Minnesota

Arlis Sayler runs for Minnesota House District 13A

Published

2 months ago

March 16, 2026

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Arlis Sayler runs for Minnesota House District 13A

Staff Reports
| St. Cloud Times

Eden Lake Township resident Arlis Sayler, a retired agricultural engineer and project manager, is running to represent House District 13A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. This is an open seat in a district that covers much of Stearns County.

Sayler, a member of the DFL, grew up on a dairy farm, worked in the North Dakota oil fields for two years after high school, then earned a degree in agricultural engineering, according to a release. He spent 35 years with Cargill, as a supervisor, plant manager, operations manager and project team leader. He plans to bring his knowledge of farm and food systems, project management, problem solving and capital planning at a time of massive disruption to our economy and communities after unprecedented federal action in the state to the Minnesota House.

“I spent my career fixing systems that were broken,” Sayler said in a release. “The roving patrols of masked federal agents in Minnesota are continuing and the impact on our economy, our workers, our business owners, our schools, our children and families will require a long recovery. I am seeking the Minnesota House 13A position because I want to be part of that long-term work to help rebuild Minnesota’s economy, and our small town and rural communities.”

If elected, Sayler would like to:

Serve on the Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee: To build on his life’s work related to farming, rural development, and technology and strengthen Minnesota’s agricultural economy
Work on rural health care: Attract doctors and nurses to rural areas; address long distances to care; promote policies to sustain rural hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities, which face risks of closure and service reductions; address disparities in health insurance premiums, which often are more expensive in greater Minnesota compared to the Twin Cities metro area; address farmers’ and small business owners’ loss of federal tax credits for purchasing coverage on the health insurance marketplace.
Restore Public Safety and Local Control: Sayler is calling for an end to federal overreach that bypasses the U.S. Constitution, steps over local law enforcement and threatens legal gun owners and peaceful residents.

“I share the values of this district: hard work, respect for law and order and local independence,” he said. “I’m running to make sure our community decides our future.”

Minnesota House District 13A covers Albany, Avon, Cold Spring, Collegeville, Kimball, Paynesvillle, Richmond, Rockville and part of St Joseph.

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Minnesota

Videos show Stewart Trail Fire destruction near Two Harbors, Minnesota

Published

12 hours ago

May 16, 2026

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Videos show Stewart Trail Fire destruction near Two Harbors, Minnesota

A wildfire several miles north of Two Harbors, Minnesota, has grown to over 370 acres, according to officials.

In a Saturday morning update, the Minnesota Incident Command System says the Stewart Trail Fire is 0% contained, but firefighters are working to establish a containment line with heavy equipment such as dozers, as well as handlines. Crews worked on containment overnight.

MICS says numerous aircraft — helicopters, scooper planes and a single-engine airtanker — helped fight the fire by dropping water and fire retardant.

Crews determined overnight that the fire size is 376 acres.

Video posted to social media shows the wildfire scorching trees and structures along Highway 61. The flames can be seen near Betty’s Pies, which was among the businesses evacuated.

Evacuations have been ordered in an area between Two Harbors and Castle Danger. More evacuation details can be found on Lake County | Fire Safety & Evacuation.

Authorities have closed Highway 61 at County Highway 2 in Two Harbors and at County Highway 106 in Castle Danger. A detour has been set up for those who need to travel around the area.

Gov. Tim Walz issued a statement on social media Saturday morning.

“We have a number of agencies responding to help communities with the ongoing wildfires up north, including the DNR, MnDOT, and DPS,” Walz said. “Grateful to all those stepping into harms way to keep their neighbors safe.”

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for 15 counties in parts of central and northeast Minnesota due to extreme fire risk. The affected areas include Cass, Crow Wing, Aitkin, Carlton, St. Louis, Pine, Otter Tail, Wadena, Grant, Douglas, Todd, Morrison, Mille Lacs, Kanabec and Benton counties. It remains in place until 9 p.m. Saturday.

“When fire risk is this high, it’s important to be careful with anything could spark a wildfire,” said Mike Warnke, DNR wildfire administrative supervisor.

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Minnesota

Stearns County home prices down month to month, but up year to year

Published

24 hours ago

May 16, 2026

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Stearns County home prices down month to month, but up year to year

Newly released data from Realtor.com for February shows that potential buyers and sellers in Stearns County saw lower home sale prices than the previous month’s median of $295,000.

The median home sold for $275,000, an analysis of data from Realtor.com shows. That means February, the most recent month for which figures are available, was down 6.8% from January.

Compared to February 2025, the median home sales price was up 11.1% compared to $247,500.

Realtor.com sources sales data from real estate deeds, resulting in a few months’ delay in the data. The statistics don’t include homes currently listed for sale and aren’t directly comparable to listings data.

Information on your local housing market, along with other useful community data, is available at data.sctimes.com.

Here is a breakdown on median sale prices:

Looking only at single-family homes, the $275,000 median selling price in Stearns County was down 6.8% in February from $295,000 the month prior. Since February 2025, the sales price of single-family homes was up 11.1% from a median of $247,500. One single family home sold for $1 million or more during the month, compared to one recorded transactions of at least $1 million in February 2025.

About recorded home sales in Stearns County in Minnesota

In February, the number of recorded sales in Stearns County rose by 7.2% since February 2025 — from 97 to 104. All residential home sales totaled $30.7 million.

Across Minnesota, homes sold at a median of $320,000 during February, down 2.5% from $328,171 in January. There were 3,789 recorded sales across the state during February, down 10.1% from 4,213 recorded sales in February 2025.

Here’s a breakdown for the full state:

The total value of recorded residential home sales in Minnesota decreased by 88.1% from $12.7 billion in January to $1.5 billion this February.
Out of all residential home sales in Minnesota, 2.77% of homes sold for at least $1 million in February, down from 2.9% in February 2025.
Sales prices of single-family homes across Minnesota increased by 3.8% from a median of $322,588 in January to $335,000 in February. Since February 2025, the sales price of single-family homes across the state was down 2.6% from $343,978.
Across the state, the sales price of condominiums and townhomes dropped 23.5% from a median of $355,491 in January to $272,000 during February. The median sales price of condominiums and townhomes is down 4.5% from the median of $284,848 in February 2025.

The median home sales price used in this report represents the midway point of all the houses or units listed over the given period of time. The median offers a more accurate view of what’s happening in a market than the average sales price, which would mean taking the sum of all sales prices then dividing by the number of homes sold. The average can be skewed by one particularly low or high sale.

USA TODAY Co. is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Realtor.com. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here.

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Minnesota honors 314 fallen officers in solemn St. Paul ceremony

Published

1 day ago

May 15, 2026

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Minnesota honors 314 fallen officers in solemn St. Paul ceremony

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Families and officers gathered outside the state capitol on Friday to remember and honor Minnesota’s fallen law enforcement officers.

Families honor loved ones killed in the line of duty

What we know:

The Peace Officers Memorial Day event began with a 24-hour vigil Thursday night, where officers from around Minnesota stood guard at the memorial.

The day included moments of silence, the playing of Taps and several wreath-laying ceremonies.

“Every once in a while, something tragic happens and somebody dies in the line of duty,” said Chief Brian Hubbard, president of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association, which organized the service.

According to organizers, 314 officers have died in the line of duty in Minnesota.

Behind every name is a family, a story and painful memory.

Tina Arendt of Cold Spring was young when her father, Stearns County Senior Sheriff’s Deputy Edwin Arendt, 61, died in the line of duty in November 1987. On Friday, she laid a wreath in his memory.

“It was just a random accident out in the middle of the country, and he didn’t make it home,” she recalled. “Things I remember about him – he loved his job. He loved being out helping people. There wasn’t a day that he wasn’t proud and honored to wear the badge.”

The event was as much about supporting families as it was about honoring the fallen.

“The main heart behind doing this is to make sure that those family members, those survivors left behind, know that we won’t forget about them,” said Hubbard.