A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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Development on Big Lake, the future of the sanitary district, cooperative zoning and boat enforcement all entered the discussion at an Oct. 28 meeting between the Fond Du Lac Reservation Business Committee members and officials from Carlton County. The county was represented by Commissioners Dick Brenner and Tom Proulx, zoning and environmental services administrator Heather Cunningham, zoning inspector Dave Hurst, and county coordinator Dennis Genereau. The agenda of the meeting and observations were presented at the Carlton County board meeti...
The Carlton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to pursue Minnesota Legislative approval for the ability to levy a half-percent sales tax, contingent on local voter approval, to build a new Carlton County Jail. The Minnesota Legislature has decided to give authority to only levy the sales tax on the condition that the project serves a regional need. County Coordinator Dennis Genereau explained that a female offender program located at the new jail but available for the incarcerated females of NE Minnesota would fulfill this...
Carlton County auditor/treasurer Kathy Korteum told the Carlton County board of commissioners that the estimated cost of the presidential primary has basically quadrupled. “We must be prepared for the new presidential primary occurring in March,” the auditor said, explaining that the statewide cost of the primary was first estimated in 2016 to be around $3 million, but now the figure has risen to $12 million. Counties will be reimbursed by the state for any costs associated with the primary election. This will be the first time in recent his...
After two days of heavy rains brought more than 6 inches of water to southern Carlton County, the Carlton County board of commissioners met and declared a state of emergency Tuesday. Heaviest hit was southeastern Carlton County in the Nemadji watershed, with parts of Highway 23 damaged. Road repair costs are estimated at $115,000. Some townships lost roadbed gravel after culvert washouts closed roads temporarily, and water was running over sections of road in several areas. Even with the...
The Carlton County Board of Commissioners will hold a public meeting on road funding Monday: specifically to get public input on the continuation of the excise tax authorized in 2014 for county transportation projects and improvements approved in July, as well as identify the estimated costs of those projects. The meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Carlton County Transportation Building and all residents are encouraged to attend. Carlton County road work is funded in five ways, with most income coming from state and federal...
The Carlton County Extension Office has made some procedural and management changes following an investigation last year conducted by the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office. Allegations regarding a former Carlton County employee were “exceptionally cleared” following the investigation, in large part because the alleged wrongdoings were either not covered by county policy or impossible to prove beyond reasonable doubt. Information for this story was taken from an unapproved draft of an investigative report by Aitkin County investigator Steve Cook, a...
For more than a year, the Carlton County board of commissioners have heard concerns of the rising use of vaping e-cigarettes and the negative influences on the county’s youth. Earlier this summer the board instructed the county attorney to draw up a proposed ordinance to regulate purchases of any tobacco product by anyone under the age of 21. At the Committee of the Whole meeting on Sept. 3, board members heard a presentation on the proposed ordinance. Little comment was made during this first draft. No hearings or a recommendation for c...
Starting Oct. 1, Family Pathways will replace WINDOW Victim Services in providing domestic violence and sexual assault services such as advocacy, education, outreach and crisis line, as well as parenting time centers for supervised visitation in Carlton, Pine and Kanabec counties. The Minnesota Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded Family Pathways the contract for two years. WINDOW will cover the three counties with a skeleton crew through Sept. 30. Two staff at the moment are handling the Carlton County needs. Sue Wojciehowski, a former...
New beaver control provisions were enacted by the Minnesota Legislature this past session but the final bill provided no money to guarantee alleviating the financial burden on local governments for handling nuisance beavers. Still, it was a step in the right direction, said Rep. Mike Sundin (District 11A), who authored the initial bill with input from Wayne Thom, a member of the Minnesota Trappers Association. The largest member of the rodent family, the beaver is an active woodcutter and dam...
With little public input, the Carlton County commissioners unanimously voted to change the Office of Auditor/Treasurer from an elected to an appointed position. Cloquet’s Clarence Badger was the only person to address the board during the public hearing, and he opposed the change. “It is not right to have just five people choose an important county leader,” Badger said. “Elected offices should not be taken away from the people’s right to choose.” The hearing was held during the Aug. 12 regular board meeting of the county commissione...
The Carlton County board of commissioners voted 3-2 to upgrade the overcrowded Barnum transportation garage and attach a large addition to create a 50,000-plus square-foot facility. The need for a new facility wasn’t debated — it was how to pay for the $10 million bonding package for the construction that commissioners didn’t agree on. In the end, they compromised and voted to use two funding sources to pay the estimated $600,000 yearly payments on $10 million bond for the upgrade and addition. Three sources were considered: a property tax i...
With little fanfare, the commissioners approved unanimously to move to appoint a new auditor/treasurer. Recent legislation gives the county board the power to fill the position by appointment; the office of auditor/treasurer has been an elected position since the formation of Carlton County. The retirement of longtime auditor/treasurer Paul Gassert has given the board the opportunity to consider this move to appoint the position. The county must follow a specific procedure to make the change from an elected to an appointed position. A hearing...
About a dozen residents attended the hearing on funding a new Carlton County transportation garage in Barnum on Tuesday during the regular meeting of the Carlton County Board of Commissioners. Most people attending voiced concern that using a half-percent sales tax for funding the building would hinder road maintenance projects. In a PowerPoint presentation, county engineer JinYeene Neumann said space is limited at the aging facility, which was built in 1975 and added onto in 1978. In the 1970s, dump trucks were 25-feet long and motor graders w...
The question is not if there will be a new county jail, but what that new building would include, and how Carlton County would make the annual loan payments on such a massive mortgage. Voters are being asked to weigh in on the "how to pay" question in November, when the county will ask for approval of a new half-percent sales tax versus simply raising property taxes to make the annual bond payments. In the meantime, the Carlton County board of commissioners and the county jail executive...
More than four years ago, then county highway engineer Mike Tardy sold a half-percent sales tax levy to upgrade county roads (those identified by a number above 100). He said that extra revenue was needed for major repairs, sometimes a complete overhaul, of these roadways that had little chance of being fixed otherwise. Since the sales tax passed, the record of county road work has been amazing and has widespread support. I have heard the comment often: “We can see the results of the tax we are paying.” These projects come from a dedicated lis...
Few Carlton County taxpayers attended local boards of review to contest — or at least ask questions about — the estimated market value for the buildings and land they own. Land values continue to improve with a typical 40-acre piece valued at $1900 per acre, which is a 6.5 percent increase from last year. The County Board of Appeal and Equalization, made up of the current county commissioners, met Monday, June 17 with only one homeowner from the city of Carlton appearing in person about his property value. Most concerned property taxpayers had...
All options are on the table as Carlton County board commissioners try to figure out how to pay up to $10 million for a new or renovated shop building at the Carlton CountyTransportation Center in Barnum. During its Tuesday, June 11 regular session meeting, the board called for public input at a hearing to be held at 9 a.m. July 9 during its regular monthly meeting. Public input is being encouraged in person or by writing a letter. Funding for the transportation garage, whether it’s from a wheelage tax or using monies from the half-cent c...
A request for proposals for a new Carlton County jail has been approved by the Carlton County Board of Commissioners, as planning for the new jail continues to unfold. The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Tom Proulx voting against. “This action by the board is not locking us into a set contract or design,” Sheriff Kelly Lake said. “A site should be chosen as soon as possible in order to have construction drawings in which we will approximately know how much the facility will cost. We are committed to an 84-bed facility.” The site of the current...
By the end of next week, Paul Gassert will retire from his job as Carlton County auditor/treasurer. Gassert has been with the county since 1990 and is one of the longest-serving elected officials in the county. Gassert announced his decision to retire effective May 31 at the tail end of the Carlton County Board of Commissioners meeting on May 14. Chairman Dick Brenner said Gassert's announcement caught the County Board completely by surprise. "Thinking about it after the shock was over, I...
Carlton County employees in AFSCME Local 2750 have been working without a contract since it expired Dec. 31, 2018. Negotiations began in August 2018 with mediation services in the fall. After a mediation session Nov. 27, the Carlton County board of commissioners — through their negotiation team — presented its final offer. In late winter, the AFSCME county workers voted to not accept the proposal. The Carlton County board of commissioners sent a letter to the union March 22, notifying it that the board had determined the negotiations were at...
Tribal, county and city leaders met Tuesday for what they hope will be the first of more collaborative meetings between the different governmental units. Discussion ranged over several areas. Carlton County board chairman Dick Brenner brought up continuing planning for a new county jail. Jail plans “We have looked at a number of jails including the newest jail in Chisago County,” Brenner said. “The funding package and the size of the jail are soon to be determined. The newest style of jail is based on pods.” Brenner explained that pods are gro...
After several studies and countless meetings, the Carlton county board of commissioners voted to proceed with final plans for a new jail construction. The size of the jail, the total cost of the project, the location of the building, and the means of funding it are still to be determined. The vote of 4-1 (commissioner Tom Proulx voting “nay”) came after a presentation by sheriff Kelly Lake, BKV Group architect/consultant Bruce Schwartzman, county attorney Lauri Ketola, county deputy Paul Coughlin and county coordinator Dennis Genereau. Lak...
Milt Hagen said the county’s half-percent sales tax — which is solely dedicated to county road upgrades — has made an enormous impact on the state of Carlton County roads. “I have been working for the county transportation department for 28 years,” said the assistant county engineer at the April 2 Carlton County Committee of the Whole meeting. “There is more than five times more construction in the last four years than I saw in all the rest of the 24 years working here.” Net revenue for dedicated road projects from the sales tax fund to date...
According to a press release from Carlton County board of commissioners chair Dick Brenner, as of April 12 the Great Lakes Gas Transmission 2019 and Enbridge Pipelines Southern Lights Line Pollution Control Exemption 2018 cases have been finalized and refunds due are settled. These follow settlements with four other utility entities doing business in Carlton County. The Great Lakes refund due is between $120,000-130,000 and the Enbridge exemption for 2018 refunds is $70,125. The impact will be shared by the county, affected townships, affected...
Carlton County will provide the final piece of funding for a 30-unit residential apartment building to be built on the north side of Carlton. At their March 25 meeting, the Carlton County board of commissioners approved $174,000 in Carlton County Economic Development funding to complete a funding package that includes $2.7 million in primary financing provided by Frandsen Bank & Trust. The City of Carlton has approved $655,000 in tax increment financing over 25 years for the project. The project is being constructed on commercially zoned land...
