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...]

The August 2 Lanesboro City Council meeting opened with a public hearing for a video franchise agreement ordinance. No one from the public was present with questions or comments and the hearing was closed. A second public hearing was then opened to discuss the tax abatement request for G-Cubed Development’s proposed housing project. There were no questions or comments from the … [Read more...]

The August 3 Fountain City Council meeting was one of the longer meetings in recent months as the city dealt with a number of minor issues and requests. Up first was discussion of a noise ordinance. While the city does not have one, the county does. However, if a city adopts its own ordinances, they can be more restrictive than the county’s, not less. Section 713.01 of the … [Read more...]

After the August 3, 2021, Houston County Commission meeting, the commissioners called an emergency meeting, for Friday, August 6, 2021, at 9 a.m. Houston County Public Health will update the commission on the status of COVID-19, and the commissioners will discuss a mask mandate. Commissioners Dewey Severson, Eric Johnson, Robert Burns, Teresa Walter, and Greg Myhre were all … [Read more...]