Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office reported 37 calls in the week of March 3rd to March 9th. Deputies conducted 12 Civil Processes, Assisted other Agencies 4 times, handled 1 Disturbance and conducted 3 Traffic Stops. A full listing of all calls in the Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office Weekly Citizens Report is available by clicking the link below.
Weekly Citizen Report March 3rd to the 9th
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The Windom Planning Commission will be meeting TONIGHT at 7pm at Windom City Hall in the City Council Chambers. Agenda items include Oath of Office and elections of Officers for Chair and Vice Chair.
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The New Public Works Facility located on the northwest side of Windom at 46705 County Road 15, is just about to become a reality. According to Cottonwood County Engineer/Public Works Director Nick Klisch the groundbreaking ceremony will be taking place at 12:30pm on Tuesday, March 19th, weather permitting.
The existing facility was first built in 1939 and had four additions with the last one in 2003. Five Accessory Storage buildings were built between 1950 and 2003. According to Klisch most of the buildings are beyond their useful lives with many deficiencies and today’s equipment is much larger than the equipment when the buildings were originally built. Klisch went onto say if cars are parked on 9th Ave across the street from our facility, large equipment like our semi with trailer cannot be driven or backed into our maintenance shop. Additionally, the current location is an urban residential setting which isn’t ideal for a public works facility. There are many pedestrians walking through our campus during the County Fair and when there are events at Windom Arena. We have seen children walking near our fuel island while large trucks and equipment are filling up which is very unsafe.
Klisch stated that Cottonwood County put many years of planning into this facility. He went onto say, that this project is fiscally responsible in that it provides excellent value. By using a Construction Manager model (vs. Prime Contractor) and getting bids and contracts in place prior to January 1, 2024 the cost of construction came in about $1.5 Million under estimate. The main building is also precast concrete, so it will be very durable, energy efficient, and have a very long service life. The hope is to be completed by Spring/early Summer of 2025.
There is an extended informational power point and a project budget available by clicking links below.
What will become of the old facility has not been determined yet, Klisch stated, “but the “Horse Barn” that is currently used by Public Works to store equipment during winter months sits on AG Society property and is used for horse shows and the County Fair in the Summer months. Because of this, it is almost certain that this building will become property of the AG Society for their continued use. Cottonwood County is still exploring options for the other buildings and parcels.”
If you are interested in attending the groundbreaking on March 19th, Klisch stated, even though we have a large site, he encourages carpooling to limit the number of vehicles.
CIP Presentation Cottonwood County Public Works Maintenance Facility
Cottonwood Cty Public Works Bldg – Starting Budget 12-19-23
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Tree clearing along Highway 4 from St. James to Sleepy Eye March 11-13
MANKATO, Minn. – Motorists are advised to use caution on Highway 4 between St. James and Sleepy Eye March 11-13, weather permitting, as workers begin removing trees in preparation for construction, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The tree removal will have little impact to traffic. However, motorists are advised to watch for workers and equipment along the shoulder. The work needs to be done early in the year to prevent protected bats from making their homes in the trees.
The tree removal is preliminary work for the Highway 4 construction project from St. James to Sleepy Eye. The project includes roadway, bridge, and drainage improvements. In addition to resurfacing approximately 25 miles of roadway, three bridges will be replaced.
Construction for the project is anticipated to start in May and continue until early October, weather permitting.
Ulland Brothers was awarded the project with a bid of $18,884,550.58.
Stay connected
- Visit the project website for more information, detour maps, and to sign up for email updates.
- Information will be shared on the MnDOT South Central Minnesota Facebook group and the MnDOT District 7 Twitter account.
- For real-time traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit www.511mn.org or get the free smartphone app at Google Play or the App Store.
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