The Minnesota Department of Transportation has completed work on a multi-year project on I-35 in Hinckley. According to a MnDOT press release on Wednesday morning, the project replaced the northbound and southbound Grindstone River Bridge and the bridges over the BNSF railroad located just over a mile north of the Highway 48 junction. The work also resurfaced just over 3 miles of I-35, and the Highway 48 on- and off-ramps. According to the project website, the work cost $25.6

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is cautioning residents of east-central Minnesota that fire danger is predicted to increase over the next few days. As fall continues, dry vegetation and falling leaves increase, which help fuel wildfires. Information officer Philip Weyhe said the DNR has responded to over 20 fires during the last week. "Wildfires can start and spread quickly, especially in dry, windy conditions," Weyhe said in an email. According to DNR wildfire

The Pine County Sheriff's Office rescued a driver from a vehicle submerged in a creek on Saturday, Nov. 8. According to the citation summary, the incident occurred just before 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of Beroun Crossing Road and Contrast Road. On Thursday, Sheriff Jeff Nelson explained that dispatch received an auto-call from a vehicle with a crash detection triggered. "The female driver was reporting that the water was up over her lap," Nelson said. "She couldn't get

The Pine City Council voted to move forward with applying for grant funding for a Housing & Redevelopment Authority project to rehabilitate the Hillside Court Apartments property at last week's meeting. "As you're well aware, that property, Hillside Court, has some foundation issues," said economic development coordinator Lezlie Sauter. Sauter explained that the HRA was notified that it was not awarded grant funding through the Publicly Owned Housing Program at the end of Sep

With the page slowly turning on 2025, East Central Regional Library executive director Carla Lydon was an open book in sharing highlights and challenges from the library system in an interview last week. "It's been quite a year," said Lydon, who has been in the position since 2017. Lydon said ECRL started 2025 with a new strategic plan, and progress on those goals included a growing readers program piloted by the Mora Public Library. The program connects a student in grades 1