Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School Board Member Linda Leiding was named as the Minnesota School Boards Association’s President-Elect Friday, Jan. 13, 2022 at the association’s Leadership Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center.   Leiding will serve a one-year term in 2022 as President-Elect, two years as MSBA President from 2023-2024 and one year as MSBA’s Past President in 2025.   Leiding has served on the local Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School Board since 2009, serving as treasurer, vice chair and chair of the board. She has served on the MSBA Board of Directors since 2016, representing board members from District 2 [...]

The first day of needing to take COVID-19 information out to eat is now complete.  Anyone dining in bars, restaurants, and anywhere else serving food and drinks now needs to show proof of vaccination or a negative test completed within the last 72 hours.  The announcement was made by the two city administrations on January 13th.  Minneapolis does not have an end date for the mandate, St. Paul's is set to expire after 40 days unless extended by the mayor.

(St. Paul, MN)  --  The state of Minnesota is suing two COVID testing companies for suspect test results.  State Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit against Center for COVID Control and Doctors Clinical Laboratory.  The complaint alleges the Illinois-based companies were slow to return test results and that some test results weren't accurate.  Their tests were offered at eight sites in Minnesota.

(St. Paul, MN)  --  The federal trial for three former Minneapolis police officers in the death of George Floyd is getting underway.  Today's start date has prompted parties to a state trial for the three to be moved to June.  In the federal proceeding, all three are accused of violating Floyd's civil rights, while two are accused of "willfully" failing to intervene when Floyd couldn't breathe.  For the state trial, all three are charged with aiding and abetting Floyd's death.  The officers were present when Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck, whose death set off unrest across Minneapolis and [...]

The VITA Volunteer Tax Assistance program will again be providing free tax preparation, by appointment only, for seniors and low-to-moderate income taxpayers, beginning February 3.  Tax preparation services will be available Thursdays and Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., from February 3 - April 15, 2022. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 386-5570, from 9-4, M-F.

This week, 672 nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association filed a petition with hospital management at six Mayo Clinic facilities, demanding action to curtail the worsening staffing crisis and recognize nurses' sacrifices throughout the pandemic. The petition drew signatures from more than 70 percent of all MNA members at the six facilities located in Albert Lea, Austin, Fairmont, Lake City, Mankato and Red Wing. Nurses’ demands are focused on retaining workers and call for the following: Wage Fairness: To ensure fair wages are paid to both local and travel nurses, Mayo MNA nurses are asking to be paid triple time [...]

This week, 672 nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association filed a petition with hospital management at six Mayo Clinic facilities, demanding action to curtail the worsening staffing crisis and recognize nurses' sacrifices throughout the pandemic. “Nurses continue to work under extremely difficult circumstances to care for our patients while Mayo CEOs make millions off our hard work,” said Kelly Rosevold, RN at Mayo Clinic Health System – Mankato. “As nurses continue to face down a pandemic, a work environment that feels unsafe, and unresponsive management, these demands will help to sustain nurses who are providing quality patient care at the [...]

Voting is now open for the 2022 “Name a Snowplow” contest, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced today. After receiving nearly 11,000 creative name submissions in December, MnDOT staff and leadership reviewed the list and selected 50 finalists for public voting. The agency considered a variety of factors when selecting the finalists, including creativity, uniqueness, frequency of submissions, Minnesota-specific ideas, and names that would be easily identifiable and understandable to broad audiences. The majority of this year’s finalists are new name ideas, but the 2022 finalists do include a small group of names that were runners-up in 2021. Voting is now [...]

The Blue Earth County Historical Society is currently seeking candidates to fill open seats on the Board of Trustees beginning March 2022.  Monthly board meetings are held on the 4th Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m.  All openings are for a three-year term ending March 2025. Applications are due by January 31, 2022, to the History Center. The Board consists of members representing Blue Earth County and is currently seeking individuals strong in one or more of the following areas: financial management, business management, development, and/or fundraising.  Previous non-profit Board experience preferred, but not required. The Historical Society will be making [...]

After taking urgent action to provide staffing assistance for short-staffed Minnesota hospitals, Governor Tim Walz today announced more than 100 nurses will start arriving at health care facilities around the state beginning immediately. Governor Walz last week directed $40 million in American Rescue Plan funding to hire emergency staff to provide care at certain hospitals dealing with staff shortages during the current COVID-19 case surge. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) secured the staffing support and is directing nursing teams to hospitals identified by regional healthcare providers as most in need of emergency personnel. The nurses will work up to 60 [...]