The December 11 Lanesboro School Board brought both its Truth in Taxation meeting and the presentation of the 2023-2024 audit by Kali Lentz of Smith Schafer. Superintendent Matt Schultz began the TNT meeting with a required informational slideshow about how taxes are calculated based on a state formula and the assessed value of properties. Last year, Lanesboro School had total … [Read more...]
Houston Finds a Police Officer Trainee
Police Chief Brett Hurley brought an applicant’s name for the newly established police officer trainee position in Houston to the city council’s December 9 meeting. He recommended the hiring of Curtis Chapel for the position, commenting that Chapel was local and had already served as an intern in the police department in Houston. Chapel was approved pending the usual … [Read more...]
Tiger Trail Lefse Chip Co.
Tiger Trail Lefse Chip Company opened its doors just five months ago on June 14, 2024, right before the Gammel Dag celebration. The store and its showcased offerings of both sweet and savory lefse chips were a huge hit with the hometown crowd returning for the festivities. Owners Terry and Lori Pelzl, their son Jordan and his wife Anna, and their daughter Jade and her … [Read more...]
Keep the Wheels Turning for Meals on Wheels
Volunteers are essential to Meals on Wheels – without them, those wheels would screech to a halt and many deserving senior citizens would be left without a nutritious meal option and might not be able to stay in their own homes as long. According to Carolyn Freese, lead program coordinator of senior nutrition at Semcac, people aren’t volunteering like they used to. Meals on … [Read more...]
HAM – Houston Area Museum
In May 2023, a ribbon cutting heralded a new museum in Houston, Minn. Called HAM, at first a person might think it was a cousin to the Spam Museum in Austin, but that’s not the case! HAM is an acronym for Houston Area Museum. The museum is located at 109 West Maple Street in the former community center. For many years, Shelley Jerviss thought Houston needed a museum. At the … [Read more...]
Planning Ahead at R-P
The Rushford-Peterson School Board heard a presentation by Rob Brown from Nexus Solutions at their regular meeting November 18. Nexus is a consulting firm that helps schools plan for future needs of a school. Brown shared sample 10-year plans the company had completed for other area schools such as St. Charles and Dover-Eyota. R-P has recently completed their strategic plan; … [Read more...]
Skifton to Continue as Houston Fire Chief
At their November 12 meeting, the Houston City Council decided to retain Steve Skifton for two more years as fire chief. Skifton had previously notified the council he wished to retire. The position was posted, and one person applied. At the interview, the applicant honestly shared that he had only applied to provide an option, but this had not been part of his plan for himself … [Read more...]
Lisa Schultz Joins the Houston School Board
At their November 7 meeting, the Houston School Board acknowledged the unofficial results of the recent board elections. At this time, they know that Lisa Schultz will be joining the board to fill out the remaining two years of the position formerly held by Marissa Grams. Both Mimi Carlson and Josh Norlien were re-elected as well for four year positions. A third four-year … [Read more...]
Electric Buses Coming in July to Lanesboro
The Lanesboro School Board heard at their regular November 13 meeting that the long-awaited new electric school buses will be delivered in July. The buses will come at zero expense to the school. Using a rebate program, the school will purchase the two buses and receive a $690,000 rebate on them and the chargers. The school was responsible for the installation of the … [Read more...]
Clark Wiger and the Last Battle of Vietnam
Clark Wiger, a former Chatfield resident, was recognized for his “heroic achievement in connection with operations against the enemy” while involved in the last battle of Vietnam which took place on Koh Tang Island 50 years ago on May 15, 1975. Now he is busy getting prepared for the 50th reunion of the veterans of Koh Tang. The Koh Tang Veterans Organization meets in a … [Read more...]