Anna Frauenkron of the Houston Ambulance visited the Houston City Council meeting on June 12 to ask for help in the struggle with summer day time coverage for the local ambulance. With some people on vacation and teachers not available during the summer hours, only two people will be around to cover on-call for the ambulance for a solid two-week period coming up. Frauenkron … [Read more...]
Marleen Morken
Marleen E. Morken, 89, of Spring Grove, Minn., died Sunday, June 11, 2023, at the Stewartville Care Center. Marleen was born December 12, 1933, in Spring Grove, to Martin and Gilma (Treangen) Dragvold. She attended different country and public schools before graduating from Houston High School. On October 29, 1955, she married George Morken at the Stone Church near Houston. … [Read more...]
Houston Council gets ready for summer
At their May 8 meeting, the Houston City Council accepted a proposed donation of benches for the Trailhead Park. Ron Evenson presented the proposal to install a concrete pad near the bandshell which would be long enough to hold four benches with spacing. The pad would make mowing easier. The benches will be similar to the ones near the basketball courts. John Langheinrich has … [Read more...]
Donna H. Bestor
Donna H. Bestor, 87, of Houston, Minn., died on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wis. Donna Helen Hermanson was born on March 15, 1936, in Spring Grove, Minn., to Herman and Beulah (Vickerman) Hermanson. She was raised in the Blackhammer, Preston and Harmony areas. Donna married Wayne Bestor on September 10, 1955. After first getting … [Read more...]
Houston swears in new police officer
Mayor Scott Wallace swore in new police officer Josh DeBoer at the regular Houston City Council meeting April 10. Josh’s mom LoAnn had the honor of pinning Josh’s badge on his uniform as he teased, “Don’t worry, I have my vest on!” Danica Stampka of Houston troop 531 visited the council to request and receive approval for her Eagle Scout project. Stampka shared that she … [Read more...]
Houston adds ½ student contact day May 12
At their regular April 6 board meeting, the Houston School Board approved adding a ½ student contact day back into the academic calendar for May 12. Superintendent Mary Morem asked for the ½ day because of the many snow days that had occurred this year. The school still had not fallen below the required student days, but she felt the students and staff needed the additional … [Read more...]
Houston Area Chamber of Commerce elects new officers
The Houston Area Chamber of Commerce elected new officers at the organization’s annual membership meeting on March 20 at Timeless Creations gift shop in Houston. Timeless Creations co-owners Vicki Olson and Kristen Collins hosted the event. Chamber of Commerce Director Margaret Knutson assisted. Ron Evenson was elected president; Rod Torgerson, vice president; Patrick … [Read more...]
Houston School Board reaches consensus
At their third special workshopping session with SiteLogiQ, the Houston School Board reached a consensus on their proposed building referendum. While no vote was taken and nothing is written in stone, the board decided on an approximate cost, the projects to be included, and the question (questions) to be asked when the public vote is held. To begin the session, Andy Fields … [Read more...]
Clean audit for city of Houston
Andrew Forliti of Smith Schafer presented the audit recap for 2022 to the city of Houston at their regular meeting March 13. The certified levy for the city increased 2% (an additional $11,000 increase. LGA revenues were only up $676 for the year with an expected $4,000 increase anticipated in 2023. Unassigned fund balance ($377,802) as a percent of expenditures for 2022 was … [Read more...]
RULER curriculum in use at Houston Elementary
Houston Elementary social worker Jessie Reed joined the school board at their regular March 2 board meeting to explain RULER, an emotional intelligence curriculum, being used at the elementary school. RULER, which stands for recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating, was developed by Yale. To begin her presentation, Reed had the board jot down as many … [Read more...]