Your morning starts here.

Minnesota State beat St. Thomas 2-1 at home (Oct.

31), and the Mavericks will play at Bemidji State in two weeks.

Mankato West beat Chanhassen (28-6) in the Section 2AAAAA semifinal on Saturday and will play Waconia in the section championship at Mankato West on Friday, Nov.

6.

MSU tied Lake Superior State 2-2 on Oct.

31, and Lake Superior State earned the extra point by winning the shootout. The Mavericks will play at Northern Michigan next weekend.

The city and MnDOT recently finished the new Veterans Memorial Bridge and a $37 million reconstruction of Highway 22 from Mankato to St. Peter, improving traffic flow + adding a bike trail that will connect riders to the winery and link Mankato with North Mankato.

Signals at North Victory Drive (Adams St. and Raintree Rd.) were changed this summer from flashing yellow left-turn arrows to protected-only red-arrow operation to improve peak-period progression, and city engineers say they will monitor and refine timing to reduce delays.

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.

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).

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.