News

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The following students graduated after the summer and fall 2025 semesters at South Dakota State University. More than 1,000 students completed all requirements for a degree and/or certificate program.

By FFA Advisor Mr. Joe Biren As we are halfway through March and FFA is in its final push for qualifying students for Career Development Events (CDE) to compete at the 97th Minnesota FFA State Convention April 19, 20, and 21, 2026 I felt it was a good time to talk about FFA. Minnesota held its Leadership Development Event (LDE) State Convention in December. Let’s talk about the differences in these two areas. CDEs and LDEs are two different types of competitive events students participate in. They focus on different skill areas and provide competition for students to pursue excellence in.

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Xcel Energy asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) to approve an increase in natural gas rates beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The requested increase is approximately 8.2% or $63.4 million. On average, the proposed final rate change would increase the monthly bill for a typical residential electric customer by 8.7% or $7.11.

Dear Editor As a proud Murray County native and Slayton High School graduate who is fortunate to have a summer home on Lake Shetek, I admire the many positive things happening across the area. In the March 16, 2026 edition of the Murray County Wheel Herald, I noted two School Board reports — one from Fulda Public Schools and one from Murray County Central.

By John Stenen Scripture tells us that we are Pilgrims passing through this life that God has given to us. Think of all the hardships those early Pilgrims experienced as they first came to this country, and then later as they journeyed out west. Great storms, hunger, hostile Indians and bandits, sickness and often the death of friends and loved ones. I’m sure that when they reached their destination it must have felt like a little bit of heaven on earth; although they would still be facing many hardships in the days ahead.

If you are caring for someone, you are considered a Caregiver. We refer to the person that you care for as the Care Receiver. As a Caregiver, sometimes you are not able to do things by yourself, such as have coffee with a friend, or go get a haircut, or go shopping. It can be hard just to find time to do something on your own, as life has changed for you in caring for someone. We work with the Caregiver, as the Care Receiver is being cared for by others. The Caregiver needs to stay healthy so that they can care for the Care Receiver. Our goal is to help the Care Receiver stay home as long as they can.

Question: I enjoy reading your column in the weekly newspaper. I have a question I hope you can address. We’ve had some heavy fog recently and I get frustrated with the vehicles that do not have their lights on. Sometimes the headlights are on and the rear lights are not. What is the advice/law in using your lights during the daytime when there is fog/rain/snow? I think in the newer vehicles, the owners don’t check if the lights are on thinking they automatically come on under those conditions. More often than not my 2025 Subaru does not have any lights on, at least in the early stages of lower vision conditions. I look at my dashboard and can see if the headlights are on via the instrument lights. Then I go outside to the rear and sometimes the rear lights are not on. The best way I have found is to get to know your vehicle switches and lights. So, when I am parked, I can try the different positions on the switch to see exactly what lights are coming on. If the light conditions haven’t triggered the auto lights, I can manually turn them on. In general, I keep the switch in the position of headlights and running lights (rear lights included) automatically coming on when light conditions warrant coming on. They automatically turn off when the car is turned off. Thank you for addressing my question.

Community Awareness Event Concerning Suicide Prevention By Norma Dittman Be The One is a free event that is open to the public that will address suicide. Hosted by the Slayton American Legion Post #64, the date is Monday, March 23, 7 p.m., at the Murray County 4-H Building.