Tamara Gruhot

The Steele County Historical Society’s Dan Moeckly tells us about Henry “Hank” Hartwig, who owned some of Owatonna’s first auto dealerships, and this automotive mechanic’s service coat. Hartwig, a lifelong Steele County resident, first operated Paige Motors, then H...

Loren Dahle of Morristown explains the different uses and unique features of the walking plows in the Rice County Historical Society’s collection. Some are breaking plows, used for breaking up the sod and others are more general purpose. They all would have been pulled by oxen or horses...

Longtime Owatonna doctor John McIntyre had a tumultuous early life and served on the front lines in Europe during World War I. After the war ended in 1918, he stayed in France, continuing his studies until he was discharged from the Army in 1919...

The Minnesota Department of Corrections says an offender at the Lino Lakes Minnesota Corrections Facility has taken control of a white 2011 Ford van, license plate number 937 EPJ. Multiple offenders are reported to be in the vehicle; five offenders are at large...

Do you know James Otis of Waterville? Or where Otis is now? If so, contact your local law enforcement agency. They're looking for him. Last night (5/24), a Waseca County homeowner reported a man pounding on the door and asking to borrow tools for a flat tire, according to a press release from the Waseca County Sheriff's Office...

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, every last one of them a public treasure. And we love them. We fish (year-round!), we boat, we ski, we sail, we swim, we dive, we splash, we skate. What we don't like is to see them covered in algae, their waters muddied by pollution and trash...

Yesterday, the Owatonna Fire Department created a large-scale crash scene to practice their rescue training. Members of the Owatonna Police Department and Gold Cross also participated, as did Dean's Towing and Owatonna Bus Co. Kelly Hanson, the Fire Department's training coordinator, said the department conducts an training exercise involving a large-scale accident or major disaster every year...

Earlier this month, Daniel Moravec of Faribault hit the jackpot. The Gopher 5 jackpot. Moravec matched the second line of his two-line quick-pick ticket for the May 3 Gopher 5 drawing, winning $130,000. When he claimed his prize at the Roseville office on May 5, he told the Minnesota Lottery, "I’m still in shock; it’s just starting to seem real...

Sue Garwood shares a rare Plains Indian art ledger that is part of the Rice County Historical Society’s collection. Because of its fragile nature, this piece is not displayed and few people have seen it before. New episodes featuring Rice and Steele county history are posted to the KRFO-AM YouTube channel and krforadio...

Remember the uproar over the news that Minnesotans might not be able to board airplanes or enter federal facilities with just their state-issued driver's license? Well, you can rest easy because lawmakers have passed a bill to bring the state into compliance with the federal Real ID Act...