The night of Saturday, August 18, 2007, torrential rain began to fall in Fillmore, Winona, and Houston Counties. By the early hours of Sunday, the community of Rushford was flooded with water. The community of 1,800 was awakened by emergency sirens and emergency personnel going door to door. Emergency crews evacuated the city, leaving an infamous “X” on every structure … [Read more...]
Rushford EDA looks to cut deficit
The Rushford Economic Development Authority has been a productive force within the City of Rushford, as a source and manager of flood recovery loans and a catalyst for increased economic stability and growth. However, unknown variables throughout each annual cycle make budget predictions challenging. To avoid dipping into further reserve funds, while facing a $31,000 deficit, … [Read more...]
Spring Valley streets completed, under budget
The Spring Valley City Council met in regular session August 14, with all members present (Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, Mike Hadland and city administrator Deb Zimmer). A letter was received by the city, from Trout Run Ginseng and Shrimp LLC. It explained that the firm plans to start an indoor shrimp production facility, and explained why this … [Read more...]
Lawsuit over for Rushford-Peterson Schools
The long-awaited decision on the fate of a lawsuit against the Rushford-Peterson School District is in. August 14, Fillmore County District Judge Matthew Opat handed down his findings in favor of the district. “It is a relief to have the ruling behind us and to be able to have this matter resolved. The district is looking forward to cooperating with the scope of the access … [Read more...]
Chatfield to “See what the voters want” in November
At the August 14 meeting of the Chatfield City Council, a long discussion ensued concerning the construction of a new swimming pool. Councilor Joshua Broadwater was absent. Julie Henry, co-chair on the swimming pool committee, presented results of a survey conducted by Community Perceptions, an independent research organization. The survey was conducted in July with a 28% … [Read more...]
Conflict at Wykoff council meeting
A regular meeting of the Wykoff City Council was held on August 14. Members in attendance were: Mary Tjepkes, Rocky Vreeman, Mayor Al Williams, Clerk Becky Schmidt, Mary Sackett, and Richard Gleason. A large crowd of citizens was also in attendance. Vreeman asked about the council meeting minutes, and why they are a synopsis rather than a full transcript. He said the … [Read more...]
Fountain called its congressman
Congressman Tim Walz’s office received a call from Dave Gudmundson last week asking for assistance. Walz staffers Josh Syrjamaki, Chief of Staff, and Peder Kjeseth, Agriculture and Energy Outreach Director, listened to concerns during an August 15 Fountain council meeting. Mayor Richard Kujath made clear the main concern is the high cost of wastewater operation. Potentially, it … [Read more...]
Rushford Village citizens question road project
The headache that was the 2016 south Rushford Village road project continues to hamper city efforts to conclude the project. The $643,000 project has been discussed by the council at length, with the final pay application to McHugh Excavating approved earlier this month. At the Tuesday, August 15 Village council meeting, three citizens brought forth information and frustrations … [Read more...]
County accepts airport grant
At the August 8 meeting of the county board, airport plans/budget and the 2018 Highway department preliminary budget dominated the discussion. The grant which was accepted is in the amount of $486,041 from the Federal Aviation Administration for an updated Master Plan and rehab of pavements and apron (crack repair and seal coating). The state and the county will each provide … [Read more...]
Peterson councilor resigns; council to appoint replacement
Peterson Councilor Jake Sandeno turned in a letter of resignation to the Peterson Council at the Wednesday, August 9 meeting. The resignation was due to a newly accepted job and subsequent move out of Peterson for Sandeno. Sandeno had run for a seat on the council last November, but did not win. When then-Councilor Chris Grindland resigned the seat to take the open city … [Read more...]