Good morning, Mankato.

Veterans Memorial Bridge will reopen to vehicle traffic today around 1:00 p.m. after a near-nine-month MnDOT project, with only the north-side sidewalk open to pedestrians while crews finish installing large overhead signs and more than 2,000 feet of railing (near the Ardent Mills silos).

Rita Rassbach was named executive director of Good Counsel Learning Center and will lead strategic initiatives to serve Mankato and surrounding communities.

She previously was special initiatives manager at the Mankato Area Foundation and serves on local nonprofit boards (including the St. Peter School Board).

Free Press Media launched pre-sales for River City Holiday Volume 3, a 10-track album of mostly original songs by local musicians available on CD or as a digital download paired with a keepsake ornament + proceeds will benefit LSS Crisis Nursery; pre-sale pricing runs through Nov.

20 and items arrive the week of Thanksgiving.

Strong soybean and solid corn harvests are underway across the region, but wet fields, full grain bins, and high fuel and fertilizer costs are delaying combining and pushing down local prices.

USDA announced an $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program with per acre payments, and producers must file 2026 PLC or ARC-County elections at FSA offices before Dec. 11 (2027 decisions due March 15).

About 60 people attended the first Agricultural Conservation Gathering (AgCon) on Friday morning at the Maverick Innovation Gateway at Minnesota State University, where faculty, students, and advocates shared research on wetlands, soil health, cover crops, and conservation career paths.

Mankato Area Public Schools named Jeff Dahline interim principal at East High School; he will start on Nov.

16 and serve for the rest of the school year after Akram Osman left for a position with Edina Public Schools.

Students at Mankato East run Hope Squad, a peer-support group that's been at the school six years to destigmatize mental health; members meet monthly, connect classmates to counselors, and organize a Hope Week each spring.

MnDOT will reduce traffic to one lane each direction near the Highway 14 Minnesota River Bridge starting Monday, Nov.

2 as crews remove and pour concrete for center-median lighting, causing delays for several days with work resuming again in mid-November to finish the installation.

Motorized golf carts are normally banned from public roads, but counties and cities can authorize them by special permit; permitted carts must have a rearview mirror with 200-foot visibility, a slow-moving vehicle emblem, motorcycle-level insurance, and follow traffic laws including daylight-only operation unless equipped with lights.

At this week's state girls tennis meet (state finals), St. Peter's Kylie Southworth and Brielle Romasiewicz won the Class AA doubles title; St. James' Elizabeth Shores was Class A singles runner-up, Fairmont finished fourth in Class A doubles, and Mankato East's Sam Williams was Class AA singles runner-up.