At the June 28 city council meeting, Chatfield councilor John McBroom announced his resignation. Councilor Paul Novotny was absent. McBroom, who was serving a second term on the council, explained that a lot of things come up which we have no control over. “Just can’t do it anymore; I am missing some of the grandkids’ events, you just can’t get that back,” he said. Mayor … [Read more...]

The Fillmore County Board of Adjustment held public hearings on three variance applications in the Ag District at its June 17 meeting. The county’s zoning ordinance details what is permissible in the Ag District in section 604.  Doug Lind, section 15 Norway Township, requested a 30-foot variance from the distance required for the construction of a structure from the … [Read more...]

County Assessor Jason McCaslin reported at the Board of Appeal and Equalization public hearing that his office has received about 100 appeals from property owners through the local board or open book appeal process. He expects there will be a lot of appeals until compliance and equalization are back on track. McCaslin stressed that an equalization across jurisdictions is … [Read more...]

The Spring Grove School Board met on Tuesday evening, June 21, 2021, from 7:03 p.m. to 8:24 p.m. in the school’s Learning Resource Center, adhering to the governor’s guidelines for capacity (maximum 10 people). Board members in attendance  were Chairman Aaron Solum, Stephanie Jaster, Kelly Rohland, Jenny Stender, and Aric Elton. Board member Rhan Flatin was absent.  The … [Read more...]

Kingsland School Board held a regular session on June 23, with all members participating (Jackie Horsman, Kyle Rader, Natasha Howard, Gwen Howard, Maranda Emig, Pamela Freet, and Superintendent James Hecimovich).  Business Manager Amber Herbrand participated via Zoom technology.   Herbrand explained the initial revenue expenditures budget for the upcoming school year.  She … [Read more...]

The Fillmore Central School Board reviewed the 2021-2023 transportation contract with Harmony Transit at their June 22 meeting. Harmony Transit Inc. has been sold to Faribault Transportation. The name will remain the same except that Inc. will change to LLC. Superintendent Heath Olstad, Principal Jim Peters, and school board member Jim Love met with representatives of Faribault … [Read more...]

Commissioners Dewey Severson, Eric Johnson, Robert Burns, Teresa Walter, and Greg Myhre were all present on June 22, 2021, for the regular meeting of the Houston County Commission. Commissioner Dewey Severson attended the meeting virtually as he was on vacation. Chairman Burns called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. The meeting adjourned at 11:41 a.m. Commissioner Johnson … [Read more...]

Human Resources Officer Kristina Kohn asked the Fillmore County board to consider her own resignation at the board’s June 22 meeting. Kohn has been with the county for 10 years. Her resignation was accepted with sincere thanks, effective July 16. She gave four weeks notice. Kohn made a statement thanking the employees for the exemplary work they have done; she told the … [Read more...]

At the June 21 city council meeting, Police Chief Blaise Sass reported on the continuing challenges he faces when trying to fill needed part-time shifts in the police department’s schedule. The current part-time police officer wage was set in 2016 at $17 per hour. This is substantially below the average part-time wage of similar size departments in the area, which is about … [Read more...]

The Houston City Council meeting on June 14 began with a presentation by the MN DNR detailing the history of the proposed OHV Trail thus far. Joe Unger, DNR OHV trail planner; Kelli Bruns, DNR Parks and Trails regional manager; and Karen Umphress from the Amateur Riders Motorcycle Association collaborated to present the information and answer questions from the mostly anti-OHV … [Read more...]