Bryan Stading of the Murray County EDA announced during Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting that their application to Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) requesting designation as a local development organization (LDO) has been approved, along with the transfer of $471,416 in Community Development Block Grant funds.
The transfer of the funds is a major triumph for Murray County and the EDA. The funds have been sitting in the county’s EDA coffers for years but were under so many constrictions that using them for economic development was extremely difficult.
The funds came from a federal Community Development Block Grant by way of Minnesota Investment Funds. Murray County was encouraged to apply for the funding over a decade ago, while assisting Monogram Meats with an expansion. As the company repaid the loan, the funds had to be kept separate. Despite many attempts to defederalize the funds, it seemed impossible. In 2021, it was reported that more than $6 million was sitting in the EDA accounts of various cities and counties in Minnesota, all of whom were struggling to find a use that fit the criteria.
Initial use of the $471,416 still has criteria that must be met, namely that an aspect of manufacturing be involved. According to Commissioner Dennis Welgraven, who sits on the EDA board, all payments that come back after being loaned out will be free and clear of federal restrictions.
“We will be able to use the funds as we see fit,” Stading told commissioners.
Tuesday’s meeting had drawn quite a crowd – standing room only in the commissioners room – for a discussion about PowerOn Midwest, a major regional electric transmission initiative anchored by a high-voltage 765-kilovolt (kV) backbone line designed to connect eastern South Dakota, southern Minnesota, and the broader Upper Midwest.
Murray County as a government entity has no say in whether the proposed development would be allowed in the county. As of Tuesday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) was still allowing comment on the Certificate of Need application.
According to Jean Christoffels, Murray County Zoning/ Environmental Administrator, if the PUC approves the Certificate of Need application, then an application of routing must be submitted by PowerOn Midwest, something she said PowerOn Midwest is hoping to do by October of this year. Christoffels encouraged those present to enter their concerns into the PUC e-dockets comment section. The case number is 25-117.
Commissioners commented that concerns they have heard regarding the 765 kV includes health effects, property depreciation, stray voltage, preservation of natural resources and the effect on agricultural land.
The county plans to draw up a resolution opposing the 765 kV line until more information is provided that addresses community concerns.
In other county business, Murray County Sheriff Heath Landsman informed commissioners that the rates Murray County pays to Lyon County for jail services are going up in 2027 and in 2028. An addendum to the contract states Murray County will pay $125 per day per inmate. The cost will go to $175 per day in 2028. In the past six years, Murray County has paid Lyon County for an average of 1,405 inmate days per year.
Landsman referred to an article from Dodge County stating Olmsted County had raised inmate rates to $323 per day, prompting Dodge County to move their inmates elsewhere. Lyon and Nobles County have made their prices the same, Landsman said, so there is no “elsewhere.”
Two, and possibly 3 other counties are willing to enter into discussion about a regional facility for jail and dispatch, Landsman said. Other counties nearby have sheriffs running for election who said they would be willing to talk about it after November.
This is not the first time a regional center has come up in Murray County. In May 2009, law enforcement officers and county commissioners from District 8 held a prominent meeting in Slayton with the Minnesota Commissioner of Public Safety to discuss regional collaboration. The multicounty study group was awarded a $150,000 state grant in 2009 to fund a formal 20-month feasibility study. The organized regional project ultimately dissolved in early 2011 after counties couldn’t agree on a centralized location and individual boards, Murray included, voted to bow out of the joint powers agreement.
In other business, after a public hearing the commissioners approved moving forward with repairs to JD14 and CD20.The also approved a bid from Jim’s Carpet to replace carpeting at Sunrise Terrace and approved a purchase of up to 20,000 yards of dirt to be used at the demolition landfill.
