Local News Headlines – Thursday, September 30

THE HERON LAKE-OKABENA SCHOOL BOARD HELD A REGULAR MEETING LAST WEEK.   THE 2022 PRELIMINARY PROPERTY TAX LEVY LIMIT WAS SET AT THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED UNDER STATE GUIDELINES.  THE LEVY CURRENTLY WOULD REPRESENT A REDUCTION OF ROUGHLY 7.6%.  THE BOARD APPROVED THE HIRING OF SAMANTHA BALOUN AS AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR.  A RESIGNATION WAS ACCEPTED FROM A BUS DRIVER.  THE BOARD ACCEPTED A $500 DONATION FROM THE YOUNG MEN’S CLUB.  THE BOARD APPROVED A LIST OF FUND-RAISING ACTIVITIES FOR VARIOUS GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS.  ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS WERE PRESENTED.  ENROLLMENT NUMBERS ARE UP SLIGHTLY.   

 

THE WINDOM CITY TELE-COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MET THIS WEEK.   UPDATES WERE PROVIDED ON SEVERAL PROJECTS.  WORK CONTINUES ON THE EXPANSION OF SERVICES ON COUNTRY ROAD 17, AT THE GOVE ACRES HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR THE GUARDIAN INN REMODELING PROJECT.  THE COMMISSION REVIEWED PLANS FOR THE ‘NEXT GENERATION’ 9-1-1 EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SERVICE, AND CHANGES NEEDED TO BLOCK ROBO-CALLS FOR TELEPHONE CUSTOMERS.   FURTHER DISCUSSION WAS HELD ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STREAMING VIDEO SERVICE.  CONTRACTS AND CHANNEL LINEUPS ARE BEING FINALIZED.  CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE A CHOICE OF A BASIC LINEUP WITH 48 CHANNELS, A CORE LINEUP WITH OVER 70 CHANNELS AND A ‘CORE PLUS’ LINEUP WITH MORE THAN 110 CHANNELS.  MOVIE CHANNELS MAY BE ADDED FOR AN EXTRA FEE.   

 

THE WINDOM SCHOOL BOARD HELD A WORK-SESSION THIS WEEK.  THE BOARD REVIEWED INFORMATION ON THE NOVEMBER 2ND VOTE ON THE RENEWAL OF THE OPERATING LEVY AND A VOTE ON A NEW CAPITAL TECHNOLOGY LEVY.  PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS WILL BE POSTED ON THE DISTRICT WEBSITE.  PUBLIC MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON OCTOBER 13TH AND OCTOBER 18TH.  THE BOARD APPOINTED ELECTION JUDGES AND MEMBERS OF THE ABSENTEE BALLOT BOARD FOR THE REFERENDUM.  THE POLLING PLACE WILL BE AT THE WINDOM COMMUNITY CENTER.  THE WINDOM SCHOOL BOARD VOTED TO RENEW ITS AUTO INSURANCE COVERAGE FROM AUTO OWNERS THROUGH BANK MIDWEST INSURANCE SERVICES. 

 

THE COTTONWOOD COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MET LAST WEEK.   THE BOARD VOTED TO APPROVED A REVISED VERSION OF THE COUNTY FLOOD-PLAIN ORDINANCE.  THE BOARD DISCUSSED THE 2022 COUNTY BUDGET.  THE PRELIMINARY 2022 PROPERTY TAX LEVY LIMIT WAS SET AT JUST OVER $11.4-MILLION.  THAT WOULD BE AN INCREASE OF 3.75% OVER THE CURRENT YEAR’S LEVY.  THE BOARD AGREED TO A NEW SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH A FIRM THAT PROVIDES SAFETY TRAINING AND CONSULTATION.  FINAL CONTRACT PAYMENTS WERE APPROVED FOR TWO BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECTS.  THE BOARD VOTED TO HIRE A NEW SOLID WASTE TECHNICIAN.  THE BOARD DISCUSSED REVISIONS TO THE COUNTY POLICY DEALING WITH THE USE OF OVERTIME AND COMP TIME.    

 

ANOTHER FALL HUNTING SEASON OPENS THIS WEEKEND.   THE MINNESOTA WILD TURKEY HUNTING SEASON OPENS THIS SATURDAY AND CONTINUES THROUGH SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31ST.  HUNTERS ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE ONE TURKEY OF EITHER SEX DURING THE FALL SEASON.  HUNTING IS ALLOWED IN ANY OPEN PERMIT AREA STATE-WIDE.  SHOOTING HOURS ARE FROM A HALF-HOUR BEFORE SUNRISE UNTIL SUNSET DAILY.  TURKEYS MUST BE REGISTERED WITHIN 24 HOURS.  REGISTRATION MAY BE DONE IN PERSON, ONLINE OR BY TELEPHONE.  FALL TURKEY HUNTERS MAY USE A CROSSBOW, FIREARMS OR ARCHERY EQUIPMENT.  FALL TURKEY LICENSES ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ONLINE OR IN PERSON AT A LICENSED D-N-R OUTLET INCLUDING MANY CONVENIENCE STORES.