News

Olson sentenced to 8 years after burglarizing 16 homes

Luke Duane Olson, 36, who pled guilty to committing burglaries of 16 homesteads in the Janesville area during the fall of 2021, was sentenced to more than 8 years in prison during a sentencing hearing in Waseca County Court this week. Ten months already served have been credited to the time...

Return to Waseca

Newly-hired staff members at the Waseca County Recorder's office have been able to begin their jobs with confidence for quite some time now, all thanks to Linda Karst’s willingness to step in and teach them the ropes. As the former Waseca County Recorder, Karst knows just how important it is...

Solving problems

Ashley Arett, a recently hired paralegal and law student, has recently joined the staff of Patton, Hoversten, and Berg (PH&B) law office in Janesville. Arett is from Austin, Minnesota, but grew up overseas while her father served in the military. She now lives in Mankato with her three...

American Legion Corn Feed

Rachel Cornelius, Gregg Johnson, Ann Fitch, Jason Stenzel and Erin Rossow pose while working the Rotary Club’s corn feed at the Waseca American Legion from 11-1:30 on August 11. This was the first fundraiser for the Rotary Club in seven years; the group sold fully cooked ears of corn, cookies, and...

Fourteen-year-old Nathan Kaiser took a big bear during his hunt. Its measurement score was 20 and a half inches. The achievement granted him membership to the Boone and Crockett Club. Pioneer photo by Amelia Roessler

Member of the elite

Already at age 14, Nathan Kaiser has been granted membership in an elite international hunting and conservation organization. At the Boone and Crockett Club’s July 22 banquet in Springfield, MO, Nathan received a plaque acknowledging his “outstanding accomplishment” of taking a bear which scored...

FOCUS - Zoie Thompson takes a deep breath and clears her mind before practicing her archery. She says the sport of archery is 90 percent mental.

On target

Zoie Thompson, a rising sophomore at Waseca Junior and Senior High School, recently competed in two national qualifier tournaments in archery - the Outdoor Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) Nationals in Alabama from July 20-24 and the Buckeye Classic in Ohio from July 29-31. Following...

Finding value

Although he “didn’t grow up thinking I wanted to be a county assessor,” there are many ways it seems newly instated Waseca County Assessor Brock Nelson, who took office July 11, seems born and bred for the position. Point one: He comes from a Waseca family closely associated with real estate....

JUST BUSINESS - After Mayor Rob Wilkening found boxes of Waldorf Days shirts during the tour of Gidgets, he decided to buy one. Owner Bridget Gehring processed his transaction mid-speech. Pioneer photo by Michael Roy

BEST for last

As Waseca County’s fastest growing community, Janesville provided a dynamic last stop for the Business and Entrepreneurial Support Team (BEST) on Wednesday, August 10. At the start of the tour in city hall, BEST member Bob Hoffman asked Community Development Director Marley Rohwer about the town’...

Horses in the back

HORSES IN THE ROUND - Jack Kuhns, 13, found himself surrounded by horses seeking his attention Sunday afternoon when he stepped briefly into their pasture. Quarter horses Blondie, Samika and Roxy and Percherons Bonnie, Legend, and their foal James, all stood by awaiting their turn. The horses are...

Waseca lemonade stand

SERVING - Alice Hunt, Logyn Gifford, Tala Schaal, Ronan Gifford, Alayna Gifford, and Kiara Carlson manned a lemonade stand on the corner near Charter Oaks Apartments on the north side of Loon Lake from 2 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The kids plan on using the money for activities such as going to the...