
Community lifts up Renville County golf course damaged by baseball-sized hail
Just north of Buffalo Lake, the hailstorm made it look like someone took a weed whipper to the crops. It shredded fields of green, along with fairways of green.
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John Lauritsen is an Emmy award-winning reporter from Montevideo, Minn. He joined WCCO-TV in late-July of 2007. Two days after he started, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed.
Before his television career, John grew up on a farm near Milan, Minnesota and graduated from Montevideo Senior High School. He received a Master's Degree in mass communications from St. Cloud State University, and has also taught a class there as well. He credits growing up on a farm and going to school in a small town with helping him become the reporter he is today.
He began his career at KSAX-TV in Alexandria, Minn., before moving to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked for KWWL-TV. John also worked at Channel 12 in Brooklyn Park, Minn., before coming to WCCO-TV. He has been a reporter, anchor, sports reporter, sports anchor, editor, producer, and photographer during his television career.
During his time at WCCO-TV, John has covered a variety of stories. He has reported on everything from floods to tornadoes to blizzards that have dumped nearly two feet of snow on Minnesota. You can also find John covering a crime story, a fire, a human interest story, or a sporting event.
John's favorite stories are those that highlight a special moment in someone's life. In 2008, he reported on a soldier who came home from Iraq and surprised his daughter at her volleyball game.
And though he isn't a fan of snakes, John reported on Minnesota's only poisonous snake population in southeastern Minnesota and he managed not to get bit in the process.
When he's not reporting, John can be found at the gym or playing in one of three volleyball leagues that keep him busy year-round. He also plays in a football league in the fall and is an active tennis player.
In 2009, he ran the Twin Cities Marathon for the first time. He has also tried surfing, skydiving and rock climbing, and is an avid reader whenever he can find time to sit down.
John lives in Maple Grove with his wife, Jessica, and children, Harlow and Bo.
Just north of Buffalo Lake, the hailstorm made it look like someone took a weed whipper to the crops. It shredded fields of green, along with fairways of green.
Have you ever wanted to have an island all to yourself? Well, now you can do exactly that in Otter Tail County. Guests from across the country, and even a former U.S. president, have visited Xanadu Island.
Even after his passing, a western Minnesota veteran is having a big impact on others.
The YWCA will pursue selling off the two properties, at the same time as it will look into finding an alternative downtown or nearby location for current families utilizing the downtown children's center.
From a World Series champion, to needing a kidney transplant to stay alive. That's the life for former Major Leaguer, Ed Hearn.
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If someone asks for their services, the Hovland family rounds up the herd in a trailer and brings them to the site. They put up an electric fence to keep the goats in and predators out. It's like a traveling band with a big appetite.
The C-130 planes are involved in a lot of critical missions at home and overseas. They're important for delivering supplies into hostile areas or national disaster areas.
Big River Farms says the lack of moisture has also hurt cover crop soil, which will be used for next year's growing season.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley is discussing the investigation into Mohamad Barakat, who officials say shot four people - killing one police officer - on a busy Fargo street last week.
Simply storing hay bales during a hot, dry summer, has become a risky venture. The heat has nowhere to go.
"People have boats and want to try out this lake and that lake, and they may not be familiar with it, and they ding them up," said Prop MD's Jesse Pettit.
Three straight years of dry weather has impacted fruits and vegetables, and now smoke from the Canadian wildfires is creating new challenges.
he Minnesota Department of Transportation is taking a closer look at a stretch of highway currently under construction.
The dry weather continues to be an issue across the state. Corn and soybeans are struggling in some parts of Minnesota, but the alfalfa crop has become a concern, too.