Speech team wins event

FAIRMONT — Fairmont’s speech team recently won the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton tournament.

St. Peter finished in second place, while Mankato West was third.

In individual results for Fairmont:

Varsity — Eric Head, third in creative expression; Eleanor Hamlet, sixth in discussion; Bergen Senf, champion in discussion; Izzy Munsch, champion in drama; Isabell Geiger and Tabitha Thatcher, second in duo; Weston Loughmiller, fourth in extemp speaking; Bethany Linse, third in great speeches; Tabitha Thatcher, sixth in humorous; Izzy Munsch, fourth in humorous; Emily Kerekes, fifth in informative speaking; Lilly Laven, champion in informative speaking; Ameya Komaragiri, fourth in original oratory; Grace Higgins, second in original oratory; Kaycie Brookens, champion in original oratory; Flavia Correa, sixth in poetry; Apoorva Komaragiri, sixth in prose; Kaycie Brookens, third in prose; Isabell Geiger, fifth in prose; Annika Wheeler, second in storytelling.

Novice — Brynn Gustafson, second in prose; Abi Peymann, third in storytelling; Sasha Franzen, fourth in prose; Solveig Senf, third in discussion; Paige Hainy, second in extemp reading; Briana Joseph, second in oratory; Audrianna Lewison, third in drama.

Hagedorn discusses farm safety net

ST. PAUL — Congressman Jim Hagedorn of southern Minnesota met this week met with Joe Martin, Minnesota state executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

Hagedorn represents one of the 10 most agricultural congressional districts in the country and is a member of the House Ag Committee.

He said that a primary purpose of the Farm Service Agency is providing a safety net by administering farm commodity and disaster programs. Among the priorities U.S. Agriculture Secretary Perdue has set for the FSA are creating jobs; feeding and clothing the world; and ensuring a safe and secure food supply.

Hagedorn said the programs offered by the FSA, especially the farm safety net programs, are critically important. He said years of low commodity prices and high input costs have taken a toll on agricultural producers and the southern Minnesota communities dependent on them. He said his meeting with Martin focused on those challenges and on the programs available to help shepherd farmers and farm-related businesses through the current environment.

“Director Martin and I had an excellent discussion centering on the challenges facing agriculture producers and businesses in southern Minnesota,” Hagedorn noted after the meeting.