At the August 11 regular meeting of the Houston City Council, the council authorized City Administrator Michelle Quinn to work with representatives from the state and county to seek state disaster public assistance for the tree damage that occurred in the July 29 storm. Quinn expects the damage to easily exceed the $4,000 minimum. Not only did Houston have significant tree … [Read more...]
Houston Will Apply for Design Team Grant
Marilyn Frauenkron Bayer addressed the Houston City Council at their regular meeting September 8 to request their support of a grant application for a visit by the Minnesota Design Team once again. Houston has benefited from such visits twice before. In October 1995, Houston hosted a design team for the first time. In April 2006, Houston was one of the first communities in the … [Read more...]
Houston Board Hears Updates on Schools’ Goals
At their October 2 meeting, the Houston School Board heard from all the administrations of the Houston Schools about the goals that have been set for this year. Houston Preschool set a goal to focus on Mat Man. Using scaffolded instruction, the teachers will work with students to draw Mat Man, a line drawing of a person. This helps with school readiness for the … [Read more...]
Houston County Levy Set With 6% Increase
The Houston County Commissioners met December 23 with a full agenda. A guest at the meeting was Spring Grove’s Mayor Williamson who had watched the previous commissioners’ meeting and wanted to answer some questions that were brought up during discussions about the policing agreement with the city. Williamson explained that Spring Grove was having some budget issues; this was … [Read more...]
R-P Building Bond Information Shared
At the regular December 15 Rushford-School Board meeting, the board heard updates about the upcoming building bond referendum. The board officially reviewed the Review and Comment document from the state; R-P received a positive review from the state. Informational meetings were set for December 17, January 7, 2026, and January 21, 2026. All of the meetings will be held at … [Read more...]
Construction Update for Mabel-Canton School
Much of the December 16 Mabel-Canton School Board meeting was tied to the upcoming building project at the school. Superintendent Gary Kuphal explained a request to approve a bid from Wells Concrete of $630,325 for precast walls. These walls will be used in the CTE addition and are like the walls used recently at the elementary. Wells Concrete is the only company in the area … [Read more...]
The Adventures of Sweet Strawberry and Salty Peanut Fresh Off the Press
Local authors Mason and Nicole Howard have been busy writing books the past year featuring the interactions of two friends aptly named Sweet Strawberry and Salty Peanut. Sweet Strawberry is a sweet character while Salty Peanut is a grouchy, salty character. The mother and son duo came up with the idea of writing a book last winter, wrote it in the spring and self-published it … [Read more...]
New Public Works Director for Houston
At their regular city council meeting December 8, the Houston City Council appointed Josh Hongerholt to replace Randy Thesing as the Public Works City Maintenance Superintendent. Thesing served in the position for nearly 24 years and will be retiring January 2, 2026. Hongerholt will receive 5% over the next wage band within the department. After a six month probationary … [Read more...]
Truth in Taxation, Audit & Teachers’ Contract at Lanesboro
At the Lanesboro School Board meeting December 10, the board listened to the Truth in Taxation presentation by Superintendent Matt Schultz, the 2024-2025 audit presented by Kali Lentz of Smith Schafer and details of the negotiated teachers’ agreement from Steve Storhoff. By the end of the meeting, the board had a good understanding of Lanesboro School’s current finances. No … [Read more...]
Full House at the Houston School Board Meeting
The December 4 Houston School Board meeting brought an audience that filled the room; more chairs had to be brought in even. Usually such a full house means that perhaps a public concern has arisen. With a Truth-in-Taxation meeting to be held the same night, one might think there were a lot of disgruntled taxpayers, but neither scenario was the case. Sixteen members of The … [Read more...]