danbrookens

Monday night the Fairmont City Council voted unanimously to approve the hire of Matt Skaret as the new City Administrator.  Skaret has been serving as the City Administrator for the City of Jackson, Minnesota, where he has been in the position since 2018. Prior to this, he served as the City Manager/EDA Director for the City of Springfield, Minnesota, for nearly four years, as the City Clerk/Administrator for the City of Milford, Iowa for four and a half years, and as the City Manager for the City of Madison, Minnesota, for over three years. Skaret holds a bachelor's degree in Political [...]

The Martin County Sheriff's Office, in a press release, announced on Thursday that they have submitted evidence to the BCA Laboratory in St. Paul. Through the help of the BCA, they discovered an unknown DNA sample from the murder scene of Sherburn resident JoAnn Bontjes, which occurred on October 3, 1975. They are currently in the process of trying to determine whose DNA this is. Martin County Sheriff's Office has announced multiple DNA samples have been collected from various individuals, with none of their profiles matching the new DNA sample profile. If you have any information regarding the murder of JoAnn [...]

A third defendant connected to a lengthy investigation involving several former Armstrong , Iowa, city leaders has pled guilty to charges. Online court records show Connie Thackery was originally charged with second and third degree theft, along with ongoing criminal conduct and non-felonious misconduct in February 2021 after an investigation by the State of Iowa found a number of irregularities during an investigation into the city’s finances. Thackery, who served as Armstrong City Clerk until retiring in 2016, submitted a written guilty plea last month as part of a plea deal and is scheduled for sentencing Thursday, May 2nd. Two other [...]

The Schmeeckle Foundation recently approved fourteen grants totaling $394,013 to support initiatives in Martin County, Minnesota. This now brings the total investment into Martin County by the Schmeeckle Foundation to over $5,500,000. These grants support the Schmeeckle Foundation’s three core focus areas: early childhood care and education, serving the disabled and elderly, and promoting the arts. The Schmeeckle Foundation is a private family foundation serving Martin County, Minnesota. Its mission is to carry on the legacy of long-time Martin County resident, Juanita Ellen (Teubner) Schmeeckle, to provide grants for the betterment of Martin County. The recent award recipients are: $15,000 to [...]

This weekend, ten members of the Fairmont Speech Team competed at the Southern District National Qualifying Tournament for Speech hosted by Woodbury and Eagan High School in the Twin Cities. Fairmont Freshman Leon Yang was the Champion in Humorous Interpretation and qualified for the national tournament. Fairmont Juniors Grace Simpson and Oliver Thedens placed 3rd in Duo Interpretation and qualified for the national tournament. Fairmont Junior Grace Simpson placed 4th in Dramatic Interpretation and qualified for the national tournament. Grace Simpson elected to take Duo Interpretation with Oliver Thedens as the NSDA only allows for a student to take one main [...]

Fairmont High School Robotics/The MegaHertz - Team 2847 competed in a field of 55 teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Lake Superior Regional Robotics Competition in Duluth Feb. 28th through March 2nd. Team 2847 finished qualification rounds on Saturday with a 6-2 record and a rank of 8th among the 55 teams participating. During the alliance selection process, the team moved up to become the team captain for the sixth alliance in play-off rounds choosing Team 930 - The Mukwonago Bears from Mukwonago, WI, and 5914 - The Robotic Warriors from Caledonia, MN, as their alliance partners. The team lost [...]