City Engineer Matt Mohs and Wastewater Treatment Facility Manager John Graupman visited the November 13 meeting of the Houston, Minn., city council for several purposes. Graupman was there to request a change order to cover an accounting correction as well as the final payment order which included the remaining retainage on the completed wastewater treatment plant. The total … [Read more...]
Ostrander City Council: Brief and to the Point
Ostrander City Council members wondered aloud whether Tuesday’s city council meeting set a record for the shortest ever after they briefly wrapped up business for November 14. Topics covered included liquor license approval, payment delinquency, water rates and sow removal hires. The meeting opened with brief statements from City Maintenance and the fire chief. A cleanout of … [Read more...]
Chatfield Wastewater Operator Recognized
At the November 13 meeting of the Chatfield City Council, Steve Schlichter and Brian Burkholder were credited for their good work for the city. Burkholder, Public Works director, explained Schlichter received the Southeast Class B Wastewater Operators Award at the 2023 Minnesota Wastewater Operators Association (MWOA) annual conference. There are six districts in the … [Read more...]
Habitat for Humanity Looking for Volunteers to Work on Eitzen Home
Mayor Adamson called the November 14 regularly scheduled meeting of the Eitzen City Council meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. Councilmembers in attendance included Mayor Jeff Adamson, Emily Burrichter, Mitch Lange, and Doug Meyer. Mitch Luttchens was absent. Burrichter moved to approve the minutes from the October 10 regular council meeting. Seconded by Meyer. Lange moved to … [Read more...]
How They Voted on Election Day
In some precincts, voter participation was low. But, depending on the decisions on the ballot, some precincts saw a flood of voters at the polls. Here’s how the numbers stacked up. City of Rushford Election For the City of Rushford, incumbent Terri Benson ran unopposed, earning 96.43% of the votes. There were a total of 84 votes cast for this election. Leigh Volkman … [Read more...]
Kathryn Wade Fills Empty Lanesboro Council Seat
Kathryn Wade was appointed to fill the seat vacancy left by Mitchell Walbridge on the Lanesboro City Council at their November 6 meeting. As the new city administrator, Walbridge administered the oath of office to Wade. Before opening the regular meeting,the council spent time in a budget workshop reviewing and analyzing the 2024 budget for Lanesboro Public Utilities, the … [Read more...]
Houston County Jail to Remain Open
With a roll call vote of three to two, the Houston County Commissioners approved Sheriff Brian Swedberg’s request to “approve budgeting the Houston County Jail for 2024 at the November 7, 2023, regularly scheduled commission meeting. The request includes reviewing the jail’s budget and operations at the July 2024 commission meeting. Both Sheriff Brian Swedberg and Jail … [Read more...]
Mabel Community Thanksgiving Dinner to Benefit Founder
Make your reservations today for Mabel’s annual community Thanksgiving dinner! The annual dinner not only feeds one’s appetite but, for five years, has provided funds to meet the needs of community members. This year, the sixth annual dinner will benefit the event’s founder, LeeAnn Williams Howard. LeeAnn is the daughter of Rollis and Bev Williams of rural Mabel, Minn. She … [Read more...]
Culture and Community: The Irreplaceable Volunteer
I sat down with Sheila Craig at her kitchen table in rural Preston, Minn. Her husband Norm sat in another room, while I conducted the interview. Norm and Sheila, who have been married since 1969, raised two sons, Andy, 45, and Lee, 41. Norm, who is from Everly, Iowa, met Sheila at Iowa State University. Here’s what I learned... Hailing from Decorah, Iowa, Sheila … [Read more...]
Houston School Board Reflects on Referendum
The Houston School Board held their regular meeting on November 2 and then followed that with a study session to discuss future steps after the failed August referendum vote. Superintendent Mary Morem facilitated the study session, asking the board to answer the following questions: What were we asking for in the referendum? What did we learn from the vote? What are we going to … [Read more...]