The Murray County Commissioners on July 7 heard an update on the progress of the new Wonder World building currently under construction in Slayton near the municipal pool.
Ashley Haken, secretary of the Wonder World board, said she is happy to report there is a lot of work going on at the construction site. There was a fun groundbreaking ceremony in June that involved a lot of Wonder World kiddos, and construction activity is continuing.
“We’re hoping by fall to be framing, and then do interior work over the winter,” Haken said.
If all goes as planned, the deadline to vacate the St. Ann’s site by July 31, 2027 should be met. Construction materials that can take longer to get are being ordered in anticipation of their needs.
Financially, they are still short of the $2.1 million needed, but Haken said that includes a $200,000 contingency fund. Between donations and pledges and funding from the city and county, just over $1.9 has been raised, and Haken said they have potential good news coming with another pocket of funding. Some areas of construction are coming in under budget, she reported, and there are still small donations coming in.
The commissioners heard the monthly report from Murray County Medical Center CEO Luke Schryvers, who said the first five months of 2026 have been very strong financially. Gross revenue year-to-date is above budget, and they have both demand and services in place.
“We just need more staff,” he added.
The commissioner reviewed per diem paid to citizen board members, finding the payments varied from board to board. For example, several advisory committees pay $55 per meeting to its citizen board members, while EDA and Planning Commission citizen board members earn $80 per meeting. According to Auditor /Treasurer Heidi Winter, the per diem amounts had not been visited in quite some time.
Commissioner Roger Zins made a motion to make the per diem amounts $100 across the various boards, which was approved. Zins took the opportunity to make an appeal to the public, stating there are several boards on which he sits that have board openings. The Southwest Minnesota Opportunity Council (SMOC) board has an opening for a Murray County board member, and the Western Mental Health board will have an opening in the near future. Both boards meet once a month, Zins said, and take just a few hours a month for someone to perform their board duties. Anyone interested in becoming a board member for these positions can contact Murray County at 507836-1149.
Commissioners approved accepting a donation from the Currie Fire Department – a fire training house that they received when they purchased a truck. According to Emergency Management Director Carl Nyquist, Currie does not have the room to store what is basically a mini-house on a trailer. Nyquist said the county does have space to store it, and the training piece can then be made available to all Murray County fire departments.
Also approved during the meeting were ditch bills, two ditch inspection reports, and the purchase of a new building automation system controller for the highway department. Commissioners also approved using in-house resources to conduct a wage study, rather than pay an outside firm to do the study for them.
