Month: February 2024

The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) board met on Thursday at Valley Technology Park.

The meeting began with the board discussing the purchasing process of Washington School. The city has recently addressed the purchase of the school to potentially develop a daycare center or a center that holds children’s activities. The school is still holding meetings to decide what shall remain on the property regarding kitchen or playground equipment.

The board was then notified about a Childcare Development Grant through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) that the EDA believes could be a significant financial help in this process. “Eligible uses for this money can be targeted toward current childcare,” said Project Coordinator Kayla Hanson, “Whether that’s a special family childcare or a center, it can be used for expansion training of staff, which is a big one we’re looking at, direct subsidies or incentives, and that’s a commonality we’re hearing from the providers.” The grant funding can also be used for retrofitting, facility modification, and licensing. The EDA proposed to the board that they apply for this grant in the amount of $600,000, which the board ultimately approved to submit the grant application.

Housing Director Theresa Tahran approached the board seeking approval to apply for a grant through the Publicly Owned Housing Program (POHP). This grant would help offset costs for improvements to the Oak Court units. “We’re working on this grant to help with our smoke detectors and roof project,” said Tahran, “So this would be the third (grant) we’re applying for. We would use this grant for replacement cabinets in some units because some cabinets are starting to pull away from the walls, and we also want to put indoor controllers for our outside handicap doors.” This grant can also be used for new air handlers because the current handlers have not been replaced since the units were built. The board approved to apply for the POHP grant in the amount of $567,000.

The board addressed the final item regarding applying to the Emergency Safety Grant program, in which CHEDA applied for funding last year and was rewarded with funds. “The emergency safety grant we did put in an application last year,” said Tahran, “We’re going to do that again, and this will be for the security system where we can add key fobs for entrance.” The grant amount to be applied for would be approximately $65,000, and the board ultimately approved submitting this application.

The consent agenda included the approval of minutes from the January 30 meeting and the special meeting held on February 15. It also included the approval of bills and disbursements in the amount of $307,511.37.

City of Crookston Public Works Department crews will conduct DOWNTOWN snow removal overnight tonight.

Downtown snow removal on all North/South and East/West streets will take place beginning at 12:01 a.m. Thursday night/Friday morning.
Snow removal will take place, barring unforeseen heavy snowfall or other
emergency.

Vehicles parked on Main and Broadway may be towed if not moved.

On Wednesday, February 28, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a residential structure fire in Section 2 of Tynsid Township in rural Fisher. The fire is believed to have originated with a wood stove located in a shed that was part of an attached garage. When deputies arrived, the garage was fully engulfed, and the fire had begun spreading to the attached house. The responding fire departments were able to extinguish the fire before it fully spread to the house. The garage was a complete loss; however, damage to the house was limited. The house was occupied at the time of the fire; however, all of the occupants were able to exit safely, and no injuries were reported.

Additional responding agencies included the Minnesota State Patrol, East Grand Forks Fire Department, Fisher Fire Department, Crookston Fire Department, and Crookston Area Ambulance. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal was notified. No further information will be released.

In an effort to keep our roadways safe, The Grand Forks Police Department will take part in a “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Enforcement Campaign, which will involve selective traffic enforcement by several officers looking specifically for impaired drivers.

Law enforcement agencies across the state will have extra patrols for the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement period, which is from March 1-31, 2024. Vision Zero reminds drivers to always drive free from impairment of alcohol and/or prescription or illicit drugs. 

The Grand Forks Police Department’s primary goal during this campaign is to ensure motorists are free of impairment while operating motor vehicles on Grand Forks roadways. This program is funded by the ND DOT and will allow additional officers to be assigned specifically to enforce these types of violations.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is seeking to identify the person depicted in the attached images taken from a service station surveillance system in the City of Clearbrook. The person in the images is a person of interest related to a burglary investigation in Polk County. The male is believed to be in the Clearbrook area regularly.

The vehicle the individual is driving is believed to be a 1990s model Ford Ranger or similar vehicle. The surveillance was taken in late November of 2023.

Anyone with information on the individual is asked to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 218-281-0431.

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The vehicle the individual is driving is believed to be a 1990s model Ford Ranger or similar vehicle. The surveillance was taken in late November of 2023.

Anyone with information on the individual is asked to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 218-281-0431.