Good morning, Mankato.

Tony Friesen, owner of 2 Pins Bakery on Broad Street, gives away 8-inch birthday “tip cakes” to families who can’t afford them, paying for the cakes with customer tips and taking requests for decorations.

Organizers say more than 10,000 people will come to Mankato on Oct.

31 for a free, daylong Day of the Dead festival featuring music + art, 100+ vendors, four stages, a 10 a.m. procession, and a community ofrenda across from the Hub; volunteers are still needed for teardown.

Mankato East Principal Akram Osman will leave MAPS in November to become Edina Public Schools’ director of achievement equity and multilingual programs.

MAPS is selecting an interim principal and expects to announce the pick Friday; that interim will serve the remainder of the 2026-2027 school year.

The DNR will move CWD surveillance to a four-year statewide rotation starting in 2026 with mandatory hunter sampling Nov.

7-8 at staffed stations (St. Peter, New Ulm, Madelia, Mapleton, Gaylord), and it is stocking walleye and muskie yearlings as fall fish production and hatchery planning continue.

City Council approved a $300,000 EDA loan Monday night to Verdánt Agritech for a $13.6 million, 63,000 sqft indoor farm on the east side north of the Walmart distribution center, which will start construction early 2027 and create 17 jobs in year one and 75 in year two.

Make fall-winter porch pots this fall using crab apple stems, red dogwood, birch, sage + lavender, and evergreen trimmings to add winter color and texture; use soil left in the pot and supports like an inverted tomato cage for larger arrangements, and add greens later to avoid early drying.

Mankato East girls soccer beat Mankato West to win the Section 2AA title and will play Mahtomedi in a Class AA quarterfinal today as the Cougars head to the state tournament.

Cleveland beat Granada-Huntley-East Chain-Truman-Martin Luther in straight sets to open the Section 2A tournament and will face Nicollet in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Oct.

29 at 7 p.m. in Cleveland.

Le Sueur-Henderson beat Maple River in straight sets in the Section 2AA opener on Monday, Oct.

26 and will face WEM on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7:00 p.m. in Le Sueur.