Minnesota briefs: Breckenridge wants to get garbage cans out of the alleys

BRECKENRIDGE

City wrestles with garbage can placement

Residents aren't in favor of a proposal to move their garbage cans from the alley to the street, according to a discussion at a recent Breckenridge City Council meeting.

City planners had suggested the change, saying it would reduce wear and tear on the alleys. But several residents told the council that the change would cause a hardship — especially in the wintertime — if they had to drag their cans down the alley and then back up the street.

"With the other comments that were submitted to City Hall, there are way more comments that are not in favor of the change," according to minutes of the council meeting. The city isn't giving up yet, though. It plans to continue the discussion at a future public works committee meeting.

JOHN REINAN

MOORHEAD

Voice professor and singer Peter Halverson was honored last week as he retired after 39 years on the music faculty of Concordia College. The City Council adopted a proclamation declaring "Peter Halverson Day."

Halverson has had a long career as a baritone in opera, musical theater and oratorio, singing at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. In Concordia Christmas concerts, he was often heard as the voice of God.

Joining the Concordia faculty in 1983, Halverson trained hundreds of singers who went on to study and perform at the nation's leading cultural institutions.

"Peter has shared joy and beautiful art with untold numbers of people in the Moorhead-Fargo community, region and throughout the world," the proclamation said. "From the moment he stepped onto the Moorhead Fargo Opera stage [in 1972], Peter became one of the best-loved, most in-demand performers in our community."

JOHN REINAN

Want a broken mop wringer? St. Peter has one

The city of St. Peter recently declared a batch of city property as surplus and authorized staff to dispose of it as provided by law.

Some of the items, like a 1994 International dump truck with 212,000 miles or a 1999 GMC pickup with 197,000 miles, could find buyers. But many other items seem destined for the landfill.

The Recreation and Leisure Services Department offered a list of surplus goods that included such items as a broken mop wringer; a dented metal shelving unit with a broken handle; three damaged paperback book racks, and a broken computer printer.

Looks like nobody can accuse St. Peter of not squeezing the last bit of use from its city property.