LINWOOD: Behind the Times: Township Celebration 40 Years Too Late The planning committee was all geared up to celebrate Linwood Township’s centennial celebration this year. But historical buffs found out in the nick of time that the founding of the township goes back much further than that and cancelled the party in the nick of time.
OGILVIE: Firefighters Question Benefit of Switching to State Retirement Plan Firefighters in Ogilvie and Mora have turned down the option of assigning their retirement benefits to the state relief association. The 2009 Minnesota Legislature formed the Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Retirement Plan as an option for cities that have no plan or desire an alternative. Going with the state would reduce paperwork for local departments, but there are still questions about the financial impact.
BRAINERD: County Foreclosure Numbers Still High While the overall number of foreclosures in Crow Wing County declined in 2011, the number of pending foreclosures in the pipeline remains high.
WORTHINGTON: Back to the Drawing Board on Incentives for New Home Construction The city’s plan to attract new housing by offering a 3 year, 100 percent tax abatement for single family homes constructed on an empty lot between 2012-2014 fell flat. The Nobles County Board and local school district turned it down, partly because due to the paperwork involved.
DULUTH: School Board Rejects City Plan for Former School Site You can’t get there from here when it comes to cashing out on the shuttered Central High School property, according to school board officials. City planners presented a proposal to rezone the 77 acre parcel into a mixture of commercial, small business and green space. But school officials roundly rejected it, particularly the parks idea, as devaluing the property’s market value which figures prominently into bond payments for the controversial Red Plan.