Latest news with #KandiyohiCounty
CBS News
09-06-2025
- CBS News
Missing central Minnesota man may be endangered, authorities say
Minnesota lawmakers return to Capitol for special session, and more headlines Minnesota lawmakers return to Capitol for special session, and more headlines Minnesota lawmakers return to Capitol for special session, and more headlines Authorities in central Minnesota are seeking the public's assistance in locating a man they say may be endangered after he went missing over the weekend. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says 29-year-old Phillip James Iverson, of Spicer, has not been seen since Saturday. Phillip James Iverson, 29, has been missing since Saturday. Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office Iverson is described as 6 feet tall and 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Iverson is asked to call the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office at 320-235-1260 or 911.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Project to build bridge over railroad in southwest Willmar may start this fall
Jun. 3---- Kandiyohi County plans to seek bids this summer to construct a bridge over the railroad tracks on the southwest edge of Willmar — a project that had been on hold after a freeze on federal funding. A fall construction start is now expected, according to Kandiyohi County Public Works Director Mel Odens, for the $7.8 million project that will connect County Road 55 with County Road 5. A 300-foot spanned bridge will eliminate the at-grade crossing on County Road 55. Odens said Monday that the county expects to go out for bids in late July or early August, which should allow construction to start in the fall. A previously approved federal grant totaling around $4.8 million, which was caught up in the Trump administration's funding freeze implemented in January, has now been "obligated" by the Federal Railroad Administration, making the funds available for reimbursement of the county's eligible expenses under the grant agreement. The awarding of the was announced to the Kandiyohi County Board in June 2023, and the county made plans for construction in 2025. When the Trump administration undertook "a sweeping freeze on trillions of dollars in federal funding by pausing grants, loans and other financial support," the county put the project on hold. Odens said previously the county did not have "those kinds of funds available" and would delay the project while the federal funding was paused. The Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant funds for the were obligated on May 8, according to Warren Flatau, deputy director of public affairs with the an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The new bridge connecting County Road 55 with County Road 5 will be the final piece in a years-long, multi-phase reconfiguration of that intersection. The in 2023 completed the diamond exchange that connects County Road 5 to Highway 23. When the county project is complete, MnDOT plans surface work on Highway 23 starting around 15th Street Southwest and going west past the County Road 5 bridge.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kandiyohi County Board to meet newest K-9 officer June 3
Jun. 1---- The is expected to have a visit Tuesday from the newest K-9 officer in the Sheriff's Office. Loki and handler Sgt. Nick Ardoff are slated to visit at the beginning of the 9 a.m. meeting, according to the posted agenda for June 3. The board is also expected to act on a sewer and water improvement agreement for a planned community called The Nest, located on the southeast side of Nest Lake along North Shore Drive in Spicer in the vicinity of Hope Presbyterian Church. The developer is Ryan A. Koosman of RAK Construction LLC. According to the accompanying materials posted with the board agenda, the development will have 17 units and a clubhouse. Upon completion, the infrastructure will be turned over to Glacial Lakes Sanitary Sewer and Water District. A presentation about the Kandiyohi County 4-H Program from University of Minnesota Extension staff is also on Tuesday's agenda. The board at approximately 10:15 a.m. Tuesday will consider going into a closed session to discuss a property located at 14998 Highway 71 N.E, New London. Tax records show it to be a residence, vacant land and native prairie. The Open Meeting Law allows a closed session to develop or consider offers or counteroffers for the purchase or sale of property. Any board action must be completed in open session. Under calendar matters, the board will consider moving the June 17 meeting to 4 p.m., instead of the regular 9 a.m. start time, and moving the July 15 meeting to July 17 instead due to a conflict with two commissioners attending a conference on July 15. The complete meeting agenda and accompanying materials can be viewed online at
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal funding pause delays Kandiyohi County Road 55 project
May 31---- In 2023, the completed the diamond exchange that connects County Road 5 to Highway 23. To complete the next phase of the project, Kandiyohi County Public Works has been planning to construct a bridge in 2025 which would streamline the connection between County Road 55 and County Road 5 and eliminate an at-grade railroad crossing. The start date of the nearly $8 million project on the southwest edge of Willmar — the final piece in a years-long, multi-phase reconfiguration of the intersection — is uncertain after a pause in federal funding. More than half the project cost would be covered by a federal grant. The development of southwest Willmar began in 2006 when the Willmar Municipal Airport was moved to a location two miles farther west. This was done to provide more space for the airport and for the industrial development within the city, according to Kandiyohi County Public Works Director Mel Odens. The old airfield spanned areas that are now home to several of the newest businesses in the Willmar Industrial Park. Since the airport was moved, 11 other infrastructure projects have been completed in the area, including the Willmar Wye railroad bypass, multiple sewer and wastewater improvements and the relocation of the bridge over Highway 23 from its previous location at County Road 55 to its new location at County Road 5. These projects represented around $200 million worth of investment in southwest Willmar, according to Odens. The moving of the bridge was done, in part, to make room for ramps in the Highway 23 diamond exchange to be installed for easier access to County Road 5, which in turn reduces the distance trucks need to travel in order to access the industrial park. Before the ramps, trucks would need to drive to U.S. Highway 71 to enter the city and would then need to drive along roads not meant for vehicles of that size in order to reach the developing area, Odens explained in an interview. This took the trucks past several less-than-ideal locations, he said. "You have a school here, so the trucks are going by third-graders, we have businesses here, you have an eye clinic, a church, a memory facility. It doesn't coexist very well. So when the vision was coming together, it's like maybe we ought to pull these trucks off of this road," Odens said. Since the access point to Highway 23 was moved, County Road 55 needed a connection to the highway. To provide this, the county in 2020 constructed a temporary road which passed over the railroad tracks and curved around to connect with County Road 5 plus an extension connecting County Road 55 directly to Highway 23. This was the first phase of the current four-phase project. Phase two eliminated the southernmost portion of that road where it had intersected with Highway 23. That made way for the new ramps. This left the connection — still in use today — from County Road 55 to County Road 5 in an awkward state, with trucks needing to take a harsh turn in the process. To remedy this, phase three of the project aims to construct a bridge over the railroad to connect the two county roads. Public Works' planned project would build a 300-foot spanned bridge over the railroad tracks in the area southwest of Willmar. This bridge would tie into the interchange on Highway 23. The surfacing on the road going north to Highway 40 would be redone. "We have had to phase that intersection in. I know it is a sense of frustration with the public and the user, but we didn't want to detour traffic and funding sources weren't readily available. We couldn't just close it and do it all. We had to do a project. When our project was done, the state put the ramps on the interchange. Now we are going to come in for phase three and build the bridge up to the interchange," Odens said. This project is estimated to cost $7.8 million. Of that, $4.8 million in funding came through a discretionary grant, the Railroad Crossing Elimination federal grant. However, due to a pause in federal funding, the project has been placed on hold. "We have been working for loosely 10 years. When the lower bypass project was being planned, the plan was to put a bridge over the railroad tracks when the Willmar Wye was built. From 2016 on, this has been part of the vision of the county for a western bypass," Odens said in an interview. Odens found out about the federal funding delays at the end of January, at the start of the year when the project was set to take place. On Jan. 28, the Trump administration announced a pause on federal grants and loans, including funds for the local project. "We don't have those kinds of funds available. (If the pause isn't lifted), we would delay the project," Odens said previously. On May 6, Odens confirmed that the funds are in the process of being made available and the Kandiyohi County Public Works Department will have access to them soon, allowing the project to take place. He offered no updates during the County Board's most recent meeting on May 20. After the third phase is complete, the final phase that will be conducted by the Minnesota Department of Transportation will begin. The final piece is surface work on Highway 23 starting around 15th Street Southwest and going west past the County Road 5 bridge. Funding for the County Road 55 project comes from local, state and federal sources. The paused Railroad Crossing Elimination grant is administered by the Federal Railroad Administration, one of 10 agencies within the Department of Transportation.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Willmar, Minnesota, man injured in motorcycle crash on Highway 71
May 26---- A 32-year-old man received non-life-threatening injuries in a motorcycle crash north of Willmar at 12:28 p.m. Saturday. According to a by the a Harley Davidson FLHXS was driving northbound on Highway 71 when the driver lost control and struck the median near Highway 23. The rider of the motorcycle, identified as Joshua Surerus, of Willmar, received non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to CentraCare- Willmar Rice Memorial Hospital for treatment. Alcohol is believed to be a factor, according to the report. Surerus was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputies and CentraCare Ambulance also responded to the scene.
