At the Tuesday, November 7 council meeting, City Clerk Mary Miner presented a property owner petition from Dan and Mary Jo Grimsrud. The item was added to the agenda. The petition is seeking detachment from the City of Rushford of two parcels equaling 10.99 acres. The parcels have two buildings and as stated in the petition documents are rural in character and are not … [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 writes in new councilors
Rushford is the only municipality in Fillmore County, and one of only 28 municipalities in the state of Minnesota, to hold off-year elections for two of its four council seats. Even more of an oddity, this year the seats up for grabs had no candidates on the ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office shows 1,075 registered voters in Rushford’s precinct. Yesterday, just 152 … [Read more...]
A veteran’s service – American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars remember
We see them marching, flags held high while commanders call out drill commands. We see them somber at the funerals for soldiers who’ve passed on; standing with the color guard, trumpeting out a bugle’s song, firing the heart stopping three-volley salute. We see them, but who are they and what do they represent? At current count, there are 13,807 American Legion posts … [Read more...]
Honor Flight journey worth the wait for local vets
Since its inception in 2005, the Honor Flight Network has flown an estimated 159,000 thousand veterans to Washington, DC to view their respective war memorial. While the number may seem staggering, organizers can’t get flights fast enough. More than 29,000 veterans are on the ever-increasing waiting list. Recently, two Rushford American Legion members had the privilege of … [Read more...]
Fountain reviews options for rate increase
The Fountain City Council considered the results of a utility rate analysis at the Wednesday, November 1 meeting and it could have some substantial changes for the city. An analysis by Minnesota Rural Water Association provided the city with four options. Currently, properties are charged a base rate of $30 per 3,000 gallons for sewer service and an additional $20 base rate … [Read more...]
Precision services making gains in crop production and land protection
Jason Schwarz knows farming is a tough business. The Preston native is the owner of JMS Agronomics, a local company working to assist farms in reaching their greatest potential. Along with agronomy, Schwarz maintains a Pioneer sales rep agency, selling a full line of seed products. “With Pioneer, where we’re at in the industry is seed treatment. It’s a fully customizable … [Read more...]
End may be in sight for Rushford’s municipal liquor store woes
At the October 10 Rushford Council meeting, an offer to purchase the city’s former municipal liquor store building, located at 409 South Elm Street, was presented by real estate agent Rodney Darr. The offer, from Destiny Life Church, was the first solid offer the city has had on the site, which has stood vacant for years. The strange saga of the store started with the flood of … [Read more...]
Farmers Coop Elevator and Farmers Win Cooperative courting merger idea
Some big changes may be happening in the near future for long-time area business Farmers Coop Elevator. Finding itself in between general managers, the board of directors announced in May that it would begin investigating the option of a possible merger with a neighboring cooperative. Six cooperatives were looked at and met with. This past summer, after two joint meetings … [Read more...]
Peterson frustration grows with unpaid utilities; considers disconnects
The Wednesday, October 11 Peterson Council meeting was a rapid fire 17-minute review of a bulk of old business. Included was brief discussion of the reclamation and repair of Park Street and River Street, purchase of a city truck, and the 2018 budget. Mayor Tim Hallum suggested the council wait until the first of the year to discuss the truck and it was determined that budget … [Read more...]
Burdey’s Cafe owner passionate about building customer relationships
Rushford native Kristin Burdey always had a soft spot for the idea of owning a little eatery, but never really gave the concept any detailed planning. Instead she dove into work for a franchise restaurant and excelled in her position. Throughout her time there, she saw little things she would do differently if she ever owned her own place. “I met my husband in the restaurant … [Read more...]