Preston, Minn. – The City of Preston Economic Development Authority (EDA) and Preston Area Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce they will be holding their first ever Housing Summit at F&M Community Bank’s Community Room in downtown Preston.

This one-day summit will bring together home builders, developers, investors, suppliers, realtors, lenders, area residents and local officials to learn how Preston is preparing to grow over the next decade – with a goal of building population and 160 new homes and apartments in the City by 2030.

Attendees will learn about a newly uncovered demand for housing from the Destination Medical Center (DMC) halo effect, a proposed State Veterans Home, an award-winning school system, recreational and tourism growth and jobs at new businesses. Preston is also seeing a demand from empty nesters, the “brain gain” from the 30-40 year old population and retirees returning to the area.

To “pave the way” for home builders, City officials and leaders will present supportive policies including available utilities, zoning approvals, low permit fees, and buyer incentives.

A local development map and concept plans will be unveiled for sites of all types of households – first time buyer, move-up, executive, empty-nester, retiree, work-from-home, commuter, special needs, renter and more.

The Housing Summit begins with registration and lunch from 11:30am to 12pm at F&M Community Bank, 100 St. Anthony St. North. Presentations will be from 12pm to 2pm followed by networking at the National Trout Center and Trout City Brewing at 2:00 pm. The cost to attend is free but seats are limited. To register go to: www.prestonmn.org/housing-summit.

Lunch is sponsored by Bunge Construction, John Nelson – Coldwell Banker Burnet and Main Street Properties. This summit is part of the “Livability Project” – a partnership between the Preston EDA and the Preston Area Chamber of Commerce.

Funding for this project came from grants from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) and the Preston Area Community Foundation (PACF).

For more information on the City of Preston please visit: www.prestonmn.org.

PRESTON, Minn. – Hwy 52 motorists will be detoured beginning Sept. 11 for approximately two weeks between Fountain and Preston in Fillmore County to allow for concrete repairs on the highway, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Interstate Improvement Co. of Faribault, Minn., a MnDOT contractor, will be repairing concrete along the 7-mile stretch between Fountain and through Preston. During the work, Hwy 52 traffic will be detoured. Local traffic remain for people who live along the route or for people to reach businesses on the route.

The detour route from the north at Fountain is Fillmore Co. Rd. 8 east to Lanesboro to Hwy 16 south of Lanesboro back to Hwy 52. The detour from the south is in reverse. Hwy 16 motorists approaching Hwy 52 from the west will not be able to join Hwy 52 at Preston. They’ll need to detour north on Hwy 80 to the detour route at Fountain. Vehicles going to POET Biorefining in Preston may use Hwy 16 for accessing the plant.Motorists will be alerted to the work in advance. The repair work requires the removal of some concrete panels in the road where the joints have failed or panels are in need of replacement. To learn more about the process, to the MnDOT website: www.dot.state.mn.us/information/roads/cpr.html. The work should be completed by Sept. 26, weather permitting.
MnDOT urges motorists to always be attentive, drive with caution, slow down in work zones and never enter a road blocked with barriers or cones. For real-time traffic and travel information in Minnesota, visit www.511mn.org, call 5-1-1 or log on to www.mndot.gov.
To learn more about MnDOT projects, construction and other new in southeast Minnesota, join the MnDOT SE Minnesota Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/MnDOTsoutheast/.

To honor the brave service members who have received the Purple Heart, on July 15, 2019 at 6 p.m., the Preston City Council will designate Preston as a Purple Heart City. The Purple Heart Community Proclamation is a national initiative of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart is a badge of military merit awarded exclusively to service members wounded or killed in the line of combat. The Rochester Military of the Purple Heart Chapter will be in attendance with their leader, Harry R Kerr.

“The Preston community, the state of Minnesota and the United States owe respect and gratitude to all members of the Armed Forces, especially those who have been wounded or killed in combat and honored with the Purple Heart Medal,” said Mayor Kurt Reicks. 

Veterans, the public, and anyone else interested in attending the July 15, 2019 Preston City Council meeting is invited to take part in the proclamation to designate Preston as a Purple Heart City. For more information on the Military Order of the Purple Heart go to https://www.purpleheart.org/

St. Paul, Minn. – Aging veterans and other eligible family members from Preston and the surrounding
region may have a new option for residential skilled nursing care by 2022. For the last few years, local
officials and veterans’ advocates have lobbied for the addition of a new Minnesota State Veterans Home
in their community. Plans are moving forward, according to officials from the Minnesota Department of
Veterans Affairs (MDVA).

Preston is one of three Minnesota cities pursuing a future Minnesota Veterans Home. The proposed
Preston location is a 15-acre bluff-top site surrounded by a 200-year-old native white oak forest. In
2018, the Minnesota Legislature allocated $10.2 million toward the cost of the project which will be
funded by a combination of federal-granted (65 percent), state-bonded and pending community provided
monies (35 percent). In March of this year, MDVA submitted an application for Federal funds
from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; that funding will not be confirmed until early 2020.
While Federal funds are not guaranteed, there is optimism among the planning team. “MDVA looks
forward to approval of our Federal funding request and breaking ground on this new Veterans Home
next year,” said Douglas Hughes, Deputy Commissioner for Veterans Healthcare, MDVA.

Representatives from MDVA, the Minnesota Department of Administration and the
architecture/engineering firms of Wold and Perkins Eastman visited Preston on May 16 to provide an
update. Local leaders were eager to learn more about the proposed Veterans Home and how their fall
2018 feedback was incorporated into the facility’s design.

The Preston Home’s design incorporates regional building materials, such as wood and stone, and is laid
out to take advantage of the views of the surrounding countryside from the bluff-top setting. The public
spaces include a Town Center featuring a small coffee shop/cafe, theater/meeting room, family dining
room, meditation room/chapel, and club room. The 54 residential units are split into three, 18-resident
“households” avoiding long institutional-feeling hallways.

“The Preston community is excited and honored to be home of the future Veterans Home,” said Preston Mayor Kurt Reicks. “The picturesque bluff-top site, the state-of-the-art facility and the exceptional care delivered will provide a well-deserved home for our Veterans. We owe it to the men and women who served our country.”
Other local officials invited to the May 16 meeting included Joe Hoffman, City Administrator, City of Preston; Jim Bakken, Public Works Director, City of Preston; Kurt Reicks, Mayor, City of Preston; Robert Maust, City Council Member, City of Preston; Charles Sparks, City Council Member, City of Preston; Cathy Enerson, Economic Development Director, City of Preston; Jason Marquardt, Veterans Service Officer, Fillmore County; Duane Bakke, Commissioner, Fillmore County; Cliff Sackett, Preston VFW and American Legion; Ron Laughlin, Preston VFW and American Legion; Becky Jones, President, Preston Chamber of Commerce; Gabby Kinneberg, Tourism Director, City of Preston; Don Brockway, American Legion; Charles Aug, Community Bank; Don Gildner, Co-Chair of the Preston Veterans Home Committee and John Szuch, local veteran.

Construction on the Veterans Home will be led by a general contractor which will strive to hire a significant percentage of sub-contractors from the local community. The new Minnesota Veterans Homes will also support the local economies long-term by offering employment opportunities to those who share the MDVA mission to care for Veterans.
For more information, visit the MDVA website at www.mn.gov/mdva/homes/futurehomes.

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.