Kiger's Notebook

MN Pollution Control + Eyota ethanol plant = greenlight

Here's somes from interesting piece by Bob Freund this Monday a.m.:

The staff of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says there is no need for an environmental impact statement for the proposed MinnErgy L.L.C. ethanol plant, planned to be built just outside the city limits of Eyota.

The agency’s experts said in a report that, as proposed, the ethanol production facility “does not have the potential for significant environmental effects.” It rejected requests from environmental advocacy groups including Trout Unlimited, the Minnesota Trout Association, citizen group OC3, the City of Eyota and the Whitewater Watershed Joint Powers Board, asking for the impact statement.

The state agency received 182 letters commenting about the plant. Of those, 82 specifically asked for the environmental review; 78 letters were in support of the project, according to staff report. Local information meetings also were held in November 2007 and in June.

Minnesota Trout Association president Jeff Broberg of Rochester, said his group had expected the denial.

“The PCA and DNR (Department of Natural Resources) have been Minnesota’s biggest ethanol supporters and seem either determined, or directed, to ignore the evidence of the significant environmental impacts from corn-ethanol production in the Driftless Area,” Broberg said in a written release.

Eastwood Bank + new president

Rochester-based Eastwood Bank has a new president calling the shots as of Feb. 1.

I was out on Friday and Monday, so I did not pick this up until now. Sorry about that.

Anyway, here's some from a release on this:

Paul Tieskoetter, assumed the position of President effective February 1, 2008. James L. Talen, current President for Eastwood now serves as Chairman of the Board.

Tieskoetter, a certified public accountant, is the current Chief Financial Officer for Eastwood. He has been with the Bank since 1997 and has overseen the financial and operational accounting for Eastwood Bank and the Bank’s information systems department. Prior to coming to Eastwood, Tieskoetter was the corporate controller for Kahler Realty Corporation.

Eastwood Bank operates three offices in Rochester, and additional branch offices in Stewartville, Eyota, Kasson, St. Charles, Rollingstone, Winona and Houston. The Bank reported assets of $373 million as of December 31, 2007.

HBC on the move

Here's a little bit more on the Hiawatha Broadband Communications Inc. dividend. Actually, this is just a portion of a story I have set for print Tuesday. Three Fastenal founders including Bob Kierlin are on the board. Another Fastenal founder, Rochester Athletic Club owner Jack Remick, also is in involved. This is includes the Olmsted County/ Rochester specfic questions:

HBC offers high speed Internet, local and long distance telephone, cable television, and video production services in Winona, St. Charles, and Wabasha. It also offers dial-up Internet to Lewiston and surrounding communities.

The company is also building new networks in Lewiston, Stockton and Rollingstone this summer as a back-up fiber ring that runs near Plainview, Elgin, Dover, and Eyota.

“That sets up the potential to build networks in those communities,” Evans said.

Is HBC coming to Rochester?

“We’re inching closer and closer to Rochester,” he said with a laugh. “Seriously, we have made no decisions as to Rochester.”

HBC did conduct a broadband-over-powerlines study in Rochester in 2004 and 2005, though there are no plans to offer that service in Rochester or elsewhere.

Grocery store +…?

A small city near Rochester is getting a grocery store this summer

And it is not Stewartville.

Actually, it is Eyota.

The word is that Bob Vondale and Al Schumann plan to open Bob's Eyota Market this summer.

Watch Tuesday's print edition for a story by Heather Carlson on this.

Eyota - chainsaws to crystals

Here's the follow up to my previous tease about Eyota. We didn't a chance to talk about it on the radio, so I thought I'd better deliver something to the blog readers.

Here you go:

From hardware to harmony? From cresent wrenches to crystals?

That's what is happening at a longtime Eyota storefront.

The owners of Pennington Hardware at 22 S. Front St. in Eyoya recently decided to retire. That put the hardware store building up for sale.

That caught Lisa Emiliusen’s attention. She owns the D&A Laundromat next door.

“I bought the building and I decided to promote harmony,” Emiliusen says.

She opened Zen Creations Thursday. The shop has a lot going on.

First, it sells crystals, votive holders, amethysts, jewelry, raw crystals, wind chimes and gift baskets in the 1,400-square-foot shoowroom. She’ll also have a consignment area for are people to sell crafts.

There will also be weekly storytimes and craft projects for kids. In January, yoga classes will start.
A backroom will be used for what Emiliusen calls Zen garden parties. That means groups like bridal parties will get togther for a night of fun, food and making crafts like small zen sand gardens.

“It is a place to get the community together,” she said. “It is a cabin-fever-busting type of place.”
So is a town like Eyota ready for the hardware store to turn into a zen, crystals, and yoga shop?
“I think so. It is a really up and coming community,” Emiliusen says.

Kiger on the radio Wed. a.m.

OK, they foolishly are continuing to allow me on the air during the Jake & Tracy In The Morning Show on 102.5 The Fox.

Listen for me between 8:15 a.m. or so and 9 a.m.

I'll be talking about the CineMagic/ Chateau movie theater to answer some questions that remain about that. Other topics will probably include Pizza Ranch in Stewartville and discussion about a major change coming at an Eyota landmark.

That latter one should be interesting. This is a fundamental shift of epic proportions. Really. I might be blowing it a little out proportion, but not by much.

So listen and call in if you have questions or just want to heckle me.

New biz list for Nov. 27

Here's some from the new and renewing businesses list from the secretary of state's office that will be in Monday's paper:

• Home Supplier, Inc
Judith K. Growden
2431 75th St. N.E.
Rochester

• Olmsted County Abstract, Inc.
1850 N. Broadway
Rochester

• Osmundson Lease Co., Inc
Mark Osmundson
211 W. Main St.
Adams

• Gas Lamp Conversions and Restoration, Inc.
1104 Oakland Ave. W.
Austin

• Chris Oudekirk Construction, Inc.
Chris Oudekirk
60867 221st Ave.
Dodge Center

• Higgins Custom Cabinetry Inc.
20 Center Ave. N.E.
Eyota

• MSM Natural Fertilizer, Inc.
20493 630th Ave.
Rose Creek

• North Star Food Acquisitions Inc.
1279 St Charles Ave.
St Charles

• Elgin Cheese Days
Susan Suckow
50419 287th Ave.
Elgin

• Country Heritage Adventures, Inc.
5209 County Road 21 N.E.
Elgin

• Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Potsdam
7134 Highway 247 N.E.
Elgin

• Dodge County Farm Bureau Association
515 Jefferson Ave. S.W.
Eyota

• Parents and Teachers Together, Inc.
27 Knowledge Road S.W.
Eyota

• Eyota Kids Korner
511 Jefferson Ave. S.
Eyota

• Extended Circle Society
7500 30th St. S.E.
Eyota

• Women of Eyota, Inc.
914 Nancy Court
Eyota

• Bluff Valley Riders, Inc.
PO Box 72
Fountain

Kwik Trip and more in Eyota

Could more banks, a car dealership, a bar and restaurant or a hotel be on their way to the quietly growing city of Eyota?

If the folks from Kwik Trip have their way, it could happen.

The La Crosse, Wis.-based convenience store firm bought 20 acres of land, when they decided to build a store in at the intersection of U.S. 14 and Highway 42. The station opened earlier this month and now Kwik Trip’s real estate development arm is looking for tenants to fill the remaining 15 acres of the Stone Ridge Plaza commercial center.

“We’ve had three different banks that have contacted us… (other possible tenants are) a couple of different liquor stores, a bar and restaurant,” says Hans Zeitlow of Kwik Trip. “We have a two different parties interested in doing a retail strip mall.”

In real estate, location is everything and Zeitlow says, “From the east side of Rochester, all the way to Winona, the only good commercial intersection is this one.”

So what else would he like to see at Stone Ridge?

“We’d like to see a new car dealership. We’d like to see a motel, but I’m not sure Eyota big enough to support that,” he says.

S.E. Minn. real estate market

A while back I posted that there was a lot of commercial real estate for sale in Rochester. Now I'm interested in residential.

Lots of reports have been coming out lately about residential real estate market including tone from the National Association of Realtors that says home prices fell in August compared with a year earlier, the first such decline in more than a decade. The average home cost went from $230,000 to $225,000.

I was wondering if anyone out there has a feel for how the southeastern Minnesota housing market is? I'm interested in any comments or feedback on residential real estate in the area. I'd love to hear from Realtors, brokers, bankers and average joes who are buying or selling a home.

Ethanol plant coming to Eyota

The gold rush on ethanol is continuing in southeastern Minnesota. A new Pro-Corn plant – a sister (or brother) to the one in Preston - is on its way to somewhere between Eyota and Lewiston.

We'll have a full story on this soon. The picture is of the Preston plant.

Broin Cos. of Siouz Falls, S.D. are behind this and here's some from their press release

Sioux Falls, SD – The Broin Companies are pleased to announce plans to build a second Pro-Corn Ethanol production facility along the Interstate 90 corridor between Eyota and Lewiston, Minnesota. Broin Companies, Pro-Corn, and Karst Energy Group, LLC are joining forces on the project.

The facility will utilize approximately 21 million bushels of corn to produce 60 million gallons of ethanol and 178,000 tons of premium Dakota Gold Enhanced Nutrition Distillers Products™ annually.

Upon completion of the final site development and due diligence activities, construction is planned as early as late 2006 with completion projected for early 2008.

“On behalf of Karst Energy Group, we are very pleased about the cooperative effort between our organization, Pro-Corn, and Broin Companies,” said Rick Lamon, Karst Energy spokesperson. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our area to carry out our group’s mission of creating a favorable economic climate, contributing to the welfare of the region, and reducing our country’s dependence on foreign oil.”

“With our long-standing successful relationship with Pro-Corn and our new relationship with Karst Energy, the Broin Companies are excited to bring a state-of-the art, value-added ethanol production facility to the Eyota area,” said Jeff Broin, Broin Companies CEO. “This new business will provide another grain-marketing opportunity for local corn producers as well as contribute millions in regional economic benefits.”

The plant would help improve the local corn basis while providing an environmentally friendly fuel and premium Dakota Gold Enhanced Nutrition Distillers Products™ for regional, national, and international markets. The plant would employ approximately 40 full-time employees with an annual payroll of approximately $1.8 million.