News

School lunches are no longer free

Waseca school board member Katie Youngberg spoke up during a discussion of the district food service at the August 18 meeting to emphasize that student meals will again be charged at prices similar to before the Covid pandemic. Due to federal funding, all student meals have been at no charge for...

Operators of Honey Hole Bear Bait, from left: Nathan and Tom Kaiser, Jonathan Gransee and Heidi Wiitanen.

Honey Hole

Cookies, trail mix, candies, gummies, ice cream and waffle cones, caramel, jelly. All of these are available at Tom Kaiser’s bear bait business, Honey Hole Bear Bait, in Waseca. “You can’t just go in and throw a box of donuts down and shoot them– they’re smart and some will wait you out,” Kaiser...

Blaine and Carol Brooks have been together for 45 years. They were elected VFW Commander and Auxiliary President at the same time.

New president after 17 years

The same time that Blaine Brooks was elected commander of the Waseca Veterans of Foreign Wars, his wife, Carol, was elected to be the local auxiliary’s president. Growing up mostly in Waseca, Brooks is familiar with the community. She graduated from Waseca Central High School and attended...

DYNAMIC DUO - Carol and Blaine Brooks are entering a new chapter together. Carol was elected president of the Waseca VFW Auxiliary the same time that Blaine was elected Post commander. They will both serve one-year terms.

New opportunities

In May of this year, Blaine Brooks was elected as the Commander of the Waseca Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1642, also known as the Sweet-Sommers Post. “I was one of the nominees, and I took office in June,” he explains. Brooks grew up in the community of Meriden. His journey in the armed...

SUPPORTERS - Tina Mittelsteadt said her husband Todd is the number one supporter of her new business venture, WaSeekers. The second is her 23-year-old umbrella cockatoo, Sam.

A way of life

Auctions are a way of life for Tina Mittelsteadt, owner of Waseca’s newest online auction site, WaSeekers. Growing up, Mittelsteadt attended auctions with her family. As an adult, she feels as if she leaves an auction without a full car, or two, she’s done something wrong. This experience...

A century at Lakeside Golf Course

Waseca Lakeside Club celebrated its 100th anniversary on Saturday, August 20, 2022. The day kicked off with a Hickory Club tournament. Competitors used pre-modern hickory (w golf clubs provided by William Reed, president of the Hickory Golf Association based in Johnston, Iowa. Players had mixed...

Rallying around the Bense family

The community of Janesville never fails to pull together and show support in tough times. That’s precisely what happened at the Willow Bense Benefit on Saturday, August 20. Supporters from all around the area rallied at the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton School to show their love for the Bense...

About 15 people, some of which are shown above, attended the Minnesota Valley Action Council thank you breakfast Thursday, August 11, 2022.

MVAC thank you breakfast

About 15 people, including Waseca County Commissioners Brad Krause and DeeAnne Malterer and several business owners were in attendance for a “thank you” breakfast put on by Minnesota Valley Action Council (MVAC) Thursday morning at North East Park in Waseca in recognition of their five college...

Sacred Heart Catholic Daughters Sue Harguth, Shirley Kern, Pat Foley, Carmen Battenfeld, Connie Ockwig, Joan Ignaszewski, Deb Pereault, and Lori Mikaelson posed for a picture at their potluck last Tuesday. Not pictured, but also present, was Judy Thomas.

Good food, high spirits

Members of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas from Waseca’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church gathered at University Park Tuesday, August 9 for a potluck, where they celebrated their religious sisterhood through the sharing of delicious, homemade goods. The Catholic Daughters, who are part of...

SISTERS - Tannea and Tanika Johnson decided to go into the boutqique business together. The Phoenix has pop-up shops once a month and offers items via Facebook.

Sisters start boutique

The Phoenix is an online clothing boutique based out of Waseca which was started in June by sisters Tannea and Tanika Johnson. The business offers two ways to shop. Items can be selected from the company’s Facebook page and then picked up from the sisters’ house. The second option is to wait for...