Local work has helped slow the spread of AIS By Tom Hintgen Otter Tail County Correspondent Spencer McGrew, Otter Tail County’s Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist, is in his 10th year on the job and had good news while addressing members of the Otter Tail County Coalition of Lake Associations Thursday evening, Aug. 20. He spoke… Read More

Hammers Construction awarded the lowest bid By Chad Koenen Publisher There is good news and then there is what the Ottertail City Council received last week concerning the low bid for the Ottertail Fire Hall Expansion.  During its regularly scheduled meeting last week the Ottertail City Council approved a low bid of $1,873,827 from Hammers… Read More

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is considering several experimental and special fishing regulations for the 2027 fishing season, including sunfish limits for four lakes in Otter Tail County. The proposed regulations are a 20-sunfish limit with five fish over the 8-inch regulation on Rush Lake, German Lake, and North and South Ten Mile… Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its income guidelines for free and reduced-price eligibility for Child Nutrition Programs. Though Minnesota provides free meals for students who attend schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program, schools must still collect Applications for Educational Benefits to determine eligibility categories and receive the correct federal and state… Read More

School district also seeking new referendum By Chad Koenen Publisher Henning School District voters will have a pair of questions on the November ballot that could provide additional funding for the Henning School District, while not increasing taxes at a local level. During its regularly scheduled meeting last week, the Henning School Board heard a… Read More

Photos by Chad Koenen, Dan Broten Artists from across the area stopped by the Landmark Center last week to help paint a new mural at the Landmark Station building. The mural was designed and guided by artist Chalsey Falk of Moorhead. This project was one of six arts workshops Landmark hosted with partial funding from… Read More

Contributed photos Tri-County Cruisers held its annual car show at Amundson Park in Henning in July. The car show coincided with the annual Henning Festival celebration. Winners include: Cars – 1st Place and Mayor’s Choice: Lane Seifert of New York Mills with his 1971 Cuda, 2nd Place John Aumland with his 1966 Mustang and 3rd… Read More

Announces new flexibilities for 2023 and 2024 quality losses The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the deadline for farmers to apply for Stages 1 and 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) to Sept. 30, 2026. Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is providing greater flexibility for farmers who experienced quality losses… Read More

Photos by Chad Koenen The 54th annual Watermelon Day turned out a crowd on Saturday in the tiny town of Vining. The event included a number of activities throughout the day including a 5k/10k run/walk, arts and crafts fair, parade, free watermelon, kids games (above) and the fourth annual Jacob Quam Foundation 3 vs. 3… Read More

Stewart won primary with 992 votes By Chad Koenen Publisher A pair of challengers have advanced to the general election ballot after receiving nearly 73 percent of the vote in the Otter Tail County District 4 primary election last week. Jim Stewart received 992 votes, or 42.12 percent of the primary vote, to lead the… Read More