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Lending with heart and compassion

NEW ULM – For over 45 years, Duane Laffrenzen has worked in the agricultural loan business. For the last 27 years, he has worked for Citizens Bank Minnesota La Salle Branch, but after Thursday, Aug. 20 he will be officially retired. Laffrenzen grew up on small dairy farms around ...

Court proceedings

Brown County District Court FIFTH-DEGREE DRUG POSSESSION-NOT CANNABIS/HEMP Josey Ray Netsch. Address unknown. $160. 364 days local confinement, 270 days stayed for two years supervised probation. Complete chemical use assessment, follow recommendations. No alcohol/controlled substance use except prescribed medications. Gross misdemeanor. THEFT Nathan Thomas Veesenmeyer, St. Paul. $290.08 including $215.08 restitution. 90 days local confinement, 83 days stayed for two years supervised probation. Complete antitheft shoplifting course if recommended by probation. Pay restitution July ...

Opels drive ‘his and her’ vehicles to cruise-in

NEW ULM — Craig and Dolly Opel of New Ulm drove their favorite “his” and “her” cars to the New Ulm Car and Bike Roll-in on Minnesota Street Saturday. Craig Opel has owned his 1940 Chevrolet Business Coupe since 1969. “My best friend owned it in high school in the early 1960s,” ...

MN Music Hall of Fame shares the origin story of First Avenue

NEW ULM — Last Saturday, the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame hosted a virtual presentation tracing the early history of First Avenue, from its 1970 launch as the Depot to its rise as a world-famous landmark. Historian Jeanne Andersen scripted and narrated “From the Depot to First ...

River Bend teacher faces charge

NEW ULM — A 36-year-old River Bend Area Learning Center teacher is accused of malicious punishment of a child following a Feb. 19 incident at the school. According to a complaint filed in Brown County Court on Aug. 4, New Ulm Police received a Confidential Student Maltreatment Reporting Form on Feb. 25 regarding the school incident involving a 6-year-old student and a teacher, Stephanie Ruth Wurtzberger of Sleepy Eye. A gross misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child charge was filed against Wurtzberger in Brown County District Court Aug. 4, according to court documents. A court ...

Protecting utilities, never finished, never enough

NEW ULM – Last week, numerous cyberattacks against civic water systems were reported in multiple U.S. states, including 30 attacks in Minnesota communities. New Ulm was not one of the communities impacted by the cyberattacks, but the incident has served as an important reminder of the ...