Melvin E. Lee, 97, of Litchfield, died Tuesday at Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield. Memorial service will be Saturday at Augustana Memorial Chapel, Litchfield, at 2 p.m. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Clifford Ackerman, 86, of Atwater, died Monday at the St. Cloud Hospital. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Church of St. Patrick in Kandiyohi. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. with parish prayers at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Church of St. Patrick and will continue for one hour prior to the service on Friday. Funeral arrangements are with Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar.

It’s that time of year again. The time when we take a look at our lives and the world around us and make a promise to do better ... in whatever area of our lives or our world we think we need to improve. We have compiled a lengthy list of possible New Year’s resolutions for ourselves, but that didn’t stop us from also trying to be helpful to others. Here are a few resolutions we would like to see from others:

Ernest Peterson, 80, of Cosmos, passed away Monday at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar. Funeral service was Friday at Peace Lutheran Church in Cosmos. Arrangements with Hughes Funeral Home, Hector.

Traffic deaths fell to the lowest total in 44 years during 2008, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Ripley and Wagner elementary school will offer Family Computer Nights
beginning Jan. 13 and continuing every Tuesday evening through the end
of the school year.
Family Computer Nights will run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Lake Ripley
Elementary School computer labs. The nights are intended for families
with students at Ripley and Wagner schools who do not have internet
access or a computer in their home.
The project if funded by PACT 4 Families Collaborative.

John “Jack” H. Groskreutz, 92, of Litchfield died Thursday, Jan. 1 at Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield. Funeral will be 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Litchfield with Pastor Paul Lindhorst officiating. Interment will be held in Ripley Cemetery, Litchfield, MN. Arrangements are with Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield.

Pat Kielty,
87, of Litchfield died Saturday, Jan. 3, at Meeker Memorial Hospital in Litchfield.  Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, at Church of St.
Philip in Litchfield with Father Joe Steinbeisser and Father Al Ludwig officiating.  Visitation will continue
one hour prior to the service at the church.  Burial will be in the St. Philip Catholic Cemetery. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield is handling arrangements.

Len Kopperud, Jr., 64, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., formerly of Rushford, Richfield, and Litchfield, died suddenly on Dec. 7 in Mesa, Ariz. He is surived by his wife, Vicki; son Jon; daughters Kelli, and Kathryn. A memorial service was Dec. 12 in Fountain Hills, Ariz.

James "Jim" Carlson, 73, of Verndale, Minn., formerly of Litchfield, died Saturday at the St. Cloud Hospital. Funeral services will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield. Visitation will be Saturday from 12:30-2 p.m. at the Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Anna Mae Anderson, 74, of Litchfield, died Sunday at the Emmanuel Home in Litchfield. Memorial service will be Sunday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. at Augustana Memorial Chapel. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at Augustana Memorial Chapel. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Arlo Voigt, 82, of Litchfield, died at the Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield on Monday. Funeral arrangements are pending with Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield.

Douglas J. “Doug” Johnson, 50, of Grove City died Dec. 25, 2008, at Meeker Memorial Hospital in Litchfield. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grove City.  Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church. Interment will be in First Lutheran Cemetery in Grove City. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield is handling arrangements.

Wayne Wilfred Shoutz, 75, of Grove City passed away Saturday, Dec. 20 at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn.
Funeral was Dec. 26 at Augustana Memorial Chapel in Litchfield.

Jennifer Lynn Bergstrom, 33, died Dec. 12 after a battle with breast cancer. Funeral was Dec. 17 at Nordland Lutheran Church in rural Paynesville. Johnson and harvey Anderson Funeral Home in was in charge of arrangements.

Minnesotans, shop no more: Designated Driver Gift Cards are now available. The gift cards, distributed by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, are supporting a statewide, December-long DWI enforcement campaign. The cards serve as an informal contract for Minnesotans to give the gift of a safe lift so that special someone can avoid a holly-jolly night in jail. Designated Driver Gift Cards can also be sent electronically at www.minnesotasafeandsober.org.

Doris Mortenson, 90, of Litchfield, died Sunday at the Emmanuel Nursing Home in Litchfield. Memorial service will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Litchfield. Visitation will be Friday from 4-7 p.m. at the Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield and one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.

Clarice Midtling, 67, of Litchfield, died at her home on Friday. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Litchfield. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Monday at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Judith Elaine Beckman, 64, of Litchfield, died at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis on Friday. A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Zion Lutheran Church in Litchfield. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to the services at the church. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Sen. Steve Dille still remembers the debate that swirled around nuclear storage issues at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant near Red Wing, Minn., in the early 1990s.

Though more than a decade removed from the controversy, the Dassel Republican said it’s difficult to forget the throngs of anti-nuke protesters who filled the state Capitol and the death threats received by some of his Senate colleagues.

A little more than a week before the deadline for donations to the local Toys for Tots drive, it seems as if some area children might have to go without a gift this Christmas.

Offices at Center National Bank, headquarters to the Meeker County Toys for Tots drive, normally are becoming crowded with gifts by now. This year, the offices are noticeably roomier.

Cash donations, which last year reached $5,000, also are behind schedule, according to Loree Schultz, who coordinates the bank’s Toys for Tots efforts.

"Libby" Elizabeth L. Christopherson, 65, of Evansville, formerly of Fergus Falls, died Monday at Lake Region Hospital. A memorial service was Friday at the Life Church in Fergus Falls. Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls is in charge of arrangements.

Florence Jensen, 97, of Minnetonka, died Saturday at the Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. Funeral service was Tuesday at First Lutheran Church in Litchfield. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Rodney Junior Miller, 70, of Litchfield passed away Saturday at his home. Funeral service will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Litchfield. Visitation will be Monday from 4-7 p.m. at the United Methodist Church and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Hughes Funeral Home in Hector is in charge of arrangements.

Barbara Skeels, 54, of Colville, Wash., passed away Nov. 29, 2008 at Pinewood Nursing Home in Colville. Funeral services will be Saturday at the Danekes Funeral Home in Colville. Funeral arrangements are with the Danekas Funeral Home in Colville.

Karin Johnson, 53, Fergus Falls, died Wednesday at Lake Region Healthcare in Fergus Falls. Services will be a 1 p.m. Saturday at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 102 W. Junius, Fergus Falls, Minn. Visitation is from 5-7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home and one hour rior to the service at the church. Olson Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Fergus Falls, is in charge of arrangements.

Gertrude Johnson, 95, of Darwin, formerly of Litchfield, died Nov. 21, 2008 in the Lakeview Ranch near dDrwin. A memorial service will be in the spring. Arrangements are being handled by the Sunset funeral and Cremation Association of Echo and Wabasso.

Dorothy Kohlhoff, 85, of Litchfield, died Tuesday at her home. Funeral services will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Litchfield. Visitation will be Friday from 4-7 p.m. at Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Edwin Swanson, 78, of Cosmos, died Saturday at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis. Funeral service will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at the First Lutheran Church in rural Cosmos. Visitation will be Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. at the Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield and one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home & Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Alvin Stone, 68, of Darwin, died Nov. 23, at his home. A memorial service will be Monday at 2 p.m. at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Dassel. Memorial arrangements are being handled b y the Johnson Funeral Home in Dassel.