Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday conceded that it was unlikely that school buildings, which he’d ordered closed through early May, will reopen this school year as the state works to check the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
As COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to rise, Minnesota officials on Wednesday said they were still working to secure needed testing supplies and get unemployment checks to people as quickly as possible.
After getting through a mild March, Minnesota is set to have its first snowstorm of April coming today and Friday. The National Weather Service (NWS) announced a winter storm warning on Wednesday for most of the state and North and South Dakota.
Zach Stich
Editor
Twelve people have died from COVID-19 in Minnesota, up from 10 reported on Monday, while the number of cases in the state since the pandemic began has jumped to 629, state officials said.
Greater Fergus Falls (GFF) and a coalition of distilleries in Minneapolis including Tattersall Distilling, Du Nord Craft Spirits and Brother Justus Whiskey, are pleased to announce a partnership to provide Lake Region Healthcare (LRH) with 125 gallons of hand sanitizer beginning next week.
More than half of Minnesota's counties, urban and rural alike, now have confirmed cases of COVID-19 as the state moves into its first workweek of stay-at-home orders.
Minnesota now has four deaths linked to COVID-19, up from two Thursday, and the number of cases has jumped to 398 from 346, state health officials reported Friday.
To slow the spread of COVID-19 across the state, Governor Tim Walz today signed Executive Order 20-20 directing Minnesotans to stay at home and limit movements outside of their home beyond essential needs. This order takes effect at 11:59pm on Friday, March 27 and ends at 5:00pm on Friday, A…
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Minnesota officials and hospital leaders are preparing for an expected surge of COVID-19 patients, hoping their efforts to restrict public contact in the state the past few weeks will be enough to keep the health system from being overwhelmed.
The Health Department on Friday confirmed 115 cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota through 3,856 tests Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order prohibiting price gouging during a peacetime emergency.
Thousands of Minnesota state government employees are under work-from-home orders and others could be shifted to new assignments to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout.
Under the authority of the emergency declaration issued by the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners on March 17, 2020, and through consultation with Otter Tail County Public Health and Emergency Management, Otter Tail County will be limiting access to all public buildings effective immed…
Social Security offices nationwide will close their offices to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday signed a bill to direct $200 million toward a health care response fund aimed at helping front-line workers respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Gov. Tim Walz on Monday ordered all Minnesota bars and restaurants to close temporarily for dine-in service starting Tuesday as the number of coronavirus cases in the state rose to more than 50.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Sunday that he is ordering K-12 public schools across the state to close by Wednesday and remain closed through March 27 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In response to growing concerns surrounding COVID-19, Minnesota Public Radio will cancel all public events beginning March 14 through April 24.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz declared a peacetime state of emergency Friday to be ready for whatever the coronavirus throws at the state next.
Tuesday, March 10 was Township Day, giving Minnesota’s nearly 1 million township residents an opportunity to have face-to-face meetings with their locally elected officials and vote on tax levies. As part of Township Day, Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha began a tour around the state, mee…
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
John and Teresa Vore are starting a new adventure next month when they leave for a two-year Peace Corps trip to Zambia. John and his side of the family are from Fergus Falls, graduating from Roosevelt High School before moving to Montana for school.
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
Twenty-four residents of the Fergus Falls area returned January 31 from a five-day leadership retreat, the first segment of an intense eight-day training provided by the Blandin Community Leadership Program (BCLP). The team also will participate in three follow-up workshops.
Two more businesses in Fergus Falls have been recognized as Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFBs) by the League of American Bicyclists in January, bringing the city’s total number of BFBs up to 18 and landing it on the league’s top 10 list of bicycle-friendly cities nationwide, tied with Nashvi…
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
February is Black History Month and Missy Hermes, education coordinator at the Otter Tail County Historical Society (OTCH), will be at the Fergus Falls Public Library on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. to give a talk she’s titled “African American Heritage of Otter Tail County.”
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources awarded conservation officer Tricia Plautz received the 2020 Enforcement Education Achievement Award.
Otter Wings LLP is looking to expand its swine farrowing facility in Otter Tail County near Sebeka in Blowers Township, effectively tripling its operation as it goes from about 2,500 hogs over 300 pounds to 7,500 hogs of all sizes. As part of the approval process for its proposed expansion, …
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
State Rep. Bud Nornes, R-Fergus Falls, announces the Prospect House in Battle Lake is receiving a $4,800 history grant from Minnesota Legacy appropriations via the Arts and Culture Heritage Fund.
The Otter Tail County Safe Communities Coalition is a group of individuals and agencies who work together under funding from the Toward Zero Deaths Safe Roads Program via the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The mission of the coalition is to raise awareness of traffic safety issues an…
Due to blizzard-like conditions, area schools and businesses are closed today.
In a town filled with retirees, you never know who you’ll meet. Sitting in a booth at McDonald’s on Sahuarita Road is Nate Wright.
Rep. Bud Nornes, who has served Otter Tail County in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 1997, has decided not to run for reelection this year. “You struggle with these decisions, but I finally came to the conclusion it’s the right time,” he said. “I will not be on the November ballot.”
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, M State Fergus Falls hosted a program that looked at what people and businesses in Otter Tail County can do to foster inclusivity and promote opportunities for everybody to flourish and thrive. The event, called the Rural Racial Equity Summit, included keynote …
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
The Wilkin County Sheriff's Office advises no travel in the county.
After a wind-chill advisory on Thursday that had Otter Tail County residents seeking warm shelter, today brings almost a 30-degree temperature jump. But don’t get your hopes up that a heatwave is about to hit Minnesota in January as the National Weather Service has put the state and surround…
Zach Stich
Editor
A new report from LendingTree, an online lending marketplace that connects users to deals on insurance, found that Minnesota is the sixth worst driving state. They based the ranking on factors including driver quality, distracted driving scores, car insurance increases, and road infrastructure.
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
The local ice fishing season held so much promise back in November when an early cold snap created a nice coating of black ice on many lakes in Otter Tail County.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday said he will recommend a roughly $2 billion package of public construction projects this year, including $276 million for housing projects.
In a winter with its share of uncertainty, the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association held its 117th annual meeting Wednesday at the Bigwood Event Center in Fergus Falls.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Minnesota saw a 14% increase in fire deaths in 2019 with 42 total deaths, compared to 37 in 2018. Fergus Falls also saw its first fire fatality since 2012 in September last year.
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
In 2019, Fergus Falls and the surrounding community saw several positive and a few obstacles put in its way. As we enter 2020, The Daily Journal looks back at some of the most talked about, read and viewed stories from the past year.
Zach Stich
Editor
When Rus Dic Circle residents living near the scenic Otter Tail River brought rising water levels to the attention of Aurdal Township authorities three weeks ago, they found Emergency Management director, Patrick Waletzko ready to lead an effort to alleviate the threat of flooding.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The local planning committee for the 2020 Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener is adding new ways for folks to celebrate the occasion in 2020. This year will be the 73rd annual event and while the main goal is to continue the storied tradition there will be a few differences from years past.
Gov. Tim Walz on Friday, Dec. 13, penned a letter to the Trump administration saying the state would continue accepting refugees under an executive order that requires counties and states to explicitly state they’d be willing to take them in.
The weather had been threatening some perilous low temperatures this weekend, but they’ve slowly started to climb to bearable levels. There’s lots of indoor events this weekend to keep you warm, with a couple of outdoor options for the more adventurous among us. Santa will be extra busy on S…
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
A student was injured in an accidental discharge of a firearm on the Wahpeton campus of North Dakota State College of Science.
The number of driving while intoxicated (DWI) arrests in Otter Tail County is up slightly from 2018 with four weeks of the year remaining.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirms an 8-year-old white-tailed doe tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) after its white-tailed buck pen-mate killed it in a small, two-deer, hobbyist herd in Douglas County. The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the …
House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Trump on Tuesday morning, charging him with abuse of power in the Ukraine affair and obstruction of Congress.
A Perham man was one of three soldiers identified in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash that took the lives of the entire crew on Thursday, Dec. 5.
MOUND — The Fergus Falls girls’ hockey team fell in a road game Friday as Mound Westonka used three scores to claim a 3-1 win.
Matthew Holding Eagle
Sports Reporter/Photographer
After enjoying Thanksgiving, those in the Christmas and holiday shopping mood get ready to put on their coats and head out to local retailers to see what the best offers will be for 2019’s Black Friday sales.
Zach Stich
Editor
While an October snowfall dissipated fast and a few snowflakes have been spotted in the area, a snowstorm is expected to hit Otter Tail County and the surrounding area early today.
Zach Stich
Editor
Can rural towns and cities get off carbon pollution? That’s the topic for a free public meeting on practical strategies that can work in small towns like Alexandria and all over Douglas County. Mike Reese, renewable energy director at the U of Minnesota’s West Central Research Center in M…
What is one Minnesota place, location, or site that you want preserved in order to pass on to the next generation? What is your favorite historic site? How can the importance of historic preservation in Minnesota be better promoted?
The Dalton Community Club and the Lake Region Pioneer Threshermen’s Association are sponsoring its first-ever “Dalton Christmas Fest” on Saturday, Dec. 14. The fun begins at noon with activities throughout the day for all ages!
Fergus Falls is now a League of American Bicyclists silver level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC), an improvement from last year’s bronze designation. The award recognizes Fergus Falls for its commitment to creating transportation and recreational resources that benefit its residents of all …
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
Jean Bowman, the executive director of Visit Fergus Falls, has been appointed to the Explore Minnesota Tourism Council by Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Charitable giving has seen a sharp decline since the 2017 GOP tax reform, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), went into effect. The TCJA increased the standard deduction and eliminated personal exemptions, making it less beneficial to itemize deductions like charitable donations. Losing…
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz showed up at the Bigwood Event Center in Fergus Falls on Friday morning anticipating a big weekend.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A “Welcome to Camp” celebration kicked off the 2019 Minnesota Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener Thursday evening in Fergus Falls.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A long and difficult grain farming season may be coming to an end and it may not be a happy ending. As a general rule, the natural drying season for corn in Minnesota comes around Nov. 1, according to Farmers Elevator manager Jon Stueve. If corn is 25% or above in moisture content farmers do […]