The Lanesboro School Board met on September 16. Board members Sarah Peterson and Steve Snyder were not present. Superintendent Matt Schultz reported that the 2021-22 school year was off to a good start. “It’s nice to be in a finished building,” he commented. Transportation is also going well with buses running at full capacity. The school is still in need of bus drivers though. … [Read more...]
Mabel-Canton updates COVID guidelines
The Mabel-Canton school board met in regular session on September 21. In attendance were Mark Wiedemann, Jason Marquardt, Traci Livingood, Cristal Adkins, Chris Miller, Superintendent Gary Kuphal, Diane Wilder, and Dustin Tollefsrud. Lisa Halverson, Aimee Lake, and Michelle Wiedemann also participated. Matt McClimon (student representative to the board) was unable to … [Read more...]
Preston accepts transfer of Lanesboro ambulance service license
At the city council’s September 22 meeting, Preston ambulance director Ryan Throckmorton explained that the Lanesboro Ambulance Service was no longer able to provide 24/7 coverage. He described two options that Lanesboro had considered: forfeiting the license and becoming a first responder group, in which case the state would review the area and divide it among other … [Read more...]
Spring Grove receives City of Excellence award from the League of Minnesota Cities
The Spring Grove City Council met Tuesday, September 21, from 6-7:14 p.m. at the Spring Grove Communications meeting room. Council members in attendance were Mayor Scott Solberg, Travis Torgerson, Karen Folstad, and Chad Rohland. Trent Turner was absent. The council unanimously approved the Consent Agenda. Mayor Solberg led the council and audience in the Pledge of … [Read more...]
R-P changes close contact and quarantine policies
With board members Matt Helgemoe and Jeff Michel joining via Zoom, the Rushford-Peterson School Board met Monday, September 20, 2021. The board looked at current school COVID data and made a change to their definition of close contact at school and required quarantines. If students were wearing masks, they would not be considered a close contact nor would they need to … [Read more...]
Harmony council discuss sewer issues on Wickett Drive
The Harmony City Council met on September 14 with all council members present in person, except for Tony Webber who joined the meeting via telephone. Jay Jermier from Minnowa Construction addressed the council about the sewer line issues on Wickett Drive NW. At a June 17 special meeting, the council opened bids for the Dairyland Power Utility extension and accepted a bid from … [Read more...]
Fillmore County seeks architectural services to prepare jail plan
At the board’s September 14 meeting, the Jail Needs Assessment Report was discussed. The nearly 100 page report was presented to the county board over a month ago. The Jail Needs Assessment committee spent 18 months developing the report that looked at four options for the future of the county jail. Options included closing the jail and totally outsourcing, a 72-hour book … [Read more...]
Why no Dollar General in Mabel?
Mabel’s city council met on September 14. Attending were Mayor James Westby, Terry Torkelson, Adam Wilder, and Cory Wilson. Kirsten Wyffels participated via phone. Also participating were City Clerk Karen Larson, Bob Meirau and Jeff Rein. During the visitors section of the agenda, Mike Gjere (of Gjere Construction) addressed the council. He stated, “I’m asking the … [Read more...]
Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation awards a record $200,075 in Small Town Grants
OWATONNA, MN, September 7, 2021 – Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) recently approved 25 grants totaling $200,075 to support small towns of 10,000 or less in SMIF’s 20-county region. The Small Town Grant program was launched in 2017 to support smaller communities which can benefit from additional financial resources to help them grow and address challenges. … [Read more...]
Spring Valley to hold hearing on hazardous housing
The Spring Valley city council held a regular council meeting on Setember 13, with all members present (Luan Ruesink, Chris Danielson, Greg Brooks, John Dols and Mayor Tony Archer). Also attending was City Clerk/Administrator Deb Zimmer. No visitors had signed up to address the council on any concerns. The council discussed the Jeff Sass property, located at 610 Hillcrest. … [Read more...]