A Blue Earth woman was sent to the hospital after a single vehicle accident early Tuesday in Fairmont.
According to Fairmont Police, the accident occurred around 6am near the intersection of East Blue Earth Avenue and Home Street. Police says a car driven by 20 year old Marianna Rincon of Blue Earth went out of control, struck a light pole and overturned.
Rincon was taken by ambulance to Mayo Clinic Health System Fairmont for treatment of possible injuries.
March was a month of job growth for the state of Minnesota.
According to data released Thursday from the Department of Employment and Economic Development, 11,000 jobs were gained with 3,000 workers joining the labor force last month.
Minnesota’s unemployment rate sits at 2.7%, lower than the national rate of 3.8%.
The unemployment numbers for March are out and Iowa Workforce Development Executive Director Beth Townsend says things are holding steady.
“Pretty stable from last month, it’s down a little bit from the revised February number of 3.0% down to 2.9% in March, which is a good sign,” Townsend says.
Townsend says there were 4,000 new jobs in March and they are starting to see increases in jobs in the typical areas that add employees as we head toward summer, like construction and manufacturing.
The Faribault County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday morning and received and update from the new County Engineer April Wellman and interim Engineer Mark Daly on road construction projects coming up in the county. One project that will be pushed back will be the lighting projects at the intersections of Highways 16 & 17 and 16 & 23. The reason the projects will be pushed back is the County did not receive any bids for the projects. Wellman and Daly also updated the commissioners on the project that are moving forward.
Commissioner Bruce Anderson says crews will be starting work on Highway 23 this week from County Road 16 to Bricelyn. Crews will be shaping the road and getting it ready to pave, with paving starting next week. The paving should take about 6-7 days and then crews will start shaping and paving County Road17 from County Road 16 to Frost and from crew will move to County Road 11.
Anderson adds that the condition of roads in the county have improved by a good percentage since 2019 thanks to help the county had received from bonding. In 2019, road in the county were rated 41-43% poor, 20% fair and only 37% good. Currently in 2024, roads in the county are only 10% poor, 32% fair and 58% good.
As these improvements continue across the county, motorists are reminded that beginning Monday, April 22nd, County Highway 2 between 570th Ave and 560th Ave will be closed for bridge replacement.
The Blue Earth City Council met on Monday and reviewed a draft of the annexation agreement between the city of Blue Earth and Riverside Heights.
The agreement has now been revised from a five year agreement to a three year agreement.
According to the agreement’s updated property tax reimbursement plan, Blue Earth would reimburse Riverside Heights for $50,000 over a three year period between 2025 and 2027.
The Council will review the final agreement on May 6th.
The Faribault County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating a series of burglaries that have occurred at multiple properties over the past six months.
On Friday morning, the Sheriff’s Office assisted with a probation compliance check on 43 year old Cain Buster Waltermann at his residence in Winnebago. While there, the Deputies observed stolen property. Waltermann was then arrested for violating his probation. A series of search warrants were executed and deputies seized control substances, a firearm, ammunition and a large number of stolen items from multiple burglaries. Walterman is currently being held on probable cause for numerous gross misdemeanors and a probation violation.
Then on Sunday morning, the Sheriff’s Office was notified that a trailer that had been left behind at one of burglarized properties had been moved. Deputies were able to track the trailer and observed it being pulled by a 2002 Dodge Dakota into a driveway of a Winnebago residence. Deputies then made contact with the two occupants in the vehicle, 41 year old Nicole Marie Blum of Winnebago and 37 year old Dustin Patrick Reinhard of Blue Earth and arrested them.
Both Blum and Reinhart are being held on probable cause 3rd degree burglary, gross misdemeanor receiving stolen property and gross misdemeanor 5th degree controlled substance possession.
The incidents a both Winnebago residence are believed to be related and remain under investigation by the Faribault County Sheriff’s Office.
Minnesota had 3.2 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending April 14th, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Fieldwork included small grains planting, tilling and manure applications. Livestock were doing well with calving continuing.
Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 36% short to very short, 60% adequate, and 4% surplus.
Subsoil moisture supplies were rated 48% short to very short, 51% adequate and 1% surplus.
Farmers started planting their row crops with corn planted at 3% and soybeans planted at 1%.
In Iowa, dry conditions and warmer than normal temperatures helped Iowa farmers as days suitable for fieldwork increased to 4.9 for the week ending April 14th.
Fieldwork included tillage, spraying and applying fertilizer and seeding oats. Some corn and soybeans were also planted. Four percent of the expected corn acreage has been planted.
Topsoil moisture condition was rated 52% short to very short, 46% adequate and 2% surplus.
Subsoil moisture condition was rated 63% short to very short, 36% adequate and 1% surplus.
Baseball
Fairmont 8, BEA 1
NRHEG 13, USC 3
Blooming Prairie 13, Maple River 11
Softball
BEA 8, Fairmont 7
USC 8, NRHEG 0
Blooming Prairie 3, Maple River 2
Boys Tennis
BEA 7, Redwood Valley 0
Southwest Christian 6, Fairmont 1
Boys Golf
Madelia Meet
Girls Golf
Madelia Meet
Baseball
USC at GE/AC (On 1560AM, 95.3 FM & kbew98country.com, 4:30pm)
Esko at Fairmont
NRHEG at GHEC/ML-Truman
Mt. Lake at Martin Co. West
Softball
USC at GE/AC
LCWM at Maple River
St. James at Fairmont
GHEC/ML-Truman at MN Valley Lutheran
Madelia at Martin Co. West
Boys Tennis
BEA at Waseca
Golf
BEA vs. Maple River at Riverside T&CC
USC at Springfield
G-H/V & Forest City at North Iowa
North Union Girls at Algona
North Union Boys at Estherville
Track & Field
USC, Fairmont & Maple River at BEA Invite
North Iowa & North Union Boys at Estherville
Funeral Services for Donna Mae Schobert, age 91, of Fairmont, will be Thursday, April 18, at 2pm, at Nasinec Funeral Home in Wells. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the Funeral Home on Thursday Afternoon. Donna Schobert died Friday, March 15th, at Birchwood Cottages in Mankato.