The Redwood County Sheriff’s Office released the names of the two gentlemen killed in the fatal motor vehicle accident on Saturday February 22nd. The single motor vehicle crash, according to the Redwood County Sheriff’s Office occurred near the intersection of County Highway 15 and Jade Avenue. The driver has been identified as 49 years old Curtis Wille, from Lamberton and his passenger 75-year-old Duane Waldriff of Lamberton. The crash remains under investigation.
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Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office reported 36 calls in the week of February 16th to February 22nd. Deputies conducted 15 Civil Processes, had 2 driving complaints , 2 Public Assists, and 1 Traffic Stop. A full listing of all calls in the Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office Weekly Citizens Report is available on KDOM’s Website by clicking the link below.
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Windom Area Chamber Director Darci Jones recently was honored with earning the “Member Mover” award from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Executives. Congratulations on taking your community businesses to the next level Darci.
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It’s the season of cougar sightings and legends of their destruction. According to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Regional Wildlife Manager Joseph Stangel, it is hard to say how many sightings are seen in a typical year, as they can only talk about verified sightings. Stangel went onto say there are a lot of misidentifications which most commonly turn out to be domestic house cats, bobcats or non-recognizable animals due to photo quality. Sightings according to Stangel are common from across the Region, there are no notable concentrated areas. The DNR website has a fantastic link to a cougar page with interactive maps. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/cougar/index.html. DNR Fish and Wildlife Area Manager, Brian Nyborg did state there was a report of a dead calf in early January near Mountain Lake and they had a trail camera pictures of a cougar in November near Sulem Lake. Nyborg stated reports aren’t that common but with more people having trail cameras they do get decent pictures and verified sightings. Stangel stated if a person that witnessed the cougar contact their nearest Area Wildlife Office, Conservation Officer, or the information center at 888-MINNDNR with information such as location and any evidence collected such as pictures of an animal or tracks. Once a cougar is sited, Stangle said Area Wildlife Staff take down information provided, verify, and then forward verifications to the Furbearer Research Biologist and Large Carnivore Specialist for Statewide tracking then Stangle went onto say, these animals tend thus far to be transient in nature and often can be tracked across the landscape as people witness them. It is extremely rare to encounter a cougar in the wild and he encouraged everyone to check out their Cougar page on the DNR website.
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Turkey hunting licenses are on sale March 1
Turkey hunters can purchase their licenses for the spring 2025 season starting Saturday, March 1. Licenses may be purchased online (mndnr.gov/buyalicense), by telephone at 888-665-4236 or in person wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold. Hunters can hunt statewide and buy licenses for any time period (A-F) over the counter.
Hunters will be asked which permit area they plan to hunt, so hunters are advised to know that information when they buy their license. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will use this information for research purposes to help inform management of the state’s turkey population. Importantly, hunters who identify their permit area when purchasing their license will not be restricted to hunting in only that area.
Season dates and hunt rules can be found on the Minnesota DNR’s turkey hunting webpage (mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey). Permits for firearms hunters 18 and older to hunt the popular Carlos Avery or Whitewater wildlife management areas in the A season were distributed already by lottery. The lottery application deadline was Feb. 21 and results are available on the turkey hunting webpage (mndnr.gov/hunting/turkey) of the DNR website. While a license is required for all seasons, hunters do not need a permit to hunt Carlos Avery or Whitewater WMAs during the B, C, D, E or F seasons. In addition, this year a permit will no longer be required for firearms hunters during any season to hunt Mille Lacs WMA, but a license is still required.