Local News Headlines – Tuesday, April 13

THIS IS SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN MINNESOTA.  TODAY’S TOPIC COVERS DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEVERE WEATHER.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.  LAST YEAR, THE LARGEST HAILSTONE IN THE AREA WAS 2.5” IN DIAMETER, FALLING IN LAKEFIELD ON JULY 11TH.  OTHER REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL IN SW MN WERE NOTED ON JUNE 2ND, JUNE 21ST, AND JULY 11TH.   SOME OF THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS LAST YEAR TOOK PLACE ON JUNE 4TH.  WINDS OF UP TO 74-MILES-AN-HOUR WERE REPORTED NEAR OKABENA, CAUSING PROPERTY DAMAGE.  WINDS UP TO 64-MILES-AN-HOUR CAUSED PROPERTY AND CROP DAMAGE NEAR FULDA.   THE WINDOM AIRPORT RECORDED WINDS UP TO 57-MILES AN HOUR THAT DAY.   LISTEN TO K-D-O-M RADIO THIS WEEK FOR MORE SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.  

TRAFFIC WILL BE DETOURED STARTING THIS WEEK ON HIGHWAY 71 NEAR SANBORN.  MINN-DOT WILL BE REPLACING THE BRIDGE OVER THE COTTONWOOD RIVER SOUTH OF SANBORN.  THE EXISTING BRIDGE WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1931.  THE NEW BRIDGE WILL HAVE 12-FOOT-WIDE DRIVING LANES AND 10-FOOT SHOULDERS.  WORK WILL ALSO BE DONE TO IMPROVE DRAINAGE AT THE SITE AND NEW GUARDRAILS WILL BE INSTALLED.  THE PROJECT HAS AN ESTIMATED COST OF $3.6-MILLION.  NORTH AND SOUTH-BOUND TRAFFIC ON HIGHWAY 71 WILL BE DETOURED; THE DETOUR WILL USE BROWN COUNTY ROAD 21, COUNTY ROAD 2 AND HIGHWAY 14.  THE SANBORN CITY BRIDGE ON SOUTH MAIN STREET WILL ALSO BE CLOSED DURING THE PROJECT.  WORK WILL CONTINUE INTO THE FALL.  

THE WINDOM COMMUNITY CENTER COMMISSION MEETS AT 5:30 THIS AFTERNOON AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER.   THERE WILL BE A PRESENTATION BY THE WINDOM LION’S CLUB.  THE CENTER DIRECTOR WILL HAVE AN UPDATE ON SOME ISSUES WITH THE BUILDING’S HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS.  THERE WILL BE A REPORT ON THE HIRING OF A NEW MAINTENANCE PERSON AND CUSTODIAN.  A DISCUSSION WILL BE HELD ON THE GUIDELINES FOR HOLDING CONCERTS.   A LIST OF SCHEDULED EVENTS WILL BE PRESENTED.  THE COMMUNITY CENTER COMMISSION WILL REVIEW THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.  

THE WINDOM CITY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETS AT 7:00 THIS EVENING AT THE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS.  THE COMMISSION WILL REVIEW A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.  PROPOSALS WERE SOUGHT FROM CONSULTING FIRMS SEEKING TO REVIEW THE CITY’S LAND-USE REGULATIONS AND PORTIONS OF THE CITY CODE DEALING WITH SUB-DIVISIONS.  FIRMS MAY BE MAKING PRESENTATIONS.  FOLLOWING A REVIEW OF THE PROPOSALS, THE PLANING COMMISSION MAY VOTE ON THE SELECTION OF A CONSULTANT AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE WINDOM CITY COUNCIL.  IN OTHER BUSINESS, THE PLANNING COMMISSION WILL REVIEW THE FINAL PLAT FOR THE KWIK TRIP PROJECT.