Month: February 2024

The Crookston City Council met on Monday night in the City Hall council chambers.

SMALL CITIES DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION

The meeting began with a presentation regarding the Small Cities Development Grant by Crookston EDA Project Coordinator Kayla Hanson. CHEDA has applied for $1.2 million to the Minnesota Department and Employment of Economic Development (DEED) small cities program. The grant that was submitted has been deemed “competitive,” according to DEED. The funds will be used for commercial projects, mixed-use rentals, and capital improvements for low-income homeowners if granted the funds.

“Essentially, this is a re-habilitation project,” said Hanson, “We want to rejuvenate the infrastructure that we have currently. We are an older community with homes that could use the assistance, and again, this stresses the rehab piece, not the remodel piece.”

The terms in the grant agreement include an 80/20 (80% grant funding/20% owner of property in question) for commercial properties, a 70/30 split for mixed-use properties, and the grant requires no match for homeowners. “Especially targeting the low income,” said Hanson, “We know that those homeowners don’t have the funds laying around, so we want to see those properties improved.”

During the presentation, Hanson explained that the initial plan is to target Ward 4 and the Slums/Blighted areas that currently reside. The next project that would take place would be the revitalization of the Sampson’s edition. If granted the funding, CHEDA estimates that projects will begin operations in 2025.

THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE DISCUSSES THE POTENTIAL PURCHASE OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL

The agenda items kicked off with City Administrator Corky Reynolds summarizing what transpired during the previous Ways and Means meeting, which was a closed meeting that took place on February 12. During the meeting, the Committee discussed negotiations regarding the purchase of Washington School; however, nothing was finalized during the discussion. “At the meeting, there was no firm price or no written offer,” said Reynolds, “Or statement from the school district about the price and what they wanted. I understand they have to put in an additional thought about any equipment or what could be forthcoming.”

It was determined by the Committee that the purchase of the school kitchen and playground equipment would be included. From previous talks, the city and EDA believe Washington School could be an ideal location for daycare and other childcare activity facilities.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS

The council approved the resolution regarding the confirmation by the City of Crookston to be a part of the coalition proposal submitted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to the Federal Environment Protection Agency (EPA). “The state of Minnesota is requesting federal dollars,” said Reynolds, “These are federal dollars that are going to be available to states to do things like de-carbonization and looking for alternatives to put in homes for water heaters, windows, and siding.”

The MPCA is the lead entity coordinating this grant request to the federal government. The agency is looking for confirmation the city is still looking to be part of this particular coalition. “We are very fortunate that we are the only out-state outside of that seven-county metro area,” said Reynolds, “The city has been requested to be a part of this application, and this could result in roughly 22 million dollars that could be coming available to Crookston.”

The final item was regarding approving a contract with Palmer Masonry in Crookston to provide concrete services related to the modular bathhouse in the Central Park campground. This will be a pre-constructed unit and will serve as the restroom area. The concrete services will provide the “footings” or the foundation where the bathhouse can be placed.

The consent agenda included the approval of minutes from the February 12 meeting. It also approved bills and disbursements in the amount of $407,675.14.

To watch the full city council meeting, click here.

The Crookston School Board met on Monday night in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room and accepted over $45,000 in donations and grants as part of the meeting.

FEATURE PROGRAM – 
The Crookston High School FFA was the featured program to start the meeting. The FFA Parliamentary Procedure team (Emily Bowman, Tessa Webber, JoJo Wallace, Addison Schiller, Ben Capistran, Taylor Weiland, and FFA Advisor Carolyn Pavlish) presented their program to the board. All board members and audience members were impressed with the presentation. (Pictures from the presentation are below)

SECOND READING OF POLICY 801
The board approved the second reading of Policy 801 as requested by the Minnesota School Board Association. Policy 801 is to make sure school districts are offering equal access to school facilities. “If anybody wants to set up a meeting at the school, they have to follow the proper channels, file the proper paperwork, and so forth,” said Superintendent Rand Bergquist. “It is usually student-driven, but we also host community groups too. We have different organizations that use the school, like the Republican and Democratic parties both do that too.”

SKYWARD FOR STUDENT DATABASE
The board agreed to continue using Skyward for the student database, which the district has been using for many years.

APPROVAL OF THE PURCHASE OF A NEW SCOREBOARD
The board approved a new scoreboard for the multi-use complex that will be built this summer. The scoreboard is from Daktronics in South Dakota and will be a large video scoreboard. “The scoreboard is another one of those pieces that we are really excited about, and we have been planning and working on setting our complex apart along with the track and the turf. It will be a large scoreboard, and we have visited with some businesses on the marketing aspect and it will be nice because it will have a large video board that you can run full-fledged advertisements on there, and it will be a great piece to our complex,” said Crookston High School Activities Director Nate Lubarski. “The video screen will be 13 feet by 25 feet, so it will be a large scoreboard, and the sound system is within the scoreboard and I think people will enjoy it and be able to see it from a ways away. It will be a nice addition to the complex.”
The cost of the scoreboard will be covered by Crookston Businesses that are sponsoring the project and also other businesses that want to run ads on the scoreboard. “We have visited with some businesses, and we will certainly be out to visit with other great local businesses here in town and get them on the board with advertising, and they will get to advertise on something nice.”

The complex construction start date still depends on the weather, but as of now, it looks like an early start date is possible this spring.

CONSENT AGENDA – 
The Board approved payment of the current bills of $2,449,376.17. The large amount was due to the payment of some bills from the Highland School expansion project, adding payroll (80 percent of the school budget), which hasn’t been included in the past, and debt payment on outstanding bonds. 

DONATIONS AND GRANTS
The board also approved the acceptance of $45,177.68 in donations and grants from several businesses, organizations, and other entities. The donations and grants are listed below-
-Donation of $504.03 from the Crookston Baseball Association for Boy’s Baseball
-Grant of $11,028.50 from the June Shaver Endowment for CHS Healthcare Scholarships
-Grant of $1,916.00 from MSHSL Foundation for Athletics
-Donation of $1,451.97 from Red River Valley Co-op Power Association for Dollars for Scholars Donation
-Anonymous donation of $10,000 to be used for the new athletic complex scoreboard
-Grant of $820.00 from the June Shaver Endowment for CHS Drama Club
-Grant of $3,300.50 from the June Shaver Endowment for CHS Drama Club
-Grant of $2,740.00 from the June Shaver Endowment for CHS Healthcare Scholarships
-Donation of $800 from the Ralph Engelstad Arena for the CHS Girls Hockey Program
-Donation of $1,826.00 from the Crookston Wrestling Club for CHS wrestling gear
-Donation of $10,790.68 from the Crookston J.O. Volleyball Club for the Volleyball program

“I have never been in a district that has this much support from outside individuals and organizations. It’s incredible,” said Superintendent Bergquist. “I think it is a real credit to the community on how much is being done for our students, staff, and programs.”

MISC.
The board approved the seniority list for the school year and a letter of resignation from Monique Arguelles as a paraprofessional at Washington School.

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The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Crookston and the Red River Valley on Tuesday, February 27, from 1:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

The watch includes the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada, Twin Valley, Halstad, Moorhead, Grand Forks, Cooperstown, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, Portland, Valley City, and Fargo.

WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON…

* WHAT…Blizzard conditions are possible. A narrow band of 6 or more inches of snow is possible. Visibility of 1/4 mile or less is possible. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph.

* WHERE…Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota.

* WHEN…From late tonight through Tuesday afternoon.

* IMPACTS…Plan on slippery road conditions. An intense snow band along with blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute. The cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The heaviest snow is expected to fall within a narrow band. Impacts could vary greatly across a rather short distance due to high variability in snowfall totals. Due to the uncertainty of the location of this narrow band, warning impacts may not occur within all areas of the watch.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Prepare for possible blizzard conditions. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts for updates on this situation.

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The Crookston Wrestling Club has announced the winners of this year’s raffle.

They are listed below –
Sara Quirk – Shadow Semi Auto 9mm
Dan Halland – Savage Axis II XP 25-06 w/scope
Justin Knutson – Savage Axis II XP 22-250 w/scope
Shelly Thompson – Remington semi-auto 22 (pink stock)
Jake Markovich – Am Tactical 12-gauge pump shotgun
Howie Nettum – 70 QT. Big Frig Coller and Tumblers
Todd Sommerfield – B&E Steak package ($600 value)
Gayle Ecklund – 28-inch Blackstone griddle
Jim Brite – $100 to Erickson Embroidery
Doug Peterson – $150 to Small Town Salon
Cody Weiland – $150 to Small Town Salon
Mike Mertin – $150 to Small Town Salon
Phil Schramm – 1-hour massage
Scott Maves – 1-hour massage

The Crookston Wrestling Club would like to thank all their sponsors in making this raffle successful: Tiedemann Farms, Boll Farms, Hanson Farms, Outdoor Addictions, CHS, Nelson Big Frig, B & E Meats, Erickson Embroidery, Banquet Concepts, KROX, Shawn Coauette, Ben Weiland, Breathe & Relax MT, and Small Town Salon (Adrianna Rooney).