WILLMAR -- A grant that could generate up to $45,000 to educate local teens and young adults on the dangers of driving while intoxicated is being sought by the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department.
The Kandiyohi County Commissioners approved the grant application on Tuesday.
If approved, the money would be used to create a new safe community coalition.
The coalition would team up with Ridgewater College, area school districts, emergency squads and the county highway engineer to prevent accidents, Kandiyohi County Sheriff Dan Hartog said. According to the grant application, the county would also implement prevention programs for repeat offenders who are in the county jail and target male blue-collar workers at Jennie-O Turkey Store.
The county was eligible to apply for the one-year grant after it ranked 11th in Minnesota last year for total fatal accidents. In 2005 there were eight crashes in Kandiyohi County that resulted in 12 fatalities.
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The county ranked 13th in 2004.
The top 13 counties are invited to apply for the grant. Hartog said they should know by Friday whether or not the county received the grant.
In other action, the commissioners:
- Approved resolutions authorizing general obligation bonds of $3,761,876 at a one percent interest rate and $1,208,124 at zero percent interest for the Lake Florida sanitary sewer project.
- Approved a conditional use permit for Ron Wothe for a small farm winery with wine production, tasting room, sales and facility rental in New London Township.
- Set a public hearing for 7 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the planning commission meeting on a proposed change to the county's comprehensive plan that would encourage residential growth within urban growth boundaries or areas where municipalities enforce building code requirements. The board altered proposed language the planning commission approved last week that would have designated land two miles around New London. The change more accurately reflects the intentions of the planning commission, said Zoning Administrator Gary Geer.
