Jodi Summit
TOWER- A snowmobile caught fire while fueling up at Vermilion Fuel and Food, in Tower, last Thursday morning, sending a plume of thick black smoke soaring over Main Street. Loud pops, crackles, and booms could be heard blocks away.
“I heard a small pop,” said cashier Colette Sistad, who was outside observing the flames from a safe distance. “I didn’t think anything of it. But then a guy came running in telling me to call 911.”
A snowmobile group from southeastern Minnesota had left Fortune Bay only a few minutes earlier and stopped in Tower to fill up their machines.
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Marshall Helmberger
TOWER Work on a controversial RV park here is now underway even as the developer faces continued uncertainty over sewage disposal, the status of a former dump, and possible legal action from neighbors.
It’s been a long time coming for Dave Rose, who purchased a nine-acre parcel along the East Two River back in 2015 with the intent of building what he’s dubbed an RV resort.
He’s faced a myriad of delays as city officials grappled with zoning questions and Rose’s occasional reluctance to follow rules to the letter. Rose has also faced anger from neighbors who worry that his commercial development will upset the quiet nature of the Mill Point neighborhood, home to some of the city’s most expensive homes and highest property taxes.
Marshall Helmberger
TOWER The city council, here, on Monday, gave final approval to a 2021 levy of $394,761, representing no increase over the current year’s property tax assessment. At the same time, the council approved a 2021 budget that includes $3.94 million in revenue and total expenditures of $3.575 million.
“There are lots of different ways that the city of Tower gets revenue and the property tax is only one part of it,” said Tower Clerk-Treasurer Victoria Ranua, noting that the property tax levy is set to generate only about ten percent of the city’s expected revenues in 2021. Grants, state and county aids, fees for services, and leases make up the bulk of city revenue each year.