By Robert Williams Editor, Frazee-Vergas Forum Otter Tail County welcomed Robert Lahman to the Board of Commissioners Tuesday, Jan. 3 at the first meeting of the year in Fergus Falls.  Commissioner Lahman was elected in November after defeating outgoing chair Betty Murphy in a tight race. Lahman received 2,574 votes (51.42 percent) to Murphy’s 2,419 (48.32 percent). Lahman grew… Read More

New coordinator sought for Henning Festival, Little Miss Henning By Chad Koenen Publisher When the Henning Festival pageant was in search for a new director in 2019, Courtney (Wiese) Hendricks remembered the lasting impact that being a member of the royal court left on her as a senior at Henning High School. Hendricks was crowned as the… Read More

New shop to work in conjunction with Henning location By Chad Koenen Publisher Since opening its doors in Henning over a decade ago, AutoFix has grown into a one-stop shop not commonly seen in small towns across the country. Whether it be new tires, a quick oil change, tire alignments or diagnostics, AutoFix has grown into… Read More

Year-long repairs finished at historic county park By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent The year-long foundation repairs at Phelps Mill have been completed by Eagle Construction Company of Little Falls. The total cost was $926,388. In early 2022 the five-person Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners approved the foundation restoration and repair work in order to retain… Read More

Contributed photo Farmers Union Industries employees have donated a total of $30,000 to their local community food shelves. The donations will be dispersed between 21 different area food shelves in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota. Among the food shelves receiving a donation from the Farmers Union Industries employees was the Henning Food Shelf. 

About 2 in 5 homes in the state have dangerous radon levels Radon is the leading environmental cause of cancer deaths in the United States and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. More than 21,000 lung cancer deaths are attributed to radon each year in the U.S. About 2 in 5 homes in Minnesota… Read More

New fire chief credits the work of the previous fire chief, crew By Chad Koenen Publisher Andrew Browne can simply look out his window from Wadena State Bank in Deer Creek and see the fire hall he will soon help to guide into the future. Browne was recently elected as the new fire chief of the… Read More

Contributed photo The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office issued an online warning about a crack on the north side of Rush Lake running from the west to the east approximately one-mile long. There is some open water that was marked off with cones and pylons by the Perham Fire Department Friday, Dec. 30. The Sheriff’s… Read More

Snow-covered hydrants can delay fighting a fire By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent When a house is on fire someplace in Otter Tail County, the last thing firefighters want to do is waste time removing snow from the nearest fire hydrant. County residents can prevent this by clearing snow from fire hydrants themselves. “This makes firefighting easier for us,” said… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher A 64-year-old Ottertail man died after he was rescued from the water on Saturday on Otter Tail Lake. At 7:26 p.m. the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office received a report of two snowmobiles and one ATV in the water on the northeast side of Otter Tail Lake in Otter Tail Township. All parties… Read More