ANNUAL PANCAKE BREAKFAST

On Sunday the Watonwan County Historical Society held its annual pancake breakfast. SARAH BUNICH .
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. SANTA CLAUSE

Happy birthday Mrs. Santa Clause.
A Life Altering Decision
I come from a line of pretty good singers. My grandmother was in a band that played in various bars and venues along Green Bay Rd./Hwy. 31 in southeast Wisconsin. My mom “inherited” the talent and is quite good to this day. When I was in high school I took AP Government and Law in my senior year and barely passed with a not so solid “D” grade as senioritis really kicked in. My mom was such a good singer that my teacher on the last day of class told me, “Dave, all you needed was to have your mom come in and sing to this class and I would have given you an ‘A’. It would have been an ‘A+’ if the song was ‘Via Dolorosa’.” (You can YouTube that if you’d like.) My mom had dreams at one time of going professional, but that came to a sudden halt around the time she got pregnant with me. When my biological father Mike heard the news, his mom came to my mom and said, “If you don’t abort or put this baby up for adoption, Mike’s gone.” You’ve probably already guessed the choice my mom made, but I’m still going to say it anyways, I’ve never met my biological father. A few years later, my mom met the guy I would call “dad” at one of those bars my grandmother sang in. A few things happened since then, and now here I am typing an article in St. James, MN. My mom had a big, life altering decision to make late ‘77/early ’78 at the age of 19, a decision a multitude of women for a multitude of reasons have had to make over the last 49 years.
St. James driving exam site reopening
After being closed for testing since the start of the pandemic the St. James DMV is opening again for testing.
Roundhouse raffle winners

Winner of the railroad pocket watch during Railroad Days was Azure Schmidt of St. James.
Watonwan County tree program
The Watonwan County Land Management / Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) annually makes trees and shrubs available to landowners at an inexpensive cost. These trees and shrubs come from the finest stock from local Minnesota nurseries.
Artists of the Week

Parents: Jose Santos Meija, Yesinia Santos Third grader Jose Santos Jr. is Northside Elementary's Artist of the Week.
Michigan AG: ‘Absolutely’ enough evidence to charge GOP electors
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she believes there’s “absolutely” enough evidence to bring criminal charges against 16 Republicans who signed a certificate falsely claiming to be the state’s presidential electors in December 2020.
What would you like to see in the paper

The Plaindealer has always been a communitybased paper for St. James.
Ask a Trooper

Question: What is the law in regards to pushing snow from ones driveway out onto the road? Answer: It is illegal to place snow from a driveway on or next to a public highway or street. The Minnesota Department of Transportation reminds everyone, “The placing of snow on or near a public road creates hazards, including drainage problems, drifting, sight obstruction and unsafe access.


