Obama ends “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”

President Barack Obama has formally repealed the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Administration officials say Obama on Friday signed a certification ending the 17-year-old “don’t ask don’t tell” policy.

The president took the step, as expected, after meeting in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman. As laid out in a law passed in December, the repeal will take effect 60 days from now. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a statement from the White House.

For Obama, the move makes good on a promise from his 2008 campaign to dismantle the Clinton-era policy.

SportsPlus

Mower County

Hormel Historic Home’s Harris Music Contest registration deadline approaching

Mower County

Percussive impact: MacPhail’s Cheryl Berglund being honored at state conference

Mower County

Mower keeps up septic progress countywide

News

Summerset Theatre announces Season 57

Business

Listening session lets employers voice concerns

Mower County

Fishing for a Cure returns to East Side Lake

Mower County

In Your Community: Mower County Senior Center

Education

Education Briefs

News

US employers added 143,000 jobs in solid but unspectacular January hiring, jobless rate fell to 4%

News

Trump promotes misleading claims about federal government’s media subscriptions

News

Democratic attorneys general challenging Musk’s staff access to Americans’ sensitive personal data

Mower County

Suspect charged with starting Tuesday fire that injured 1

Brownsdale

4,000 pigs lost in late Wednesday barn fire near Brownsdale

News

Minnesota House Democratic and GOP leaders reach power-sharing agreement to end partisan stalemate

Mower County

One sent to the hospital after two-vehicle crash

Mower County

Suspect in Tuesday fire taken into custody

Brownsdale

Firefighters dispatched to small house fire Tuesday afternoon in Brownsdale

Business

Guided to Serve: For 25 years Theresa Turnbull has been a trusted soul at Comforcare

Mower County

New mobile app launches to combat food insecurity in Mower County

Mower County

Report on sanitary sewer evaluation given during City Council work session

Agriculture

Kimberly Vrieze joins membership of American Angus Association

Education

Education Briefs

News

Trump’s foreign aid freeze could prove to be a boon for the world’s authoritarian strongmen

Mower County

Austin firefighters battle southwest Austin fire, APD investigating