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The Kenyon Leader
Summer Learning Kickoff scheduled
This year’s Kenyon Public Library Summer Learning theme is “Adventure Begins at Your Library.” The library staff has developed Challenge Sheets, Photo Challenges, and Reading Challenges for people interested. As a reward, completed challenges may be turned in for free books. S.T.E.M. Days will occur on Wednesday, June 5, June 12, and June 26 for elementary-age library patrons. ...
Alleged drunken driver charged in injury crash
A driver allegedly had a blood alcohol concentration over three times the legal limit after causing a head-on injury crash just south of Faribault Tuesday night. First-responders were called to the two-vehicle crash about 10 p.m. on Albers Avenue at 230th St. E., according to a court complaint. Sarah Corrine Moe, 33, of Kenyon, was not injured but reportedly smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words. ...
Kenyon Farmers Market opens early
The Kenyon Farmers Market came earlier than expected this year. Though the market was originally scheduled to open in June, Kenyon Parks and Recreation held a pop-up market last Thursday at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, giving shoppers a preview of this season’s offerings. Once the season officially begins, the market will run from June 6 to Oct. 3, taking place at the church on the first and third Thursday of...
Kenyon honors deceased veterans on Memorial Day
Deceased veterans were honored and remembered in Kenyon on Memorial Day. The Rolling Thunder Ride 2024, supported by the Faribault American Legion Riders Post 43, made their annual stop at Gol Cemetery late Sunday morning. A group of motorcyclists have made this stop during their annual road cruise to honor Gold Star families. The Kenyon...
Goodhue County has leftover funding for broadband expansion
The Goodhue County Board of Commissioners will have additional dollars to invest in an additional round of rural broadband projects after the largest project from the previous round of funding and several other pre-planned expenses came in significantly under budget. Last fall, the board voted to allocate $277,733 in funding under the American Rescue Plan Act for a Nuvera Communications project to bring broadband to parts of Belle Creek, Cannon Falls, Leon and Vasa Townships, leaving approximately $200,000 in the coffers for future projects. ...
Kenyon council agrees to hire veteran city manager in interim role
Nearly two months after the departure of longtime City Administrator Mark Vahlsing with no public explanation, Kenyon’s City Council has decided to bring in a veteran hand to serve as a temporary replacement. A month after spurning a ready to go contract in favor of opening up the position to a variety of potential candidates, the council decided to hire the candidate it had interviewed first after all, longtime Prior Lake City Manager Frank Boyles. ...
K-W caps off FFA week with tractor parade
The parking lot at Kenyon-Wanamingo High School looked a bit different than usual Friday. K-W FFA students participated in Drive Your Tractor to School Day, parking machines of all shapes and sizes in a neat row in the lot. At the end of the day, students climbed aboard and paraded their tractors along Sixth Street. One by one, they exited the parking lot, flying the American flag and FFA flag...
At seven weeks without administrator, Kenyon council eyes new interim candidate
After considering a strong candidate in former Prior Lake City Administrator Frank Boyles, then peppering City Attorney Scott Gerdes with process questions at its monthly meeting, Kenyon’s City Council is preparing to take another stab at hiring an interim City Administrator. A special meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 22 to consider hiring a yet unnamed candidate to serve as City Administrator on an interim basis, providing at least a partial replacement for abruptly departed City Administrator Mark Vahlsing. ...
With roof in poor condition, K-W Elementary loses insurance
After a recent inspection found much of Kenyon-Wanamingo Elementary School’s roof to be in poor to failing condition, insurance company EMC has announced it will no longer provide insurance coverage for K-W Elementary. Local insurance agent Todd Greseth and staff from SitelogIQ, a Minneapolis-based architecture, design and engineering firm, visited the Kenyon-Wanamingo Board meeting on Tuesday to discuss potential next steps including a potential referendum. With Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools having...
K-W baseball applies heat to Polars
A Polar influx couldn't cool down Kenyon-Wanamingo in the teams' regular season finale. The Knights (14-6) head into the postseason on a positive after winning 13-1 in five innings May 20 vs. the Minneapolis North Polars (2-11). While the result was lopsided, it was largely a result of North pitchers failing to locate the strike zone. A slew of errors compounded the Polars' tough luck. ...
Knights win section softball opener, clinch best win percentage in 12 years
Kenyon-Wanamingo softball is moving on in the postseason. The No. 5 seed Knights (9-8) dispatched No. 12 Fillmore Central/Lanesboro (4-17) by a 7-1 score in round one of the Class 1A, Section 1 on May 20 in Wanamingo. The Knights’ offense got going in the latter innings to help pull away for a comfortable win. ...
Former Kenyon resident Greseth experiences Honor Flight
The Honor Flight program provides free flights to honor United States military veterans for their service and sacrifice to visit war memorials in Washington D.C. When Ben and Phyllis Greseth lived in Kenyon five years ago, Ben applied for an Honor Flight that would leave from LaCrosse, WI, but was told they were only flying World War II veterans, but to check back later. A few years later, he got...
Lentsch shatters own school record 6 days later
Records are meant to be broken. Sometimes it can take 31 years. Sometimes, just six days. Michelle Nerison’s Kenyon-Wanamingo school record time in the 200-meter dash of 26.48 seconds stood tall for 31 years. Current Kenyon-Wanamingo/Goodhue co-op senior speedster Hayley Lentsch, from K-W, ran 26.34 May 11 at the Gopher Conference Championships. Temperatures were warm...
Local U.S. representatives push to get priorities in 2024 Farm Bill
While planting season is now in full swing, some area farmers are keeping an eye on Washington, where Democrats and Republicans are hoping to negotiate a five-year Farm Bill before the current short-term extension runs out on Sept. 30. Amid a historically unproductive Congress marked by both heavy partisanship and discord within the ranks of the House’s narrow Republican majority, last fall marked the fourth cycle in a row in which Congress has failed to pass an updated farm bill on time. ...
Kenyon locals finding new recreation opportunities with pickleball
Dee Kimmel has never considered herself as an athlete. “I have no athletic cell in my body. I’ve never been into sports at all,” she said. That might be changing, however, thanks to the rapidly growing sport of pickleball. A newcomer to the area, Kimmel recently started a pickleball group with the support of Kenyon-Wanamingo...
Wanamingo Fire Department looks to replace 1990s truck with modern pumper
As part of a comprehensive replacement schedule, the Wanamingo Fire Department is laying the groundwork to order a roughly $1 million customized pumper truck which could double as a response vehicle equipped for medical emergencies. Fire Chief Trevor Aase and Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Lunde discussed the plans with the council at its monthly meeting on Monday. With the council’s support, the department is hoping to get more detailed bids from vendors and get on the waiting list for a potential 2027 purchase. ...
Nerstrand resident, a former RSWCD supervisor, earns lifetime achievement award
Gary Wagenbach has taught several environmental subjects in many unique locations, including on the other side of the globe in modern-day Myanmar, which was then called Burma. His many years of teaching and other work are a large part of how the Nerstrand resident earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on May 3. Seeing the farmhands in Burma, he said, reminded him of the Wisconsin...
Depot Park hosts railroad meet and greet
Railroad enthusiasts turned the old Chicago Great Western Railroad depot building in Kenyon into a makeshift museum on Saturday, May 4. Depot Park hosted Mr. B’s Meet and Greet and Railroad History Day, the latest in a series of events organized by railroad historian Anthony Bianchi of Red Wing. Bianchi and other railroad enthusiasts came prepared with artifacts and plenty of knowledge to show off. Bianchi operates the YouTube channel...
Local legislators update as session enters final stretch
With less than two weeks to go before the 2024 legislative session wraps up, Minnesota’s Legislature is working overtime to pass a flurry of omnibus bills and negotiate a bonding bill, with the Senate also tasked with considering explosive criminal allegations against a sitting member. Though DFL majorities didn’t have a massive surplus to work with unlike last year, the supplemental budget bills passed by the House last week would provide additional funding for workforce development programs, housing, roads and bridges and education. ...
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The Kenyon Leader has been serving Goodhue County since 1885 and publishes Wednesdays & online at www.TheKenyonLeader.com
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