Travis Smith makes plastic bags into mats

Each year about 635,100 tons of plastic bags and wraps end up in landfills and oceans. Travis Smith is helping combat how many bags go to the oceans and landfills and people experiencing homelessness by making sleeping mats out of bags.

Wolner Repeats at State Entrant for MNGWL Tournament

The Saints Peyton Wolner represented the St. James Area program for the 2nd straight year at the Minnesota 9th Grade and Under Wrestling League State Tournament at Champlin Park High School on February 4th.

DENNIS EARL SHELLUM

Dennis Earl Shellum, 67, of St. James died on January 28, 2023, at Mayo Clinic Health Systems in St.

JEAN AUDREY LEPP

Jean Audrey Lepp, 91, of St. James, died on January 31, 2023, at Good Samaritan Society-The Village in Mountain Lake with family at her side. Visitation will be on Saturday, April 29, 2023, from 10 to 11 a.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church in St. James, where a Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m.

Back in Time

Each week a lot of things happen in the St. James and surround areas.

May spring be here soon?

Last Thursday was Groundhogs Day, as I am sure everyone knows. if I am remembering correctly whatever he did or did not see the groundhog said it will be six more weeks of winter.

Showing love in different ways

Planning ahead is not my forte. Setting goals is one thing, mapping out a set plan to achieve the goal is another level I rarely entertain. Mainly, I just planned to get to work and keep working hard to get what I want.

Jesus is more than a spare tire

Our family had quite a few small trips to make these past few weeks, and in preparation for them, we made sure we cleaned out the vehicle. It’s in those moments that I realize I don’t even know where the spare tire is located on my vehicle. Truth be told, I don’t ever really worry about things like that. My husband takes care of that, and if I was in need of it when he isn’t around, most likely I’d be calling him to walk me through it anyway. I mean, it’s very rare I’m going to need to locate and use that silly tire anyway! I’m in my 40s and have used one ONCE in my life. And that was about 25 years ago. A spare tire isn’t really something many of us think about. It isn’t something many of us even use, but we’re glad we have one. There’s security knowing there is a spare tire just sitting there (wherever ‘there’ is) just in case.

After 55 years of growth at Odin State Bank, Harder retires

Robert Harder has had a full career from being an accountant in the Army stationed in Germany and being a loan officer in Ormsby to buying Odin State Bank. He checked paperwork and banking information for the last time last week before he hung his hat and started his retirement on Wednesday.