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...]

At the August 1 County Board meeting, District 6 planning director Ronda Allis detailed MnDOT plans for the coming decade. District 6 includes 11 southeastern Minnesota counties. As part of MnDOT’s outreach, effort local government units are presented with an overview of the 10-year plan. Planned projects in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program will be done in the … [Read more...]

After an extended discussion over the chief deputy agreement at the July 25 board meeting, Kevin Beck was appointed chief deputy sheriff effective July 28 to replace recently retired Tony Webber. Beck has been with the department 22 years, currently serving as emergency manager/assistant jail administrator. Beck will be leaving a Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS) union … [Read more...]

The Minnesota State Set-Aside Committee for the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program has recommended $2,800 be awarded to Fillmore County.  These Federal funds are  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 … [Read more...]

Well over half of all Minnesota counties already have a Wheelage Tax; Fillmore County does not. Highway Engineer Ron Gregg provided information about this possible source of road and bridge funding at the July 11 county board meeting. Commissioner Duane Bakke was absent. During the last legislative session the possible amount for a Wheelage Tax was raised from $10 to $20 per … [Read more...]

Out going EDA director Sam Smith introduced the new EDA director, Stephanie Hatzenbihler, at the June 27 meeting of the county board. Smith will continue with CEDA in the Mankato area. This was his last day with Fillmore County. During his time with the Fillmore County EDA, Smith worked to expand broadband to rural areas in the county. Rural Lanesboro was one of two … [Read more...]

Fillmore County’s jail is nearly a half century old, built in 1970. The jail was remodeled in 1995, at which time it was rated as a 24 bed facility. At that time a new garage, juvenile holding area, and multi-purpose room was added. The aging jail is plagued with mounting maintenance needs. Systems are dated and/or deteriorating. A water softener has never been in use; minerals … [Read more...]

County Assessor Cindy Blagsvedt presented the Fillmore County 2017 assessment summary at the Fillmore County board of Appeal and Equalization meeting held on June 13. The total value of all property within the county increased 9.9% over the prior year. The increase was driven by 11% plus increased value of Ag/rural land and Seasonal Recreation land. There were 23 bareland … [Read more...]

At the May 23 meeting of the Fillmore County Board, concerns were raised over Strongwell Corporation’s dusty waste that is being delivered to the Resource Recovery Center, which may be hazardous. County Attorney Brett Corson referred to a letter sent to William Hanson Waste Removal in March which raised several issues, for example, TVs in black plastic bags that were not … [Read more...]

Much of the May 9 County Board meeting was dominated by long discussions concerning PTO policy and staffing structure for Community Services. Commissioner Mitch Lentz was absent. The county is in the process of updating its policies. The proposed update of the PTO policy has resulted in a lot of comments from employees. Proposed new language: “Employees initially hired … [Read more...]