By Robert Williams Editor Three of the five award winners at the 2026 United Way of Becker County’s Celebration of Heroes have ties to Frazee. The event honors individuals or groups who go above and beyond to make Becker County thrive.  ¶  Steve Daggett, Madison Olson and the Frazee-Vergas High School youth group My Voice is… Read More

By Robert Williams Editor The City of Vergas Energy and Resilience Action Plan began in 2023 and has reached a full-circle moment with its completion, according to Mayor Julie Bruhn. As part of the plan’s creation, the city completed a round of assessments, including municipal building energy usage and energy efficiency tests via Otter Tail Power. The… Read More

By Chad Koenen Publisher A lack of qualified pharmacists is forcing the closure of three area pharmacies in the region.   Seip Drug Store will be closing its doors in Henning, Bertha and New York Mills on Friday, May 8 after owner Nathan Seip said he was unable to hire enough pharmacists to keep the rural pharmacies… Read More

By Robert Williams Editor Members of the Pickleball Committee, city officials, major donor representatives and enthusiasts of the sport met at the site of the new courts to break ground on the coming construction on Thursday, April 23. Frazee Area Community Club President Tom Watson spoke about the successful fundraising campaign, the positive effect the pickleball courts… Read More

By Robert Williams Editor Last year, the Frazee City Council and City Administrator Stephanie Poegel agreed to begin quarterly check-ins together to discuss how the council can aid the city office and vice versa. “There is a lot going on,” Poegel said. “There is.” The discussion took up over half of the 67-minute city council meeting on Wednesday,… Read More

Volunteers needed for 7,200-tree planting project By Robert Williams Editor In March, Polly Andersen, President of the Frazee Community Development Corporation (FCDC), and Greg Ness presented a draft brand handbook for Wannigan Regional Park. A new official logo for the park was unveiled and discussed Wednesday, April 22, at the latest Frazee City Council meeting. The logo… Read More

Becker County sheriff, staff still seeking answers for families By Matthew Johnson Reporter The evening of April 3, 1976, was one that family members of Bernard Rusness, his common law wife Peggy McKay and their eight-year-old son Brian Rusness will never forget. Late that evening around 11 p.m. the family’s recently remodeled, two-story farmhouse southwest of Wolf… Read More

Land sale offer north of Wannigan Park declined By Robert Williams Editor Becker County Commissioners held a public hearing before considering adopting a Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF) ordinance on Tuesday, April 21. A Local Housing Trust Fund provides a flexible, locally controlled funding source that can be used to address various housing needs and leverage state… Read More

By Eleanor Steffen Report for Minnesota The Minnesota House appears likely to support legislation to classify electric motorcycles known as “e-motos” as different from bicycles and to ban their use on sidewalks.  The push for the change comes in part from what happened to Janet Stotko on a summer evening in 2024. Stotko was on a walk in… Read More

By Shay Scanlan Report for Minnesota Amid soaring insurance premiums, relief may be on the horizon for Minnesota public school employees in the coming years through a proposed statewide insurance pool. Educators are calling on the Legislature to establish the pool, saying they are forced to delay healthcare, choose between livable salaries and affordable coverage, or, in some… Read More