At the August 2 meeting, the Rushford Village council learned of a one-day road closure on County Line Road. The purpose of the approximately 60-foot closure section is for engineers from Bolton & Menk to conduct soil borings. The road has been the topic of many recent discussions as deep erosion from the watershed has left the section with a steep embankment and deep … [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.
Fountain to grow sinkhole capital tourism
At the August 3 meeting, Fountain’s city council received an update from Councilor Colleen Fohrenbacher regarding a plan to make the city’s claim to fame as the ‘sinkhole capital of the U.S.’ a tangible tourism aspect. The US Geological Survey has mapped roughly 60 percent of sinkholes in Fillmore County and so it’s estimated that there may be more than 10,000 sinkholes, … [Read more...]
Rushford hears SMIF and legislative updates
The July 25 Rushford City Council meeting brought a positive outlook on economic development and frustration over an ongoing push for a special legislative session with impacts on small cities. Alissa Oeltjenbruns, of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), apprised the council of ongoing programs, work within communities, and future partnerships. Also in attendance … [Read more...]
Rushford Village approves engineering proposal
At the July 19 meeting, the Rushford Village Council heard a proposal from City Engineer Derek Olinger, of Bolton & Menk, for addressing road deterioration on County Line Road. Like many rural roadways, it’s gravel, winding, steep in sections, and prone to the bombarding erosion of watersheds. Traveling east on the road, erosion has dug into 50-60 feet of the north side of … [Read more...]
Peterson approves ordinance change to enforce zoning violations
The City of Peterson has made strides since enacting regulated zoning ordinances several years ago, but it is still dealing with problems. Frustrations noted by the council at the July 13 council meeting detail the issues. “One of the common issues we have is junk and clutter outside of people’s houses. We send letters with no real recourse,” said City Clerk Chris Grindland. … [Read more...]
Rushford adds full-time police officer to department
At the July 11 meeting, the Rushford City Council unanimously approved the hiring of Cale Stensgard for the open full-time officer position, replacing former officer Davin Daveau, who resigned in June. Stensgard has served the city as a part-time officer since September 2019. “It is my recommendation to hire Stensgard as he has proven to be a good employee and I believe he … [Read more...]
Rushford project moving right along
At the swift June 27 meeting, the Rushford council approved a number of items in the consent agenda including a new update regarding the Highway 30 Street & Utility Improvement Project. Phase One, downtown construction, began May 9 and was scheduled to preliminarily wrap up early July. At that point, Phase Two, from the West Stevens Avenue and West Jessie Street … [Read more...]
Rushford Village looks at road safety
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...]
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...]