The Houston County Commission held an emergency meeting on Friday, August 6, 2021, at 9 a.m. to discuss a recommendation by John Pugleasa, Houston County Public Health, and Tess Kruger, Houston County personnel director. Pugleasa and Kruger recommended that the county follow CDC guidelines and require all employees to wear masks whether they are vaccinated or not. The consensus … [Read more...]

WINONA, MN, August 6, 2021 – Minnesota State Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) today celebrated the selection of the city of Caledonia for a $1.28 million grant from the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority to improve the city’s drinking water infrastructure. The grant will allow Caledonia to move forward on the construction of Wellhouse No. 8, associated wellhead … [Read more...]

The Wykoff City Council met in regular session on August 9.  All council members were in attendance (Lyle Morey, Richard Gleason, Mayor Al Williams, Ryan Breckenridge, and Barbara Fate).  City Clerk Becky Schmidt also attended. Citizen Lynn Kidd addressed the council, stating, “Well, you know I was here before, complained about the sign downtown, talked about the two-hour … [Read more...]

Discussion from the previous month’s meeting continued at the Peterson City Council’s August 11 meeting. At July’s meeting, the Peterson City Council tabled a decision on installation of an electrical vehicle charging station pending further investigation. An offer, provided by Kent Whitcomb, of MiEnergy, was provided, noting Dairyland Power’s desire to build a network of … [Read more...]

At the August 9 Chatfield City Council meeting city clerk Joel Young administered the oath of office to Dave Frank, who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the city council. Mayor Russ Smith read the Athenian Oath, which is basically a promise to make things better and to do no harm. Frank was welcomed back to the council. He served two terms on the council some years back. … [Read more...]

A public hearing was held at the August 10 county board meeting regarding a developer’s (G-Cubed Development, Inc.) request for a property tax abatement related to a housing project in Lanesboro. The developer is proposing a single family subdivision within the city of Lanesboro. The developer has requested that the city of Lanesboro and the county provide abatement assistance … [Read more...]

Chris Giesen, representing the Harmony Economic Development Authority (EDA), attended the August 10 Harmony City Council meeting to present several matters to the council. The first matter was a commercial building rehabilitation grant for a core area in the city’s downtown business district and the second had to deal with the sale of a lot in the north industrial park. First, … [Read more...]

The Canton City Council heard from city resident David Terbeest during its regular meeting on Wednesday, August 11. Terbeest requested the city consider establishing a rural service taxing district that would reduce the tax burden from agriculturally-zoned land within the city limits. Currently, there are approximately 468 acres of agriculturally-zoned land in Canton, making … [Read more...]

“We’ve all heard someone say, ‘I wish there were more things to do downtown!’” This is the header on a new marketing postcard put out by the City of Rushford. The card also encourages applicants to consider utilizing the Rushford Economic Development Authority (EDA) Matching Funds Micro-Grant Program. The program started in 2013 when the EDA saw a need to assist businesses and … [Read more...]

On Thursday, August 5, 2021, at approximately 1:10 p.m., the Houston County Sheriff’s Office received a report from a Court Administration employee that he had received a call from an agitated male that stated he was going to come and shoot a member of the Houston County Attorney’s Office and blow up the courthouse. Sheriff’s Office staff were able to identify a suspect … [Read more...]