The Minnesota State Department of Education (MDE) has released the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report cards for schools across the state. 1060 schools earned passing AYP grades in 2010; six less than in 2009.
Fifteen years ago the Northern States Power Plant located on the east edge of Granite Falls incinerated its final load of coal.
Over the past month the plant’s parent owner, Xcel Energy, has initiated the clean-up of the last remnants of the coal ash, which have been stored in four containment ponds located adjacent to the plant.
It was in 1992 that Governor Arne Carlson stood on the banks of the Minnesota River and declared, "Our goal is that within 10 years, our children will be swimming, fishing, picnicking and recreating at this river.”
At the time, Scott Kudelka, of the Water Resources Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato, said that such commentary would have brought about laughter by some observers. It was a feat viewed as far too great to accomplish in 100 years, much less 10.
A small coffee cup with the inscription “Small Farmers — Big Change” sat on the table just in front of Farmers Union President Doug Peterson. The coffee in that cup wasn’t the only thing at the meeting that was hot.
Over 100 farmers from all over the state and outstate gathered for one of many regional meetings in Redwood Falls Tuesday to hear speakers and gain support for an even grander meeting which will take place in Fort Collins, Colo. Friday, August 27 to rein in corporate control of the livestock industry.
The filing period for seats on the YME school board and area city councils came to a close on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Only two candidates filed for the four openings on the YME School board leaving the other two seats to be decided by write-in votes. The positions will be listed on the General Election ballot on Nov. 2.
Tuesday afternoon 11 citizens from Granite Falls Township silently filed out of the Chippewa County Commissioners meeting following a unanimous vote by the commissioners to approve a controversial Conditional Use Permit for the Asbury asphalt cement storage tank facility.
Duininck Bros. Inc. may now go forward with construction of the facility in Section 10 of Granite Falls Township.
On Monday the Granite Falls council directed city engineer Dave Berryman to seek bids for an estimated $360,000 repair of a section of the dike road in Stony Run Township that washed out during the spring flood.
The award of the bid is contingent upon the development of an agreement with Stony Run Township that outlines responsibility for future upkeep of the road.
Throughout the state voters turned out for Tuesday’s primary election.
It appears that Democrat Mark Dayton, Republican Tom Emmer and Independent Tom Horner will vie for the governorship during the general election this fall.
The DFL governor race was the most contested of the primary. At press time, with 95 percent of the vote tallied, Dayton held a 5,590 vote lead over Margaret Anderson Kelliher.
The state preference mirrored that of Yellow Medicine County where Dayton received 303 votes, Kelliher 256 and Matt Entenza 142.
Of the 6,138 registered voters in YMC (prior to the opening of the polls), 15 percent, cast a vote.
The aroma of sage, a unified drum beat and Dakota prayer resonated throughout the Upper Sioux Community Recreation Center during a ceremony held to honor an occasion deemed a momentous first.
After an hour of deliberation, this past Wednesday Chippewa County Planning and Zoning members voted 6 - 1 to recommend the issuance of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that would allow the construction of a four million gallon asphalt facility five miles north of Granite Falls at Asbury.
Approximately 20 citizens present at the meeting lobbied board members to vote in opposition to the permit. Three homes are located within a quarter-mile of the agriculturally zoned site, where Duininck Inc., of Prinsburg, is seeking to construct the 45-foot tall by 130-foot in diameter above ground storage tank
An unidentified man from Yellow Medicine County is Minnesota’s first confirmed West Nile virus case of the year.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Health announced that the patient was hospitalized in late July with West Nile encephalitis.
Last year’s abnormally wet October postponed a drawdown of the Minnesota Falls dam that would have allowed for an engineering firm to determine the dam’s present condition as well as the future effects on the river associated with its removal. On August 9 the drawdown will resume.
Rural Granite Falls farmers, Richard and Joan Rosetter, made national headlines this week after falling victim to an extraordinary alleged extortion plot said to have been devised and carried out by their son, Lt. Cmdr. David Richard Rosetter, his Samoan wife, Laumatafiafia (Fia), and wife’s sister, Vatauomalao (Tau) Tafaoa.
The Granite Falls City Council hopes to keep feet dry and insurance rates from going sky high with the unanimous approval of a resolution to call for bids for an estimated $1.1 million in levee improvements.
Governor Tim Pawlenty joked that as his 100th, or “centennial,” judicial appointment there would be commemorative figurines made of the newly appointed 8th Judicial District Judge, Chippewa County Attorney Dwayne Knutsen.
Pawlenty announced the appointment in a jovial setting that included Knutsen’s friends, family, colleagues and others Thursday at the Yellow Medicine County Courthouse. Knutsen was chosen from a group of three finalists that included Montevideo attorney Dave Gilbertson and Yellow Medicine County attorney Keith Helgeson.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will not require Duininck Inc., of Prinsburg, to complete an Environmental Impact Statement for a planned asphalt storage facility to be located just north of Granite Falls.
Southwest Minnesota was spared from the 17 confirmed tornadoes that hit the state on Thursday, but that doesn’t mean that the damage wasn’t felt by local community members.
The families and friends of locals traverse the state and Granite Falls resident Sue Bergquist’s parents were in the direct path of one of the three tornadoes, including an F4, that touched down in the area.
For all the rancor and contention that marked this year’s legislative session, there was a piece of legislation that has been well received by legislators and the business community alike.
At the urging of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the Legislature passed a comprehensive jobs bill early in the session, which the governor signed on April 1. The bill contains a range of tax incentives for new construction, building renovation and investment in job-creating businesses.
The final product of the recently concluded legislative session isn’t anything to be proud of, says state senator Gary Kubly of Granite Falls.
According to Sen. Kubly, the three most important aspects of the budget involved the bonding bill, the jobs bill and the budget balancing bill. Not all were created equal, however.
On Friday, Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that Yellow Medicine County Attorney Keith Helgeson, Chippewa County Attorney Dwayne Knutsen and Clarkfield City Attorney David Gilberston are the three finalists for the Eighth Judicial District trial court bench vacated by Clarkfield resident, Judge Bruce Christopherson, on December 31, 2009.
