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Council moves forward with lobbyist This week the Fairmont City Council approved moving forward with a lobbyist to help secure additional funding for a community center. This is a good investment by the council, and it’s good that it acted quick as there is a deadline of Jan. 31 for getting the request to legislators. Hopefully this move will help this project continue to move forward. Opera House chosen as event site Congratulations to the Fairmont Opera House for being chosen as the site for the upcoming Minnesota Sings Competition. The state-wide event will take place in ...

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EAB spreading in Fairmont Well, Emerald Ash Borer is definitely here. Last month the Minnesota Department of Agriculture was here for a survey and estimated that almost all of the ash trees in the city will be dead in the next five to 10 years. As Parks and Street Superintendent, Nick Lardy, suggested, residents should start thinking about taking down their own ash trees in the near future. $14M recommitted to community center This week the Fairmont City Council voted to recommit $14 million, raised in local option sales tax, to the community center project. This was a good step for ...

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Citizen involvement The city of Fairmont is currently seeking applications for various boards and commissions. Please consider applying if you’re at all interested in getting involved and getting Fairmont on a better track. People can apply through the city’s website at fairmont.org. School board levy At the most recent Fairmont School Board meeting, the board discussed Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) results. Last year Fairmont students performed below average in all three areas. While this is unfortunate and is likely due to a number of reasons, it’s good that the ...

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Collection helps stock shelves Last weekend’s Kamp for Kids event, which collects food for the local Salvation Army, went well as more than 2,000 pounds of food was collected. So many families in our community utilize this service so it’s nice to see people giving, especially this time of year. The Salvation Army is still looking for donations and monetary gifts help fund some really great programs. Please consider giving. Students gear up for competition Today is the annual robotics competition hosted by Martin County KnowHow. What a great program that’s put on by local ...

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HVAC program teaches new skills Fairmont Area Schools has a new HVAC program this year. The program is housed in the high school’s new vocational building and is taught by Adam Carstensen. What a great program to help fill the future shortage of vocational workers, especially in the HVAC area. It’s nice to see the district and community working together to provide opportunities like this to our youth. Council talks community center future It was disappointing to see the action some city council members and city leaders took Monday in regards to the community center’s next ...

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Fairmont Schools honors teacher Congratulations to Fairmont High School’s Spanish teacher, Melinda Stewart, who has been named this school year’s teacher of the year. Thank you, Melinda, for your continued efforts in educating and empowering our young people and showing them the value of different views and diversity. Program adds childcare providers The Prosper Project, a program funded by the Schmeeckle Foundation, has added three new in-home childcare providers over the past few months. The program also launched a substitute program to help existing providers when they need a ...