WILLMAR — The U.S. Department of Transportation on Feb. 1 announced the city of Willmar was awarded a $200,000 grant through Safe Streets and Roads for All , which will allow the city to complete a citywide Safety Action Plan to address safety, accessibility and equity concerns throughout the city’s transportation system.
Willmar received one of 12 grants awarded to communities in Minnesota, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation. There were 510 grant awards
WILLMAR — Hemponix will open a new hemp retail store and ecommerce/warehouse site Friday at 1425 First St. S. in Willmar, according to Hemponix Facebook page.
Hemponix is a hemp farm located in rural New London that transitioned from an aeroponic lettuce-growing operation to a hemp-growing operation in 2018, according to Hemponix founder and master grower Kevin Ortenblad.
It was one of the first hemp farms in the state, Hemponix chief executive and partner Sam Romain told the Willmar City Council
WILLMAR — Nexyst, in the next 60 days, plans to close on a $1.1 million purchase agreement for at least 137 acres in the Willmar Industrial Park to accommodate a $40 million project — constructing an agricultural distribution complex — according to Aaron Backman, executive director of the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission.
“This is kind of an exciting development,” he said as he shared a site plan with Planning Commission members on Nov. 16.
The project
WILLMAR — The old Pizza Hut building is being torn down to make way for a new drive-thru restaurant — Slim Chickens — set to open about mid-2023.
Slim Chickens, which will be located at 1605 First St. S. in Willmar, will have seating for up to 70 people, but 60 to 65% of its business is typically drive-thru, according to owner Steve Letnes.
The Willmar Planning Commission approved site plans for the new restaurant at its Oct. 5 meeting.
Read the full article by the West Central Tribune.
WILLMAR — Vaxxinova US , originally called Epitopix, is looking to expand in the Willmar area by purchasing additional land surrounding its manufacturing facility northwest of Willmar.
Brian Harberts, Vaxxinova’s director of finance, reached out to the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission to discuss purchasing some of the land which the county owns west of the manufacturing facility, EDC Executive Director Aaron Backman told the EDC’s joint operations board
WILLMAR — As work on the North Gap of the Highway 23 Gaps expansion project has wound down for the winter, members of the Highway 23 Coalition continue to work on their overarching mission.
“We’ve been working for quite some time on creating a four-lane, safe Highway 23 corridor from border to border,” said coalition chair Jeff Bertram at the Nov. 1 meeting of the Kandiyohi County Board.
Minnesota Highway 23 runs from just west of Luverne to Duluth, approximately 343 miles across
WILLMAR — “Big ideas” for how to solve Willmar’s single-family housing issue were shared with the Willmar City Council during the Oct. 24 meeting.
Paul Borene, the chair of the Willmar Mayor’s Housing Task Force, said the task force effort was long overdue.
“This should have been done, maybe, years ago; years and years ago,” he said.
The bottom line of the 10-page report is that the city of Willmar, along with support from Kandiyohi County, should create a public-private program
WILLMAR — Improving access to mental health services such as counseling and treatment remains a priority for both Kandiyohi County and Woodland Centers. Even as society continues to come back from the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the need for mental health services remains strong, and in some cases growing.
The Kandiyohi County Board heard the annual report from Woodland Centers on Oct. 18, and was provided a look into what the past year has been like for the mental health
WILLMAR—It has taken more than a decade, but the wait is finally over. The Willmar Connector and Industrial Access Project—a nearly $50 million railroad bypass project—is completed and ready to receive train traffic.
Dignitaries from various partners involved in the project, along with local, regional and state government officials, gathered in Willmar on Tuesday for a ribbon-cutting and train ride to celebrate the accomplishment that is the Willmar Wye.
. . .
“We are already seeing
Willmar—The developer of what is thought to be the first tiny home development in the region has the southeast Willmar project out for bids.
Justin Paffrath, also a real estate agent, spoke last week to the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission to share the inspiration behind his development, as well as concept plans of how the development will be laid out.
Paffrath agreed with EDC Executive Director Aaron Backman that this would likely be the first tiny home development
