After a solid showing at a recent competition, Kenyon-Wanamingo’s robotics team showed off its latest contraption and shared a bit about its latest work with members of the Kenyon-Wanamingo School Board and Superintendent Beth Giese. With robust support from the Gene Haas Foundation, Ryan Overby Trucking and Strongwell, plus some help from several recent graduates, K-W robotics painstakingly designed and built its robot “Sparky” over the course of six build weekends. ...

Whether it’s helping people put food on the table or giving them a place to socialize, All Seasons Community Services strives to be a little bit of everything for Kenyon and the surrounding area. According to CEO Mary Frutiger, the agency is experiencing a major challenge as it works to meet those needs. For years, All Seasons ran smoothly with around 23 volunteers. Lately, it’s had to make do with...

After 11 years as Kenyon’s city administrator, Mark Vahlsing was abruptly released from his position on April 1 without warning or a clear explanation, leaving the city of Kenyon temporarily without even a temporary administrator and launching an immediate search for a replacement. According to a statement released by the city of Kenyon, a special meeting of the City Council was held April 1, at which Vahlsing and the City Council mutually agreed that it would be in their best interests to immediately terminate the...

With an eye to increasing accountability, transparency and public trust, Goodhue County’s Sheriff’s Office has followed the lead of law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, including local police departments, in implementing a body worn camera program. Since the beginning of the year, an internal committee led by Sheriff’s Department Major Mychal Johnson has worked hard to develop a comprehensive body worn camera policy based on model policies and best practices as implemented in other local communities. ...

Rachel Nesseth should've turned 20 this month. Since they can't celebrate with Rachel, who died in a car crash two years ago, the Nesseth family now marks the occasion by helping others. On Saturday, two days before her birthday, they will hold a food and blanket drive at the Zumbrota trailhead building next to City Hall. ...

Amid concern about the potential impact on the Main Street business district, Kenyon’s City Council unanimously rejected a proposal that would have allowed apartments to be added to the rear end of first floor commercial buildings. The council’s action follows the latest recommendation of its Planning Commission, which initially expressed openness to giving downtown building owners the option to add a first floor apartment as a conditional use but turned against the idea. ...

After unveiling a sleek new logo and dramatically increasing engagement on social media, Goodhue County appears set to build on what Communications Director Briggs Tople described as a “transformative year for communications” with a new website set to debut next month. Last week, Tople provided the Goodhue County Board of Commissioners with a comprehensive update on efforts to both refresh Goodhue County’s image for the digital age and ensure that county government is open, transparent and accessible to all residents. ...

Food, fellowship and a dash of friendly competition are the main ingredients in the Kenyon Area Internship Committee’s (KAIC) annual cook-off. Seven local churches gathered Sunday at Gol Lutheran Church after their morning services, each bringing a soup for the cook-off. The KAIC is a partnership between Luther Seminary in St. Paul and the seven ELCA congregations. Since 1977, the committee has overseen a long series of interns — seminary...

In preparation for the soon-to-be-established North Zumbro Sanitary Sewer District, and with an eye to keeping costs in check for residents, the city of Wanamingo has entered into a professional services agreement to establish a sump pump program. Though $10 million for preliminary design work was included in the 2022 bonding bill, it will likely be at least 2028 before a wastewater treatment facility is operational, and the bulk of state funding needed to ease reduce the costs borne by residents remains mostly unsecured. ...

Keith Allen earned the Republican endorsement in his run for Minnesota House District 19A. Allen is a longtime farmer from rural Kenyon, a district representative for Congressman Brad Finstad, and a former Minnesota Farm Bureau Board member. He announced he was running last fall. He seeks to replace Rep. Brian Daniels, who is retiring. District 19A includes southern Rice County, and parts of Goodhue and Waseca counties. ...

It’s natural for younger players making their way on a varsity team to be timid. They may feel it’s best to feel their way out and blend in with the crowd. If Kenyon-Wanamingo wants to put together another winning season on the heels of one of its best in recent in history in 2023, the Knights will be reliant on a host of newcomers to supplement a mighty three-player senior class. ...

Here’s the lowdown on Scotty’s Whole Hog Barbecue: the Northfield-based bbq operation has moved to the Lowdown, the basement space in Northfield’s Armory, smack in the middle of downtown. Local barbecue master Scott Barvir has made the commercial kitchen there his command center, from which he will serve his unique wood-fired whole hog slow-roasted meats and sides once per month. Since 2019, Barvir has been rotating his barbecue operation from...

Figures released by the Minnesota Department of Education last week show that the four-year graduation rate remained stable last year, with more than 60,000 Minnesota students earning a high school diploma as part of the class of 2023. In total 83.3% of Minnesota students graduated in four years last year, with 58,293 students earning their diploma on time. An additional 3,874 students from earlier classes were able to graduate five, six or seven years after beginning High School. ...

Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools leadership told parents and guardians in a message Tuesday that a student had brought a cap gun to school. K-W Superintendent Beth Giese told The Kenyon Leader, “The cap gun was found today, when a student told the teacher he remembered he had it in his coat pocket from two days earlier at Easter. The cap gun was right in the coat pocket as the student said it would be.” ...

With a slight chill in the air and a bright sun overhead, Saturday proved to be the perfect day for an egg hunt. Kids and families packed Depot Park Saturday morning for Kenyon Parks and Recreation’s ninth annual Easter Egg Hunt. The annual event is a big undertaking for the department. City Council Member Kim Helgeson, who serves on the Parks and Rec Committee, estimated organizers had packed 3,400 eggs...

“It was nice to wake up on a Saturday morning and be like, ‘I think I want an omelet, and I just want to sit on my couch. I don’t want to leave.’” Recalling her formative years in Kenyon, restaurant owner Angie Anderson can rattle off the names of delivery spots she once enjoyed. Options have dwindled over the years, even as delivery services are exploding in popularity nationwide. ...

After a first year in which board members believe she “exceeded any expectations,” the Kenyon-Wanamingo School Board has granted Superintendent Beth Giese a three-year contract and increased responsibilities. The three-year commitment should allow Giese to complete the work she has begun to get K-W out of a formidable fiscal hole while promoting growth and student achievement, and she will continue to play a significant role as an Administrator at the Elementary School as well. ...

Students who are continuing their education after high school face a lot of expenses — whether they be tuition, books or room and board — and scholarships are key for many to realize their ambitions. Kenyon Municipal Utilities (KMU) is helping local students again this year, bringing back its annual $500 scholarship for high school seniors. The opportunity is open for all seniors whose parents are members of KMU. The city of Kenyon recently announced it’s accepting applications. The deadline for application is April 12,...

Despite difficulties in finding interested contractors, Kenyon’s City Council was able to get a trio of bids and selected the cheapest, paving the way to move forward with a roof replacement and other overdue maintenance at the Kenyon Municipal Liquor Building. The council accepted a bid of $40,640 from Red Wing-based Chandler Roofing & Construction, which will cover the cost of removing the current PVC membrane roof and insulation and replacing it with a new RhinoBond System, a PVC roof manufactured by Sika Roofing. ...

The sixth-grade Kenyon-Wanamingo Math Masters had a fun time competing in Rochester. There were 163 students competing and 36 teams. While K-W didn’t have any students place in the top 20, the students did great and had fun. Cora was the school’s top scorer in the fact drill round, and Noah was the top scorer in the individual rounds. Of course, they all love stopping at McDonald’s on the way home, too.