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Editor's note: The photo captions with this story have been updated since original publication to correct the names of the workers. Incorrect information was provided to the West Central Tribune about the name of worker Dylan Berg, and a spelling error was made in the name of Jordan Stulen in the original post.
WILLMAR — Downtown Willmar is getting brighter as crews work this week to install new streetlights as part of the city's streetscape project.
The streetlights being installed are more decorative than the lights they are replacing, which were installed in the 1980s. The city and Willmar Municipal Utilities are working together to fund the project, which has been in the works for several years.
The city received a Small Cities Development grant in 2019, and is using $400,000 from the grant to fund the streetlights project, as well as a beautification project at Fourth Street and Litchfield Avenue Southwest.
The utilities are also working to replace all the bulbs in the streetlights across the city with LED bulbs, and hopes to finish the project in 2022. As of March, there was a 36% reduction in the energy used to power the streetlights, which is enough to power 108 homes for an entire year.
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