2020 Census – It is Important to our Community
Thank you to the Ortonville Kiwanis for agreeing to represent Ortonville as the Complete Count Committee (CCC)! If you have questions, the core Kiwanis group assigned to this effort consists of Wanda Berry, John Thomas, and Vanessa Lhotka Meyer. Vicki Oakes of the Ortonville EDA has been appointed as the liaison (point person connecting the CCC and the Census connection.)
Obtaining an accurate count – counting everyone! – is very important to our community!
The United States began conducting a census of population and housing in 1790. The U. S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, mandates the apportionment of representatives among the states for the House of Representatives every 10 years.
Why is it important to count everyone?
- Population counts determine how the 435 U.S. House of Representatives seats are divided between the 50 states
- the distribution of federal funding to our states is determined by this population count – items such as
- the SNAP program
- public housing
- WIC
- Adoption Assistance
- Link to Counting for Dollars 2020 Minnesota List
Privacy – The Census is Confidential and Required by Law!
Individual records from the decennial censuses are by law confidential for 72 years.
In addition, all Census Bureau employees swear a lifetime oath to protect respondent data. It is a felony for any Census Bureau employee to disclose any confidential census information during or after employment, and the penalty for wrongful disclosure is up to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000.
Ways to Respond
LINK: https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond.html
- Online
- By phone
- By mail
Completing the Census takes about 10 minutes.
In mid-March, households will begin receiving official Census Bureau mail with detailed information on how to respond to the 2020 Census.
Great link for complete info: Who to Count (LINK)
Looking for Volunteers – Home Water Testing
The City of Ortonville water department is looking for volunteers to have their home water tested for lead and copper. We need about 10-15 homes. The criteria are that it has to be from a hard water faucet that gets used regularly/daily. It has to have copper pipes and cannot be PVC or plastic. Please contact the city office at 320-839-3428 if you would be willing to do this.
Utility Bills
Road Construction. Utility bill payments can be dropped off at the City Office (there is two-way traffic on Third Street in front of the Police Department now) or you can drop them at Cenbank or Minnwest Bank.
Reminder: Water Pipes
A reminder to those that have had issues with water pipes freezing in the past – running water through the pipe – even at a trickle – helps to prevent pipes from freezing.
Plowing & Sanding Roads in Ortonville
We are now in the “Before New Year’s Day Blizzard” just after we finished clean-up from the “After Christmas Blizzard” – please, if you have to travel, do so with caution!
News Release from Big Stone County Emergency Management this morning
(if you have a Facebook Page, here is a link to this release)
Dec. 31, 2018 (7:15 a.m.)
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has enacted a no travel advisory on state and federal highways in the following counties due to dangerous driving conditions:
· Clay
· Big Stone
· Stevens
· Traverse
· Wilkin
High winds and blowing snow are causing whiteout conditions. Snowplows will continue to operate, but motorists are advised not to travel until conditions improve. For tips on safe winter driving, go to www.mndot.gov/workzone/winter.html. For real-time traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit www.511mn.orgor get the free smartphone app at Google Play or the App Store.
Please have patience as the City crew works to keep our roads open during yet another storm. The video below (and post photo above) was taken during clean up from last week’s blizzard.
Winter Alerts, Notifications & Good to Know Announcements
A list of resource links as we make it through this winter season.
Big Stone County Emergency Management
Their Facebook pages
1350 AM KDIO Radio
Listen in on KDIO for all weather-related announcements and they also posts updates on their Facebook Page.
Ortonville Police Department
Posts all their emergency related announcements and notifications on their Facebook Page.
Ortonville School
Their Facebook Page posts latest updates
School Website covers urgent announcements & calendar
Artie’s Bait & Tackle
They post ice condition updates (along with fishing updates!)
…and although not weather-related, Ortonville Area Health Services posts very helpful & informative information on both their Website- OAHS.US & their Facebook Page!
The City of Ortonville has been designated as an Opportunity Zone
Of the 509 eligible low-income census tracts in Minnesota, Governor Dayton could designate 128 census tracts as Opportunity Zones. The Ortonville EDA completed the application and sought support from the City and the County to submit Ortonville’s census tract for consideration as an appointment – with success!
Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income and urban communities nationwide.
Opportunity Funds are a new class of private sector investment vehicles authorized to aggregate and deploy private investment into Opportunity Zones. Opportunity Funds allow U.S. investors holding unrealized gains in stocks and mutual funds to pool their resources in projects located in Opportunity Zones, which will be invested in rebuilding low-income communities.
U.S. investors are eligible to receive:
- A temporary tax deferral for capital gains invested in an Opportunity Fund.
- A step-up in basis for capital gains reinvested in an Opportunity Fund.
- A permanent exclusion from taxable income of capital gains from the sale or exchange of an investment in a qualified opportunity zone fund if the investment is held for at least 10 years.
As the final details of this program have been rolled out, we are excited that the timing is coinciding nicely as we finalize our work with the Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP) to address the needs that were identified in the 2018 Housing Study by Maxfield Research & Consulting.
Staff from both the Ortonville EDA and the Big Stone County Housing & Redevelopment Authority along with a committee have been working with MHP on project planning:
What do we have?
Community: Families, youth, vets, seniors, etc.
Resources: Available land, infrastructure, etc.
What do we want?
Workforce housing rental single family, rehab
What do we need to get what we want?
The Committee is currently drafting a Request for Proposal (RFP) which will go out to developers. This Draft RFP will first be taken to the City Council for review and then the Committee plans to host a public meeting for the review of the plans for input/changes before being released. The housing projects under consideration in the RFP will be Opportunity Zone — project friendly!
Housing Committee Members are:
- Dalen Roe, Cenbank
- David Rogers, Ortonville Area Health Services
- Kristi Ehrenberg, Big Stone Therapies
- Mary Hillman, Big Stone Lake Area Chamber
- Garry Swenson, Ortonville EDA
- Kim Sykora, Ortonville EDA/City Council
- Nancy Lee, Big Stone County HRA Staff
- Vicki Oakes, Ortonville EDA Staff
If you’d like more information on the Opportunity Zone and/or preliminary information on the housing projects, please contact Vicki Oakes at 320-839-6155 or email [email protected]
Water Quality Award!
We received notice from the Minnesota Department of Health (Oral Health Program and Drinking Water Protection) this month that the City of Ortonville received the 2017 Water Fluoridation Quality Award!
This award, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recognizes those public water systems (PWSs) that adjust the fluoride concentration in drinking water and achieve a monthly average fluoride level that is in the optimal range for 12 consecutive months in a calendar year, as documented in the CDC Water Fluoridation Reporting System (WFRS).
CDC initiated the Water Fluoridation Quality Awards program to recognize outstanding performance in fluoridation management by public water systems. In Minnesota, 233 of 605 possible fluoridating community PWSs are receiving an award for 2017.
We give an extra shout out to Sam Berger on this outstanding effort and thank you for your work providing safe, dependable drinking water for Ortonville!