danbrookens

Maday Family Farms traces its history to Joseph Peter Maday who was born in 1838. Joseph and his wife, Josephine and their two children came to America in 1881. The family settled on a farm in Cook County, Ill., in 1886 and three years later moved to Silver Lake Township in Martin County. In the following years, eight more children were added to the family. After generations of the family farmed in Martin County, Joseph Peter’s great-great-grandson, Louis Malcom Maday, farmed the family’s land with his wife, Marvis and their 17 children: Barbara, Richard, Thomas, Marsha, Jeanne, Dianne, Mary Pat, David, [...]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota farmer is accused of making $46 million by passing off chemically treated corn and soybeans as organically grown. James Clayton Wolf was charged July 7 in federal court with felony wire fraud. Prosecutors say Wolf falsely labeled crops grown on his rural Cottonwood County farm as organic and that he defrauded grain buyers and undermined the nation’s organic labeling system. Organic crops are grown from non-GMO seeds and without chemicals or fertilizers. They generate higher prices at market than non-organic crops. Organic crop certification is controlled by the federal National Organic Program, run by the U.S. [...]

A two-car collision Friday night on I-90 east of Fairmont claimed the life of a Granada man. 72 year-old Gary Roland Peterson of Granada was driving eastbound on I-90 in Rutland Township when his 1998 Buick Riviera collided with a 2016 Chevy Cruze, also eastbound, driven by 45 year-old Gerald Louis Stephan of Forest City, Iowa. Peterson, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered fatal injuries in the crash at mile marker 106 in Rutland Township. Stephan, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to Mayo Clinic Health System Fairmont with what the State Patrol termed non-life threatening injuries. [...]

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) confirmed an emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation in the City of Fairmont – City staff identified ash trees on the Heritage Acres site off Lake Avenue that appeared to be dead or dying. Upon investigation it was apparent that these trees had become infested with EAB. Photos were sent to the MDA for confirmation that same day.   There are several things residents should look for when checking for emerald ash borer: · Be sure you’ve identified an ash tree. This is an important first step since EAB only feeds on ash trees. Ash have [...]

A Bricelyn man was killed in a three-vehicle accident Tuesday on I-90 east of Blue Earth. John William Brooks, 80, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened just after 5 p.m. in Blue Earth City Township. The Minnesota State Patrol report says Brooks was eastbound in a 1978 Chevy Nova that was hit by a Ford F-150 pickup, also eastbound. The pickup was driven by Joel Luther Robinson, 36, of Wells. The crash report says after being struck, the Chevy Nova then crossed the centerline and collided with a westbound Winnebago motorhome. Chad Ryan Yarrington, 44, of [...]

On Saturday at 9:12 a.m. local emergency personnel were dispatched to a report of a vehicle that had struck railroad signals at the State Street crossing in Fairmont. The driver of the vehicle, 57 year-old Larry Allen Gronbach of Fairmont, had apparently suffered a medical issue and lost control of the pickup truck he was driving. The northbound truck struck the crossing arm equipment, then crossed the opposite lanes of traffic before coming to rest in the ditch. Airbags were not deployed and the driver was not wearing a seat belt. Gronbach was transported to Mayo Clinic Health System Fairmont with [...]