Government & Public Safety

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman visited Hutchinson Wednesday with a dual message: to say “please” and “thank you.” But not necessarily in that order.

Speaking at Zella’s, he thanked several dozen Republican supporters for their support during the past six years. He then asked them to ask others to vote for him again on Nov. 4.

“I want to be Minnesota’s guy,” he said to a standing-room-only crowd. “I want your vote. I need your vote.”

A decision last week by Minnesota’s Bureau of Mediation Services clears the way for Hutchinson police officers to begin voting this week, through a mail ballot, on whether to join Twin Cities-based Teamsters Local 320.

Those ballots are being mailed Thursday, Oct. 9, to 14 licensed officers and four sergeants. Police have until Oct. 21 to return them to the Bureau. Results should be known Wednesday morning, Oct. 22.

The increasing popularity of wind power in Minnesota and elsewhere means the line of oversized trucks with wind turbine parts rolling through Hutchinson and other area cities isn’t likely to end anytime soon.

The trucks, some as long as 215 feet and as wide as 15 feet, have to be specially routed. Until construction of the roundabout on Hutchinson’s north side, State Highway 15 was the preferred route between St. Cloud and New Ulm, according to Dave Johnston, a District 8 region engineer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Hutchinson office.

Burglary and criminal damage to property charges have been brought against three Hutchinson boys found inside the vacant former Cub Foods building Saturday afternoon.

Hutchinson police were called to the building about 3:30 p.m. by an alarm. They found the three inside. The boys apparently had gotten in through a door on the west side. An estimated $2,000 in damage was done to glass and light fixtures.

An 18-year-old Hutchinson man and a 17-year-old Glencoe boy were arrested Monday afternoon on suspicion of having used pellet pistols to break windows of more than 20 vehicles.

Both suspects were booked and taken to the McLeod County Jail in Glencoe. The adult, Mitchell Lawrence Mayland, has been charged by the McLeod County Attorney’s Office with one felony count of first-degree damage to property. If convicted, he could faced a penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

A swap of land near the fairgrounds with McLeod County gained preliminary approval of the Hutchinson City Council on Tuesday.

The deal calls for the city to turn over almost nine acres of land north of Airport Road (County Road 8) to the county in exchange for about 4.4 acres of county land south of the road and next to the former Skydive Hutchinson building owned by the city.

While the city is giving up twice as much land, the deal is viewed as beneficial for both, according to City Administrator Gary Plotz.

A 23-year-old Hutchinson man could face three drug-related charges after police went to his home in the 200 block of Hassan Street Southeast on Monday, Sept. 22, following a report that an 18-month-old boy had been left alone.

Police have completed their investigation and have sent a report to the McLeod County Attorney's Office seeking three charges against the man — fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a small amount of marijuana.

The city of Hutchinson and McLeod County have been talking about a land swap that both sides say they’ll benefit from. The issue comes before the City Council Tuesday night, Sept. 23.

The idea of swapping land apparently originated with the Hutchinson Airport Commission. The plan calls for the city to give the county 8.5 acres of land north of McLeod County Road 8 and west of the fairgrounds south entrance to the county. The county could then build a storm water retention pond if it decides to pave the fairground’s west parking lot.