Bretta Grabau, executive director, reviewed historical society activities during the last year. She also commented on plans for the coming year at the county board’s July 22 meeting.
Grabau said it has been a great year for partnerships and improvements in the facilities. A meeting room is available for organizations to use. Tours have been conducted for various groups. Grants have helped make improvements to the facility itself. Efforts have been made to sort and clean artifacts in both the main building and the agricultural building. Visitors are welcomed to the museum.
Prairie School Days begins in August. A program will allow kids to experience a one room schoolhouse. The current HVAC system is starting to fail. A grant has been received for assessing the system; another application will need to be submitted to implement the HVAC design. Improvement of storage areas and exhibits will continue. Grabau wants to increase the visibility of the organization; there is a booth at the county fair. She wants to continue to be a resource for genealogists searching for their family history.
Grabau requested the same financial support from the county as it received last year. County Administrator Bobbie Hillery said the $51,800 appropriation will be put into the 2026 budget. Commissioner Duane Bakke said the historical society has been doing an excellent job over the last decade.
Tax Forfeiture
Two resolutions were approved. The first classifies the 2024 tax forfeited properties listed as non-conservation. The second approves the final reading of terms for the sale of tax-forfeited land. The dates of sales include estimated market value initial sale in-person auction to be held on September 29 at 1 p.m. Over the counter remaining sales will be held at the auditor/treasurer office from September 30 through October 28. A minimum bid initial sale will be held in a public surplus online auction from October 29 through November 7.
Approval was granted for a forfeiture repurchase repayment plan for Molly Woods as recommended by the auditor/treasurer and the county attorney. A $1,500 downpayment and a three-year repayment plan was recommended. The property will remain in the state’s name until the repayment plan is completed.
Other Business in Brief
•Terry Schultz, building maintenance supervisor, reviewed the 2026 budget for the infrastructure fund and for building maintenance. The infrastructure budget is $150,000. Schultz noted a little over half of that will be used to replace two boilers and a water heater (all 26 years old) in the Fillmore County Office Building. He also plans to install some outside lighting at the office building.
Schultz recommended staying with Pitney Bowes for renewal of postage. There were two quotes submitted. Pitney Bowes at $8,503 was the higher quote, but it was approved because of great past experience with the company and reliability.
•Tabatha House was appointed interim PSAP Manager, effective July 11.
•The law library fee in criminal/civil matters was reduced from $10 to $5, effective July 1.
•The need for a bucket truck which is largely used for tree trimming was discussed. The county does not have a bucket truck at this time. The county will likely look at buying a used truck. By consensus the board decided to wait until the next meeting to get more input from the highway department.
•Sheriff John DeGeorge said the switch of dispatch to the new facility went well with no interruption for the public.