Local News
Coming home: 400 return
Mankato-based guard to return from Kosovo
MANKATO — The 400 troops in a Mankato-based Minnesota National Guard unit are returning from Kosovo Sunday morning and will be reunited with their friends and families next week.
The 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry conducted peacekeeping operations in Kosovo as part of Task Force Bayonet. The Balkan country was a province of Serbia when the troops deployed there in September, but declared its independence in February.
The troops served in a hazardous duty zone, but none were seriously injured or killed during the deployment, said Lt. Randy Belden, a national guard public affairs officer.
They provided security at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo and went on various other support missions, he said.
The unit is slated to land at Volk Field in Wisconsin at 6:50 a.m. on Sunday. Their first task is demobilization, which takes about five days.
Families will be re-united during homecoming events next week, Belden said, likely between Wednesday and Friday.
This deployment was at the center of controversy last summer, when the unit’s hazardous duty classification was temporarily rescinded.
That move would have denied the troops $225 per month in pay, and would have made all their income taxable, but it was reversed after an outcry.
Mankato is the company headquarters for the 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry, but most of the 400 troops are from elsewhere in the state.
- Local News
-
-
Update: Chase ends with car driving into Wal-Mart
Armed with a pellet gun, a one-legged man led police, including sheriff, on high-speed chase that ended near the frozen foods section at the Mankato Wal-Mart.
-
Flood warning for region upgraded to "moderate"
CLICK for latest Mankato weather forecast
Detailed floodwatch for New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter, Henderson.
-
Highway 99 closed
Flooding closes 99 in St. Peter into Le Sueur
-
Dogs, deer affected by flooding
Dogs and deer are having a hard time with spring flooding.
-
MnDOT warns of deer moving across road
Floodwaters are forcing them to higher ground
-
Census response rates vary
When it comes to responding to census forms, some neighborhoods are better than others.
-
Mankato Schools to update phone system
A new phone system will save money for Mankato Area Public Schools.
-
Rural fiber optic installation set to go
Federal stimulus money is helping parts of southern Minnesota move into the technology age.
-
School's phone bid comes in under budget
Consortium involvement helps lower costs
-
Dogs, deer affected by floodwaters
Mankato expected to crest near 2001 high of 26 feet
- More Local News Headlines
-
