Windom Police Department reported on January 27th an accident involving a bus occurred at 9th Street and Miller Ave. A 2009 Freightliner Chassis School Bus was traveling north on Miller Ave when it entered the intersection at 9th Street when it struck a 2015 Chevy Equinox that was traveling eastbound up the hill on 9th Street. There were no injuries to the five students in the bus or to either driver. The Equinox suffered moderate damage and the school received minor damage.
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On January 30th Windom Police were called for a vehicle off the roadway on 12th Street by Highway 60. An Officer observed a vehicle off the roadway on 12th street by 1st Avenue. The Vehicle was parked off the roadway facing east in a snowbank. After investigation, an arrest was made, and charges are pending on a 41-year old Windom male for 4th Degree DWI. The suspect also had a warrant with Nobles, Waseca and Cottonwood County.
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Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a disturbance on January 24th at approximately 11:57am in the 900 block of 2nd St in Bingham Lake. It was reported that an individual in the home was damaging property. Upon investigation a spouse was upset at family members for withholding vehicle keys due to an earlier driving incident. Officers left with the intention that there would be no more issues. Officers were called back to residence approximately 30 minutes later. It was determined that the individual may be having medical issues and they agreed to have a family member take them to the ER to be checked out.
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On January 27th Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Department were called to a one vehicle traffic accident on Hwy 71 and 330th Street in Dale Township. A St James man driving a 2005 Chevy was traveling northbound on Highway 71 when he attempted to pass a semi. The St James man lost control of the vehicle and entered the Southbound ditch. The vehicle sustained minor front end damage but no injuries were reported.
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On January 27th Cottonwood County Jail learned of an inmate that was communicating through a third party to a person that is protected by a Domestic Abuse No Contact order (know as DANCO). The DANCO prohibits any direct or indirect contact with the protected person. The information was sent to the County Attorney’s office to review. A Citation was issued to a 20-year old male from Windom for the violation.
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Strong communities are built on a foundation of vision and the Windom Area Foundation is the organization that funds the vision of our community for the future! The Windom Area Foundation had its first meeting in March 2020 and since that time even with the pandemic pause has been working towards creating a base for grants to improve our community.
According to Ryan McNamara and Justin Schimt, local board of directors of the Foundation, The Windom Area Foundation will be perpetual. Contributions and grants will continue to be accepted. It is not uncommon for communities of our size to endow hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to grant tens of thousands to local entities each year for local projects. But the most exciting news that the Foundation has experienced is their fund drive that officially ran from September 2021 to December 31st. Bank Midwest is very proud to be a leader in their communities and once it was determined that Windom was the largest community in Southwest Minnesota that did not have a community foundation, the Bank Midwest leadership team suggested offering a large pledge donation to spur further donations. Realizing that the endowment can only grant earnings it was encouraged to aim high to try to attain $500,000 in the first 18 months of existence. With that in mind, the Foundation was offered a match of $1 for every $3 raised. Which would if met, the Foundation would raise $300,000 and Bank Midwest would match $100,000. The effort of the community did not go unnoticed and although the Foundation missed their $300,000 goal Bank Midwest decided to honor their pledge and donated the full $100,000. The Foundation ended up raising $209,050 and with Bank Midwest’s donation the endowment balance is now over $300,000.
McNamara stated that the Southwest Initiative Foundation otherwise known as SWIF is an established 501©3 nonprofit organization that allows their Foundation to maintain a tax deductible status for their donors. SWIF is also in charge of the asset management of the endowment. The Windom Area Foundation local board of directors review and approve or deny all grant requests. He went on to say, Since the endowment can only grant earnings, the businesses and organizations that will be affected are endless. Grant, Applications will be reviewed one to two times per year depending on the volume of requests.
Schmit stated, The Foundation is proud to be able to support the Windom Lions Club shelter project, help with many Windom School based needs, and facilitate the Veterans Memorial Project. Donations to date for the Veterans Memorial Project are $62,920 and we are hopeful to begin construction this Spring.
McNamara and Schmit encourage you to visit www.windomareafoundation.com to gain further information, to obtain a grant application, or to donate.
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Murray County Board of Commissioners will meet this morning at 8:30am in the Murray County Government Center. The Center is open to the public. If you would like to call in to listen to the meeting or join via zoom please find information on the Murray County home page website.
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Cottonwood County Board of Commissioners will be holding a regular meeting this morning at 9am in the Cottonwood County Courthouse in Windom.
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Jackson County Board of Commissioners and Drainage Authority will meet this morning at 9:00am in the Jackson County Resource Center cafeteria.
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Windom City Council meeting will meet this afternoon at 4:30 pm in the City Council Chambers.
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Heron Lake City Council will be meeting on Wednesday February 2nd at 7:00pm at the Heron Lake Community Center.
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