PRESTON, Minnesota, May 1, 2022—Ila Mae Olstad will serve as the Grand Marshal for the upcoming Trout Days parade on May 21, 2022.

Olstad was born in Preston, graduated from Preston High School in 1949 and has called the Preston area home most of her life. Olstad has been involved in several community organizations and has contributed in many ways to Preston’s thriving community. Outside of being a librarian at the school for hundreds of children during her working days, Olstad has been involved in the following organizations; Preston Historical Society, Preston Ambulance, Christ Lutheran Church, 4-H, Fillmore County Fair, Preston Public Library Board, and the Preston Visitor’s Center just to name a few.

Olstad’s father served on the Preston City Council when she was a child and he was also the section foreman for the railroad, which ran through Preston. This has contributed to Olstad’s love for Preston and the railroad history this area holds. So much so that she has written an article with photos titled “A Decade on the Extra Crew Trains – Iowa, Dakotas and Montana” about her family’s time on the railroad that was recently published in The Milwaukee Railroader. Olstad will be signing copies of the magazine at the Preston Historic Campus (Trailhead) in the Caboose from 12pm-2pm on Saturday, May 21, during Trout Days.

The City of Preston and the entire community would like to thank Olstad for her dedication in making Preston a great place to live, work and play!

For more information on the parade and Preston Trout Days go to www.troutdays.com

At the regular Public Utility Commission meeting on December 14, 2021, the commission approved rate increases for the electric and sewer utilities. Electric base and kWh charges will increase 1.5% for all users. Sewer base and use charges will increase 6.25% for residential and commercial sewer users and 3% for industrial users. These increases will be effective February 1, 2021. The average residential customer will see an increase in their monthly utility bill of $1.15 for electric and $1.99 for sewer. The reasons for the rate increases are proposed capital improvements to the electric and sewer systems. For more information, please contact the PPU office at 507-765-2491.

Average PPU residential customer is billed for 584kWh of electricity and 2,863 gallons of water/sewer usage per month based on billing statistics for the twelve months ending November 30, 2021.

Electric – 1.5% rate revenue increase

Residential customer base charges and use (kWh) charges will increase 1.5%

Commercial customer base charges and use (kWh) charges will increase 1.5%

Industrial customer demand charges and use (kWh) charges will increase 1.5%

Water – no increase

Sewer – 6% rate revenue increase

Residential and Commercial customer base charges and use charges will increase 6.25%

Industrial customer base charges and use charges will increase 3%

 

Preston Veterans Home groundbreaking scheduled for Monday, August 9
The groundbreaking event for the new Minnesota Veterans Home in Preston will be held on Monday, August 9 at 10am. This is a change from the Thursday, August 19 date announced at the meeting last week when MDVA officials visited with Preston stakeholders to provide an update on the new Veterans Home.
More details on the groundbreaking event will be shared soon. We look forward to seeing you on August 9!
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About MDVA
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is a cabinet-level state agency dedicated to serving
Minnesota Veterans and their families. In addition to overseeing the five State Veterans Homes, MDVA helps
eligible Veterans and families secure state and federal benefits and provides programs and services relating to
higher education, benefits, burial, claims, outreach and Veterans employment. Veterans and their families are
encouraged to visit www.MinnesotaVeteran.org or call 1-(888)-LinkVet for more information about benefits.