Latest news with #Willmar
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Willmar City Council on Monday, June 2, to consider rules of decorum for meetings
May 31---- The on Monday, June 2, will consider rules of decorum for its meetings. The meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom at the Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services building, 2200 23rd St. N.E. in Willmar. Willmar Mayor Doug Reese asked city staff several weeks ago to draft rules of decorum after members of the public caused disruptions during a meeting. During a March 3 meeting — at which the City Council declined to accept an offer from Charter Communications, doing business in Willmar as Spectrum, to install fiber-optic lines in the if the city stopped its — members of the public disrupted the proceedings. The Connect Willmar Initiative will build an open-access, high-speed fiber network reaching every home and business in the city of Willmar at an estimated cost of $24.5 million. However, interest on the bonds that will be issued to construct the network would bring the estimated cost to $33 million. Two members of the public, Joe Ridler and Ron Christianson, who oppose the Connect Willmar Initiative, arrived at the March 3 meeting too late to address the council during the open forum portion of the meeting, which is set aside for public comment. After the City Council made its decision, it then went into closed session to discuss other matters without adjourning the meeting or taking a break. Rather than leaving the meeting room, Christianson and Ridler instead approached the council dais to voice their displeasure over the decision. They were also reluctant to leave when told that the meeting was still in session. Reese at the following council meeting asked for rules of decorum to be drafted.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal funding pause delays Kandiyohi County Road 55 project
May 31---- In 2023, the completed the diamond exchange that connects County Road 5 to Highway 23. To complete the next phase of the project, Kandiyohi County Public Works has been planning to construct a bridge in 2025 which would streamline the connection between County Road 55 and County Road 5 and eliminate an at-grade railroad crossing. The start date of the nearly $8 million project on the southwest edge of Willmar — the final piece in a years-long, multi-phase reconfiguration of the intersection — is uncertain after a pause in federal funding. More than half the project cost would be covered by a federal grant. The development of southwest Willmar began in 2006 when the Willmar Municipal Airport was moved to a location two miles farther west. This was done to provide more space for the airport and for the industrial development within the city, according to Kandiyohi County Public Works Director Mel Odens. The old airfield spanned areas that are now home to several of the newest businesses in the Willmar Industrial Park. Since the airport was moved, 11 other infrastructure projects have been completed in the area, including the Willmar Wye railroad bypass, multiple sewer and wastewater improvements and the relocation of the bridge over Highway 23 from its previous location at County Road 55 to its new location at County Road 5. These projects represented around $200 million worth of investment in southwest Willmar, according to Odens. The moving of the bridge was done, in part, to make room for ramps in the Highway 23 diamond exchange to be installed for easier access to County Road 5, which in turn reduces the distance trucks need to travel in order to access the industrial park. Before the ramps, trucks would need to drive to U.S. Highway 71 to enter the city and would then need to drive along roads not meant for vehicles of that size in order to reach the developing area, Odens explained in an interview. This took the trucks past several less-than-ideal locations, he said. "You have a school here, so the trucks are going by third-graders, we have businesses here, you have an eye clinic, a church, a memory facility. It doesn't coexist very well. So when the vision was coming together, it's like maybe we ought to pull these trucks off of this road," Odens said. Since the access point to Highway 23 was moved, County Road 55 needed a connection to the highway. To provide this, the county in 2020 constructed a temporary road which passed over the railroad tracks and curved around to connect with County Road 5 plus an extension connecting County Road 55 directly to Highway 23. This was the first phase of the current four-phase project. Phase two eliminated the southernmost portion of that road where it had intersected with Highway 23. That made way for the new ramps. This left the connection — still in use today — from County Road 55 to County Road 5 in an awkward state, with trucks needing to take a harsh turn in the process. To remedy this, phase three of the project aims to construct a bridge over the railroad to connect the two county roads. Public Works' planned project would build a 300-foot spanned bridge over the railroad tracks in the area southwest of Willmar. This bridge would tie into the interchange on Highway 23. The surfacing on the road going north to Highway 40 would be redone. "We have had to phase that intersection in. I know it is a sense of frustration with the public and the user, but we didn't want to detour traffic and funding sources weren't readily available. We couldn't just close it and do it all. We had to do a project. When our project was done, the state put the ramps on the interchange. Now we are going to come in for phase three and build the bridge up to the interchange," Odens said. This project is estimated to cost $7.8 million. Of that, $4.8 million in funding came through a discretionary grant, the Railroad Crossing Elimination federal grant. However, due to a pause in federal funding, the project has been placed on hold. "We have been working for loosely 10 years. When the lower bypass project was being planned, the plan was to put a bridge over the railroad tracks when the Willmar Wye was built. From 2016 on, this has been part of the vision of the county for a western bypass," Odens said in an interview. Odens found out about the federal funding delays at the end of January, at the start of the year when the project was set to take place. On Jan. 28, the Trump administration announced a pause on federal grants and loans, including funds for the local project. "We don't have those kinds of funds available. (If the pause isn't lifted), we would delay the project," Odens said previously. On May 6, Odens confirmed that the funds are in the process of being made available and the Kandiyohi County Public Works Department will have access to them soon, allowing the project to take place. He offered no updates during the County Board's most recent meeting on May 20. After the third phase is complete, the final phase that will be conducted by the Minnesota Department of Transportation will begin. The final piece is surface work on Highway 23 starting around 15th Street Southwest and going west past the County Road 5 bridge. Funding for the County Road 55 project comes from local, state and federal sources. The paused Railroad Crossing Elimination grant is administered by the Federal Railroad Administration, one of 10 agencies within the Department of Transportation.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Municipal Utilities Commission reviews need for new facilities
May 26---- As continues to seek a location on which to construct new facilities, the Municipal Utilities Commission reviewed the project timeline leading to this point and the reason it is moving forward plans to build. Earlier this year, for land adjacent to, but just outside, city limits for its new facilities. However, the forcing a new search for a location. The council cited the cost of the land and of extending city utility services as the reason for the override. Some councilors thought the new facilities should be located in the "We've had some additional conversations with city staff, talking about, you know, how to move the project forward and getting on the same page," said Willmar Municipal Utilities Facilities and Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Marti during a recent Utilities Commission meeting. "We actually feel pretty good about those initial conversations that we have had." Willmar Municipal Utilities has been planning for this project for 15 years, according to Marti, identifying the need for a new building in 2010 and setting the goal to have a new building constructed by 2020. A consultant developed multiple building scenarios and conceptual renderings, and the initial project budget was in the $8 million to $10 million range. Current buildings are 75 to 80 years old and have structural issues, water damage and mold-contaminated systems, plus they lack fire alarm systems and sprinklers and do not comply with standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. "I will note that we don't just let the walls crack and the ceilings fall down and just not do anything about them," Marti said. "We do maintain the buildings the best that we can and take care of issues as they arise. We plan maintenance and try to take care of what we have the best way that we can." Willmar Municipal Utilities currently operates from four different locations throughout the city. Facility studies showed that a minimum of eight to 10 acres is needed to consolidate all its operations into one location. Typically, the search has centered around finding 12 to 15 acres to allow for future expansion. Service trucks currently need to be special-ordered to fit under the overhead garage doors and ceilings. Sharing photos of the trucks in the storage garages, Marti said, "You can see ... how tight that ceiling is to the line trucks that we order in. They have 3, 4 inches max in certain spots in that building." He noted that if something needs to be worked on inside the shop, other trucks have to be moved outside due to the tight space. Materials needed for maintenance or expansion are stored in multiple locations, causing inefficiencies and inventory control issues. "We've had issues in the past where things are disappearing on some of these sites that we don't have the best control over," Marti said. New facilities would provide opportunities for Willmar Municipal Utilities to become more energy-efficient and technology-friendly, as well as allowing for operational efficiency. "Obviously, anytime you're building something new or buying a new car, or whatever you're doing, you're advancing the technology that you're using and making life easier," Marti said, noting that the original facility study suggested that operational efficiency can be improved by as much as 17% to 34%. In 2015, Willmar Municipal Utilities formed a building committee that met seven times that year to evaluate buildings and site needs and then toured multiple sites throughout the state in 2016. Travel efficiency and space programming were also updated from the 2010 study by the original consultant. In 2017, Willmar Municipal Utilities increased the budget for new facilities, now estimating it would cost $12 million to $16 million, according to Marti. It was also determined that the current location at U.S. Highway 12 and Seventh Street Southwest was not a viable option for new facilities. Willmar Municipal Utilities planned to move forward with the project in 2019, but it was delayed due to higher priorities and funding limitations, according to Marti. The project again moved to the top of the list in 2021, when a site criteria list was developed and potential sites were identified and prioritized according to that list. In 2023, the cost estimates rose to $18 million and Willmar Municipal Utilities had $10 million procured, according to Marti. Representatives from Willmar Municipal Utilities toured several other utilities facilities throughout the region and in 2025 explored five properties along the Civic Center Drive area in northeast Willmar, but were unable to negotiate purchase agreements for any of those properties. Throughout the planning process for new facilities, the city of Willmar has also been exploring a new city hall, and the possibility of building a municipal campus for Willmar Municipal Utilities and the city hall has been explored, Marti explained. Discussions along those lines first took place in 2016 and were set aside. However, with multiple changes in city administration throughout the years, the possibility of a joint municipal campus was again explored in the years 2018, 2019 and 2023, according to Marti. "As a person who's been part of this since it started as a liaison to the City Council, I've been part of this project for a very long time, and I can tell you, you did a good summary here," Municipal Utilities Commission Chair Shawn Mueske told Marti. "The Utilities' plan has never changed," he continued, adding that he is struck by the fact that a project that started out between $8 million and $10 million is now $18 million. "And every year that goes by, that money goes less and less farther down the road. ... Hopefully we can get off of this and get a good, acceptable site, and get these dollars into the building they were supposed to be intended for from the beginning."
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Willmar, Minnesota, man injured in motorcycle crash on Highway 71
May 26---- A 32-year-old man received non-life-threatening injuries in a motorcycle crash north of Willmar at 12:28 p.m. Saturday. According to a by the a Harley Davidson FLHXS was driving northbound on Highway 71 when the driver lost control and struck the median near Highway 23. The rider of the motorcycle, identified as Joshua Surerus, of Willmar, received non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to CentraCare- Willmar Rice Memorial Hospital for treatment. Alcohol is believed to be a factor, according to the report. Surerus was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputies and CentraCare Ambulance also responded to the scene.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SAVE Act protesters in Willmar, Minnesota, say law would restrict voting access
May 22---- Demonstrators gathered under rainy skies to rally in favor of voting rights Wednesday in Willmar. In lieu of a planned march on First Street, about 50 demonstrators who came to Rice Park in their coats and rain ponchos instead occupied the picnic shelter at the park for approximately one hour Wednesday evening. Karen Kraemer, president of the Willmar Area League of Women Voters, said in her opening statement: "We work very hard to be non-partisan, but we are not neutral," characterizing the as a dangerous step toward voter suppression. The SAVE Act is sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican. The bill would require people to provide documentary proof of their U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport, in order to vote in federal elections. The bill passed in the U.S. House in March on a mostly party-line vote and has since been sent to the U.S. Senate. Republicans, including Trump, have campaigned on and continue to press the idea that there is widespread voting by non-citizens, falsely claiming that it could unfairly swing elections despite the fact that multiple studies, including one at Minnesota's University of St. Thomas, have shown Voting rights advocates say the legislation seeks to fix a "non-issue," as it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote and doing so could result in criminal charges and possible deportation. Critics of the SAVE Act also say the bill as written would disenfranchise millions of legitimate American voters, ultimately leading to fewer people being able to vote in the same elections. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon told a Senate Rules Committee spotlight hearing on May 14 that the legislation "poses one of the greatest threats to the freedom to vote in our lifetime," according to his prepared remarks. He said it would keep millions of eligible Americans from the polls. Kraemer referenced information shared by Secretary Simon and Deirdre Schiefling, a national political advocacy director with the American Civil Liberties Union, who spoke in a May 20 co-hosted by the Minnesota League of Women Voters, ACLU of Minnesota and others. For example, Kraemer stated that had the SAVE Act been in place last year, she would have had trouble helping her 96-year-old mother register to vote. Kraemer said she had to help her mother move from a house to an apartment in 2024. Though all states in the U.S. had their own method of keeping birth records since about 1919, there was no standardized version of these records until the 1930s, according to a 2012 published in the "Journal of Perinatology." Kraemer's mother was born in 1928. Even if Kraemer could have obtained a birth certificate for her mother, it may not have met the standard set by the SAVE Act. Kraemer also stated that, due to her mother's age, both her driver's license and passport are expired and would not have been sufficient to allow her to register if the provisions of the SAVE Act were in force. "The real issue is that 90 million people did not vote in the last election," Kraemer said. "And 72 million people are eligible to vote but are not registered. Our goal should be to get people registered to vote, that's always been the goal of the League of Women Voters." One protester, Dr. Kathy Nelson-Hund, felt compelled to speak among the demonstrators, urging them to reach out to young people and get them involved stating, "They are our future. They need to know what is happening before it is too late," she said. A family medicine physician who practiced in Willmar until her recent retirement, Nelson-Hund told the West Central Tribune that while she was at Wednesday's rally she thought about the discrimination she faced early in her career being one of few women practicing medicine at the time. "My medical opinions were questioned a lot by my colleagues just because I was a woman," she said. Nelson-Hund said she remembers when married women would still need permission from their husbands to open credit card accounts. She thinks the SAVE Act could very well be another hoop that young women will have to jump through in order to secure their right to vote. "They just don't know how frightening that can be," she said.
