With the last blast of winter that showed up, the City of Rushford Village is eagerly waiting to get started on spring road work and its maintenance shed project. At the April 18 meeting, the council received updates on both, plus the digital water meter installation and a modification to the Village Hall rental policy. Public Works has a priority list for work on crushed rock … [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.
Peterson okays road work
The Peterson council voted unanimously at the April 12 meeting to proceed with improvements to North Church Street. Its condition has been a concern for the last several years while the city has worked to prioritize and improve its streets. Fred Kruckow of Dunn Blacktop was present at the meeting to discuss the details and cost estimates. The street’s base is solid and will … [Read more...]
Rushford Council hopes to add ambulance position
On April 10, the Rushford Council held the first of its two monthly meetings. While general business had several minor items, including various approvals for upcoming festivities and fundraising events, the council approved two other notable items. The first was approving an Assistant Director/EMS Training Coordinator job description. Accordion to the agenda, the position is … [Read more...]
Rushford Village reconsiders shop project scope
At the April 4 meeting, the Rushford Village Council again pulled back on the proposed maintenance shed project. The Public Works facility is underutilized and needs improvements. Last month, the council dug into the costs. The proposed project came in at 35% higher than anticipated. Councilor Mike Ebner stated that the city could not utilize the contractor they’d hoped to … [Read more...]
Fountain Council selects new engineer
After months of discussion, the City of Fountain has selected a new engineer. At the April 5 meeting, the council unanimously approved hiring Bolton & Menk. The firm’s work agreement will be on a per-project basis. They included a fixed fee if the city wanted an assessment of its wastewater treatment plant. The council cited the firm’s experience and recommendations from … [Read more...]
County Assessor highlights Rushford adjustments
Fillmore County Assessor Jason McCaslin presented a review of details involved in finalizing the 2023 market adjustment at the March 27 Rushford Council meeting. McCaslin covered Rushford, as well as other municipalities and the county as a whole. McCaslin noted that things that affect the county tax rate vary and that time adjustments had a tremendous impact on the changes. … [Read more...]
Rushford Village waits on road tour
Public Works items again topped the March 21 Rushford Village Council meeting discussion. Road issues and maintenance, an improvement project, and the ongoing changeover of water meters were all on the agenda. City Engineer Derek Olinger of Bolton & Menk addressed the council regarding County Line Drive. The rural gravel road winds up a steep hill section and is subject to … [Read more...]
Rushford approves water tower restoration
At the March 13 meeting, the Rushford Council received a recommendation from KLM Engineering to award the bid for a water tower restoration project. Initially, the city intended to have the project completed before July. However, the city altered the bid request to allow flexibility in the completion time. “We got six bids because we weren’t so fussy about the timeline. … [Read more...]
Peterson to add bonfire for Gammel Dag
Peterson’s big annual June weekend fest, Gammel Dag, is set to get another activity. Councilor Gail Boyum requested permission to add a bonfire at the March 8 council meeting. Plans are to hold the bonfire at the former R-P Middle School athletic field. “You know, in Norway, it’s never dark when they do their midsummer celebration,” said Boyum. Friends of Peterson, the … [Read more...]
Rushford Village talks shop project
Discussion of improvements at the Rushford Village Public Works maintenance shed continued at the March 7 city council meeting. Public Works and several council members maintain that the building is underutilized and that improvements are needed. Much like other costs over the last two years, bids for the various parts of the project came in approximately 35% higher than … [Read more...]
Fountain meets potential engineers
Maintenance of the wastewater treatment plant is an ongoing issue for Fountain. Noting dissatisfaction and lack of communication with the current city engineer, the council began looking for a new engineer last month. As a result, three companies attended the March 1 meeting to provide information. Mike Saunders, project manager from AE2S, noted the company’s focus on water … [Read more...]
Rushford creates commercial loan fund
At the February 27 meeting, the Rushford Council unanimously approved the Economic Development Authority (EDA) recommendation to implement Business Subsidy/Revolving Loan Fund guidelines. These will assist in marketing a Commercial Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Program. The goal of the program is to fill commercial space within the city. “This is the leading priority of the EDA. … [Read more...]
New Rushford Village water meters coming
After more than a year of discussion, the Rushford Village council unanimously approved the installation estimates for its new water meters. The council approved the purchase of 105 meters from Metron-Farnier in December. Two bids were received. The bid from VIS Plumbing & Heating, of Lanesboro, came in at $13,650, and STS Plumbing & Heating, of Mabel, was $19,789. … [Read more...]
Rushford approves trail project with R-P
At last month’s Rushford-Peterson Board meeting, the district approved a letter of intent for a partnership with the City of Rushford on a trail extension project. The project aims to provide safe pedestrian travel from the Brooklyn neighborhood and the Tyrol Hills subdivision to the school. It connects city trails on the west side of Nannestad Lane, behind homes west of Eiken … [Read more...]
Rushford Village section goes dark
A portion of Rushford Village, along the Highway 43 corridor, went unexpectedly dark last week. It extends south of the Root River Bridge, near Brown Tire & Battery, towards south rushford, roughly a half mile, to where Highways 43 and 16 intersect. According to City Councilor Mike Ebner, the outage resulted from poor underground wiring. Approximately a half dozen poles are … [Read more...]