Month: December 2023

The Crookston Charter Commission met on Monday in the City Hall council chambers and discussed issues that have been addressed by Crookston residents.

CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS DISCUSSION

The commission first discussed a topic that was brought to the city by an anonymous citizen regarding a possible decrease in city council members. “They basically indicated that our city is shrinking in population, and they wanted to look at if the council of eight is an appropriate number for a city of our size, which is approximately 7,500,” said City Administrator Corky Reynolds, “Some time ago we were a larger community, approaching 9,000 and we looked at if the members were too many.”

After a lengthy discussion with the commission, they came to a consensus that the council remain with eight members and the mayor, which makes a total of nine council members.

MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBER DISCUSSION

The next item on the agenda was a discussion regarding the possibility of council members giving up their seats if they happened to be running for mayor. “Because of the way our wards and elections are structured,” said Reynolds, “If you were a member of wards 1, 3, or 5 or at large (which is at the same time) you could run for another political office and not get that position but then return to your council seat because your time wasn’t up.”

The commission has appointed Reynolds to gather data from other cities before they meet again, in which the commission will determine if council members would have to give up their seats if running for other political positions.

CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ABSENCES REQUIREMENTS

The commission also had a discussion about council members and how many meetings they could be absent before being relieved of their duties. Currently, the city charter states if a council member misses six consecutive scheduled city council meetings, they will then be asked to give up the position.

There was discussion about possibly prorating the payment to council members based on meeting attendance. Currently, city council members receive a $6,000 annual salary, which equates to $500 per month, or (if they are paid by the meeting) $250 per meeting. There was no consensus reached during Monday’s meeting.

The final item that was discussed at the meeting was the review of the amount of time allowed to speak at open forums during city meetings. The current forum allotted time is fifteen minutes in total and not per individual. After further discussion the commission determined that no changes be made to the allocated time at the open forums.

The consent agenda included the approval of minutes from the December 5, 2022 meeting. There is no date set for the next Charter Commission meeting.

The post CHARTER COMMISSION REVIEWS COUNCIL MEMBER ATTENDANCE STANDARDS AND ORDINANCE appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston annual Thanksgiving Dinner saw its largest turnout in the 45-year event history.

The Dinner was hosted at the Crookston Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, where 479 people were served. Event Coordinator Lester Wilkins, “Last year we had 450 to go, and this year we had 479 in-house and to-go. We had a tremendous group of people working this year. I would like to thank Hugo’s for the product, the Golden Link for helping prepare it, and KROX for getting the word out.”

Wilkins also wanted to thank the many community members who volunteered to help with the event, as well as the financial supporters. Wilkins explained that without the support of the community, this event would not be able to take place. “Thank you to the people of Crookston for their support, and thank you to the people that came,” said Wilkens, “We enjoy doing this; we enjoy seeing your faces and the smiles we create when we do this. We don’t have a point if people don’t show up.”

As always, the dinner was buffet style on Thanksgiving day, and there were not many leftovers when it was finished. Wilkens explained that 150 pounds of potatoes were peeled and prepared, and by the end of the service, there was just a pale ice cream leftover of mashed potatoes. Fifteen turkeys were consumed as well, along with 400 pieces of pie.

Just over 350 people called in to pick up their Thanksgiving meals, and Wilkens spoke about how appreciative he and the staff are for calling in ahead of time so the meals can be prepared and distributed promptly. “350 called in and gave us a number (of plates), and we plan past that,” said Wilkens, “479 people are past what we expected, but that’s why it’s important to call in ahead of time, so if we get bigger numbers, we can add on with what we think we can use to make the difference. So if this happens again next year, we will have to throw in another turkey and probably 50 more pounds of potatoes, and that’s why we need to know in advance.”

In closing, Wilkens described this year’s event as a successful year and another growth year. He also explained that serving 500 or more community members could be in the works next year, and that he and staff will be prepared if that happens.

The post THE ANNUAL CROOKSTON THANKSGIVING DINNER FEEDS NEARLY 500 COMMUNITY MEMBERS appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston Police Department responded to a report of a two-vehicle accident on December 2 at 11:22 AM at the intersection of East Robert Street and Broadway Avenue.

David Derosier of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, was driving a 2016 Ford F150, and Susan Dwyer of Crookston was driving a 2012 Nissan Altima.

Crookston Area Ambulance arrived on the scene and transported a passenger from the Nissan Altima to Riverview Emergency Room to be evaluated.

There was moderate damage to both vehicles. Dwyer was cited for failure to obey traffic control signals.

The post CROOKSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO CRASH ON BROADWAY appeared first on KROX.

The Crookston Fire Department (CFD) responded to the following calls over the weekend –

12/3/2023

At 9:00 a.m., the CFD responded to the 300 block of S. Minnesota St. for a report of a general alarm activation. Upon arrival, there was no danger present. It was determined to be a faulty detector. The CFD reset the alarm and cleared the scene.

At 11:00 a.m., the CFD responded to the 300 block of Washington Ave. for a report of a general alarm activating. Upon arrival, there was no danger present. The CFD tested the detector, and it was deemed to be faulty. The CFD assisted by installing some new alarms in the residence and then cleared the scene.

At 2:00 p.m., the CFD responded to the 500 block of Walsh St. for a report of a general alarm activation. Upon arrival, it was found that fumes from sanitizing a room caused the alarm to activate. There was no danger present. The CFD turned over control of the scene to maintenance to ventilate the room, and then the CFD cleared the scene.

The post ARREST/FIRE REPORT DECEMBER 4, 2023 appeared first on KROX.