Fergus Falls Forum

The cost of a cafeteria lunch within the Fergus Falls Public School system will be increasing starting this coming school year. The decision was made at Monday’s school board meeting, where the motion was unanimously passed.

The increases are relativity low, however. Elementary school lunches will increase by a little over eight percent (a $0.15 increase) which will make the price be $1.70 per lunch. High school lunches will face a near eleven percent increase (an additional $0.20 per lunch) which will cost each student $1.85 per lunch.

Mark Lemke, a Fergus Falls School Board member) pointed out that Fergus Falls Public Schools still have the lowest price per school lunch in the area.

According to the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, elementary school lunches cost as much as $2.25 in Little Falls, and high school lunches approach the $2.50 mark in nearby cities as well.

An increase to the cost of lunch isn’t the only change to the lunch program in the Fergus Falls School District for the 2010-11 school year. Less than a month ago, the administration at the Fergus Falls Sr. High School announced they were ending a long standing policy of allowing Juniors and Seniors.

Plans to develop parts of the Regional Treatment Center (RTC) on the north side of Fergus Falls are moving forward. However, the controversial immersion school for Chinese students is unlikely to happen, after an update was given to the Fergus Falls City Council.

Initially, the group known as Campus Development Group (CDG) had plans to create a cross-cultural learning institute aimed to bring Chinese students to the United States. With the recent economic downturn, as well as changes to the administration amongst the partner colleges, the immersion school is looking unlikely.

The cross-cultural learning institute had plans to utilize the iconic Kirkbride building. If outside investors or the Campus Development Group (CDG) are unable to find a use instead of the originally planned immersion school, that building will be demolished.

The Campus Development Group (CDG) is now planning on renovating the building on Parcel A into townhomes, with additional construction of residential buildings. For Parcel B, the group plans to develop that area into office and retail space.

Photo copyright KirkbrideBuildings.com.

For years, juniors and seniors at the Fergus Falls High School have enjoyed an open lunch period, where they were able to leave school grounds for their lunch period.

However, with the opening of Kennedy Secondary School, that won’t be the case. Fergus Falls Public School Superintendent, Jerry Ness, says the school district is primarily concerned for the safety of students.

Ness pointed out that the student parking lot will be located near the tennis courts, which will make it hard for students to leave for lunch as high school classes will be on the opposite end of Kennedy.

The school district is exploring at expanding its offerings in the cafeteria, however. Currently, the school district has a limited offering of Godfather’s, Pizza Hut, and Taco John’s food, and they’re looking at other possible vendors, although none have yet to be named.

Underwood, among other area schools, also have a closed lunch policy.

Chuck Vigen, who had been retired from the Fergus Falls School District as a 7th and 8th grade science teacher for less than a year, was killed in a motorcycle accident on Sunday night.

The crash happened just south of Dent, Minn. at around 7:20PM on Sunday, when 62-year-old Charles “Chuck” Vigen was traveling south on County Highway 35.

According to the Otter Tail County Sherrif’s Department, Vigen lost control of his motorcycle on a curve, in which it went off the road, flipped and rolled. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Soon after the news broke of Vigen’s death, people began joining the Facebook group, RIP Mr. Vigen… You Will Be Missed. To join or view the newly created group, simply click here to be brought to that page on Facebook.

Fergus Falls school board members announced on Monday that they are considering to hire an outside company to do the custodial duties at the public school facilities next year.

With over 30 people attending Monday night’s school board meeting, many voiced their concern over this possibility.

According to school board chairperson, Melanie Cole, the school board has been approached by several companies that said they’d be able to supply the school district with custodial services for roughly the same cost as the district spends now.

Brett Duenow, the union steward and head janitor at Cleveland elementary, said their biggest concern is the loss of jobs for 19 members of the Fergus Falls community. If the Fergus Falls school district were to contract services with one of these companies, current custodians would have to re-apply for positions.

With this news, members of the Fergus Falls community have quickly joined the Facebook group, “Support the ISD 544 Custodians!!” in hope to generate support. To join the group on Facebook, simply click here.

Drivers around the soon-to-be-opened Kennedy Secondary School in Fergus Falls can most likely expect some changes.

Both middle and high school students in the Fergus Falls school district will be housed in the Kennedy Secondary School building, which will be open for the 2010-11 school year. Students who choose to take classes such as automotive will have to make the trek to the current high school building, which will mean students will have to walk back and forth between the two schools on a regular basis.

Jerry Ness, the superintendent of the Fergus Falls school district, is imposing a change in traffic regulations which he hopes will make the walk safer for the students.

The new traffic regulations will include a reduced speed and no parking on Randolph Avenue.

Parents who are concerned about having a place to pick up their children will have three designated places to do so, according to the Superintendent.

Minnesota State Community and Technical College has been awarded a $95,000 Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace grant for training employees at Otter Tail Power Company and Otter Tail Ag Enterprises in Fergus Falls and at Bongards’ Creameries in Perham.

Dan Eischens, M State’s manufacturing and technical product director, said the grant will fund training for up to 60 workers in the areas of electrical and mechanical maintenance, welding, boiler operator and ethanol production. Training will be both onsite at the companies and online.

“This grant provides a wonderful opportunity for these three local companies and their employees,” Eischens said. “Although it might appear that they have little in common – ethanol production, power production and cheese production – year-long discussions led us to see that all three have the same maintenance-related training needs, as well as the need for boiler operators. M State is pleased to have the opportunity to help address these requirements.”

Eischens said training will begin in January. While the courses are designed for current employees of the three companies, he said there will likely be space available for general public in the boiler classes, which will provide participants with the initial training needed to begin the process of earning a boiler license.

The college previously received a $202,500 MNREM grant that is funding a unique opportunity for 20 high school students in Moorhead and 13 high school students in Detroit Lakes. The students are receiving training in welding, electronics, CADD drafting, mechanical design and technical drafting, with the goal of preparing them for careers in manufacturing or alternative energy. Following completion of the program in the spring, the 33 students will receive a 14-credit college certificate in technical studies.

The college’s original MNREM grant and the latest $95,000 award are part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s $5 million WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) initiative that is designed to energize the nation’s economy through regional economic development partnerships and workforce education and training.

For more information, contact Eischens at 218-849-0243 or dan.eischens@minnesota. edu, or an area Minnesota Workforce Center.

Lake Region Healthcare and the Fergus Falls Medical Group have announced their plans to merge by May 1, 2010. According to a press release from Lake Region Healthcare, employees of the Fergus Falls Medical Group will become employees of Lake Region Healthcare. However, doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, audiologists and optometrists will not become employees of Lake Region Healthcare, instead, they will still be employed by the Fergus Falls Medical Group, and contract their services to Lake Region Healthcare. In addition, the current clinic building will become property of the hospital, which the orignization hopes to expand in the near future to make room for new physicians. Although no agreement has been signed, a letter of intent is expected to be signed within a couple months.

Local residents spoke out Thursday at the Otter Tail County courthouse in Fergus Falls. At 10:15AM, concerned residents from the Fergus Falls area spoke out about the City Council’s decision on committing $4 million towards a new ice arena, which is planned to be built near the current Fergus Falls High School gymnasium. The meeting, which was set up by Peter Haugen, a Fergus Falls resident, said that the goal was not to get the community for or against the proposed arena, it was to voice their thoughts on how the City Council handled the situation. Mr. Haugen, and other Fergus Falls residents feel that the City Council do not care about the opinions and ideas of the community. Television stations from Fargo, ND (KVLY) and Alexandria, MN (KSAX) also attended today’s protest.

According to Mr. Haugen, a petition has been started to remove JoEllen Thacker from her 4th Ward City Council position, and he’s encouraging members in the City’s other wards to start similar petitions.

Fergus Falls is getting national attention after school officials decided not to show President Barack Obama’s “Back-to-School” speech at the time of airing. Instead, the Independent School District #544 will preview President Obama’s address to students, and then allow teachers to show it to students; if they’d like. A letter, which can be viewed here, was sent home this week to parents regarding this issue. This action, however, has gained national attention — most notably by talk-radio host, Ed Schultz, who is calling the superintendent, Mr. Gerald Ness, racist. With this attention, Mr. Ness’ office has been receiving countless emails and phone calls from people around the country voicing their concerns.

But is Fergus Falls alone? The answer is simply, no. Hundreds of other schools across the nation, including districts in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin have also decided to wait to broadcast Obama’s speech on Tuesday.