Local News Thursday, February 5, 2026

The Roseau School Board will hold a work session on February 9th to focus on a request from the City of Roseau to work with the school in connecting the pedestrian bridge that is currently under construction with a paved sidewalk to the Roseau School. The city would need to acquire school land to do so.

Out-of-precinct caucuses on Tuesday showed Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth emerging as the leading Republican candidate for the governor’s race next year. She had approximately 25% more votes than Kendall Qualls, who polled in second place, followed by Mike Lindell. The Democrats did not release poll numbers, but admitted Amy Klobuchar is their leading candidate.Early poll numbers from KSTP-TV show that Klobuchar would hold a slim lead over any of the leading Republican candidates.

Roseau Police Chief Marc Hodge told the City Council that his department is doing background checks on a potential hire and is hoping to have that full-time officer in place by early February. The officer has three years of experience in area law enforcement. His hire would mean the Roseau Police Department is fully staffed.

In recognition of Women’s History Month, the Roseau County Museum and Public Library are looking for Roseau County residents willing to lend quilts or quilted items for a quilt show in the month of March. Those items can be dropped off at the museum through February 27th, and the show would open on March 7th. The show will also include a presentation from Jean Wakely, who is well known in the quilting community.

Representative Michelle Fischbach was in Willmar last week, where she discussed topics important for businesses across greater Minnesota. Discussions included the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and the benefits it provided to local businesses, including permanently securing the 199A small business deduction, which prevents 55,000 Minnesota businesses from facing crippling tax rates. She also highlighted the New Markets Tax Credit, which has already delivered more than $620 million in investments to the 7th District. Beyond tax relief, Fischbach discussed her legislative efforts on the Investing in Rural America Act. By cutting bureaucratic red tape and empowering Main Streets, the goal is to ensure rural communities remain competitive and places where the next generation can find good-paying jobs.

Farmer sentiment weakened sharply in January as the Purdue University–CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index dropped from 136 in December 2025 to 113 in January 2026. The current conditions index dropped 19 points, while the future expectations index fell 25 points. Among the five indices that make up the barometer, the largest decline came from the question asking whether U.S. agriculture would have good times or bad times in the next five years. That index fell from 122 to 88, marking its lowest point since September 2024. Respondents also expressed greater concerns about agricultural exports compared to last month, including soybeans, where they fear exports could drop sharply over the next five years.

The Minnesota DNR and White Earth Nation have formalized a working relationship through a memorandum of understanding.The MOU outlines how the DNR and White Earth Nation will collaborate on natural resources management on state-owned, DNR-managed land within the White Earth State Forest. Areas of coordination documented in the agreement include aquatic invasive species prevention, fisheries, forestry, lands, water resources, wildlife, and wild rice.

Minnesotans are pretty lucky in love, according to recent research findings. With Valentine’s Day approaching, research from Duelbits analyzed all 50 U.S. states across six factors associated with love. These included marriage rates, divorce rates from last year, overall happiness, love TV show winners, and internet searches related to love and relationships. Minnesota ranked fourth overall with a composite score of 7.7 out of 10. Ahead of Minnesota were Utah, New Jersey, and Texas.

Last modified: 02/05/2026