Pond installation and widening of the roadway between Highway 25 and Carver County Road 10 are the latest phase of the Highway 7 construction project, MnDOT Engineer Kelly Brunkhorst said during the weekly project update today. Neaton Brothers Erosion Control is installing erosion control measures throughout the project area. Pavement removal continues at the intersection of Highway 7 and County Road 10, where the first of two roundabouts will be built. Bituminous removal has been started from McLeod County Road 15 and Eagle Avenue, and this work is expected to continue through this week. Once the pavement has been removed and power poles are relocated, deep organic excavation (also described as “muck excavationâ€) will be started. Once this material has been removed, the area will be rebuilt with suitable fill.
Monthly Archive for April, 2008
A free concert presented by Higher Ground and Holy Trinity Parish and School will feature the band Lightswitch. The concert will be at Holy Trinity School gymnasium, tonight April 30, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. There will be door prizes, and concessions available. Discounted Higher Ground tickets will be available, as well. Everyone is welcome!
Senior Survey Technician Bill Augustin has retired after having been employed by Wright County since 1975. The county board presented a retirment plaque to Augustin and acknowleged his service to the county during the April 28 board meeting. Augustin was in charge of all Wright County surveyors, and was the county’s chief bridge inspector. He performed more than 3,000 bridge inspections on county, city, and township bridges during his long career, according to County Engineer Wayne Fingalson.
On Monday (April 28), the attorney for Bert Hertzog of Winsted challenged the probable cause for a search warrant executed at Hertzog’s residence last June, which resulted in charges of inspection of commercial vehicles without certification, theft-by-swindle, and aggravated forgery.
Attorney Thomas Shiah of Minneapolis presented the challenge to the probable cause that led to the search last summer. The search recovered unauthorized vehicle inspection stickers, as well as a letter that informed Hertzog that his inspector certification was suspended — something that Hertzog said he was unaware of.
The charges stem from Hertzog allegedly issuing fake inspection stickers to commercial vehicles even though he wasn’t licensed to do so.
The judge will take the matter under advisement and issue a decision after May 16, commented Assistant County Attorney Brian Lutes. Both sides of the case submitted their legal arguments, and the judge will weigh both.
An initial investigation done by the State Patrol showed Hertzog did commercial vehicle inspections in 2006 and 2007. Hertzog issued vehicle inspection reports to owners and inspection decals, according to a formal complaint. The decal numbers issued with inspections were recorded and tracked. The decals appeared to be fake, because the actual decals were issued to other people by legitimate certified inspectors, according to the complaint.
Hertzog’s next court date is a pre-trial conference 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 27.
The Mcleod County Parks will officially open this Thursday, May 1. Park hours are from 8am to 9pm. All six parks will be open at that time. They are Buffalo Creek (Glencoe), Swan Lake (Silver Lake), William May Park (Winsted), Stahl’s Lake (Hutchinson), Lake Marion (Brownton), and Piepenburg (Hutchinson), accoding to KDUZ. Officials say camping facilities are available at Lake Marion Park and at Piepenburg Park. Mcleod County Park Shelters at selected parks will also be available on a reservation basis. For more information or to make a reservation, call the Mcleod County Park Office at 800-587-0770.
As of April 26, Wright County beaches and seasonal parks are open for the summer. These include Beebe Lake, Otsego, Clearwater/Pleasant, Collinwood, and Schroeder.
The accident that took the life of a Maple Plain man recently (initially reported as from Plymouth by the State Patrol) was counted as one of nine deaths in 10 days that were attributed the lack of seat belt usage by the State Patrol, according to a report just released.Among the 10 traffic deaths on state roads since last Thursday, nine crash victims were not wearing seat belts - and six were ejected from the vehicle.
“These tragic cases demonstrate what has been said for so long - seat belts save lives,” said Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion. “These preventable deaths serve as a grim reminder of the need to buckle up, every ride.”
The following crashes involving unbelted motorists remain under investigation by the State Patrol:
On April 17 around midnight on I-94 in Minneapolis, a vehicle rolled over while exiting at Hiawatha Ave. Bee Yang, 22, of Minneapolis, and Phong Yang, 21, of St. Paul, were ejected and killed - they were not buckled up. The two vehicle occupants that were belted survived.
Around 5:45 p.m. on April 17, a vehicle crossed over the median on Hwy. 52 in Inver Grove Heights and struck another vehicle head-on. Killed was Brittany Carlson, 30, of Zumbrota, Minn., and an unrestrained 4-year-old child. Both were not wearing seat belts.
On April 19 around 4 a.m., Matthew Amundsen, 22, of St. Anthony drove off Hwy. 65 in Anoka County, rolled his vehicle and was ejected and killed. He was not wearing a seat belt.
On April 19 around 12:45 p.m. on Hwy. 7 in McLeod County, Bruce Bergquist, 50, of Maple Plain, was killed when he crashed into another vehicle. Bergquist was not belted.
On April 19 around 9:45 on Hwy. 16 in Fillmore County, Joseph Laumb, 25 of Rushford, Minn. was ejected and killed after he went off the right shoulder of the road, came back across the road and slid sideways into a guardrail causing his vehicle to roll. He was not buckled up.
On April 25 around 2:30 a.m., a vehicle ran off Hwy. 115 in Morrison County and rolled. All three occupants - Jessica Foged, 25, of Little Falls, Minn.; Tracy Jirava, 25, of Detroit Lakes, Minn.; and Michael Matthews, 34, of Devils Lake, N.D., were ejected. No one was belted - Jirava and Foged were killed.
Each year in Minnesota around 200 unbelted motorists are killed.
The Carver County Sheriff’s Office and the Chanhassen Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire April 23 in the 800 block of Lake Drive East in the city of Chanhassen, according to a press release. The building sustained a moderate level of damage.
Assisting with the fire was the Eden Prairie Fire Department, Victoria Fire Department, and Ridgeview Ambulance. The Carver County Sheriff’s Office and the Chanhassen Fire Department are investigating the cause of the fire.
The Lester Prairie School Board is down to three finalists for the superintendent position being vacated by Supt. Joe Miller, who is retiring.
UPDATE:Â The three candidates will be given final interviews 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 at the school.
The three candidates are: Continue reading ‘LP search is down to three for school district’
Damage to township roads and customers getting lost on the way to local businesses were among the concerns discussed at the first Highway 7 construction meeting. MnDOT representative Kelly Brunkhorst has scheduled the meetings every Wednesday at 1 p.m. during the project to provide updates and give the public the opportunity to ask questions and share concerns about the project. Continue reading ‘Hwy. 7 start was not without rough spots’
A Plymouth man is dead following a two-car accident Saturday at the intersection of Highway 7 and Babcock Ave, south of Winsted, according to the State Patrol.
Bruce Bergquist, 50, of Plymouth was northbound driving 1989 Honda Civic on Babcock Avenue when he collided with the back end of a 2004 Chrysler Sport Van driven by Jennifer Starke, 43, of Lester Prairie, who was also northbound, stopped at the stop sign.
Starke was getting ready to take a right turn onto Highway 7 when the accident took place. She was not injured, but her passengers were hurt — Deb Johnson, 11, who sustained non-life threatening injuries, and Todd Johnson, 9, who was treated and released. They are also from Lester Prairie. All three were wearing seat belts.
Bergquist died from head and chest trauma at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. Waconia Ambulance responded to the scene. The McLeod County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene as well.
The Civic was totalled, and the van sustained heavy damage. Both vehicles were towed to Jerry’s Transmission.
The accident shut down Highway 7 for a few hours.
