Traffic crashes in Minnesota claimed the lives of 349 people in 2011, according to preliminary reports from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Traffic Safety. The figure represents a 38 percent reduction in deaths since 2001, and a fourth consecutive annual decline in fatalities.

Council approves amended line items for 2011 budget

"We need to do a better job next year," was the comment made by council member Mike Marti before they voted to approve amending line items for the 2011 budget.

Mark the calendar - collection day is Saturday, February 11th!

Help the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester by bringing aluminum cans and pop tabs to the Cans for Kids Collection Day! This community-wide project to help the children of the Ronald McDonald House is sponsored by McNeilus Companies.

It should come as no surprise that the top news story of 2011 is the former Kasson school built in 1918 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Based on what has happened with the former school so far and what could happen in the future, the school could easily be the top story in 2012.

Kenneth ‘Casey’ Kellar has seen a lot of change in his lifetime. Television, space travel and computers are a few of the memorable advances Kellar has seen over the last 100 years.

Fire Destroys mobile home

Kasson firefighters responded to a fire in the Windsor Court Mobile Home Community at around 5:15 p.m. Thursday. The mobile home was alleged to be a total loss.

What's happening around Town?

It is the City of Kasson’s 2009 Historic Properties Reuse Study for the 1918 Kasson Public School.  John Lauber and Company did a very nice job on this report.  It is packed full of useful information to include many income producing reuses.

Last June, Leon and Virginia (Krause) Markham celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kasson. Virginia was 17 when they married and Leon was 20.

K-M superintendent Mark Matuska a man of action

One thing you won't find K-M superintendent Mark Matuska doing much of is sitting behind his desk. He is a man of action and being out and about-in the school hallways visiting with the students, in the community having coffee with retirees to hear the latest town news or taking time to ring the Salvation Army bell at Erdman's County Market over the holiday.

Heather Argadine and Nathan Gransee were busy with their careers and not much into the bar scene for seeking out dates. They used an on-line dating service and found a match.

Kurt Murphy graduated from Byron High School in 1980 and started a career as a cook. He worked at the Mayo Clinic, Holiday Inn downtown and Hoffman House. After eight years of being a cook Kurt said, "I knew that was not for me.”

In October the DCI had an article describing the condition of the Kasson municipal pool and options available. The city has been "Band-aiding" the pool for as long as possible and now they are to the point where the baby pool will not open at all next summer due to expensive repairs required to reach compliance.

K-M senior Abigail 'Abi' Tobiason is the recipient of a $2,500 Beat the Odds Scholarship. The scholarships are awarded to high school seniors who have faced challenges and obstacles and yet have achieved personal and academic success.

Changing a light bulb is a relatively simple task, unless you have to go some 75 feet in the air to do it. The city rented a crane from Hawk & Sons of Rochester to change seven of the eight bulbs near the top of the historic water tower adjacent to the former K-M Elementary School. City staff Jason Campbell and Todd Kispert changed the bulbs as a crane operator from Hawk & Sons guided them around the tower.

In early January the Mayo Clinic hosted a community health summit at the County Seat Coffeehouse in Mantorville to explore the future of wellness and health in the community and county.