Joan Helen (Bokelmann) Reineke, age 77, of Owatonna, MN, passed away on February 20, 2023 at the Homestead Hospice House in Owatonna, surrounded by her family, after a long journey with Sjogren’s disease and brief battle with Lymphoma.
Funeral services will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, Owatonna on Friday, March 10, 2023 at 11 a.m. The Reverend Todd Buegler will officiate. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery, Morristown. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the church.

Impending inclement weather has changed the National FFA Week/WEM Snow Week activities. But not the coronation of royalty.
Emma Woratschka, daughter of Mike and Jennifer Woratschka was crowned Snow Queen and Ethan Greenwald, son of Ron and Kris Greenwald, was crowned Snow King during the coronation held Tuesday morning in Waterville.
All other events scheduled for the week will be postponed until the week of February 27 due to the projected snow storm.
Snow Prince and Snow Princesses were also crowned from the freshman, sophomore and junior classes.

It’s science-fair season, and my fifth grader, Ellen, is testing if the width of a cat’s whiskers truly alerts them to whether or not they will fit through a hole.
Her project is titled: Whisker widths.
Fortunately, she has enough at-home test subjects with our three felines, Rocky, Honey, and Penelope.
Unfortunately, Ellen is a procrastinator, and cats don’t tend to cooperate.

There will be no local mail delivery today, Thursday, February 23.
Due to the weather, the transfer trucks for the U.S. Postal Service mail were pulled off the roads on Wednesday, February 22 and Thursday,February 23. 
The delivery of this weeks newspapers will be delayed.

Elizabeth Kay (Hrdlicka) Nelson, age 63 of Waterville, passed away Friday, February 10, 2023, at Methodist Hospital, Rochester, MN.

Upperclassmen at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School walked into a Realty Check, Wednesday morning, Feb. 8.
The event, which mimicked the popular board game, Game of Life, challenged students to juggle theoretical future expenses while maintaining a budget.

The final regular season WEM/JWP wrestling match of the 2022-2023 season was held Thursday, Feb. 9 in Waterville.
The Grizzlies won two of the three matches in this quadrangular which featured 19-win Cannon Falls, and two opponents from Section 2A, NRHEG and Blue Earth Area.
Cannon Falls defeated WEM/JWP, 44-32. The Grizzlies defeated Blue Earth Area, 39-36 and Gopher Conference rival NRHEG, 38-29.

Lawrence “Chuck” Stangler, age 87, of Scottsdale, AZ, and retired pharmacist formerly of Northfield, passed away Sunday, February 12, 2023, with his family at his side and under the care of hospice at his daughter’s home.

Donald Rolland Peach, age 85 of Waterville died on Monday, February 13, 2023 at Mayo Clinic-Methodist Campus in Rochester.

Robert Joseph Weber of Waterville died February 8, 2023 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Rochester, MN. He was 75 years old.

Troy William Warweg, 62 of Ocklawaha, Florida died Tuesday, February 7, 2023 surrounded by family and friends. Born in Mankato, Minnesota and raised in Waseca, Troy is a 1979 graduate of Waseca High School and a Member of the American Legion Post 228 and the Moose Lodge.

Donald Louis Swift, age 84, of Waterville, died on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at his home in Waterville surrounded by his family.

Judith “Judy” Ann Richardson, age 82 of Smith’s Mill passed away on the morning of Monday, February 6, 2023 at her home.

The Rice County Historical Society Museum will now be open, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., starting on Monday, January 30, 2023. The museum is located at 1814 2nd Ave. NW, Faribault. Admission to the museum is free, but donations are appreciated.
Additional summer Saturday hours will be announced later this spring.
If you have any questions regarding the museum or the Rice County Historical Society, please call the RCHS Museum at 332-2121.

Daniel Edward Schroeder, age 67 of Waterville, Minnesota, died Sunday, February 5, 2023, at Mayo Health System – Mankato, MN.
He was born March 19, 1955, in Owatonna, MN, a son of Roger and Jeanette “Pat” Schroeder. After graduating from Owatonna High School, Class of 1973, Daniel began his career in the U.S. Navy for four years, leading into his career as a General Contractor before retirement. Daniel was a Mr. Fix-it who enjoyed tinkering around and fixing things, he enjoyed hunting, demolition derbys and being with his family and friends.

LaVonne Jane Stangler, age 87, of Waterville, died on Sunday, February 5, 2023 at Mala Strana Rehabilitation Center in New Prague.