At the Tuesday, March 21 Rushford Village Council meeting, Zoning Administrator Jon Pettit notified the council that a revised version of proposed flood mapping has been found. The maps, a work in progress for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), are nearly to the deadline for comment and correction, not including any appeal processes. “It’s kind of a big deal,” … [Read more...]
Variance requests approved
The Fillmore County Planning Commission met for the first time since July 2016. Public hearings were held for two separate variance requests to build a new dwelling on land with a crop equivalency rating (CER) greater than 65 or a variance from Section 604.05 (9) of the county’s zoning ordinance. Since this was the first meeting in 2017, officers were elected. Brad Erickson … [Read more...]
Kingsland budget and facilities mulled
The March 20 regular meeting of the Kingsland School Board focused largely on the longstanding challenges of budget and facility needs. All members were present: Doug Plaehn, Deb Larson, Ann Oeltjen, Jackie Horsman, Tiffany Mundfrom, and Heather Betts, along with Superintendent John McDonald. No one addressed the board during the “Public Comments” portion of the … [Read more...]
Spring Valley lot and property issues
The Spring Valley City Council met in regular session on Monday, March 13. All members were present: Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, Mike Hadland and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. No visitors had signed up to address the council. Joe O’Connell was on hand to discuss the “former elementary school property” on which he is planning to put homes. … [Read more...]
Mabel addresses feral cat issue
In response to concerns raised by residents of Mabel, Camp Companion Director Michelle Quandt visited the March 15 Mabel City Council meeting to discuss options. Camp Companion utilizes a Trap, Neuter, Release program to cut down on feral cat populations. “We’re trying to promote the program a little bit more in small communities that don’t have animal control,” Quandt … [Read more...]
Wykoff personnel and WWTP issues
The Wykoff City Council met on March 13 in regular session, with all members in attendance: Mary Tjepkes, Rocky Vreeman, Mayor Al Williams, Clerk Becky Schmidt, Mary Sackett, and Brody Mensink. One of the main topics was a very high gas bill for the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) for the month of February. Schmidt explained that the gas bills for the WWTP have been … [Read more...]
DEED awards $500,000 in Child Care Grants
ST. PAUL, MN – Grants totaling $500,000 were awarded to eight groups that will work to increase the number of child care providers in their Greater Minnesota communities. The funding was awarded under the Greater Minnesota Childcare Grants Program, which was created by the Minnesota Legislature last year to increase child care services in order to support regional economic … [Read more...]
County supports CPA modification bills
The county board, at their March 14 meeting, approved a resolution of support for Senate bill 0479 and companion House bill 609, which would modify County Program Aid from the state should they become law. Senator Jeremy Miller is chief author of the Senate bill and a resolution of support was approved by the board. A county employee will be present to testify in support of … [Read more...]
IRS recaps “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams for 2017
Each year, the Internal Revenue Service issues a list of the top 12 tax-related scams it sees throughout the year. The IRS “Dirty Dozen” highlights various schemes that taxpayers may encounter anytime, many of which peak during tax-filing season. Taxpayers need to guard against ploys that steal their personal information, scam them out of money or talk them into engaging in … [Read more...]
Rushford’s schedule of events already gaining momentum
Things are getting busy for Rushford this summer. Rushford Peterson Valley Chamber of Commerce Director Jen Hengel detailed two specific upcoming events for the council at the Monday, March 13 council meeting. First up was the Root River Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour. Put on by HaveFunBiking.com, the event is slated for Friday, July 7 through Sunday July 9. In its second … [Read more...]