MILLE LACS: Sanitary Board Knee Deep in Water Billing Controversy The Garrison-Kathio-West Mille Lacs Lake Sanitary District drew a crowd concerned over about $140,000 in uncollected water fees uncovered by a recent audit. It appears several customers have not been charged previously, but many in the crowd balked at the suggestion of offering a discount on accounts due. “There’s gonna be a lot of people that ain’t gonna pay, and my name’s gonna be on top of the list,” one resident reportedly said.

IVANHOE: County Saves Taxpayers with Re-Fi of Bonds Homeowners refinance regularly, so why not local governments? Refinancing water bonds in Lincoln County will save taxpayers some $85,000 over the next decade, due to lower interest rates.

FERGUS FALLS: Debate Over Ice Time Costs for New Arena Turns Frosty at Times The new city ice arena had hardly been up and running when the controversy over costs broke out. The question is whether participants are paying their share and how taxpayers will react to the amount the city provides for a subsidy. 

LITCHFIELD: Marriages Up, Divorces Decline Along with Birth Rate A few years ago the Meeker County treasurer began publically releasing the numbers on marriage and divorces, among other vital statistics. The number of marriages is at a three year high, while the number of divorces is the lowest in four years. To complicate the picture, the number of births declined to the lowest level since 2003. 

FOREST LAKE: Schools Need to Find $300,000 in “Adjustment” School board members learned they could face a $300,000 shortfall next school year if projections pan out. Cuts may not necessarily be on the horizon though, as school officials indicated there may be other options to make it up. Complicating matters is the loss of $750,000 in federal stimulus funding.