Blizzard conditions brought area schools, businesses and travel plans to a halt on Tuesday and delayed many on Wednesday as well. At around 11:00AM on Tuesday, Minnesota officials closed Interstate 94 from Fergus Falls all the way to Jamestown, ND citing zero visibility and bad road conditions. Businesses like Umotors and Harmony Studios were closed the entire day on Wednesday while others, such as Burger King, closed in the afternoon. The bad weather didn’t stop some city officials from starting to clear snow from major roadways. According to some sources, the Fergus Falls area received six to eight inches of snow.
Archive for the ‘Surrounding Areas’ Category
Blizzard causes businesses, schools and roads to close
On March - 9 - 2009
Alexandria-based All State Wireless to open Sprint Store in Fergus Falls
On March - 3 - 2009
Sprint customers will no longer have to travel to Detroit Lakes or Fargo for questions regarding their cell phone service. That is because All State Wireless, based out of Alexandria, will soon be opening a Sprint Store in Fergus Falls in the former AT&T location next to Papa Murphy’s. All State Wireless is owned by Jim Boisclair, and, according to him, they will provide the best customer service at the best possible price. The new Sprint Store in Fergus Falls will employ five to ten people.
Otter Tail Ag Enterprises defaults on $31 million dollar loan
On February - 19 - 2009
Otter Tail Ag Enterprises, the 1-year-old ethanol plant on the northwest side of Fergus Falls, has defaulted on its $31 million dollar master loan agreement with Agstar Financial Services. Otter Tail Ag failed to pay the interest that was due on February 1, 2009 which caused the loan default according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, Otter Tail Ag Enterprises still owes $19.2 million for construction of its facility, a loan with MMCDC New Markets Fund, and they have also defaulted on its lease with Otter Tail County, totaling $26.1 million, by failing to make lease payments for use of the county’s solid waste facility. Otter Tail Ag Enterprises have been holding investor meetings throughout the week in Alexandria, Fergus Falls and Morris.
Anthony Hicks, Otter Tail Ag Enterprises CEO, said that he expects the ethanol industry will soon recover.
Just recently, VeraSun, the operator of various ethanol plants across the country, announced their bankruptcy. Ethanol plants in Janesville, MN and Hankinson, ND closed because of VeraSun’s bankruptcy.
For more information reguarding Otter Tail Ag Enterprises defaulting on its $31 million dollar loan, please visit the Minneapolis – St. Paul Business Journal by clicking here.
Area television stations pull the plug on analog TV
On February - 18 - 2009
Despite the recent delay of the Digital TV switch to June 12th, 2009 that Congress approved, many area television stations stopped broadcasting their analog signal today, including KVLY and KXJB out of Fargo. While Congress approved a delay of the switch until June 12th, the legislation allows individual television stations to decide when they want to do so, and many stations across the nation decided to go ahead with the original date of February 17th. Analog TV owners who wish to continue to take advantage of over-the-air signals must purchase a digital converter box. Converter boxes are available at Wal-Mart, Pamida, Sears, Cullen’s Home Center, Kmart, Target and Radio Shack in Fergus Falls. For additional information about the Digital TV switch, be sure to visit dtv2009.gov.
Pamida to remain open in Fergus Falls, close in three other cities
On January - 31 - 2009
Pamida announced that it will be closing their stores in Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids and Wadena due to the poor economic conditions. According to Dean Williamson, vice president of Human Resources at Pamida’s corporate offices, it costs the company more money to keep the three stores open than closed. The Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids Pamida stores will close Saturday, January 31st, while the Wadena store will remain open until February 14th. The three stores that are closing will not have sales on the inventory, instead, it will be moved to other nearby stores. The store closings will affect around fifty employees in total.
Sunmart recalls cookies and bakery products that contain peanut butter
On January - 22 - 2009
Sunmart Foods is now recalling cookies and bakery products that were made with peanut butter. According to Sunmart, some products in their grocery stores contained peanut butter supplied by Peanut Corporation of America – which may contain salmonella. Customers who purchased peanut butter products from Sunmart can return them to the grocery store for a full refund. The Food and Drug Administration also suggests that consumers should stop eating products, such as cookies and crackers, containing peanut butter.
Fergus Forum has just been notified that the Fergus Falls Public Schools have removed some peanut butter products from the cafeteria due to the risk of salmonella.
Floor plan for new Perham hospital presented
On January - 17 - 2009
Floor plans for the new Perham Memorial Hospital on Highway 10 have been finalized. The new hospital will feature an illuminated, all-glass dome structure that will be able to be seen for miles. Construction could start as soon as July and hospital officials are confident confident for the proposed opening in 2011. The hospital is designed so everything is easy to find. Property owners in East Otter Tail county will not be taxed higher for this project. The new hospital will be funded through increases in patient and revenue volume. Shown below is an artists’ rendering of the proposed hospital.
Fargo-Moorhead FOX affiliate to broadcast Vikings game regardless of blackout
On January - 3 - 2009
KVVR-TV, which is the Fargo-Moorhead FOX TV affiliate, said today that they fully expect to broadcast the Vikings playoff game on Sunday regardless if the National Football League declares a blackout. If a blackout occurred, Sundays game wouldn’t be viewable on Twin Cities stations and some secondary markets in our region as well. The NFL did have some good news to deliver to fans today; they will give the Vikings a 24-hour extension to try and sell the 3,100 tickets that are remaining.
Three to Seven inches of snow possible Tonight, Tuesday
On December - 29 - 2008
Another winter storm will make its way through Minnesota tonight and Tuesday. Fergus Falls is expected to get three to seven inches of snow with winds ten to 15 miles per hour. Monday’s high will be 22 degrees and on Tuesday, the high will be a mere 8 degrees. The Grand Forks, ND area is expected to break its all-time December snowfall record after this storm passes!
Walgreens to slow expansion plans; Fergus Falls store still opening
On December - 23 - 2008
Walgreens reported first-quarter earnings on Monday that fell short of expectations. Even though reported earnings fell short, store sales rose 6.6%. The company also announced that it is planning on significantly slowing expansion. Despite that announcement, the Fergus Falls Walgreens is still on track to open on West Lincoln Avenue sometime in early 2009. In total, Walgreens will open around 475 stores by August 2009 – which is the end of the company’s fiscal year.
