The Wright County
Monitor
Wrestling News Page 16 American Heart Month Page 2
Monitor Staff Welcomes New Editor: Matt Voigts
With last week’s Feb 13 issue, the Wright County Monitor welcomed a new editor, Matt Voigts, who says he is looking forward to reporting his hometown’s news after spending several years abroad. Voigts grew up in Clarion, graduated from Clarion-Goldfield High School in 2003, and earned a B.A. in Writing from Wartburg College in 2007. He subsequently taught English in China in 2007, worked for several years as a marketing writer at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, and traveled in nine countries in 2013 after earning a 2012 M.Sc. in Digital Anthropology at University College London in England. He returned to Clarion last summer, where he has substitute talked while planning for doctoral studies. “Everywhere I’ve been is a small town in its own way, and I hope to work through the Monitor to better explore and document this town and its place in the world,” Voigts said. “I see the editorship as a chance to further support and contribute to the town that supported me so well when I was younger.” Ryan Harvey, publisher of the Wright County Monitor, agrees. “Matt brings a unique perspective back to Clarion,” he said. “While, at the same time, he understands the opportunities in Wright County. His breadth on work made him a great
candidate to further the newspaper.” Voigts’ writing career began at Clarion-Goldfield High School, where his Senior Life Project at was a film script. His work at BVU surfaced in many regional newspapers. In 2011, he co-wrote a film review column for the New Ulm Journal with Josh Moniz, who was named 2013’s “New Journalist of the Year” by the Minnesota Newspaper Association. Voigts’ masters’ dissertation was on the use of technology at atheist summer camps in Oklahoma and Texas. He continues to actively freelance as a writer and photographer and has contributed to several anthropology blogs, including a January article on Material World about High School Homecoming which drew from experiences at CG-HS. As a photographer, he specializes in aerials taken with his father, Bruce, an avid pilot. Bruce works fulltime with sustainable agriculture projects at the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Matt’s mother, Joan, is a teacher’s associate at Clarion-Goldfield Elementary. “My recent studies were about how people use technology in their everyday lives rather than at its cutting edge,” Voigts said. “Nobody uses all the apps on his or her smart phone, and it’s a mistake to think most people automatically do. Whether it’s a computer or a paper, people use tools they find useful. A newspaper fits into our current multi-media landscape effectively as a locally-produced way to bring together, share, and discuss issues and events directly affecting us.” While keeping the print paper firmly as the center of Clarion’s news nexus, Voigts hopes to further explore how to supplement it online. Voigts takes leadership of the Monitor prior to planned doctoral pursuits this fall at a high profile school in England, for which he is currently seeking funding. His planned doctoral research involves what immigrants to Iowa and other places “take with them” digitally.
145th year Number 8
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Official newspaper of Wright County
$1.00 per copy
www.clarionnewsonline.com
Theater Gets New Floor with Volunteer Help By Matt Voigts wrightcomonitor@gmail.com Visitors to the communitymanaged Clarion Theater have a new place to put their feet: a renovated tile floor, installed with volunteer help. The tiles were installed in sections over the course of three weeks to allow the theater to remain open during all its scheduled showings, which are on weekends and Wednesdays. Local contractors Lindsey German and Jean Zigrang removed the old tiles and installed the new at a reduced rate. The Ruritans civic organization brought upwards of a dozen volunteers each on five nights to unscrew, move, and eventually re-install the hefty seats one row at a time for the tiles’ installation. “Our group is a perfect fit for anything muscle-related, because we have so many members and we’re young,” said Kevin Kakacek, treasurer of Ruritans, which has a representative on the theater board. While the viewing room remained in some disarray during the renovations, all showings did continue as scheduled.
“That’s what’s been the success for the theater: a lot of people donate their time,” said Steve Bruckheimer, president of the theater board, who estimates the renovations cost around $4,000 and that volunteerism saved approximately $1,500. Volunteers also staff the theater during show times. The Clarion Theater was significantly renovated in 2008 when it was purchased by Big Time Cinema, at which time new tiles in the screening room were laid directly over the old. After being sold by Big Time, more renovations, and a fundraising campaign, the theater reopened as a community-run project on Jan. 15, 2012. 30 more seats were added that summer, bringing the total to 180. By last fall, some tiles had shifted unevenly. The project revealed what also may have been a contributing factor: wood where the theater’s pre-2008 aisles had once been laid, when the viewing room’s seats were in three sections. The present layout has all seats situated centrally, with aisles on the far sides of the room. The wood was removed and new concrete was poured. New carpet in
the aisles and runner lights will be installed in the coming months. Despite the theater’s efforts to stay open during the renovation, it was one
The old theatre aisle exposed
of several homes and businesses which last week reported a loss of water from frozen pipes between the building and water main. This caused the theater to remain closed
for a scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 12, showing of “The Nut Job.” The frozen line was bypassed later in the week to allow weekend showings of “Labor Day” to continue as planned.
Landowners Skeptical of Proposed Tile Improvements to Drainage District #131 By: Matt Voigts wrightcomonitor@gmail.com At the Wright County Supervisors Meeting February 17, farmers expressed concern toward proposed tiling improvements to Drainage District #131. Keith Hubbard of McClure Engineering – who presented the project – said the district’s current tile is showing signs of age and will require replacement at some point, a better picture of which would be gained by televising the present tile. The land that would be affected is in sections 26, 27, 34 and 35 of Dayton Township and sections 1 and 2 of Woolstock Township, east of Eagle Grove and southeast of Clarion. The current line serves
22,120 acres, was built in 1917, and is made of 22,000 feet of clay tile. “By doing the calculations, comparing it to a modern system, we would say this is undersized,” said Hubbard, who proposed three plans: - Sending a televisual probe through the existing tile to determine its condition – including if it has collapsed tile or sedimentation – at a cost of $51,000 - Laying new quarter-inch tile, at a cost of $962,000 for a relief line or $1.2 million for a full replacement. - Laying new half-inch tile, at a cost of $1.3 million for a relief line or $1.6 million for a replacement line. Hubbard then proceeded to read “a stack of objection letters” numbering 18 from district landowners. Some objecting opinions expressed beliefs that the current drainage system was adequate, and that drainage could be better accomplished with open waterways. Around 15 interested individuals attended the hearing. Laying tile would disrupt land productivity during one season, and be paid for by taxes from the landowners “When farmers do this with their own land, each farmer has to see whether they will see a return
on their investment,” Hubbard said. “With this, it’s a long term question. Every district’s going to have to go through this. It was a burden back when they put it in 1917… Eventually this tile will stop working. Until you’ve televised it you don’t really know when.” “I don’t want to spend any money I don’t have to, but I think there’s a lot of denial in this district,” said farmer Brian Wagner, with carefully-considered words. “I’ve seen a lot of fields damp off and I know with proper drainage that doesn’t happen. I think there’s a lot of false information spread on this.” Wagner also suggested it may be better to build the tile under current regulations than after potential future changes. “I also know that despite all the negative comments, there are 6 landlords who can see some benefits to it, who are not fighting putting in a bigger tile,” he continued. “That’s kind of where I am.” Among the more specific concerns was voiced by Larry Jacobson, who has farmed south of Clarion since 1958. The tiling project would upset his land during nesting times, he said, and he would consequently lose Conservation Preserve Program benefits he received for implementing wetland sustainability programs he implemented there.
According to David Johnson, drainage district attorney, a remonstrance can be made to stop the proposed tile projects if 51% of the people in the area owning 70% of the land submit a formal request in favor of halting the project. Current records list 36 parties with land in the affected area, the relationship to number of individuals involved and overall land percentage owned will be calculated as the project progresses. The televisual scope could not be halted by a remonstrance, as it is considered a repair rather than an upgrade. “Don’t be bashful – we need to know what you have to say,” Johnson said, encouraging landowners to put into writing their opinions on the project. A follow-up meeting on drainage district 131 will be held Monday, March 17. A public hearing with the Supervisors is scheduled for Monday, April 7, at 10:00 a.m. for plans related to drainage district 33: sections 9, 10 and 16 of Lincoln Township, southeast of Clarion. The Supervisors also held a completion hearing on drainage district 176/31: sections 32, 33 and 34 of Dayton Township and sections 3, 4 and 5 of Lincoln Township, located directly east of Clarion near Highway 3.
Clarion City Council Opens White Fox Landing Infrastructure for Bidding
Water pools from one of three burst water main bursts in Clarion over the weekend.
Pipes freeze as temperatures plummet
By Matt Voigts An ongoing winter marked by exceptional cold has sent frost deeper than usual, resulting in pipes freezing underground across Wright County and beyond. A Facebook post by the City of Clarion advised that residents monitor their pipes as follows: “Find the faucet closest to your meter (preferably a hard water faucet in the basement or lower level) and let the water run for at least 15-20 seconds. Check the temperature of the water, normal water temperature from the main should be approximately 56
degrees, if the temperature of your water is 40 degrees or lower, you may choose to let the water run at a small steady stream, the lower the temperature, the more water you need to run.” The City estimated the frost may have descended between 4 and a half to 5 and a half feet. According to Kendall Johnson, president of Olson Plumbing of Eagle Grove, pipes are usually laid around four feet underground. “With lack of snow and extended cold, the frost just went deeper,” he said. Mike Goodwin of Mort’s
Water Company in Latimer said that Belmond appeared to be the hardest-hit of area towns, where he had heard around 80 homes were without water. “A lot has to do with the soil types those homes are around,” Goodwin said. “There’s a lot of sand around Belmond, and that’s where they have problems.” Both Johnson and Goodwin suggest that the freezing problem will get worse before it gets better: as snow melts, it leaves the ground with less protection, pushing the frost further down during colder nighttime temperatures.
Monday, Feb. 17, the Clarion City Council heard specifics on the White Fox Landing housing development, approving a plan that will open bidding for development of the subdivision’s infrastructure, including roads and sewer system. “Everything before tonight was speculation,” said Rochelle Pohlman, city administrator. “Tonight we’ve approved the agreement with i2i. As of tonight, this is i2i’s development. [The City] is just coming in and putting in the infrastructure.” “We’re sending it to out to at least 60 contractors or so,” said a representative from the I&S Group of Mankato, the project’s engineers, who suggested construction could start as early as “late April.” The bids are due March 13, in time for public hearings on the project beginning at 5:15 p.m., on Monday, March 17 in the Council Chambers. More information on the project will be in the Monitor in the coming weeks. The development’s 23 individual lots will be sold by i2i through competitive bidding, with purchasers
responsible for building homes on their properties. Community open houses about the lots and development will be held at Clarion Goldfield High School on March 8 at 10 a.m. and March 22 at 2 p.m. The Council also: - Approved the FYE 15 Budget and set a public hearing on the subject for March 3. - Delayed discussion on a simplified version of the
Rental Housing Ordinance until March 3’s meeting. - Approved partial pay of $123,444.98 to Sande Construction for the Clarion Municipal Airport Conventional Hangar construction project. - Approve permits for construction of a storage shed to Ken Bernhardt and a sign for Quality Medical Services.
Good Luck at State Wrestling
Bring home the hardware!