At the January 22 meeting, the Rushford City Council held a public meeting regarding a business subsidy to three entities related to one business. The revolving loan subsidy request from Brilliance Web Design, Inc., NL Acquisition CO LLC, and DWEL Properties LLC relates to the purchase of the Johnson & James Properties: Norsland Lefse LLC and Norsland Bakery & Café … [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 Revisits Annual Items and Goals
By Kirsten Zoellner At the January 16 meeting, the Rushford Village Council covered several agenda items relating to annual in-house paperwork. Annual items included appointments and designations, meeting times, and committees. Acting Mayor Mike Ebner will continue to serve in the absence of Mayor Dennis Overland. Meetings will continue on the first and third Tuesday of … [Read more...]
Peterson Sets Up For New Year
At the January 10 meeting, of the Peterson Council, Mayor Chris Stenzel led a sparse room through annual meeting items. Councilors Tracy Seelbinder and Justin Simon were also present. Clerk Chris Grindland and Councilors Gail Boyum and Kristina Grindland were absent from the meeting. First up, a quick update from Public Works noted that the department had no issues with the … [Read more...]
Fountain Lacks for Council Issues
The first meeting of 2024 for the Fountain City Council was the shortest meeting on record, just a minute and 10 seconds on January 3, due to the absence of Mayor Tammy Danielson and a surprisingly short agenda. Opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, the attending council proceeded with the agenda, which included the consent agenda only. In it were the minutes from the … [Read more...]
Rushford Sets Hearing for Funding Request
At the December 26 meeting, the Rushford Council heard details of an Economic Development Authority (EDA) request from Brilliance Web Design, DBA Brilliance Business Solutions for the purchase of the Johnson & James Properties, Norsland Lefse & Norsland Bakery & Cafe. According to the provided documentation, the EDA reviewed the request at their December 20 meeting. The … [Read more...]
Village Decides Final Levy
After months of discussion, the Rushford Village Council nailed down the 2024 budget and levy. Despite the unanimous vote, some on the council felt the village would fall short, while others expressed concern it was too high. The final levy is $535,000. The levy represents a 7% increase over 2023. City Clerk Mary Miner expects $688,671 in expenses and $629,178 in disbursements, … [Read more...]
Rushford Sets Final Numbers
At the December 11 meeting, the Rushford Council approved the final 2024 budget and levy with all present voting in favor. Councilor Leigh Volkman was absent. After months of discussion, the council set the final amount at $1,138,631, a 5.2% increase from the 2023 levy of $1,082,255. The documentation provided to the council was the same as the preliminary budget and levy … [Read more...]
Peterson Lights up for a Good Cause
The city of Peterson has just over 100 homes. The city council included nearly 60 in the annual count of holiday-decorated homes. At the December 13 meeting, Councilor Gail Boyum noted 57 displays but expected more to pop up since there are typically around 60. For each home with either a day or nighttime holiday display, including homes displaying decorations through windows, … [Read more...]
Rushford Village Closes in on Final Levy
At the December 5 meeting, the Rushford Village Council again discussed the 2024 budget. As the proposed 7% levy increase currently stands, the budget has a $50,000 cushion. If the council reduces the final levy to 5%, the cushion will be $40,000. Some on the council questioned whether or not that was enough. City staff removed several items from the proposed budget, including … [Read more...]
Fountain Approves 2024 Levy
The Fountain, Minn., council zipped through a short agenda at the December 6 meeting. Having just one notice and two items of business, the council sped through approving the budget and levy for 2024. The final levy will be $223,500. The amount represents $123,500 from the general tax levy, $65,000 sewer tax levy, $25,000 capital improvement tax levy and $10,000 Equipment Fund … [Read more...]
Rushford to Seek Improvement Funding
At the November 27 meeting, City Engineer Derek Olinger of Bolton & Menk spoke to the council regarding the state’s Local Road Improvement Program Funding. The three-part program, administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, provides up to $1.5 million towards local road projects for regionally significant roads, resulting in safety improvements or addressing … [Read more...]
Rushford Hangar Up in the Air
A main topic at the November 13 Rushford City Council meeting was possible positive traction forward with the construction of the new Rushford Municipal Airport Hangar. The new hangar, a replacement for a six-unit hangar lost to fire in 2019, was scheduled to be completed last month. At the previous meeting, the Rushford Council learned that engineer Mead & Hunt would … [Read more...]
Peterson Water Inspections Nearly Complete
During a Public Works update at the November 7 meeting, the Peterson Council learned that more than 80% of the water connection inspections are complete. The inspections were part of the Lead and Copper Rule regulation. Originally published by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1991, the agency revised the rule, and the state put it into effect in 2021 to support actions to … [Read more...]
Rushford Village Considers Contracts
At the November 7 meeting, the Rushford Village Council discussed whether or not to renew the contract with Community Economic Development Associates for the coming year. They aim to work with cities and other entities “to help them be proactive and strategic about their development aspirations.” Over the last few years, some on the council expressed concern about whether the … [Read more...]
Fountain Forced to Make Repairs
At the November 1 meeting, the Fountain Council learned from Public Works Director John Hanson that the city must replace a part at the north lift station repair, located near the intersection of Highway 52 and County Road 11. “This past weekend, we noticed one pump was running almost 24 hours a day,” said Hanson. After inspection with Dan Shimota of W.W. Geotsch & … [Read more...]