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Post-Bulletin · Pine Island, MN

Coin toss decides second winner of Pine Island council race

PINE ISLAND, Minn. — The lady called heads. The coin came up heads. A coin toss Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, determined which one of two candidates would sit on the Pine Island City Council for the next four years. With two open seats on the Pine Island City Council on the Nov. 3, general election and four candidates on the ballot, Tosca Wohl was the clear winner of one of the two City Council seats. However, incumbent council member Delana Weis and one of the challengers, Dominick Pahl, tied for the second spot. To determine the winner, a coin toss was held during the special City Council meeting to certify the city's election results. Current Mayor Brandi Veith Staloch read the results, stating that Mark E. Lang had won the mayoral race, and Wohl had earned one of two spots on the council. She then said two candidates tied for the second spot.

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Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

RCTC pulls off another sweep at volleyball nationals

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. — The No. 3-seeded Rochester Community and Technical College volleyball team has reached the NJCAA Division III national semifinals. After getting a 3-0 sweep in its first-round match Thursday, the Yellowjackets followed that up with another sweep in the quarterfinals, this one over Lorain County (Ohio) Community College at the College of DuPage. The game scores were not available. Lorain County was seeded sixth. The Yellowjackets got another big outing from setter Carmen Nerison. The sophomore finished with 31 set assists and nine digs. Lily Holtan also came up big, with 14 kills, 6 digs and 1 block. Teagan Barnett added eight kills and 14 digs. The win upped the Yellowjackets to 30-2 overall this season. They have now won 26 straight matches. RCTC will play in the national tournament semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Sandhills Community College of Southern Pines, N.C. The third-place match is set for 4 p.m.

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

Coalition for Rochester Area Housing has supported creation of 2,000 housing units

ROCHESTER — The ribbon-cutting for a new 48-unit apartment building in southwest Rochester marked a 2,000-unit milestone for the Coalition for Rochester Area Housing. “One of the coalition’s top priorities is to help provide more rental housing options at 50% of the area median income or less,” Coalition Executive Director Ryan Cardarella said Thursday during the celebration of the new Restoration Glen complex at the 37-acre Mayowood Acres housing campus. Since the coalition was formed in 2017, it has supported the creation of more than 2,000 units of housing — 1,763 income-based rental units and 254 homeownership opportunities. As the latest project celebrating completion, Restoration Glen is the result of a partnership between Three Rivers Community Action and Bear Creek Development Center. It is designed to provide a mix of supportive housing and affordable family housing.

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

Yellowjackets cruise to win in first round of national volleyball tournament

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. — The Rochester Community and Technical College volleyball team got off to a winning start Thursday morning in the NJCAA Division III national tournament, blasting past Orange County Community College 3-0 at the College of DuPage. RCTC, which moved to 29-2 overall, won with ease over the school from Middletown, N.Y., with scores of 25-11, 25-7, 25-15. It will next play Lorain County Community College at 5:30 p.m. today in the quarterfinals. The Yellowjackets are seeded third in the tournament and ranked third in the country. Orange County CC was seeded 14th. RCTC received a big match from setter Carmen Nerison. She totaled 31 assists, four kills and four digs. Teagan Barnett had 12 kills and Lily Holtan had nine. Lorain County CC (Lorain County, Ohio) is the No. 6 seed in the 16-team tournament. ]]>

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

Weather was a big player in 1921 Mankato-Rochester football game

Armistice Day football was once tradition in Rochester, with Rochester High School annually hosting one of its regional rivals on the holiday. The weather on Nov. 11, however, was not always ideal. The most famous instance came during the Armistice Day game of 1940, when a blizzard roared through the state. Visiting players and fans from Winona were stranded in Rochester by the heavy snow, strong winds and rapidly falling temperatures. The conditions that day were obviously dangerous and deadly. Across the Midwest, the storm killed at least 150 people. Nineteen years earlier, the 1921 Armistice Day game had also been played in less-than-ideal conditions. This was to be a heavyweight match. “The Mankato-Rochester game is attracting statewide attention,” the Daily Post and Record reported. Rochester in 1921 had a strong team built around a speedy backfield. “(Gordon) Graham at fullback is fast and heavy,” the Post and Record stated in a season preview.

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

Rochester seeks applicants for Charter Commission

ROCHESTER — Seven seats on the 15-member Rochester Charter Commission are ready for new appointments. The four-year terms of six members are expiring at the end of the year, and another seat is open due to a resignation. The members with expiring terms have the option to seek reappointment to the volunteer board that periodically recommends changes to the city’s home-rule charter, which guides a variety of local government operations. While terms can be renewed indefinitely, additional time on the commission is not guaranteed with a new application. Commission members are appointed by the chief judge of the state’s Third Judicial District after review of applications. Rochester residents can apply for one of the seats through the end of the business day on Nov. 30. Applications are available online through the city’s boards and commissions application process at www.rochestermn.gov/council-administration/boards-commissions-committees. The commission typically meets from 4:30 p.m.

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

I gave Tilda's Pizzeria a try; it's delicious

Craving pizza? There's no shortage of spots in Rochester to satisfy that hunger from national chains to local spots for a slice. While you may have your favorites there's one that, if you haven't tried yet, you should: Tilda's Pizzeria. Locally owned, it's located in the historic building at 300 First Ave. NW, former home of The Broadstreet and 300 First. I discovered it recently when I went to the Redwood Room, which is in the building's lower level. I peeked in and was surprised both at the size and the ambiance. A few days later guess where I was. Cassie Strain, the energetic general manager of Tilda's, is passionate about Tilda's as both a spot to have delicious wood-fired pizza and a community gathering place. The pizzas , in two sizes, 10- and 14-inch, are impressive and creative with unusual names but with ingredients listed under each. There is the Classic Pi with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella (what I had, delicious).

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

Rochester considering temporary ban on data center development

ROCHESTER — A temporary ban on the development of new data centers in Rochester is being proposed. The Rochester City Council will be asked Monday to adopt a temporary ordinance setting a moratorium on development to allow city planning staff to study the issue and potentially propose new regulations. “City teammates have determined that although the Unified Development Code imposes regulations on numerous types of uses throughout the city, it does not clearly impose rules or regulations related to data centers,” Community Development planner Elliot Mohler wrote in a report to the council. Under the proposed moratorium, data centers will include a building or other facility used principally for the storage, management, processing or transmission of digital data, which houses computer or network equipment, systems, services, appliances or other associated components related to digital data operations.

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

Who will fill Karen MacLaughlin's role on the Rochester School Board following her county attorney win?

ROCHESTER — Who will replace Karen MacLaughlin on the Rochester School Board following her election Tuesday night to the position of Olmsted County Attorney? According to Minnesota law, a special election is not required to fill a school board vacancy if it occurs less than two years prior to the expiration of the term. MacLaughlin is mid-way through her term on the board, which will last until 2028. That means the decision will fall to the board to nominate a replacement for the remainder of her term. RPS School Board Chairwoman Cathy Nathan said that she has not yet received a formal resignation letter from MacLaughlin, but that there are a couple options for how the board could appoint a replacement board member once she does. The first would be to have a simple nomination process, during which members of the board would nominate someone to fill the position followed by a vote on the nomination.

Post-Bulletin · Rochester, MN

Nearby: Rochester, MN

Cathy Nathan, Jean Marvin, Ana Folpe and Justin Cook win seats on the Rochester School Board

ROCHESTER — Three incumbents and one newcomer won seats on the Rochester School Board during Tuesday’s midterm election, while a current board member won the position of Olmsted County attorney. The incumbents include Cathy Nathan, Jean Marvin and Justin Cook. The newcomer elected to the board is Ana Folpe. They will each serve a four-year term. Meanwhile, current board member Karen MacLaughlin won her election for Olmsted County attorney with 52% of the vote, meaning she will no longer be able to hold her role on the school board. Among the top four candidates, Nathan received the largest share of the overall pool, with 16.51% of the votes. She was followed by Marvin, who had 15.54%; Cook, who had 14.83%; and Folpe with 14.77%. The rest of the candidates each received less than 10% of the vote. They included Josh Koestler, Joe LaForge, Flora Howie, Pat Farmer, Joe Christenson and John Peck.