WEM junior Alix Velzke has been named the Most Valuable Player on the 2026 WEM Softball Team.
Those were not the only honors the outstanding player received this spring. She was also named WEM’s Best Offensive Player, was an All-Gopher Conference First team selection, and made the All-Section 1A Team.
Eight-year-old Mariella Masso is already one of the top wrestlers in the nation.
Now she has become one of the top weight lifters after winning a number of titles last weekend in Chicago at the USA Power Lifting (USAPL) Nationals.
As a 6-year-old, Masso was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the girls 6U, 60 pound weight division by the World of Wrestling. She also was named to the 1st Team Girls World All Star Team.
Two years later the daughter of Mark and Shey Masso of Waterville is a record-setting lifter.
A handful of individuals attended the Cannon River Fish Project update during a meeting in May at the Waterville Event Center.
The meeting discussed the scope of the plan dealing with the Gorman Lake Dam and Schmidtke's Dam in Morristown.
There was a timeline set out and discussion was also held on the possible impacts of the project, which is scheduled to be completed sometime during the 2026 calendar year - most likely in the winter months.
Here is some information about the project and updates:
Joan “Jody” Marie Gregor, age 94, of Waterville, died on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Field Crest Care Center in Hayfield.
Sharon Elizabeth (Schramm) Kelm of Waterville, age 79, passed away at her home on June 13, 2026.
Sharon was born on April 22, 1947, in Northfield, Minnesota, to Rueben Schramm and Emma (Keso) Schramm. She attended Kilkenny Grade School and graduated from Montgomery High School in 1965.
Donald “Don” Lawrence Kelm, age 87, of Waterville, passed away while working in his beloved woodshop on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Le Sueur County took a step to pump the brakes on data centers being built in the county. At the Board of Commissioners meeting on May 26, the county unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on data center construction.
The moratorium covers unincorporated areas of Le Sueur County. Cities within the county can still make their own decisions.
“If a city wants to have a data center, we don’t have any control over that at all,” Commissioner David Preisler said. “If they want to, they’re not affected by this ordinance. They’ve got their own planning and zoning.”
Outstanding weather, great events, huge crowds highlight weekend festival
Thousands of bullheads (12,000+) were served, the rain and clouds stayed away for most of the weekend, the temperatures were warm but not bad, queens were crowned, the food stands were outstanding, and fun was had by all.
The 2026 Waterville Bullhead Days Celebration held June 5 through June 7, which is in its 61st-year.
One of the highlight events of the weekend was the Friday night crowning of Miss Waterville and Junior Miss Waterville.
WEM Partners in Education (PIE) took on an exciting new project this year - a Fun Run for the elementary students and a Color Run for the middle school students! Due to weather, both events were held on the last day of school, Wednesday, May 27.
WEM PIE members, Lisa Cofield, Katy Montgomery, Patty Salmon and Rhiannon Swanson along with...
To see more on this story pick up the June 11, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
Le Sueur County Sheriff Brett Mason has released fraud statistics for the 2025 calendar year.
Sheriff Mason said there were 105 referrals for 2025 and 75 cases with discrepancies. They had eight types of fraud reported, with household composition leading the list with 35 in custody (closure of cases), 28 cases of household composition, 22 cases of unreported income, and 13 residence cases.
A number of WEM softball players have moved their way into the local record books following a successful 2026 spring season.
Senior/graduate Robyn Schwichtenberg, junior Alix Velzke, sophomore Brooklyn Novak, and eighth grader Kalyn Novak are now each included in the school records in either individual season or career season statistics.
The first two wins of the season for the Waterville Indians amateur baseball team were important ones with both being played against 13-60 League opponents.
The Indians celebrated Waterville Bullhead Days Saturday with a 11-5 win over Blue Earth. The following day they traveled to Albert Lea and shutout the newest team in the league by a score of 3-0.
Nolan Grose and Ben Boran each had three hits and a home run. Josh Cook and Dalton Grose added two hits each.
Rene Erwin Greenwald, age 82, of Waterville, passed away on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato from heart failure.
Three straight wins during a rainy Sunday night lifted the WEM girls flag football team into the 2026 High School Girls Flag Football State Tournament.
The Buccaneers shutout Fit Academy, 18-0 in their opening game. In the semifinals they defeated Farmington, 34-6. In the championship, the Bucs edged an undefeated NRHEG, 26,25, when sophomore Paetyn Judd returned an interception for a touchdown with less than 90 seconds to play.
WEM will open State Tournament play Monday, June 8 at 2 p.m. against Centennial at TCO Stadium. The...
In their first Section 2A Track and Field Meet as a co-op team, the JWP//WEM Bulldogs finished 3rd among 24 entered.
The Bulldogs scored 68 team points finishing behind champion Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial-Nicollet (93.5) and Maple River. The top ten teams included Sibley East (62), St. Clair/Immanuel Lutheran (51.75), Mankato Loyola/Cleveland (48), USC (36.75), Minnesota Valley Lutheran (36), Glencoe-Silver Lake (27), and Windom Area (26).
The 61st Annual Waterville Bullhead Days Celebration will begin with the coronation of Miss Waterville 2026 on Friday, June 5 at 7 p.m. in the Waterville Fire Hall. Admission is five dollars for this 69th Miss Waterville and Junior Miss Pageant.
Miss Waterville 2025 Kayla Bronk and her attendants Abby Crosby, Alenka Jans, and Jaelyn Wilmes will preside over their last pageant.
