Miss Lake Benton will be crowned next week

Tiffany Rouge and Jayla Prosch

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com

A new Miss Lake Benton will be crowned Wednesday, June 13 at The Country House. Three can­didates, all high school juniors, are vying for the title this year— Adrianna Johnson, Jayla Prosch and Tiffany Rouge. The three contestants will be judged based on their written essay, a one-on-one interview with the judges, and their individual talent per­formance. The private event is sponsored by the Lake Benton Chamber of Commerce and other area business sponsors. We are pleased to introduce these candi­dates to you here.

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

Adrianna Johnson

Lake Benton Yard of the Week

Congratulations to Lois and Corliss Kock at 101 S. Harrison St. Their yard was chosen as the Yard of the Week. A new yard will be selected each week throughout the summer, until Labor Day, so get out the rakes and trimmers and make your yard shine.

City of Lake Benton will repay the EDA loan early

Dave Lueck, pictured far left, was on hand to speak to the City Council about a partial reimbursement of the licensing fees paid by the Lake Benton Bar one month before it was sold.

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com

The Lake Benton City Coun­cil met Monday, June 4 for their regular meeting. Dave Lueck, former owner of the Lake Ben­ton Bar, was on hand to request a partial refund for the various city-issued licenses for the bar. Lueck thanked the city, espe­cially City Adminstrator/Clerk Eileen Christensen, for all the extra work she put into the tran­sition process and Trustee Daryl Schlapkohl for his help. “They made the transition to the new ownership very smooth and we really appreciate that,” Lueck stated. Lueck then explained that the bar was sold only one month after the licenses had been renewed and the new own­ers also paid licensing fees to the city. After discussion, it was de­cided that the city would reim­burse $800 of the $1,030 licens­ing fees.

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

Steve Simon visited Tyler to present the Economic and Business Conditions report

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon visited LincolnCounty last week, Tuesday, May 29, to talk about the economic and business conditions of south­west Minnesota. He met with Tyler City Administrator Robert Wolfington, Tyler Mayor Greg Peter, and Lonnie Lambertus of Tyler Regional Economic Devel­opment (TRED) at the Tyler Fire Hall. Simon said he makes an an­nual visit to all the counties in southwest Minnesota.
During the meeting, Simon presented the Southwest Min­nesota Economic and Business Conditions Report, Fourth Quar­ter 2017…

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

SWSHH is concerned with improving health for adults age 55 and older

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com
Part II
Southwest Health and Human Services (SWHHS) recently met with Lincoln County residents concerning healthcare for those 55 and older. They conducted focus groups and key informant interviews in Ivanhoe, Tyler, Lake Benton, and Hendricks, focusing on the topics of active living, healthy eating and tobacco-free living. The discussion findings were recently released. Part two of the results are summarized here.
Many of the questions were focused on the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP)…

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

LBPD encourages community members to properly dispose of grass clippings

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com

The Lake Benton Police Department (LBPD) pre­sented a report at the June 4 City Council meeting.
The LBPD recognizes that vehicles traveling northbound on Highway 75 coming into Lake Ben­ton are speeding. This has been an ongoing problem, and several attempts to deal with the problem have been tried. Police Chief Tony Sievert has looked into installing an automatic radar speed limit sign, but it is not cost-effective to do so…

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

A walk through nature with the Lake Benton Library

The Lake Benton Public Library partnered with the Minnesota Zoo to host a nature walk at the Hole-in-the-Mountain Preserve. Kids and adults learned about local wildlife, plant life, and bug life. Butterfly Conservation Associate Emily Royer is pictured showing the kids in the group different flowers that can be found in Minnesota prairies by using the Prairie Flower ID Guide.

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com

The Lake Benton Public Library partnered with the Minnesota Zoo to give lo­cals an opportunity to not only enjoy local nature, but to also understand its importance. On Saturday, June 2, the library hosted a nature walk in Lake Ben­ton’s backyard, Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie Pre­serve.
Participants in the walk learned about Minnesota’s native plant, animal, and insect species which can be found in the prairie…

For the full story and more photos, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

Berg spoke about the lost but not forgotten at Memorial Day Service

The Men of Grace opened the service with “The Star Spangled Banner” then sang “God Bless America” and “Lord’s Prayer” during the program.

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com

Lake Benton’s Henry Sollie Post No. 10 of the American Le­gion hosted the annual Veterans Memorial Service on Monday, May 28 at the Lake Benton Op­era House. The service began at 9:30 a.m. with Raph Johnson and Caedmon Bressler welcoming guests and handing out poppies and programs.
Post Commander Chuck De­Bates greeted the audience and introduced the honored guests…

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

The Reverend Bruce Berg spoke about serving in the Navy. He spoke about the many military personnel who did not come home. He stated that “there are still more than 82,000 military personnel Missing in Action in conflicts since WWII.”

Eight decades of fishing

Don Kuhn of Tyler has been fishing for eight decades.

By Richard Siemers

Fishing season opened on Saturday, May 12, and there was no question what Don Kuhn would be doing that day.
“It was cold and windy but my son (Bryan) and I fished and had good luck,” Don said. “I wore my snowmobile suit.”
There was no way he could stay home on fishing opener.

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.

Music Fest dancers come back for the dancing, fellowship and fun

The dance floor filled quickly as people of all ages from 22 different states gathered to enjoy polka and other music genres at the 24th annual Music Fest held on the Olsen Farm.

By Shelly Finzen
lbvjeditor@gmail.com

The 24th annual Music Fest was held at the Larry Olsen Farm over Memorial Day weekend. This year’s festival included a few minor changes, but, accord­ing to Brenda Olsen, the event was a success.
Brenda estimated that 1,500 people, from 22 different states, attended Music Fest this year. People came from as far away as California and as close as Lake Benton…

For the full story, read this week’s Lake Benton Valley Journal.