On Tuesday evening at 7:07 p.m., the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a house fire in the 400 block of Luella Street in Watkins. Meeker County Deputies, Watkins Fire, Watkins Ambulance, Eden Valley Fire, Kimball Fire, Mayo Ambulance, and the State Fire Marshall’s Office, all responded to the scene. Upon arriving on the scene, deputies saw the house was fully engulfed in flames. The house and its contents were a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The property is owned by 39-year-old Peter Lansing and 35-year-old Blanca Lansing of Watkins. No one was injured as a result of the fire.
The Litchfield City Council made some employment appointments on Monday evening. Two of the positions are in public works and one is administrative.
Council member Malinda Larson says Hunter Ruschmeyer and Bryce Wendlandt will be junior equipment operators, and Abby Shoutz was hired as an administrative/accounting technician. She says the Council also appointed Thomas Cubbage to the Library Board for a 3-year term.
Larson says the Council approved of having Upper Midwest Athletic Construction resurface the pickle ball courts at South Park for $15,000. She says the Council also approved of a project at the Airport in which a t-hangar will be constructed to house 6 planes.
Larson says federal funds should cover 95% of the $1.4-million project at the airport. She says the Council also approved of a brew pub license application Monday evening for Joshua Estensen and Mercedes Villanueva for Three Sons Seltzer LLC, approved of a 4×8-foot sign for Healing Grace at 207 North Sibley Avenue, and denied the request to build an outdoor staircase at the rear of 100 South Sibley Avenue.
The Meeker County Board has approved of an agreement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway to replace the crossing on County-State-Aid-Highway 1 – west of Litchfield. The 50-50 cost split will cost the county about $32,000.
County Administrator Andrew Letson told the Commissioners that Health & Human Services Director Paul Buchovich is retiring, and he recommended that Tina Schenk be named as his replacement, which the Board approved.
The Board moved to approve of an ordinance establishing a local housing trust fund and to authorize an application to Minnesota Housing for matching funds. The EDA is seeking $150,000 of state funds to match the local EDA contribution of $150,000. Economic Development Director Lisa Graphenteen spoke to the Board about the broad range of items for which the funds would be used.
The Commissioners approved of a quote from Marco Technologies for the purchase, installation and configuration of Dell Data Domain backup hardware and software for $47,280.66. The Board also heard an annual report from PACT for Families Executive Director Sarah Vonderharr, and received an update on hospital matters from Meeker Memorial Hospital CEO Mary Ellen Wells. Wells says Meeker Memorial has been named one of the top 100 critical access hospitals in the nation; and the hospital board is putting blueprints together for a future building project.
Pie Day will be celebrated with the sale of frozen take-and-bake homemade pies this Saturday from 9-to-11 a.m. – or until the pies are gone – at the Litchfield Opera House. There will be many varieties of 7-inch and 9-inch pies which will sell for $7 and $10, respectively.
Connie Lies says Pi Day is observed on March 14th as Pi is 3.14, but they have their sale of pies before that so that people will have pies to bake on March 14th. She says you can keep them frozen and save them for Easter dinner or another occasion as they will keep in the freezer for several months. Lies says proceeds from the pie sale will go to continuing preservation of the Litchfield Opera House.
Lies says they sold well over 100 pies last year, but they’ve made more this year, so will be selling about 150 pies. She says she specializes in apple, peach, cherry and strawberry-rhubarb.
Karen Urdahl says she has made blueberry pies, along with 4-berry which include strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry, and triple berry which is blueberry, raspberry and blackberry – and they are all homemade ingredients – not canned fillings. She says Thrivent has been a big help with this event.
Urdahl says you can keep the pies frozen and then follow the directions for baking them when you are ready and enjoy the smell of fresh-baked pie in your house. She says they’d like to thank everyone who supports them.