City taking on management of local veterans memorial site

The Worthington City Council on Monday approved and adopted bylaws for a Veterans Memorial Advisory Board. The action established this entity as a formal city of Worthington advisory board.

Worthington Public Works Director Todd Wietzema explained to council that several years ago, representatives of Freedom Veterans Memorial Inc. approached city staff and asked if the city would be interested in taking over management of the veterans memorial in Freedom Shore Park. Since then, city staff worked with the non-profit corporation to transfer funds and start the process of dissolving their organization.

Also Monday, council members approved a monthly rental rate of $300 -- with an annual lease starting the first day of January of every subsequent year — for leasing one of the new box hangars at Worthington Municipal Airport.

The council, during its Feb. 5, 2025 meeting, accepted a bid from Everstrong Construction to build a new three-bay box hangar at the airport. Federal and state grants were awarded, and construction on this new hangar is almost complete.

After the grants were awarded, the City of Worthington’s local share of this $1.2 million project was slightly more than $51,000.

Additionally, the council authorized a City of Worthington and Minnesota Department of Transportation Highway 59 Reconstruction Cooperative Agreement Resolution that states the  city will provide payment to the state for the city’s share of the costs of the water main and sanitary sewer construction to be performed upon, along and adjacent to Trunk Highway 59 from Trunk Highway 60 to 27th Street North.