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Volume 33 Issue 8
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Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
Fillmore County enters second Ostrander clerk and council member resign year with CWD management By R ich Wicks
By K irsten Zoellner
rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
kirsten@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Christine Hyrkas will be resigning from her position as Ostrander City Clerk, and Councilmember Erin Volkart is resigning her term at the end of the year. Their letters of resignation were shared during the regular council meeting on November 8. Members in attendance were Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, Hyrkas, and DJ Start. Volkart joined the meeting already in progress, and Heidi Jones was absent.
See OSTRANDER Page 2
Canton meets a new face of Fillmore County By Miranda Cox miranda@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Will Asleson, 13, of Lanesboro, with his recent buck, shot near his home. Will is the son of Matt and Kristen Asleson. They found DNR website instructions on deer testing easy to follow. Photo submitted brought in. The disease is a neurological prion disease that affects cervids such as deer, elk, and moose. It is unclear how the disease was established, although theory speculation has ranged widely, but has not proven to be viral, bacterial, or fungal in nature. The disease is resistant to sterilization and it is not fully understood how it is transmitted. Dr. Clifford F. Shipley,
University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, who was a keynote speaker at a community forum in Chatfield last February, indicated the disease appears to be spread from animal to animal through infected feces, urine, saliva, and muscle or nervous system tissues. “It causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of See CWD Page 6
Newly employed Fillmore County EDA Director Marty Walsh paid a special visit to the Canton City Council during its regularly scheduled meeting held November 8. Walsh stated his primary purpose as wanting to introduce himself as well as to meet the ever-appreciated members of the council, in addition to briefing on a select few personal areas of interest as the newfound holder of the position. Having grown up in Mason City, Iowa, Walsh is all too familiar with the small town, rural communities spanning the area and wishes to “capitalize on that.” A project of emphasis, likely to occur in the near future, includes the introduction of additional affordable housing options combined with an increasing quality of life. Out-
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door recreation will presumably serve as a focal point as well, considering the conditions suitable for fishing and hunting within the region, as made evident by Walsh. Mayor Donivee Johnson also suggested help with again initiating and maintaining a restaurant on Main Street. Walsh noted that that is certainly the kind of issue he would be interested in helping with prior to leaving, saying “Don’t hesitate to reach out,” whether that be through aid in starting businesses, housing developments, obtaining grants, or anything in between. Public Works Director Jon Nordsving announced of a mixer pump breaking and that parts are being waited upon to fix it. Also covered briefly was the issue of the backhoe needing a See NEW FACE Page 12
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Deer Management Area 603, formerly identified as Permit Area 348 in Fillmore County, is entering the second year of management for Chronic Wasting Disease and there doesn’t seem to be a clear indication of how it’s progressing. November 2016, the first positive infection in a wild deer was discovered near Preston. It led to an intensive DNR management plan and reclassification of the permit area. The management plan was essentially four-point: expansion of hunting opportunities and reduction of limits to lower population densities, mandatory testing of deer one-year or older, and prohibition of deer carcass movement without negative test result, and a ban on recreational whitetail feeding throughout southeastern Minnesota. A September 2017 DNR report by Erik Hildebrand, Wildlife Health Specialist, and Lou Cornicelli, Wildlife Research Manager, notes a total of 11 deer were identified as carrying the disease within the area. The results followed the testing of 1,179 samples. A 16-day special hunt was held December 31 through January 15 and 873 deer were harvested during that time. Roughly 300 landowner permits were issued by the Department of Natural Resources in the permit zone to further reduce herd numbers, bringing the total number yielded to 775. When sampling numbers fell below the goal of 900, U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters were
In Hyrkas’s letter, she stated that, in part, “…for the best interest of my family, I have taken a full-time job… It has been a privilege to serve the citizens of Ostrander.” She has already started her new job, but since the clerk position has not yet been filled, she is continuing to help out, and hopes to be able to train the new clerk. Hrykas also stated that the city has recently received three new applications for the city clerk position. Council