Mountain Lake Police Department reported 23 calls from June 8th to June 14th. Officers assisted an individual with mental health issues, captured a dog at large and returned a dog to its owners, assisted MN State Patrol, Windom Police Department, Martin County, Mountain Lake Ambulance, Worthington Police Department and Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Department. An officer responded to a young child unattended at a store and warned two adults for being in the park after hours. A full listing of all calls for the Mountain Lake Police Department is available by clicking the link below.
Mountain Lake Police Department June 8th to June 14th
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Windom Police Department reported on the 12th at 1:44pm a 76-year-old female presented in the Law Enforcement Office to make a complaint on her neighbors dogs being in her yard. The officer noted a strong odor of alcohol while speaking with the lady. After investigation, an arrest was made of the female for Gross Misdemeanor DWI. On the 13th at approximately 9:24pm while on patrol near Cottonwood Lake and 16th Street an officer observed a vehicle traveling west on 16th without headlights. A traffic stop was initiated upon investigation the officer could smell the odor of alcohol emanating from inside the vehicle. After further investigation an arrest was made of an 18-year-old male from Springfield for Underage Drinking and Driving. He was arrested and released when sober. An injury accident occurred at the Intersection of State Highway 62 and 6th Ave S. It was reported that 2000 Chrysler LHS hit a 2014 Harley Davidson Motorcycle. Both drivers were injured.
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MN State Patrol reported a Semi vs Car crash at the intersection of Highway 60 and 390th Avenue in Jackson County on the 16th at approximately 2pm. According to the report, A 2023 Chevrolet Malibu driven by a 62-year-old female of Windom was making a turn off of westbound Highway 60 onto 390th Avenue. A 2025 International Semi driven by a 37-year-old male of Le Center MN was traveling eastbound when the two vehicles collided in the eastbound lane. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts and were transported to Windom Hospital with what was thought to be non-life threatening injuries. Outside Agencies assisting were Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Heron Lake Fire and EMS.
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A split decision by the Windom City Council this week means local residents and businesses will likely soon see a new fee on their monthly natural gas bills to pay for city road repairs. The Windom City Council had two major utility items on the agenda Tuesday night, both dealing with Minnesota Energy Resources, the city’s natural gas provider for the last twenty-five years. The first item was straightforward: a standard twenty-five-year renewal of the utility’s operational contract. That passed unanimously. But the second item was implementing a new monthly franchise fee, sparked a debate over the local tax burden. City Administrator Steve Nasby explained that if approved, the flat monthly fee would be tacked directly onto customer gas meters. Residential households will pay an extra $2.50 a month, Commercial businesses will see an extra $15 monthly and industrial users will pay $30 monthly per meter attached to said residence or business. The fees are expected to bring in roughly $120,000 annually. Councilwoman Jenny Quade strongly backed the measure, saying she sees the money explicitly earmarked to fix and sealcoat city streets before they deteriorate. She noted that funding infrastructure this way prevents a massive spike in property taxes. Quade stated, If we don’t do this, we have to look at where we’re going to pull that money out when we budget this fall,” Quade went onto point out that could cause an increase on our tax levy. In which she said, We’ve been trying to keep our levy as low as we can. Quade also warned that because these utility agreements only come up every twenty-five years, passing on the option now would lock Windom out of that revenue stream until the year 2051. However, Councilman James Nelson cast the lone “no” vote, warning that local families are already stretched thin by inflation. Nelson went onto say, he wondered how many people here in the city are going to take this as another tax illness. Nelson then made the point that costs are rising, and things are too high. Mayor Hilary Mathis acknowledged Nelson’s concerns but supported the majority, stating the city desperately needs a dedicated funding source to keep moving forward with road repairs. The fee ultimately passed its first reading on a two-to-one vote, with Councilmen Dennis Esplan and Jaysun Sherman absent. According to Nasby, local consumers won’t see the charge immediately. The ordinance requires a second reading and must clear a mandatory 90-day review by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Administrator Nasby estimates it will be four to five months before the fee would formally appear on utility statements.
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