Steele County News

As Nathan Maas approached the Thanksgiving holiday, he knew what to expect. Maas, 27, anticipated that when his extended family gathered together, just before they started the holiday feast itself, his grandmother would offer a prayer.

The death toll from confirmed H1N1 flu cases in Minnesota has climbed to 32, with public health officials reporting six new cases on Tuesday.

A special congratulations to Sheston Lindgren and Megan Kramer for achieving Champion status in the Pre-Open Obedience and Graduate Open Obedience classes respectively at the 2009 State 4-H Dog Show.

Ben Allard has gotten around since he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2008 - to Georgia, Missouri, Wisconsin and Afghanistan, where he is currently stationed.

A man charged with stealing company secrets from Federated Insurance will be making his first appearance in court on a new charge of perjury.

If you need a little something to get you excited for the holidays, we have the answer.

United Way Workplace Campaign Co-Chairs Katie McMasters and Cathy Piepho, led an enthusiastic campaign at Larsen Allen this year and their hard work paid off.

Highway 30 is closed today until further notice following an accident involving a semi-truck and tractor.

A program that might save the county more than $100,000 in health care costs at the jail, also may be used to help fund more mental health services for inmates - an effort that supporters say will reduce recidivism and abuse of the system by inmates.

An Owatonna man made his way to court for the first time Monday after allegedly hitting and holding a knife to a woman's throat in August 2008.

Chalk up another dairy honor for Steele County. This past weekend, Stephanie Kasper, daughter of Pete and Karen Kasper was crowned the National Jersey Queen at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky.

When snow starts to fly, many Steele County residents also fly the coop and take off to wait out the cold Minnesota winters somewhere warmer.

The first day of the Red Cross' semiannual blood drive sparked a little friendly competition between long-time donors.

The state's list of impaired waters continues to grow, and so far, the Cannon River has not made the list - something residents hope will continue.

An Owatonna man is being treated for his injuries after jumping off an Interstate 35 bridge.

A 32-year-old Geneva man was charged on Wednesday in Freeborn County District Court with two counts of methamphetamine possession a ' one of which also included the intent to sell a ' after deputies found more than 20 grams of meth, a scale and other drug paraphernalia in his residence.

Although the numbers weren't expected to beat last year's record-setting presidential election, voter turnout was still less than previous city council elections.

Below are the up-to-date results of the contests that appeared on Steele County ballots for local elections and school district referenda.

One thing you can say about "off-year" elections: They're not nearly as noisy as other election years.

With temperatures hovering around the freezing point and the ground damp from recent rainfall, it wasn't the day to be working outside, raking up leaves.