The Spring Valley city council met in a brief regular session on Monday, October 10, 2016. Members in attendance were Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jeff Vehrenkamp and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. Tony Archer and Bill Bires were absent. The council approved minutes of two previous meetings (September 26 and October 5), and October Preliminary Accounts Payable. No visitors … [Read more...]
Youthful coulrophobia craze
There has always been a percentage of the population consumed with an overwhelming fear of clowns. While there isn’t any official data regarding how many people struggle with coulrophobia, some estimates indicate around 12% of U.S. adults suffer from this irrational fear of clowns. However, recently, coulrophobia has become the norm among school-aged children. Back in late … [Read more...]
Chatfield Charter Commission update
Curt Sorenson, Charter Commission chair, updated the Chatfield City Council on the commission’s progress to date at the city council’s October 10 meeting. Councilor Paul Novotny was absent. Sorenson said that the commission has met four times. They started at the top of the charter and are working their way down. City Cerk Joel Young pointed out to the commission some … [Read more...]
R-P Community Education to host “Meet the school board candidates” forum
On Tuesday, November 8, Rushford-Peterson School District residents will have the opportunity to elect four community members to the board of education. Five candidates are vying for these seats: incumbent members running are Julie Koop, Valarie Howe, and John Linder; new candidates are Bonnie Prinsen and Curtis Fox. The public is invited to participate in the “Meet the school … [Read more...]
Updates, changes, and challenge at Houston city meeting
The Houston City Council meeting was called to order at 6 p.m. on October 11, 2016. In attendance were Mayor Edwards and Councilmembers Knutson, Sanden, Schultz and Schutte. City officials also in attendance were City Administrator Peterson, Randy Thesing, Ed Jacobs, and Audrey Hegland. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the meeting was opened to public comments, of which … [Read more...]
Canton Historical Society gets loan
At their regular meeting on October 12, 2016, the Canton City Council approved a loan for the Canton Historical Society. President of the Canton Historical Society (CHS), Kathy Haynes, was present at the meeting to ask for a loan to allow the CHS to continue with the Depot restoration project. She pointed out that a flyer was sent out with the city bills to inform the … [Read more...]
Peterson moves forward with electric plans
At the Wednesday, October 12 Peterson meeting, the council voted unanimously to move a three-year work schedule, developed in coordination with Tri-County Electric, forward. The city has already completed a $1,300 portion of the plan, which includes pole and transformer replacement, and will likely do another $850 more before the end of the year. In 2017, the work is expected … [Read more...]
Fountain council discusses veteran’s memorial
Following a request by a resident to put in some type of veterans memorial in town, the Fountain City Council discussed the idea during its regular monthly meeting on October 6, 2016. The council feels it would be a nice addition to the city. PeopleService Rick Whitney with PeopleService explained to the council that he is very passionate about his job and will work very … [Read more...]
Mabel council approves ambulance purchase
The Mabel City Council reviewed two bids for a new ambulance for the Mabel Ambulance Service. One was from Mccoy Miller and the other from Lifeline. Mayor Jim Westby noted that there were significant discrepancies between the two bids, such as different chassis, gas versus diesel, and warranty lengths. The ambulance from Mccoy Miller was priced at $169,893.75 with a 15-year … [Read more...]
Wedding/event venues approved
At the October 11 county board meeting, Zoning Administrator Cristal Adkins asked the commissioners to consider approval of two conditional use permits (CUP) for agricultural tourism businesses. After public hearings on each of the permit applications at a September 22 planning and zoning meeting, members unanimously forwarded each permit application to the county … [Read more...]