At the September 3 meeting, the Rushford Village council learned that the current budget is sitting surprisingly well. However, having unexpected expenses crop up the last few years, there’s some palpable uncertainty. City Clerk Mary Miner presented an updated 2025 budget for the council to review. It includes health insurance costs, $24,000 for the follow-up of the … [Read more...]

Chief Blaise Sass addressed the city council at the September 3 meeting. Sass has been working with city staff and Mayor Kurt Reicks to come up with suggestions to attract more police officer candidates and to retain officers once they are hired. Reicks explained, “We have been struggling with hiring and retaining police officers for a long time. Pay should be comparable to … [Read more...]

By Zech Sindt This month’s Ostrander city council meeting took place on September 3 with all members present, including Lyn Massey-Mills, Dan Hellerud, DJ Start, Vernon Thompson, Mayor Pam Kunert and City Clerk Wendy Brincks. The meeting was short with only a few topics on the agenda. First on the list was the city maintenance department’s need for fuel for two … [Read more...]

The Brownsville City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Meyer at 7:06 p.m. on September 4. Councilmembers Barb Hurley, Pam Walhovd, Bill Fitzpatrick, Tim Klug, and Mayor Meyer were present, constituting a quorum. City employees present included City Clerk Steve Schuldt, Dean Twite of City Maintenance, and City Treasurer Jenna Knight. Brownsville Mayor Jean Meyer … [Read more...]

At the September 3 board meeting ,a public hearing was set for September 24 at 10 a.m. for comment on the five year Capital Improvement Plan for roads and bridges (2025-2030), including the use of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funding. When LOST dollars are to be used, a public hearing is required. Without the availability of LOST dollars, more funds would need to come from … [Read more...]

At their regular August 26 meeting, the Rushford City Council appointed Wieser Law Office, Al Wieser, III (Skip), as the city’s prosecutorial attorney. A new city attorney was needed to replace the former city attorney Dwight Luhmann who is now the Third Judicial District judge for Winona County’s District Court. The new contract stipulates the general prosecution fee of … [Read more...]

A discussion about Phase III and Phase IV Hillside Estate development agreements began in the Committee of the Whole and continued into the August 26 city council meeting. Griffin asked for clear direction from the council. He suggested the construction of a 10-foot bituminous walking path was a better solution than sidewalks which are required in the current development … [Read more...]

At the August 27 meeting of the county board, Miranda Wendlandt, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, reviewed the audit process and financial results for 2023. The county was granted an unmodified, “clean” opinion, which is the highest level. Total federal awards were $5,093,555 (airport improvement program and COVID state and local fiscal recovery funds were tested). Wendlandt said the … [Read more...]