Area News

By Margie Holmgren Kennedy City Council will meet on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. starting in January 2025. The council discussed their regular meeting date and time at their special meeting on Monday, Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. With conflicts on Mondays, the council discussed moving the meetings to Wednesdays and meeting earlier at 5 p.m.…

Hamre working on outreach as Kittson County VSO By Anna Jauhola A former Kittson County Sheriff’s deputy is back in the courthouse to serve a special sector of the public. John Hamre is the new veterans service officer, or VSO. He was a deputy here for five years in the early 2000s, and recently retired…

By Anna Jauhola Five people from the public attended the Kittson County Truth in Taxation meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The Truth in Taxation meetings are held annually in December by governmental entities to explain tax levies and budgets, not to dispute taxes or valuations. Administrator Aimee Sugden explained the commissioners, administration and department heads…

By Anna Jauhola The Hallock City Council approved a 3% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for city employees in 2025. Over the last seven years, the council has approved an average 3.25% COLA, with 2023 being the highest at 6.5% due to the high cost of inflation. “There was a personnel committee recommendation of a…

By Anna Jauhola At 3:43 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 29, Kittson County Dispatch received a call from a Donaldson resident that smoke was rising from the elevator along Highway 75. The page went out to area fire departments that the Donaldson elevator was on fire. “The firemen from Kennedy said, when they were getting ready…

By Anna Jauhola Stockholders of the Kittson Memorial Hospital Association should expect good news at the annual meeting in January. It’s been a long road, but Kittson Healthcare’s financials are finally back in shape so there’s a clear path for the facility to move into the future. Kittson Healthcare engaged Eide Bailly to handle accounting…

By Anna Jauhola Community has been an important driver in Ryan Younggren’s career as an attorney. As a criminal prosecutor, the 1993 Kittson Central graduate said remaining grounded in his family and community has helped him not get caught up in the sometimes overwhelming details of his job. “As the years have ticked by, I’ve…

By Anna Jauhola The road above the Lake Bronson dam is closed and area residents and visitors will soon see big equipment mobilizing in the area. The first arrived late last week — a soil boring rig, taking samples to prepare for the seepage cutoff wall. Ames Construction, of Burnsville, Minn., is the general contractor…

By Anna Jauhola The Hallock City Council agreed to sell a city-owned parcel to Ron Anderson during its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 4. Anderson has approached the council about purchasing the portion of this parcel that is not in the floodplain over the last three months. Since the October meeting, Anderson found out the…