State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl announced Tuesday that 2007 fire deaths in Minnesota reached a new record low of 40, a number which breaks the previous lows of 41 deaths in 2005 and 1987. It continues a downward trend in fire fatalities in Minnesota and across the country — a trend that Rosendahl attributes to code enforcement, public education, fire investigation, new technology and firefighter training.

“In the past 30 years, annual fire deaths have plunged from 125 to 40 because of several factors that impact each other,” he says.

Q: Snakes occasionally can be spotted sunning themselves on driveways. Should property owners be concerned?

A: The most numerous snake in Minnesota is the common garter snake, which is harmless. The appearance of unwanted snakes is usually due to cracks or holes in concrete structures. These spaces provide warm places for the snake to spend the winter. When spring returns, the snakes reappear outside.

Lyle Keehn, 54, passed away Saturday, May 9 at the Hutchinson Community Hospital. Interment will be private. Cremation is being handled by Hughes Funeral Home in Hector.

Mario Arturo Lopez Espejel, 53, died May 4, 2008 in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. A memorial service will be at St. Philip's Catholic Church in Litchfield on Friday. Visitation is from 7-8 p.m. with parish prayers at 8 p.m.

Matt Bergmann knows the value of extracurricular activities for students.

He also knows nothing is guaranteed to be spared when the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City School Board has to make cuts to emerge from and stay out of statutory operating debt.

“At ACGC, we believe that strong extracurriculars are a vital part of offering an overall education for our students. It is a supplement to the classroom and promotes learning as an extension of the school day,” said Bergmann, ACGC’s athletic director.

The Litchfield boys tennis team will be the No. 3 seed in the Section 5A Tournament, which gets under way at 4 p.m. May 15.

Litchfield will play No. 6 Fridley at Litchfield High School.

Other first-round matchups includ No. 8 Minneapolis North at No. 1 Breck, No. 5 Brooklyn Center at No. 4 Becker, and No. 7 Columbia Heights at No. 2 Providence Academy.

The section semifinals are slated for 4 p.m. May 19.

The finals will be played at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

A pair of third-place finishes at the Wright County Conference finale May 12 at Timber Creek Golf Club were good enough for the Litchfield girls golf team to win the league title.

Litchfield finished the season with 1,879 strokes, while second-place Waconia was 43 strokes back.

Delano, Mound-Westonka, Orono, Annandale, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Dassel-Cokato and Watertown-Mayer rounded out the standings.

Mound-Westonka's Amy Miller was the top individual scorer in the WCC.

Kristen Solbrack, Katlyn Kiehn, Kayla Sommerfeld and Karin Hansen were all-conference for the Dragons.

Meeker County Sheriff’s Office will hold a memorial service in honor of National Law Enforcement Memorial Day Thursday.

Sheriff Chaplain Jeff Garland will lead the 9:30 a.m. service in the Law Enforcement Center parking lot with past chaplain Terry Olthoff assisting.

George Saukkola, 81, of Kimball, died Sunday at his home. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Kingston. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Johnson Funeral Home in Dassel and one hour prior to the service at the church.

Theresa Morton, 74, of Le Mars, Iowa, formerly of Benson, died Friday at Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars, Iowa. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. today (Tuesday) at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in Benson with visitation one hour prior to the service.

Gladys Eckers, 85, of Litchfield, died Saturday at the Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Litchfield with visitation one hour before the service.

Linda Anderson, 63, of Litchfield, passed away Thursday at her home. Arrangements are pending with the Hantge Funeral Chapel in Darwin.

A 36-year-old man from Sartell, Minn., is dead after a head-on accident with a dump truck near Kimball Monday.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Barry Gronli of Sartell was traveling south on Minnesota Highway 15, four miles south of Kimball and one mile north of Minnesota 24, when his 2004 Oldsmobile Alero crossed into the northbound lane and struck a dump truck.

Seeding for the Section 5A-West girls softball tournament is set, with Eden Valley-Watkins the No. 10 seed and Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City the No. 5 seed.

EV-W will play at No. 7 Kimball at 4:30 p.m. May 15.

The winner of that game will play at No. 2 Osakis at 5 p.m. May 16.

ACGC will play at at No. 4 Browerville at 5 p.m. May 16.

The winner of that game would likely play No. 1 seed Maple Lake at 4 p.m. May 20 at Minnewaska Area High School.

The Litchfield Blues split a pair of weekend games, winning 7-4 Friday over Pearl Lake and losing 5-2 to Sauk Rapids-Jimmy's on Sunday.

Terry Euerle had three hits and pitched three innings in relief during Friday's win.

David Pennertz had two of the Blues' six hits Sunday.

Litchfield is 1-2 overall.

It’s been a long winter, but now birds are singing, trees are budding, and Blanding’s turtles are hungry and on the move after winter hibernation. People who spot a Blanding’s turtle are asked to contact the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Nongame Wildlife Program.

Minnesotans can celebrate a birthday 150 years in the making next week, as the state commemorates its sesquicentennial anniversary during Statehood Week May 11-18.

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota was officially admitted to the Union as the 32nd state of the United States of America.

The Sesquicentennial Convoy will leave the Capitol to travel to cities across the state for the Capitals for a Day tour from May 12-16. The cities to be visited are: Bemidji, Monday; Thief River Falls, Tuesday; Detroit Lakes, Wednesday; New Ulm, May 15; and Winona, May 16.

A Dassel man was injured Saturday afternoon when the vehicle he was driving rolled near Dassel.

Allen Ervin Vogelpohl of Dassel was driving a 1999 Ford Expedition on CSAH 18 at 4:37 p.m. when he lost control and rolled the vehicle. Vogelpohl was ejected from the vehicle. He was transported to Hutchinson Hospital and then to Hennepin County Memorial Center.

Walk down the sidewalks of Litchfield’s downtown and the city’s history looms large. Many of the historic buildings that frame the city’s main street were built as early as the 1800s.

More than 100 years later, the city’s downtown was designated a Historic Commercial District by the National Park Service and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Winning a trip to Florida is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for 11 Litchfield Middle Schoolers, they plan to take full advantage of the beaches, ocean and, of course, Disney World.

The middle school students will travel to Orlando, Fla., in July to participate in the national Family, Career and Community Leaders of America convention. The students received bids to the competition after earning the top scores at the state convention two weeks ago.

“We’re pumped. It’s really exciting,” eighth-grader Kaitlyn Johnson said.