Month: May 2025

The Crookston School Board will have a special meeting on Wednesday, May 7, at 5:00 p.m. in the Crookston High School Choir/Orchestra room.

The agenda for the meeting includes approving proposed budget cuts for the 2025-26 school year. The board will also be asked to approve the termination and nonrenewal of Thomas Sherman and Annika Cuevas as Success Coaches and the nonrenewal of the following Instructional Assistants: Barbara Holweger, Kayla LaCoursiere, Clayton Briggs, Megan Gangl, Carole Chaput, Kathleen Goodyke, Heather Rosu, and Skylar Plonta.

The school board will be asked to approve the nonrenewal of Marcel Vaudrin as a Mechanic/Bus Driver, and approve a reduction of Crystal Rock from a 12-month to an 11-month contract.

The board will discuss and consider approving the closure of Washington Elementary School at the end of the 2025-26 school year and, if necessary, approve necessary action on employment benefits.

The meeting is open to the public.

The post Crookston School Board to hold a special meeting on Wednesday first appeared on KROX.

The Crookston Civic League’s next concert in their Entertainment Series will be Ernie Haase & Signature Sound in their latest show, The Land of Hope & Dreams, featuring patriotic, Americana, and gospel music.  Mark your calendars for Friday, May 9, as Ernie Haase & Signature Sound will take the stage at the Crookston High School auditorium at 7:00 p.m.

For two decades, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound have been sharing songs of hope around the world in four-part harmony.  As Gospel music’s premier quartet, Ernie Haase, Doug Anderson, Dustin Doyle, and Paul Harkey step up to their respective mics each night and perform with as much gusto as a burgeoning act.

Consistently topping Southern Gospel radio charts, the group has earned four Grammy nods, numerous gold and platinum DVDs and six GMA Dove Awards.  From singing on the hallowed stages of the Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall, to delivering stirring renditions of the national anthem at NBA games and NASCAR events through the years, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound have also been a beloved fixture at Gaither Homecoming gatherings across the country.

For ticket and membership information about the Crookston Civic Music League, please call Elaine Metzger at 218-281-2681 or Emily Luckow at 218-281-5907. Admission is by season ticket only.  Season tickets can be purchased at the door before the concert Friday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m.

For transportation, call THE BUS at 281-0700.

The post Ernie Haase & Signature Sound to perform in Crookston on Friday first appeared on KROX.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, May 6, at 8:00 a.m. at the Government Center in Crookston.

POLK COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH

Public Health Director Sarah Reese brought to the board a motion to approve $50,000 for the New American Integration Center in East Grand Forks from the Polk County Opioid Settlement. “The contract is with the New American Integration Center based in East Grand Forks. It is for $50,000 for June through December of this year,” says Reese. “It is to work with community members, community partners, and supporting folks in treatment or recovery.” The contract was approved unanimously by the board.

Reese also shared with the board about the community-based health promotion art project that focused on adult mental well-being. “The canvas of hope initiative came out of our community health assessment and COVID-19 impact assessment,” says Reese. “Mental health and well-being were one of the areas of focus.” Canvas of Hope became a traveling art show of sorts. “We have a canvas portfolio now available that we have been bringing to different locations across the county,” says Reese. “It’s an opportunity to reflect. If you think about an art gallery, everybody sees and thinks about art differently, so it’s an opportunity to share the art that some of our fellow members of Polk County have contributed.” Participants were asked about their perceptions of mental health, support, and connection. They were then given a variety of art mediums to express their view. “If I brought all of the canvases, the whole entry of the Government Center would be full, so we just grabbed a few for folks to enjoy this week,” says Reese. “So, if you are up in the Government Center in Crookston, feel free to stop by and take a peek, they will be here all this week.”

Last, Reese brought Tammy Conn, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant for Polk County, to share some information with the board. “This is a renewal. We achieved the designation of a breastfeeding-friendly workplace from the Minnesota Department of Public Health a few years back,” says Conn. “They now offer a renewal system, and we applied for that and received the highest standard in Minnesota with the Breastfeeding-Friendly designation.”

PLANNING AND ZONING

The Commissioners heard from Jacob Snyder from Planning and Zoning on Tuesday. Snyder started with a resolution for an Interim Use Permit for R.J. Zavoral & Sons Inc. to allow for a temporary asphalt batch plant and contractor yard.  Both Dan and John Zavoral were in attendance. “We had an interim use permit for R.J. Zavoral & Sons to operate a temporary asphalt plant in Chester Township out in the gravel pit area of Polk County,” says Snyder. ‘It’s a rich gravel mining industry up there. So we want these located where there is not a lot of cross-trucking and things. They did have a permit to operate out of there in 2023, but they weren’t the property owners.” R.J. Zavoral & Sons has since purchased the property from Marion Olson and wishes to use it as a temporary asphalt batch plant. The board unanimously approved R.J. Zavoral & Sons Inc. for a 10-year permit.

Snyder also brought to the board a resolution to approve a Large Gathering Permit for River Bottom LLC (Aimee Smith & Kayla Pederson) at Maple Lake Pavilion for an Event on May 25, 2025, in the Shoreland Zoning District. “The second action item I had was for a Large Gathering Permit for River Bottom LLC to host their Johnny Holms Concert at the Maple Lake Pavilion this year,” says Snyder. “They have been acting in good faith with the county with prior operations. They have owned the property now since 2022 and have never gotten any calls that there have been any issues with them hosting that event. They seem to do a great job. They hold insurance and certificates with the county to have clean-up bonds and things like that in place.” Snyder says he wishes River Bottom LLC the best of luck, and he hopes they get the 1,000 people that they are expecting, as well as good weather. The board approved unanimously of the Large Gathering Permit for River Bottom LLC.

Last up for Snyder was a resolution asking the board to terminate the Conditional Use Permit (2016-22) at the request of David Eischens to permit the alteration of a shed into a dwelling. “The last action item was some more housekeeping things with a shed that we issued a special use permit on that is being converted into a dwelling,” says Snyder. “The only way that can happen is if there is no dwelling on the site already.” The shed will become the primary residence for the person who has held that permit since 2016, as just a shed tied to septic in our lakeshore area.” The board approved unanimously to terminate the existing Conditional Use Permit so the shed can be altered to a dwelling.

POLK COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT

Polk County Engineer Richard Sanders had a couple of items to present to the board during Tuesday’s meeting, starting with a motion to approve the orders for Polk County Ditches within the Sandhill River Watershed District. “In the past, the board approved Redetermination of Benefits for all of our county ditches within the Sandhill River Watershed District,” says Sanders. “Today, I brought the orders to the board for approval, which legally starts the process, allowing the redetermination of the benefits of all the ditches and hires H2Over Viewers to be the viewers for the redetermination.” There was a list of about 25 ditches within the Sandhill River Watershed District, and the board approved all of the orders unanimously.

The second item for Sanders was the approval of MnDOT Agreement #1059918 and a resolution approving the State Funded Program for IIJA Discretionary Grant Assistance Terms and Conditions. “The second item is that the Nielsville bridge is still closed, and we are applying for federal funding whenever there is a federal grant available, so we have an agreement with MnDOT,” says Sanders. “ MnDOT will pay us $20,000 to have our consultant write a grant application for the bridge improvement program when it opens.” The board approved unanimously the agreement with MnDOT and the resolution to receive that $20,000.

COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR

County Administrator Chuck Whiting asked the board Tuesday to authorize the purchase of UKG Payroll and Recruiting Software Components.  The board approved the software purchase unanimously. Whiting also gave the board some information on County Investment Policies. He provided a Draft of what such investments could look like for the county. Lastly, Whiting asked the board to approve the Position and Grade Change for the new Financial Director prospects. Whiting has been interviewing for the county Financial Director Position and hopes these changes will make the job more competitive and attractive. The board approved of the changes.

The post Polk County approves temporary asphalt batch plant and Large Gathering Permit for Maple Lake Pavilion event first appeared on KROX.