East Battle Lake camp breaks ground on Education and Retreat Center expansion By Chad Koenen Publisher The hub of one of western Minnesota’s most unique gathering locations will receive a major face-lift over the winter. Lutheran Island Camp, which is located on East Battle Lake in rural Henning, broke ground on September 16 on a new… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher A pair of foreign exchange students have spent the better-part of the past month getting used to life in America. Nadia Bouchou, from Spain and Larissa Hayakawo, from Brazil, are attending Henning School this fall.  Hayakawo will be attending Henning School for the entire school year, while Bouchou is currently scheduled to just attend… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent Otter Tail County Engineer Krysten Foster provided a highway department update to county commissioners on Sept. 24.  The County Highway Department is nearing the end of the 2024 construction season pending the completion of the Bluffton Township project in northeastern Otter Tail County. The Highway 47 single T-curves reconstruction project (southwest of… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent County residents gathered Oct. 1 at the Fergus Falls Public Library for an inspiring evening with Marlene Johnson, Minnesota’s first woman lieutenant governor who served with the late Governor Rudy Perpich. Johnson is the author of a book, “Rise to the Challenge.” She was joined on a panel with Moorhead Mayor… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher A new plan could help to determine future improvements and upgrades to Cozy Oak Drive in Ottertail. During its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Sept. 19, the Ottertail City Council approved a resolution to hire Apex Engineering to prepare a report on improvement for East Cozy Oak Drive. The cost to complete the… Read More

Photo by Chad Koenen With portable music and a few guest students joining him on “stage,” Henning Principal Thomas Williams danced outside the doors of the elementary wing of the school on Thursday morning, which also happened to be picture day. Several students, and even a few staff members, came outside to see the school principal… Read More

OTC Courthouse is listed on National Register of Historic Places By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent The Otter Tail County Courthouse was completed in 1922, three years after a cyclone struck Fergus Falls and destroyed the old courthouse. The rotunda inside the courthouse in Fergus Falls is one of the most memorable parts of the county building…. Read More

Application deadline for county tax rebate program is December 31 The deadline for homebuilders to apply to the Otter Tail County Property Tax Rebate Program is December 31, 2024. Approved applicants would have until the end of 2025—one year after approval—to begin construction on their new home. The Property Tax Rebate Program provides financial support for… Read More

Special deer hunt open to youth ages 12-15 from October 18-20 Permits are available for the Oct. 18-20 youth hunt at Lake Bemidji State Park. This firearms hunt is open to youth ages 12-15. Youth must be accompanied by an adult mentor over the age 18. Mentors may not carry firearms. The youth hunter must have… Read More

By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent  Sheriff deputies, on Oct. 1, reported a traffic accident near Parkers Prairie at the intersection of Parkers Road and 108th Street, south of town. The accident took place at 11:08 a.m. “It appears that the passenger side of a semi tractor trailer went onto the soft shoulder of the gravel road,… Read More