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Brown Co. board gets into the weeds of cannabis regulations

NEW ULM - As Minnesota is gearing up to open licensing to sell cannabis in 2025, Brown County is working on drafting local ordinances regulating potential cannabis businesses. The county commissioners held a special workshop Tuesday to review a potential draft ordinance on cannabis sales, but several questions remain open for consideration. The main issue was whether individual cities in Brown County would take on marijuana licensing or delegate that responsibility to the county. “I envision it is going to be like tobacco and liquor licensing,” County Attorney Chuck Hanson said. ...

Flags ordered to fly at half-staff through Jan. 29

SLEEPY EYE — Governor Tim Walz ordered all United States and Minnesota flags to fly at half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise, Dec. 30 until sunset on Jan. 29 to honor the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter. “President Carter defined what it means to be a servant ...

Sleepy Eye man faces felony for online solicitation

SLEEPY EYE — A 22-year-old Sleepy Eye man accused of soliciting a child or someone believed to be a child through electronic solicitation in Sleepy Eye in October, faces a felony charge in Brown County District Court. In a complaint filed Dec. 17, Joshua James Garcia asked the person posing as a 15-year-old online if he wanted to meet up after discussing sexual preferences. Garcia stated in a video that “he is at the park to meet up with a kid,” according to court documents. A court appearance to face the felony count of soliciting a child or someone believed to be a child ...

Sleepy Eye man accused of threatening former House representative

SLEEPY EYE — A 33-year-old Sleepy Eye man is accused of threatening to kill a former U.S. House of Representatives member on social media. Tucker Lee Hittesdorf faces a felony threat of violence charge in Brown County District Court for allegedly making the threat by email in September because his social media account was suspended for spamming. According to court documents, Tucker Lee Hittesdorf received an email from Truth Social that his account was suspended Sept. 19 for spamming (sending unwanted bulk messages). Several hours later, Hittesdorf responded with profanity to the ...

Brown Co. starts planning for PFAS

NEW ULM – Brown County Commissioners approved contracting with GEI Consultants to created a PFAS treatment system for county landfill. PFAS are group of long-lasting chemicals chemicals (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl)that have been linked to cancer development. Due to the wide use of PFAS chemicals in many products, PFAS has been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in water, aid, fish and soil locations across the nation. PFAS has even been found in animal and human blood. Recently, new laws have gone into effect to prevent the further spread of PFAS. Brown ...

Missing Lafayette Township man found dead

Nicollet Sheriff’s Department located the body of John Huelskamp, 85, from Lafayette Township Wednesday morning. Huelskamp was reported missing at 5:27 p.m. Tuesday a farm site in Lafayette Township, north of New Ulm. According to the report, Huelskamp went outside to work with his cattle and had not been seen for an unknown amount of time. Nicollet County Deputies began searching the area for Huelskamp along with New Ulm Police Department K9 unit, Minnesota State Patrol-Air Unit, Sibley County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit, and New Ulm Fire Department. Agencies searched until shortly ...