Local News Headlines – Thursday, December 3rd

THE MONTHLY WEATHER STATISTICS HAVE BEEN REPORTED FOR THE CITY OF WINDOM IN NOVEMBER.   TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH CAME TO .83”.  FOR THE YEAR TO DATE, WINDOM HAS NOW RECEIVED 24.4” OF TOTAL PRECIPITATION.  AT THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR, WINDOM HAD RECEIVED OVER 41” OF PRECIPITATION.  WINDOM RECEIVED 4.6” OF SNOW IN NOVEMBER.  FOR THE CURRENT SNOW SEASON, WINDOM HAS RECEIVED 9.7” – AT THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR, WINDOM HAD RECEIVED JUST UNDER 14” OF SNOWFALL.   THE HIGH TEMPERATURE IN NOVEMBER WAS 81-DEGREES ON THE 5TH.   THE AVERAGE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS 51-DEGREES.  THE LOW TEMP IN NOVEMBER WAS 8-ABOVE ON THE 19TH.  THE AVERAGE DAILY LOW READING WAS 28.5-DEGREES.   

 

DONATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE COTTONWOOD COUNTY CHRISTMAS CHEER BOX PROGRAM.    GIFTS ARE PROVIDED TO FAMILIES IN NEED, INCLUDING FAMILIES FACING HARDSHIP DUE TO ILLNESS, LOSS OF A JOB OR OTHER ISSUES.  THE PROGRAM IS SPONSORED BY THE WINDOM WOMEN OF TODAY AND THE MT LAKE POLICE DEPARTMENT.  THEY ARE ACCEPTING DONATIONS OF NEW, UNWRAPPED TOYS, HATS, MITTENS, CLOTHING, PERSONAL-CARE ITEMS AND SMALL GIFTS.  GIFTS ARE NEEDED FOR CHILDREN FROM INFANTS TO 18-YEARS-OLD.  DONATIONS MUST BE DROPPED OFF BY DECEMBER 8TH.  COLLECTION BOXES MAY BE FOUND AT LOCATIONS IN WINDOM, MT LAKE, STORDEN, JEFFERS AND AREA CHURCHES.   

 

THE WINDOM CITY COUNCIL THIS WEEK VOTED TO DENY A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR HY LIFE FOODS.  THE WINDOM E-D-A AND HY LIFE FOODS WERE SEEKING TO HAVE TEMPORARY HOUSING ON PROPERTY OWNED BY THE E-D-A.  BECAUSE THE PLANNING COMMISSION HAD RECOMMENDED THAT THE PERMIT BE DENIED, THE COUNCIL NEEDED A 4-1 VOTE IN FAVOR TO APPROVE THE APPLICATION.  THE MEASURE WAS DEFEATED ON A VOTE OF 2 YES AND 3 NO.   THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO VOTED ‘NO’ SAID THEY SUPPORT HY LIFE FOODS, BUT WERE OPPOSED TO THE LOCATION FOR THE PROJECT.   IN OTHER BUSINESS, COUNCIL MEMBER JOANN RAY ANNOUNCED SHE WILL BE RESIGNING HER SEAT IN JANUARY.   

 

MORE AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES ARE BEING HELD IN THE AREA.   THERE IS A BLOOD DRIVE BEING HELD TODAY AT THE LAMBERTON AMERICAN LEGION.  THE BLOOD DRIVE IS FULL – NO MORE APPOINTMENTS ARE AVAILABLE.  ON FRIDAY, TIMES ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR A RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE AT THE AMERICAN LEGION IN STORDEN.  THE HOURS ARE FROM 11:30 TO 4:30. YOU MUST MAKE AN APPOINTMENT IN ADVANCE.  LOOKING AHEAD, A BLOOD DRIVE IS BEING HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH IN LAKEFIELD.  THAT BLOOD DRIVE IS NOW FULL.  TIMES ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR A BLOOD DRIVE BEING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9TH AT THE FULDA COMMUNITY CENTER.  HOURS ARE FROM 1:00 TO 7:00PM.   

  

WINDOM-NET HAS ANNOUNCED A CHANGE IN ITS CABLE T-V CHANNEL LINEUP.   STARTING TUESDAY, WINDOM-NET HAS REMOVED ONE OF THE SIOUX FALLS T-V STATIONS FROM THE LINEUP.  IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH NETWORK RESTRICTIONS, WINDOM-NET IS NO LONGER ABLE TO CARRY K-E-L-O T-V.   K-E-L-O – A C-B-S AFFILIATE – IS SEEN ON CHANNEL 10 ON THE BASIC CABLE T-V LINEUP AND CHANNEL 94 ON THE HIGH-DEFINITION CABLE PACKAGE.   WINDOM-NET DOES HAVE OTHER CHANNELS THAT CARRY C-B-S NETWORK PROGRAMS, AND OFFER NEWS AND WEATHER FROM SIOUX FALLS. 

 

THE MT LAKE CITY COUNCIL MET THIS WEEK.  THE TRUTH-IN-TAXATION HEARING WAS HELD.  THE FINAL 2021 PROPERTY TAX LEVY WAS SET AT JUST OVER $729-THOUSAND, AN INCREASE OF 3.5% OVER THE CURRENT YEAR’S LEVY.  IN OTHER BUSINESS, THE COUNCIL APPROVED A PAY INCREASE FOR ON-CALL AMBULANCE MEMBERS.   A RESIGNATION WAS ACCEPTED FROM A FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICE.  A PART-TIME OFFICER WAS PROMOTED TO FULL-TIME STATUS TO FILL THE VACANCY.  THE COUNCIL APPROVED THE HIRING OF A NEW LIBRARY DIRECTOR.  THE CITY ATTORNEY AND POLICE CHIEF HAD UPDATES ON SOME PUBLIC NUISANCE VIOLATIONS.  THERE WAS AN UPDATE ON COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS INVOLVING THE WARMING HOUSE AT THE ICE RINK.