Benning Printing & Publishing

by Trinity Gruenberg trinity@inhnews.com The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on Tuesday, August 4. Groundwater Monitoring at Wadena County Landfill Alex Puetz from Barr Engineering presented to commissioners information about groundwater monitoring at the Wadena County demolition landfill where he has worked for about six years. Groundwater is essential for drinking water and flows underground from areas of higher elevation to lower elevation. Becaus

Filing for municipal and school board candidacy was held Tuesday, July 14 through Tuesday, July 28. The general election will be held on November 3. The following are filings for cities, townships and school boards in Wadena County. Aldrich Mayor: Vanessa Waldahl. Council Member: Faye Baugh. Special Election for City Clerk: No candidates filed. City Treasurer: No candidates filed. Bluffton Mayor: No candidates filed. Council Member (Elect 2): No candidates filed. Dee

by Trinity Gruenberg trinity@inhnews.com The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 21. Initiative Foundation Celebrates 40 Years in Wadena County Vice President Carl Newbanks mentioned that since 1986 the Initiative Foundation has provided 80 loans totaling $3.3 million. These loans have helped create or keep 959 jobs. The foundation steps in to help fund projects when banks can’t cover everything. In 2025, they gave out 33 grants worth ab

by Trinity Gruenberg trinity@inhnews.com The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on July 14. Capital Projects County Administrator Colleen Winter discussed upcoming county building projects over the next five years. Some of the items on the agenda included: approved ADA ramps at the courthouse, modernizing the courthouse elevator to meet state code by around 2028, upgrading the long-delayed courthouse bathrooms, especially the downstairs ones that don’t

United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced that five defendants were collectively sentenced to over 500 months of imprisonment for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking case out of Wadena County. The following individuals were sentenced: Robert Joseph Anderson, 40, of Wadena, 132 months for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; Aaron Thomas Heifort, 30, of Clitherall, 122 months for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; Bill J

Recent detections of the North Central skunk variant of the rabies virus in cattle from Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, have prompted this notification. Rabies cases in livestock are relatively infrequent. However, they serve as indicators of active rabies virus transmission between skunk reservoirs and livestock within agricultural communities. This indicates ongoing circulation of the North Central skunk variant across the Upper Midwest. While rabid cattle have been de

by Trinity Gruenberg trinity@inhnews.com The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 7. Commissioner Murlyn Kreklau was absent. ADA Entrance Project The county board approved a modified design for an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)–compliant entrance on the north side of the courthouse, choosing to keep an existing pine tree and drop a previously discussed connection to the annex. The project will add the new entrance ramp on the north

The Wadena County Sheriff’s Department and the Wadena Police Department announced a community notification for a Level Three Sex Offender moving within the community. Convicted sexual and predatory offenders have always been released to live in our communities and law enforcement has the ability to register and track these offenders after their release from correctional facilities. The notification is regarding registered predatory offender Alex Jeffrey Wolters, 38, who rec

Farmers Union Processing + Meats opened for business June 2 in Staples. The more than 10,000-square-foot meat processing facility slaughters cattle and hogs. The facility is available for custom-exempt processing and is working toward gaining USDA certification in July. “We are proud to be part of the Staples community and look forward to working with farmers to process their livestock locally and provide them with a high-quality product they can take home and enjoy,” sai

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