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Dayton appoints Ferrazzano to fill Fifth Judicial District vacancy
Gov. Mark Dayton announced the appointments of Stephen Ferrazzano and Troy Timmerman as district court judges in Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District. Ferrazzano will replace the Honorable Bradley C. Walker, and will be chambered at St. James in Watonwan County. Timmerman will replace the Honorable Douglas L. Richards, and will be chambered at Blue Earth in Faribault County.
"Throughout their distinguished careers serving Minnesota's judicial system and in private practice, Mr. Stephen Ferrazzano and Mr. Troy Timmerman have demonstrated their strong legal acumen," said Dayton. "I thank them for agreeing to continue their public service to Minnesotans, as district court judges in Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District."
Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District consists of Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, and Watonwan counties.
More information on the Commission on Judicial Selection, as well as vacancies it is currently considering, can be found at http://mn.gov/governor/appointments/judicial-appointments/.
Ferrazzano is an assistant state public defender on the Public Defender Trial Team. As a trial team attorney, he represents indigent clients in serious felony matters. Additionally, he is serves as the mayor of the city of Tracy. Previously, he was an assistant public defender for the Fifth Judicial District and an associate attorney in private practice at Nelson & Van Hon. He earned his BA from the College of New Jersey and his JD from the University of North Dakota.
Ferrazzano serves on the board of the Sanford Tracy Hospital, the Tracy Economic Development Authority, and is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Roast beef dinner, silent auction fundraiser is Dec. 10
The Colonial Manor staff invites the public to a roast beef dinner and silent auction from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, at the Balaton Community Center. Nearly $1,000 in silent auction items were donated by employees for the event. All proceeds from the event will go to pay for new flooring and in enhancing the quality of life at Colonial Manor.
The new flooring was an unexpected $15,000 expense to Colonial Manor. While cleaning the 50 year-old flooring this past fall the cleaning agent ruined it. To be in compliance with health department code the old flooring needed to be replaced immediately.
The care team under the leadership of Doug Hall, the director of maintenance, is working hard to raise the $15,000 to cover the unexpected flooring expense.
SMAC offers free grant workshop
For this grant round only, the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council is increasing the award amount available for equipment and facilities improvement for up to $10,000.
Consider taking advantage of this special opportunity for your organization to improve its capacity to serve the arts needs in our region.
The free workshop is from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at SW MN Arts Council, Marshall.
SW MN Arts Council will offer a workshop to detail and answer questions specifically for the Equipment & Facilities Improvement grant program (which has increased it's funding for this round for up to $10,000 per grantee).
This grant program has an upcoming application deadline of Jan. 31, 2018.
Register online or call the SMAC office to register at 800-622-5284 or email with your contact information and which workshop you plan to attend: info@swmnarts.org.
Workshops may be canceled if low numbers or no registrations.
Equipment and facilities grants are made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund and, by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the state's general fund.
SMSU Drama Club to present 'Guys and Dolls'
The Southwest Minnesota State University Drama Club is presenting the musical "Guys and Dolls" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday in the SMSU Black Box Theatre.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for SMSU students with ID.
Rural Minnesota towns consider driverless car technology
GRAND RAPIDS (AP) -- A transportation researcher says rural Minnesota residents could benefit from driverless cars.
Frank Douma from the University of Minnesota created a task force last year to examine how to give residents across the state access to self-driving vehicles, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.
While many think of driverless vehicles being a possibility in cities or suburbs, Douma said they could also benefit rural communities. People who can't drive because of disabilities or financial obstacles, as well as older drivers could benefit from self-driving technologies, he said.
"I think it's a tremendous growth opportunity for us," said Itasca County Sheriff Vic Williams. "It allows the accessibility for people limited in their mobility to be able to have some freedoms that we take for granted."
Myrna Peterson is on Douma's task force. She was paralyzed in a car accident more than 20 years ago. The 68-year-old often makes a 2-mile commute to Grand Rapids in her electric wheelchair.
"Twenty-three surgeries later, I'm not dead yet," she said. "I am on a mission to make things more accessible for those people who don't have a voice or are incapable of speaking for themselves."
However, the technology is still being developed. Guidelines and legal policies need to be created to deal with liability and insurance issues.