The January meeting of the Waterville Chamber of Commerce was held at Make It, Waterville, where owner Patty Salmon treated attendees to a live pottery demonstration.

Salmon demonstrated “wheel throwing,” the process of shaping a lump of clay on a spinning turntable into a finished piece. Using approximately a pound and a half of clay, she smoothly and efficiently formed a small bowl, showcasing her skill as an experienced potter. She books wheel throwing as a private party and hold public classes several times per year.

Republicans and Democrats in Scott, Le Sueur and Rice counties interested in participating in the early stages of the process of selecting their respective party’s candidates and platforms can do so at upcoming precinct caucuses Tuesday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m. at various locations.

The WEM One Act Play actors put together a fantastic performance Saturday, Jan. 22, placing second in the Sub-Section Competition.

That effort has advanced them into the six school Section 2A competition which will be held Saturday, January 31 at Waseca High School.

Performing a piece called "Nellie," based on the true story of Nellie Bly, the WEM students brought to life the real hardship of woman at a New York Insane Asylum. Audience members could feel the grief, anger and frustration from the performance of the students.  

An outdoors enthusiast, Aidan Oldenburg speaks fondly of time in the woods as he hunted, fished, and explored along the Little Cobb River by his home near Pemberton, Minnesota. Pemberton is a small town of 229 people (2020 census) about 90 miles southwest of Minneapolis but a mere 17 miles from the regional city of Mankato where Aidan was born in 2001.

Faced with a deteriorating infrastructure, the City of Kilkenny is looking to rehabilitate and modernize its water systems.

The city met with Kyle Renneke of the engineering firm ISG Monday to go over details of the project. Particular focus is given to the well house. The 90-year old structure is in critical disrepair.

“It has a concrete roof that could collapse at any time,” said Kilkenny Mayor Tammy Holicky said.

The 7th Annual Fishing Derby sponsored by the Southern Lakes Angling and Spearing Organization, which was established eight years ago, was held Saturday, Jan. 17 on area lakes.

The weigh-in for the fish caught was held at the Waterville Event Center from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. that evening.

Anglers and spearers, who were required to be members of the organization in order to fish, had a chance to win prizes for their catch which featured three different categories.

WEM sophomore Miley Anderson had her design selected for the 2026 Waterville Bullhead Days celebration button.

Anderson received the most votes in a Facebook contest which featured the four best designs from WEM High School students among more than two dozen entered. She designed her button during Foundations Class.

The other three finalists included:...

To see more on this story pick up the January 22, 2026 print edition of the LifeEnterprise paper. 

The WEM One Act Play will have a chance to perform in front of the masses Saturday, January 24 at the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School Auditorium.

The Sub-Section 5 competition for WEM will begin at 2:50 p.m. The event itself starts at 10 a.m. with the first show, which features teams from throughout the area. There is an admission fee for the event.

WEM will perform the play Nellie by Robbie Steltz.

The unexpected death of a WEM seventh grader has the WEM communities shocked and grieving.

Twelve year old Brady Kessler, son of Cierra and Tyler Pumper and David Kessler, had a stroke Saturday, Jan. 10. He subsequently passed away on the evening of January 11 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester due to complications from the stroke.

More than 100 classmates, teammates, family, and friends were able to say their last goodbyes to Brady at the hospital before he passed.

Late last week an emergency meeting was called for Monday, Jan. 12, of the city council for the City of Kilkenny. No large emergency was present other than information that Nicole LeBrun, the current city clerk, had found a new position elsewhere and a replacement would need to be figured out.

Kilkenny Mayor Tammy Holicky seemed happy for LeBrun, saying that she found an “amazing position somewhere else,” which LeBrun wanted to keep private.

Minnesota DNR recognizes nine conservation officers

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Enforcement Division recently recognized nine conservation officers for their lifesaving efforts in the past few months.

Minnesota Outdoors is a non-profit organization that grants trips to children and young adults with life threatening illnesses and to veterans.

Brody Muellerleile, the 13-year-old son of Jason and Sara Muellerleile, had a chance to take part in one of these adventures last fall. He took part in the Minnesota Outdoor Adventure Foundation mule deer hunt in Colorado.

Sara found this organization online and applied for Brody. They sent the family on a trip to Give a Kid’s World back in 2022. Brody was granted this trip right after COVID.

During the Advent/Christmas season of the 60s and 70s as a student at Trinity Lutheran School in North Morristown, young Juanita Krueger looked forward to four things: performing, singing, and doing recitations in the Christmas Eve program and making homemade ornaments in art class for the real Christmas tree that graced her childhood classroom. Some of these ornaments Juanita still has in her collection, today.

At a meeting of the Le Sueur County Officials Association, State Senator Rich Draheim (22, R) and State Rep. Terry Stier (22B, R) were present to share information from the state legislature that affects the area. The meeting was held Dec. 3 at Le Sueur City Hall.

“I don’t want to say it was the most confusing year, but probably the most uncertain year I have seen in my nine years,” Draheim said, noting the size of the state government has tripled in funding since he took office in 2017.

It wasn’t quite as low as the 3.9% increase from last year, but the Le Sueur County budget and levy passed was still among the lowest of the last decade.

On Dec. 2, the Le Sueur County Board of Commissioners held its annual Truth in Taxation meeting to hear residents’ concerns. The hearing was followed by the official vote on the next budget.

The final levy was set at $30,337,063, which represents a 4.4% increase over last year.

The only years where the increase was lower were in 2021 (4%) and 2025 (3.9%).

The Waterville City Council approved the 2026 proposed budget and levy during their regular meeting Tuesday, Dec. 2.

The levy will see an increase of $186,442 which is an increase of 15 percent over the 2025 levy. Last year the city levy increased $118,108, which was an increase of 10.5 percent. The levy covers all city departments and debt service, but does not include the water and sewer departments.

According to City Administrator Teresa Hill, the proposed levy increase of 15 percent is only 12 percent with added taxable value included in the taxpayer statements.