Fillmore County Journal - 5.16.16

Page 1

PRSRT STD ECR WSS US. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 70 MADELIA, MN 56062

POSTAL PATRON

“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition

Monday, May 16, 2016

FC artist Kasey Back recognized for her work

How we got here by Donna Buckbee

page 15

page 4

Preston Trout Days activities

pages

Volume 31 Issue 34

Canton Fire Department upgrades

6-9

page

23

Fountain tackles long agenda

page

24

Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff

Willy towers over other steers

Neal Mulhern stands with his larger-than-life beef dairy steer, Willy.

Photo by Barb Jeffers

County supports comprehensive, sustainable transportation funding

Hours

Dirty

Martini

Lounge

109 S. Parkway, Lanesboro, MN 55949 • www.RiversideOnTheRoot.com

NOw OPeN

At the May 10 Fillmore County board meeting commissioners approved sending a letter to Governor Mark Dayton and legislators requesting a transportation package this legislative session. The letter will be signed by all of the county commissioners. The state legislature has less than two weeks left in this session as of this day. The letter is on the letterhead of the Association of Minnesota Counties. The counties want a transportation package to be comprehensive, balanced, sustainable with ongoing funding that is dedicated to roads, bridges, and transit. Greg Davids article, Assistance with Liens Commissioner Duane Bakke took real issue with the Davids

Riverside

karen@fillmorecountyjournal.com

article, “Davids bill would assist residents with MNsure liens,” that appeared in the May 9 issue of the Fillmore County Journal. Davids claims some residents had liens placed on their property after they signed up for MNsure (more correctly, those who signed up for Medical Assistance). Bakke insisted that the statement made by Davids that people “had no clue that liens would be placed on their estate” is not accurate. He maintained there is more than one place where applicants have to sign that makes it clear that when they sign up for Medical Assistance there will come a time when pay back will come from their estate. Bakke added that Medical Assistance is not insurance. County staff who help people

hOurS

By K aren R eisner

sign up make applicants aware of future liens on their estate after their death. Commissioner Randy Dahl stated nothing is free, we all pay eventually. Dahl said, “Those that can afford to, do pay,” suggesting the article is totally false. Bakke believes Davids is saying that the county should reimburse these estates. A motion was approved directing Bakke and county coordinator Bobbie Vickerman to draft a letter, to be sent to Rep. Davids on behalf of the board, expressing their concerns with the article. Other business in brief • Economic Development Director Sam Smith requested that he be allowed to apply for See COUNTY Page 2 

MON.-Thur. 4PM-8PM FrI. 12PM-9PM SaT. 12PM-9PM SuN. 12PM-8PM

By Barb Jeffers barb@fillmorecountyjournal.com

If you have seen one cow you have seen them all, right? Well, you may want to look again. At Mulhern Farms, owned by Tim and Dawn Mulhern, located near Fountain, Minn., there is a steer that looks down not only on his peers, but would also cause most people to look up to him. “Willy” is a beef dairy steer that belongs to Mulhern’s son, Neal. Neal, now 17, bought Willy with his own money when he was ten-years-old to replace a calf that had died. Willy, who was a normal sized calf, began to grow and then continued to grow even larger until it was apparent he was not going to be a normal size steer. Now standing approximately six feet tall, Willy is a sight

to behold. His weight is not known as “we can’t ‘make’ him do anything”, says Dawn, and due to Willy’s fear of confined places, they are afraid he will get injured if they do try to weigh him, but they approximate his weight between 3,500 and 4,000 pounds. There is really no way of knowing how much Willy eats in a day, as he wanders freely and eats as he pleases, but you can be sure it is not a small amount. Willy was originally supposed to be a market dairy steer, but Neal never intended to sell his pet. “I wanted to see how big he would get,” says Neal. When Neal was younger, he showed Willy for 4-H, but now the seven-year-old steer lives the good life roaming around doing what he wants. After all, who wants to try to “make” Willy do anything!

Wykoff citizens voice concerns By R ich Wicks rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com

The Wykoff City Council met on May 11 in regular session. Members in attendance were Mitch Grabau, Rocky Vreeman, Mayor Al Williams, Megan Lund, and Brody Mensink. City Clerk Cheryl Davis was absent. Regarding Davis, Mayor Williams said, “She’s tentatively to be back Monday.” There was discussion of some duties that haven’t been completed during her absence, but it was pointed out that if she is back on the 16th, she should be able to get all deadlines met. Mayor Williams proposed that this meeting have an abbreviated agenda, and that the council consider scheduling a special closed meeting on May 18 at 7 p.m. to discuss a matter of “client attorney privilege”. He also suggested having a brief public

RiveRside on the Root is now open foR the 2016 season

LIve MuSIC hubba May 22 3-7PM

meeting at 8 p.m. that evening to consider the usual consent agenda items (prior meeting minutes, payment of bills, and Treasurer’s Report) that were not being dealt with at tonight’s meeting. The council OK’d this plan. Four citizens had signed up to address the council. First, the council heard from Lyman Hare, who gave the council a letter, and he read from it. He complained that a vacant house, which had stood east of the CSC building, had been being burned “a little at a time, in some small container”. He said he called the Sheriff’s Office, and the burning stopped. His letter states, “My question is why does the Council & Planning and Zoning sit on their back side and let these things happen in our community. It See WYKOFF Page 17 

RiveRside on the Root and Root RiveR outfitteRs aRe now taking applications foR the 2016 season. Cooks, prep, servers, bartenders and store clerks. Please call (507) 467-3663 for more information or email rro@acegroup.cc with a resume.

Riverside


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.