Meeker County Sheriff’s Office will hold a memorial service in honor of National Law Enforcement Memorial Day Thursday.

Sheriff Chaplain Jeff Garland will lead the 9:30 a.m. service in the Law Enforcement Center parking lot with past chaplain Terry Olthoff assisting.

George Saukkola, 81, of Kimball, died Sunday at his home. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Kingston. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Johnson Funeral Home in Dassel and one hour prior to the service at the church.

Theresa Morton, 74, of Le Mars, Iowa, formerly of Benson, died Friday at Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars, Iowa. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. today (Tuesday) at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in Benson with visitation one hour prior to the service.

Gladys Eckers, 85, of Litchfield, died Saturday at the Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Litchfield with visitation one hour before the service.

Linda Anderson, 63, of Litchfield, passed away Thursday at her home. Arrangements are pending with the Hantge Funeral Chapel in Darwin.

Agnes Archbold, 92, of Mankato, formerly of Litchfield, died Wednesday at Sunrise Cottage in Mankato. A memorial service was held Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church in Litchfield.

Francis "Fran" Crusoe, 57, passed away May 6 at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul. Mass of Christian Burial was Saturday at Church of Our Lady in Manannah.

A 36-year-old man from Sartell, Minn., is dead after a head-on accident with a dump truck near Kimball Monday.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Barry Gronli of Sartell was traveling south on Minnesota Highway 15, four miles south of Kimball and one mile north of Minnesota 24, when his 2004 Oldsmobile Alero crossed into the northbound lane and struck a dump truck.

Seeding for the Section 5A-West girls softball tournament is set, with Eden Valley-Watkins the No. 10 seed and Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City the No. 5 seed.

EV-W will play at No. 7 Kimball at 4:30 p.m. May 15.

The winner of that game will play at No. 2 Osakis at 5 p.m. May 16.

ACGC will play at at No. 4 Browerville at 5 p.m. May 16.

The winner of that game would likely play No. 1 seed Maple Lake at 4 p.m. May 20 at Minnewaska Area High School.

The Litchfield Blues split a pair of weekend games, winning 7-4 Friday over Pearl Lake and losing 5-2 to Sauk Rapids-Jimmy's on Sunday.

Terry Euerle had three hits and pitched three innings in relief during Friday's win.

David Pennertz had two of the Blues' six hits Sunday.

Litchfield is 1-2 overall.

It’s been a long winter, but now birds are singing, trees are budding, and Blanding’s turtles are hungry and on the move after winter hibernation. People who spot a Blanding’s turtle are asked to contact the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Nongame Wildlife Program.

Minnesotans can celebrate a birthday 150 years in the making next week, as the state commemorates its sesquicentennial anniversary during Statehood Week May 11-18.

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota was officially admitted to the Union as the 32nd state of the United States of America.

The Sesquicentennial Convoy will leave the Capitol to travel to cities across the state for the Capitals for a Day tour from May 12-16. The cities to be visited are: Bemidji, Monday; Thief River Falls, Tuesday; Detroit Lakes, Wednesday; New Ulm, May 15; and Winona, May 16.

A Dassel man was injured Saturday afternoon when the vehicle he was driving rolled near Dassel.

Allen Ervin Vogelpohl of Dassel was driving a 1999 Ford Expedition on CSAH 18 at 4:37 p.m. when he lost control and rolled the vehicle. Vogelpohl was ejected from the vehicle. He was transported to Hutchinson Hospital and then to Hennepin County Memorial Center.

Walk down the sidewalks of Litchfield’s downtown and the city’s history looms large. Many of the historic buildings that frame the city’s main street were built as early as the 1800s.

More than 100 years later, the city’s downtown was designated a Historic Commercial District by the National Park Service and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Winning a trip to Florida is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for 11 Litchfield Middle Schoolers, they plan to take full advantage of the beaches, ocean and, of course, Disney World.

The middle school students will travel to Orlando, Fla., in July to participate in the national Family, Career and Community Leaders of America convention. The students received bids to the competition after earning the top scores at the state convention two weeks ago.

“We’re pumped. It’s really exciting,” eighth-grader Kaitlyn Johnson said.

Anglers
• 2.1 million: Number of people who fish in Minnesota each year
• 1.4 million: Number of fishing licenses sold
• 25 percent: Anglers who target specifically walleye when they fish
• 88: Number of fishing licenses sold per minute during peak of sales 24 hours before the fishing opener

Walleye
• 16 million: Estimated statewide walleye population of harvestable fish
• 3-4 million: Average annual statewide walleye harvest
• 85: Percent of walleye harvest that is naturally produced fish
• 1,200: Number of lakes in Minnesota with fishable populations of walleye

Several fishing regulations have been added or altered for 2008 and anglers need to be aware of the changes before heading out to fish Saturday, May 10, for the statewide walleye opener, said Ron Payer, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries section chief.

ADDITIONS OR CHANGES FOR 2008:
• 2008 fishing licenses, stamps and tags are valid through April 30, 2009.
• New non-resident license fees offering a wider choice of time periods and costs.
• New military licenses are available.

Seniors Emily Veto and Jordan Lecher were named the winners of the Student Athlete Awards during the LHS Senior Athletic Banquet May 7 at the Church of St. Philip.

Molly Hansvick and Taylor Berry were the recipients of the Student Scholar Athlete Awards.

Nominees for the Student Athlete Awards must be 3-sport letterwinners during their senior year.

Student Scholar Athlete Award finalists must letter in two sports and sport a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

This year's Distinguished Service Award went to Randy Quitney.

Litchfield Post Office and the National Association of Letter carriers will have their annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive this Saturday.

To participate, Litchfield residents simply need to leave nonperishable food and home care items in a bag by their mailbox. Letter carriers will pick up the bags and at the end of the day will deliver them to the Meeker County Emergency Food Shelf.

Agnes E. Archbold, 92, of Mankato, formerly of Litchfield, died Wednesday, May 7, at Sunrise Cottage in Mankato. A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Zion Lutheran Chuch in Litchfield. Visitation will be one hour before the service at the church on Saturday. Burial will be in Lake Ripley Cemetery in Litchfield. Mankato Mortuary is handling arrangments.