Regional

Update 5 p.m.

LITCHFIELD -- Meeker County got an early visit from Santa Claus. Highway Engineer Ron Mortensen on Tuesday told the county commissioners the county will receive $291,000 from an additional federal grant for a two-year project to grade and overlay a 2.8-mile section of Highway 27...

BENSON -- Contract negotiations are continuing in Swift County between union employees and the county commissioners. So far there's been no agreements reached with any of the unions representing county employees. The county is currently offering a "slight increase" in salaries in...

GROVE CITY -- New signs with solar powered flashing beacons have been installed on state Highway 4 near the Atwater-Cosmos- Grove City High School in Grove City. The signs identify a school speed limit of 35 miles per hour within the school zone when the beacon lights are flashing,...

LITCHFIELD -- Meeker County has finished its union negotiations with employees, agreeing to a zero increase in salary for the next two years. The contracts for the highway department, jailers, dispatchers and assistant county attorney were approved Thursday by the Meeker County Board...

WILLMAR -- Area school districts might be able to improve efficiency and even increase opportunities for their students in the future, but there's a possibility that emotional ties to local districts could get in the way of it. The Willmar School Board discussed an ongoing study...

OLIVIA - A reward is being offered for information in the theft of a semi trailer and its cargo that was stolen earlier this month near Olivia. The Renville County Sheriff's Office is investigating the theft of a black tandem axle flatbed trailer with a hoist. The trailer and its...

MELROSE - A one-vehicle crash near Melrose early this morning critically injured a teen from Elbow Lake. Matthew Coleman, 19, was injured shortly after 1 a.m. on Interstate 94 in Stearns County.

CLARA CITY -- One person was killed and two were injured in an accident last night near Clara City. The name of the deceased has not been released. The two-vehicle head-on crash happened at 6:40 p.m.

WATSON -- A South Dakota man was injured last night when the vehicle he was driving crossed the center line and struck a semi. The accident happened around 6 p.m.

ST.PAUL -- A $50 million flood mitigation program will help fund highway im-provement projects over the next five years that will make state roadways more resistant to future flood damage. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the state allocation, coupled with...

ST.PAUL - A $50 million flood mitigation program will help fund highway improvement projects over the next five years that will make state roadways more resistant to future flood damage.