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...]
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.
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...]
Fountain gets property tax update
Fillmore County Assessor Jason McCaslin was present at the April 6 Fountain Council meeting to discuss changes to the city’s tax values. Like many other municipalities in the county, Fountain will see an increase to its building values, largely driven by the spike in housing market sales. The county is required by state statute to value property every year and conduct an … [Read more...]
Rushford approves private bond placement for Highway 30 project
At the March 28 meeting, the Rushford City Council received an update from financial consultant Mike Bubany, of David Drown Associates, regarding the bond for the rapidly upcoming Highway 30 project. The street and utility project is being coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and is set to kick off as early as late April. Being a state-run project, … [Read more...]
Rushford Village lifts COVID restrictions
After nearly two years prohibiting the public usage of the community center, the Rushford Village Council has voted unanimously to lift rental restrictions. Initially, the council prohibited rentals due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an inability to clean to safe standards after every usage. “We have a service that’s doing the cleaning now. They already started and they’re doing … [Read more...]
Disciplinary action taken against Rushford employee
At the Rushford Council meeting earlier this month, Councilor Leigh Volkman questioned the city’s reaction to allegations against a city employee. Nothing further was said on the matter other than an investigation was ongoing. During a closed meeting portion of the March 14 council meeting, the matter was discussed further. Minnesota Statutes Section 13D.05 Subdivision 2(b) to … [Read more...]
Peterson digs into city projects
After months of discussion, the Peterson City Council, at its March 9 meeting, voted unanimously to move forward with several projects which will give the city fresh appeal. Following the replacement of the welcome sign on the Root River State Trail last year, the city is replacing the outdated city sign on the Highway 16 corridor. The new sign will be manufactured by the … [Read more...]
