At the Lanesboro School Board meeting on October 8, the board heard details of the Small School Conference to be held at Lanesboro on October 15. Superintendent Matt Schultz shared that Jenny Severson will be the keynote speaker. Severson will focus on research based strategies and improving student engagement. There will be nine different breakout sessions during the day … [Read more...]
Driftless Dreamers, A Unique 4-H Club
The 4-H Club Driftless Dreamers is unique in that it was created for homeschool families. While other clubs form based on interests, activities or location to a certain school district, this club was established to tie 4-H into the existing homeschool peer groups. Driftless Dreamers held its first meeting in June 2023. The families of the homeschool groups already cooperated … [Read more...]
Wholestone Farms Providing Pork Raised by Your Neighbors
Wholestone Farms was founded in 2018 when CEO Luke Minion met with farmers who shared a vision to produce pork and be competitive with the commercial large pork producers. Wholestone is privately owned by 235 farm families across the Midwest. In Fillmore County, there are four farm families/owners: Smith Farms owned by Greg, Deb and Randy Smith of Rushford, Johnson’s Rolling … [Read more...]
Amazing Grace’s Accident Recovery
On Labor Day weekend 2024, Fillmore Central graduate Grace Kennedy had closed up her hair salon and headed out with her family for a ride along the Mississippi. Her family was riding motorcycles; Grace was following them in a slingshot. At an intersection, Grace’s life took a sudden turn. A man was southbound and about to make a left turn. A drunk person slammed into that man … [Read more...]
Rushford Hears Change Proposal for Building Permitting
A great share of the September 22 Rushford City Council meeting was used for a presentation by Tom Wiener and Tanner Young of Construction Management Services (CMS) on proposed changes to the city’s building permit process. CMS is shifting away from hourly and mileage based fees to a lump sum percentage fee for building inspections. Building permits will have a scalable … [Read more...]
Looney Valley Lutheran Church Celebrates 150 Years
On Sunday, September 28, Looney Valley Lutheran Church will join together to celebrate a century and a half of its existence. Using a theme of “Yesterday we remember, today we celebrate, tomorrow we await,” the church will host a coffee hour at 9:15 a.m. followed by a special church service at 10 a.m., a noon meal of meatballs and turkey and a program at 1:30 p.m. Three of … [Read more...]
R-P Board Returns Solar Grant
The Rushford-Peterson School Board decided unanimously to return the Solar for Schools Grant to the state during their September 15 regular meeting. In the second round of exploring the possibility of the addition of solar panels to the school roof, R-P had already been awarded the grant. The problem with installing solar panels was that the option of placing the panels on the … [Read more...]
Houston Sets Goals for Superintendent
At their regular board meeting on September 4, the Houston School Board settled on four smart goals for Superintendent Mary Morem. After tabling the item at a previous meeting, the board ultimately decided on the following goals: To establish a Community Service and Industry Exploration Program that provides 100% of 9-12 grade students at least one volunteer or industry … [Read more...]
Peterson Sets Proposed Levy and Pay Rates
At the September 10 regular city council meeting, the Peterson City Council set the proposed levy for next year at $118, 122, a 6% increase over last year’s levy. City Clerk Chris Grindland pointed out that the levy can be later decreased, but it cannot be increased. “Our goal is to keep it at 6%. We are using 85% of tax capacity,” Grindland commented. With a median home … [Read more...]
Lanesboro Transportation and Activities Directors Report
Both Chad Wangen of the Transportation Department and Bret Klaehn of the Activities Department reported to the Lanesboro School Board at their regular September 10 meeting. Wangen informed the board that DOT had already visited the school on the first day of the year. The transportation fleet passed the inspection with only a brake light out on one bus. A new bus will be … [Read more...]