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“Where Fillmore County News Comes First” Weekly Edition
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Volume 33 Issue 45
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Facility projects at Fillmore Central
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Canton • Chatfield • Fountain • Harmony • Houston • Lanesboro • Mabel • Ostrander • Peterson • Preston • Rushford • Rushford Village • Spring Valley • Whalan • Wykoff
Odd name, great eggs
Swimming pool bonding proposal presented By K aren R eisner karen@fillmorecountyjournal.com
Mike Bubany, David Drown Associates, presented a recommendation for the structure of General Obligation Bonds for the Swimming Pool Project during the Chatfield City Council’s July 23 meeting. The bonds were authorized (up to $4.4 million) by voters in a referendum in the November 2017 special election. Total capital costs, contingencies (additional needs like security cameras), and issuance expenses together come to $4.4 million.
Annual bond payments are expected to be about $313,000 per year for 20 years. Bubany recommended a competitive sale. The city has a Stable AA credit rating. A resolution was adopted providing for the competitive negotiated sale of $4.4 million GO swimming pool bonds. An official statement will be prepared for reaffirming the city’s credit rating. Awarding of the bond issue is scheduled for August 27 and closing on September 10. See SWIMMING POOL Page 11
New company to bring highspeed internet to rural areas By A nnie Lewis
Left to right, the Keim boys and their chickens: Cowan (holding Buster), Carter (Chester), Corbin (Nae Nae Chicken Flap II), and Calvin (Patsie). Photo by Rich Wicks By R ich Wicks rich@fillmorecountyjournal.com
spring, when school ended, she and her husband Jeremy decided to bring one of the young chicks home to keep. Although they believed it to be a hen, it turned out to be a rooster, and Carter named him “Chester.” Specifically, Chester is a New Hampshire Bantam Cockerel. Later, they decided to add to their brood, and they now have eight hens and three roosters, and that’s how Carter’s business plan was hatched. Any businessperson can tell you that a business needs a catchy name, because if you don’t catch peoples’ attention, you’ll never See CHESTER’S BUTT NUGGETS Page 8
More than 50 people attended the announcement at the Harmony Telephone Company to create MiBroadband, a new company to bring fixed wireless broadband to areas of Southeast Minnesota and Northeast Iowa. At the event on July 24, Mabel Cooperative Te l e p h o n e Company, MiEnergy Cooperative and Spring Grove Communications revealed they are in the early stages of making high-speed internet a reality for underserved rural areas. “This partnership will create life-changing moments for rural members that have not had access to broadband at their
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There’s a young entrepreneur near Cherry Grove who has really got things cracking. At just seven years of age, he’s certainly no hard-boiled businessman, but Carter Keim is the CEO (Chief Egg Officer) of the family’s new egg-venture, which he named “Chester’s Butt Nuggets.” For a seven-year-old, Carter knows a lot about chickens and their care. Recently, he explained the feeding and nesting needs of the birds, and gave a tour of the coop. “We have a swing for them, and we have roosting bars,” Carter shared, “and we have
dust for them to roll around in.” He even proudly showed off a xylophone toy that the chickens “play” as they peck mealworms off it at snack time. He also explained that the mealworms help chickens develop harder shelled eggs, and he stated that some chickens lay white eggs, while others lay colored eggs, but that the color doesn’t indicate any difference in taste or nutrition. Carter’s mother, Tonya Keim, explained that, as a preschool teacher, for the past five years she has used chicken eggs as a fun and educational activity for her students, who enjoy watching for the tiny chicks to emerge. Tonya said this
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home, farm or business,” said Julie Kolka, manager of Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company. “In many cases, rural is defined as less than three or four subscribers per mile of fiber. Low density makes it more difficult to plow fiber to rural areas. Yet, everyone is deserving of having access to quality broadband service,” stated Jill Fishbaugher, manager of Spring Grove Communications and Harmony Telephone Company. MiEnergy Cooperative built a broadband network to communicate between its Rushford and Cresco offices and to com-