dgau@marshallindependent.com
MARSHALL Lyon County may be setting more groundwork for a county-wide economic development authority, after action taken at Tuesday’s county board meeting.
County commissioners received an economic development plan created from development discussions earlier this year. Then they voted to form a local committee that could make it possible to establish a county EDA.
Over the past year, county commissioners have been discussing the possibility of forming a county-wide economic development authority. Starting in January, planning sessions were held with representatives from most cities in Lyon County, including city officials and staff from Marshall, Tracy, Minneota, Cottonwood, Lynd, Ghent, Garvin and Balaton.
dgau@marshallindependent.com
MARSHALL Â Lyon County commissioners said a state program that manages community service work for low-risk offenders has had benefits for the county in the past but over the last two years, they weren’t sure they were getting a good value from the program.
Instead of approving a new two-year contract for the Sentenced to Service program, commissioners said Tuesday that they would form a group to possibly negotiate a different agreement with the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
The county’s current Sentenced to Service contract expires at the end of June.
In the Sentenced to Service program, low-risk offenders perform community service work under a crew leader provided by the state. Under the proposed contract brought before county commissioners, a crew leader would supervise up to 10 offenders each for about 40 hours a week. The state would also submit quarterly reports to the county with information including the total number of offende
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dgau@marshallindependent.com
MARSHALL The COVID-19 pandemic left a lot of questions for local governments – including questions about how to make financial plans for 2021. Financial data for local governments show that across Minnesota, cities and counties have been planning to keep their budgets as stable as possible and control spending, the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor said last week.
It’s a pattern that holds up for Lyon County and the city of Marshall, local officials said. The pandemic and its effects on businesses and taxpayers were some of the uncertainties local governments faced this year.
“I think when we adopted the budget for 2021, we definitely had that in mind,” said Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg. The farm economy wasn’t looking great at the beginning of the year, and Lyon County commissioners were also clear about not wanting large levy increases, Stomberg said.
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Photo by Deb Gau
Lyon County Commissioners Charlie Sanow and Steve Ritter joined in a Tuesday discussion of a proposed vehicle emission standards rule being considered by the MPCA. Commissioners passed a resolution formally speaking out against the proposal â a move that has already been made by organizations ranging from the Nobles County Board to the Marshall EDA.
MARSHALL Lyon County Commissioners weren’t alone in objecting to a new fuel efficiency rule being considered by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. But while they had all the same reservations about the rule as Marshall city officials did last week, commissioners went through with formally speaking out against it.