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Area News

Rural Lafayette VRBO hidden among farm fields

by Ruth Klossner There’s a unique VRBO in the northeastern part of Bernadotte Township that most local people don’t know about—but visitors from the Upper Midwest have discovered for overnight stays for the last five years. “The Den,” a secluded and rustic authentic log cabin, sits on four acres of peace and quiet, surrounded by…

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Bauer takes home first place in State key race

by Michael Mattison Taylor Bauer took home the first-place trophy in the key race recently at the Minnesota State 4-H Horse show. The event was held in Cannon Falls on September 5-6. The event is divided into age categories by what grade you completed in the spring so Bauer competed as a junior. The first-place…

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Huge crowd checks out corn maze

The Corn Trail and Fall Festival at Conklin Hill drew a massive crowd and provided entertainment for those both young and old. Turn to page 10 for more photos. Photo by Michael Mattison

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GFW Homecoming Queen and King

Silvana Ruiz and Regie Mattes were crowned Homecoming Queen and King at the pepfest Friday during GFW Homecoming Week. More photos can be found on page 3. Photo by Michael Mattison

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Winthrop Council passes preliminary tax levy

by Michael Mattison The budget for the City of Winthrop was the topic of discussion at a work session of the Winthrop City Council on Monday which was followed by a special meeting to approve its preliminary budget. The City Council approved a preliminary increase to the tax levy at 18 percent. The Council has…

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Still questions as Lafayette Council sets budget

by Doug Hanson The Lafayette City Council held two budget meetings in August and still had several unknowns as it set the budget last Monday. The General Fund increased from $236,003 to $291,059 or $55,146 for 2026. This would result in a 23.3 percent increase. The Council can not increase this amount but can reduce it…

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GFW School Board has light agenda in September

by Doug Hanson The GFW School Board approved the maximum levy for the coming year. This is the normal procedure because of some of the unknowns. Enrollment keeps bouncing around in the fall with the School Board having a better idea in October what that total will be. The Board approved a $6,510,516 levy, which…

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It’s Homecoming Week for the GFW Firebirds

GFW announced its Homecoming Court on Friday morning. Front row, from left to right: Taylor Bauer, Silvana Ruiz, Faith Biermaier, Keyden Buboltz and Mady Steele. Back row: Regie Mattes, Bernardo Davila, Garrett Stegeman, Owen Swenson and Luke Bastian.

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Chamber holds community picnic

Thursday was a beautiful night and a great crowd showed up as the Winthrop Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual community picnic. This year it was held on Second Street and many of the businesses set up on the street to greet the crowd and talk about what they do. The serving line was…

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