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THUMBS UP Lilleoden receives Chamber Volunteer of the Year award Andy Lilleodden received the inaugural Chamber Volunteer of the Year award Monday. The award created this year is given to those who go above and beyond in their support of the New Ulm Area Chamber. Lilleodden has served on Chamber Committees for 13 of his 15 years as a Chamber member and has regularly volunteered to assist with the Chamber’s Oktoberfest celebration. In December, he completed seven years of service on the Chamber Board, but continues to volunteer on the Chamber’s remodel committee. Many of New ...

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THUMBS UP Park & Rec Master Plan nears completion The New Ulm Park and Recreation Department held an open house Monday for the Park and Rec Master Plan. This new master plan has been in development since April and is expected to be complete by next April. The open house allowed the public to get a closer look at a draft of the plan, but also provided feedback. The plan is an impressive guide to New Ulm’s park system. It includes information on all 28 of New Ulm’s city parks as well as demographics for the community. Considering the size of New Ulm’s park system, the community ...

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THUMBS DOWN Good shot to death by ICE agent The death of Renee Good is a tragedy. By now the video of  ICE shooting Good in her car has been seen by millions world wide and for many this incident feels all too familiar to the 2020 death of George Floyd. The outrage and seeming lack of accountability in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death led to days of civil unrest in Minneapolis and it’s hard not to worry that the cities could face something similar. At this point the best outcome would be an open and transparent investigation into the shooting. Unfortunately, the Minnesota ...

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THUMBS DOWN Fraud speculation makes day care crisis worse in Minnesota The federal government is pausing federal funding for child care in Minnesota. This comes in the wake of YouTuber Nick Shirley posting a video in which he claims a dozen Minneapolis day cares were not really operating as day cares and fraudulently taking federal funds. Though the allegations have yet to be proven, it has resulted in the entire state losing federal funding for day care. Minnesota has long faced a day care shortage. There are not enough providers to meet the demand of parents. Even if this funding ...

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THUMBS DOWN Community mourns loss of Paul Wojahn Paul Wojahn died Sunday at the age of 104. At the time of his death, he was the oldest Commander of a Disabled American Veteran (DAV) Chapter in the United States. Up until the end, Wojahn continued to be of service to his community. Wojahn’s service to others began in WWII. He joined the Marines and was part of the beach landing at Peleliu. After the war, he continued to serve his community as a game warden for the Department of Natural Resource (DNR) and a sheriff’s deputy. Even after retirement in 1983, he continued to be ...

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THUMBS UP Three honored for life-saving efforts Tuesday, Sleepy Eye City Council honored Bransten Rehbein-Weber, Max Heiderscheidt and Lucas Heiderscheidt with the Outstanding Citizenship Award in recognition for their selfless and lifesaving efforts during a May 8 house fire. The three young men all entered a home engulfed in flames and assisted in getting two children out of the fire before first responders arrived. Police Chief Matt Andres presented the three young men with the award. He said their efforts went above and beyond what could be expected at such an horrific event. The ...