When the Harmony Chamber of Commerce met for its annual meeting January 17, a big focus was the work of rebranding the city. After the 20 or so attendees enjoyed a social hour and soups and salads, Allison Whalen, who became the Chamber director in October, reviewed the process so far. Whalen shared the city’s mission statement, “To support, promote, and foster connections … [Read more...]
Houston School Board organized and ready to work
The Houston School Board welcomed two new members to its ranks at their organizational meeting January 5. Marissa Bailey and Nickki Johnson were elected this past fall to replace long-time board members Tom Stilin and Gene Lundak. The first order of business was to elect new officers. Mimi Carlson was elected board chair with Josh Norlien elected vice-chair. The new treasurer … [Read more...]
Lanesboro School Board — organized and ready
The Lanesboro School Board spent the first part of their meeting electing members to positions and assigning them to committees at their regular meeting January 11. Kevin Horihan joined returning member Steve Storhoff as they were sworn in as board members. Steve Snyder was absent and will be sworn in later. Christine Troendle was reelected board chair; Steve Snyder will … [Read more...]
OHV exit resolution
The Houston City Council wasted little time as they looked at a draft resolution to exit from the OHV Trail project at their first regular meeting on January 9. Councilman Cody Mathers, council representative on the OHV Exit Committee, presented all the original documents regarding the OHV trail as well as the resolution. Since there was no clear direction from the council … [Read more...]
R-P School levy increased by 5.13%
Rushford-Peterson’s business manager, Toni Oian, presented a PowerPoint detailing the requirements and information about R-P’s budget for the truth in taxation meeting at the R-P School Board meeting December 19. While revenues for the general, community service, and debt service remained fairly stable, the food service fund decreased by 31.64% due to the COVID funding for the … [Read more...]
Focus on budget and levy at Lanesboro School Board
The regular December 14 meeting of Lanesboro School Board began with SmithSchafer’s presentation of a summary of the 2021-2022 audit. The audit was “clean”; it showed an average daily membership (adm) of 412 students in 2022. This was up from an average of 350 several years ago. The levy has been staying about the same, but expenditures rose with the addition of four regular … [Read more...]
Houston Council approves police camera purchase
The Houston City Council accepted a proposal for the purchase of a camera system for the new community center/police headquarters at their regular meeting December 12. The setup will include a fully wireless system with our cameras on the outside of the building as well as two cameras inside. The package will cost $3,504.93 and will provide the needed security for the … [Read more...]
Taxes high in Valley High
At the Truth in Taxation meeting held December 1, the same night as the regular December Houston School Board meeting, several property owners from Valley High attended to voice their concerns about their increased taxes. Valley High is considered its own little community consisting of about 45 homes. Around half of the residents are retired and on fixed incomes. Within the … [Read more...]
Open doors, open to ideas
On a blustery, snowy November evening, buildings in downtown Rushford had their doors open for visitors in the Open Doors, a Tour of Business Opportunities, event. From 5:30-8 p.m., November 17, interested parties could tour the entire buildings including the “behind the scenes” areas of 10 available businesses and buildings. Open Doors was the brainchild of Jen Hengel of the … [Read more...]
Rushford-Peterson audit shares good news
CPA Kali Lentz from Smith Schafer reported on the recent 2021-2022 audit to the Rushford-Peterson School Board at their regular meeting November 21. The audit showed a $150,000 increase in property tax levy from the year before with total revenue up from $11,115,285 to $11,764,540. The food service fund showed a $116,000 surplus with a balance of $222,559 at the end of the … [Read more...]
