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Emergency Planning Partners Elect Rutledge Fire Chief as Chairman By Echo Menges RUTLEDGE, Mo. — An emergency planning effort serving Knox and Scotland counties has been reestablished, with local officials, first responders and community representatives gathering March 24 to formally relaunch the Northeast Local Emergency Planning District (LEPD). The group met at the Rutledge Community Center to approve membership, elect officers and begin rebuilding a coordinated approach to emergency preparedness and hazardous materials planning across the two counties. Local Emergency Planning Districts, often referred to as LEPDs or LEPCs, are federally mandated through the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know…

By Echo Menges EDINA, Mo. — The Knox County Library has concluded its annual Winter Reading Program, with participants logging thousands of pages over the course of the winter months, according to Librarian Sarah Pflum. The program, which runs from November through March each year, challenged patrons to read 5,000 pages. Those who completed the goal were entered into a drawing for a $100 grocery gift card. A total of 24 patrons completed the challenge this year. Each participant also received a jar of homemade jelly in recognition of their achievement. Pat Burton was selected as the winner of the…

Friday, March 27 marks 23 years since Sue and I took the leap and purchased The Media, The Edina Sentinel, and the LaBelle Star. Which begs the question: how exactly did we get here… and why didn’t anyone stop us? My newspaper career started back in 1986 with the Omaha World-Herald, where I managed newspaper carriers across northeast Nebraska. Back then, carriers were “little merchants.” Customers paid the carrier, the carrier paid the paper, and I made sure nobody disappeared with the money. It was part accounting, part babysitting, and part detective work. If a carrier quit, we audited their…

By Emily Bontrager For centuries, April Fools’ Day has been celebrated across different cultures. Each year on April 1, people play pranks and practical jokes on one another, often revealing the trick with a cheerful, “April Fools!” The exact origins of the holiday remain unclear. According to the Library of Congress, one theory traces the tradition back to ancient Rome and a festival called Hilaria, celebrated around March 25. “In Roman terms, March 25 was called ‘the eighth of the Calends of April,’ which associates the festival strongly with April 1,” the Library notes, though it adds there is no…

By Echo Menges GORIN, Mo. — The Gorin Volunteer Fire Department officially placed eight new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units into service Tuesday night, March 10, 2026, during the department’s regular member meeting. The department serves the Gorin area in southeastern Scotland County and regularly assists neighboring departments through mutual aid responses. Firefighters spent the evening at the Gorin firehouse fitting the equipment, learning its operation and training with the new gear before it officially went into service. Fire Chief Kenneth Hoover said the department was able to purchase the equipment through a $75,600 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the…

  March Regular Meeting Minutes Submitted by Margaret Gibson, City Clerk DRAFT  – March 9, 2026 – The Board of Aldermen met in regular session with Mayor Linda Kerr presiding. Aldermen present: Dot Kriegshauser, Delmar Strange, David Bugh, Rick Yoakum, Staci Rimer (arrived later), Don Crim. Absent: none. Others present: Roger Parton, Superintendent of Utilities; Peggy Collinge, City Treasurer; Echo Menges, Edina Sentinel Editor; David Dudley, Chief of Police; Brenda Swedberg, City Attorney; James Robertson, Bright Futures Knox County Board President. Mayor Kerr called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and gave the invocation. The pledge of allegiance was…