Month: February 2023

The Northwest Regional Corrections Center reported the following arrests.

Jessica Edith Zambrano, 34, of Crookston, for 2nd-Degree DUI and Refusing to submit to a chemical test

Brandon Charles Dubois, 28, no address provided, for DUI of any amount of Schedule I/II Drugs that were not marijuana.

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT-FEBRUARY 8, 2023 appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston Public School District held the final public meeting on Tuesday night in the Crookston High School Choir Room about the multiuse facility.

Interim Superintendent Dave Kuehn presented why the district wanted the facility, explaining that their current facilities used for track and football were owned by the University of Minnesota Crookston but were not safe enough to host competitive track and field meets. Due to them not owning the facility, they could not use their Long-Term Facilities Maintenance dollars designated to pay for upgrades to them since it was not their property. Kuehn then went into the benefits the project could give the district and community. The facility could provide broader opportunities and benefits for students and community members as many groups, including athletic teams and park and recs programs, and outside groups for rentals and let them host MSHSL playoffs and section track and field meets.

He then went into a summary of the budget, explaining that the estimated costs for the project are $4,964,671 with a Bond Issue Total of $4,965,000, with the Artificial Turf Field’s construction costing 1,182,000, the track’s construction costing 837,000. The Grandstand & Press Box’s installation costing $387,000, the Lighting/Electrical work costing $715,000, and the Site work costing $924,000. The construction cost for the Concessions Stands and Bathrooms would be $178,000, with other Contingency costs equaling about $741,571. Crookston Financial Advisor Jeff Seeley of Ehlers Finance came forward and explained that the state will pay 70% of the State Service Taxes, using an example of an Ag parcel of one house, garage, and acre. “That’s going to be valued in tax like a regular residential home in town would be. That is going to be a separate category. Then you have the Ag Land and buildings. The first tier, which is just shy of $1.9 million ($1,890,000), generally falls in the Ag Homestead Tax Category,” Jeff Seeley explained. “Beyond that, it falls in the Ag Non-Homestead, which has a tax rate about twice as much as the Ag Homestead. If you have a smaller farm, most of your land will probably be in that lower tax category. All the Ag Land qualifies for the 70% Ag Credit, which is automatic on the tax bill and a reduction that they’ll see automatically.” With the Ag Credit, it would lower the Tax Impact of the 1st Tier from $120 to $51 and from $376 to $161 for other higher values. To learn the exact tax impact of your home or business, you can go to https://www.crookston.k12.mn.us/district-proposedreferendum and click on the Tax Calculator. For Ag Land information, you have to send in your parcel numbers, and Ehlers will send them a customizer tax estimate for owners to learn their tax impact. Brian Berg of ZerrBerg Architects mentioned that the costs for the school are also calculated to include any construction inflation for the summer. When asked if the project would cost more than the amount they had proposed to the public, Kuehn answered the school would make up the difference by either taking away some of the fencing or paving to save money, or the district would find other ways to raise the money.

Kuehn then went into the existing debts the school had already, saying they had four bonds outstanding. These included HVAC Projects with Alternative and Capital Facilities Bonds, which would be paid off in 2034, some Parking Lot Projects that happened in 2015 that would be paid off in 2030, the Bus Garage referendum from 2020, which will be paid off in 2030, and improvements made to the elementary and high school buildings, which would be paid off in 2035. Seeley explained that the existing debt is wrapped around prior issues to create a level debt structure through taxes payable in 2034 with periodic decreases in future years. With this referendum, the school plans to fuse it into an existing debt and mitigate the tax impact over the years. “What we do is when we look at this new proposed debt, we’re going to fuse that in with the existing debt. The idea behind it is while the existing debt payments are higher, we’re going to have the proposed debt payments lowered. So as the district moves through the years and pays off some of these old debts, the new debt will increase the principal payments,” Jeff Seeley explained. “The idea is to keep the debt level over a period of time as opposed to a big spike immediately. It balances out and coordinates the old debt with the new debt.”

Kuehn then went into a comparison of the school’s debt to other school districts, in which he showed Crookston was among the schools with the lowest debt levy compared to other local districts in 2022. “We wanted to share some of the schools that are more like-sized, like Thief River Falls, East Grand Forks, Hawley, and Warroad, the schools we compete against as what they have for debt. No debt is good debt, but the school has some, but when you look at it compared to these other school districts, we’re really on the lower end,” Dave Kuehn explained. “The other school districts have maybe put some more money into projects and facilities, and when you look at it, Crookston is at the lower end of the scale of those other eight school districts.” Tables of the district’s debt can be seen below-

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Kuehn then opened the presentation to the public for any questions they had. One audience member asked Activities Director Nate Lubarski how many track meets the school held. Lubarski answered they only held one, as any other home track event they participated in was held at East Grand Forks High School. When asked if having a home track would increase the number of track meets they hosted, to which Lubarski answered they would. When asked what the city would use it for, Kuehn replied they had come to a mutual agreement with the city for their children sports on the weekends.

A member asked how the school would maintain the turf, where Brian Berg answered the turf would come with a groomer that could be dragged behind a car to clean anything wanted out of it and could be sprayed with washers thanks to the drainage system underneath it.

When asked if they had any ideas about any sponsorships they could use for the referendum, Kuehn answered they haven’t yet as they were waiting for bids to come in and learn how much they needed first, but they were speaking with several businesses and individuals about potential sponsorships. When asked about its interest rate, Jeff Seeley answered it was at 4.75%.

The vote on the multiuse facility will be on Tuesday, February 14, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. To get a mail-in ballot, you can go to the Crookston District Office from Monday-Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or request a ballot from Marilyn Wahouske by contacting her at 218-281-5313 ext. 3 or email marilynwahouske@isd593.org. You can see more information about the referendum and your property tax credit at the link: https://www.crookston.k12.mn.us/district-proposedreferendum.

The post CROOKSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT HOLDS FINAL PUBLIC MEETING OF SECOND SERIES MULTIUSE FACILITY REFERENDUM appeared first on KROX.

According to court records, a Crookston detective investigated a case at New Flyer of America Inc. in Crookston and found that one of its employers, Irene Thompson was overpaid by $137,521.94. The money was deposited to her account on December 30, 2022, where she had left work early that day and she never returned. New Flyer attempted to contact her about the payment but she never responded.

When the detective was able to contact her, Thompson explained she was shocked at the payment, as it was deposited on the day she had decided to quit working there and thought it was a part of her 401K retirement plan. She had left to Texas and spent most of it on a spending spree. However, police found that she only had $14,000 in her 401K retirement plan.

Thompson is now facing four felony counts of Theft and Possession of Stolen Property. 

To learn more about the incident, you can watch a video of the report by Neil Carlson of iNewz.TV.

The post CROOKSTON WOMAN OVERPAID $137,000 ON DAY SHE DECIDES TO QUIT JOB, NOW FACING FOUR FELONY COUNTS appeared first on KROX.

The City of Crookston announced that it will commence downtown snow removal on all City streets beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday night/Thursday morning, barring unforeseen heavy snowfall or other emergency.

Vehicles on these streets will be towed if not moved.

The post CROOKSTON WILL CONDUCT DOWNTOWN SNOW REMOVAL ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT appeared first on KROX.

Governor Tim Walz today signed into law legislation establishing a Minnesota carbon-free electricity standard. With Senate File 4, Minnesota will take steps to lower greenhouse gas emissions, combat the climate crisis, and create new clean energy jobs. The new law ensures Minnesotans will continue to have reliable, affordable, and safe energy resources. Governor Walz signed the bill alongside legislators, labor, and environmental advocates at the St. Paul Regional Labor Center.

“Climate change impacts lives and livelihoods in every corner of our state,” said Governor Walz. “Minnesota will continue to lead the way on combatting climate change, and we’ll create clean energy jobs in the process. This bill is an essential investment in our future that will continue to pay off for generations to come.”

“Climate change threatens many of the things we love most about our state – which is why we’re going to lead Minnesota to 100% clean electricity by 2040,” said Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. “As we work to make Minnesota the best state to raise a family, investing in our climate future is an essential part of building a bright future for our kids. This bill is good news for Minnesota, and our country as the North Star State leads the way.”

“We are excited for Minnesota to continue to lead the clean energy transition with its new goal to provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040,” said Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy – Minnesota. “This legislation will provide opportunities to innovate, create jobs, incorporate new technologies into the grid, and work closely with the communities that are home to our employees and power plants on a successful transition.”

“Fresh Energy celebrates Minnesota’s new 100% clean electricity law and applauds everyone involved in helping make it a reality. An affordable and reliable carbon-free electric supply is the foundation for Minnesota’s work to cut carbon pollution in all sectors of our economy,” said Fresh Energy Executive Director Michael Noble. “This bill is just the beginning, and Fresh Energy is looking forward to continued collaboration with all the stakeholders and Minnesotans who contributed to making this bill law. This landmark achievement by Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Legislature will benefit Minnesotans for years to come across our economy, environment, communities, and beyond.”

According to the recently published Greenhouse Gas Report, electrical utilities in Minnesota have made significant strides toward carbon-free energy, with a decline in carbon emissions of 54% from 2005 to 2020. The new law gives utilities the planning time and flexibility they need to reach the 100% goal while maintaining reliable and affordable electricity for Minnesotans.

The bill establishes a standard for utilities to supply Minnesota customers with electricity generated or procured from carbon-free resources, beginning at an amount equal to 80% of retail sales for public utility customers in Minnesota in 2030 and increasing every five years to reach 100% for all electric utilities by 2040. The bill also requires that, by 2035, an amount equal to at least 55% of an electric utility’s total retail electric sales to customers in Minnesota must be generated or procured from eligible energy technologies.

The bill encourages utilities to locate new energy-generating facilities in communities where fossil-fuel-generating plants have been retired or are scheduled for retirement and prioritize projects that maximize local employment, including employment of workers from communities where generation has been retired.

The bill also expands the benefits that the PUC is to consider when implementing this energy standard to include:

• The creation of high-quality jobs in Minnesota pays wages that support families.
• Recognition of the rights of workers to organize and unionize.
• Ensuring that workers have the necessary tools, opportunities, and economic assistance to adapt successfully during the energy transition, particularly in environmental justice areas.
• Ensuring that all Minnesotans share the benefits of clean and renewable energy and the opportunity to participate fully in the clean economy.
• Ensuring that statewide air emissions are reduced, particularly in environmental justice areas.
• The provision of affordable electric service to Minnesotans, particularly to low-income consumers.

The post GOVERNOR WALZ SIGNS BILL MOVING MINNESOTA TO 100% CLEAN ENERGY BY 2040 appeared first on KROX.

Congratulations to Kerry Mcfarlin, who is Benedictine Living Community – Crookston’s February Senior Athlete of the Month! He was awarded the February Senior Athlete of the Month by the BLC – Crookston therapy team.  

Kerry has shown commitment to his skilled admission at BLC-Crookston and has successfully “graduated” from physical and occupational therapy. He continues to work with our skilled nurses to transition back to his home when able. Since being discharged from skilled therapy, he is frequently seen ambulating the hallways and independently exercising on the Nu step in our wellness room. We applaud his dedication to maintaining his mobility and strength. Congratulations, Kerry!!

The Benedictine Living Community-Crookston sat down with Kerry and asked some rapid-fire questions:

His favorite month is November

His favorite Season is Spring.

Dogs are his favorite animal.

Her favorite Color is red.

Her favorite food is Pizza.

His hero is Don Anda (he got him started in drywalling)

His favorite way to exercise is Walking and yard work.

His Special Talent is being a good friend to everyone.

His favorite sport to watch is football.

His Favorite Rainy Day Activity is Staying inside and reading. 

The post KERRY MCFARLIN WINS FEBRUARY BENEDICTINE LIVING COMMUNITY’S SENIOR ATHLETE OF THE MONTH AWARD appeared first on KROX.

The City of Crookston announced that the Public Works Department will be blading residential streets today, February 7, and Wednesday, February 8.

The post CROOKSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT BLADING RESIDENTAL STREETS TODAY AND TOMORROW appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston Public Schools will hold the last of three community meetings to educate and answer questions regarding a referendum to construct a multi-use facility for the school district and community. The meeting will be tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra Room. All are welcome and encouraged to participate.

In 2021, the district partnered with Zerr Berg Architects and drafted a plan for the facility to solve the current issues associated with leasing facilities from the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC). Putting the ownership of the facility directly in the hands of the school district will increase their ability to host events and offer the space to student and community groups who could make use of it.

The proposed facility will include:

• Artificial turf field
• 8 lane track
• Pressbox
• Seating for 750+
• Concessions & Bathroom

This build will significantly impact the Crookston School District and the community by allowing adequate and safe space for students and community members to gather and compete. The facility will expand the school district’s available space for sports, extra-curricular activities, and outdoor events. This will also allow the high school to host competitions and the MSHSL playoffs. These events were previously impossible due to the state of the facilities at UMC. The school district will have the opportunity to partner with the parks district for recreational leagues in the spring, summer, and fall.

The meeting will provide community members with information about the building and its community impact and will serve as a space for questions and concerns about the project. This is the last meeting before the vote on Tuesday, February 14, which will be held from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1214 University Ave., Crookston, MN.

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The post CROOKSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO HOLD FINAL COMMUNITY MEETING DISCUSSING ATHLETIC FIELD REFERENDUM TONIGHT appeared first on KROX.