Citing safety, the Crow Wing County Board agreed to send a letter to the Minnesota Department of Transportion in support of a diamond interchange at the future intersection of Highway 371 and County Road 11 in Pequot Lakes.

Tim Bray, county highway engineer, requested the board do so on Tuesday, April 23.

“It’s the right thing for Crow Wing County to have the safest intersection you can possibly have,” Bray said by phone last Thursday, April 25. “I just feel strongly that we shouldn’t wait for it (intersection) to perform poorly and then ask for an interchange later.”

The Lake Shore City Council on Monday, April 22, continued to talk about deer depredation and a possible controlled deer hunt in the city, according to draft meeting minutes.

No action was taken.

Mike Loss of the DNR spoke with council members. The council learned evidence shows there is a one in 80 chance of an auto/deer collision and the fatality rate is high for motorcycle/deer collisions. Also, Lyme disease is a significant medical problem, and deer have a significant impact on native tree regeneration and wildflower growth in the forest all the way down to shorelines.

The city of Nisswa has received a complaint alleging conflict of interest on the part of Mayor Brian Lehman and council member Tina Foster relating to the proposed [filtered word] restroom/chamber building.

The complaint cites the relationships each has with the chamber, noting Lehman is a dues-paying member and Foster is on the chamber board of directors, city attorney Clyde Ahlquist said.

Ahlquist told the council Wednesday, April 17, that he is taking the complaint under advisement and will issue an advisory opinion to the council. Tom Groen filed the complaint.

Bids for a public restroom/chamber of commerce building came in quite a bit lower than Nisswa City Council members expected, but discussion on the proposed project was still lengthy Thursday, April 11.

Before possibly awarding the bid, the council wanted research done on the low bidder and wanted to hold a public hearing regarding an abatement bond that would fund the building, as well as improvements to the city park and community center.

That public hearing will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at Nisswa City Hall.