Thursday, December 29, 2011

Volume 95; Number 28

www.bladepublishing.net

A community newspaper serving Browerville, MN and surrounding areas. USPS 067-560

National events that shaped 2011

hands of the military until a gener March 15 Arab Spring: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of January 1 Estonia officially al election can be held. February 22 - March 14 Bahrain declares a three-month adopts the Euro currency and becomes the seventeenth Eurozone Uncertainty over Libyan oil output state of emergency as troops from causes crude oil prices to rise 20% the Gulf Co-operation Council are country. sent to quell the civil January 915 unrest. Southern Sudan holds a March 17 Arab referendum on indeSpring and the Libyan pendence. The Sudanese civil war: The United electorate votes in favour Nations Security Council of independence, paving votes 10-0 to create a nothe way for the creation fly zone over Libya in of the new state in July. response to allegations of January 11 government aggression Flooding and mudslides against civilians. in the Brazilian state of March 19 Arab Rio de Janeiro kills 903. Spring and the Libyan January 14 Arab civil war: In light of continSpring: The Tunisian uing attacks on Libyan government falls after a rebels by forces in support month of increasingly As we prepare to bid farewell to 2011 and leader Muammar violent protests; usher in 2012, its a good time to reflect on of military President Zine El some of the events that shaped our lives the Gaddafi,[18] intervention authorized Abidine Ben Ali flees to past year. under UNSCR 1973 Saudi Arabia after 23 over a two-week period following begins as French fighter jets make years in power. January 24 37 people are the Arab Spring] causing the 2011 reconnaissance flights over Libya. APRIL killed and more than 180 others energy crisis. MARCH April 11 Former Ivorian wounded in a bombing at March 11 A 9.1-magni- President Laurent Gbagbo is Domodedovo International Airport tude[13] earthquake and subse- arrested in his home in Abidjan by in Moscow, Russia. quent tsunami hit the east of supporters of elected President FEBRUARY February 11 Arab Spring: Japan, killing 15,840 and leaving Alassane Ouattara with support Egyptian President Hosni another 3,926 missing. Tsunami from French forces thereby ending Mubarak resigns after widespread warnings are issued in 50 countries the 20102011 Ivorian crisis and protests calling for his departure, and territories. Emergencies are civil war. leaving control of Egypt in the declared at four nuclear power Continued on page 12. plants affected by the quake.

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JANUARY

Radtke wins ADA Promotion

Greg Radtke, center, was the Grand Prize winner of $500.00 in the Todd County American Dairy Associations Dairy Promotion Contest. Customers who bought dairy items at several participating area businesses were entered in the drawing. Presenting the award is: Left, Shirley Hulinsky, Emma Motl, Tiffany Hulinsky, and Kraig Kruse.

By Tim King At the Tuesday December 20 meeting, Todd County Commissioners approved a certified levy of $13,272,090. The certified levy must be submitted to the State of Minnesota by the end of the year. Included in the certified levy is $1,202,259 in state program aids. Once the state aid is subtracted from the certified levy the local tax levy is $12,069,831. That is the amount the county needs to raise from local property tax payers. County Administrator Nathan Burkett said this years local tax levy is exactly the same as last year. In a separate action, commissioners approved a $40,341,840 budget. The 2012 budget is significantly larger than the 2011 budget because of expenses related to the Staples highway overpass, courthouse renovation, and county state aid highway work. County Administrator Burkett said in the past capital improvement projects such as these projects have not shown up in the budget. Approximately nine million dollars in federal funds will be spent on the Staples overpass. Burkett said approximately six million will be spent on the courthouse renovation and county state aid road improvement projects. Spending to operate many of the county departments will decline in 2012 as compared to 2011. PLANNING and ZONING Commissioners approved a conditional use permit to construct a 10,000 square foot furniture and wood products manufacturing factory in Ward Township. The factory will employ between six to ten people and will be owned and operated by James Martin and Lawrence Troyer. Martin and Troyer will be combining two businesses, that are currently in Browerville and Motley, and putting them both in the new Ward Township factory, according to Planning and Zoning Administrator Garry Johanson. The businesses make bedroom furniture and tables and sell many of them in the Chicago area market. Commissioners also approved a conditional use permit for a 60,000 square foot turkey barn in Burnhamville Township in southeastern Todd County. The barn will be able to house up to 38,000 turkeys, according to the applicants Joe and Ervin Muellner. The applicants will be required to take measures to prevent soil erosion during and after the construction of the barn. RAINBOW RIDER Commissioners approved an agreement to join the group of five west central Minnesota counties that govern the Rainbow Rider bus system. Although Todd County has been served by Rainbow Rider for a number of years it has not been a part of the joint powers organization that governs the company. Commissioner Gerald Ruda explained that previously Todd County had only an advisory role in governing Rainbow Rider. By joining the Rainbow Rider joint powers group Todd County will be able to vote on decisions. Rainbow Rider use is growing faster in Todd County than in any other county, according to Ruda. BILLS Commissioners approved $2,413,852.13 in bills. Among the bills was one for $526,452.00 to the Brown and Krueger law firm in Long Prairie. The amount will be paid to the Brown and Krueger Trust Fund. County Engineer Loren Fellbaum said the money is for the right of way for the Staples railroad and Highway 10 overpass. Fellbaum said eminent domain proceedings had been initiated on some of the parcels needed to construct the overpass. There are a number of parcels and portions of parcels that were determined to be needed for the construction of the Overpass Project, Fellbaum wrote in an email. Therefore the city of Staples and Todd County needed to initiate eminent domain proceedings to move forward with the acquisition of those parcels in order to deliver the project in 2012 to meet the federal funding deadlines. In the meantime we have continued to negotiate with the property owners in good faith. Fellbaum said the money going to the Brown and Krueger Trust Fund is from the federal government and not from Todd County. HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT Fellbaum said, in a separate presentation, that his department is experimenting with a new road de-icing product called Thawrox. He said Thawrox is road salt treated with molasses and a corn based mixture. Fellbaum said Thawrox is supposed to be effective at colder temperatures than road salt. He also said the manufacturer claims salt use can be reduced by between 25% - 50% by using Thawrox. Reduced salt use will save the county money in the short run and, in the long run, will save wear and tear on county equipment. Less salt on the roads will also be better for the environment, Fellbaum said. Thawrox is being used experimentally on one route in Todd County this winter. Fellbaum said he would not disclose where in the county that route is. Cass County has experimented with Thawrox and is now using it on all roads. In a separate action commissioners gave Fellbaum the go ahead to purchase a new, fully equipped, 2013 Mack plow truck for $202,000. Fellbaum said the truck had not been part of his 2011 budget. He said, however, his department had received more revenues in 2011 than he had been planning on. The extra revenue will allow the Highway Department to purchase the new truck and sell an older truck. The older truck has been costing the county $10,000 per year in repairs. GARBAGE HOLIDAY COSTS Mike Hennen, Todd County Solid Waste Administrator, told commissioners the countys three-day garbage holiday cost Todd County a total of $55,959.34. A small portion of the money was paid out to employees at the Browerville transfer station for overtime work. Continued on page 12.

County approves certified levy

WEEKLY WEATHER REPORT

Wed. Dec. 28 Flurries 34/19 Thur. Dec. 29 Partly Cloudy 26/19 Fri. Dec. 30 Snow Showers 32/16 Sat. Dec. 31 AM Clouds/PM Sun 31/15 Sun. Jan. 1 Cloudy 28/14