News

A transmission line equipment failure caused the Sherburn area power outage Saturday, November 6 at 8 p.m. for an hour. About 600 Federated members lost power who were served by the Manyaska substation and are residents of the City of Sherburn and the surrounding area. Federated crews determined it was an ITC transmission line outage. ITC found a failed lightning arrestor on its transmission. The line with the fault was isolated by ITC staff and power to the substation was restored at 8:53 p.m. “This substation, since it was acquired from Alliant in 2015, is at a different voltage than Federated’s [...]

A man from Minnesota was arrested Sunday after a high-speed pursuit through Clay and Dickinson counties. The Spencer Police Department says 31-year-old Shawn Gaston of Fairmont is facing charges of eluding, possession of a firearm by a felon and several drug charges. Authorities say the pursuit began at about 1 p.m. when Spencer Police and Clay County Deputies stopped an SUV in Spencer. When officers approached the vehicle, it reportedly fled the scene leading officers on a pursuit through Spencer. The pursuit continued out of Spencer with speeds exceeding 100 mph, eventually ending in the area west of Milford. Authorities say [...]

At 2:40 p.m. Wednesday there was train derailment near Cargill and the Martin County Fairgrounds on the west side of Fairmont.  Traffic is shut down northbound at Bixby corner (CR 26/190th Ave) and shut down southbound at 130th St/190th Ave. Traffic is being re-routed near this area. Businesses to the north of the railroad tracks were being evacuated as a precaution. Initial reports indicated four cars derailed with no reports of injuries. (Listener provided photos)

MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is hosting two open houses to share information on the Highway 263 project from I-90 to Ceylon, which is planned for 2022 construction. Community members are invited to attend on either Tuesday, October 26 from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Welcome American Legion (112 Dugan Street North, Welcome), or Wednesday, October 27 from 5 – 7 p.m. at Legends II (103 East Main Street, Ceylon). For those unable to attend, materials will be available on the project website: mndot.gov/d7/projects/hwy263ceylon/ No formal presentation is planned, and attendees are welcome to arrive anytime. Staff will [...]

Fairmont residents are invited to another "Conversations With The City" on Thursday, October 21st from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the SMEC Building, 115 Park Street In Fairmont. The event will be held downstairs in Room 012. Fairmont City Staff will be answering your questions and listening to your concerns. All citizens are invited to attend.  Public notice is also given that there will be an informational meeting on Monday, October 25th at 3:30 p.m. in the Fairmont City Hall Council Chambers. This will be a public meeting where a Minnesota State Building Code Official will present information on the State [...]

The Fairmont Police Department is asking the public to call the Minnesota Arson Hotline with any information about the structure fire that occurred in the restrooms at Veterans Park in Fairmont on or about September 20th. Callers can remain anonymous. You can also submit a tip online at the Fairmont PD website under the "Contact Us" tab.   The Minnesota Chapter of thee International Association of Arson Investigation is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of and conviction of the offender or offenders through the Minnesota Arson Reward Project. The phone number for the [...]

(JACKSON, MN) — Federated Rural Electric, Jackson, recently presented a donation totaling $7,500 to both the Jackson County Fair Board and the Martin County Fair Board. Federated took advantage of matching funds from two organizations to triple the impact. “Federated donated $2,500, then secured matching funds from CoBank’s Sharing Success Program and Basin Electric Cooperative,” stated Federated’s General Manager Scott Reimer. “Cooperatives are concerned about their local communities; we saw this as a way to help each organization with improvements and maintenance at their county fairgrounds. The Covid pandemic impacted fairs as they were either downsized or cancelled, yet aging buildings [...]

Martin County Humane Society will be holding their annual Walk For Animals fundraiser this Sunday, September 12 at Cedar Creek Park in Fairmont. The walk will be from 2 to 3 p.m. with two different lengths to walk offered. You are welcome to walk with or without your dog. After the walk, and new to this year's event, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. there will be a family Carnival with a bouncy house and games offered.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for Kossuth, Emmet, Lyon, and Palo Alto counties as the result of recent severe weather. It allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from recent storms and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program for qualifying residents, along with the Disaster Case Management Program. Residents of the impacted counties are also asked to report damage to help local and state officials get a better handle on the magnitude. That can be done online at homelandsecurity.iowa.gov. An application form and more information on the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program [...]

Fairmont, Minnesota – The city of Fairmont’s official population is 10,487, according to the 2020 decennial census conducted by the United States Census Bureau. The census is taken every ten years and provides vital statistics data for communities and their economies. It was estimated in 2019 that Fairmont’s population would decrease by about six percent. The official count of 10,487 is only a 1.6 per cent decrease from Fairmont’s 2010 population of 10,666. This is a positive result for the community because it shows the community is stable and hoping to grow. The State of Minnesota categorizes cities based on their [...]