The Tesmer Farm Safety Day Camp set a record for most attendees with nearly 600 students. The annual May event held at Mabel’s Steam Engine Park brings fourth graders from Fillmore and Houston County schools to learn about basic safety. “This year was the biggest ever,” said Michael Cruse, local extension educator. “And the great thing is, it’s almost completely supported by … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2017
Rushford Village looking to wrap up project
The May 16 Rushford Village meeting was brisk; just 14 minutes. In that time though, the Village made it known that they want to wrap up their 2016 utility and road improvement project, with or without the contractor. The frustrations felt by the Village have been stated on numerous occasions by Mayor Gordon Johnson, members of the council, and Public Works Supervisor Travis … [Read more...]
Preston hearing for 2017 sidewalk improvements set
At the May 15 Preston City Council meeting, the proposed sidewalk improvements for 2017 were discussed. Councilman David Collett was absent. Public Works Director Jim Bakken completed the annual sidewalk inspection in April. Any deviations over one inch were marked. Five locations were selected based on condition, volume and traffic, and funds available. His feasibility … [Read more...]
The budget process remains broken
Think about this for a moment: Two days away from a federal shutdown, Congress comes up with a stopgap measure to keep the government operating... for a week. A few days later it arrives at a bipartisan budget deal lasting a bit over four months. This, in turn, moves the President to take to Twitter with the following statement: “Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September … [Read more...]
Entrepreneurship starts with encouragement
For the second year, Minnesota ranks first of the 25 largest states in the Kauffman Index for Main Street Entrepreneurship. We have the highest rate of business owners (7.75%), established small business density (687.2 small businesses per 1,000 firms) and business survival rate (50.75% that made it to at least five years in business). However, while we’re going great as a … [Read more...]
Government this Week
Monday, May 22 • Rushford-Peterson School Board, Biology Room, 5:30 p.m. • Spring Valley City Council, City Hall, 6 p.m. • City of Rushford City Council, City Hall, 6:30 p.m. Chatfield City Council, City Hall, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 23 • Fillmore County Commissioners, Courthouse, 9 a.m. •Fillmore Central School Board, High School Media Center, 6:00 p.m. … [Read more...]
Letter about the American Health Care Act…
To the Editor, In 1867, U. S. Congressman John Bidwell wrote: “I concede that men may sometimes honestly differ in opinion. But, in questions of principle…, some things are so palpably wrong as to carry them beyond the sphere of opinion.” It is time to “Make America Great Again.” Let us begin by examining our most heartfelt governing principles, taking a single issue as … [Read more...]
Letter about Should college be free?…
To the Editor, This is in response to the article, “College should not be free,” written by Kendyl Bennett in the May 15 Fillmore County Journal. Her assertions are: “The government does not have enough money to fund college for everyone,” and “There are plenty of resources for students who wish to attend college.” The federal budget for 2015 was 3.8 trillion dollars, so … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project: Two of a kind
By Kiera Olson Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. The Minnesota had a slow start to the season, but they’ve quickly picked up steam with their recent winning streak and look to be strong this season. But after you think about all this, have you ever stopped to wonder why the mascot is the twin? There’s no real history linking the twin to the area. Being a twin myself, I … [Read more...]
Mabel School Board continues enrollment issues with Iowa
The Mabel School Board continued its discussion at their May 16 meeting about the controversial open enrollment agreements between Decorah and Mabel-Canton (M-C) Schools. At last month’s meeting, Tina Michels, Hesper resident and parent of two M-C open enrollment students, discovered that her children will not be able to attend M-C because of a legality between Iowa and … [Read more...]