Windom Area School Board has offered the position of Superintendent to Jamie Frank. Board Chair Dustin Stevens stated that the interview process went very well, and they are pleased with the outcome. Stevens went onto say, Windom Schools is in a good spot, financially and academically. The Windom school district was very fortunate to have three very strong and well qualified finalists to interview. Jamie Frank will be able to hit the ground running, she has already held a Superintendent license for a few years and has filled in as superintendent for Windom Schools for a few months when Mr Wormstadt had been out during medical leave. That was during the construction of the new elementary building, which gave the board an opportunity to really see Mrs. Frank take the wheel as superintendent during a very involved and complex point for the district. Mrs. Frank has held an administrator position as a principal in Windom for several years and we anticipate a very smooth and seamless transition. The School Board will collaborate with Mrs. Frank to assemble the next Strategic Plan for the district. This is a plan put together by the board, and the board wanted to wait until the next superintendent was hired to collaborate together on this process. The board will also begin the process of filling the elementary principal position. Stevens on behalf of the board will now begin working on a contract with Jamie Frank.
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Mountain Lake Police Department reported 16 calls in the past week. On March 14th officers investigated a report of a house fire. Upon investigation a party was burning behind the house only. On the 15th officers handled a Dog at Large Call- a dog thought to be a Golden Retriever was near the Highway. March 16th Mt Lake Police Officer took a report of possible Terroristic Threats this issue was resolved and found to be more of a blanketed threat and not likely prosecutable. On the 18th Officers handled a driving complaint that happened at the intersection of 12th Street S and 1st Street Ave N in Mt Lake also later that day, officers took a call of suspicious activity/person after investigation everything was okay. On March 19th another Dog at Large call was handled, Officers assisted Windom with Suspicious Activity investigation. A probable crime was committed in Windom by a suspect that had come to Mt Lake to stay with a relative. Suspect was found. Officers also took a report of Harassment, took a report of found property and mediated a Civil Dispute. On the 20th at 9:35 Mt Lake Police checked on a suspicious person call and then at 11:12 officers checked on a suspicious person in both incident everything turned out ok. Also on the 20th officers assisted two separate motorist one on Hwy 60 and E County RD 27 and the other with a flat tire at the intersection of Highway 60 and County Road 8. Later that afternoon a citizen turned in a set of lost keys from a restroom at the Community Center and at 8:37pm officers handled a verbal domestic call.
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Cottonwood County Board of Commissioners held a special meeting on Tuesday March 22nd in which they discussed the Wage Matrix and set a public hearing for Tuesday April 19th for Redistricting of Commissioner Districts.
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Farmers are stewards of the land. Sometimes that means knowing when its best to not farm portions of your land. That is the case for Dundee’s Ronald Porth. He took just over 250 of his acres and enrolled it in the Minnesota conservation Reserve Enhancement program, better known as MN CREP
Porth’s signed up for the program in 2019 after determining the ground was so marginal that it shouldn’t be farmed. Porth explained it was important to take the land out of production due to a lot of t was washing in the creeks and in the rivers and the lakes. It was unsuitable for row crops.
Porth’s acres were combined with two other easements creating 500 acres of habitat corridor linking the MN Department of Natural Resources 5240 acre Talcot Lake Wildlife Management Area and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Clear Lake Waterfowl Production Area.
Porth added “I love to look out across it and see the natural grasses and the tree plots I’ve got and the wildlife. It’s just unbelievable.”
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The Windom Area Chamber announces The Riverfest Can Bank is now closed. The familiar site has been emptied and cleaned and the silo and storage bins are being removed. The property is no longer available to host the site and residents are asked to not drop aluminum off to the site effective immediately.
According to Tyann Hall-Marcy, executive Director of the chamber, future plans are being worked on for collecting cans. It has been a fundraiser for the Riverfest fireworks display for many years.