BLUE EARTH — “A child care shortage continues to affect much of Faribault County,” Annie Leibel, the county economic development specialist, told Faribault County commissioners Tuesday.

Leibel, who was on hand to present the EDA biannual report to the board, said addressing the crisis is one of the top goals of the 2019 priority plan created in January.

She reviewed other priorities, including talking to businesses about succession planning; promoting the EDA revolving loan fund and other business assistance resources; working on communication between the county EDA and the cities in the county; and following up with borrowers not making regular payments.

“We also want to maintain a list of available commercial properties in the county,” Leibel added.

Next, the board heard from Amy Wachlin, the supervisor at the License Bureau. She informed them that the state Legislature passed a grant to reimburse counties and private deputy registrar offices for lost revenue and expenditures caused by the implementation of the MNLARS software.

Wachlin and the License Bureau staff compiled the data required by the state and received a reimbursement grant totaling $34,153. The final step in receiving this money required the commissioners to pass a resolution accepting the grant and to release the state from further claims for the performance of MNLARS. The board passed the resolution unanimously.

In other business, the board passed a resolution requesting a speed study on County Road 16 from Blue Earth to Fairmont, with the purpose of raising the speed limit to 60 mph.