Fergus Falls Forum

From the hockey arena to an open forum, there were plenty of topics discussed at Monday night’s City Council meeting.

To begin with, there are some changes in store for the proposed hockey arena. Those changes include a second floor being added above the lobby, a walking track (which would be built on the floor level of the arena around the main rink), and curling may be added to the satellite rink. The satellite arena would hold four to five curling rinks.

Dan Edwards, the City Engineer, also introduced new plans for the proposed U.S. Bank project, which is set to be built on the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue. After hearing concerns from residents in the area, the bank has decided  that drive-thru traffic will be denied access to the alley, and it would exit onto Oak Street instead. U.S. Bank has also agreed to add exit arrows, which will direct drivers to Oak Street and help avoid additional traffic to the alley.

The City Council also announced updated plans for the Tower Road project, in regards to where it intersects with Lincoln Avenue. According to the City Council, signal lights will be added, and islands will be installed to help control traffic in turn lanes. The Westridge Mall frontage road, by Godfathers Pizza and JK Sports, will be closed with a cul-du-sac.

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — (9:45 a.m.) The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota State Patrol urge motorists to drive with caution as flooding affects area highways in Wilkin and Mahnomen counties.

Road closures

The following state highways are closed until further notice:

· Highway 75 near Kent is closed from Wilkin County Road 24 to Wilkin County Road 22. The roadway is under water, causing dangerous driving conditions. Traffic is detoured using Wilkin County Roads 3 and 26.

Open – use caution

The following state highways are currently open but conditions can change rapidly. Motorists should use extreme caution approaching the following areas:

· Highway 210 at Wilkin County Road 15 – Open to traffic, watch for water on the roadway and sandbags along the highway.

· Highway 210 at Willow Creek east of Wilkin County Road 10 – Open to traffic, watch for water on the roadway and sandbags along the highway.

· Highway 200 east of Mahnomen at Twin Lake Creek between Mahnomen County Roads 3 and 4 – Open to traffic, watch for water on the roadway.

For more information

· Call 5-1-1 or log on to www.511mn.org for road condition information when traveling in west central and northwest Minnesota where potential flooding conditions exist.

· Log on to www.dot.nd.gov/travel-info/ for North Dakota current road conditions.

· Listen to your National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio or local radio stations for weather and flood warnings.

Mark Hansen, the Otter Tail County District Court Jude, has issued a temporary injunction that will not allow Fergus Falls residents to vote in a special election on April 22^nd on a proposed spending ordinance.

Mark Hansen, Otter Tail County’s District Judge, issued a temporary restraining order, on Tuesday, which will halt the upcoming election. A hearing on June 23^rd is set in which he’ll consider a permanent injunction for the proposed ordinance.

According to the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Hansen said the proposed spending ordinance is too vague and if were to be approved by voters, it could be invasive to the powers of the city council.

On March 5^th, members of the organization called Grow Fergus Falls appeared in district court to challenge the referendum that the City of Fergus Falls was planning to hold. Grow Fergus Falls is comprised of Fergus Falls residents Robert Block, Scott Wagnild, Kelsey Felstul, Chad Felstul, and Erick Ahlgren.

Court order obtained by the Daily Journal

On February 15^th, the Fergus Falls City Council turned down the proposed ordinance in a 7 to 1 vote, which was put together by Fergus Votes, which is also a group of Fergus Falls residents. That group, led by Daryl Synstelien, collected over 900 signatures on a petition for the proposed spending ordinance.

Upon hearing that the proposed spending ordinance would be put to a vote on April 22, Grow Fergus Falls filed a lawsuit. The group appeared in court on March 5^th to argue that the ordinance is invalid, and used previous similar cases, such as the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Minneapolis vs. The City of Minneapolis, to help support their argument.

“Grow Fergus Falls, Inc.” is seeking an injunction that would delay or stop the upcoming April 22^nd special vote on a proposed spending ordinance.

The people behind Grow Fergus Falls include Robert Block, Scott Wagnald, Kelsey Felstul, Chad Felstul, and Erik Ahlgren, with attorneys Morrie Kershner and Steve Rufer representing them.

On the court hearing on March 5^th, Kershner  told Judge Mark Hansen that the proposed spending ordinance, brought together by the Fergus Votes Committee, is unworkable and it would halt business growth within the city. Grow Fergus Falls also believes that the Fergus Votes ordinance is a “minefield of disasters”.

The attorneys representing Grow Fergus Falls are passionate about the success of the injunction and are providing their services for free.

Rolf Nycklemoe, an attorney for the City of Fergus Falls, says they’re still preparing for the April 22^nd vote, and will continue to do so unless a judge grants the injunction.  The next court hearing could come as early as this week.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed the Iverson Lake rest area at approximately 1 p.m. due to flooding. The Iverson Lake rest area is located south of Fergus Falls on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 94. The rest area will be closed until further notice.

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Spring truck weight restrictions begin next week in all state frost zones

Legal truck weight limits that were increased during the winter months in Minnesota will end next week. Spring weight restrictions will begin at the same time, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced.

Spring truck weight restrictions begin in the south, southeast and Twin Cities Metro frost zones at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 8. Spring weight restrictions in the central, north-central and north frost zones begin at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 9.

No overweight truck permits are issued during the spring load restriction period.

Frost zone boundaries are:

• South: Iowa border north to Highway 12 and from the Dakota County border east to the Hennepin County line, along the Carver and Scott county lines to Interstate 35, south to the Iowa border. (This zone includes Highway 19 along the Scott County border.)
• Southeast: Iowa border north along I-35 (does not include I-35) to the Scott County line, east along the Dakota County line, including Highway 19 to the Wisconsin border.
• Twin Cities Metropolitan area: Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties. (This zone does not include Highway 19 along the southern border of Scott County.)
• Central: Southern limit of the north-central zone (Highway 10, Highway 210, Highway 18, I-35, Highway 48) to a line following and including Highway 12 from the South Dakota border to the Hennepin County line.
• North-Central: Southern limit of the north zone to a line following U.S. Highway 10 from the North Dakota border east to Motley, Highway 210 east to Brainerd, Highway 18 east to I-35, I-35 south to Highway 48 and then Highway 48 east to the Wisconsin border.
• North: South from the Canadian border to a line following Highway 1, Highway 89, Highway 2 and Highway 33 and I-35 at the Carlton-St. Louis county line and then south to the Wisconsin border.

“Truck weight restrictions are used in the spring to help preserve pavements that lose strength due to partial thaw conditions and trapped water,” said Keith Shannon, director of Mn/DOT’s Office of Materials. “The ending dates for spring load restrictions are variable and dependent on weather condition changes.”

For more information about the department’s seasonal load limits, locations of weight- restricted routes and state highways open to maximum 10-ton axle weights go to http://www.mrr.dot.state.mn.us/research/seasonal_load_limits/sllindex.asp.

Information is also available toll-free by calling 1-800-723-6543 in the United States and Canada, or 651-366-5400 in the Twin Cities metro area. For questions about legal weight/size trucking call the Minnesota Department of Public Safety State Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement 651-405-6171 (select Option 3, Option 3). For questions about over legal weight/size “heavy haul” trucking, call the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations, Oversize/Weight Permits 651-296-6000.

Travelers in Minnesota can get up-to-date information on road conditions, construction and weather reports from Mn/DOT’s 511 traveler information service. Dial 5-1-1 or go to the Internet at www.511mn.org.

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.

A manslaughter charge is being sought against a man who took to a handgun to a party in Fergus Falls on Friday after a woman who took the gun from him for safety’s sake ended up shot.

Fergus Falls police took 24-year-old Devin Edward Gray into custody shortly after noon on suspicion of second-degree manslaughter, said Timothy Brennan, the city’s police chief.

Police think that Gray brought a semi-automatic, small-caliber handgun to a party at a mobile home in the Lakeview Estates Mobile Home Park on Friday night.

As he showed it to people, Amanda Kemmer, a Fergus Falls 29-year-old, stepped in to take it as a safety precaution, Brennan said. A short time later, Kemmer was shot with the handgun as Gray was trying to get it back. It wasn’t clear if the gun exchange was voluntary, the chief said.

There were seven people at the party at the time, but Kemmer and Gray were alone when the gun went off, Brennan said.

Initial autopsy reports indicate the single gunshot wound to the chest killed Kemmer, and investigators have no evidence suggesting the shooting was intentional, Brennan said.

Fergus Falls Police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are investigating the death of a 29-year-old woman who died of an apparent gunshot wound.

In a news release from the Fergus Falls Police Department, they were called to Lakeview Estates manufactured housing community, just past the YMCA, at around 10:30 PM on Friday night. Upon their arrival, the woman of Fergus Falls, was found deceased inside the residence. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is in the process of interviewing several people.

According to users of Fergus Forum’s online community forum, the name of the 29-year-old woman is Mandy Kemmer; however a name has yet to be released from neither the Fergus Falls Police Department nor the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. More details are expected to be released sometime Sunday afternoon.

A head coach at Chaska High School was charged on Wednesday for stealing from Chaska High School.

Phil Link was hired by Chaska last year to turn the team around. Many believe he did his job by motivating the players. Link resigned at the end of January as an investigation into wrongdoing hovered over his head.

He was charged with theft by swindle.

The Carver County attorney saying it all stems from a summer football camp he ran in 2009 in Chaska.

During that camp, Coach Link incurred expenses that were to be reimbursed to him. But according to the complaint, he submitted billings to two different places, the school district and the Chaska touchdown club. He was allegedly double dipping.

Superintendent David Jennings says the school acted as the middle man, collecting the money for the camp from the families of the players, then turned around and reimbursed link without knowledge.

He was apparently getting the money elsewhere on top of the expenses; the complaint says Link was to use money given to him to pay his assistant coaches.

It alleges he was to dish out $4,200 instead only paying out $3,450, which means he allegedly kept $750 for himself.

Westridge Mall officials have confirmed that they have signed a lease agreement for a new anchor store that will not only fill space that has been vacant for over a decade, but will expand the building as well.

Dunham’s Sports is scheduled to open mid-2010, and will move into the space where JC Penny formerly was located. The sporting goods store will be 20-30,000 square feet.

The Westridge Mall will be undergoing a near-million-dollar renovation project in preparation for Dunham’s. Westridge Mall developers are contributing 200-thousand dollars, and the rest of the funds will come from various lenders, such as the Economic Development Commission.

Dunham’s Sports currently has seven Minnesota stores, with the nearest being in Wilmar. The company has a total of 150 stores in states such as South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, as well as a handful of others. Around 50 people are employed at every Dunham’s location.

According to the company’s website, they were founded in 1937 as Dunham’s Bait & Tackle, and are based in Michigan. Their website also stated that they offer a complete line of sporting goods, athletic equipment, active sports gear and leisure apparel.