Fergus Falls Forum

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has officially designated several lakes in the Alexandria, Minn. area as infested waters due to zebra mussels. Zebra mussels were found in Lake Le Homme Dieu in late June, which caused it to be designated infested. Lake Alvin, Carlos, Darling, Geneva, Jessie and Victoria are all also designated as infested since they are directly connected to Lake Le Homme Dieu. While zebra mussels have not bee found in these lakes, the Minnesota DNR suspects that they will become infested with zebra mussels at some point. If you are boating in areas that are have zebra mussels, you are required to drain water and remove drain plugs before traveling on public roads. Bait harvest from infested waters is also prohibited.

The Fergus Falls Veterans Home will break ground on its 33,000 square foot addition on Wednesday, July 29th at 2:00PM. The $9.5 million expansion project will add a 21-bed special care unit, outpatient clinic, and an expanded dining facility. The expansion project will focus on the special care unit, however. The design for the special care unit will reflect a community or village feel. It will incorporate street lamps, park benches, as well as an outdoor wandering area. The expansion of the Fergus Falls Veterans Home should be completed sometime in January of 2011.

The United States Postal Service is getting ready to close seven post offices in Minnesota — and as many as 17 others could also face closure. According to the Postal Service, it’s planning on closing offices in Duluth, International Falls, North Mankato, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. The Postal Service also said that besides the already seven planned stores to close, and the other 17 that could also face closure, they have looked at dozens of other possible locations to close in Minnesota as well as another 3,100 nationwide. The way people send and receive information is changing, and that is one reason why the Postal Service is considering closing stores. Between 2007 and 2008, there was a 15-percent decline in the amount of mail sent with the Postal Service.

Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) will be creating 43 new jobs at their Fergus Falls offices. According to Jim Boyce, Senior Practice and Process Manager for ACS, the new positions will occur for the next four months. The new jobs will be for the application support, network engineers, network services, messaging engineers, and messaging architect departments. According to Mr. Boyce, the reason Affiliated Computer Services is doing so well during the economic downturn is because they are an outsourcing company. This means other companies hire them to do work rather then hiring new employees. Affiliated Computer Services opened their Fergus Falls offices in August 2006.

Two more deaths have been linked to the H1N1 flu in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Three people total in the state have died from this virus. The Department of Health said that an elderly individual and a child, both from the Twin Cities area, were the latest victims of the H1N1 flu. Health officials are still warning residents that the virus is still circulating and urges that everyone take precautions to avoid contracting the illness.

Rumors have been circulating that the Fergus Falls Herberger’s location would be closing. However, this is not the case. Mary Kerr, Vice President of Public Relations at Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., told Fergus Form, “We’re pleased with our Fergus Falls location”. In addition, Herberger’s renewed their lease this winter for an additional five years – until 2014. Kerr also said that the Company has no current plans on remodeling the Fergus Falls Herberger’s due to the challenging economic environment, however she didn’t rule out the possibility of a remodel in the future.

Store manager, Jill Williamschen, said that the Fergus Falls Herberger’s store is already recieving Back to School and Fall items as well as Columbia coats for this winter.

Al Franken was declared Minnesota’s newest Senator on Tuesday by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Opponent Norm Coleman had been fighting the outcome of the Minnesota Senate race for months, and conceded Tuesday night as well, after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruling. The Senate race, however, was very close. Al Franken won the election by a mere 312 votes out of a near 3 million votes cast. Franken told reporters Tuesday night outside of his downtown Minneapolis townhouse, “Franni and I are so thrilled that we can finally celebrate this victory”. Franken has already taken steps to ensure a quick transition. Franken has appointed communications staffers, a chief of staff, and a state director. Fellow democrat, and Minnesota Senator, Amy Klobuchar, said she’s had discussions with Franken and he’s “ready to get started immediately”.