Columbus
Le Sueur County News
Davis announces retirement from coaching
After nearly four decades in the dugout and guiding traffic at third, Tri-City United head baseball coach Bruce Davis has announced his tenure with program has come to an end with the conclusion of the 2024 season. Having coached for one season with Claremont H.S., Davis joined the Montgomery-Lonsdale baseball program, which eventually merged with Le Center to form Tri-City United, and has helmed the program for 37 years. With...
Berberich to be inducted into Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame
This past Sunday, it was announced that Lon Berberich will join the Class of 2024 in the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. Born in Sleepy Eye, MN, and growing up in Leavenworth, a tiny community not far from Sleepy Eye, it was natural that Berberich took to baseball. He started in organized baseball as a batboy for Leavenworth Cardinals/Orioles in 1962. His first coaching job was with the Leavenworth...
Le Sueur declares state of emergency, installs bypass after wastewater released into river
On the morning of Tuesday, June 25 the city of Le Sueur’s Mayo Park wastewater lift station experienced a failure, due to being overcome by floodwaters, resulting in a release of wastewater into the Minnesota River. This release was concentrated near the Mayo Park area. To protect public safety and the safety of remaining public infrastructure, a temporary bypass was put into place to ensure proper transmission of wastewater to the Le Sueur Wastewater Treatment Facility. ...
Le Sueur County declares state of emergency requesting FEMA aid
In the wake of historic flooding event which swamped scores of homes in Waterville and drenched low-lying areas across the region, Le Sueur County declared a state of emergency on Tuesday morning. Over the past week, constant storms inundated Le Sueur County with 14-16 inches of rainfall. Of the communities impacted, Waterville was hit the hardest. Streets were submerged in waters as high as three feet while hundreds of homes were flooded with overflows from Lake Tetonka, Sakatah Lake and the Cannon River. ...
Le Center Ambulance celebrates 50 years with communitywide bash
A medical emergency can strike at any time. Whether it be a sudden cardiac arrest, a car accident or a premature baby on the way — residents of Le Center can be assured that in times of crisis the local volunteer ambulance is only a few miles away. It may be easy to take the community’s access to immediate emergency medical treatment for granted, but Lyle Blaschko of Le Center can remember a time when local residents had to rely on EMTs arriving from New...
Highway 169 from Le Sueur to St. Peter and St. Peter to Mankato closed
The Minnesota Department of Transportation continues to closely monitor state highways in south central and the southwest corner of Minnesota due to flooding caused by recent heavy rains. Highway 169 from Mankato to St. Peter is planned to reopen (with lane restrictions) on Thursday, June 27 by 5 p.m., weather permitting. MnDOT continues to implement flood mitigation efforts in attempt to reopen state highways to traffic as soon as it’s...
Le Sueur County Emergency Management warns of flooding following Rapidan Dam breach
Le Sueur County Emergency Management issued a warning to residents in low-lying areas of the Minnesota River Valley at 10:49 a.m. on Monday after surging waters breached the west end of the Rapidan Dam in Blue Earth County. Residents in the communities of Kasota, Le Sueur, St. Peter and Ottawa were advised to "closely monitor [the] situation and potentially evacuate," following word that the 475-foot structure was in an "imminent failure condition." ...
Highway 93, 169 lanes close due to flooding
The Minnesota Department of Transportation continues to closely monitor state highways in south central and the southwest corner of Minnesota due to flooding caused by heavy rains. Highway 93 between Highway 169 and Le Sueur closed June 22 at 10:30 a.m. Motorists should use alternate routes. Additionally, officials advise that the northbound lanes of Highway 169 north of St. Peter are closed June 22 due to flooding. Traffic is two-way...
Highway 99 Minnesota River Bridge in St. Peter closes
The Minnesota Department of Transportation advises motorists that several roads remain closed in south central and the southwest corner of Minnesota due to flooding caused by heavy rains. Additionally, the Highway 99 Minnesota River Bridge at St. Peter will close tonight, June 21, at 7 p.m. due to flooding on the Minnesota River. The historic Highway 99 truss bridge will remain closed until water has receded and the bridge can be inspected for safety. Highway 99 motorists will be detoured to Le Sueur County Roads...
With the rain continuing to come in, region deals with flooding, Waterville inundated
Neighbors gripped shovels and stuck them into a pile of sand in Waterville, where trucks and forklifts lined up to take them to people’s houses. One of those houses is that of the Bombay family, who trudged through the knee-deep water and lined their property with sandbags Friday. With a similar situation quickly arising in Morristown and another sandbag operation in Faribault already underway, the situation appears dire. Additional rain is expected all weekend. ...
No wake restrictions placed on Le Sueur County lakes
The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office has issued a no wake restriction for all lakes south of State Highway 99 to include the following: Lake Washington, Gorman Lake, Lake Sakatah, Lake Tetonka, West Jefferson, Lake Emily, Middle Jefferson, East Jefferson, German Lake, Lake Francis, Rays Lake and Lake Volney. The restriction has been issued due to the abnormally high-water levels, which has created shoreline erosion concerns, submerged docks and excess debris in the lakes creating potential hazards. No wake is defined as operation of a watercraft at the slowest speed possible to maintain steerage, but in no case greater than 5 mph. The Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Office will continually monitor lake levels and will issue notice as soon as the restriction is lifted.
Mallards back to .500 with 10-5 victory over Elko
Wednesday night, the Montgomery Mallards traveled to Elko's Fredrickson Field for a Dakota Rice Scott League matchup against the Express. A five-run explosion in the top of the sixth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Matt Smith, propelled the Mallards to a 10-5 victory, improving the team's record to 6-6 on the season. Four pitchers, Jack Barnett, Kyle Hintz, Nolan Readmond and Brandon Gentz, took the mound for Montgomery with Hintz earning the victory. ...
Le Center Police Department aims to implement bodycams next year
Le Center is joining the increasing number of police departments across the state of Minnesota implementing body worn cameras. On Tuesday, June 11, Police Chief Mitch Overn presented the City Council with a $104,000 quote from Axon, payable over a five year period, to equip the city’s police department with body worn cameras and tasers. Should the city go ahead with ordering the body worn cameras, the Police Department intends to have the technology up and running by the first day of the new year. ...
Public gives input on Hwy. 99 reconstruction
Locals had the opportunity to share their vision for a new and improved Highway 99 in an open house with the Minnesota Department of Transportation Tuesday. At the Le Center City Hall, community members were invited to give the transportation agency their thoughts on how the roadway running through Le Center could be made safer as MnDOT prepares to evaluate the corridor for reconstruction. Around a dozen people attended the open house, and many more provided input at MnDOT’s booth during the Kickoff to Summer...
Cherry Creek Days continues despite downpour
While a flood of heavy rainfall dampened the festivities at Cleveland’s annual Cherry Creek Days, hundreds of community members didn’t let the summer showers on Saturday stop them from having fun. The two-day celebration ended up being a smaller affair than previous years on account of the unwelcome weather. The Cherry Creek Days parade was canceled as a result of the downpour on Saturday while the fireworks were postponed until August. Still, hundreds of families headed out to the Cleveland Fire Hall early Saturday morning...
Le Center Fire Department hosts training, opens up volunteer applications
On Tuesday, The Le Center Fire Department had some smoke rolling with a basement fire simulator training. Blue Fire Training partnered with LCFD on the exercise. Fun fact: Thermal imaging showed that the trailer fire reached over 1,000 degrees during the training. RECRUITMENT The Le Center Fire Department is now accepting applications for openings for...
Le Sueur Braves improve to 6-3 over busy stretch of the season
The Le Sueur Braves Town Team has been busy over the last couple of weeks. Now with a record of 6-3 with wins over Becker 3-1, Cannon Falls 14-12, Brownton 12-6 and bigtime rival Belle Plaine last Friday 5-4 in 11 innings. The recent losses have come at the hands of 2 class B teams in Burnsville 3-11 and Victoria 6-9. The offense has been alive the last few games and adding in some solid pitching from Cayden Luna and Nathan Gregersen the Braves are...
Riders lasso up cattle in Sheriff's Posse Ranch Rodeo
The Le Sueur County Fairgrounds was the place for horsing around over Father’s Day weekend, as crowds of spectators came out for a night of cattle-wrangling during the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse’s Friday Night Ranch Rodeo. Teams of riders from across the region put on their cowboy hats and strung up their lassos to compete in the exciting event. The Ranch Rodeo included multiple challenges, such as doctoring, in which riders attempted to lasso a steer and hold the animal in place long...
Giants close magical season with 4th place finish at state
The 2024 Le Sueur-Henderson baseball team began the year with high expectations and at every stage of the season, they met or exceeded the goals of the team along the way. With many people counting the Giants out in the opening round as they faced perennial powerhouse Perham, the defending state runner up, they rose to the occasion, earning a stunning first round victory before losses to Rockford and Esko cemented the Giants as the fourth-place finisher in the state. “To play the number one,...
New Le Sueur residents take over at Calvary Baptist Church
Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Highway 169 off Jefferson Avenue is one of St. Peter’s better kept secrets: the Calvary Baptist Church. The small red brick church building home to a congregation of 20 people is one of the community’s smaller houses of worship with almost no digital presence of which to speak. But Calvary’s new pastor Tim Levin is hoping to change that. Levin and his...
Le Sueur County News
231+
Posts
341K+
Views
Le Sueur County News has been serving Le Sueur County since 1918. Le Sueur News-Herald was found in 1983 and merged with the Le Center Leader in 2018 to provide better coverage to local readers. Publishes Thursday and online at www.LeSueurCountyNews.com
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.