...

Positive flu test rate continues to climb

NEW ULM — Influenza test positivity rates continued to climb at Allina hospitals in Minnesota, according to data released Tuesday. The influenza positive test rate was 39.9% for the week ending Jan. 11, a 9.4% increase from the previous week. There were 153 hospitalized influenza cases in Minnesota Allina hospitals. There were 71 COVID-19 hospitalized cases and 19 RSV cases as of Jan. 11. RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) test positivity was 11%, a 1.9% increase from the previous week. COVID-19 test positivity was 7.1%, a 1.3% decrease from the previous week. “I can confirm there ...

Public defender praises Clean Slate Act

NEW ULM — The Clean Slate Act, a law that creates a system for eligible records to be automatically sealed after a person meets necessary requirements, went into effect Jan. 1, 2025. The Minnesota Legislature passed the Clean Slate Act (CSA) in 2023 to automate expungements (sealing eligible arrest or conviction records) estimated to open the door to brighter futures for 500,000 Minnesotans. For many, the streamlined process will break down bureaucratic barriers like filing petitions, finding legal support, and paying court fees – that have long kept hundreds of thousands of ...

Lake Hanska thin ice warning issued

LAKE HANSKA — The Brown County Sheriff’s Office issued a thin ice warning on Lake Hanska Saturday after receiving a report of a UTV (utility terrain vehicle) breaking through the ice just east of Geiger’s Point. Vehicle occupants managed to get out of the vehicle. Nobody was injured, ...

Quilting for a cause

ST. GEORGE — Hutchinson opthalmologist Dr. Christopher Wallyn talked in great detail about what his mission trips mean to needy Guatemala residents at the Sewing for Sight Retreat at the Church of St. George Saturday. A medical doctor who treats complicated eye problems with surgery and ...