Latest news with #FreebornCounty
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man charged with fleeing police, leaving baby in car
Jul. 2—An Austin man is facing charges after he reportedly fled from police on foot during an attempted traffic stop and was found hiding in Goose Lake — all while leaving an infant in his car on Monday. Chad Lee Morgan, 51, faces charges of neglect or endangerment of a child, a gross misdemeanor; driving after cancellation inimical to public safety, a gross misdemeanor; and fleeing a peace officer by means other than a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor. Morgan appeared in Freeborn County District Court on the charges on Tuesday. Court documents state an officer was on directed patrol in the Tiger Hills neighborhood and observed a white Mercedes-Benz SUV with dark window tint and attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle reportedly turned into the driveway at 1786 Tiger Ridge, after which Morgan exited the vehicle and ran toward the house. The officer gave an order to stop and told Morgan he was under arrest, but Morgan reportedly ran south toward a soybean field, toward Goose Lake and a wooded area. A Freeborn County Sheriff's Office lieutenant who responded to the scene found a 5-month-old child had been left in a car seat in the running vehicle with its doors locked and windows closed. It was reportedly 76 degrees at noon that day and 80 at 2 p.m. Court documents state Morgan was found two hours later after the Freeborn County Sheriff's Office deployed a drone and found Morgan swimming in the lake. An Albert Lea police officer boarded a boat brought by Albert Lea Fire Rescue and found Morgan reportedly hidden in lake foliage, where he was arrested and transported back to shore. During transport, Morgan reportedly asked about his daughter. Morgan was found to have a canceled driving status, and police found drug paraphernalia in the vehicle and on the ground near where he had thrown a plastic baggie. In court on Tuesday, District Court Judge Christy Hormann set Morgan's bail at $6,000 without conditions and $1,000 with conditions. He is next slated to appear in court July 10.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
County declares local state of emergency tied to mid-June flooding in western Freeborn County
Jul. 1—The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday declared a local state of emergency tied to flooding in western Freeborn County in mid-June. Emergency Management Director Adam Hamberg said western Freeborn County received 6 to 7 1/2 inches of rain June 16, leading to a flood warning for that area and multiple roads that were barricaded, including Minnesota Highway 109 and other county and township roads. He said preliminary damages include $6,000 for the city of Alden, $20,000 for Alden-Conger Public School for damages to the athletic grounds, $12,000 for Carlston Township for road repair, $10,000 for Alden Township for road repair and culvert cleanup and $35,000 thus far for the Freeborn County Highway Department. Hamberg said he planned to submit the $83,000 in damages to the state, which passes the county's threshold of $72,900. Though he estimated the final numbers will be higher than the initial reports, he did not think they would meet the $145,000 threshold in public infrastructure damage to qualify for a FEMA event. He noted the city of Alden's sewer and drainage system was overburdened and flooded its sewage ponds. Some of the roads that are being repaired have also already been recently repaired after a prior flooding. The city of Albert Lea did not have any public infrastructure damage. Commissioner Nicole Eckstrom said she had received a call from the Alden mayor, who said he would like to gather as many of the entities who have been affected by these flooding issues in recent years to see if there is something that can be done differently for the future. She said it doesn't seem like weather patterns will be changing. In other action, the board: —Accepted the resignation of Lyndon Stinson, the county's probation and pre-trial services director at the end of October and voted to refill the position. Stinson said he hoped to help train in the new director. —Awarded the contract for about $206,000 to Ulland Brothers Inc. for the state-aid Magaretha Avenue railroad crossing improvement project. County Engineer Phil Wacholz said improvements will also improve pedestrian crossing there. The engineer's estimate was $187,200. The county had received a $245,000 grant that went toward a portion of the project. —Approved the final payment for almost $9,600 to Sir Lines-A-Lot for road striping on various county roads. The total project cost was about $176,000. Aside from that project, Wacholz said Freeborn County applied with some other counties in the 6th District for federal funding for reflective paint for some other roads, and that project is just being advertised. He expected that to be done by June or July 2026. —Appointed Dan DeBoer, Alan Bakken and Mitchell Delger to another term on the Shell Rock River Watershed District board of managers. —Voted to table a motion that would set the Highway Department office hours as 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tornado watch in effect until 8 p.m.
Jun. 26—Following Wednesday's pattern, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for nine counties in southeastern Minnesota including Mower, Dodge, Freeborn and Steele counties until 8 p.m. tonight. A chance of storms, primarily after 2 p.m. are expected this afternoon, bringing with them a chance tornados across the area.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
EDITORIAL: Pay tribute to the fallen
May 23—As we move into the Memorial Day Weekend, let us remember the real reason for the holiday. Observed on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day was created to honor the men and women who died serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day to honor the large numbers of Civil War dead, the day became known after World War I as a day to honor all fallen service members who gave their lives. In 1971, an act of Congress made Memorial Day what it is today. Across the country, communities will host Memorial Day parades and ceremonies, and people will attend cemeteries and memorials. Others may host a barbecue with family or friends for the holiday as the unofficial start to summer. We ask whatever you decide to do this weekend, and particularly on Monday, don't forget to pay tribute to the heroes — the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines — who paid the ultimate price for our country. We have much to be grateful for. In Albert Lea, ceremonies begin at 8 a.m. at Lakeview Cemetery by Albert Lea veterans groups before moving on to St. Theodore Cemetery, Hillcrest Cemetery and then the Freeborn County courthouse. After that, there will be a wreath-dropping ceremony at Fountain Lake Park at 10 a.m. to honor deceased Navy veterans before the final ceremony at 11 a.m. at Graceland Cemetery Take time out of your day to attend one of these events — you'll be glad you did.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Aeschliman settling into her new role as county administrator
May 17—After almost two months in her role as Freeborn County's new administrator, Melanie Aeschliman has hit the ground running and says she is excited to continue to work through the challenges facing the county. The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners hired Aeschliman to fill the vacancy left when former Administrator Ryan Rasmusson resigned in October for a new opportunity. She comes to Freeborn County after working as administrator for the city of Blooming Prairie and also working in a few different positions with assessments in North Dakota and Alaska. Aeschliman lives in Waseca and drives to Albert Lea for the position, though she noted she may eventually look to move to the county. When she arrived in Freeborn County, she said she felt there was a disconnect between the Board of Commissioners and the staff, so she felt it was important to meet with all of the department heads and the board to better understand needs for the departments. She said she has also worked on helping all of them understand that there needs to be a give-and-take. She also noted the high turnover in some of the departments, which she said is never good for those departments or for the county as a whole. With the vacancy in the assessor role, she said another one of her tasks and priorities has been communicating with the state and keeping them apprised of efforts the county is taking to fill the position. She thanked the staff in the assessor's office, who have stepped up to cover the vacancy. Aeschliman said Minnesota has strict requirements about qualifications for assessors, and while the county has had some quality candidates apply with years of service and internationally recognized courses, they did not meet the state criteria. It is also challenging to recruit someone from the Twin Cities because of the local pay scales. The state has given the county multiple extensions to fill the position. Aside from these tasks, in the coming months, Aeschliman said she hopes to focus on updating county policy and flushing out some of the problematic policies, particularly regarding new laws in the state. She also pointed to clearing up policy regarding the county's core hours, depending on department, which she hopes will clear up a lot of uncertainty for staff. "I don't think policy has been at the forefront here in our mindset," she said. She also hopes to bring some training regarding workplace environment, develop more unified documentation for resolutions and begin connecting more with leaders from the city of Albert Lea and the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency. "I will say from day one, though, we've been hitting the ground running," Aeschliman said. "I've really been booked up." She looks forward to going out and learning about other needs in the community. She also hopes to implement new budgeting software to ease the transparency and understanding during the budget process. "I knew there was challenges coming in," Aeschliman said. "They shared that in the interview process. I'm a person who likes challenges. It's been fun and I'm excited to help put those challenges back in perspective and we can get going in the right direction." She reminded residents that she has the best interest of the taxpayers in mind. She also pointed out that despite the upheaval in the Assessor's Office, the state's review of appraisals recently came back positive, which analyzes sales and other numbers. She said the county will soon be looking at a more in-depth commercial reappraisal. As she continues forward in her role, Aeschliman also continues to work through classes to obtain her doctorate. She said education is important to her, and she will continue to encourage staff to continue their education, as well, balancing all of their responsibilities and continuing to keep maintaining services as the top priority. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here," she said.
