Extension Educator for Fillmore and Houston Counties When most people hear the word hops, they think of the common hop used for brewing beer. But over the past five to ten years a related species, Japanese Hops, has been invading the local waterways of southeastern Minnesota. Japanese hops is native to eastern Asia and was originally brought to North America as an … [Read more...]
Preston discusses 2017 budget
City Administrator Joe Hoffman presented some possible adjustments to the 2017 budget at the city council’s September 6 meeting. Councilman Dave Harrison was absent. The initial draft of the budget was discussed at the August 23 meeting with a $54,000 levy increase over last year, or 6.77%. Hoffman noted there was no increase in health insurance premiums, but none had been … [Read more...]
County awarded funds
The Minnesota State Set-Aside Committee for the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program has recommended $2,800 be awarded to Fillmore County. The money is awarded by the Department of Homeland Security and used to provide emergency food and shelter to people in need of them. The local board is made up of Workforce Development, churches, Semcac, Human Services, and other … [Read more...]
County’s aging computer system
County Coordinator Bobbie Vickerman lead the discussion about the need to purchase new servers at the county board’s August 23 meeting. Commissioner Mitch Lentz was absent. During the review of the Information Systems (IS) budget Vickerman recommended a $205,000 increase for 2017 in the equipment purchase budget. The additional funding would be used to purchase switches and … [Read more...]
Spring Valley Capital Improvement plan discussed
The Spring Valley City Council met on Monday, August 22, 2016. All members were in attendance: Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Bill Bires, Jeff Vehrenkamp and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. The council approved minutes of the previous meeting, and Final Accounts Payable. No visitors had signed up to speak to the council. Mike Bubany gave a presentation on the … [Read more...]
Kingsland sets ballot for November 8
The Kingsland School Board met on August 15 in regular session. Members present were Doug Plaehn, Deb Larson, Kristin Beck, Gwen Howard and Ann Oeltjen, along with Superintendent John McDonald. Troy Asher was absent. The board unanimously approved the consent agenda items, including the agenda, prior minutes, August bills, adding Amber Uhlenhake as an authorized signer for … [Read more...]
State gains 11,300 jobs in July… Seasonally adjusted employment tops 2.9 million for first time
ST. PAUL – Minnesota employers added 11,300 jobs in July, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Those figures, combined with revised data that showed the state gained 2,400 more jobs than originally reported in June, brought employment gains in the state to 44,034 over the past … [Read more...]
Estelle’s Eatery & Bar to be featured on PBS
Estelle’s Eatery & Bar, Harmony, Minn., will be featured on the next Farm Fresh Road Trip - a collaboration between Minnesota Farmers Union, Minnesota Cooks, and Twin Cities PBS. This Upper Midwest Emmy Award winning TV program was filmed at Estelle’s last week with host Mary Lahammer of Twin Cities PBS. Estelle’s is one of six restaurants to be featured when this show … [Read more...]
Ostrander opts out of granny pods
The Ostrander City Council met on August 16 for a special meeting. All members were present (Erin Brugh, Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, Clerk Chris Hyrkas, Heidi Jones and DJ Start). As posted, the items to be discussed were to pick a funding option for the pre-project financing and authorizing the submission of such application, and to approve or opt out of the “granny pods” … [Read more...]
Zumbro Valley Health Center receives significant donation from Mayo Clinic
ROCHESTER, MN – Zumbro Valley Health Center has announced Mayo Clinic awarded the organization $89,000 to support its integrated care delivery model. This funding will be used to expand the delivery of mental and chemical health, medical and care coordination services to the under- and uninsured populations in Southeast Minnesota. “Mayo Clinic has been a long-time supporter … [Read more...]