Local News Headlines – Wednesday, December 2nd

THE COTTONWOOD COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HELD A SPECIAL MEETING LAST WEEK.    CARLY POHLMAN WAS PROMOTED TO A FULL-TIME POSITION AS A DEPUTY AUDITOR-TREASURER.  THE BOARD DETERMINED THAT THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE WILL REMAIN OPEN DURING THE GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER.   MEASURES WILL BE TAKEN TO PROVIDE A SAFE EXPERIENCE FOR ANYONE VISITING ONE OF THE COUNTY OFFICES.   THE BOARD REVIEWED AND APPROVED A FINAL DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL FUNDS UNDER THE ‘CARES’ ACT.  JUST OVER $220-THOUSAND WILL BE PROVIDED TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOCATED WITHIN COTTONWOOD COUNTY, INCLUDING JUST OVER $55-THOUSAND TO THE WINDOM SCHOOL DISTRICT.   

 

LOCAL RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SUPPORT THE SALVATION ARMY BY DONATING TO THE RED KETTLE FUND DRIVE DURING THE HOLIDAYS.   IN WINDOM, A RED KETTLE IS LOCATED IN THE ENTRYWAY AT HY VEE DURING REGULAR STORE HOURS.  DONATIONS OF COINS, CASH AND CHECKS ARE WELCOME.  THERE IS ALSO A DRIVE-BY RED KETTLE SET UP OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE TO THE K-D-O-M RADIO STUDIOS JUST OFF 14TH STREET.  CHECKS, PAYABLE TO THE SALVATION ARMY, MAY BE MAILED TO K-D-O-M.  THE SALVATION ARMY PROVIDES SHORT-TERM EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE TO COTTONWOOD COUNTY RESIDENTS AND PEOPLE IN NEED.  ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE WITH FOOD, LODGING, TRANSPORTATION, HEATING BILLS AND CLOTHING. 

 

THE WINDOM E-D-A HELD A SPECIAL MEETING ON MONDAY.    FURTHER DISCUSSION WAS HELD ON THE ‘SPEC’ BUILDING PROPERTY IN THE 19-HUNDRED BLOCK OF NORTH REDDING AVENUE.  A CLOSED SESSION WAS HELD FOR LAND NEGOTIATIONS.  A DEVELOPER HAS MADE A WRITTEN OFFER TO PURCHASE ROUGHLY 8.5 ACRES OF THE PROPERTY, WITH PLANS TO DEVELOP THE SITE FOR MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING.   AS PART OF THE PLAN, THE PROPERTY WOULD BE DIVIDED.  SOME LAND WOULD BE OFFERED TO ADJACENT LANDOWNERS FOR PURCHASE, AND SOME LAND WOULD BE KEPT BY THE CITY FOR THE COMPOST SITE.   THE E-D-A IS REQUESTING THAT THE DEVELOPER SUBMIT A MORE DETAILED SITE PLAN FOR THE PROJECT.    

 

A MEETING OF THE HERON LAKE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE HELD THIS EVENING.   THE “TRUTH-IN-TAXATION” HEARING WILL BE HELD.   THE COUNCIL WILL VOTE TO CERTIFY THE FINAL 2021 PROPERTY TAX LEVY.    A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD ON A REVISED ORDINANCE REGULATING THE SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS.   THE ORDINANCE WILL BE ADOPTED AND A SUMMARY APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION.  SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS WILL BE CERTIFIED.  THE COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER AN APPLICATION FOR A ZONING PERMIT FOR A LIQUID FERTILIZER STORAGE TANK.  THE RED ROCK RURAL WATER SYSTEM WILL HAVE AN UPDATE ON NEW WATER RATES GOING INTO EFFECT IN JANUARY.   

 

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.