By Jill Fennema –

Last week Tuesday, the Pipestone County Board of Commissioners approved a grant application whereby the county can give grants to small businesses in Pipestone County.

The State of Minnesota has appropriated $256,250 to Pipestone County from Senate File 31 for small business and non-profit business grants. The money is to be used to assist small businesses that have been adversely affected by COVID-19 and the subsequent shutdown of business by the state government.

Grant applications will be taken January 27 to February 15 at 4:30 p.m. The county’s grant committee will review the applications the weeks of February 15 and 22 and issue checks in March. Applications are available on the Pipestone County website or picked up at the auditor’s office at the courthouse.

This time around they are really trying to focus on small business. Applicants will need to explain their need and show how their business was affected financially.

The county board also extended the paid leave for employees for COVID-19 related work absences. The federal policy expired on December 31, 2020. The county extended this benefit to March 31, 2021, for employees that have to be absent from work because of COVID-19 illness or quarantine.

Human Resources Coordinator Cathy Feste did not expect a lot of requests. “Our numbers have been really good, but we would like to see this stay in place to get us through flu season and get more people vaccinated.”

The benefit is limited to 80 hours of pay, so if an employee had already used their 80 hours in 2020, they do not qualify for a new 80 hours this year. So far, about a dozen employees have used the extra leave time due to COVID-19.

The board also signed off on a conditional use permit that was approved by the Pipestone County Planning and Zoning Commissioner. The CUP was for DG Minnesota CS II, LLC to build a solar garden west of Coborns, along State Highway 30.

The plan is for a 1-megawatt solar garden that will occupy about 10 acres of land that is currently zoned as urban expansion. The site will be surrounded by a 7-foot-tall chain link fence. The solar panels will be tracking panels, meaning that they will move with the sun.

For the complete article, please see the February 3rd edition of the Edgerton Enterprise. If you do not currently receive the Enterprise, CLICK HERE for information on how to subscribe!