The following meetings will take place today January 17th.
Murray County Board of Commissioners at 8:30am in the Murray County Government Center
Cottonwood County Board of Commissioners at 9am in the Cottonwood County Court House
Jackson County Board of Commissioners and the Drainage Authority at 9am at the Jackson County Court House Commissioners Board Room
St James City Council at 5:30pm at the St James Community Building
Windom City Council at 6:30pm at Windom City Hall in the City Council Chambers
Mt Lake City Council at 6:30pm in Mt Lake City Hall
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Jackson County Sheriff’s Office reported on the 15th Deputies assisted the MN State Patrol with a vehicle in the median on 1-90 east of Jackson. A tow truck was called to the scene to assist. And they reported a vehicle rollover near Superior Iowa to Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office
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Weather is playing havoc with everything and school days are no different. Superintendent of
Windom Area School District, Jamie Frank relayed that schools have had to be closed seven days this school year due to inclement weather. Frank explained There is a great deal of communication with many different people that goes into the decision to close school. Communication between the transportation director, the highway department, area superintendents, the Sheriff, and myself is constant during winter storms. We work together to make sure we have all the current information about weather conditions, what the weather prediction is, how the roads are now, and how the roads are anticipated to be in future hours. We put all this information together to make the best call possible for the safety of our students and staff.
By statute, districts are allowed to use 5 E-Learning Days. These are days when teachers and students work from home and Windom Schools have used all five days. Frank went on to say, “Since we have had seven snow days in total, we need to make up two days. The first will be President’s Day, February 20. This will be a school day for students. The second day will be made up by teachers (no students) in June.”
Frank said that there is a plan in place if there is a need for additional snowdays in the future. Make up days would be on Monday March 27th for staff and students for the 8th days and if there is a 9th day, it would be made up by teachers only.
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The Jeffers City Council met in regular session on January 10th. Council Members Shawna Dorr-Jones, Sheila Ryker and Mayor Brad Prins signed the Oath of Office. The Council reviewed City Offices and voted to add the Lamberton News as a City Publisher with the following :
Mayor/Police Chief……………………………………………………………..……….……….Brad Prins Mayor
Pro Tem/Water Commissioner……………………………………………Curt Determan
Sewer Commissioner………………………………………….……….…………..Shawna Dorr-Jones
Park and Health Commissioner……………………………………..……………………Sheila Ryker Street
Commissioner…………………………………………………………….….………Jacob Barlow City
Attorney…………………………………………………………….………….………….Ron Schramel
Engineering Firm………………………………………………………….………… (To be Determined)
Publisher……………………………………..…………..Cottonwood County Citizen/Lamberton News
Depository…………………………………………….……………………..State Bank of Jeffers
Capitalization amount………………….…………………………………………. $1,000.00 per item
Depositor ……………………………………………………………………………..Sharen Goeman
The Council adopted Resolution #2023-01 that states The City of Jeffers DOES NOT WAIVE Monetary Limits on municipal tort liability established by the Minnesota Statutes, Section 466.04 to the extent of the limits of the liability coverage obtained from the LMCIT and adopted RESOLUTION #2023-02 that sets fees and charges for 2023. The Council then voted to a cost of living increase to city staff of 3%. The council then moved to increase Animal Control’s annual stipend to $400 and set each trip to the vet at $50, the discussion regarding purchasing kennels was tabled. The Council then approved to move forward with the purchase/trade of the plow for a city truck. A letter will be sent to a resident with a vehicle buried in snow and the clerk will check on pool table licenses in the area
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The next deadline for Operation Round Up from Federated Rural Electric’s Trust Board is February 10th.
Operation Round Up involves about 77 percent of Federated’s members in Jackson and Martin Counties; they allow their monthly electric bills to be rounded up to the nearest dollar amount. The “rounded up” change goes into a trust fund. An independent Trust Board, which consists of Federated members, evaluates local funding requests and distributes the funds.
The application form can be downloaded from Federated’s website: www.federatedrea.coop . You can also call Federated at 507-847-3520 or 1-800-321-3520. Ask for Andrea to request an application (or e-mail: info@federatedrea.coop).
Since 1995 Federated’s Trust Board has distributed nearly $870,000 to local organizations including senior dining, hospice, schools, fire/ambulance departments and as high school scholarships.
Federated members with high school seniors can apply for the Federated Operation Round Up scholarships. The Trust Board authorized nine $700 scholarships with one for each of the six Federated districts and three for district At-Large where applicants have a second chance. The inserts will go out with the February 3 electric bills. Plus, the application is also found on Federated’s website or with school counselors in early
Organizations that serve Federated members in Jackson or Martin Counties can request funds for projects involving:
- community service • community leadership programs
- disaster relief • environmental programs
- youth education • emergency-energy assistance.
Federated is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative serving 6,800 members in Jackson and Martin County.
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