Photo by Wanda Hanson
Photo by Wanda Hanson
Benya Kraus presented information about SMIF (Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation to the Houston County Commissioners at their May 26 meeting. Kraus replaced Tim Penny as president and CEO of SMIF a year ago in June.
Kraus lives in Harmony with her husband and four-month-old daughter. She comes from a farm background; her father was a sixth generation farmer in the area while her mother grew up on a farm in Thailand.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of SMIF which was founded in the midst of the farm crisis by the McKnight Foundation.
Kraus explained the focus of SMIF in Houston County. The city of Caledonia’s Rural Entrepreneurial Venture (REV) was awarded a $20,000 Activating Our Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (AOEE) Grant to help provide sustainable continuity for its entrepreneurial work. Additional grants included a $50,000 PROMISE Act Grant to Kaddy’s Kafe in La Crescent and a $20,000 AOEE Grant to Spring Grove. The Giants of the Earth Heritage Center in Spring Grove was awarded a $10,000 Small Town Grant.
Early Literacy Grants have provided 200 English and 10 Spanish books at the Houston Public Library, 160 books at Spring Grove Public Schools and an $8,000 Taylor Rural Child Care Grant to St. Mary’s School in Caledonia. Technical assistance is provided to child care providers by SMIF.
Kraus explained that, for every dollar donated to SMIF in Houston County, $12 is invested back into the county. She shared that SMIF is eager to work with revolving funds in the county and individual cities.
In July, a Capital Grants program will be offered by SMIF to be used for community gathering spaces as part of the Small Town Grants.
In La Crescent, SMIF is helping to pair volunteers with senior citizens to help repair homes for the elderly.
A total of $2.8 million has been invested by SMIF in Houston County through grants, loans and programming.
Kraus explained a program called Acres for Good. In this program land can be donated as a charitable gift. Rent from the land is used to support agricultural education in area schools.
Carrie O’Heron Recognized
Carrie O’Heron of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office was recognized for her 47 years of service. Sheriff Brian Swedberg declared that Carrie gave 120% effort at all times, going beyond expectations. He pointed out that Carrie was there every day and made up sick days later in the week when necessary.
“It’s become more of a home for people,” Swedberg said of the sheriff’s office, noting that many of the staff called Carrie “Mom.” Swedberg presented Carrie with a plaque honoring her dedicated work.
Action Items
County Engineer Brian Pogodzinski requested approval for final acceptance of crack filling done by Fahrner Asphalt Sealer’s LLC. Pogodzinski explained that once the budgeted amount has been spent the payment was cut off until approved by the commissioners. They approved the payment of the remaining bill.
A change order was requested for La Crosse Glass and Overhead Door for the courthouse’s west entrance door. According to La Crosse Glass, the current door does not meet building codes and the caulk is failing. If the county wanted to proceed without the changes required to meet building codes, they would need to sign a waiver of liability for the company.
The Houston County Attorney recommended replacing the entire door rather than have the liability for failure. While they could wait until the door fails before replacing it, there would be additional expense at that time.
Commissioner Eric Johnson commented, “We might as well fix the door right,” as he made a motion to approve the change order. The commissioners approved the $33,081 change order.
Closed Session
The commissioners entered into a closed session at the end of their meeting to discuss “preliminary allegations and private personnel data related to an employee grievance.” When they reopened the public meeting, they shared that no action had been taken on the grievance.
Discussion Items
The Facebook page is being revitalized with the intent of getting more information out to the county residents.
Commissioner Brent Parker informed the commissioners that Dairyland Power had reached out to him about potential routing issues and permits for their project. Parker asked the others how they wanted to work with Dairyland—at the board level with the whole board? Some commissioners meeting with Dairyland? Or at a staff level?
Commissioner Kurt Zehnder said he’d gotten a call from Dairyland as well. He felt they wanted him to persuade the other commissioners how to work with Dairyland.
The commissioners decided they all wanted to be involved in the meeting with Dairyland and will be notified when it will happen. They were all aware that there are individuals pushing back against the project. Commissioner Cindy Wright asked for talking points ahead of time on what the county wants to address at the meeting as well.
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