News

By KENT THOMPSON
A crowd of about 30 citizens packed Humboldt City Hall last Wednesday, March 6.
The citizens asked some questions, received some answers and weren’t bashful about sharing their opinions on what a revamped Sumner Avenue in downtown Humboldt should look like — and what it shouldn’t look like.
The Humboldt City Council is expected to take up the matter at its next meeting, Monday, March 18. There will be a workshop at 5 p.m. to discuss the matter, with possible action during the regular meeting which begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Humboldt City Hall. “We would like to get a direction from the Council on the project,” City Administrator Travis Goedken said at the conclusion of the March 6 meeting. Citizens interested in the discussion and making their voices heard may attend.

It took several years before Dyle and Barb Erickson went ahead and tried adopting cover crops and transitioned to no-till for their soybeans. But now that they have, they are seeing more and more positive results each time they are in the field.
“This has made farming exciting again to me…..that desire to learn and try things,” Dyle said.
“I’ve noticed no difference in yields. There’s a lot of focus on yields, but I like to look at profitability. When comparing no-till with cover crops versus conventional tillage, I’d say at worse I’m breaking even when comparing the two systems. The most important aspect is it’s improving the soil structure and making the fields sustainable,” Erickson said.

Michelle George has purchased Carbon, a teen through women’s clothing store located at the corner of 5th Avenue North and Highway 169 in Humboldt.
George purchased Carbon from founder Tonya Heier effective Feb. 1.
George and her daughter, Emma, had worked at Carbon since October of 2017.
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s also something that Emma might be interested in doing as a career,” George said.
Read more about the business in this week's Humboldt Independent. On sale now. Subscribe by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

St. Mary’s annual Gala fundraising event will be held March 30, at Rustix Event Center in downtown Humboldt. This year’s Gala chairs are Doug and Darcy Berte and Dave and Jaclyn Olson.
Gala 2019 will be the 16th an-nual fundraising event for St. Mary School. This annual event tradi-tionally nets more than $100,000 that is used directly for school support. This is an important fundraising event for St. Mary School because of the funds raised and the enthusiasm generated for the pre-school through grade 6 students who attend St. Mary’s.
The evening will feature a Hors d'oeuvres, a full meal and complimentary beverages. New this year will feature online bidding for silent auction items. The evening will conclude with a disc jockey and music.

The Humboldt China Painters will hold their Spring Egg Show “Tickled Pink” from 9-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 13, at the Faith United Methodist Church, 107 4th St. North in Humboldt. Each painter will display their own painted porcelain at the show.
New this year will be a special program featuring the Teapot Choir from the Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Callender, performing at 10 a.m. They make music from unique and distinctly painted teapots.
The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend. Coffee and bars will be provided. China painted porcelain eggs and other hand-painted items will be for sale. There will also be a silent auction. Proceeds from the show are used for continuing education.

By Phil Monson
Winter weather cancellations are forcing Humboldt school officials to be proactive in making up for lost days.
During the regular monthly meeting of the Humboldt School Board Monday night (Feb. 18), Humboldt School Superintendent Greg Darling says the last day of class will be on Monday, June 3, as opposed to Tuesday, May 28, the day after Memorial Day.
While the district attempts to complete a 180-day school year, Darling says the district has the flexibility to count classroom hours to help fulfill the requirement.
“We have five hours in reserve that we can use – five two hours early out in reserve. If we use those up, then we may be talking about figuring out something else, but I think we are okay going forward,” Darling said.

By KENT THOMPSON
What should downtown Humboldt look like, next year and 10 years from now?
Those are pretty heady questions, but something city leaders and members of the ISG planning team are trying to wrap their hands around.
That’s why the city of Humboldt hosted two downtown revitalization sessions at the Humboldt Community/Senior Center last Wednesday.
The first was for downtown business owners. About 30 people attended and organizers reportedly received “a lot of good input,” from the community businesses.
The second session was for the general public and was more sparsely attended, with about 10-12 people reviewing plans and offering opinions.
Councilman Joel Goodell said whatever course of action is pursued, he wants all people in the community who have thoughts on the matter to be heard.
Another community meeting is planned for March to get more citizens involved.

By KENT THOMPSON
Should the city of Humboldt go back to having its own police chief, or should it continue to contract services with Humboldt County?
That was the question at the conclusion of a two-night discussion on the upcoming budget held at Humboldt City Hall earlier this month by the Humboldt City Council.
Humboldt contracts with the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors for the services of Humboldt County Sheriff Dean Kruger to also serve as police administrator. For that service, the city pays Humboldt County $39,500 per year. Humboldt City Administrator Travis Goedken told the Council that if the city was to pursue hiring its own police chief, the cost would be $65,000 for a base salary with a total salary and benefits package of $78,943.90, nearly twice the cost of contracting for a police administrator. That figure does not include a uniform, vehicle or equipment for the police chief.

By KENT THOMPSON
Workplace diversity is a subject that has been getting a lot of attention over the past 6-10 years.
In order to attract and retain top talent, businesses must broaden their employment search. In doing so, businesses and industries can identify and address existing barriers and learn how expanding their diversity can improve their workplace culture and their bottom line, improving the ability to outperform the competition and creating more sustainable business models.
All that and more will be part of a workforce workshop hosted by the Humboldt County Development Association (HCDA) on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at Gordy’s at Rustix. The morning will begin with networking and registration at 8 a.m. and keynote speaker, Claudia Schabel, speaking on “How to Attract and Retain Top Talent,” at 8:30 a.m. The workshop will conclude around 10 a.m. that morning.

By Phil Monson
The new addition at Humboldt High School will be wrapped up next week.
In its monthly meeting on Jan. 29, the Humboldt School Board received a report from Humboldt School Superintendent Greg Darling that the new addition is nearly complete.
The project, which began last summer, provides much-needed storage space for the school music department and additional bathrooms in a facility that serves many public uses and activities.
“The roll top door has to arrive and be installed. The bathrooms and tile are all in. Some of the flooring has to be finished in some of the storage rooms,” Darling said. “Work crews were painting the doors two days ago. It should be done in two weeks.”
Read more about local education and see photos of student groups and activities every week in the Humboldt Independent, your go to source for local news and sports.