Getting the most bang for your buck is a badge of honor these days, whether you’re car shopping, choosing a college or just comparing loaves of bread. One area where you really don’t want to misspend your hard-earned dollars is charitable donations. There is no shortage of nonprofit organizations competing for contributions, but quality and effectiveness vary significantly, so you […]
Sentence to Serve benefits local agencies
During the months of July through September 2009, 604 hours of adult labor benefitted county, state, and federal agencies in Cook County through the Minnesota Department of Corrections Sentence to Serve program. The estimated market value of the work was $8,530. It saved 67 jail days that would have cost the state $3,484 at $52 a day. The crew cleaned […]
Request for school-sponsored tennis program heads to committee
A group of tennis proponents attended the Monday, November 16, 2009 ISD 166 school board meeting to request that tennis be included as a school sport. Mark Summers of the Cook County Tennis Association said the club would provide coaching and scheduling and anything else the program needed. They were asking the school to merely provide Minnesota State High School […]
County gets few bids for insurance
After bids were sent to 19 different life insurance companies this fall, Cook County received only one bid for employee life insurance. MN Life offered insurance for the same rate the county has been paying its current company, USAble Life, which did not submit a bid, and it offered a two-year price guarantee. Rates for voluntary extra insurance for employees […]
Bell ringing — a holiday tradition
A holiday tradition will begin after Thanksgiving — the ringing of bells at Salvation Army kettles. This is the only fundraiser enabling Cook County’s Salvation Army service group to provide services in our community. If you could help by spending an hour or two at one of the big red kettles, you will make a critical difference in the outcome […]
Property owners find proposed septic ordinance odoriferous
About 50 community members gathered at the courthouse Wednesday, November 18, 2009 for a Cook County Planning Commission public hearing on a proposed countywide septic system ordinance. According to Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson, the state is requiring each county to adopt a subsurface sewage treatment system ordinance by February 4, 2010 or at least be working on one. […]
Tofte to recalculate rescue squad agreement
By all reports the cooperative agreement between the towns of Tofte and Schroeder for Rescue Squad services has worked well in emergency medical situations for 13 years. However, how the service was funded was deliberated at length when the joint emergency effort began. It is now time to renew the contract between the townships and at the November 12, 2009, […]
Septics and signs discussed in Schroeder
Before heading off to Taos for the winter, septic installer Scott Robinson gave his final recommendations to the Schroeder town board Tuesday, November 10, 2009 for a new septic system at town hall. Robinson recommended a 1,500- gallon tank covered with six feet of soil rather than the required three feet to avoid the possibility of freezing. The specifications, which […]