As a result of the recent Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) citizens’ board meeting concerning the four million gallon Asbury asphalt storage facility, project developer Duininck, Inc. has pulled its initial re-zoning application.
The action, taken last Friday, does not change the Prinsburg located construction company’s intention to build the facility five miles north of Granite Falls adjacent to a railroad. But it may affect the final decision of the citizens’ board regarding whether or not Duininck Inc. must develop an Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

At about noon on Thursday, Yellow Medicine County Sheriffs responded to a single vehicle rollover accident on 306th Avenue (the dike road) north of Granite Falls near the public water access.
A vehicle driven by David Fitzgerald, of Granite Falls, lost control due to road conditions and overturned.

As illustrated by the 78 thousand pound shipment that departed from Par Piping and Fabrication, LLC. grounds this past Friday morning, the recession has not affected all businesses equally and the Granite Falls manufacturer has fared better than most.

 In the past few months, a familiar face has roamed the halls of Yellow Medicine East High School. With long brown hair, a friendly smile, and a positive attitude, Jenny Oberbichler, YME’s foreign exchange student from Germany, has made quite an impression.

The City of Granite Falls has received and respond to a Letter of Warning from  the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)  for violations documented during a Compliance Evaluation Inspection performed by the agency in January.
The violation concerns the city’s practice of bypassing excess inflow and infiltration (I/I)water form the wastewater treatment process.

 
The world gets a little smaller this Wednesday when 90 young adults from 20 different countries present “A Song to the World” at the Montevideo Fine Arts Center.
Passion, inspiration and positivity are a promise of the performance collective that goes by: Up with People.
Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, there’s a good chance that you’ve come across the Denver-based non-profit, which has performed all over the world, including in four Super Bowls and in front of the Pope.

An unsustainable Minnesota budget suggests that the services provided by the state will have to change – the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) is taking a proactive approach to ensure that it has a say in the matter.
Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures and the AMC: Redesign project is hailing its 10-point PACT plan as an audacious out-of-the-box approach.

   Registration conference appointments for YME High School students and parents are scheduled for Monday, March 8, They will be able to meet with the student’s advisor and also register for 2010-2011 classes and receive 3rd quarter midterm report cards. Information is being mailed out  this week.  Parents are encouraged to attend the registration and midterm conference appointment to review course registration materials.

The Sixth Annual Project Turnabout "Appetite for Life" Gala was held Friday, February 12, at the Metropolitan Ballroom & Clubroom in Minneapolis. This interactive, all-star cooking class, silent auction and culinary event raises funds for the Another Chance for Life Fund, which provides scholarships to individuals and families seeking treatment, recovery and a better quality of life from their gambling addiction. 100 percent of the event proceeds solely benefit patient and family aid.

The Upper Sioux Community will receive financing for the proposed expansion for the Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Prior Lake, according to a press release issued by the Shakopee Mdewakanton tribe.
The $9 million loan and $1 million grant is expected go towards the addition of approximately 80 additional hotel rooms, 15,000 square feet of adjunct meeting and gaming space, plus renovations to existing areas such as the buffet and bar.

River otters, those playful creatures sometimes known for their child-like personalities, are the subject of a public meeting to be held at 6:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 9 at the Kilowatt Community Center.

Feelings on the subject of allowing them to be trapped in the Minnesota River Watershed and Southwest Minnesota run from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Currently, river otters may only be trapped in other parts of the state.

Bootlegger’s Supper Club owner John Berends has seen a lot of musician’s in his day, so when he refers to a musician as a savant, it’s probably good reason to take notice.
A few weeks ago, Luther Cole traveled from his home in Pipestone and made his Bootlegger’s musical debut during a mid-February performance as a part of Berends popular local musician Fridays. He will make his much anticipated return this Friday when he again claims the stage from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Granite Falls residents Gunval Knudson, 81, and Daryl Roschild, 44, walked away from what appeared to be a violent head on collision with two pickup trucks that occurred just past Highway 23 on Highway 212 on Thursday at approximately 9:00 a.m.

Having now entered the month of March and following the largest amount of snowfall since the winter of 1997, discussion at the Clarkfield City Council meeting naturally turned to dealing with what could possible be a difficult spring thaw.

The Yellow Medicine East school district has some questions to answer thanks to a summons and complaint that was delivered to YME school board member Tim Opdahl last Wednesday. The legal paperwork was prepared by attorney Dustin Cross from the New Ulm-based law firm of Gislason & Hunter LLP, on behalf of Scott Wintz and Patrick McCoy, both of Clarkfield. The Yellow Medicine East school district is required to answer the complaint within 20 calendar days.
    YME Superintendent Al Stoeckman indicated that he did not have prior knowledge of the summons being served; however, it was not totally unexpected.