Room with a view

There's lots to smile about, some things to frown uponThis week has been full of wonderful things — the first days of spring, the arrival of my new contact lenses. There’s also been all sorts of newsy tidbits floating around that are worth printing, but they don't always warrant an entire story or headline. Some of those made me smile, some make me frown.A smile, for instance, is due to downtown Luverne. It appears that all of Main Street storefronts are occupied, except for the recently vacated Chamber of Commerce office. This is a wonderful change from just a year or so ago when yellowed "for sale" signs and covered windows lined the street.
Another empty building may be filled, too. Last week I wrote about the city of Luverne’s advertising efforts to fill Job Opportunity Building Zones and the former Tri-State building getting some notice. Well, Mayor Glen Gust just reported that the building was shown to a potential new business already. Let’s do a collective finger-crossing for that to come through.
While we’re on the subject of the city, it’s worth noting again the award Barb Berghorst (and others who work on the annual financial report) received for the ninth year. The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting isn't exactly handed out like candy at Halloween. From personal experience, Barb is always ready to explain city finances to people who don't have to face them every day. That’s clearly reflected in the user-friendly financial reports the city publishes.
The most obvious smiles around town are on the faces of families who have their National Guardsmen home. Six months is a long time for anyone, but it seems like years for kids waiting for Daddy’s return.Now, the reasons to frown
People may be wondering what’s going on between city and county relations, after disputes over shared contracts. The news isn’t bad, but you could call it stagnant, which explains the frown.Formerly, the city and county met in a liaison committee, consisting of a couple representatives and staff from each government body. Those meetings were stopped by the city in the fall, but now some from the city want to restart the meetings.
Another frown came across my otherwise pleasant expression Tuesday when the County Board of Commissioners again talked about permit and land use fees for wind turbines.The turbine groups first objected to the $960 up-front cost of getting turbines permitted. Now, they aren't complaining so much because they’re getting a little tired of all the meetings haggling over whether a $100 annual inspection fee is needed.They’d probably rather pay the fee and end the discussion.Considering the towers bring in more than $900,000 in government subsidies and grants and power generation revenue, it seems a little silly to have even brought it up.Now, the county sees it as an overall zoning and permitting issue that should be examined to unify charges for all structures or land uses. Even though the extra meetings and work are probably worthwhile, Commissioner Ken Hoime may have said it best: "I think a $100 inspection fee is relatively peanuts."So, in essence, this week is just about like every other week of life — a few extra laugh lines and few deeper frown marks.