News

The Fairmont City Council Monday night continued an  old discussion about the investigation to determine whether any city employees knew of the former City Attorney’s cases that were expired due to the statute of limitations. The council had hired investigator Michelle Soldo to probe the matter, and she concluded that none of the city staff knew or should have known about the expiring cases, releasing her findings with “all relevant information” on Nov. 14. She later advised against interview transcripts due to additional cost, relevance and the witnesses’ concerns of retaliation. But Councilor Tom Hawkins wanted transcripts of Soldo’s conversations with [...]

THE FAIRMONT AREA SCHOOL BOARD MEETS TUESDAY AT 5 PM. THE BOARD WILL ELECT OFFICERS FOR THE NEW YEAR AND DEAL WITH COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AND ACT ON POLICIES AND PERSONNEL ITEMS AND A REVISED 2019-2020 BUDGET. DONATIONS TO THE DISTRICT WILL BE ACCEPTED AND AN UPDATE ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS EDUCATION COOPERATIVE AND ARISE ACADEMY WILL BE PRESENTED AT TUESDAY'S MEETING AT THE FAIRMONT CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS.

The Martin County Board Tuesday: Approved a Life-Size Veterans Memorial Sculpture Commission Agreement with Brodin Studios of Kimball, Minnesota; and approve and authorize Martin County to pay $20,000 down payment to commission the artist; and that the Martin County Veterans Memorial Committee will reimburse Martin County for the commission down payment from Martin County Veterans Memorial Legacy Grant funds. Approved a resolution accepting the State of Minnesota Snowmobile Safety Enforcement Grant in the amount of $4,138.00 in each fiscal year, 2020 and 2021; and authorize the Board Chair and the Sheriff’s designated representative to sign the grant agreement on behalf of [...]

AFTER A CLOSED SESSION FOR THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S PERFORMANCE EVALUATION, MAYOR DEB FOSTER CALLED THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FAIRMONT CITY COUNCIL BACK IN SESSION ON FRIDAY NIGHT. THE MAYOR THEN CALLED FOR A MOTION ON A SEPARATION AND RELEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF FAIRMONT AND CITY ADMINISTRATOR MIKE HUMPAL. THE MOTION WAS APPROVED ON A 3-2 VOTE. COUNCILORS TOM HAWKINS, RUTH CYPHERS AND RANDY LUBENOW VOTING IN FAVOR AND COUNCILORS BRUCE PETERS AND WAYNE HASEK VOTING AGAINST. NO OTHER DETAILS WERE MADE AVAILABLE. EARLIER IN THE MEETING THE COUNCIL APPROVED A VOTE IN FAVOR OF AN APPENDIX TO A [...]

The new Fairmont Bomgaars retail store held its soft opening Thursday as the holiday shopping season nears. The previous Shopko building was purchased by Bomgaars in July. The farm and ranch supply retail chain offers everything from clothing, to pet food, sporting goods and farm equipment. Small renovations are still underway and are expected to wrap up soon. The store’s official grand opening is the first weekend in December.

Martin County Commissioners on Tuesday heard from County Assessor Mike Sheplee, who noted progress on updating the county’s homestead application files. As part of a new policy, a letter was sent out in October to about 4,100 county residential taxpayers who did not have a homestead application on file, due to a misunderstanding in Sheplee’s office about how long to keep homestead applications. Those who do not return the form will see an effect on their 2020 property taxes. “After 14 business days, we’ve received 44 percent of the requests back. We started out with 4,100 and what we have left [...]

Citing low usage on evenings and weekends, Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont has restructured its surgical services, resulting in the reduction of six positions. A press release Wednesday announced that effective Jan. 2, the positions of four nurses, one health unit coordinator who handles scheduling and one sterile processing technician who prepares surgical equipment and supplies will be eliminated. So far this year, only one or two surgeries per week were performed after hours during the week or any time during the weekend. General surgery will remain four days per week from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Emergency obstetrical surgeries, [...]

With more than half a million dollars raised, the Adventure Playground will move toward reality Monday in Fairmont.. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the all-accessible area are set for 4:30 p.m. at Gomsrud Park. The final price tag came in at $505,346, about $20,000 higher than originally projected. The extra cost stems from additional excavating and preparation needed for the site. Flagship Recreation/ Landscape Structures of Delano designed the playground and adjusted for changes throughout the planning. While there is a chance that the playground could be finished this fall, it is more realistic to expect it next spring, depending on weather. When [...]

A Fairmont man is facing felony charges in Martin County after allegedly threatening the County Attorney. Bradley Steven Post, 56, has been charged with one count of terroristic threats and one count of harassment. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He has also has been charged with stalking, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, according to the criminal complaint. Post has two convictions for stalking, in 2016 and 2017. The County Attorney’s Office has prosecuted Post for criminal matters and civil commitment matters in [...]