News

Christian Huntington Cully walks as Molly Johnson, behind, waves.

Class of '26 graduates 55

They stood together for the final time. One by one, they walked out into the world. The 55 members of the NRHEG class of 2026 graduated Sunday afternoon in a packed high school gymnasium in New Richland. Principal Grant Berg got the show rolling quickly as he said the day was...

FREEDOM - The Waseca Exchange Club gathered on May 27 at the WHS to dedicate a “freedom shrine” display. The display is on a wall near the west entrance, across from the school’s performing arts center. Pioneer photo by Deb Bently

Freedom Shrine dedicated at WJSHS

Members of the Waseca Exchange Club gathered at the Waseca Junior Senior High School the evening of May 27 for two purposes. The first was to dedicate a “freedom shrine,” a display of photograph quality reproductions of numerous documents pivotal to the founding and establishing of the United...

CELEBRATING SUCCESS - The Waseca teachers’ education association banquet celebrated staff members in the Waseca school system. Here, teachers (from left) Olivia Marth, Brenda Nelson, Amanda Anenson, Anthony Scheid, Claire Duncan and Katie Kasendorf show certificates indicating they have been with the district for 10 years. Pioneer photos by Deb Bently

Waseca teachers celebrate awards, accomplishments

The Waseca teachers’ education association banquet at The Mill the evening of May 27 celebrated accomplishments, anniversaries and retirements among staff members in the Waseca school system. Teachers named Association member Jake Nelson as their “Teacher of the Year.” Nelson graduated...

INCH BY INCH, ROW BY ROW - Above, workers at Cedar Crate Farm perform various tasks in the business's three-acre garden. Pioneer photos by Deb Bently

Cedar Crate Farms

“Everybody has that one crop they’re excited about,” speculates Dan Zimmerli, who, with his wife Lara, owns and operates Cedar Crate Farms not far from Waldorf. Since 2015, the couple has grown vegetables in a garden which has come to be three acres in size and include six “tunnels,” round-...

PROUD GRADUATES - The Janesville Waldorf Pemberton (JWP) graduating class of 2026 turned their tassels at graduation on the evening of Friday, May 22. JWP Principal David Rysdam gave opening remarks. Pioneer photos by Ben Revermann

JWP graduates the class of 2026

The Janesville Waldorf Pemberton (JWP) 2026 high school graduation ceremony took place the evening of Friday, May 22. The processional was “Pomp and Circumstance” and the graduates certainly had plenty of both as they made their way down the aisle. After the national anthem, Principal David...

REMEMBERING THE BRAVE - The Waseca community gathered for a Memorial Day program on Monday, May 25. Pioneer photo by Deb Bently

Waseca honors Memorial Day

About 200 people attended a 9 a.m. Memorial Day program on the lawn of the Waseca County Courthouse. During his speech, Minnesota Legislative District 19B Representative and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Tom Sexton made reference to a reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address given by...

HEARTFELT THANKS - Honorees Waseca county Sheriff Jay Dulas, left, and City of Waseca police sergeant Tim Schroeder were celebrated as the 2026 Waseca Exchange Club Law Enforcement Officers of the Year. Pioneer photo by Deb Bently

Law enforcement awards feature humor, gratitude

Humor and heartfelt thanks combined to acknowledge the contributions of the 2026 Waseca Exchange Club Law Enforcement Officers of the Year, honorees Waseca County Sheriff Jay Dulas and City of Waseca police sergeant Tim Schroeder. In a 30-minute ceremony attended by an estimated 75 people, six...

State appropriates $10 million for water upgrades

At the Waseca city council meeting the evening of May 19, State Representative Tom Sexton shared that during the just-finished state legislative session, the city of Waseca was appropriated nearly $10 million to meet ongoing water concerns: $8.9 million toward the cost of alleviating “inflow and...

FLAG BEARERS - Allen Kopetzki was one of 20 volunteers at the Avenue of Flags installation at the Woodville Cemetery on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

Volunteers install Avenue of the Flags

The Avenue of Flags was put up at the Woodville Cemetery the afternoon of Tuesday, May 19. Various groups contributed to the project: the Sons of the American Legion (SAL), the American Legion Riders (ALR), and the American Legion Auxiliary. Close to 20 people volunteered to put up a total of...

County Board considers trail, construction

During their meeting the morning of May 19, members of the Waseca County Board of Commissioners welcomed Freeborn County public works director Phil Wacholz, who provided an update regarding the planned regional Songbird Trail, slated to someday provide walking or biking passage from Albert Lea to...