The WEM Education Association surveyed its members last week on the issue of hoods and/or hats being worn in school.

This topic was brought up during the March WEM Board of Education meeting and the education association invited its members to participate in the short survey which had only two questions. A total of 48 members responded to the survey and a summary of their responses and reason for or against were tallied.

The first question was should students be able to wear hoods during the school day? 95 percent of those who answered said no.

Do you know of someone who took advantage of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) program in the 1930s? Maybe your father or grandfather or great uncle? Did you know there was a camp situated in our county?

Background On March 31, 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt received Senate Bill S. 598 on his desk to be signed. The bill was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and quickly moved forward to the President. Roosevelt then signed an executive order on April 5.

    Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative (MVEC), which serves much of our readership area, held its annual meeting at Jordan High School on Tuesday, April 7, where over 200 members gathered.
    A total of 20 $1,500 scholarships to high school seniors were given out or a total of $30,000. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have a parent or legal guardian who are MVEC members, be enrolled to attend an accredited post-secondary institution as a full-time student, and have at minimum GPA of 2.0. 

Three members of the WEM Speech team have advanced to the Class A State Speech Meet, which will be held Saturday, April 25 at Park Center High School.

Seniors Kayla Bronk and Abby Crosby and sophomore Lacey Reysack advanced by placing in the top three of their individual events at the Section 2A Meet held Friday, April 10 at JWP High School.

The annual MSHSL 2A North Sections competition for the Visual Arts took place over the course of two days last week. Each school is limited to a maximum of 18 entries over 12 different art categories. No school is allowed to have more than six entries in a single category. And, no student may enter more than one piece in a single category; but students may compete in more than one category.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will begin lowering water levels on Willis Lake in Waseca County, prompted by a decline in wildlife use and habitat quality.

Willis Lake is a 116-acre shallow lake located in Waseca County. Because of its importance to resident and migratory wildlife, Willis Lake was designated as a wildlife lake in 2001. It is one of only 61 such lakes in the state. This designation allows DNR staff to manage water levels through temporary drawdowns to address factors that affect water and habitat quality.

Montgomery Streets
    Most of the streets in the area between the railroad tracks and Le Sueur County 3/5th Street, and north of Le Sueur County 56/Oak Avenue and south of Boulevard Avenue will receive partial surface milling and a full overlay of pavement this summer. 

Le Sueur County Emergency Management Director Tammy Stewig said that dispatchers accidentally sounded off the county's sirens today, Thursday, April 9, at 1:45 p.m. thinking it was Severe Weather Awareness Week (SWAW), which is actually April 13-17, 2026.

On Thursday, April 16, of SWAW, almost every corner of the state will have two rounds of sirens sounding, one at 1:45 p.m. and one at 6:45 p.m., for businesses and residents to practice tornado safety procedures.

    The Le Sueur County Officials meeting at the American Bar & Grill in Montgomery on Wednesday, March 25, was host to two state nonprofit representatives that assist smaller governments — Cap O’Rourke and Maddie Cash.
    Cap O’Rourke is the executive director for the Minnesota Association of Small Cities (MAOSC), which is a nonprofit that exclusively serves cities of a population of 5,000 or less, and is also the owner of O’Rourke Strategic Consulting.

WEM senior Jacob Androli was named a finalist for the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award.

Androli, the son of Dennis and Rachel Androli, was one of only 15 student/athletes who played football to receive Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention Awards. WEM head football coach Sam Stier nominated Androli for this prestigious award which has been available for nearly 20 years.

Eight Grizzly wrestlers competed in the NYWA State Tournaments this past weekend in Rochester and three returned with top five finishes.

Second graders Ryatt Melchert, Rhett Melchert, and Maddox Knish each reached the podium in their respective weight classes.

Knish placed second in the 1st-2nd grade 61-pound weight class. Rhett Melchert placed fourth in the 1st-2nd grade 75-pound weight class. Ryatt Melchert placed fifth in the 1st-2nd grade 80-pound weight class.

NexGen Home Services received Waterville Chamber’s “Good News Megaphone” in February. Not only is the Chamber celebrating their relocation to Waterville but also their industry state award.

A law that was on the books in Minnesota since 1942 was repealed by the Minnesota State Legislature for 2026.

Minnesota Statute 97B.318, which stated “During the regular firearms season in the shotgun use area, only legal shotguns loaded with single-slug shotgun shells, legal muzzle-loading long guns, and legal handguns may be used for taking deer. Legal shotguns include those with rifled barrels,” was effectively repealed as of Jan. 1, 2026.

    A law that was on the books in Minnesota since 1942 was repealed by the Minnesota State Legislature for 2026. 
    Minnesota Statute 97B.318, which stated “During the regular firearms season in the shotgun use area, only legal shotguns loaded with single-slug shotgun shells, legal muzzle-loading long guns, and legal handguns may be used for taking deer. Legal shotguns include those with rifled barrels,” was effectively repealed as of Jan. 1, 2026. 

The 7th Annual Hoot Lanes Jr. League Scholarship Tournament was held on Sunday, March 21, 2026 and this one was bigger than ever.

This tournament is limited to bowlers that bowl in the Hoot Lanes Jr. League. 34 bowlers participated in the tournament which is the most in the seven-year history.

The event was another enormous success. The tourney awarded $12,000 in scholarships for the tournament which is also the most money ever donated.

There was also a $300 random draw by the Bowl4Life Scholarship Foundation and the winner of this scholarship was Mason Waugh.

Choir students receive “Superior” rating at Sub-Sections

The WEM Music Department has been very busy this year and during the final months of the school year they have many events planned.

Of those events, two are coming back to the district after not being held for years.

Most recently, the WEM Choir participated in the Sub-Section Music Contest Festival and they were awarded the top honor, a “Superior” rating.