At the June 21 Rushford Village Council meeting, City Engineer Derek Olinger, of Bolton & Menk, questioned the city on the direction regarding some serious sloping on the edges along County Line Drive. The rural gravel road winds up a steep hill section and is subject to slope instability and erosion issues. “It should be a focus for future improvement. It’s a steep slope … [Read more...]
Kirsten Zoellner
Reporter
kirsten@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Kirsten has been a reporter for Fillmore County Journal since 2008. No awards to date, but her mother finds her articles riveting. She enjoys shining a light on the great people and events in the county and has aspirations to someday write a novel about them. A native of Rushford, she is a member of Root River Community Church, co-founder of Odyssey Homeschool Association, and was the founder for the Rushford-Peterson Valley Farmers' Market.
When not writing, Kirsten happily spends her time raising a family alongside Joel, her husband of 18 years. She homeschools their six children (Evin, Lauren, Logan, Ada, Kathleen, and Emelia) and does her best to ensure domestic bliss. Kirsten is an advocate for conservation and homesteading and operates Liten Dal Farm, where the family raises dairy goats, pastured poultry and hogs, alpacas, a few steers, and horses. Hobbies other than juggling include the outdoors, reading, vegetable gardening, cheesemaking, fermenting various things in Ball jars, and making everything from scratch despite the fact that it probably costs more.
Kirsten and her family proudly reside in rural Fountain on her great-great-grandfather's farm.
You can follow more about Kirsten on the family's Facebook page, Liten Dal Farm, or their blog: ourprairienest.wordpress.com.
Rushford benefits from entitlement funds transfer
The brief Rushford Council meeting June 13 yielded some decisions that brought positive news to the city. First up, the council unanimously approved a consent agenda item that includes Federal Aviation Administration entitlement funds being transferred from Waseca and Marshall airports. The funds, $76,901 from Waseca and $14,402 from Marshall, are to be used for the Rushford … [Read more...]
Peterson looking to clean up electrical issue
The City of Peterson is looking at cleaning up and updating areas of its city park and campground and is intending to hold a public hearing for proposed plans and other citizen suggestions. In the meantime, certain areas of the park will be getting updates that are causing poor accessibility. Part of the process is moving a transformer pole directly to the west of the current … [Read more...]
Rushford Village looks to extend contract; clarifies easement
At the June 7 meeting, the Rushford Village Council discussed a possible extension of the garbage collection contract. Jeff Holmquist, sales manager for Harter’s Quick Clean-Up, was on hand to discuss what the village is looking for and any concerns over the current contract. “I’m here today to gather what you’re looking for and take that back to my powers that be and work … [Read more...]
Fountain approves new TIF district
At the June 1 Fountain meeting, the city council held a public hearing regarding the proposed creation of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for B&I Properties for Valley Design. The purpose and terms of the plan were detailed by financial consultant Mike Bubany, of David Drown Associates. Due to continued growth, the business has acquired an adjacent parcel of land … [Read more...]
Rushford bandstand proposal to honor former librarian
At a swift May 23 meeting, the Rushford Council approved two items of general business and heard about a project put forward by the Library Board. The capital projects proposal is the construction of a community bandstand just west of the public library on existing green space. The bandstand will honor longtime Rushford librarian Susan Hart, who served in the role for 25 … [Read more...]
Rushford Village road tour update
May 3, the Rushford Village Council conducted their annual tour of the city’s roadways. At the May 17 meeting, minutes from that tour were approved. According to those minutes, eight particular roads were visited and noted upon. They include Hillview Drive and Nordic Court in the Cedar Hill Park residential area, County Line Road, Ridgeview Road, Airport Drive, Vogan Drive, and … [Read more...]
Rushford public hearing draws no citizens
The Rushford City Council held a public hearing May 9 for the purpose of receiving information regarding assessments to property owners affected by the Highway 30 Street & Utility Improvement Project prior to the council adopting the assessment roll. Engineer Derek Olinger, of Bolton & Menk, was present to discuss details and noted it was unique to have the public not … [Read more...]
Peterson hears public comment on park plans
The City of Peterson is steadily making its way through looking at various options for phased projects rejuvenating its city park, which includes substantial green space from the former athletic field for Rushford-Peterson Middle School. All plans discussed in recent months have been preliminary and are leading up to a public informational meeting to gather additional ideas and … [Read more...]
Rushford Village details public works changes
At the May 3 meeting, the Rushford Village Council revisited details from the April 19 closed meeting where the council had discussed labor negotiations following the submission of a letter of resignation from Public Works/Maintenance Supervisor Trenten Chiglo. According to the minutes, the council noted satisfaction with Chiglo’s work and emphasized the flexibility of the … [Read more...]
Fountain zoning projects top council meeting
At the May 4 city meeting, the Fountain Council approved just one agenda item, but all three items of discussion were zoning-related. First up, Jason and Mary Schwarz, owners of JMS Agronomics, discussed plans for a new building on their commercial land just east of Highway 52. The couple purchased the property in the fall of 2018, occupying what was formerly Herman’s … [Read more...]
Big step for Rushford airport hangar
When one of the two Rushford Municipal Airport hangar buildings was destroyed by fire in October 2019, the question for the city wasn’t whether or not to replace it, but how. The six-unit hangar was half the airport’s hangar capacity and not only drew revenue for the airport, but kept the airport at a Federal Aviation Administration NPIAS (National Plan of Integrated Airport … [Read more...]
Rushford Highway 30 project to kick off May 9
At the April 11 meeting, the Rushford City Council received updates for the last prep stages of the Highway 30/Stevens Avenue Street & Utility Improvement Project. According to City Clerk Kathy Zacher, all legal documents and signatures have been filed as required and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) plans to begin construction May 9. The council … [Read more...]
Peterson making headway on community improvements
The April 13 Peterson Council meeting included discussion on many of the same topics discussed in March, but the city is getting closer to reaching some much-sought after goals. A new welcome sign for the Highway 16 entrance into the city has been ordered. It was custom designed to match the recent sign on the Root River State Trail, but on a much bigger scale. The composite … [Read more...]
Rushford Village approves insurance option
In January, Rushford Village received a report following the League of Minnesota Cities’ appraisal of all city property. Upon review, there were wide discrepancies in valuations between the league’s and the city’s estimations. The city’s insurance agent, Butch Johnson Insurance, began checking into whether or not errors were made on the figures. At the March council meeting, … [Read more...]