The Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee held its annual meeting last week. All of the current officers were re-elected to the Board.
Terri Anderson will continue serving as President, with Karen Becker as Vice President, Loree Schultz as Treasurer and Lori Christofferson as Secretary. Three members were re-elected to the Board of Directors for 3-year terms – Karen Becker, Jordan Niece and Jim Cottington.
During the regular meeting of the Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee last week, the student delegates to Alabama for the annual exchange trip in November were approved. The FFA students from Litchfield High School who were selected include Cade Cervin, Alexis Engelke, Bianca Forsberg, Wyatt Ratike, Jack Shoutz and Emmett VanDerBill.
A Willmar man has been sentenced to more than 6 years in prison for driving drunk and killing a pedestrian in Willmar 16 months ago. Kandiyohi County Judge Stephen Wentzell Tuesday sentenced 34-year-old Paulo Portillo to 75 months in prison on a conviction of a charge of Criminal Vehicular Homicide-Leaving the Scene of an Accident.
Portillo was given credit for 455 days already spent behind bars. Of the remaining 51 months, he will have to serve at leave 2/3rds of that time in prison before being eligible for probation.
Portillo struck and killed 52-year-old Jason Jarvis of Cokato at 1st Street and Willmar Avenue on December 26th of 2023 and then fled the scene. He turned himself in to police one month later, and in November 2024, entered into a plea agreement. In exchange for the guilty plea, criminal vehicle homicide, two other charges – failure to stop at a fatal accident and driving with a suspended license – were dropped.
The Litchfield City Council approved of plans and specifications on Monday evening for a couple of projects. Bids are being sought for a 6-unit T-hangar at the airport, and for the Johnson Drive/260th Street project.
Mayor Ron Dingmann says Johnson Drive will be connected to 260th Street on the west side of Walmart and 260th Street will be widened and will include a 10-foot bike path. That project is estimated to cost $3.4-million. He says the City received a $1.5-million state grant to help fund that project, so the City will bond for the rest; and most of the $1.4-million hangar project will be covered with federal funds with the City and State each contributing $35,600.
Mayor Dingmann says HRA Director Jenny Klima spoke to the Council Monday evening about a lot at 502 South Hubbard Avenue that the HRA is hoping to purchase from Ecumen for $115,000. He says the HRA will receive $95,000 in a state-wide affordable aid funding stream from Meeker County, and then Meeker County and Litchfield will each contribute $20,000 in a 0%, 5-year deferred loan toward the lot purchase for a future affordable housing complex.
Mayor Dingmann says the Litchfield City Council also had the annual Board of Review hearing on Monday evening and approved of a reduction in valuation for 9 Cedar Meadows lots from $43,000 to $36,500 each. He says the Council also had some discussion about the possibility of a 4-way stop at 5th Street and Gilman Avenue, but that item was tabled and it may lead to a city-wide traffic study in the future.
A jury trial date has been set for a Litchfield man accused of stabbing a man he was trying to rob last year. 26-year-old Tre Ertl is charged with Attempted 1st and 2nd Degree Homicide, Robbery and Assault for allegedly attacking an Olivia man whom Ertl and two others allegedly lured to a site south of Litchfield on the pre-tense of showing the victim a trailer for sale.
Ertl will stand trial August 11th in Meeker County District Court. A pre-trial hearing takes place July 8th at 11a.m., and a trial management conference will be held August 1st at 9:30 a.m. Ertl is also facing charges of attempted 2nd degree homicide for allegedly attacking a man with baseball bat during a robbery attempt in Litchfield on March 15th of last year, and Assault for allegedly attacking a fellow inmate in the Meeker County Jail in February.
