PRSRT STD ECR WSS US. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 70 MADELIA, MN 56062
POSTAL PATRON
“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
Fall Car Care & Fall Harvest Sections INSIDE THIS ISSUE
You are more than a number page
4
Monday, October 30, 2017
Ground Tops Air, R-P Over BP page
6
Volume 33 Issue 6
Spring Valley 2018 County pleased street project OK’d with EQB decision page
9
page
15
Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
“Hooked on Preston” mural dedicated with ribbon cutting
Houston School Board selects new member; talks sports cooperation with Caledonia By Eric Leitzen eric@fillmorecountyjournal.com
The Houston School Board met for its regular meeting in the library of Houston Public High School at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, 2017. In attendance were Superintendent Abraham and Board members Norlien, Wilson, Stillin, Carlson, and Evenson. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, the board voted to approve the evening’s agenda and opened the meeting to public comment. Adam Florin, a Houston citizen, spoke to the board about the pride he had in the district and, given the political climate of the time he wanted to sit in on the process and observe. The board thanked him for his comments and approved the evening’s consent items, which included the October 5 meeting minutes, Ann Sparks, Bill and Melody Stockton, Mariella Terbeest-Schladweiler, Gerrie Daley, Eileen Linden, Kay Spangler, Sharyol O’Connor, Father Francis Galles, George Spangler, and Heidi Snyder cut the ribbon at the Preston Mural dedication. Photo by Hannah Wingert By H annah Wingert hannah@fillmorecountyjournal.com
gested the large blank wall above the entrance to the city offices, and the rest of the board agreed that that would be the perfect location. A key part of the project was finding an artist with connections to Preston, and mural artist Alison Love Unzelman fit the bill. Unzelman grew up in Preston and, although she had moved away, she still had a lot of appreciation for the area. When she was approached about the project, she was excited to do it. She put together a rough sketch of a mural, being sure to incorporate things into the design that See MURAL Page 5
See HOUSTON Page 7
End may be in sight for Rushford’s municipal liquor store woes By K irsten Zoellner kirsten@fillmorecountyjournal.com
At the October 10 Rushford Council meeting, an offer to purchase the city’s former municipal liquor store building, located at 409 South Elm Street, was presented by real estate agent Rodney Darr. The offer, from Destiny Life Church, was the first solid offer the city has had on the site, which has stood vacant for years. The strange saga of the store started with the flood of 2007. Due to damage, the original building was replaced with a new facility, paid for, in part, with state and Federal Emergen-
Your community banks
for generations!
cy Management Agency funding. December 31, 2010, the council voted 4-0 to close the on-sale portion of the business due to lost profits for three years prior. Off-sale liquor at the site remained available until the following year. May 9, 2011, the council gave the store 60 days to show a profit. At the following council meeting, May 23, a motion to closed effective June 1 was passed. A petition followed in late June and the closing was put up to voters that fall. In November, the decision was made, in favor of closing the See LIQUOR STORE Page 2
Since 1856
Since 1901
It’s been a project two years in the making, and it’s finally done. Almost exactly two years after the Preston Area Arts Council first approved the idea of a community mural, on October 18 at 2 pm, it was dedicated to the community of Preston with a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting. Before the ceremony began, Arts Council member Father Francis Galles conducted a blessing of the mural, praying, “May it be the inspiration to draw forth even more creativity from the people proud to call this home.”
A dedication followed with presentations by Preston Mayor Kurt Reicks, co-chairs of the Arts Council, Gerrie Daley and Kay Spangler, and council member Melody Stockton. The ceremony ended with a ribbon cutting, in which all eight of the Arts Council members participated. “At first it all seemed so overwhelming,” Gerrie Daley said about the process of getting started with the mural. “But little by little, the pieces just fell into place.” The first step after the Arts Council decided to move forward with the mural was to find a place for it. Stockton sug-
payment of bills, one contract, on decreased contract agreement, three hiring memos, and one resignation. The board then moved on to discussion items. Earlier in the evening the board had held a facilities committee meeting that discussed district signage. Superintendent Abraham detailed the proposed sign designs and noted that the designer, after attending a facilities meeting, determined that changes needed to be made to the size and readability to the proposed signs. Craig Stanislawski of Wild Exhibit LLC, the designer chosen by the district, is planning to redesign the signs to best fit the school’s different architectures and unique needs. Abraham said the designer referred to the school buildings as