Community Blood Bank (Avera McKennan Hospital & Sanford USD Medical Center) continues to struggle with a severe blood shortage as we move into 2022. Currently, the blood bank is critical for all blood types. Murray County Medical Center will host a community blood drive on Tuesday, February 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can schedule your donation by logging into www.cbblifeblood.org, select “events”, February 1 and Murray County Medical Center or call 507-836-1286.

Minnesota West Community & Technical College, would like to announce the Fall Semester 2021 Dean’s List and to congratulate the following students for their outstanding academic achievement. Students must be enrolled in at least 12 graded credits and earn a minimum 3.5 grade point average to be eligible for Dean’s List Honors. Fall 2021 Dean’s List Honors were extended to the following students from Minnesota West Community & Technical College:

Thursday night the boys traveled to Edgerton for a Varsity and B-Squad match-up. Both teams were able to get off to fast starts and come away with nice bounce back wins.

Monday night the Rebel B-Squad and Varsity were in action against Red Rock Central in a Red Rock Conference basketball game. Both teams would look to improve off of wins from last week in Edgerton.

The North Dakota State College of Science has named 413 students to its fall semester 2021 President’s Honor List. The Honor List recognizes students who have achieved grade point averages of 3.5 or higher while taking at least 12 credits with letter grades. The honorees include the following students from our community:

Iowa Lakes Community College recognizes students for their academic excellence. Valerie Newhouse, President of Iowa Lakes Community College, releases the 2021 Fall Honors List.

Ashley Hellewell*, a student at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, has earned a spot on the Academic Dean’s List for the fall 2021 semester. The Dean’s List is comprised of students who have achieved a semester grade point average of 3.50 or above while carrying a minimum of 12 graded hours.

The Murray County Board of Commissioners met on January 25 with Chair Molly Malone presiding. Economic Development Ass’n director Justine Wettschreck presented an update of activities.

Slayton City Council met on Tuesday; January 18th due to the MLK holiday. Eric Paulie, with Xcel Energy, was present at the meeting, just offering his support to the City of Slayton as they research their options and answer any questions that may arise.

The accounting office on 26th Street that has through the past several years held the names of Gerber, Haugen and Bergerson now lists just one name: Katie M. Jacobson, CPA. “When Brad and I partnered in 2019, we bought out Jim Gerber and Steve Haugen,” explained Ms. Jacobson. “Steve worked parttime after his retirement but has fully retired now. Brad has retired now too and sold his share of the business to me but will continue to work with us part-time.” It’s a transition that benefits the accountants and their clients. Katie joined the firm when she graduated from college in 2011 and earned her CPA license in 2014. She remarked, “I grew up on Lake Shetek and I really wanted to come back to this area. When Brad hired me I was warned that he wanted to sell it to me when he retired! So this has been planned for a long time.”