An opportunity for significant refinance savings could have a big impact on Peterson’s budget. The city council was made aware of the opportunity at the February 9 meeting courtesy of financial consultant, Mike Bubany, of David Drown Associates. “When we issued bonds for County 25, we promised not to prepay or refinance before a certain date. It had a call date of February 1 … [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 Village tackles personnel goals
At the annual organizational meeting, the Rushford Village council approved the addition of several city and public works goals. Two of these were to write a Personnel Manual and to complete steps for A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction (AWAIR) Program, a part of Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration (MNOSHA) compliance. Adopted to existing safety … [Read more...]
Fountain follows up annual designations
The Fountain City Council breezed through a two-minute meeting February 2. There were only two items for agenda consideration. The first item was the monthly consent agenda, consisting of last month’s meeting minutes, the treasurer’s report, and approval of monthly bills. All were approved in one motion and with no discussion. Councilor Colleen Fohrenbacher was absent from this … [Read more...]
Rushford Village kicks off a new year
The Rushford Village Council held their annual meeting January 18. Committee Designations for 2022 will remain the same with the exception of Personnel & Finance Committee. Citing a lack of availability and experience with Personnel issues, Councilor Bob Hart asked to be removed from the committee, unsure if the Personnel & Finance duties could be split and shared by … [Read more...]
Rushford sees opportunities for better communication
The last meeting of 2021 (December 27) for the Rushford Council was largely a follow-up on the city’s final levy and the annual performance review for City Administrator Tony Chladek. This was his fifth year with the city. Mayor Terri Benson kicked off the discussion noting she’d compiled the comments and concerns from the individual performance reviews done by herself and … [Read more...]
Rushford ponders future project impacts
As part of ongoing efforts to thoroughly understand and mitigate the impacts of future projects within the City of Rushford, the city council met with financial consultant Mike Bubany, of David Drown Associates, for a special meeting on December 20. Bubany’s computer modeling provided some clear parameters for projects, including the 2022 Highway 30 reconstruction, a Minnesota … [Read more...]
Rushford moves closer to deciding levy
In September, the Rushford City Council set the maximum levy at $1,017,000, representing a 0% increase over the 2021 levy. At the December 13 meeting, more discussion on the topic was held with City Clerk Kathy Zacher presenting comparative and historical data, as well as updates on capital projects. “In keeping it level this year, we’re decreasing some of our funds and we’re … [Read more...]
Peterson contributes additional funding for marketing efforts
Rushford Peterson Valley Chamber of Commerce Director Jen Hengel was present at Peterson’s December 8 council meeting to highlight the 2022 marketing plan for the valley. The city has contributed lodging tax revenues to the chamber for this purpose for some time. Hengel indicated marketing tactics will remain largely the same, including digital, print, and radio … [Read more...]
Fountain will keep ordinance banning chickens
The Fountain City Council voted 2:1 on December 1, with Mayor Jim Schott not voting and Councilor Colleen Fohrenbacher unable to vote, under Schott’s direction, to uphold its current ordinances banning chickens within city limits. “We need to have a vote on whether or not to discuss chickens,” said Schott. “Colleen, you can’t vote because you brought it up.” Fohrenbacher … [Read more...]
Rushford hires additional officers
Rushford Police Department has an additional two part-time officers following approval from the city council on November 22. Upon the recommendation of Chief Adam Eide and Sergeant Nate Klinski, the council reviewed a request to hire officers Tanner Weinfurtner and Brady Meyer to round out policing needs. “As we have mentioned previously, it is important for the Rushford … [Read more...]