DECEMBER 22, 2022
Mountain Lake Police Department had 24 reports from December 13th to the 18th.
Officers responded to two separate burglary alarms which turned out to be False Alarms, there were 8 assists with other agencies with vehicles off the road. An
Officer assisted MN State Patrol with arrest on traffic stop, and assisted a driver stuck in the street in the 900 block of Prince Street. There were two separate assists with jackknifed semi’s and a tow was called for a broke down semi. One citation issued for No Insurance and 8 snowbird Citations issued.
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The Cottonwood County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday. Top business, the Commissioners approved and signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the Cottonwood-Middle Minnesota watershed planning process for 1W1P and Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan. And there was a motion to reduce the MDA Ag BMP low interest loan rate for septic system loans in Cottonwood County to 1.5% for all new loans effective January 1, 2023 and also moved to eliminate the charges to veterans for volunteer rides.
A 2-year agreement was signed between Cottonwood County and Law Enforcement Labor Services, Inc. (Local No. 144 and Local No. 346), effective January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024 was approved and signed.
The Commissioners approved the new pay matrix for 2023 as presented and the placement of all non-union employees on that matrix. Salaries were also set for 2023. A breakdown of salaries are listed on KDOM website under Local Headline News.
- Nick Anderson’s 2023 salary at $124,872.
- Kathy Kretsch’s 2023 salary at $83,567.
- Jason Purrington’s 2023 salary at $119,813.
- Donna Torkelson’s 2023 salary at $95,540.
- Commissioners Salary 2023 salary at $23,000, per diems at $100/day, technology fee at $60/month and the Board Chair to receive an additional $1,200 for the year.
The Board certified the levy for 2023 at $11million,993thousand,021hundred, which is a 4.5% increase from 2022. The Commissioners moved to set up a commitment account for a tax court attorney for $100,000 and to hire the law firm of Rupp, Anderson, Squires & Waldspurger to conduct an internal investigation.
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The state is urging people on Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare to keep their contact information updated so they can receive important renewal information for their health insurance.
These programs rely on postal mail to communicate with enrollees, who risk losing their health insurance if they cannot be reached.
People on Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare who moved in the past three years or will be moving soon should visit mn.gov/dhs/mycontactinfo to learn how to update their address, phone number and email. Keeping information current will help keep their insurance when it’s time to renew coverage.
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Soooo…. I got an e-mail yesterday from my friend Jessica who works at Windom Area Health, that I thought I should share in the spirit of Christmas in a small town that just makes you think yep we have an awesome community. On Tuesday a couple and their dog from out of state were stranded in Windom due to being in a car wreck on Highway 71. After being checked over at the hospital they called their insurance company to see about getting a rental car, in which they were told there wasn’t any rental companies that would travel to this location. (Does this sound familiar???? I mean NO ROOM AT THE INN kind of situation going on….) Two hospital employees had offered to take them on their errands, but the couple expresses that they needed bigger vehicles than what could be offered. Jessica then had a thought and called Higley Ford. Jessica stated that Joel without hesitation offered the use of one of the trucks in his lot so this couple could unload at the hotel, while they waited for their son to drive to Windom, from Colorado, to pick them up and bring them home. According to Jessica, Joel had the truck warmed up and ready for them when they arrived and then even took them back to the hotel after they completed their tasks. Jessica just said, Joel showed the truest sense of a Good Samaritan. In this community there are so many good people and good businesses that support and go above and beyond to help. How lucky that I just happened to be able to send out a message of AWESOME….