The December 16 Fillmore Central School Board meeting began with the annual Truth in Taxation presentation given by Superintendent Heath Olstad. The presentation included charts that detailed where the funding for the school comes from and how it is used as well as information on how tax levies work. The board approved the 2026 levy at a total of $2,304,078.75. $1,614,055.37 of … [Read more...]
Articles by Hannah Wingert
Reporter
hannah@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Project for Improved Accessibility to Root River Planned in Lanesboro
The December 1 Lanesboro City Council meeting opened with the annual Truth-in-Taxation public hearing. City Administrator Mitchell Walbridge explained what the purpose of the hearing was as well as how property taxes are calculated. He noted that residents are able to appeal their property taxes at the Board of Appeals with the county assessor in the spring. The statements that … [Read more...]
Fillmore Central Receives Clean Audit Opinion
Jason Boynton from Smith Schafer presented the 2024-2025 audit report to the Fillmore Central school board at their November 25 meeting. The report received a clean, unmodified opinion. Enrollment has been going down over the last eight years from 635 to 560 this year which affects the funding the school receives. The federal aid dollars are back down to pre-pandemic amounts. … [Read more...]
Harmony Water Tower Receives Good Rating in Inspection
At the November 13 Harmony city council meeting, Harmony resident Ann Lyons asked how the citizens of Harmony are to keep themselves apprised of the information on the proposed data center. City Administrator Alissa Stelpflug encouraged Lyons and others who want information to attend city council meetings as well as the Planning and Zoning meetings. The consent agenda was … [Read more...]
FFA Team Wins Big at National Convention
Tenth grade twins Charity and Grace Kingsley have been a part of FFA with Fillmore Central for four years now, but this year was their first time attending the FFA National Convention with their team and fellow FFA members. Twenty-three students from the Fillmore Central FFA chapter attended the October 29-November 1 convention in Indianapolis, Indiana this year. Most of the … [Read more...]
Lanesboro Moving Ahead with Comprehensive Plan
During the public comment portion of the November 3 Lanesboro City Council meeting, Jon Buggs noted that Tara Johnson recently celebrated 15 years as library director of the Lanesboro Public Library. Peter and Vicki Torkelson both spoke about the lack of proper procedure taken at the October council meeting to appoint the newest library board member. Vicki also noted her … [Read more...]
Fillmore Central Gears Up for Winter Sports
At October 27 Fillmore Central School Board meeting, Superintendent Heath Olstad updated the board on the fall sports season. Both the football and volleyball teams received the #1 seed and won their first rounds in playoffs. Winter sports will be starting soon. Forty-four students are signed up for boys basketball, 33 for girls basketball, and 35 total for wrestling. Athletic … [Read more...]
Solberg Welding Going Strong After 40 Years
It’s been 40 years since brothers Dennis and Dan Solberg opened up Solberg Welding in September 1985. Dennis had recently completed two years of welding training at Austin Vo-Tech and was back working at the family farm between Preston and Harmony when he heard that the Matson Welding building in Harmony was for sale. He and Dan decided to purchase the property and open up … [Read more...]
Shared Battle With Breast Cancer Brings Friends Even Closer
Vicki Musel and Heather Barth paths first crossed when Heather signed her daughter Sydney up for a Just for Kix dance class that Vicki was teaching. Then, both Sydney and Vicki’s daughter Leena ended up in the Fillmore County 4-H Horse Project, and Vicki and Heather found themselves spending a lot of time together. Last year, Heather and Vicki’s friendship deepened in an … [Read more...]
Concerns Raised Over Proposed Data Center
At the October 14 Harmony City Council meeting, several residents spoke out with questions and comments about the proposed data center in Harmony. Dennis DeKeyrel said that he felt there had been a good turnout at the town hall meeting on October 7, but a lot of people still have questions that need to be addressed with council transparency. Julie Little said that the council … [Read more...]