Dodge Center Business Woman named Citizen of the Year

This year the Dodge Center Lion’s Club picked Beth Hanggi as the Citizen of the Year. Beth is a Dodge Center native, growing up here with her brother and sister. She started a furniture refinishing …

HogFest 2025

Claremont’s HogFest is just around the corner. This year the evet is planned for August 1st through 3rd. Plans are in the works for city wide garage sales so look at the July 30th issue of the …

More Berne Wood Fired Pizza Activities

July offers a number of things to do at the Berne Wood Fired Pizza venue. Wednesday July 9th at 5pm is Kid’s Night with Zollman Zoo and the New Feral Cats and Soul Train. On Friday July 11th at …

July Melodrama starts at the Mantorville Theatre!

One Last Train to Nowhere or The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Are Derailed at the Junction is written by Cheryl Frarck and directed by River Clare. The show runs July 11-27: Fridays and Saturdays …

United Way's Running Start for School Returns to Support Over 3,600 Students

Rochester, MN – This summer, United Way of Southeast Minnesota is once again mobilizing the community through its Running Start for School program, aiming to provide more than 3,600 local …

United Way Announces $1.1M in Grants for Local Nonprofits

Rochester – The United Way of Southeast Minnesota Board of Directors recently approved $1.1 million in funding for 41 programs across Olmsted, Dodge, and Winona Counties. United Way's investments …

Rediscovering Connection: The Benefits of Family Camp

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s not uncommon for families to feel more like a collection of individuals than a unified team. Between work, school, sports, social media, and screens, families …

More Local News

Sunshine Vitamin

As we enter the summer season and experience the longest daylight hours of the year, this is a good time to consider our dependence on the sun for daily life. Our modern conveniences of electricity, …

A Minnesotan;

We’ve hit the point in the summer when things start to turn hot and sticky. Which also means that we’ve hit the beginning of the county fair season. While the people living in the cities tend …

Multiple Sports Improve Children’s Skill:

A study published in the Journal of Sports Science followed 627 children in Finland over three years to explore how early physical activity influenced their coordination and movement skills by age …

More

Obituaries

Michael N. Andersen

Michael N. Andersen, age 81, of West Concord died Sunday, July 6, 2025, at Methodist Hospital in Rochester. Mike was born December 19, 1943, in West Concord to Norman and Hazel (Sivert) Andersen. …

Maddox Roger Erler

Maddox Roger Erler, beloved son of Kevin and Taylor (Ellingson) Erler, passed away peacefully in the arms of his family on Saturday, July 5, 2025, just days before his 4th birthday. Born on July …

Kay “Katie” Katherine Hanson

Kay “Katie” Katherine Hanson, 84, of Dodge Center, MN passed away on Sunday, June 29, 2025, at Mayo Clinic St. Mary’s Campus in Rochester, MN. Kay was born on April 22, 1941, in Leader, MN …

Gerald "Gerry" Henry Fahning

Gerald "Gerry" Henry Fahning, 93, of Dodge Center, MN passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at Mayo Clinic St. Mary's Campus in Rochester, MN. Gerry was born on October 30, 1931, in …

Myrna (Walker) Bowie

Myrna (Walker) Bowie, beloved wife, mother, stepmother, grandmother, great and great-great grandmother, passed away peacefully at her home in Dexter on June 14, 2025, one day short of her 92nd …

The Messenger July 2025 Issue 1

View this issue

Browse other issues

Community

Highway 56 detour begins June 23 for road improvements south of West Concord

WEST CONCORD, Minn. – Motorists on Highway 56 between West Concord and Highway 14 will encounter detours beginning June 23 as construction crews make road improvements, according to the Minnesota …

The Messenger June 2025 Issue 2

2025 Dodger Days

Community

Kick Off to Summer Reading at The West Concord Library

Kick off to summer reading at The West Concord Library on June 11 with music by Will Bjorndal. It's not too late to sign up. Stop in the library to get your reading log and earn great prizes for …

Join Us for Book Group at the West Concord Library July 19

Join us for Book Group at the West Concord Library Saturday, July 19 from 9-10am Solito by Javier Zamora Javier Zamora’s adventure is a 3,000-mile journey from his small town in El …

Cobra Track and Field wraps up a remarkable season at the state meet

The Cobra Track and Field team missed quite a few meets due to weather cancellations this spring, but that didn’t stop our athletes from posting numerous personal records, and setting several …

African women are key to fighting climate change – these are the green skills they will need

There’s a long list of green skills that women across Africa need so that they can get jobs and start businesses that help the world adapt to climate change.

When aggressive ant species come in contact, deadly conflicts ensue G. Chomicki

This tropical plant builds isolated ‘apartments’ to prevent battles among the aggressive ant tenants it relies on for survival

Squamellaria plants grow special structures to host the ants they symbiotically rely on for nutrients. Distinct compartments help different ant colonies live peacefully side by side.

Adult spotted lanternflies infest areas of Pennsylvania from July to December.

Spotted lanternflies love grapevines, and that’s bad for Pennsylvania’s wine industry

An entomologist describes how the sap-sucking insects can weaken grapevines and reduce fruit yield and quality.

New laws that ban smartphones or social media for youth are being introduced across several Western nations.

School smartphone bans reflect growing concern over youth mental health and academic performance

Across the US, parents are leading the charge to limit cellphone use in schools.

Poorly functioning blood vessels lead to the characteristic muscle weakness that so many cancer patients experience.

Muscle weakness in cancer survivors may be caused by treatable weakness in blood vessels – new research

Many cancer survivors struggle with muscle weakness, which can be so profound that they may have difficulties walking up a couple of flights of stairs or going shopping for groceries on their own.