County Eyes Cross Border Cooperation

 A Memorandum of Understanding has been proposed to allow Winneshiek County to cooperate with both Fillmore and Houston counties in Minnesota.

County Engineer Michael Keuny briefed the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors Monday morning.

The engineer said he had recently paid a visit to Fillmore County on the matter.

“They have some administrative work left to do,” said Keuny.

The agreement covers bridge inspections as well road projects and promotes an equitable sharing of responsibilities, for example with roads and bridges that cross state lines as well as plowing duties.

Keuny said he had an email from his Minnesota counterparts that came in minutes before the meeting, leading him to believe more needed to be done.

“It might have to wait until next week,” said Keuny.

Other projects are winding down.

“The W14 shouldering is complete,” said Keuny.

Also discussed was the status of union negotiations.

At this point, the board heard there is nothing to report.

“I haven’t heard anything on that,” said Keuny.

Few Issues Seen With Snow

Keuny pointed to keeping down speeds amid black ice as Winneshiek County woke up to a dusting of snow to get the week started.

“It was just the hard surfaces this morning,” said Keuny. 

That left visible snow on the roads but not on other surfaces.

Roads were a tad slick, though law enforcement was not at press time seeing a major spate of crashes.

“It’s still snowing,” said Keuny. “It is what it is.”

According to the National Weather Service, the snow was set to taper off Monday and then remain clear, albeit cold in the coming days.

The low overnight Wednesday was set for six degrees.