1) New Granite Falls City Hall goes up, Old City Hall goes down: The new $3 million, 5,000 sq. foot City Hall opened in late June. The former city hall building and a nearby building were razed in September and the site was restored to a riverside park and overlook.
2) YME takes budgetary hit: Declining enrollment and tight state funding resulted in more than $700,000 in cuts to the 2009-2010 YME budget and the elimination of 14 high school and elementary school positions.
3) Upper Sioux Community cuts ribbon on Tribal Government/Administration Center: The $2.5 million, 15,000 sq. foot, was constructed to accommodate growth of community, which has reached close to 500 members.
4) Granite Falls commits to clean water: The city accepts a grant from the US Rural Dev. Admin. for up to $6 million which will match $8 million in local water fees for construction of a new $14 million water treatment facility in 2010.
5) Attempted homicide in Granite Falls: Resident Curtis Quale stabs housemate multiple times while intoxicated. Quale later pleads guilty to first degree attempted murder and is set to serve 161 1/2 months in prison.
6) Fire at Family Foods in Clarkfield. An electrical fire in late October leads to extensive smoke damage requiring replacement of refrigeration units in the Clarkfield grocery store. The store is not expected to be fully open until January.
7) YME school board votes to levy $14 million for health and safety upgrades at YME High School and Bert Raney Elementary School.
8) Local soldiers activated: Over 560 soldiers with the 1-151 Battalion of the Minnesota National Guard are deployed to Iraq after June 25, largely to provide escort service.
9) Local Government Aid cuts hit cities and counties hard, again and forces cuts to city and county budgets and services.
10) Affiliated Community Medical Center in Granite Falls brings in new doctor. Dr. Margaret Ness is welcomed to ACMC as a practitioner of Family Medicine.
Notables: Banner crop almost unable to be harvested due to extremely wet October, Minnesota Falls Dam removal proposal; Rising ag-land values; Major blow to Wegdahl trail initiative when state Supreme Court refuses to hear case saying judgement is up to Federal Transportation Board; Big Stone II project nixed by developers; ongoing flood mitigation projects lead to first phase of reinforcement of levy that protects 200+ homes; Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort considering possible $15 million in floor-space and hotel room additions; world-wide H1N1 Flu outbreak results in mass vaccinations here at home.
