E. Cannon River Tr completion date extended and more $ approved
At $917,000, the East Cannon River Trail was set to be installed last year but rains stopped the project multiple times. This week, the Council was asked to approve a Change Order of just over $136,000 for a portion of the 2.6 mile loop between Northfield and Dundas after it was determined that the soil in the wetland area couldn’t handle the trail. Administrator Ben Martig explained, “the City engineers office, their field staff, have been working with the contractor in determining that their going to need to do some extra excavation in relation to the
site, about 3300 feet. They’re going to be recommending to, basically, put in extra gravel sub-base”. This enables them to work through Spring but will also extend the life of the trail. Council was also asked to approve a transfer of $63,000 from the Park Fund. An item that did not sit well with C. DeLong.. They needed at least 5 to approve the transfer, the vote was 5 to 1. They voted unanimously to approve the $136,000 contingent upon Dundas Councils approval. Part of the trail is within their city limits as the regional park is. The completion date has been extended to October. $450,000 of the cost of the trail is covered by grant money.
Dunn makes arrest on the way to KYMN interview
He’s always on the Job! Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn was late for his monthly interview on KYMN this morning after a complaint came in of someone weaving all over the road on Hwy 3. He spotted the driver and made the stop. Dunn said, “kind of a scary thought at 7am, you’d never expect that. Unfortunately we see it in this job quite often. Impaired driving doesn’t have time limits”. The driver was very impaired, unable to stand. Deputies took over for the Sheriff and Dunn made it into the studio to share great news that three new Patrol Deputies will be sworn in on January 17th. Something that hasn’t been done in over 2 decades. Dunn said, “we’re going to be adding a new investigator to our Investigations and 2 patrol officers”. In recent years, child protection cases have soared and so, crimes have been prioritized, meaning a theft would be lower than a crime against a person. Dunn says the additional deputies will allow his office to service the community much better. They’ll have a minimum of 2 deputies on 24/7. He thanked the Rice County Commissioners for voting to give the Sheriff’s office the dollars to make it happen. Dunn’s full interview is online at kymn.net.
NAFRS swears in new members
The NAFRS joint powers board held an organization meeting this morning. The first order of business was to swear in new members Jessica Peterson White and Anne Haddad. NAFRS member Bron Scherer, who was Vice Chair, declined to accept the Chair position so they elected a new Board Chair to serve for a year, along with a Vice Chair. I’ll have more tomorrow.
KYMN set to re-brand
Tomorrow is a big day for KYMN as we re-brand our station. You all know by now that we have added an FM signal, 95.1. Owner Jeff Johnson has been working on this process intently for over a year and we’re excited to share our new handle with you tomorrow. We’ll be unveiling our redesigned website that promises to be more user-friendly yet remain full of the content you appreciate. What will the handle be? Find out tomorrow morning and preset your dial to 95.1.
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