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Bringing in some sweet Southern charm and some good old-fashioned fun, country music star Kellie Pickler opened the Freeborn County Fair Tuesday night to a full-house crowd of fans.

Performing at least 17 songs to a crowd of all ages, the “American Idol” alum said she was glad to be back at the fair after performing at the Grandstand in 2009.

Antique tractors have become a family affair for Monty Thoms.

She has been in charge of the antique tractor display at the Freeborn County Fair for the past two years.

They’ve been doing it for 33 years, but you can tell it’s just for the love of entertaining more than any other reason. Freeborn County fairgoers were treated to a great concert Wednesday evening by Sawyer Brown.

At times it felt more like a comedy show than a country rock concert, but the fans loved it. Lead singer Mark Miller jumped onto the stage and dazzled the crowd with his wild dancing antics.

While many kids look forward to summer and the Freeborn County Fair as a way to relax and have fun with their friends, some enjoy the fair in quite the opposite way — by doing a lot of work.

Missy Malakowsky, for example, is the 16-year-old daughter of Forrest and Sharon Malakowsky of Hartland. She is at the fair from about 7 or 8 a.m. until about 9 p.m. each day.

The Freeborn County Recorder’s Office received its first marriage license application by a same-sex couple on Thursday.

Albert Leans Della Hill and Virginia Chadbourne said though they were looking forward to their upcoming wedding later this month they had mixed feelings about how the news would be received in the community.

FALCON HEIGHTS — Smoking will be a little trickier at this year’s Minnesota State Fair.

A new rule limits smoking to 18 stations set up around the fairgrounds. Smokers will no longer be allowed to light up while walking down Dan Patch Avenue.

The fair’s governing board approved the new rule in January. It will be enforced when this year’s Great Minnesota Get-Together runs Aug. 22 through Sept. 2.

ST. PAUL — State health officials say a Murray County man has Minnesota’s first case of the West Nile virus this year.

The man got sick with West Nile fever earlier this month and is recovering. The Minnesota Department of Health said West Nile virus is a potentially life-threatening disease. Health officials are urging Minnesotans to protect themselves by routinely using mosquito repellents and taking other precautions against mosquito bites.

NEW RICHLAND — An Owatonna man was killed Wednesday afternoon after the pickup he was driving was struck broadside by a semi west of New Richland.

Todd C. Owen, 41, was driving eastbound on Minnesota Highway 30 in a 1995 Chevy pickup when a 2007 Peterbilt semitrailer heading south on Highway 83 failed to stop for a stop sign at the intersection and collided with the pickup, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The cigarette tax increase implemented earlier this month has had mixed effects on area smokers.

While stop-smoking programs have reported increased numbers of smokers looking to quit, some smokers appear to have simply avoided the tax by purchasing their cigarettes in other states.

For a town with an already vibrant theater scene, Albert Lea will get a special treat this weekend.

Professional and local actors united for the production of “The Visit,” a dark comedy by Friedrich Durrenmatt. The show will have the audience moving around and watching scenes all over the Freeborn County Historical Village. Production Manager Nancy Waldoch of Minneapolis said the show has lots of fun characters

HOLLANDALE — It has been more than two weeks since a large fire destroyed three warehouses in this community, but many questions remain unanswered.

Irene Jones, one of the owners of the property at 101 Netherlands Ave. W., said officials with the State Fire Marshal’s Office have deemed the cause of the fire to be undetermined.

HINCKLEY — Federal, state and local law officers seized thousands of marijuana plants from an eastern Minnesota field on Wednesday that they say would have had an estimated street value of more than $4 million, once harvested and sold.

Agents executed a search warrant on a parcel of land near Hinckley, about 80 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

CLARKS GROVE — When Krystle Davis and her husband, Kyle, moved to Clarks Grove, they went looking for a hobby.

“We wanted something to do together in the community,” Davis said.

That decision led to her becoming the only woman in the Clarks Grove Fire Department.

ST. PAUL — Parents whose children went on a fatal field trip to a St. Paul park say they should have been warned of possible dangers.

Two students from Peter Hobart Elementary School were killed and two others were injured in a landslide at Lilydale Regional Park last May. Parents say a field trip information sheet sent home to parents did not mention the potential for danger. It only said the children should be prepared for hiking, climbing and getting muddy.

It took three weeks for 4-H’ers to create the 40-foot-long display of paintings that now hangs in the Conservation Building at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds.

The paintings show animals in their natural habitat, fitting for the Conservation Building, where grounds such as the Audubon Club and Fountain Lake Sportsmen set up during the Freeborn County Fair.

The Freeborn County Humane Society is hosting a special adoption event this week to find homes for the cats and kittens in its animal shelter.

AUSTIN — Jimmy John’s and a self-service frozen yogurt shop are slated to open by September in a new Austin strip mall.

Jimmy John’s co-owner Pat McCauley, who has five other locations in the region, said he hopes to open in less than six weeks.

“It should be fun,” he said. “We’ve gotten really good feedback.”

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