Letter about why does Sen. Miller vote against our interest?... To the Editor, Once again, Sen. Miller has voted against the economic and public safety interests of our district, all while hiding behind bad faith straw man arguments. Why would Sen. Miller do this? A wide coalition of conservative and progressive groups have supported “Driver’s License for all” as a … [Read more...]

President/CEO Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation This year at Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), we will reach a milestone of investing more than $50 million in our communities through grantmaking since our start in 1986. While these grants support a wide range of projects – from providing books to young children to supporting small town growth – they … [Read more...]

To the Editor, If I think I am old, I am old. If I think I am young, I am delusional. Someone told me today that I was not old, I was vintage. I felt better immediately. As we move through the decades, each one brings its challenges and rewards. What do we want? What do we need? These seem to change as we go from decade to decade. Wants seem to be greater in our younger … [Read more...]

Letter about questions left on the table... To the Editor, I attended the public hearing on February 16 about the proposed doubling of feedlot limits. I’m not a farmer, I’m a music therapist living in Carimona Township, so I came to learn and left with a few questions. 1. What prompted the proposal in the first place? I was hoping that question would start off the meeting … [Read more...]

Letter about  enough is enough... To the Editor, Last week I attended a meeting of the Fillmore County Planning and Zoning Commission. The public had been invited to attend and the meeting room was filled to overflowing. Prior to the meeting, I had sent a written comment to the commissioners and I was among those who made oral comments at the meeting.  Concerns of … [Read more...]

To the Editor, The old bridge at Historic Forestville will be saved. No county road is going to punch through the historic site. The bridge abutments, deck, and railings will be fixed, and the bridge reopened as a trail for horses, bikes, and pedestrians. The people in Fillmore County will not let their parks be ruined. The county engineer, who says tearing it all down is an … [Read more...]

Letter about what is Fillmore County thinking? To the Editor, What is Fillmore county thinking? Most of the wells in the county hardly pass now. This should not even be brought in our part of the county. The animal units are fair now. Don’t bring in the big corporations because that’s all you will do. Think about the younger generation for once. Bad enough they’re trying to … [Read more...]

By Norm Gross Spring Valley, MN I was surprised to hear that Fillmore County is looking to double the Animal Unit Cap (number of farm animals under one roof). With the current state of our environ-ment, our concern for water and air quality, a growing desire for cleaner healthier food, and our need to revitalize rural America, I hoped that we would be moving towards … [Read more...]

Letter about February 16 Public Hearing... To the Editor, Please be aware that the February 16, 7 p.m., Fillmore County Planning and Zoning (P&Z) public hearing proposal is a significant change to the status quo and is likely to have some profound ripple effects for all county residents. Currently, 2,000 animal units (existing county cap) allows about 2,000 cattle or … [Read more...]

Letter about please do not double maximum feedlot size in Fillmore County... To the Editor, I’m a pastured hog farmer and my farm borders the eastern edge of Fillmore County. I was shocked to read that the Fillmore County Planning Commission is considering doubling the max size of industrial feedlots when the cap — 2,000 “animal units,” or over 6,600 finishing hogs — is … [Read more...]