Between Halloween and the 2020 Presidential Election, my family moved from West Virginia to rural Minnesota. It was during the height of the pandemic and my wife had lost her job because of it. She found a new position in Appleton, and we decided to leave the Appalachian Mountains for the first time.
As a lifelong West Virginian, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Minnesota felt like such a foreign place. Cold, flat, and in a different time zone from all our friends and family.

A Veterans Day Program will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 13 in the WEM High School gymnasium in Waterville.
The program will be held to honor the sacrifice and commitment to our freedoms due to the actions of the veterans and active servicemen/ women.
The Elysian Legion Post 311 will present the colors with their Color Guard.
The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by the WEM kindergarten students.
The WEM High School choir will perform as will the WEM 3rd grade students.
The Elysian Auxiliary Post 311 will make a presentation of Quilts of Valor.

The WEM foyer area adjacent to the high school gymnasium will have a new trophy after the Buccaneer Volleyball Team won its 8th straight Sub-Section Championship Tuesday, Oct. 31.
WEM defeated Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (LCWM) 25-12, 25-22, 25-22 to capture the Section 2AA, South Sub-Section Championship.
This is the eighth straight South Sub-Section title, going back to 2015 when the championship streak started. And it was the 11th straight Sub-Section Championship appearance. In 2014, 2013, and 2012 WEM finished second in the Sub-Section.

The Le Sueur County Government Center will be illuminated green Nov. 6-12 as part of Operation Green Light to show support for military veterans, as well as raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by many veterans and the resources that are available at the county, state, and federal level to assist Veterans and their families.
By shining a green light, we let our Veterans know that they are seen, appreciated, and supported.
Rice County
Rice County will light its Government Services Building green through Nov. 13 as part of Operation Green

Tara Ann Schwartz, age 44, of Montgomery, died Sunday, October 29, 2023, at Mayo Health Systems, Mankato. 
Born on January 24, 1979, in Faribault, a daughter of Steve and Vicky Schwartz. She graduated from Faribault Senior High School, Class of 1997. Tara had sold insurance and worked as a nurse’s aide throughout her life. She was a member of New Day Church in Montgomery.
She is survived by her mother, Vicky Schwartz of Faribault; father, Steve Schwartz of Las Vegas; sons, Brennan and Avery Hunter both of Waterville.

LaVerne S. Edelman, age 80, of Faribault, passed away with family by her side on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at Faribault Senior Living.
Memorial services will be held at Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault, on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 10 a.m.  Interment will be in the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery, Welch.
A memorial visitation will be held in the Boldt Funeral Home, Faribault, on Friday, November 10, 2023, from 3 to 6 p.m. and for one half hour prior to the service on Saturday.

After denying a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) submitted by Jacob Lee, the Elysian City Council has decided to revisit the request after meeting with Lee during their October regular council meeting.
A public hearing was held to consider the CUP request of Lee to convert the car wash building located on Highway 60 in Elysian into a short term rental unit with six bedrooms with bathrooms and a shared living area in the middle of the building.
Public input included one individual in favor of the CUP and one in opposition of the proposal.

Last week’s rains may have kept farmers out of the field, but the progress of harvest season remains ahead of schedule. According to the USDA, Minnesota’s corn harvest was 75 percent complete as of Oct. 30, falling behind the 77 percent from a year ago.
“The weather has been kind of an issue.” Chip Mack, owner of Whitewater Creek Grain and Feed in Waterville said of last week’s progress. “But it’s been a remarkable crop for the weather we’ve had all summer.”

The WEM/JWP boys cross country team improved their finish from a year ago at the Section 2A Cross Country meet which was held Thursday, Oct. 26 in Norwood.
The Grizzlies placed 13th last year with 308 points. This year they moved up to 11th place with 295 points.
Mountain Lake Area/ Comfrey won the boy’s race with 60 points, 10 less than runner-up St. James Area (70). Third through seventh were Loyola/Cleveland/St. Clair (81), Madelia-Truman/ GHEC/Martin Luther (127), Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet (134), Sibley East (178), and Norwood-Young America (239).

This time of year volleyball fans can pretty much schedule trips to Sub-section Playoff games if following the WEM netters.
For the 11th straight season, minus the COVID year, the Buccaneers have advanced to the Sub-Section Championship.
This year is not any different after the Bucs dismantled NRHEG, 26-24, 25-18, and 25-5 Thursday, Oct. 26 at Mankato West High School in the South Sub-Section Semifinals.

Thanks to the generosity of nearly two dozen businesses and two grandmothers, the WEM football team has been provided a pre-game team meal before every football game this season.
The WEM football booster club received thousands of dollars in donations from area businesses to allow the Buccaneer football team a carbohydrate filled meal the day before their games.
Monday, October 23 was the final one of the season and the players and coaches were so thankful for this generosity.

Despite a season-best rushing performance, the WEM football team dropped its sixth game of the season, losing 48-0 to St. Clair/Mankato Loyola Wednesday, Oct. 18.
The Bucs gained 111 rushing yards on 38 carries against a very good Cyclone defense.
“Disappointed in the discrepancy in score but we never quit and I'm proud of that culture,” head coach Sam Stier said. “Now it's a matter of executing early and often”
St. Clair/Loyola opened up a 34-0 halftime lead behind an outstanding performance by quarterback Dylan Blount.

WEM senior Claire Bohlen recorded a season-high 22 kills in a four set win over Hayfield in the regular season finale for the Buccaneer volleyball game.
Bohlen had 60 hitting attempts and made only two mistakes in leading the Bucs to a 25- 21, 25-15, 25-27, 25-21 win over the Vikings Tuesday, Oct. 17.
The win for WEM gave them an 8-3 record in the Gopher Conference which was good enough for third place behind Kenyon-Wanamingo and Faribault BA. They are 21-8 heading into the post-season.

Dorothy Roma Prahl, age 90, of Faribault, died during the early morning of Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at Mill City Senior Living in Faribault.

I get hundreds of e-mails a day.
The majority of them go right into the trash can.
I don’t think I am unlike others in business, but some of the things I have been sent lately are completely absurd and have absolutely nothing to do with the newspaper business.
Unfortunately, some things I actually do need end up in my spam folder so I spend time going through twice as many worthless e-mails than I should have to because of that.
I am sure others get the same type of stuff. I rant about this every couple of years. So let’s compare…

Donna M. Pittman, age 92 of Waterville, passed away on the afternoon of Friday, October 20, 2023, at Traditions of Montgomery.