Timely Reminder On Gas Leak Dangers

The Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety is reminding residents about the dangers of a natural gas leak.

Maple Lake, Buffalo Community Theater Groups Perform Today

The Maple Lake Community Theater production "116 Ashbury Lane" continues today at the Maple Lake High School Auditorium.

Senate District 19 DFL to Host Convention Today

Area Democrats meet in Buffalo today in the Senate District 19 DFL convention. Among the many features of the convention, the two women who are running for DFL endorsement for Congress in our area will be featured in a candidate forum.

Is Casilla in Picture?

Spring Training is right around the corner, which means a few things: the Florida sun, the smell of grass and one of my favorite sounds of spring -- the ball hitting the glove. With pitchers and catchers set to report to Fort Myers, Fla., on Sunday, I actually got a little head start on the travel to Florida to enjoy the weather.

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NEWS: U of M Dairy Days Workshops in Wright County Tuesday

The University of Minnesota Extension Service announces that its annual Dairy Days Workshops will be in Wright County on Tuesday for a series of meetings. Extension Dairy Educators Neil Broadwater and Jim Paulson will discuss "Calf Management" and "Genetic Tools."

NEWS: Cold, Snowy December!

The numbers are in, and they show last month was Minnesota's coldest December since 2000.

Climatologist Pete Boulay says that while Wright County was spared some of the heaviest snow, some parts of Minnesota measured record December snowfall. Boulay says if trends continue this could be the closest to what many people think of as a traditional Minnesota winter as we've had in many years.

NEWS: Last-Minute Donation Surge Lifts Salvation Army Over Goal

Salvation Army officials are calling it an "eleventh hour comeback" as they hit their goal for the 2008 Christmas campaign. Salvation Army spokeswoman Annette Bauer of Buffalo says an influx of last-minute checks helped push them over their goal. Bauer says another bright spot for their campaign this year despite the sluggish retail season, people were generous at the red kettles. She says red kettle donations reached more than 2-point-9 million dollars this year, a nearly 100-thousand-dollar increase over the Christmas 2007 drive.

Week of Transition in Local Government

Many familiar faces along with some new ones were seen at numerous first meetings of the year of area City Councils and other local governmental boards, as well as the Wright County Board of Commissioners. New Wright County Commissioner Rose Thelen of Clearwater Township was sworn-in for her first-ever term on the Wright County Board. You'll remember that multi-term Commissioner Karla Heeter did not file for re-election last fall to another term in District 1, instead accepting the position of Executive Director of the Buffalo Hospital Foundation Board.

New mayors were given the oath of office this week in Annandale, Clearwater, Maple Lake, Montrose and Otsego. The new mayors are "Buck" McAlpin in Annandale, Lee Monk in Clearwater, Mike O'Loughlin in Maple Lake, Andy Kauffman in Montrose, and Jessica Stockamp in Otsego. Many new City Council members also attended their first meetings this week, including new Councilman Steve Downer in Buffalo.

Some major challenges face all local governments as the new year unfolds as significant state aid amounts have been cut recently by Governor Pawlenty affecting the budget of Wright County and virtually all cities in throughout the area. Local boards and councils are bracing for some very tough decision making on how to keep their local budgets balanced amid the uncertainty of how much, if any, state funding will be available to help.

Digital TV Deadline Approaching, Government Coupon Program Broke

The date when mandated digital television broadcasting goes into effect in the U. S. is approaching, yet many Minnesotans, including some Wright County residents are not ready for the switch. You may remember that the federal government had been offering a coupon program to help citizens purchase converter boxes that would allow viewers to receive the new digital over-the-air signal, and convert it to their old analog TVs. By the end of December, Minnesotans had redeemed about a half-million federal governmental coupons for the converter boxes. But, that program ran out of money weeks ago, and a waiting list was initiated for the federally funded coupons. Officials say however, that even if you're on the waiting list, you might not want to wait for the government coupon to buy at least one digital converter box.

Households on a satellite or cable-delivered television service do not need the converter. And homes with new digital broadcast-ready TVs will also be able to receive the new signal without trouble. Persons receiving a TV signal over-the-air with an outdoor antenna, or indoor "rabbit ears" into an old-style analog TV however, will need the box to receive and decode the digital signal. February 17th will be the final day of analog over-the-air TV broadcasting in the U. S.