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WILLMAR—In just over 365 days, the site of what will become the Willmar Rail Connector and Industrial Access Project, or the Willmar Wye, went from farm fields and open spaces to an active construction site where one can already find most of the realigned—but unpaved—U.S. Highway 12 and the beginnings of two new highway bridges […]
WILLMAR—The $7.6 million Kandiyohi County, Willmar and most of the other cities and townships in the county received in total from Minnesota through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act is both an opportunity and a challenge. An opportunity because it is much-needed funding for local units of government to meet a pandemic […]
WILLMAR—If Paul Damhof is able to secure the capital he needs to complete a $10 million expansion of his saltwater shrimp farm near Blomkest, he said he believes he would be able to produce 250,000 pounds of Pacific white shrimp a year. Pretty impressive considering the Pacific Ocean is more than 2,000 miles away. “We […]
For aquaculture farmer Paul Damhof, putting up the “sold out” placard along his roadside billboard has become almost as much of a daily chore as checking the pH levels of his shrimp tanks. With customers across a 150-mile radius and few industry competitors to contend with, Blomkest shrimp farm Simply Shrimp LLC continues with meeting […]
WILLMAR—A unique poultry education program created by the University of Minnesota, Ridgewater College in Willmar and industry leaders will be launched this fall. The multi-tiered program includes a series of courses at Ridgewater and the U of M that are designed to provide training to undergraduates and graduate students as well as those already working […]
WILLMAR—Staff and patients are settling into the new children’s psychiatric hospital that opened earlier this month in Willmar. The Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Services hospital is the only state-owned and -operated facility of its type in Minnesota. The hospital is designed for Minnesota children 4 to 18 years of age who have complex mental […]
As of Tuesday morning, Johnny O’Neil’s in Spicer is now under new ownership. Michelle Kastel-Olson and her husband, John, sold the restaurant and bar to Donovan and Keisha Frauendienst, who own Kegger’s in Clara City, and Finley Bridal Co. in New London, respectively. Kastel-Olson said she was originally planning to sell the business on March […]
With a crunch, a heave and a groan, the hydraulic arms of heavy machinery sank their jaws into the Spicer Castle Tuesday morning. And just like that, 125 years of history toppled in a heap. Constructed in 1895 by Spicer founder John Spicer and long since operating as a bed and breakfast owned by the […]
SPICER—The camping season at the Kandiyohi County parks usually begins May 1 and the county opened up online reservations for its sites at five parks all the way back in mid-January. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shutdown of unessential businesses drastically changed the 2020 camping season. All reservations for the month of May […]
WILLMAR—The JCPenney store in the Kandi Mall in Willmar is one of 154 stores the company is closing, it was announced Thursday. The company filed for bankruptcy last month. J.C. Penney Company Inc. announced Thursday the first step in its “store optimization strategy,” and identified the first phase of 154 store closures, including Willmar’s. Other Midwest […]
WILLMAR—Eleven months after construction began on the Willmar Wye project, progress continues to be made on several aspects of the project, according to the weekly update from the Minnesota Department of Transportation District 8, based in Willmar. The bridges that will one day span the new rail track are starting to rise, with construction on […]
WILLMAR — The Renaissance has arrived in downtown Willmar. With the Willmar City Council approval of the zoning ordinance establishing the Renaissance Zone District, economic development professionals hope it will usher in an era of rebirth for the zone, including new commercial and residential projects. “We are hoping this new overlay will encourage investment and […]
