Month: June 2020

Highway 2 east of Crookston is now open to traffic in both directions. The project began on June 1 and included resurfacing approximately 2.6 miles of Highway 2 just west of Polk County Road 9 and one mile east of Highway 9. Motorists will see some delays and lane closures for one workday in late summer for additional repairs on the corner just west of Highway 2 and 230th avenue.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents approved the academic program proposal for Equine Business Management at the University of Minnesota Crookston effective fall 2020. 

Students in the equine business management program will learn the skills of managing the daily nutrition, health, exercise, and training needs of horses in their care. The proposed program will combine theory, practice, and experimentation from the existing equine science program with management, marketing, and agricultural business. No other equine academic programs exist in Minnesota and the proposed program makes use of existing resources.

Nicky Overgaard, an equine instructor in the agricultural and natural resources department shared her perspective on the new major, “We are excited to be adding a business option to our line up of equine degrees here at UMN Crookston. We believe this will set our students up for a broader range of employment opportunities in the very competitive equine industry.”

Filing is now closed for Polk County Commissioner and Soil and Water District seats up for election this fall.  In District 3, which includes Crookston, incumbent Gary Willhite is running unopposed. In District 1, Travis Johnson will run against incumbent Gerald (Jerry) Jacobson. And in District 5, current County Commissioner Don Diedrich didn’t file for election. Running for his seat will be Tim Finseth and Mark Holy.

In the West Polk Soil and Water District, three supervisor positions are up for election in Districts 2, 4, and 5. One candidate filed in each district. They are Derek Peterson (Dist. 2), Christian Pester (Dist. 4), and Chris Cournia (Dist. 5).

In the East Polk Soil and Water District, three supervisor positions are up for election in Districts 3, 4, and 5. The candidates running unopposed are Scott Balstad (Dist. 4) and Lawrence Vettieson (Dist. 5). Nobody filed for District 3, meaning a write-in campaign will be necessary.

The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) board met Tuesday morning and approve three separate B3 grants to Crookston businesses Drafts Sports Bar & Grill, Head East Salon, and Functionally Fit. The grant was the second for Drafts and the first for the other two businesses totaling $12,000. Businesses are eligible for up to two grants under the B3 program.

CHEDA Executive Director Craig Hoiseth said at least three other businesses had considered submitting applications and the interest in seeing businesses want to improve coming out of the pandemic is exciting for Crookston. “This morning the CHEDA board considered three different B3 grants,” said Hoiseth. “I will tell you that at least three others had kicked around putting the application in. What we’re seeing is a pretty good dose of people that are wanting to improve their buildings, storefronts, business model during this pandemic. With things shut down or sheltering in place, they saw this opportunity to invest some dollars and make their business better for coming out of this pandemic. I’m happy to report all three applications met the criteria just perfectly and the board did approve all three of them. So, seeing those three businesses move forward in a proactive way, I think that’s really exciting for Crookston.”

Drafts received $3,000, the maximum grant amount for the second grant. They will use their grant to add fencing, umbrellas, and a gas fire pit for a more permanent outside patio in addition to the addition of a booth and general booth repair inside at a total cost of $6,536.90. Head East Salon received $5,000 for new flooring, new windows, and siding for the building for a total estimated cost of $22,632. Functionally Fit received $4,000 for new equipment indoors and paving outdoors to create an outdoor fitness space with the total project cost of $8,700.

The board also approved a revolving loan with MJT Properties LLC, as gap financing for Total Lawn Care for their project to build a retail and storage building north of B&E Meats explains Hoiseth. “MJT Properties is Morgan Terpstra, Total Lawncare,” said Hoiseth. “This is the real estate portion of his business. As you know, we just sold him a parcel of land and his plan is to construct a building this summer and fall to host his Total Lawn Care business. We’re really excited to be a part of that.”
The total project for Total Lawn Care is estimated at $250,000.  The CHEDA board approved a $60,000 loan for 10 years with a fixed interest rate of 4.5 percent which Hoiseth said is in-line with the expected market rate.

The board also received a request for approximately $13,000 from the Prairie Skyline Foundation to assist with their project at the old cathedral including work for a new floor. Hoiseth told the board the foundation had run into some cash flow problems as the pandemic made fundraising difficult and needs funds to meet their match for a grant for scheduled projects this summer. The board raised concerns about the scheduling of work without the finances and the involvement of the Foundation board. 

Councilman Bobby Baird raised a question about the foundation of the building and whether the issue with the floor was because of a bad foundation. Craig Morgan said he wouldn’t be comfortable with any financial contribution without a better explanation of what was going on and the other board members were in agreement. Kay Heggie, board chair for the foundation, was unable to attend the meeting so the board will ask for a presentation at a future meeting explained Hoiseth. “The foundation came forward with a request,” said Hoiseth. “They have some cash flow difficulties with a grant they’ve got for servicing the roof and different things regarding the old cathedral. The board had a good and hearty discussion about how do we help and contribute. The City Council has wrestled with this as well. We furthered that on but essentially, we wanted the foundation board interaction to be a little stronger and understand exactly what the purpose is for the money going forward. Likely the next meeting or have something different to have that discussion with the foundation. Prairie Skyline does some really good things in town here but we think we want to engage and if we’re going to invest some money know exactly what that would be going for.”

The board also discussed the tour of Selkirk on 4th that occurred Monday with overall positive feedback and desire to continue working toward the project.  “There was a combination of CHEDA board members, CHEDA Staff, City Council, Downtown Crookston Development Partnership (DCDP), and media that took a tour of that building last night,” said Hoiseth. “A great exposure to a mixed-use building downtown Grand Forks. Certainly, cast a vision I think for what could happen in downtown Crookston. A lot of work to be done yet, but some exciting stuff that could couple a new downtown event center type of venue with a mixed-use. Maybe some high-end apartments, a restaurant, that type of thing overlooking the river.  A nice vision casting last night and a lot of people left pretty excited about the opportunity for Crookston.”

Hoiseth also reported that the Oak Court Apartment project was back underway after being halted during the Stay-at-Home order and two phases were being worked on simultaneously in an attempt to make up some lost time. And that there was a prospective buyer for the liquidation of assets from Cofé currently considering a purchase. Interim City Administrator Angel Weasner also reported she is awaiting information on the Colborn Property’s tax capacity value from the county to complete an application for an infrastructure grant for the northern portion of the property that would house Vertical Malt and the Ag Innovation Campus.

The Congregation Council of Trinity Lutheran Church, Crookston met June 15, 2020, to discuss COVID-19 pandemic restrictions at Trinity Lutheran and Trinity Point. After study and discussion of safety recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, Minnesota Department of Health, Polk County Public Health, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the council has decided to keep Trinity Point closed to the general public.

Only members of Trinity Lutheran will have access to the beach and boat docks at Trinity Point. Members must call the Trinity Point Site Director at (218) 687-4380 to make sure there is social distancing space available. Trinity members must register with the Site Director while at Trinity Point for tracking purposes in case of an outbreak of infection. Trinity members who are not seasonal campers must keep away from campsites. Wearing a facemask is required.

The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting just 197 new cases of COVID-19 and nine new deaths.  All the numbers are below – 

Updated June 16, 2020
Updated daily at 11 a.m., with data current as of 4 p.m. the previous day.

Data is for cases that were tested and returned positive. All data is preliminary and may change as cases are investigated. Many data points are collected during case interviews. Data presented below is for all cases, regardless of interview status. Data for cases pending interview may be listed as “unknown/missing.”

Not all suspected cases of COVID-19 are tested, so this data is not representative of the total number of people in Minnesota who have or had COVID-19. Cumulative numbers are since Jan. 20, 2020.

• Minnesota COVID-19 Public Dashboard
• Minnesota’s COVID-19 Response and Preparation Capacity
• CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Cases in the U.S.
• Minnesota COVID-19 Modeling

Data in the data tables is correct as of 11 a.m. daily. Dynamic images and maps for case demographics, likely exposure, residence, and residence type will update shortly after 11 a.m. daily and will not work if your browser is in compatibility mode.